BQ Korea and GEMS

Last night, 7 of us landed @ Far East Square for dinner. We weren’t at Ling Zhi. We were in for a Korean cuisine experience @ BQ Korea. It was a rather unique experience, I must say.

It wasn’t a vegetarian restaurant, in the first place. However, I was rather impressed by the extent of accommodation the restaurant was willing to make, knowing most of Korean dishes are rather meaty. They actually got into contact with one of us (a day before) to confirm the can-haves and the cannot-haves in vegetarian dishes, for they need to prepare a special sauce and to make sure they got it right.

Yes, my dish was specially prepared. In other words, I was in for a surprise for I don’t know what will be served to me. I always enjoy surprise-elements. Haha.. I learnt that they modified from one of their dishes in the menu (with most vegetables).

I was presented with the savory Bi-Bim-Bahb. What is it (for those who have no idea)?
I shall try …

Bi-Bim-Bahb is one of Korea's most favorite dishes, a delight to the aristocracy and people of all ages. Ten different vegetables and a choice of meat (I got to forgo this) are arranged on steamed rice in a large bowl, with a cooked egg (I choose to forgo this) on top. Hot sauce (this is the magical sauce they specially prepare for me) is served on the side. The choice of meat is chicken, beef, tofu, or shrimp (I got to forgo these).

A Typical Well Presented Bi-Bim-Bahb

The vegetables used are: soy bean sprouts, mung bean sprouts, spinach, cucumber, zuccini, sweet potato stems, leaf lettuce, radish, doraji and carrot. Each vegetable is sliced separately, seasoned separately, and cooked separately. Very low in fat and calories, and light in sodium (good news for the ladies?). The hot sauce is usually uniquely blended with honey, sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic (I got to forgo this), and other spices.

The proper way to eat Bi-Bim-Bahb: Add hot sauce and soy sauce as you desire, pouring it over the top. Use chopsticks (Erps.. I left the chopsticks entirely alone) to mix rice, vegetables, egg and sauce together, then use a spoon to eat . Using a spoon at first to mix, is not recommended, since it breaks the grains of rice and destroys the delicate balance of flavours (So the tasty Bi-Bim-Bahb I have tasted could have been tastier). After mixing lightly with chopsticks, it can then be eaten with a spoon.

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For the extra effort that they are willing to put in just for a single soul, I would say they demonstrated GEMS (Go-the-Extra-Mile-for-Service) really well.

I quote W : It was Friday and love the company!
Haha..

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有一位圣者这么说：

心要放宽一点，不要只看在自己眼前的这一个范围。
当你要做每一件事情、思考每一件事情的时候，你第一个想的，先想想：
我想的这一件事情、我要做的这一件事情，适不适合我，
适合我，那么适不适合别人会不会对别人有所障碍。

如果对别人不会有所障碍，那么对整体来说，对你整个小体而言，
会不会有所障碍会不会变成你小体的缺陷。
如果不会，那大家仅可放心去做，而且可以问心无愧。

但是并不是每个人都可以想得这么多、这么远。
当你无法想到这么多的时候也没关系。
但重要的是 —— 不要只想到自己，还要想到别人。
如果你有为别人着想，你就不会自私；
你不会自私，你就会顾虑到别人的感受。

这是一种互相、共同团体成员每一个人该有的心态和作为。

After Viewing a Simple Clip..

Here is a “powerful” statement on Al Jazeera television.
The woman is Wafa Sultan, an Arab-American psychologist from Los Angeles.
I would suggest watching it ASAP because I don't know how long the link will be active.
http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=nu

I just find her (the speaker) quite amazing to be that firm to discuss something so sensitive.

However, I don’t think I agree with everything she uttered, yet I can quite understand why she felt/feels that way. She sounded learnt, but I somewhat feels she was somehow misled to a certain degree. But who am I to contradict a psychologist? Heh..

I still believe that Islam is a peaceful religion, just that some extremists interpret some texts in a rather fatal way.

It was quoted :
The Prophet of Islam said : “I was ordered to fight the people until they believe in Allah and His Messenger.”
Oh dear…
So do we really see the word “fight” suggesting the physical “fighting” some extremists are used to? I don’t. I choose to see it in a more figurative manner. The path to take to lead someone to see THE WAY, to walk THE WAY is tough. It is tough both for the one who lead and the other being led. There are constant “fightings” or “internal struggles” with oneself, trying and learning to align our thoughts and actions to be in line with THE WAY. At times we “fell down”, it takes much courage to stand up again and continue in THE WAY. This is “fighting”. When someone whom you are leading gives up, you continue to try and encourage him, always thinking of more effective means to lead him to see THE LIGHT. This to me, is also “fighting”.
讲的是永不言败的精神。
似乎也道尽：行道的过程虽然会很辛苦，但是内心依然很甘愿。

Erm.. Actually, we are not even talking about the original text. We are discussing over some translated works. We know full well, translated works lost many shades of the true intended meaning. Haha..

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代数原理：

人 = 吃饭 + 睡觉 + 上班 + 玩,
猪 = 吃饭 + 睡觉,
代入: 人 = 猪 + 上班 + 玩,
即: 人 - 玩 = 猪 + 上班.
结论: 不懂玩的人 = 会上班的猪!

When File Gets Corrupted…

Corrupted – Not in the political sense, but in the IT-sense. I have been working on the file for about a month. Upon opening in the late evening, it said a table within the document was corrupted. I was instructed to convert the table (but there were so many tables in that document) to a text format in order to save the information within the table. In other words, the said-table must go. Again, there were so many tables in that document. Mm..

When I tried, it only got messier and Word closed by itself numerous times and each time it suggested to me to send an error report to MS by clicking a button. Moreover, even the Word-recovered versions were not good, as each recovered versions still seemed to have contained the corrupted table(s).

