Going Beyond

Another hectic week

2008-10-29T18:47:00.003+03:00

The first hectic week is followed by another hectic (last one in doha) week of gatherings and farewells - meetings with singaporeans, deevapali gathering at friend's place, meetups with qatari, meetups with church friends etc...

Glad to make some good friends and contacts over here. Hope to be able to keep in contact with them. : )

Hectic week and Return Flight to Singapore

2008-10-28T17:24:00.003+03:00

Really... It has been a hectic week. with all the activities going concurrently - selling car, packing and shipping household items back, work issues, deciding on which site to go to upon return to Singapore.. finally, now things are more settled.

Well, it is also confirmed that we will return to Singapore for good. The return flight is confirmed and it is EK432 9 nov sun 1940hrs at T1.

See you till then..!

Cell group in Doha

2008-10-20T16:57:00.002+03:00

Hi, I believed I mentioned in some of my earlier posts that I attended a cg in doha. However, it is closed after a few months. Here is a picture of the hosts and the cg. It is nice of the hosts - Victor (in green) and Clementine (in pink) - to arrange a farewell gathering for us. Clementine is nice enough to prepare most of the food and drinks. We had a great time catching up and bidding farewell... Think will miss them also..

Selling my car now...

2008-10-14T15:49:00.003+03:00

again, it is kind of troublesome and stressful to own a car. Trying to sell it now.. but sad that I accidentally scratched it while trying to park.. think will affect the value again. so far, I have been reducing the advertised price (in qatarliving.com - http://www.qatarliving.com/node/227350) so that the "max sellable price" can be identified and done deal. Guess the price will be somewhere from 82k qr to 75k qr.. Let's see how it goes at the mean time.. another viewing 5 mins later..

BBQ at my colleague place

2008-10-14T15:43:00.002+03:00

A few days ago, we are invited to my colleague's place for a BBQ dinner. It is at the villa right next to mine actually. A Filipino couple is there as well - Chris and Mavis and their little girl. Now Chris happens to maintain a blog as well - and guess what, we are now featured in one of his articles. Check out the link below for our pictures.

http://lifeonthespot.com/blog/2008/10/sleep_over_part_1_1.php

Did you see the jelly? It is prepared by my wife as dessert. :)

BBQ at our place

2008-10-11T13:17:00.003+03:00

We recently had a bbq at our place - but only for the 2 of us.. : ) kind of suggested by my wife. I guess she is trying to make full use of the house and garden as we should be leaving this place pretty soon.. Here are some pictures. Had quite a good time as the weather is now much better at night time.

In love with another cute cat?

2008-10-08T20:05:00.003+03:00

Hi, as usual, my wife tends to have a soft spot for animals. Here is another cat which is kind of cute and fat.. that's why we call it fatty.. : ). Fatty has a round face and is easy to cuddle. He doesn't struggle like Cookie when you carries him.

Can the 2 cats stay under 1 roof? well, not too well. Cookie is afraid of Fatty. Anyway, Fatty likes to roam around outside.. He just comes here for food..

Celebrating our 8th wedding anni

2008-10-08T16:40:00.004+03:00

Well, this is the first time we celebrate our wedding anni overseas. Different environment but the same love! Bought her flowers (a bit ex here tho) but she said "how come no present leh??" : ) hee.. anyway, I think the flowers did the magic already.. In the evening, we went to the Doha Intercontinental Hotel and had our dinner buffet there. Quite nice and my wife loved it. As for me, I think I should have eaten more sashimi..see the pictures below..er..if you wondering where the sashimi are, they are in my stomach already..hee.

NDP 08 photos in Doha

2008-09-29T18:55:00.001+03:00

Hi all, Some mentioned to me that they cant see the photos in the ndp link. I have extracted some here for your viewing...

Some photos of Tanzania (East Africa)

2008-09-29T18:43:00.002+03:00

Hi, my boss just came back from Tanzania, after climbing (or rather treking) Mt Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain which can be treked to the summit). He also visited the wild safari (Manyara National Park) where you can come in close contact with wild animals..

see album if interested.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dquekch/AfricaKiliSafari

NDP ceremony held in Doha

2008-09-26T12:03:00.003+03:00

Hi, it did take a while, but the pictures for the NDP ceremony held in Doha is finally out... Check them out here.. http://gallery.me.com/sanasiddiqui#100021

All singaporeans and PRs are invited to the ceremony. quite well attended with about 300 guests.

Can you spot me and my wife there?
: )

Internet is down intermittently

2008-09-19T11:47:00.002+03:00

Oh no.. Internet in my place is going down intermittently. sometimes, I cant access yahoo, google and blogger. This is bad. Internet has been my entertainment, work and social life. Cant imagine my life here with internet...ahhhhh..

Getting a bit busier

2008-09-14T17:18:00.002+03:00

Nowadays, seems to get a bit busier at work. could be due to the shorter working hours with same things to be accomplished...

