Flow of Thoughts

My Last Post…

2008-06-08T16:20:00.000+08:00

It’s near to 4 years and I think it’s about time (to stop). :o)

Ha.. I believe you have already realised, I’m also not contributing much lately anyway. There are enough sites out there to keep you entertained and enriched. So… Need not miss my writing at all. :p

I have enough fun of the feel of being a writer-of-anyhow and I certainly have learnt quite bit in the process. Haha.. Thanks for all the readership (from some pals, some *little pals, some other readers – known and unknown, local and overseas). You all are just great, accompanying me and kept me going on writing all these while. And of course, thanks to J for the initial encouragement for me to start a blog. If you remember, you were the one explaining to me what a blog is all about. :o)

I may or may not return to writing-of-any-sort. But even if I do, I don’t think it would be here anymore. Must try something new mah.

Once again, thanks.
Bye-bye..

祝大家身心安康！

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Thank-You Power

2008-06-01T14:15:00.004+08:00

I was in a store browsing something I like. A sales assistance was nearby and she explained the discount that tagged along. I can only thank her.

Oh, I noted another thing I like and it comes in a series. She was kind enough to personally bring me to the other section where the related items are. But sadly, those related items which I was interested in were not sales items. Nevertheless, I have to thank her.

I was left alone to slowly browse through those items, the way I like it for I don't really like to be so closely monitored all the time.

I picked my choices, willing to get those not-on-sales items as well. I walked towards the cashier and along the way I noted that sales assistance was nearby. I detoured a bit and approached her to say "thanks" again.

To my surprise....

She : Hope you like them.

Me : Yes. Sure. I think I like them.

I smile and was ready to leave for the cashier.
Just when my back was turned to her...
She called out : Erm... You wait. You follow me.

I obeyed and I tailed.
She went near the customer service section, scanned something and came out with a piece of printed note.
She passed the note to me and said : You can use this.

It was a 20% discount voucher. Wahoo..

I think she is so cool! :o)

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There were just countless of instances where I get unpublished (not stipulated) discounts by just some simple exchange of smiles and saying "thank you".

No no no... I am not suggesting how infectious or how charming my smiles are, or how powerful are my "thank you-s". I so believe you have your fair shares of discounts that came your way in a surprise manner. Certainly you were behaving very well then. Haha...

所以，
这只是提醒你、我、他。
人的心情若是愉悦的，什么都好商量。
人的行为若是有礼的，什么也有得讲。

再说，
莞尔一笑，你也会有一种自然魅力散发。:o)

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~~ 野花 ~~

是的
幸福就是一朵野花
用自己的生命展示美丽
这就是幸福了

@ Cafe..

2008-06-01T01:10:00.001+08:00

Wa.. I actually got a chance to sign in a café. Quite a break-through for me lor.

It was a music-school event, with all their students and teachers coming together to put up a concert-of-sort in a café. I am not at all related to the music-school, and so I became the so-called guest-singer.

Haha.. I am exaggerating a little lah. Not that glamorous lah.

I know how nervous I can get, and hence it is not likely I will put myself through this voluntarily.

Y enrolled himself in a key-board course some time back and so he is a student in that music-school. He was required to put up an item with the keyboard, but he needed someone to sing to his music, if not… or else… it will be just … erm… rather incomplete.

I was approached.

How to say “no”?
Aiyo… I know I will go through those nervous symptoms all over again.

And indeed, as usual, I was enveloped by nervousness : more frequent visit to the gent, heartbeat hastened, breathing a bit erratic, icy-cold hands, the drink was tasteless before my event but the same drink miraculously became nicer after my event,…

I know we will get through and we did. Haha..

I can imagine Y may approach me again in his next performance.
I can imagine myself in a situation difficult to say “no”. I don’t mind helping a pal of course, but I know I will be so so nervous and may end up affecting his performance.

By the way, listening and watching the other people performing on stage can be rather enjoyable and relaxing, but not when I’m up there myself. Still, putting myself through all these can be really funny, exciting and interesting when I think about it after the event.

