KokMun's Mini Guide To Hiking

Disclaimer: This guide is only my personal view on hiking. Tips may not be applicable to every individual.

Before I start, I wanna thank Hippo and Nemo for organising this trip for us and supplying most of the stuff (food, pots, stove, tents etc..). And Nemo especially for contributing most of the pictures. I am yet to get pictures from Hippo's camera. Oh yea, thanks Hippo for driving me, Mangosteen and Sushi to-and-fro Camerons!

Introducing Nemo! The professional camera man. Try to picture him in every photo.

Introducing HIPPO! A perasan-ly skillful driver.

Last weekend, a dozen of young Sky Adventurers went for a hike at Gunung Irau. Gunung Irau is actually besides Gunung Brinchang, and Brinchang is in Cameron Highlands. Saturday morning, we left TBS at 6.30am. After all the hassle, we finally started to climb around 1.10pm.

As shown, G.Irau is JUST BESIDE G.Brinchang

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A picture at the start of the hike. Poor Nemo couldn't be in the picture.

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KokMun's Mini Guide To Hiking:

1. Wear hat: Hat is useful especially if you have long hair. Try to hide all the hair in that cap so it will not be so irritating.

2. Wear gloves: Another extremely useful equipment. It enchances the grip of ur palm, can prevent injury and its more hygiene, in other words lesser clean up needed

3. Wear long pants and long sleeves: It can be cold at times, so longs are always better. And can prevent some scretches and injuries. Thank God I wearing long pants, if not my leg would be gone by now. While hiking down, I slipped and a branch jabbed (not pierce!) my leg, and dragged along as I continued to fall. My long pants koyak, but luckily there was no open-wound. Just bruises with an anak-Irau (bongkak).

Me wearing gloves, hat and longs. Tks Kipas for the hat, and Sushi for the gloves. And I know, I look like a rapist. zzZZ

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4. DO NOT wear loose shoes: This also means don't borrow your sibling's shoes which are like, not-so-fitting for you. If and when you end up in a mud pile and the next thing you'll know is your shoes is stuck inside.

Donkey's shoes got stuck, and poor Bear Bear had to help her take it out.

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5. Bring just enough stuff: Imagine carrying a more-than-10KG load all the way up Irau. *Ouch*. Clothes may be light, but do not underestimate the weight it can contibute. As for water supply, you know your body's water needs, so try to bring just enough, and probably a little more for steamboat =). I suggest Gatorade. It seriously quench thirst like no body's business. 1 bottle of 500mL Gatorate lasted me for a 4.5hours hike up Irau.

See those 'tracks'?? 4.5hours of hiking with >10kg load is not a very pleasent task. But it makes you stronger, definitely.

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6. Know your body's capability: If you know you can't move fast, DO NOT try to be a hero. Stay with the people of your pace.

7. Keep a constant pace throughout the hike: This can conserve energy for the next few hours of hike.

'B' and 'Group C'. Kipas was taking this picture. We aren't slow. We just like to enjoy nature with a slower pace.

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8. Bring a camera: The view on the way up and up there is magnificient.

Priceless Sunset View

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9. Do not just sit down and wait for people to serve you: Try to help out in anything and everything. Its a camping trip, not a luxurious-hotel-trip. I sat there and waited for dinner and look what I got...

My legs 麻痹 ('ma bi') or in english - numb, and semi-cramped 抽筋 ('chao gan')

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10. Try not to create too much rubbish: All rubbish have to be carried down also. So try to keep rubbish at minimal levels.

Us, packing up the camp site just before leaving.

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11. Bring maggie mee: A must. Easy to cook and filling. Thanks Gunner for the curry chicken maggie. Some of you may be thinking that energy bars and biscuits would be much easier. Yea, agreed, but maggie comes HOT. Energy bars and other dry foods are good for providing energy during hikes. But at the cold peak, anything hot (maggie, vico, steamboat etc..) will taste so darn good, even if its tasteless. (Nothing was tasteless during the trip. Its just to help you get the idea of how important heat is.)

DELICIOUS STEAMBOAT!!

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12. Bring wet-tissue-wipes: Very useful for cleaning up, especially since there is NO water supply up there. It can wipe off mud stains, clean up utensils and even useful after doing 'big-business'. (And for those of you who are wondering, there are no toilets up there, we use the natural ones. Just hide behind the bush and do your business.)

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Lastly, before we went down, a timer-set group photo with Nemo inside!