Cold sweat man! Argg..

Certain thoughts crossed my mind

- Ask for help. Hesitated. Silly me may not even understand the IT lingo used by my IT-savvy pals. I will leave them pulling their hair. Haha..

- Delete the file. It’s not really a very important piece of work anyway. But… if it was gone, a part of me will be gone too. Heh.. Exaggerating. :P But taking this measure will be admitting 100% defeat. Just not my style man. ;)

- Just don’t open the file. So there would not be any problem then. Xiao. Super Ah-Q.

- Try (harder again) to fix it myself. Scary. But at this kind of timing, I think it is the slightly more sensible measure. Mm..

You think I can succeed?

I noticed a pattern. Whenever the cursor rested on top of some tables, the problem recurred. Mm.. I did something silly. I did a cut (from the cursed-document) and paste (to a blessed-document) by skirting around all tables. It actually works. Silly thing works! Yahoo!

Still, doing such maneuvers through more than 60 pages of work left me feeling really dull.

I think I still feel not-too-bad to be able to recover a corrupted file, when even the auto-recovery function failed so miserably. Hehe..

Have I actually learnt the value of doing routine backup? Mm..

Corruption is bad. (The big political big-shots hear that!!)
Left me feeling giddy and silly.

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Is this just a scenic range beside a calm lake?
Do you see what I see?
Click on the picture for a vertical perspective.

Some Stressed *Little Pals..

It is often during this period of time (when A Level Exam is so near), we witness more cases of breaking down. I don’t mean they all started crying and all, just that these *little pals noticeably become very sensitive, rather irritable and far too easily offended.

Let me recall some of the info (their comments about their classmates) directed to me through these *little pals during the past few days…

“all the people’s tails are coming out...”

“they like to play politics and mental warfare...”

“they will get close to you just because they wanna get some info from you.. after they got what they want.. then they turn 180 degrees... ”

“there are still a lot of rumours spreading in the class.. ”

“the relation between me and xx is very strained and I also dunno why.. ”

“I am disappointed that he…”

“I just feel that he is selfish (or replace it with any other negative word)…”


当然，当然…
事出必有因，无风不起浪。
可是就是在这一种非常时刻，这一种事件就特别的多。Mm ...
我倒是怀念他们在过去较轻松的环境里，玩闹在一块儿的情景。

我想安慰这是因为他们的压力倒置。
他们却铁定这是人格上的丑陋造成。Haiz ...
大家无妨乐观一点嘛。
学习宽容多一点也好。

自然，自然…
一起走过艰辛，友情会更坚牢。
也有好一些人，就是在这种非常时刻懂得互相安慰、关心、鼓励，
而将友情酝酿得越来越深厚。

I just hope they concentrate well and be focused on their up-coming examination instead.

来来来 ~ ~大家轻松一下！哈哈。。

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有一位作者这么说：

变化不可怕，
可怕的是在变化中智昏是否能分辨清楚，
是有智慧分别或是随环境而不觉。

Political Unrest...

Politically speaking, lately there are just too much unrest in our neighbouring countries with Thailand and Taiwan being the most obvious. And, further from us, at the Middle East.. erm.. The unrest is of another higher scale.

I must say I know nothing about politics. (This is an understatement!) I am just amazed what people will do to get into power and what people can do while in power and what people are doing just to stay in power. Mm…

Frankly, it can be rather unsettling to see these events going on.
- I thought being up there, the main responsibility is to lead the nation to become safe and right.
- Do they have the citizens in mind / at heart?
- Or they just like being powerful and influential?

Throughout history, we learnt about the changes of eras, dynasties, rulers and what-nots. Moreover, the transitions between the changes were hardly peaceful.
It seems to me, then…
By nature, there is a decadence of quality when time goes by and therefore invoking a change, hopefully changing for the better. And indeed, the starting is often rather impressive.

总言之，国泰民安便是人民最大的福气。

~ ~有的时候人民也有话要说 ~ ~
民声是否就反映了一国的领导风范？

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有一位圣者这么说：

生也有涯，学也无涯，仁为己任，舍我其谁？
要在为成功找方法，不要为失败找理由。

Simple Little Sense of “Satisfaction”

I have not been keeping up with real exercising. The only form of exercise I do is perhaps the climbing up and down of stairs between lessons at different levels. Erm.. Okay, if you were to insist : many “mouth-exercises” too. Yeah. I think I kiss talk too much most of the time.

Hey but today, out of the blue, K and I ran jogged 5.6 km non-stop. Ahem.. Let’s don’t talk about the timing and concentrate on the phrase “non-stop”, okay? Haha.. To an old man me, I do feel a little (not much) sense of satisfaction, considering the fact that I only ran 5 km non-stop (with better timing) during my army daze days.

Just yesterday, I happened to be at around Chinatown area. Remembering what W had said, I made a little detour to get some simple food items. I thought those are great items as gifts and I ended up buying quite a lot. Haha..

Out of approximately 84 pieces in all, I think only 3 ended up in my tummy. And it actually felt nice (and a tinge of satisfaction) to share those items with pals around today. Of course, I understand when comes to food tasting, different people just like different things. I only hope they like them.

A little silly thought rushed through my brain. Would there be one day I could make/cook something nice enough to share with pals around? Haha.. Got to wait long long, I guess.

I have not seen some pals for quite a long time. It is obvious even a simple friendly reply message from them can be rather heart-warming. It is therefore obvious my heart is rather “warm” now. It is just good enough to know they are doing well and coping fine.