So, I think I will continue to say "yes" when approached by friends and when my schedule allows. But I seriously don’t know when I can ever conquer such silly nervous-breakdown. Perhaps never….

Becoming stronger..

2008-05-31T10:15:00.001+08:00

A little pal (S2) asked, “Mr Nanzi, will you be feeling irritated that I keep coming to you for (math) consultation?”

First, I must add that I am quite sure I was not wearing a I-am-so-irritated-expression at that time.

S2's expression was that kind of worrisome.
I know S2 is so stressed up (not just with the subject I am tutoring…)
I know S2 is trying hard (yet not performing…)

S2 aims high… and yet that becomes one of the primarily sources of worries. Mm..

Familiar?

I think we should aim high, as life without aims/purposes can be rather derailing in nature. Ha… I was told so many people can actually feel so lost, so xian, so lifeless during the golden vocation period between semesters.

But coping with our individual’s (high) aims seems to be another issue after all. But please still keep trying…

I believe in trying…
But most importantly, I believe in taking in (bravely) whatever outcome that comes along. To take it (the outcome, however negative) all in with a smile is not easy.
But what else can we do?

「顺」时是喜。我们会不会喜出望外，也容易得意忘形而成…
「逆」时是悲。人人总会是感伤万分，也容易怨天尤人而成…

想想看…
曾经处于「逆镜」的我们，是不是也从中学习了很多？
曾经处于「逆镜」的我们，
是不是更会懂得珍惜曾经被我们视为微不足道的「顺镜」？

使我们变得更坚强的往往是「逆镜」而非「顺镜」。

所以…
顺逆皆恭喜!!

So, I believe S2 will become stronger. :o)

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子离回墨子说：「多讲些话有好处吗？」

墨答子说：
「蛤蟆、青蛙、苍蝇、蚊子、… 不分日夜地鸣叫，
嗡嗡做响个不停，即使是叫得口干舌燥，人们被吵心烦意乱，
有时还会令人怒心横生，杀害它们呢！
但是，那每天为人们报晓的公鸡，
每天准时地在天亮之前长鸣数声，
就能把天下的人都唤醒起来，人们还会感谢它们哩！
因此，多讲话又有什么好处呢？
要紧的是要在适当的时机，讲适当的话啊！」

Just Weird..

2008-05-28T23:55:00.000+08:00

(1)
An retired old man said (not to me, of course) :
I'm different. I am not like the others. If I like someone, I will say it. I tell you. I like you.

Oh well, you may like his frankness.

But how about when you know that this old man is already married? He is still living together with his wife and seemingly always projecting the image of a loving couple. He has a few children, all of which are older than me, I supposed.

Plus…
He is making such statement, declaring his love / affection to another married woman.

This is just weird.

But I guess, it is still nothing new.

In the past, I heard of some flirts proclaiming :
我没有错。
我心中有爱。我可以爱很多人。

Dotz…

心中有爱？
那为什么他们那一种爱反而会带来更多伤害？
人与人之间，应该不只是有男女之间的暧昧吧？

If you don’t find this old man weird enough, then I believe you will find the next girl weird.

(2)
The entire world tries to do their part in helping the victims in the recent China-Sichuan Earthquake. I think the world should.

Amidst all this, a young girl in China broke her silence and commented freely how she felt about the earthquake.

I find the clip weird, disturbing, just-not-right…
It actually provokes angry-of-sort…
I don’t even feel like embedding the clip here…
But I still got to direct you to the clip (or else you wouldn’t understand what I am saying or what I am feeling)…

The clip : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGKFY1yqc0w

Haiz…
Something is just not right…

Fast?

2008-05-25T08:25:00.002+08:00

Fast : as a verb and not as an adjacent.

I choose to eat less(er) : mini fasting.
Light breakfast : some cereal and bread.
Light lunch : just fruits and a few pieces of biscuit.
Normal dinner : most of the times, even asking for less(er) portion.
Avoid supper : unless being jio-ed.