Anyway, if you are reading this, do put up a prayer for us on whether we shd continue with our stay in Qatar. The offer has not come yet. If it does, we can either take it up or not. Also, in recent days, it becomes known to me that there is another outstation opportunity available in my existing company.. as for the place, it is in the middle eastern region or Brunei (hmm.. not too good a place for Brunei, right?).

So, do keep us in prayer.. Thanks a lot. : )

Switzerland photos (All)

2008-09-09T09:47:00.003+03:00

Hi guys,

You can see all the Switzerland photos in http://picasaweb.google.com/andrewhmk

Here are some which I placed in slideshows..

Special Feature : Can you identify the gospel stories in each of these cravings?

Switzerland photos for Bern and Fribourg

2008-09-08T15:42:00.003+03:00

Hi,

got some of the photos ready. My wife is still doing the captions for the rest. You can see them below or through the url below.

http://picasaweb.google.com/andrewhmk/SwitzerlandBern28Aug2008#

enjoy!

Special Feature on a Shabby Dog we met. It seems lost and my wife has so much compassion on it that she almost brought it back...

Today is the First time I cook for my wife.

2008-09-08T15:31:00.002+03:00

Hee, guess what I cook...

Maggie Mee..

ok ok. I can imagine all your reactions..

The swiss photos are coming..

Back from Swiss/Istanbul trip into Ramadan.

2008-09-06T10:39:00.002+03:00

Hi guys, sorry for not updating the blog frequent enough. Someone has complained already.. hee.

We touched down from Swiss/Istanbul to Doha on 3 Sep 1am. Had 3 hrs of sleep and zoomed straight to work at 3 Sep 6am. siong hor.. My wife said that I have to avoid this type of arrangement at all cost in future.. hee. no choice lah - the peak season is right before the start of Ramadan (1 Sep). Everyone (Arabs) is rushing back to go through Ramadan with their families. As such, air tickets are much cheaper right after the start of Ramadan.

Turkish Airlines

Talking about flying back, my advice to you is to avoid Turkish Airlines at all cost if possible. It is not very good. why?
1. did not get their manifest right when departing from Doha to Istanbul. As the flight came from Bahrain before that, some passengers departed the flight which remain unaccounted for to Doha airport crew. as a result, the flight is not allowed to depart on time. Everyone has to surrender their air ticket stubs for the crew to match and find out who is missing!

By the time we departed, the flight has to make a pre-arranged technical stopover in Bahrain again. We reached Istanbul just in time for our connecting flight to Zurich. We made it, but our luggages did not!

So, we have to make a report in Zurich. First time in my life tho. Going to make a claim on the travel insurance now.. btw, the luggages arrived the next day (1st one) and the following day (2nd one). Luckily we stayed in Zurich for 2 nights. If not, the luggages will be trying to catch up with us..

2. no individual inflight entertainment. ok.. still can bear with it. but no movie shown throughout 3 out of 4 flights - only some ads i think. Luckily, they redeemed themselves on the last flight with the latest installment of Indiana Jones.

3. bad service from the stewardesses..
Stewardess : "Chicken or Pasta?"
Karen : "What is in the Pasta? Cream sauce or Tomato?"
Stewardess : "I dun know. Chicken or Pasta?"
Karen : $%@&^&%$#&*%^*&^#$...

ha, no lah. my wife did not curse her. Just have to answer Chicken or Pasta..

4. Somehow, flights get delayed and made longer..On the last flight to Doha, the flight has to circle round Doha airport due to high traffic in Doha airport.. delayed for 1 hr. can see that some passengers were quite anxious for the landing.. When the plane finally landed, a number of passengers cheered and clapped hands..

Switzerland and Istanbul trip

Of course, one has requested for the photos of the swiss trip. My wife is arranging and selecting them now.. During the trip, I thought of a few ways to highlight our trip experience to you guys. of course, there will be the photos. But, I thought of a few themes which i will be rolling out one at a time. so, keep watch ok?

Ramadan has started

Well, I am not sure about Singapore side. But Ramadan has started here - targeted from 1 Sep till 30 Sep. The dates are never fixed in advance. Over here, it is based on the sightings of the moon. So, the end of Ramadan is targeted on 30 Sep so far. During Ramadan, there are a few lifestyle changes:
1. No food and water will be sold in all outlets (except hotels) from sunrise (abt 3am plus) to sunset (abt 5.50pm). So, we have to settle our own bf and lunches at home. My wife has been doing a good job in these preparations.. Thanks Dear..
2. Most of the services opened in the am, but close in the pm (right after 1pm). Quite boring tho. However, they will open again in the eve (about 7pm after break fast till as late as 12am or 1am for some).
You will see the crowds and traffic in the evenings. Most people who are fasting, will probably choose to sleep in the pm..
3. All are not just bad. Work hrs are changed also - for me, it is now 9am till 2pm. for my wife, it is 8am till 2pm. The reduction in hrs allowed people who fast to come to work later as most of their activities are done in the evening. at times, way into the early ams.
4. At the end of Ramadan, there will be a 3-5 days eid holidays. Good to go for another short trip..

So, if you have a choice, will you want to go through Ramadan here? : )
cheers.