~ ~ Completing a Puzzle ~ ~
I think I will be rather satisfied to be able to solve a Rubik's Cube.
满足可以来得那么简单。
它可以只是淡淡的。
但是淡味方能长。

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有一位圣者这么说：

假舟楫者，非为能水。
而决江海假车马者，非为能足而至千里。
顺风而呼，遥听千里，登高而望，而晓天下。
应方法者则易成，万事万物以当其法之。

Read “Sam : A Mother’s Journey of Faith”

Everything begins when Lim discovers that her elder son, Sam, is suffering from a cancer of the lymphatic system…

The physical and emotional struggles were so real. Very human and truly touching at many moments. I would say it’s quite a nice, easy read.

I think there’s something we may learn from the author, the mother. She attributes every twist and turn of events to the perfect timing of God. She is forever thankful whenever things turned out right and favourable; and she is still thankful when things turned out otherwise, for she believes there must be a reason.

Erm.. Okay, if we are not a Christian, we might feel she is over-doing it, in her countless expressions of the greatness of God.
- God is good.
- God is good, so very good.
- God is so faithful.
- God is so merciful.
- God is so gracious, and so on splashes throughout almost every single page.

Don’t get distracted. This only shows the extent of her gratitude and faith. Read on and sense how strong she is, how strong Sam is, and be impressed by the many supports around her.

In the book she expressed anger towards Satan and she rebuked the “evil forces” around her at times. Those reactions were natural, I guess.

However, some silly thoughts ran through my mind when I read about such sections, telling me that perhaps we needn’t be that angry towards Satan or any “evil forces”. (Erm.. I say first hor. I don’t mean to offend anyone or to cast doubt in anyone’s faith. The following are just some wild personal reflections and thoughts. I am also very scared of Satan, okay.)

In the first place, how can we say Lim is so strong? How can we sense her strong faith? There must be evidences. Sure, she had gone through tough times with the physical and emotional traumas, especially the struggles with the “evil forces” - the way she perceived it. So, it is almost directly through those “evil forces” and the satanic influences, we gather she had won the battle and therefore she is strong. Yes? No?

Next, we say the Almighty God creates everything. So certainly Satan is also a creation of His. So Satan must then be once upon a time God’s angel. Yes? No? By some twist of fate, Satan became a “tester” of man’s faith. Scary.

In God’s plan of salvation, I believe Satan is one of His targets since Satan is part of his creation. Yes? No? Ha.. I’m actually thinking of someone saving Satan while I can’t even save myself! Silly me!

Erps.. the topic seems too heavy tonight. Okay, let me show you something lighter.
A God's creation in His "image" :

Random Tale Spinning : 我们明理吗？

Before I rest, let me spin a tale.

There was a talk.
Date : xx/xx/xx
Time : xxxxh to yyyyh
Topic : Filial Piety.

The speaker is very famous and hence the audience was a big orderly crowd. X signed up for the course and he was there punctual. Just like the other, he was very attentive and was pretty impressed with the speaker throughout the talk.

X is the subject that I am going to talk about. Okay, a little bit more information about this man, X. He is a middle-aged man and he has a son Y and he lives with his elderly father, F. Wow. That’s a typical 三代同堂.

During the talk, it was noticed that X was feverishly copying notes (of what the nice and appropriate stuffs the speaker had mentioned). Occasionally, he was talking to himself (and obviously he didn’t mind being heard). At least once, he said, “If boy-boy Y is here to listen to this, how nice! He will then know what’s filial piety is and he will be appreciating me more.”

Apparently, X and Y don’t get along very well. It seems like they can’t communicate meaningfully. So I believe he was copying down the notes so that he could deliver a separate one-to-one lecture to his Y? Haha..

Frankly, he did just that. When he was finally back at home, he couldn’t wait a little longer and dragged brought Y in front of him and lectured him on the materials he had just learnt. He was demanding Y what Y should/must do as a son and he re-iterated how great parents are.

Little did he know, while he was lecturing Y, father F was just nearby listening. F merely shook his head with disappointment. For so many years, F and X hardly talk. And if they occasionally do, X only got louder and louder and F only got softer and softer. Mm…

Did X see himself as a son to F?

Okay my silly tale ends here.

What am I taking about?
『道理』 是给自己受用的，
而不是拿来以教条似的来压迫别人的。
如果 X 先生是标准孝子的话，相信儿子 Y 也会自然的学起来。

『道理』 我们也许听多了，
难道这就表示我们是明理的人吗？想想看。
明理的人会把所谓的 『道理』 实践出来。
明理的人更能体会 『言教』 不如 『身教』 的道理。
X 先生的 『言教』 好象还不错。他的 『身教』 呢？

明理的人
懂得换个角度、设身处地为他人着想。
明理的人
心中没有埋怨、只有包容。
X 先生他 ……

哈哈。。别说他了。
Just look at ourselves. Do we see shadows of Mr X in us (in our actions and thoughts)? Haha.. I got to admit, I do. I am merely reminding myself (not to be like X) while I am writing this.

Attended a Liver Talk

The liver is the body’s chemical factory, converting molecules into simpler or more complex forms as the body requires. For example, nutrients are modified in the liver, then stored there or distributed throughout the body; toxins such as alcohol are broken down into less harmful substances. The liver also produces the digestive juice bile…

In a liver damaged by disease, normal blood flow may become obstructed. This obstruction leads to portal hypertension, in which the pressure is increased in the portal vein, a large vein that carries blood from the digestive tract to the liver. The high pressure forces blood through other smaller veins of the digestive tract. These veins then become distended and fragile and are know as varices. In most cases, varices develop at the lower end of the esophagus. They are prone to rupture, and heavy bleeding from them can be life-threatening. In some cases, varices develop in other areas of the body, such as in the skin over the abdomen and in the rectum…

Imagine having to listen to all these (and much more) in Chinese over 2-and-a-hour hours. “Privileged” is the word. Haha.. The speaker (Dr Li Shi Qi) actually partook Singapore’s first liver transplant operation and is no any ordinary doctor. The other attendees of the talk were mostly practicing Chinese physicians or at least students of some TCM-related courses. I was there, yesterday, with some other pals to 感染 what was like to attend a medical talk. Needless to say, my “standard” (as if there is any..) is the lowest amidst the crowd. Haha.. Nevertheless, I’m pretty impressed. And I think I’d learnt something also (more at the awareness level).