This had been going on for a few months.
Much like I am on a diet? Mm… Not really.
Much like I am hit by the economy? Mm… Haha.

I admit I do feel a bit of hunger from time to time. But I choose to let that wee bit of hunger lingers on.
If our muslim friends can literally fast from morn till dust for a month, then mine is such a small case.
If there are now so many people out there feeling ultimate hunger every minute every second, then mine is not even worth any mention. Indeed, there are so many people now not knowing when their next (proper) meal is going to come by… Haiz..

Oh, no worries, I still like food and enjoy eating very much. :o)
我只是选择让我的小肚子无时无刻都留下一点小空间…
随时能容纳… 容纳…
随时能提醒… 提醒…

I don’t think I’m in any sense feeling weaker. On the contrary, I feel just as good, if not even better. Oh.. On a lighter note : just yesterday morning, I took a walking test and I even broke my personal record, covering 2km well within 14 min. :o)

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有一位圣者这么说：

镜要无尘，才能照出黑白，心要无私，才能明辨是非；
玉要无暇，才能光泽耀人，心要无欲，才能悉通天地。

Back to the wheels…

2008-05-19T13:00:00.001+08:00

Yes! I’m back to the wheels again.
I picked up my pair of in-line skate (which had rested for near to 5 months) and put it on again, and covered near to 20 km in just two days.

那里跌倒就要那里爬起来。
Yes, I glided passed the very spot where I fell (hard).

Nope. I have not fully recovered. In fact, I’m still undergoing treatment and certainly, I don’t think my right hand can support another fall.
Then, why not wait?
我浑身精力总得解放！哈哈。。
Just going slow(er) is always safe. :o)

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画面不一定很美
人物也不一定很美
可从他们专注的表情上
我还是看到了幸福

Strange Feeling of “what I left behind”…

2008-05-18T01:20:00.000+08:00

These days, I have a strange feeling of “what I left behind”…

In 2004, a few months after I returned from Bali, the second bombing occurred right at the place I toured.

In 2006, about a week or so after I left for New Zealand, a rather massive flood occurred right here causing pretty heavy losses and inconvenience. And not too long after I returned from New Zealand, I learnt there were some floods happening over there.

Anyone following this blog may know I landed on Guangzhou and Sichuan just last year. The snowstorm at Guangzhou not too longer and the recent earthquake over at Sichuan very recently… Haiz.. It just feel different to see the land (and the people over there) I had just touched to be so affected and so torn apart.

And thus, the feeling of “what I left behind”…

灾难后的「善后」处理，真不简单。
还好有相当多的善心人士。
希望灾民们，虽然关关难过、还能关关过。

这些年来…
有没有觉得天灾人祸相当多？
难道是因果成熟的加速？你认为呢？

我也在想：灾难真的不能避免吗？
I shall leave the thinking to the individuals…

Anyway, allow me to share with you a bit of “coincidences” …

1 月25 日 : 雪灾 = 天灾 (1 + 2 + 5 = 8)
3 月14 日 : 藏独 = 人祸 (3 + 1 + 4 = 8)
5 月12 日 : 地震 = 地灾 (5 + 1 + 2 = 8)

And,
08 年 08 月 08 日：奥运会！
是巧合吗？

算一算，四川地震发生那天正好是距离北京奥运会还差 88天。

C9-L3

2008-05-10T09:15:00.001+08:00

Strangely, I actually feel refreshing that I'm now officially C9-L3 Permanent.
Oh, that’s one of our army medical status.

就是有一种新鲜感。

This can be translated to :
..... Servicemen not required to take IPPT/RT.
..... Fit for operational duties at Bases only.
..... Not fit for field duties / exercises.

This verdict comes when I haven't even started my reservist yet. Mm..
Oh, not that I'm so looking forward to it, but... I'm just feeling a little different.

就是感觉有一点与众不同。

Somehow, I am now more determined to exercise, although in theory I can eat all I can, even until my figure expanded till beyond recognition. :P

在运动方面，我反而多了一点推动力。

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~ ~ 分享 ~ ~

Letting Off..