About Cars

2008-08-14T20:20:00.002+03:00

Hi guys, just a thought today about cars. Wonder why somehow people like to own cars.. Here are what cars bring along:
1. Car loan.
2. Occasional puncture of tyres causing inconvenience. sometimes, 2 at a time.
3. Occasional traffic fines. talking abt that. i think i may been getting one soon. kena flashed at the traffic signal while trying to do a U turn. now praying that the camera did not capture my plate number since i just just braked after the line... aiyah...worry for nothing. pray for me also, ok?
4. road tax.
5. need to go servicing. now my 15k mileage is up.
6. need to buy insurance.
7. need to do technical inspection after 3 years.
8. need to go car wash at times. 10qr or 4 sing per time.
9. kena horn at times.

so, why do we still own a car? guess it is the pride of man if not for the need sake. : )

Cookie Cat

2008-08-09T10:49:00.002+03:00

Hi, someone asked me to blog more about my cat in Doha. Here are some more pictures of him (ya, we discovered that Cookie is actually a boy.. cant tell clearly when he is young). Doesn't he look cute? But he is also quite violent now and loves to bite and scratch.

For scratching, we have bought a scratch board for him. for biting, what else can we do but to beat him? Wife said using a loud voice or hand clap to discipline him - but dont seems to be working.. think my beating and confinement (in toilet for eg) still work best..

Summer Festival in Doha

2008-07-26T13:54:00.001+03:00

at least something to visit and look see here. if not, during summer time, most of our friends (singaporean mostly) are currently back in singapore, eating their bak chok mee. We went for the summer festival opening ceremony last tuesday.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=230306&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

It is pretty interesting - just like an exhibition, but all words are in arabic. there are mascots walking around and magicians to entertain childrens. see the pictures.

Drinks at work

2008-07-26T13:49:00.002+03:00

Over in middle east working culture, there is this concept of tea boys for every department - no tea lady or auntie. The tea boys are mainly from india, pakistan etc. They are pretty low paid - 200 to 400 sing per mth with food and lodging provided. Basically, at work, you can order as many drinks as you like for free. But the catch is that only those which they have
- arabic drinks - arabic coffee, turkish coffee (super not nice), arabic tea (super sweet, no wonder 1 in 4 qataris is dabietic), zatar (arabic herbal tea - worth drinking).
- fruit drinks - orange juice, cranberry juice, no apple or water melon or mango juice..
- plain water.

as for me, most of the time, i had orange juice and cranberry juice. per day. hee. dun think such treatment will happen in singapore.

Indian dinner

2008-07-21T17:12:00.003+03:00

Last friday, we had a dinner with an indian couple, Vince and wife. Vince has been a very nice brother in christ to me. In my initial months, he has helped me a lot - fetched me to his indian church every friday am and offered to provide transport to me whenever i needed them. I have gave him and his wife dinner treats once or twice. Last friday, he gave myself and my wife a north indian treat. nice of them. .. but got some stomach problems the next day tho... : ) too sweet and spicy..

Making use of the Dust

2008-07-04T09:40:00.002+03:00

Ha, guess a picture says a thousand words.. to my wife especially.. : ) sometimes, small things can make our lives more interesting and loving.. also, hmm...maybe this is a new way to avoid doing hsework.. can write the same words on floor, dusty tv screen, dusty table top, ... so no need to clean them off.. haa. but cant avoid washing dishes..

PS : this post is not applicable to David. Other guys will agree 100%.

Get Ready to be Dusty

2008-07-03T18:05:00.002+03:00

well based on the satellite picture and the current situation, it seems that qatar will be dusty for the next few days. The actual look here is a bit like the haze back in singapore where visibility will drop a lot. well, precaution is to stay indoor more before you get sick for no good reason..

Where shd i tithe to?

2008-06-23T22:14:00.000+03:00

btw, wife is ok and back to work now.

regarding this issue of tithing, had some discussions with my wife some days back. ideally, one shd tithe where he worships. in short, he shd tithe where he "eats grass" - i mean wherever he gets his spiritual food. however, i am kind of inclined to tithe a portion back to vfc or even, bethel assembly (an indian church here).

why?
1. the expat (mainly ang mo) church which i am attending now has lots of expats. the church has sufficient resources - in fact, she is rich.
2. I tend to see a greater need in vfc (esp in regards to non-stop missions, buildings and offerings...) and bethel assembly (this is a church servicing mainly indians. the building is pretty rundown and we all sit on the floor.) which i attended before.

one way of argument is that i am still in contact with friends and my dear AM in vfc - so in this sense, i am still getting spiritual food from vfc and this allows me to save the money till i return to tithe. a portion can be reserved for this.

as for bethel, i can attend their evening service once a mth or 2 mths. this allows me to tithe there as well. again, a portion for this.

the problem with tithing to vfc is that the money has to be "kept aside and accumulated" - this may not be healthy (as the tithe must be given first) and it gets "slightly more and more difficult" to give when the amt is getting big.

what do people in vfc think?