my car is suicidal!

Purple Monster is fed up with life. He's had enough of his master.


He started to show signs of depression 2 years ago and I should have noticed it! My mistake, I was too busy with my own life and paid too lil attention to him. He started showing traits of ageing, and I attributed that to borderline personality disorder. U know, people with borderline personality disorder usually are attention seeker who threaten to attempt suicide or self harm.


Everytime when he flashed out 'check engine', I thought he was throwing tantrum or having his episodes of borderline personality disorder.


I should have noticed it.


Poor Purple Monster, who has gone through the ups and downs of life with me in the last 4 years. He has been with me when I was in my highest and my lowest in life. He has seen my laughter and tears. Many times when I cried and prayed in car, he would just be quiet and bring me to places I wanted to go. When I was on high and sing praise songs to God at my highest pitch, he would run even faster as though he shared my joy.


Purple Monster has served me well. Together, both of us has brought many people to church.
He's seen ppl come and go. Some stayed only for a short while, some stayed longer.


I remember 4 years ago I saw him on the internet, his previous master put him on sale. We met in a carpark, and the first time I saw him I fell in love with him. I was so proud that I finally owned my own car! And he was a smart looking car!


But he was not easily tamed. I had not driven a manual car for 8 years until I met Purple Monster. I remember I spent a few hours on the first day trying to get on top of him, and I must say I did well.


I confess that I am not a good master. Purple Monster has only been bathed 8 times, the first time was when my ex's parents visited Adelaide. The 2nd time was when my parents visited me. The 3rd and 4th time were at the prepaid Happy Wash station with Fuzzy, and that was very therapeutic for me. The 5th , 6th ,7th and 8th time he was bathed by the rain I guess.


I recall one incident where I could not find Purple Monster in the hospital carpark after a heavy rain. I went round and round the carpark and finally saw a sparkling dustless purple car. Guess what, I forgot what he looked like under the thick coat of dust.


Purple Monster started getting sick and weak. I brought him to the doctor every 6 months, and each time the doctor would shake his head and ask me how long more do I intend to keep him.


I knew he wasn't very well.


So he attempted suicide twice last week. Or maybe that wasn't even an attempt. Maybe he is really tired and over it. He stayed in the car hospital for 1 week, had a few organ transplants and made it.


I really felt like giving an 'NFR'( Not For Resuscitation) order to the doctor. I felt Purple Monster has had enough in his life.


I should just let him go...

the developing world- the reality

I am currently attending what they call an intensive medical mission course. It is really pretty intensive. Information-packed-lectures go on from 9am to 5pm , Monday to Friday for 3 weeks. Not to mention that a medical mission course at a bible college always starts with morning mini church serive.


So we are taught tropical infectious diseases, not just the disease itself, but the concept about working in the undeveloped or developing nations. It is very conceptual.


WHO statitics show that 1 child dies of preventable diseases or any cause in every 10 seconds. That means, from now, let us start counting....10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...0.... ok, one child has just died unnecessarily. Lets start again. 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...0... another child has just died now.


It is very scary. Why do these children ( I have not mentioned about men and women) die just like that everyday?


Because they are poor. We think we are poor when we can't afford the latest version of MacBook or iPhone; or can't afford to travel to Europe for a nice long holiday...or can't afford to buy a 300K home ; or can't afford to buy an European or Japanese car.


We are catogorised by the UN as the top 9%. Admit it or not, we are the affluent group of ppl in the world.


60% or ppl are in poverty. Either mild, moderate or extreme poverty.


Poverty means the whole household ( I mean, mom and dad and the 5-6 kids altogether as a household) have to work everyday to make an income of less than 1 dollar a day, either on the field or in garbage tips.


If they are lucky they stay in a small room under the same roof and eat a meal a day.


So what's the problem?


Poverty leads to overcrowding of living environment, no food, no healthcare and no education. Overcrowding leads to increased transmission of infectious diseases; no food means malnutrition and very low immunity; no healthcare means no healthcare of course, and no vaccination. So, when a child catches an infection (it is just as easy and as certain as getting a fine after crossing the red light) , the child dies, either very quickly or slightly slower.


So, no education? Hence no improvement of the current condition. The powerless, the poor and the needy stay more and more powerless, poor and needy forever, for many many more generations to come , if they are lucky to live.


And why should this affect us? If this doesn't move you, then for your sake, think that outbreak of diseases will sooner or later spread to the affluent countries. And it will affect all of us. (Anyway, this might fulfill what the Scripture say about the destruction of the earth and the heavens when Christ comes again )


But from the biblical perspective, it is to restore justice via the restoration of equality . God loves justice and being His disciples , don't we also love justice?


My anger is roused as I learn about the situations in the poorest of the poor nations. A lot of the embarrassing situations can be reversed if there's enough resources and appropriate distribution of these resources, and the cooperation of the local governments and other agencies.


The UN set goals to stop deaths from Malaria by 2015 with the budget of about 3 billion dollars. The experts (and myself, even though I am not an expert) believe it is possible.


The irony is, the iraq war that kills thousands burns 3 billion dollars in no time.


Sigh. I dunno. I have too much to say but does my speech matter at all? Could it have saved the 180 children that died in the last 30 mins while I wrote the post?