Top (from left): Coffee, Elephant, Kipas, Bear2, Gunner

Bottom (from left): Sushi, Hippo, Mangosteen, Donkey, Wanton, Dragonaut, Nemo

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Other details can be read at Nemo's Blog

Thats all for the mini guide and trip. Hope for more to come.

Packing for Irau

Today, Sky Adventure Club (SAC) had a briefing session at 3.30pm on Student Leader Room (SLR). The importance of a good pair of hiking shoes was emphasised sooooo much that a few of us actually went to Sunway Pyramid to do some last minute shopping after the meeting. Mangosteen, Elephant and Donkey bought hiking bags, I bought messtins, Sushi and Coffee bought hiking shoes. It wasn't the actual good type of hiking shoes so most of us didn't buy. And since we were in quite a rush, I didn't manage to take pictures in SP. My bad. Sorry.

In the evening, my dad took my sister and I to Carrefour to buy some snacks. I wanted to buy a pair of new shoes but it was RM79.90. Most likely I'll only wear it once so i didn't want to waste money. I'll just have to make do with whatever lousy shoes I have at home.

Later that night, I started packing. I had to change bagpack with my sister coz hers is alot bigger than mine. The following is roughly what I packed:

Items to Bring..
- Bag Pack
- Clothing (2 days 1 night, think minimum and 1 pair will put inside the car)
- Jacket + thick long pants (Its cold up there. Something like peak of Genting at night, try not to catch flu)
- Hiking Boots / Shoes (able to withstand abuse)
- Mouthwash (Convenient and easy, minus the brushing)
- Sandals / Slippers (I don’t want people stealing my sandals, AGAIN)
- Socks and more socks (Things might get muddy, you might then want to throw it away)
- Sleeping Bag / Mat
- Towel
- Toilet paper / Tissue (Wet baby wipes to clean yourself up)
- Snacks (Food to keep you going. Junk food in car yes, not on the way up)
- Drinks (Recommended one 1.5L water, one 1.5L isotonic and one 500ml water)
- Personal Toiletries (Sunblock not a must because shady and not showering. Deodorant please because not showering, thank you. )
- Personal Medication
- Poncho
- Plastic bags
- Utensils (Mess tin, spoon, fork, plate, cup)
- Gloves (Climbing rocks/branches)
- Torchlight
- Extra batteries
- Lighter
- Cash (for Cameron shopping)
- Maximum cash RM50

That ammount of things actually fitted into that bag! The small bag on the right is just an extra set of cloths that will be kept in the car.

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After that, I tried to weight my bag using my mum's electronic weighing machine.

My weight without bagpack = 65.5kg (I know I'm fat)

My weight with bagpack = 75.7kg

Weight of bagpack = 75.7 - 65.5 = 10.2KG!! *TUT*

There will be some shared load to carry tomorrow, so it'll be heavier. Well at least I'm sure I wont be the only one carrying that heavy a load. Tomorrow have to meet at Taylors Business School (TBS) at 6am! So I better get some rest now.

One more thing before I go. I'll be using my old phone tomorrow coz I don't want to take any risk with my new hp. To be honest I kinda miss my old buddy =)

~ My 3 years good buddy~

Anyway I'm gonna sleep. Tata!

Labour's Day

Today is Labour's Day. A day of rest for all labourers. Anyway that doesn't really concern me because I'm not a labour. As far as I'm concern its just another homework-filled holiday. LOL! Ignorant me, I know. I woke up at 11am, wanted to go cut hair, but all the salons we normally go to were all closed. Expected that, but still disappointed.

Later in the afternoon, Eilene came all the way down from Cheras to play badminton in Bukit Jalil Club. Since it was a last-minute thing, we didn't manage to book any courts, and there was a tournament going on in BJGC. Terng Sheng arrived around the same time, and boy was he 'angry' coz he rushed there not knowing there isn't any empty courts. Never mind, disappoint-ly we went Leo' Place to have lunch. I DROVE!! YEA!! Well its quite a big thing for me coz I never really had 'non-family-member' passengers before. Nevertheless we reached there safely.

~Ice Cream for Dessert~

From left, WaiShan, Eilene and TerngSheng

Eilene was so shy coz Sheng wanted to feed her

Joking la. Eilene just didn't want her picture taken, and Sheng purposely post his hand there. And Eilene threatened to whack me if I were to post her picture on my blog. So if anything happens to me, ITS EILENE'S FAULT!!!

