Wait a minute, this isn't Dad!
Dad the running Dog!
Woke up early on Father's day and saw Han's greeting in our family blog. Thanks Han for the cute pic of our dog which looks really funny but is indeed symbolic of the role of being a father for many! Yup many fathers live a 'dog's life' to fulfill the guardian role of being a father and to be the provider. This is in line with our Church family proclamation to the World which has specifics for the father which reads, "...and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families."
His responsibility is to provide for the family makes him work like a dog to make it happen. The reason is life itself is hard even for non-fathers as the lyrics of the Beatles' song goes..."It's been a hard day's night, I've been working like a dog..."
(Turn on your speakers and click here for the music)
Growing up in Asia, we have a strong work ethics culture and with the example of my own father, I myself am led to believe this simple philosophy that "When you are hard on life, life will be easy for you but when you are easy on life, life will be hard for you." I remember the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcom Fraser, during my University years in Australia was quoted to say, "Life wasn't meant to be Easy!"
The world we live in can indeed be a tough place no matter where we are. Luckily for me, I had a father who made it slightly easier for me and I believe for all my brothers too, as were provided with an education and all of us had a chance to graduate with a University's degree. For me life took a twist right at the final year of my university and shaped my working life thereafter. With sacrifice, I delayed the 'working for money life' for another 2 years to build a spiritual foundation that would create quite a different kind of life for myself and that of my own family to come.
(When you have some time later, click here to read the long story version)
On this special day, I will progressively post some pics of my life that I can gather as I continue to share some thoughts to you on my working life :
His responsibility is to provide for the family makes him work like a dog to make it happen. The reason is life itself is hard even for non-fathers as the lyrics of the Beatles' song goes..."It's been a hard day's night, I've been working like a dog..."
(Turn on your speakers and click here for the music)
Growing up in Asia, we have a strong work ethics culture and with the example of my own father, I myself am led to believe this simple philosophy that "When you are hard on life, life will be easy for you but when you are easy on life, life will be hard for you." I remember the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcom Fraser, during my University years in Australia was quoted to say, "Life wasn't meant to be Easy!"
The world we live in can indeed be a tough place no matter where we are. Luckily for me, I had a father who made it slightly easier for me and I believe for all my brothers too, as were provided with an education and all of us had a chance to graduate with a University's degree. For me life took a twist right at the final year of my university and shaped my working life thereafter. With sacrifice, I delayed the 'working for money life' for another 2 years to build a spiritual foundation that would create quite a different kind of life for myself and that of my own family to come.
(When you have some time later, click here to read the long story version)
On this special day, I will progressively post some pics of my life that I can gather as I continue to share some thoughts to you on my working life :
Well from the young graduate at pre-school to a University graduate, I guess I have pleased my father to complete my formal education and become equiped to begin working on my career. I became a Chartered Accountant or a CPA but strangely, many years later, whenever each of my children are old enough to ask me what I do for a living, I would have to pause to give the best answer! How many fathers out there I wonder face a similar situation? 
Could it be because Dad has played many different roles in his life like being a Mom?
And there's all this zipping around the traffic in the KL city like a despatch rider, sometimes for forgotten items for school like a book or gym clothes by one of the kids!
But mom has told me she prefers me being the soldier going out to work in the battlefield out there!
Then Dad disappears from home to hop around the world somewhere
Could Dad be a Hollywood film producer?
Or just a part time photographer for National Geographic?
and there's all these people , people, people
Could he be in politics with Huntsman Jr. the Utah State governor???
Else why all these rallies and public speeches?
Frankly, I don't really care what people think even if they feel I'm just chasing rainbows..
I am just happy being a Father and remind myself daily not to let my Life revolve around my Work but rather make it revolve around my LIFE ! Go figure that out!......woof! woof!
A double digit birthday celebration!
It's Ernie's 11th birthday today and since Fei's 22nd birthday was just a couple of days ago, we are having a joint celebration tonight, being a Friday night in KL. It is going to be an online celebration(Click here to see the last online celebration ) as all the boys are home, Su is in Provo Utah, Mom is in Singapore while Fei is in Beijing China!
22 11
The two have always been very close since their birthdays are only two days apart and we have noted their common attributes over the years. 22 11
For example, we note that they both love to open their mouths at an early age
22 11
Growing up, they love their birthday cakes22 11
And they love beach activities!
22 11
Not forgetting that both have a common love of music and playing in the band.
22 11
We know they both love animals..... 22 11
...as well as 'horsin' around whenever they can! Happy Birthday Fei and Ernie!
(Click here to see a slide show presentation of the above photos )
Arrival of Our First Bundle of Joy!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, announcing the birth of our first child, a girl, Chong Fei Min, born on 14 June, 1984, weighing 5 lb 8 oz.Her birth ushered in a whole new career for both of us--fatherhood and motherhood. No amount of schooling or professional training could have prepared us for a career so demanding and rewarding at the same time. We believe that Fei was chosen to be our first born because she is the most resilient of the half dozen children we have. Her life is a living proof of our belief.
Being young and totally inexperience there were plenty of mistakes committed out of ignorance. But we think that our mistakes could never come close to the numerous things that we've done right! Just look at the pictures below and share the joy we feel bringing up one of God's daughters!
Look at how tiny she was!
Look how she's grown!
No words can describe the joy parents feel when they see their child's face lit up in a smile!
We love you Fei! And "Happy Birthday!"