A proud day for the Abisheganaden family

 

Yesterday 9th Dec 2025 was a proud day for our son Andrew Hao Jie. He graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Information Technology from the Queensland University of Technology or QUT. We are very proud and honored to tell all our readers and followers this represents a milestone for us. 

My wife and I flew in specially for his graduation and we then had a slap up lunch and dinner together with a good friend from Korea (thanks Quon for coming !). 

Life is made for these special unforgettable moments, which mould us. As a proud parent my wish for him now is to land a job, find a nice person and settle down, either in Australia or Singapore.

Our part in supporting him will always be here, that is our promise. 

One key takeaway from this wonderful experience is this. Like I have stated numerous times in my earlier post. There are many steps to success, perceived or real, which one needs or must do to 'get there'.

1. Be used to being uncomfortable daily and for the long run. This is the only way you will grow. 

2. Every small victory, savour it and smell the roses. Then move on. The road is long and upwards.

3. Be present in good and bad times. Show up. Give no excuses

4. Try your level best. The rest ? Leave it to God.

5. Don't sweat the small stuff. They will always be there. In 5 months or 5 years its just a bump in your road.

6. Never underestimate the threats to you. Always manage the small problems lest they grow into unmanageable fires.

7. Be stoic in tough times. Tough times mould character. Only the toughest survive let alone thrive. We have no other choice. 

One life one path one vision many goals. 

Carpe Diem 

Multi Cultural Brisbane and Gold Coast Dec 7th 2025 ; Anyone needs an IT Cybersecurity executive or engineer ?

 

Eating a Korean BBQ meal  at Borngo 

Brisbane gives off a very 'chill' or a rather laid back vibe. This is my second visit to this city in 5 years (the first one was in Feb 2020) and I can say that apart from the downtown CBD, the traffic around the main part of town including the walking street is one of festive cheer and tourists watching the tourists. While it is multicultural, it is not as diverse in ethnicity as say Melbourne or Sydney.

The mainland Chinese, Indians, S Koreans are very visible,  and I saw a nice mix of Latinos, Eastern European and many people of Arab descent mingling in the city, testament to the many Kebabs and Middle Eastern Fare. There are plenty of Chinese restaurants serving Mala Hot Pot soups and local Chinese fare, so there must be plenty of Mainland people living or visiting here.

The weather is rather similar to tropical and Dec is early Summer, as Australia  is in the Southern Hemisphere.  The temperature these 2 days varies from mid 30s by noon to low 20s in the night, so it is pleasant most times of the year.

Today we decided to drive 1.5 hours to the Gold Coast to do some shopping and catch up with a close relative of ours, who lives here and could be counted upon if my son Andrew ran into some trouble.

Thank you Stella for being the rock in case, Andrew needed some listening ear when the going got tough. Thankfully he did not and we met up for a happy high tea today.

Kangaroo Point Bridge off Charlotte Street 

In a couple of days, we will witness a very happy occasion, Andrew getting his degree in front of all of his Uni mates.

We as parents wish him the best for his current job hunt (Any one looking for an IT Security analyst or executive in Australia or Singapore ? Please email me).

I can truly vouch that Andrew is of good heart and posesses a strong and intelligent mind. When he puts his mind to it, he can truly pull off top quality for his employers.

E : mark@qra.com.sg

A week in beautiful Brisbane 5 - 12 Dec 2025

Finally a break of a week, one week in early December and another in perhaps after Christmas for me. We are here to witness the graduation of my younger son Andrew from his Comp Science undergraduate degree course at the Queensland University of Technology.

He has been in Australia for coming to 5 years, and has been living in this very liveable city by the river and has moved 3 apartments in the last 5 years.

The summer is in full swing and the tourists (mainly from other Australian cities) makes this town quite bustling and full of life. 

I can get used to this lifestyle one day once I retire. 

Carpe Diem. 
 

A review of my most dramatic marathon finish in 2005 when my body gave out !

The date was 5 December 2005 morning, I can still remember the incident as clear as yesterday. This was the 3rd full marathon I was attempting and it was HOT and humid.