After that Sheng came over to my house. Chatted a little, played fusbal and computer, then he went home.

HAHA!! That's about all for today, I'll try to keep you all update! byebye

A Day Before Labour's Day

Many things happened today. From lunch to class and to the skating rink. Before that, PingSern went to Taiwan today, hope you have fun there! Ok, let me start with lunch, since nothing 'unusual' happened before that. Went market today for lunch with Vivek, Jasmine and Sonia Fz. As usual, when Vivek talks during lunch, tragedy happens. The last time Vivek told a joke while I was eating my hot pork mee (sweating+running nose), i nearly sneezed mucus into the soup! Thank God I turned away fast. As for today, I DROPPED MY CHICKEN DRUMSTICK!!

There was still a lot of meat ok!!

Later in class, Vasanth styled Vivek's hair. I must say he looks kinda 'cool'.

Vivek the WannaBe

After class, Jasmine, DanNeil, Sonia Fz, Rachel, Vivek and I went to Sunway Pyramid to ice skate. Sonia Fz is a pro wei! Jasmine last skated in January. DanNeil, Rachel and Vivek were first-timers, but I must say they picked up quite fast. Nevertheless, what is ice skating without those falls? DanNeil played safe, he skated slow and near the sides, but he was so scared he sweated like hell! I think Rachel may have broken the record for the most falls in 2hours. Vivek had the greatest fall. In Chinese its called 四脚朝天, English translation erm.. 'four limbs facing the sky'?? Basically he fell flat on this back.

Congrats Vivek! You've concluded today's ice skating session with a great fall.

DanNeil, next time pls use the toilet

Lastly, a group picture with all of us in it. Tay was the photographer, too bad he couldn't be IN the picture.

From left: Vivek, Me, Sonia Fz, Jasmine, DanNeil, Rachel

That's all for now. Bye!

FBC Dinosaur Exibition

Yesterday, First Baptist Church had a Dinosaur Exhibition. It is actually for the kids as the current facts and Bible facts about dinosaurs kinda contradict each other. Anyway I went to have a look and I think its quite interesting. Not only the bibical facts but also the hand-made 3D models! Besides the animals, the rest are all hand-made with plasticine I think. The pictures below summaries the whole exibition. First a picture followed by description.

1. God made a wonderful world

2. Going inside Noah's ark

3. The Great Flood

4. Getting Out Of Noah's Ark

5. Drastic Climate Changes Killed Off The Dinosaurs

6. Discovery Of Dinosaur Fossils

Thats all for the exhibition. Will update again when I'm free! Bye Bye =)

TUC Award Presentation Ceremony

Friday, 25th April, Taylors University College had its "Tan Sri Dato' Dr Loy Hean Heong Merit Scholarship Awards" for 2008. The dress code was smart-formal, but I wore semi-formal instead, rebellious ain't I? haha.. Pictures below:

In the MPH, going to start, waiting for guest of honour, whoever that fella is..

Yea, I know, stupid me only qualified for the above category of scholarship. Taylors is really stingy with scholarships.

Other friends who were with me, from left, PingSern>Melvin>Sachi. MaeYee was sitting behind, and refused to have her picture taken.

We (PingSern, MaeYee and I) were so board that we decided to play hang man.

After we got our 'paper' to redeem our certificate, we wanted to leave the hall, but the door was blocked by LIBs (Lecturers-In-Black).

That's all for ceremony. It was DARN BORING!! Shouldn't have attended it. I missed my favourite Physics lesson. And Mr. John gave back our CT2. What can be worst man...

WMS Sports Day 2008

Today, I actually dragged myself out of bed early on a Saturday morning to attend WMS's 25th Annual Sports Day. Coincidentally its also the 70th birthday of the Guest of Honour, our former principal, Mr. A.R Peter. I actually miss that fella. Anyway, I followed Quinnie's car to Selayang Stadium and noticed this..

~My Foot~

LOL! If I'm not mistaken, 4 years back in 2004, yellow house won gymrama so in 2005, printed very big on their shirt was "Yellow House Rocks". However after losing to BLUE HOUSE that same year, in 2006 they changed it to "Yellow House Still Rocks". The link died off for year 2007, and it came back again this year 2008 as "Yellow Rocks Forever". ~my foot~. FYI, Blue House won gymrama in 2005, 2006 and 2008

~Esmond leading the Sports Oath thing~

I was taking a 6minutes++ video with my dad's handphone camera when suddenly a phone call came in and the video was cut. Sad to say it wasn't saved so all I have is this photo. Esmond was the lucky athletic who lead the school in the sports day oath.