2008-05-08T21:15:00.000+08:00

Vg had done wrong. He dragged Jd into his plot. Jd knew it wasn't okay, but found it difficult to say "no" to a friend. So, in theory both are "wrong".

在他们的面前，我没有隐藏我的失望。

If their deed were to be exposed, they could be as good as disappear from their college.

我也不过是实话实说。

I was merely painting the picture of the possible outcomes of their action (or rather an action initiated by Vg, but passively involving Jd). And... it kind of hurt me to see Jd cried. He is already a man of few words, then with tears slowly flowing down his cheeks, we can imagine just how silent the session can be.

《沉默》加上《眼泪》：我会融化。

When asked what should be the appropriate action, Vg suggested to let Jd off, and he shall be the one taking all the responsibility. That was brave. But things never work out in such a way in reality and Jd will never be let off of the "official hook".

I am also in moral dilemma .
我不能默默无声。要不然，他们可能将来会小过不断，而大过接踵而来。
我若是稍微吭声。很显然，他们铁定会被逐出校门外，而没有翻身之机。

左思右想 ...
I actually decided (in my own personal capacity) to let them off.
I know I'm wrong in all “official sense”.
But to see how poor Jd can be implicated in such a way, my heart somewhat softened and I chose to "cover up" for them.
There were a few criterions I specified that I expect them to do (of course).

我为什么要这么做？
我又不是邀功，那么多事干什么？
我一只眼睁、一只眼闭不就相安无事了吗？
我这么做值得吗？
万一我也被牵连呢？

我是在《包容》还是在《纵容》？
若是一味的《包容》也是一种《纵容》...

Since I had already decided doing so,
I have to take it as my responsibility to ensure their growth, I think.
如今，这一件事，
我唯一能得到安慰的便是他们的成长与进步。

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~ ~ Hopeful ~ ~

Another Flat Tyre : Some Lessons Learnt.

2008-05-03T17:30:00.002+08:00

It started from taking a route that otherwise need not be taken. Mm…

Skipping the details of the irrelevance..

I realised the steering-feeling of my car at a carpark seemed so odd. I decided to come down and check. Bingo! I was right. The front right tyre was flat flat flat. Mm…

It was 9pm and I was already quite exhausted from the toll of the day.

Nevertheless, without much hesitation I folded up my sleeves, I emptied my car-boot, took out the spare tyre and the necessary tools… but but.. only to realize my right shoulder hasn’t really regain the power. So how to change the tyre myself??!!

Felt strangled.

Idea struck.

I called ComfortDelgro 24-hr hotline for breakdowns and towing (6553-1111). The operating lady asked if I am a kind of member of whatever. I anyhow hamtam-ed that I am a UDRIVE member (without any idea how relevance that piece of information was), and they said the promotion is still on and therefore they shall sent the mechanics to me free-of-charge.

Felt lucky.

They promised the mechanics shall reach me in 45-min time. That was bearable. I took a book and went to a nearby stall to la-kopi, relaxing. I needed a break. The mechanics reached before 30 min was up.

The mechanics was efficient. All was done by 10pm. After the tyre-switch, he simply took down some details from my self-print-out-udrive-membership-card. (Yes the membership card is a self-print-out-card as the membership is also free mah.)

Looking at the silly thin spare tyre on my M3 gave me a weird and insecure feeling. But it was already 10pm and hence… wait a minute. My concern must be a common one. Or rather, my concern must have all written all over my face. Before the mechanics left, he left me a contact saying a place not too far away provides tyre repair from 8:30am till about 1am everyday, if I was that worried.

I was game for it. I took down the general directions : one end of Balestier Road, near Quality Hotel, near one of the exits of CTE, near Fragrance Hotel, in front of a Chinese temple. I went down immediate after that. Not difficult to find. But the information on Fragrance Hotel was the most misleading as there are many Fragrance Hotels along Balestier Road, one more fragrance than the other perhaps. Haha.. Anyway, that company is Lee Huat Tyre & Battery Co.