I had my arranged supporter, N. Kannan, from Malaysia who had come all the way from Malacca to help supply me the Gatorade drinks and Powergels. We had arranged that he meet me at specially designated locations to hand me the "life savers" (Powergels) as I estimated there would be a thousand runners in front of me, and probably many thousands behind me. This was the most dramatic ending to my marathon runs which I am not going to forget soon.

The race started at 6.00 am, it was smooth sailing for me for the first 10km or so, I was near the faster runners - not the elites, nor the chasing bunch, but somewhere in the first 25% or so. I had been pacing myself and had trained religiously for this run which I thought would be a managable distance,as I had run it 2 times previously, once in Penang (2003) and once in Singapore 2004.

I WAS SO WRONG.

The first 10 to 14km was the stretch from the Esplanade Bridge right down Shenton Way to all around Marina Bay area and back before looping back to Robinson Road and head towards the Padang and the Esplanade Drive and down to Raffles Avenue.

The race was carried out on a hot morning, and by the 23km mark, I had a cramp on my right calf. This occured somewhere around the 6 km mark at East Coast Park. "Oh Oh",  I thought, "Not Good and so early into the run." 

By this time, at 8.20am or so, the first Kenyan runner had finished the race. This fact starkly differentiates the best in the world from the rest of the pack, and I am considered to be in the mid pack. 

I was only half-way through !!

I managed to squeeze some Counter Pain Gel on my leg and carried on. At around the 30km mark, I had a another muscle strain, this time on my left calf. Again I stopped and applied some stretching and some muscle cream. The time was about 9.30 am and I had met Kannan once but had missed seeing him on the 20 km segment, as there were just too many runners passing by for him to spot me and I was probably bunched up with my eye on my leg rather than people or supporters.

By the 32km, I was pouring water down my head to douse myself and try to ignore the ache. BAD MOVE. The water trickled down to my legs and seeped into my running shoes. As I was hot, I intitally felt relieved with the water energising me.So I started drinking a bit more and pouring plain water down my head. My shoes by this time were squishing in water and I was literally running in SQUISHY SHOES.  

It was awful and so uncomfortable but I willed myself to press on. 

Finally, the end point could be seen, 40km, just 2km more to go. I was preparing myself for the photo opportunity and with the thousands of spectators cheering us on, it was a massive boost to my very tired limbs. With 100m left to go, I thought to myself "Go for it buddy, break the 5 hour mark !". So I started to accelerate with about 80m left to go.

The exhilaration was with me, I was taking the cheering and shouting and started to move faster.60m, 50m,40m, ..... then WHAM !

My left hamstring tightened so very tightly that I pulled up and stopped totally. I was in extreme pain and lost my balance, and fell flat in front of thousands of cheering spectators !! The announcer who was announcing the numbers started shouting my Bib number and by sheer willpower, I tried to get up. I was blocking the other runners who were making their way to the 'chute'.

Another runner stopped by to help me back to my feet, but he let go of me after 10 seconds and I was practically 'legless', my legs were all rubbery and I could not even stand let alone run.

I fell back again on the road, and the announcer and the people were going crazy. I was doing a crazy stand up and fall down routine and runners were passing me and I almost knocked one down. Finally, a quick thinking medic ran to me and together we ran across the finish line which was probably 20m away.

I had slaps on my back and strangers coming up to shake my hand, all I wanted to do was sit down and I sat down with my aching body for 45 minutes and drank about 2 bottles of 100+. I had never felt so awful and relieved after a run in my whole life !

The experience left me so drained and contemplative of my life. I realised that to push beyond one's limits may mean me crossing the divide between life and death. It is a very real scenario, decisions dictate and eventually shape our immediate and future lives. 

Finally when my body recovered, I was able to pull myself up, get my medal and find a taxi home. 

REAL DRAMA. RESPECT THE DISTANCE.

Happy Birthday Papa Geoffrey Abisheganaden.

Geoffrey (London circa 1979) 

Today, 23rd November happens to be my late father, Geoffrey Abisheganaden, birthday. He passed on 15 years ago on 20th Sept 2010, through old age. He lived 91 years, many of these years were very fruitful serving both God and his ministry as well as many organizations in Singapore's nascent years of independence since 1965.