Still ringing in my mind…
一肝、二系、三门、四叶、五韧带。

Of course there are symptoms for liver failure. Erm.. Like :
In milder cases : 肝区疼痛、消化功能紊乱、腹胀、食欲不振、常常很累、等。
In more severe cases : 黄疸、腹水、消化道症状、精神神经症状、等。
But it seems to me that the only way to confirm is through many scans, blood tests or even liver biopsy.

Erps.. I better stop here. Or else my ignorance will be fully exposed.

In any case, I really admire people doing or have done medicine courses or people aspiring to do medicine courses (be it 中医-related or 四医-related).

Don’t play play, with our advancing age, one fine day, we will be lying in front of them, totally at their mercy to restore our health. :o)

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A guy, a Shanghai university student, wanted to express his unfathomable love to his sweetheart. So, what did he do? He gave chocolates to all the girls living in the University student apartments and asked them to turn their lights on or off at 8pm that night.

You don't need to guess his sweetheart's reaction. :)
Hundreds of students came over later to witness this great piece of Art driven by the Greatest Emotion known to Man - 'Love'.

Strange Sighting : Face on Tree

It was reported in various local papers recently… somewhere in M’sia…

- … the roots were cut and taken away by visitors
- … they believe it has healing powers but villagers more concerned with tree's survival
- … more enterprising villagers are selling photographs of the tree for RM2 a copy

The spiritual realm cannot be fully comprehended by us (usual mortal beings). Perhaps it is wiser to leave the tree alone.

And if we wish to really interpret deeper into it, how would we try?

- Besides the 3-D living creatures roaming the planet earth, are there n-D spiritual beings around? What difference does it make to us if there is or if there isn’t any other spiritual beings? Many people seem to believe in the existence of the other realms, but live as if there isn’t.

- Is there a message that “it” intends to transmit to us? Ahem.. Still, message through such channel is a little bit scary?

- Or should we (again) just take it as a once-in-a-million stunt by nature, purely coincidence?

During Hurricane Katrina last year, late August..
Steve Lefemine, an antiabortion activist in Columbia, S.C., was looking at a full-color satellite map of Hurricane Katrina when something in the swirls jumped out at him: the image of an 8-week-old fetus.

During the collapse of Twin Towers, 2001, September..
A demonic face was captured within the thick smoke. Read for yourself here.

Mm…

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有一位圣者这么说：

物腐而后虫生，疑起而后谤进，动摇而后考起，其心也。
乃有八万四千门而生八万四千魔，一念动则万念生，失其道则理义退。
既有妄念浊厚，生死流浪苦海百病起也。

Learning A Bit of Designing..

This can only happen during a boring afternoon, I guess. Heh.. Not that. I was merely planning ahead. The papers from the other colleges shall be streaming in soon. What follows next will be the compilation of the papers into a book.

We need a cover page / book cover then, I thought. “Should I recycle old ideas?” was my next thought. Mm… I was talking to Y and he gave me many ideas, both in design and the necessary IT skills to put the ideas together. I struggled a little and came out with this, using only MS Word.

Not too bad, right? Haha... This is only the second draft. I shall be gathering more inputs. If time permits, further revisions are still possible. ;)

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有一位圣者这么说：

不要等到未来，才有美好的天空，明天开始，就好好的耕耘。

Thoughts, Keeping Me In Check

They were talking about how to celebrate the up-coming festive – mid-autumn festival – the festive of reunion. Plans were drawn. They have great ideas and I think they will be having a good time.

For another set of reasons, I felt a little withdrawn amidst their high spirit. No worries, I wasn’t there to destroy the jovial atmosphere, I merely remained unusually quiet most to the time. Heh.. They carried on merrily anyway.

I recalled just too many events.
- how so many things cannot be the same again.
- how I have declined in will power, instead of escalating.
- how I have let so many people down.
- how I am not doing what I am supposed to be doing.
- how I am doing what I am not supposed to be doing.
- how many things are not progressing and I can’t do anything about them.
- …

Of course, I can always choose to just view things at the bright side and life goes on.

These thoughts are not haunting me, but just keeping me in check. I need them to constantly align my directions accordingly. I only hope I can be timely enough too.

~ ~ 心灯 ~ ~
转眼中间，秋节也快到了。
那时一盏盏的灯笼便会打破夜空的黑。
让我忆起一句佳言：『一灯能照千年暗、一智能灭万年愚』。
希望人们的心灯也能被点亮。

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有一位圣者这么说：

树欲长青根先固，水欲长流源先富，
根断树倒叶难茂，源死流断水难出。

Sound Policy?

The frame of an old pair of my spectacles broke into half. It is the pair that I have been wearing since Dec 2002. Mm.. I like the pair very much for many different reasons. And strangely, for replacement purpose, I somewhat feel that I am also making an effort not to get back the similar design. Contradicing? Yes.. but.. erm..

Anyway, some time back, I got a cash voucher that I could use in Optic Point. I thought this voucher certainly comes in handy this time. I could get a $100 direct cash rebate with that cash voucher. That’s cool, many people might think.

Maybe I approached the wrong branch. Heh.. It has about 12 branches, sounds like a pretty big group. But the collection of design at the branch I went to was simply pathetic.