The attention was immediate. I learnt that getting the spare tyre patched may cost $10. If the tyre is “un-patchable”, changing the whole tyre is another story.

Not too long after, I was on the road again, feeling good and more secured with 4 proper tyres once again.

Some lessons learnt :

(1) Many tyre designs nowadays usually flatten slowly unless the damage to it is really big. It is suggested to drive in to petrol kiosk to pump up the tyre and then drive to the nearest “rescue” workshop. If the journey to even the nearest “rescue” workshop is also quite far away, we may even consider pumping up the tyre a few times at petrol kiosks along the way.

(2) ComfortDelgro 24-hr hotline for breakdowns and towing coupling with Udrive membership proves useful. Free leh and rather efficient too.

(3) Unearthly hours to driver’s rescue is available (at Balestier Road). Pricing is also rather fair, I think.

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有人说爱情是一杯茶，时间一久就淡了
也有人说爱情更像是一个煲，时间越长越有滋味

Time-Tight..

2008-05-01T09:15:00.002+08:00

Softly uttered into our ears …
我知道大家都很忙碌、时间也很不够用。
可是这是我们的责任，我们还是要做的。

The rest went pretty silence…
We must be thinking of the piles of work (already) awaiting us.

该做的还是要做…

「忙碌」是不是现代人生活的写照？
不管我们从事什么，我们似乎都会相当忙碌。
只好选择要忙碌于什么。
不同的选择将会有不同的「收获」。

Responsibility seems to grow when we grow or when we know more.
长大了就要有所担当。
知道了就要去发挥。
明理的人就有责任。

I believe all of us wish to have more time at hand to fulfill our roles and responsibilities (and wishes, of course) meaningfully.
But…
On the note of equality, I remind myself none of us have a minute more or a minute less per day.

事情总是做不完...
也不一定做得好...
只要还是甘愿的来付出、就那一份心意、就那一份真心...
能接受！

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孩子
他们是落入凡间的精灵
那笑是可以让人忘記烦恼的

The child learnt it from "you"....

2008-04-26T18:45:00.001+08:00

They complained how bad this little boy has changed.

They don't have to say it as I saw it. A lady-friend of the child's mum saw how cute the child was and decided to pick him up. The child was unagreeable and reacted by kicking furiously. A while later, something didn't go the way he would like it to be, and he reacted by hitting others. Heh..

This little boy is not even 3 years old. It didn't matter whether his kicks or his punches were lethal. People present were just quite taken aback how the little child delivered them.

1 said, "This child is already becoming so bad."
2 said, "This is strange. It is not as if his mother never teaches him. In fact, his mother is very strick and is quite a disciplinarian."
1 asked, "What do you mean?"
2 replied, "Whenver the child is in the wrong, his mother will beat him. Sometimes, the mother really beats him hard, and scold and scold and scold. Haha.. The child will then run to his father."

More giggles..

3 added, "With a strict mother still like that? Wa.. I think in no time, he will only become worse and worse. I am so sure, just watch."

I was not really in a chatty mood, yet hearing such conversation taking place in front of me, I just feel like adding a little note, aiming to provoke their thoughts.

Me : I think the child could have learnt it from the adults closest to him.

They almost chorused, "Hey.. How can you say that?"

Me : You see. When the child did wrong, the adult didn't like it, and the adult reacted by spanking him. The possible lesson learnt by the child could be : hit the person if you don't like the things he or she had done. 不爽就打咯.

They went speechless for a while.
I didn't feel like elaborating more. They are seniors and how could I possibly 长篇大论 in front of them. I went on to talk about other things, led them to other conversation and I then I quietly excused myself.

I read from somewhere :
“… children have never been very good at following instructions – but they do exceedingly well when it comes to imitating what the key adults do in their lives...”

Although I will agree how the key adults in our life can play a part in moulding our characters, I can only be thankful for the good (if there's any) in me, but I cannot blame them for the bad in me. For in our growing years, we had (or should) also sharpened our sense of judgement, and mould ourselves accordingly.

