Honey4Boyz

Posted by Xian Jin He, births every living creature, casts the sea, sand and stone, carves them each a certain feature, a certain hue, a certain tone. His light is a Ray, it colours every detail, it frees the birds at bay, and darkness will exhale. You know, He's in the stormy clouds and in the choppy sea, so why should you have any doubts? Look up; it shines for me! Smash, thrash, swish, swash, the melody is more in than out; Music gives the heart a wash, Did you hear that din? Shout! In the gale, He pulls you back, when deserted - are you really alone?  Remember, He's always on our track- After all, He crafted our very bone. -Xian Jin

Posted by Xian Jin Where else to spend a short break, but Ipoh? It was unplanned, spontaneous and out-of-the-blue when my dad decided to bring us to Tasik Cermin, a place embedded deep in his childhood, even though he had only been here a few times. From the outside, it was the most unappealing and unattractive of landmarks; construction, lorries and sand deterred visitors. Who would ever visit such a place?  The Tunnel that bridges reality to fantasy. Tasik Cermin - "Mirror lake" in Malay.  Mirror, mirror on the wall who's the fairest of them all? ps. me Struggling to get stones to skip more than 2 times. It was an enchanting and beautiful experience. Something so beautiful hidden from the world, disguised as a deserted and sandy land. I could stay here for hours, reading or relaxing under the tall, shady trees in silence. This hidden gem may not last long, however. Already, there are constructions ongoing, a...

I took up a challenge to do something I'd never imagined doing before - a 6km group cycling event. I don't even consider myself a cyclist, though I know how to ride a bicycle from point A to B on concrete roads :) From the beginning, my goal was merely to finish the event in one piece.  The inaugural cycling carnival was organised by Universiti Putra Malaysia to create an awareness of their education park to the public. The cycling event was held within the scenic park of their campus. The park is very much under-utilised, as it's meant for their students and a private property. So, it's a good opportunity for family outing and it's non-competitive, ie we could do it leisurely. Every team has 4 members, so I estimated there're over a hundred participants. Entrance to the scenic Edu-park. Note this cycling was challenging cos it's mostly on "cow dung" dirt roads. I really hope it's already over...and I was celebrating my success at ...

We've been hibernating at home in this crazy tropical heat, which sometimes peaked to 40C. One of those things you couldn't avoid during this El Nino heatwave is 'air-conditioning'. We tried to spend some time in the backyard, so we didn't have to coop inside all the time. Only two of the boys were on holidays, so we couldn't really go away, and mainly cos of the kitchen renovation too, which took 3 weeks. Apart from eating out, we gotta bear with the dust, noise and mess in the house. The boys have to look for their own entertainment in gym, playing football and watching our guests in the garden. Once we're excited by 3 bird eggs on our mulberry tree. The nest was badly built, like half-done. We tried to strengthen the nest, but our action caused the parents to abandon it entirely. Sadly, the eggs were destroyed in a bad storm one night. We also saw a hanging nest, like a wasp nest on a tree branch. But nothing prepared us for the thing that's gonna ha...

Posted by Xian Jin Finally, the moment we have been waiting all year: a rest and retreat at Cameron Highlands! I was longing for a cool, refreshing time up here, away from the scorching heat back in KL.  The OMF bungalow, where we stayed for 4 days. It was very spacious, with so many places and treasures to explore and discover. I spent much time in the library, going through old books in peace and quietness.  The scenery was simply beautiful, lush green surrounding the entire bungalow. It was a cold, squally morning; the forest of different shades of green overlooking the blue sky. The air was so fresh and clean, a pleasant environment. Football Time!!! We spent hours outside playing sports. I enjoyed the cooling atmosphere up here, something we didn't have back in the city.  You can never really feel bored here, what with books to read, animals to play with and the people you spend hours with.  It's moments like thi...

Our study of the banana trees in our garden led us to many discoveries. As we observed the trees day after day, we noticed the growth, the living creatures that the trees had supported, the changing weather and environment and the butterflies and moths that they had attracted. Brandon has started a 'Banana Journal'.   The Lady Finger Banana or  Pisang Mas  has very thin skin and the flesh is very sweet. The lengthwise veins on the leaves make them weak, easily tear in the wind. A very interesting discovery about the banana skippers. These are leaf-rolling caterpillars. Watch out for tears on the leaves but these are not caused by the wind. Rather, these leaves are torn and rolled beautifully as shelter to the larvae of the banana skipper. Other than a shelter, the leaves also provide a food source for the larvae and they leave behind lotsa, lotsa 'poop', an obvious tip to the predator wasps! Look out, they also have a supernatural ability ...