Okay, fine, went come to design, different things appeal to different people. The shop assistant (optician?) was not pushy, which is a good thing. But he wasn’t very helpful also. I was only looking for something very simple, erm.. so I don’t really mind looking around myself. It is a really small store anyway.

Finally, I picked a very simple one and asked for a quotation if I were to get the lenses done there too. He was prompt. Di-Ti-Di.. A neat number surfaced from the calculator and he showed it to me. Mm.. What?! Such a simple looking pair of spectacle can cost $180 (after discount)! That is to say, the original cost is $280. 黑店 lor.

I was frank to express :
老板这个价钱那里有便宜？
扣到来还不是跟别处的价钱相当。似乎还有一点偏高呢。

His reply was more interesting :
对啊。我们的价钱是跟别处差不多啦。
我们提供这个现金礼券是要吸引顾客先进来参观。

I was thinking (to myself) :
参观什么？货色又不齐全。
打折后的价钱也只不过是与别处相当。好受骗哦。

Erm.. Anyway, we’ve all learnt to be polite and so I politely said “我回去考虑一下吧。谢谢。”.
I know I will not be stepping in again. Mm.. Nothing against the stall or the optician, just find the company’s policy a little weird / not that truthful.

一副眼镜岂是单纯的助视器？
它也是一种简单的装饰物品。

已经戴上心爱眼镜的人儿啊，

是否真的有将这世界看清楚？
是否真的就因此而亮丽起来？

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有一位圣者这么说：

因为你们做不到不逾矩，所以不可以随心所欲。
程度不够而要随心所欲，随后就会走入旁门左道。
迷真逐妄，术流动静有什么好？
奇奇怪怪、真不象真、假不象假，把自己的心放在邪魔歪道上，有好处吗？
变来变去，能变得出天理良心吗？
变东变西，能变得出孝悌忠信吗？

Embedding Video Clips : Learnt !

Yes, I can be that slow. Still, I am quite glad to have learnt something simple.

I came across a video clip @ YouTube that made be laugh. Ha.. So I was thinking how I could share it. Of course, sending the link(s) through email is an option.

But I thought of doing something different. I saw some websites with embedded video(s). Mm.. Maybe I should explore this option. Of course, I could just ask. But it's slightly more satisfying to explore myself first. Silly me, really took quite a long time.

Nevertheless, my attempt wasn't fruitless. :p

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you my first embedded video as follows :

See for ourselves, what bored monkey can do and what fearless tigers cannot do. I just ask myself, is it what we call "taking advantage of the situation"? Haha.. Needless to think so much. Let's just relax a little bit more.

Nevertheless, I recall a very simple analogy :
A single light-weight feather can travel a thousand miles, when blown along by a strong gust of wind.

正所谓，羽毛乘势行千里易。

- - - - - - - - - -



小龟龟造句拿零分。
(1) 难过：我家前面有一条大水沟，很难过去。
(2) 如果：可乐不如果汁营养。
(3) 天真：今天真热。
(4) 十分：妹妹只考了十分，真丢脸。
(5) 从容：我做事都从容易的做起。
(6) 棉被：小玉的卫生棉被偷了。
(7) 便当：弟弟把大便当作每天起床非得做的事。

“Home Coming” Dinner..

The entire college members were there last night. We have to. Erps.. Sound so not-right. Okay, I was glad to be there.

It’s always a good thing to catch up with the *little-pals. Some are happily¹ struggling in the universities and some are already merrily¹ working. Not to forget, I also met up with quite many colleagues who had left the college, but still returned to join us for the night.
[¹ : This will be my wish for them if it does not already represent the current state.]

It’s commendable of them to come and hence directly contribute significantly to the fund-raising effort.

The dinner was pretty fine. And of course, when seated with people we are comfortable with, the conversations were more lively, more interesting. Hehe..

Oh, it was not just a dinner. There were unveiling of our new structure, some displays of our achievements and many items on sales. The items on sales include giraffe soft toy, college t-shirt, college tie, anniversary book, etc. Frankly, I am pretty agreeable with the unveiling event and the displays of achievements, but I’m still quite uncomfortable with the idea of the sales of items during such an event. Ha.. Maybe I simply just lack fore-sight as the various teams did bring in some sales. Looking at how far behind we are from our target, it’s not too surprising that the management’s strategies can only become more and more aggressive.

There were also some stage performance items toward the end. I was approached to present an item also. Difficult to say no. I was so nervous since a day before. Despite an effort to memorize the lyrics throughout the entire afternoon on that day, the mind was near a complete blank when I was on stage. Haha.. Alright, as least I didn’t faint. Must be the power of support given by fellow colleagues and the *little pals around. Thanks! Anyway, the dear technical support forgot to mute the original singer’s vocal and I ended up very much like singing duet with a super star. Haha…
当晚还是农历闰七月。
所以，我可以说是唱过七月歌台了。哈哈。

I am still very amazed by the other performers. They were so natural on stage. I happened to be talking to R who is quite a performer himself. He was there too. He knew I was nervous, but he assured me that usually such nervousness can push one to perform better. Mm.. Ha.. But it's too suffocating for me (.. cold and sweaty palms, more frequent restroom-rushes, increased rate of heart-beat, choky feeling in the throat, more unnatural deep breathing, and so on..). So, I think I shall remain a "bathroom singer". :p

~ ~ 天下无不散之宴席 ~ ~

Eventually we parted.
When will I be seeing them again?
Sure, come tomorrow, I will be seeing many fellow colleagues.
Hope that the ex-colleagues and *little pals will continue to do well.
It’s always good to see them all well and fine.