A good foundation in the child's earlier growing years is always wonderful and very powerful. Parents with young kid(s)... mm... remind each other. :o)

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我真的有一点累

Big Crosses + Small Ticks ..

2008-04-17T00:05:00.000+08:00

Student M : Mr Nanzi, I got the answers. Why you mark me wrong?
Me : Young lady, when the methods are wrong, all answers however nice-looking are irrelevant.

There was a slight pause as she screened through her scripts.

Student M : Why your crosses are so big and your ticks are so small?
Me : Are you hurt because of this?
Student M : Ya lor.
Me : Okay lah okay lah. Next time I use small crosses and big ticks.

The conversation was held in a classroom in the midst of a lesson, audible enough for everyone to hear. And naturally, it drew much laughter.

Now..
Almost at the end of the day, in the middle of the night, I am thinking…

- It seems that I am too critical at times. Must I be that critical all the time, leaving no space for the others around me to breathe?

- It seems that I have amplified the wrongs and almost nullified the rights. Isn’t the opposite approach more wonderful?

- It seems that everyone, regardless of age, needs simple form of encouragement/motivation. Can’t I be the source of encouragement or motivation?

. . . .

Okay, I shall try working with big-ticks-small-crosses next time. :o)

Being Practical (Of a Child)...

2008-04-15T06:45:00.002+08:00

A young mother was relating to me a conversation she recently had with her precious young son.

It was during a very usual morning. The mother was already nicely dressed and seated herself in front of the mirror getting ready for a face-lift, and her little boy who had just woke up walked near to her and requested...

Very Little Boy (requested in a sad tone) : 妈妈，不要去工作。留下来陪我。

Young Mum : OK lor. 不要去工作。那么，就不可以买玩具了，也没有 Mac Donald.

Very Little Boy (with an insistent tone) : 妈妈，去工作。快一点去工作。

《玩具》是小孩子们生存的主要推动力之一。
我们生存的主要推动力是何？

那一段对白或许会让我们发笑。
小孩子很明确的了解自己要些什么。
我们知道我们要的是什么吗？

我们可能会说那个小孩好现实。
会不会是现实的社会、现实的父母所影响的呢？

What's our driving force?
What we really want?
Is the world we live in being too practical?

Heh.. What am I talking about? Mm...

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If a nice story picks you up, maybe you can try this one : 2 choices.

.

My M3 hits 11.6 km/litre!

2008-04-12T18:35:00.004+08:00

My M3 is really a drinker.

When I first possessed it about 3 years ago, I noticed the fuel consumption rate can never hit 10 km/litre. At times, it could go as low as only 9.0 km/litre. It kind of sounds like I was driving a 2-litre car. Argg…

Last year, I got a device fixed. I had forgotten the name anyway. The rate somewhat improved to always slightly above 10 km/litre. It was good news. The most significant difference I felt was that my car immediately went significantly quieter. A strange sound constantly emitting from the engine which the technician couldn’t fix was immediately solved. I was already quiet satisfied actually.

Oh, at very irregular point in time after the fixture of that device, I realised the rate could improve to above 11 km/litre. The good rate wasn't that consistent. I didn’t know why.

Lately, I noticed a (wonderful) trend. The fuel consumption rate shot up to as high as 11.6 km/litre more regularly.
Technically speaking, I can cover at least 60 km more per full tank.
Most importantly, every ride feels so much more smoother too.

How I achieve that?

Nope. Not my driving technique. No more new devices.

In the past, I had always top up at a certain branch of Mobil/Esso most convenient to me. Lately, I top up at a different branch more regularly. Occasionally, when I still came back to the old branch which I more used to, the fuel consumption rate dropped again. Heh…

I really suspect (for I don’t have the means to confirm) petrol kiosks of the same brand get their petrol from different sources. Or, it could be, at some branches, the petrol is somewhat more pure than the other. Haha..

