Olivier pics uploaded

Here are the promised pics of bebe Olivier being carried by Grandma :-) These were taken when he was just 1 1/2 days old. The pics are dark and blurry cos taken with my hp cam in a darkened hospital room... hehehe...




Here's one of him and his mom. He was crying and I think she was trying out her telepathic powers. It worked though... he stopped crying for a few seconds and started again...hahaha... that bebe has a strong pair of lungs!!

My new nephew

He's here at last... the latest addition to our family :-) Finally, after what seems to have been the longest pregnancy ever, Olivier was born yesterday at a hefty 3.8kg! No kidding!! That's like 8.5 pounds!! No wonder C was having such a hard time walking and sitting and generally moving!

I took some pics of him on my mobile but my mobile's downstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it to download the pics. I'll post his pics another day. Anyway, Olivier's round and chubby and very very pink. He's the cutest little thing and he can turn his head already! At 1.5 days old!! He's strong... in the limbs and in the lungs.. hahaha...

I'm still recovering from the flu so I didn't want to go near him too much and didn't get to carry him, but I will... when he's less floppy :-P

Work's better now. I've moved to a nicer, brighter, bigger spot. It's in general population, but I like it much better than the old place. My replacement for half my job started work yesterday. I like her and I think she will be perfect for the role. Meanwhile, I'm really looking forward to starting out the new department that I transferred over to do. It is going to be an exciting and challenging year. Not like it hasn't been exciting and challenging all this while, but this will actually be fun as well! haha...

Well, that's it for now. Watch this spot for pics of Olivier soon!

P.S. I can't wait for Spider-Man 3 to start. I'm going to watch it May 7th. Anyone wanna come along?

Happy Easter!!

Hey there, friends and fans... wishing you a very happy and blessed Easter!

Well... it's finally Easter and Jenn, Amy and Xavier were baptised last night in a beautiful Easter Vigil celebration. My 1 year's journey with them is over and I shall not be doing RCIA this year. I feel a little sad about that as I do enjoy the journey and seeing enquirers grow in their faith and knowledge and knowing that I have been part of that growth.

I can't believe how quickly Easter has come upon me. The past month has been absolutely awful! I completely missed the whole of Lent as I was too busy working and preparing for the AGM. Oh well, maybe that's my penance. The day following the AGM, I left the office at 6 sharp and rushed to mass and Stations. It was the only weekday mass I had managed to attend and the only other Stations other than Good Friday. On Holy Thursday night, after mass, the RCIA group hired 2 buses and visited 4 churches - Holy Trinity, Holy Family, Queen of Peace and Our Lady of Lourdes. I met Fr JF at Holy Trinity... haha... he said he'd just given a long homily on why we should NOT visit churches and here we were, visiting churches... heehee.. but it was really nice to see him again.

The first 3 churches were ok. We didn't have much time, around 15 mins per church, so I just sort of sat there quietly and blankly. I didn't even pray. I couldn't. Too rushed. Too worried about the time. Fr JF is right.

Until Our Lady of Lourdes. Let me tell you something about this parish. It's a very small church and most of its parishioners are Indian migrants. By that, I mean domestic helpers and construction workers. It is a poor parish. It does not have aircon. The sanctuary is bare except for a huge plastic-looking grotto in front and a simple wooden crucifix at the side. The tabernacle is also simple. Faux gold. Small statues at the side of St Joseph, St Pio and the Divine Mercy. The carpet on the aisle is worn, as is that at the sanctuary. The altar is smaller than my dining table. Unlike other churches, they did not have a spare tabernacle to place the Blessed Sacrament. Tabernacles are expensive things and this parish can't afford it. The consecrated hosts were in a chalice with a pall covering it on a small pedestal with plants around it.

Maybe because the church was small so it was almost full when we arrived. Instead of the usual quiet air of meditation, this church was bustling, with groups of people praying in front of the statues outside and a group of ladies singing a prayer in Tamil inside. It was hot too. And too bright. And noisy.

I made my way to the front as the back was all filled up and slipped into a pew. I did not plan to stay long. I closed my eyes and listened to the ladies singing in a language I did not understand. And I felt God's presence.

It was strong. It was immediate. For the first time in many months, even years - I felt the peace of God. A peace the world cannot give. I felt a strong humility... all the other beautiful churches I had visited and it was here that I felt God so strongly. He truly is among the poor and the downtrodden.

I wanted to open my eyes but I resisted the urge, afraid that I would lose the feeling. But I obeyed the urge and the feeling remained. It was almost tangible - so strong it was! I looked to my right and a man in the choir smiled and nodded to me. It was a nice smile. A reassuring smile. It was like he knew me but I didn't know him. I smiled and nodded back and looked around some more. I looked at everything and everyone. And God was there.

Jesus Christ is risen! Alleluia!!