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庄子云：

“我本不愿生，忽然生于世；我本不愿死，忽然死期至。”

A Little Thought : 我叫金三顺

I remember talking about 《大长今》.
I remember talking about 《医道》.
And now I am attracted to 《我叫金三顺》.
What a strong 韩流 ! And I think I've succumbed to it. 哈哈。。

~ The Leading Actor and Actress ~

The show is pretty funny. Not that kind that will make us laugh our heads out, but enough to sustain the excitment to continue watching.

Take a closer look at the leading actress before I carry on..

~ A Close Up of the Leading Actress ~

She is pretty, isn’t it?
Ha… But most (if not all) of the time, she appeared on scene with no make-up. And there was an effort by the director to make her fat and unattractive.

Nevertheless, I like the show, for some simple reasons like…

(1)
The like the way they converse, especially the conversation between the leading actor and actress.
Some people find their conversation a little childish, a little “unnatural”. I admit that the way they converse is not the usual way we express ourselves. Hence the conversation may seem a little “unnatural”, but to me, it’s a refreshing experience.
When I look at it from another perspective, the way they converse is much like the way we think in our heads.
For the majority of us, we seem to polish our words before any utterance; we don’t speak the way we think. Hence, I find their conversation pretty raw, demonstrating a natural flow of their inner thoughts. In another sense, it’s more real.
Erps.. Am I letting it out, that I think the way they speak? Haha..

(2)
When even the leading actress is portrayed as non-attractive (physically), there needs to be a stronger draw for continual viewing. Right? Haha.. I tell you, the leading actress can be stubborn, very curious, really upright and super strong in her spirit. These attributes of her somewhat make the character appealing (to me).
说到来，也就是她的单纯感动了观众。
说实在的，她真的是相当可爱。:o)

(3)
Okay, for the lady readers (here) and viewers (there). I got your point. The two leading male actors make you drool over them so much. Haha..

~ The Leading Cast ~

I didn’t watch every episode. But if I were to be at home at the screening time, I will not hesitate to put down all things just a have a relaxing, real, laughing time with 《我叫金三顺》.
Oh sure, there are touching moments too. ;-)

(At Least) They Made Me Laugh...

During one of the usual consultations, K asked me a question.

K : What is “mutually inclusive”?
Me : Do you want to think about your question again?
K (she sounded rather insistent by now) : Why not? If we have “mutually exclusive”, we sure have “mutually inclusive”?
Me (since she is so insistent, I must also try) : Erm.. If A and B are "mutually inclusive", then A includes B and B includes A lor. So what you have?

Haha..
I later learnt that she asked that question as she don’t really appreciate the meaning of the word “mutually”. Mm..

Her effort in trying to explore new ground was commendable, anyway.

- - - - -

After a hearty meal, P wished to message D to discuss something related to me. Her fingers must be too fast for her brain… and … remember hor… I was the subject in her mind at that moment. So the intended message for D actually reached me first, instead of D.

The message…
P : Hey ask u.. if wanna buy nanzi something must buy wat? Hmm.. Must thank him lor, for the meal and the ride also.. Haha…

Haha..

Her next messaged to me, after I teased her about it..

P : Haha.. I crazy le? Haha.. Sorry, not asking u, wanna ask D one.. But u wanna tell me I also dun mind. .Aiyo, my face burning hot now.. Haha..

Her thought to give in return was nice enough, anyway.

- - - - - - - - - -

今天又是一个农历七月十五日。
对农历七月，
一般上华人多多少少都会有一些特别的感觉。
好多事都不想在此月份举行。
是敬畏吗？是害怕吗？是盲从吗？

我对农历七月十五日的感觉就应该比你们的还要特殊。
因为，我生于农历七月十四日，当父母隔天把我从医院抱回家的时候，
不只是在家里，就连左邻右舍也在拜拜。还满盛大的哦。
好像都在“庆祝”我的诞生一般。
哈哈。。开玩笑啦。我何德何能。

话说回来，
若你说你怕农历七月，
我倒是更怕今年农历八月。
观察天象，戾气过盛、正气太少，心里总是不安。咳！
八月份，秋意正浓。我真的会有一点担心。

A Short Note : Animal Documentaries..

From watching animal documentaries, we gather more awareness of animals (and their behaviour), and along the way (I think) we somehow also cultivate more respect for animals.

We see that they feel, they respond, they crave for attention/affection, they protect their kinds, they care for their youngs, they long for safety environment, and so on.

Fine. Seemingly, they react based more on instinct and based lesser on rationale. However, we are sure that’s not so much of their “choices” as their brains are not as developed to process more complicated (rationalizing) issues.

I have always enjoyed an episode or two such documentaries now and then. When I viewed it with my folks, I often heard them saying..

“Wa.. This is so cute.”
“Aiyo.. Animals also can be like that.”
“How they managed to get those beautiful shoots? They are so clever.”
“Nanzi, come, come and see this.” (When I happened to just leave the TV set for a while, and they’d caught something too exciting on the screen that they hoped I didn’t miss it.)
and so on…

I wonder if I am right to say this : I see human in animals.
(Sometimes, we see animal in humans. Erps.. )

I believe I am right to say this : The sudden death of Steve Irwin is a great lost not just to Australia, but also to the world for he had taught us so much about animals.

~ Bowing Flamingo ~

I wonder how you would want to interpret this picture? Never mind. For the moment, I wish to interpret as bowing in respect for the great guy. The guy, Steven Irwin, who taught us animals need to be respected, environment needs to be protected.

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有一位圣者这么说：

上天
赐给你们黑暗，便是赐给你们有点灯的荣耀。
赐给你们困厄，便是让你们有升华的机会。

是以圣贤
将绊脚石化作垫脚石，
将危机化为生机，
将悲观改为乐观，
将失望转为希望。

I Didn’t know..