Another not-too-bad point of topping up at that Upper Thomson branch is …
It is one of the biggest.
The Cheers store is also one of the biggest.
Some (not all, I think) household items within Cheers are priced the same as Fairprice.
But purchasing at Cheers with C-bank Dividend Card can have 5% Rebate. :p

Anyway, it’s just a silly observation of mine. But quiet consistent for the past 1 month liao lor. So, I am now avoiding that Semb. Branch near me and top up along Upper Thomson Road instead. I shall see if the good trend continues.

- - - - - - - - -

I think I quite enjoy the clip below.

Self Portait of Elephant by Elephant

I hope the elephant learnt it through positive reinforcement approach and not through painful punishment.

Really Impressed!

2008-04-11T21:20:00.000+08:00

What are your ideal grades?

~ 51% As…
~ 95% As and Bs…
No one get worse than C …
Besides, this is way above national average…

Wonderful!
I’m talking about PW. Really impressive. :o)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Why can't the rest of the world get along?

An Impressive Old Man.. (Part 2 of 2)

2008-04-06T13:35:00.000+08:00

I have not been writing for so long..
Not that I have run of ideas to write. On the contrary, I am simply overwhelmed by what can be written. I need the discipline and time to pen it down. Ha.. When laziness sets in, we see nothing here lor.

Okay, today let me continue with what I had half-completed some weeks back (here). Although, it was not my personal experiences, I think I really learn from what he had experienced.

- - - - -

The first night in the midst of the Da Han Shan went through not that eventful for T.

(1) At the break of dawn the next day, everyone seemed to be automatically (without any obvious coordination) started packing up and preparing breakfast. Not much conversation actually.

One-by-one, as long as they were ready to move, they set off. Yes, they set off almost non-coordinated and very much at their own pace, so to say. Maybe a little difference between T and the rest of the group would be, everyone seemed to know where would be their next rest point for the night, but not T. Hence, T got to really follow them very closely.

Oh, when I mentioned those people moved at their own pace, I really mean their own professional “pace”. Haha.. They were moving like mountain goats! No one (not even K, K being T’s unofficial guide if we don’t remember) will specially wait for T. Kaoz..

T really had a hard time following them, despite the fact that those mountain guides had other assigned tasks to do along their trails.

(2) When in such situations, will we feel cheated or feel like giving up?

In any case, T chose neither. He observed that those guides moved either individually or in small groups, and they moved at different intervals.

He worked out a plan. At every rest points, he took the initiative to ask about the nature of the trail to be taken for the next stretch and he tried to remember the special features to take note of. Besides, he decided to move out immediately when the first group (or the first person) set off. So, when he lost track of them (of him), he will either continue if the paths were obvious or wait at junctions for the next group (or individual) approaching. While waiting, he took breaks. Cool man.

That’s the spirit!

(3) At times, they got to clear shallow rivers. At times, they got to clear over-waist-height rivers. I shall talk about the former first.

When clearing shallow rivers, getting our shoe and socks soaking wet can be really uncomfortable. So, are we thinking of getting the best water-proof-and-most comfortable shoe for your next such trip? You know what the professionals were wearing? They wore those cheapo rubber boots we saw people wearing in wet markets or hawker centres, probably cost them less than RM10 per pair. You decide. Haha..

Another major problem was the silly blood-sucking leeches.

Undoubtedly, getting attacked by those blood-sucking leeches was so bloody common while crossing rivers (regardless of whether the rivers were knee-deep or waist-deep).

The question is of course “how to get rid of them”? Do remember that dear T had no prior training.. poor T…

Seeing the leeches got so attached to our legs can be really gross enough. How about witnessing it growing bigger and bigger, redder and redder?

By books, force-plucking the leeches out from our body directly seems not to be the option. The way the leeches hook to our body must be rather clever, I guess. When we somehow manage to dislodge it from the leg with our right-hand, that monster gets attach to our right-hand quickly ; naturally, we then use our left-hand to pluck it off from our right-hand. If we successful dislodge it from our right-hand with our left-hand, then that monster gets attached to our left-hand and so on. “Attached” means “bite” lah. More bites means more wounds. Argg… Gross!