Geoffrey was a devout Anglican and he regularly sang at the St Andrew's Cathedral church choir every Sunday. He was blessed with a deep baritone voice and during his early years, I was told and shown certificates of his oral singing excellence from the UK. He won many a singing competition in the early to mid 50s, where he started studying as a lawyer at the Grays Inn in London.

I believe he was called to the Bar around 1950 or 51, and he had many English friends. An Anglophile, he fondly remembered the UK as his adopted 'motherland' and I always wondered why that country had such a hold on him.

The UK I know now, is a sad reflection of what it was even just 60 to 70 years ago, a pale shadow of its former imperialist ambitions and empire.  

                                                         With an unamed friend. 

During his salad days, I have pictures of him as a young man, (maybe the late 1930s) dressed to the nines (I will post pictures of his 'salad days' soon). My father had many friends, who were very successful, but he also remained loyal to those who did not make it in life, as he treasured friendship without judgement.

As I recall and have data from current and past records, my Papa sat on the board or was President of numerous clubs and societies in Malaya and Singapore, most notably :

1. National University of Singapore Society (1967 - 1970) - President

2. Singapore Bible Society

3. YMCA

4. St Andrew's School and St Andrew's Junior College 

5. St Andrew's Cathedral

6. Singapore Swimming Club (legal advisor)

7. Singapore Cricket Club

His selfless nature, while apparent, did not let him lose sight that the focus of his work was to serve God and give of his talents. This is one trait which I wish to follow soon, as time is of the essence.

                                                A much treasured  1969 family picture 

Happy Birthday to my Papa Geoffrey Abisheganaden !  Forever remembered by your children and grandchildren Noel, Andrew and Hannah. 

May you be blessed in heaven.

You would have been 106 years old today. 

Love, your beloved son. 

  

Goodbye Mr. Liew we had good times and you were a great colleague

 

Liew Hon Nyen and his wife Eileen 

Dinner at End of the World Seafood Restaurant (Telok Bahang, Penang)

Today I say a sad yet respectful farewell to an ex colleague of mine who passed on in Penang on Friday 14th November 2025. 

Liew Hon Nyen was a staff in my previous company called Upstar International back when we did business in the mid 1990s till 2003. When I left the company, and started my current business QRA International, we still maintained contact, and he was instrumental in providing key services support to several companies such as Flextronics Penang and Nidec Penang.

A no nonsense straight shooter, Liew never shirked hard work and always did his level best to support me, through the good times and the bad times. I could not have asked for anything more and he would give no less. A true professional whom I would be happy to recommend his company and services to. The company in Penang the last I know of it is called Upstar  Instruments Sdn Berhad.

He leaves behind his lovely wife Eileen (above) and 2 children. 

                                                  2007 Ingolf's Knipe Pub - Happy Times 

May God grant you Peace, Liew. 

 

Face your greatest fear. Overcome it and Be Free

 

I wrote about this slightly more than 1 year ago. Jim Morrison, of the Doors fame, had so many personal demons with his drugs, sex and rock and roll life had this to say about fear. Such wisdom and at such a young age. He died tragically at 29 from a drug overdose.

Face your ultimate fear. Be it, failure in business, in health, in marital relationships, in humiliation from doing something wrong and getting punished (jail or something equivalent).It is a bitter pill to swallow and understand that at the end of the day, no one cares enough about you to walk in your shoes, with you. You face up to your failures by your own self. 

When you face your fear, accept your fate, and still rise up after each episode. You will have a certain feeling of being free from everything, of everyone's expectations about you.

I am free. Free to think independently of my life, my health and my goals.

I am blessed that I do not have the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Not a single bit. 

There are a number of friends who seemingly seem to be on an endless soujourn of holidays visiting here and there and posting their holiday pictures on Facebook, Instagram. Well good for them. Are they free from their supposed 'golden life' if they can't even put down their phones for more than 5 minutes without taking a selfie about the 'beautiful' cherry blossoms and sushi / sashimi ? 

Like my long runs in the heat of the day at East Coast Park, I play my deepest fears in my head again and again like a record. Then I collect my senses and say to myself. Why the hell do I worry about the What If ?

If the "What If" happens, then I will face it. And overcome, else I face the consequences. 

I will be truly Free.