There are so many things I didn’t know. I was told some small things and maybe I shall just put a little record here for remembrance sake.

(a) There is actually a particular store at Katong Shopping Centre (at level 2) devoting itself selling (only) karaoke VCDs and DVDs. I had never seen such a big collection, ranging from real oldies to very contemporaries. Not that I need them. But if someone were to ask, I know where to lead them to.

(b) I am a SingTel subscribe for so long. But only very recently, I learnt that http://www.ideas.singtel.com/ allows us (if you are a singTel Mobile subscriber, I guess) to sent SMS to up to 10 multiple parties. Not just that, and more..
- Recipients can be SingTel Mobile, SingTel Fixed Line, SingTel Paging, M1, StarHub or overseas mobile customers.
- Local SMS sent are part of FREE monthly bundled SMS for applicable price plans.
- Our mobile number will be displayed as the sender.
Oh well, I find this a little useful for sending long messages perhaps. Typing messages using a standard keyboard is still easier for me.

(c) I looked angry and scary, even though I meant to be just a little stern. On my way to the library, I knocked into M. I asked him if he still has any questions to clarify.

He remarked after slight hesitation, “Actually yes, but I don’t dare to consult you.”

He didn’t quite look into my eyes when he said that. My heart sank a little.

Just yesterday late afternoon, we sat down for quiet a long while going through his queries one by one. As time went by, instead of energy waning on my side, I noticed my voice became more packed with power. My tone getting more stern, my eyes blinked less frequent. Was I staring hard at him? I felt that he had not really done enough on his part and the kind of questions he asked quite scary, too fundamental, results that are shouting out loud from lecture notes and tutorials only if he bothers to flip through them.

My intended message was just to let him know that he should do better than that so that subsequent consultations with any tutors can be more fruitful. Yes, he hasn’t got the basics right. But I have forgotten he is rather weak in this subject matter. If he can get the basics right by himself, he wouldn’t be labelled weak and scored that kind of score.

What’s my purpose/duty in the first place? Mm…

Looking that he was still carrying a volume of mathematics preliminary examination questions, I asked him to be seated and went through a few more questions with him, till he voluntarily said he had no more to clarify. After which, I gave him some directions with a gentler tone. I saw him smiling a little and that brought a little consolation on my side.

Is it because I was simply too tired after many rounds of consultations before I met him? Heh.. I know I can do better than that lor.
Is it because I wasn’t feeling that well yesterday? Heh.. Fine. The flu bug seemed to have attacked me mildly. What an excuse?
Is it because I am not his tutor? Heh.. That’s so lame. This is never an issue for me. I know him well enough anyway.

In any case, I hope I can be more patient with everyone. I hope he will continue to consult (any tutors or peers) whenever in doubt.

There will always be things I will never know, or things which I think I know but sadly only at such a superficial level. Ha.. Anyway, we need not know everything. However, I will always be glad to listen to things which you think I should know. I will be most glad that I can learn from your telling/sharing.

- - - - - - - - - -



有一位圣者这么说：

自古的英雄，他们认为这样做是对的，只要是对的，
就会下定决心，将它完成。

讲义气，不管是赴汤蹈火，不管是上刀山下油锅，
一定要完成心中的理想，达到目标，在所不辞。

Part of Funeral Procession...

Sai Gongs or Monks are “indispensable” in many Chinese funeral processions (unless… ). They are the ones that are supposed to lead the way for the departed. They are the ones to make the transition easier for the departed souls.

Someone tried to strike a conversation with a professional Sai Gong and I think it was quite interesting.

A : 你们这一行真不简单。常常要为亡魂引路。等你们自己百岁年后，对这条路应该很熟悉，自己会走，不用别人引路了吧？

SG : 还是要啦。

A : 不过你不是常常……

SG : 那也只不过是照章办事，路怎么走我也不懂。

常常为人引路的人，却不懂得路。
好一个照章办事。

Next, I remember flipping through the scriptures chanted by the Monks during a funeral procession. True enough, they are sutras. But… Sutra teaches what one should do (have to do) during our mortal existence and sometimes gives a graphic description of the other realms. It is not about what one should do (have to do) after we left this world.

『佛经』 便是记载『佛』的所有『经过』。
佛陀就是这样走来才有这一番的伟大圣业与成就。
担心后人不晓，才将心路历程聚集成典，好让后人有个依循，也不至于迷失方向。
可是 …

So, is the chanting more for the departed souls or for the friends and relatives around? Mm… But no one bothers to explain the Sutras to the friends and relatives around leh.

This entry is not meant to put SGs or Monks in a negative light. They have an rather important role to play. In the least, the friends and relatives of the departed souls can feel more at ease. They can feel more 安心 that they have done something which they think is best for their departed beloved.

I am merely using this entry as a lead for us to think about our life, our death and perhaps (if you believe… ) our life after death. I only interpret the observations at a very superficial level, I know. Much is left to your own exploration.
在下才疏学浅，也不过是想抛砖引玉而已。

~ ~ Long Road "Home" ~ ~

Meanwhile…
The Sai Gongs continue to chant..
The Monks continue to chant..
The Pastors / Fathers continue to deliver their sermons..

And please, let’s continue to think and explore…
(At a certain point in time, I think we got to be humble enough to be lead …)

- - - - - - - - - -



有一位圣者这么说：

凡是先从自己做起。
合抱之木，生于毫末。九层之台，起于累土。千里之行，起于足下。
基本能够稳固，宽大的发扬，才可以茂盛。

所以，第一先『克己』。『克己』才能够『复礼』。

脾气、毛病，每一个人都有，但是，气球不吹，就不会膨胀。
事事顺我时，笑口常开；稍有逆我时，气球就要破了。
不『克己』行吗？

I Took a Puff

Yes. I admit. I took a puff. But that was so many years ago. That was when I was only studying primary school. Lower primary, I believe.