Nevertheless below is the main reason I went back today.

~BSMM March Pass~

And for those who are wondering, BSMM stands for Bulan Sabit Merah Malaysia. Formerly known as PBSM. I know many of you have had first hand experience, or heard about how boring and useless PBSM is, but I can assure you that the things you get to learn from it is priceless.

In 2007, I was the commander of the BSMM march. With luck and skill, BSMM march 2007 was the CHAMPION MARCHERS. Again I would like to thank all those whom I've tortured last year during march practice last year.

~No Commander can be great without a greater Squad~

At the end of 2007 when we stepped down as BSMM board members, Ooi Kok Horng succeeded me as the new incoming Commander for 2008. He promised he will show me the trophy again in 2008. Basically that's the reason I went to see their march today. To see how much they have improved, and to see if KokHorng can fulfill his promise. Of cause there are other reasons such as meeting old friends, visiting the teachers etc..

During the march pass, I personally think Scouts marched pretty well. I even expected scouts to win. HOWEVER.... I'm glad and happy and joyful and proud of my juniors because they did not let me down! BSMM is the champion AGAIN for 2 consecutive years!

Commanders: KokMun(2007) and KokHorng(2008)

Congratulations to all my juniors, especially to KokHorng, commander of BSMM 08, I'm really very proud of you all. And to whoever that is gonna succeed KokHorng, hope you can take the double champ pressure, and make it a triple champ. All the best!

Oh yea, I met my favourite Prefects' Junior of all times. He is no other than Yeoh Jie Cong!

~Jie Cong and Kok Mun~

Later in the afternoon, I managed to get my copy of WMS 07 Year Book. I'll try to post about that standard-one-scrapbook-looking-shit when I'm free.

Thats about it for now. Got to start my Bio Human Awareness Essay, which dues on Monday. zzZ. All the best people!

ATTENTION AGAIN PEOPLE!!

Attention again! Another very very good HENG DAI (click) of mine has just started a new blog also.

Lee Wei Han and me (again)

According to his blog, he started blogging because he was inspired by Terng Sheng. Read his 1st post for more details.

Anyway, Lee Wei Han has been a very good friend of mine since form1. Great to know him, helpful and nice fella. To all the girls out there, he is also single and VERY available. As for his promo, ask me personally as there is too much to tell.

Hopefully more of my friends start blogging so I'll get updates on recent events in their life. I'll try to update my blog more frequently also.

WORLD BREAKING NEWS!!

ATTENTION EVERYONE!! A very very good HENG DAI (click) of mine has recently started a new blog! so everyone go visit his blog and spam his comment box!!

Terng Sheng and me

FYI, Ng Terng Sheng a.k.a Sheng is a still single and available! Currently studying in Taylors University College, Alvls PE5. He has almost everything a girl wants so girls out there GRAB him before he is unavailable!!

All the best in updating your blog bro!

Finally...

The Class Profile Project is finally over. Here is the FINAL 3 pages that should appear in the Winangali (dunno how to spell -.-) Magazine.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3 (Activity Page)

Also I'd like to thank a few other people who helped out in this project whom I didn't acknowledge in any of the pages.

Photo contributers: Jasmine, Shalini, PingSern, Serlyn

Treasurer: ChapFanKing

Thats all folks.

Page 2

Ok this is the 2nd page of class profile. As usual, please check your name and make sure its spelt correctly according to IC. Tell me any errors by Wednesday.


For those who are visiting for the first time, page 1 is in the previous post.

I'm still waiting for more photos and ideas for activity page. Please coorperate.

Thats all for now. Thanks and Sorry!

Class Page

This post is only for students of Taylors SAM G3:

This is the 1st class page. Please check that your name is spelt correctly as according to IC. If there is/are any mistake(s), please inform me by leaving a comment/msn/sms/call by Wednesday. I won't entertain anymore changes after Wednesday.


I have not finished the 2nd page because a certain 'her' and 'him' has not send me a brighter picture. So blame them if you must.

Besides, please give suggestions for the class activity page. I'm out of ideas. Also send me some of your individual small group photos. If no one bothers to suggest/send anything by Tuesday, I may just leave the activity page blank.