I recalled I was staring at the unattended pack of cigarette. No one was at home. The voice “you are still young, you can’t smoke” rang in my ears. I couldn’t comprehend that. I saw so many adults were smoking and it didn’t hurt them. I learnt it was getting more expensive and therefore I interpreted it as something nice, since they were splurging on it much like a necessity to them. Alright, I didn’t like the second-hand smoke. Then why those adults keep smoking? I interpreted it as it must be exotic if we inhaled it first hand.

The coast was clear. The pack of cigarette was staring at me, or rather I was staring at it. The lighter box of matches was around. Magical combination. I decided to test out my hypotheses : “smoking is nice” and “inhaling smoke first hand is exotic”. I took a puff, just a puff. Yuck! I threw away the cigarette almost immediately. That was my first (and last) puff. Of course, I did a pretty job of erasing any evidences of my crime.

I became more curious as to why those adults keep trying something so bad-tasting and pricy. They kept complaining that the cigarettes were getting more and more expensive, but they never really stopped smoking.

When I became slightly older, I gathered enough courage to ask/interview the adults, mostly my relatives who smoke. At least they didn’t shun away from my questioning.

- What do to? I need to smoke to shoo away the mosquitoes.
I thought there were other equivalent means? How about mosquito coil? Maybe bringing around a box of cigarette is much cooler than bringing a box of mosquito coil around. Haha..

- Smoking can keep me warm in cold days.
I thought Singapore is summer throughout the year. How cold can it get? Anyway, I never doubt that smoking can keep one warm. Inhaling hot air what. But I think I prefer just wearing a thicker coat.

- When we work, everyone was smoking, so I picked up smoking.
Maybe it was a kind of status amongst the guys then. Cigarette was quite expensive. So if you had grown and already earning your own money, no one stopped you from smoking as long as you were still capable of bringing money back home.

And all agreed that at first they only thought of giving it a try, but unknowingly they gradually got hooked (for life). The health message never really reached them and when it did, it was “too late”, perhaps. They were so “hooked” and they can be just in plain self-denial. You can tell them how bad smoking is, they can counter the argument by citing which old “chimney friend” of theirs live to such and such a ripe old age.

But the “smoking-is-bad” message only became more aggressive. Heh.. Just look at those grisly pictures printed on every pack of cigarette. Somehow many more people begin to accept the message. They tried to give up smoking. You could see their trembling hands at times. You could see they were struggling to cope with the sudden cut in nicotine intake. Some gave up the effort of trying to quit smoking. Some only gave up because their health had already deteriorated so badly.

~ ~ Smoker's Roof Top ~ ~

Certain cancer association tried to bring across the danger-message of smoking in a rather creative manner. I think it's rather cool.

I see many non-smokers giving the smokers that kind of scornful look. I wonder if we really understand what kind of emotional struggles the smokers are going through? I am referring more to those "deeply-hooked" smokers who really want to quit, but find it just so difficult to do so. Those young punks who voluntarily picked up the habit just for the kick of it or for some kind of identity purpose may not understand this, I guess.

Have you seen some folks who leave their own house just to take a puff outside? Or at least, when they smoke, they will stand by the window side, just to minimize the second hand smoke for their family members. They know it's bad for the family. They know it's also bad for themselves. But they can't help it. How are we showing support to them?

They need support! It's an old habit of theirs that they can't kick. Save that scornful stares. We also have our fair shares of old habits that we can't kick.

Crowding Around the Big House

Just a few hours ago, I attended a wake and I saw...

There were so many people crowding around the big house. They were chatting and at the same time their eyes were dating around as if searching for something. I don’t think they were so into appreciating or scrutinizing the design of the house. They helped each other also. I heard soft murmur, “Have you seen it/them already?”

It was supposed to be a grand house. Not the kind of grand house for you and me, but the grand (paper) house meant for the departed, to be delivered to the other realm through burning. So, those relatives and friends (in grief) of the deceased were actually searching for sets of four digit numbers.

The belief and practice of burning paper worldly items (car, house, maid, aeroplane, cash, attire, TV set, radio … you just name it, you have it.. ) for the deceased has been around for so many years. Besides, the belief that if we give a proper sent-off of the deceased with a sincere heart, the deceased will in return bestow good luck to the friends and relatives. The best immediately way will be through the related sets of four digit numbers during the entire wake.

Such beliefs are so deep-rooted that many people have already accepted it as part of Chinese “culture” or “tradition”. Mm…

Few thoughts ran through my mind.

(1) There must a start point for such practices. Ha. That means those who passed away before the start of such practice must have nothing over there? Then what about the ang mohs who never practise such (burning)? Heh..

(2) Does it mean that poor good man who had left the mortal world will continue to have a hard life over there since his family members will not be financially capable to burn those (expensive) paper items? Heaven forbids..

(3) In the same light, does it mean that rich evil man who had left the mortal world will continue to rule over there since his family members will be financially capable to burn anything and everything? You forbid..

(4) If the deceased brings you riches, are you drawing from his “account” or your “future account”?

Respect the deceased. Yes, I am all for that. Nevertheless, have we think about some of the practices which are wrongly labelled as “culture” or “tradition”?

佛家有云：万般带不走、唯有业随身。
不知读者们体会多少？

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有一位圣者这么说：

以平定巩固理念：在穷途末路的时候，仍然稳如泰山。
以平静修身养心；在凹凸不平的路上，仍然无所畏惧，平步青云一般。
以平安克欲坚志：在猛火战乱中，能够施展蜻蜓点水的功夫。
以平虑而正规正矩：在顺逆的环境中，可以风平浪静的度过。