One more thing, please do state your name when you leave a comment. Anonymous comments will be ignored/deleted.

Sorry if this post sounds harsh, but I really really need ideas and all your coorperation. Thanks and Sorry.

Lessons In Logics

Some simple logics:

If your father is a poor man, it is your fate. But, if your father-in-law is a poor man, it's your stupidity.
I was born intelligent; education ruined me.
Practice makes perfect. But nobody's perfect. So why practice?
If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?
Since light travels faster than sound, people appear bright until you hear them speak.
How come "abbreviated" is such a long word?
Money is not everything. There's Mastercard & Visa.
One should love animals. They are so tasty.
Behind every successful man, there is a woman. And behind every unsuccessful man, there are two.
Every man should marry. After all, happiness is not the only thing in life.
The wise never marry.and when they marry they become otherwise.
Success is a relative term. It brings so many relatives.
Never put off the work till tomorrow what you can put off today.
Your future depends on your dreams. So go to sleep.
There should be a better way to start a day than waking up every morning
"Hard work never killed anybody" But why take the risk?
Work fascinates me. I can look at it for hours.
God made relatives. Thank God we can choose our friends.
The more you learn, the more you know; The more you know, the more you forget; The more you forget, the less you know. So why learn?
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station. What more can I say?

Lol?

UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE

I received this e-mail and thought that I should share it here.

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Breakfast at McDonald's
This is a good story and is true, please read it all the way through until the end! (After the story, there are some very interesting facts!)

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called, "Smile." The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special play time with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved. As I turned around I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling". His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance. He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins he had been clutching. The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.

I held my tears as I stood there with them. The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, "Coffee is all Miss" because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up,they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm). Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand. He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you." I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, "I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope." I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son.

When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said,"That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope.." We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. We are not church goers, but we are believers. That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love. I returned to college, on the last evening of class,with this story in hand. I turned in "my project" and the instructor read it. Then she looked up at me and said, "Can I share this?" I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to behealed. In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my husband, son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student. I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn:

UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.

Much love and compassion is sent to each and everyperson who may read this and learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE. There is an Angel sent to watch over you. In order for her to work, you must pass this on to the people you want watch over.

An Angel wrote:

Many people will walk in and out of your life,

but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.

To handle yourself, use your head.

To handle others, use your heart..

God Gives every bird it's food,

but He does not throwit into its nest.

A Box of gold,

With a secret inside that has never been told.

This box is priceless but as I see,

The treasure inside is precious to me.

Today I share this treasure with thee,

It's the treasure of friendship you've given me.

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Thats all for the email. Alot to reflect on huh? Never too late to start.. God Bless!

Happy-Belated-Merdeka

Today, I just felt like blogging though I dont know what to blog about. I know I should be studying now as trials is just round the corner.

Yesterday was Malaysia's 50th birthday. Memorable? Well, not for me. All I did was 2hours of badminton in the morning, sleep, eat, watch TV, and a little revision.

~The Emptiness of a Boring Holiday~

Time to hit the books, stay tuned for the next post.

I'm myself again!!

I'm all over her already! And I feel much different now. Who needs her when I have FRIENDS who never stop encouraging me and be there for me whenever I need help.

Special thanks to:

1. HannJiunn for helping me feel better through sports
2. Esther for waking me up from dream land
3. Terng Sheng for teaching me really effective methods to forget someone

HAHA!! I feel so myself again.

God really taught be LOTS through this painful experience I had. He also help me realised how important are friends in life. Its true that only in times of trouble and depression that you'll identify your true friends.

By the way, I finally got back my pendrive with photos from peaksheng. I'll try to upload some in the next post (gosh, I've been saying this for I-wonder-how-long-ago). Haha!

Life Still Have To Go On

Haih... Oh well, life still have to go on. Anyway, thank you for ur smile =)

Courage

I finally dug up all the courage I needed to ask her today. Hope she will agree =)

Happiness Is A State Of mind

One thing I realised is that happiness doesn't last forever. Well, happiness is only a state of mind. It also depends what kind of things do we invest our happiness it. Worldly things definitely will not last, but Godly things will last forever.

I'M VERY HAPPY TODAY!!

HAHA!! I know its already pass 'today' (5/8/07), but I'm still very HAPPY!!
Reason? Private and Confidential!! Haha!!

God is good, all the time

All the time, God is good!