But this is not the worst. When T tried plucking off one of the big-fat ones (must have attached itself for so damn long), that wounds continue to bleed non-stop for hours. Okay, the wound need not be big, but the veins must be affected, his blood just kept oozing out, albeit bit by bit, but non-stop!!

Ha.. Please don’t hope for any first-aid box around.

T tended to that worst wound with his t-shirt and spare t-shirts. No bandage what. In no time, most (if not all) of his t-shirts got rather blood-tainted. Yet, the wound just refuse to heal and blood kept oozing out. At the rate that it was going, T worked out that he may died of blood-lost and not exhaustion. So, he approached one of them for consultation.

The natural remedial for non-stop bleeding leech bit : Just get a small piece of tissue paper or toilet paper, tear to size, but a few layers thick and lightly cover the wound with it. Yes, yes, in just a while, the paper will get blood soaked, but just leave it that way, don’t touch it. Amazingly, the pressure works just right, and clogging sets in sooner than expected.

T was saved.

So, how to deal with leeches professionally?

Some suggested using heat. T got a lighter (as he is a smoker). No problem. The idea is to use the lighter, ignite it, bring the flame near the leech carefully (than means near your body also). By theory, the heat should cause harm to the leech and the leech will automatically dislodge itself. In practice, the body of these leech, albeit soft to the touch, seems pretty armoured-like. When T brought the flame near one, the flame was already causing much pain to his own leg, and yet the leech was only slowing dislodging itself. What a torture?!

When T observed how the professionals dealt with the problem, he was quite amazed. No one went by the book.
When attached, they just quickly pluck it off.
But how about the problem of it attaching to their hands.
The trick was that they plucked it off from their legs with their thumb and index finger quickly and forcefully. Just as quickly and forcefully, they rubbed the monster on the nearby rocks (or on any hard surfaces) reducing it to bloody-mince-meat.

Gross, but more effectively. T learnt and followed that.

(4) Crossing deeper river was tougher. It was even life-threatening at one stage.

But, I thought there were ropes facilitating the crossing? I am so wrong. Haha.. The rough rope is usually tied to a strong tree-trunk only at one end of the river side at first. They will let the other end of the rope to flow freely in the river. While during actual river-crossing-trip with green-horns, a guide will take the free end of the rope and walk towards the other end and tie it on another strong tree-trunk across the other side of the river. Only then, the green-horns will make use of the rope as life-line and cross the river. When all had crossed, one end of the rope will again be released and let it flow freely in the river.

But T was travelling with the professional mountain guides. No one used rope to cross. They just cross it by walking carefully directly on the river bed and exposing to the direct currents of the river. It might just be a piece of cake to the professionals, but to T (okay and even to me).. erm… dangerous lor.

T knew the danger, but he had no way of turning back. He chose to follow close to a strong-looking guide. He reminded himself to be extra careful and he took his every step with great care.

Imagine the river bed is full of rocks and sand. Of course, the rocks, being the protruding ones will be slightly more elevated. The sand will be at a much lower level, spreading between the rocks. So, for every step, T looked at the river bed and stepped on the strongest-looking rock so that he could be at slightly higher ground and feeling safer.

He noticed no matter how careful he was, his steps were very shaky. No, he wasn’t shivering. He just felt difficult to balance and he wondered why the others seemed to be moving just as gingerly but every of their steps were so stable. He must be weak, he felt.

At one point, the under current literally swept hard and he lost his footing. Just at that moment, a strong arm reached out for him and picked him up just like a big baby, he recalled. If not, he would be swept away by the current and the consequence would be unimaginable. The strong-looking guide saved him. He was grateful. The idea of crossing with a strong-looking guide nearby was a clever move.

There was a learning point, actually.
Once, T was picked up by the guide, the guide said, “Ah Pek, you step on the sand, not on the rock!”
You see, the rocks, albeit more protruding and make us stood at higher ground are definitely very slippery. The sand is obviously at a lower ground, but when stepped on, our footings are definitely more firm.
I also learnt. :o)

T had not much problem in river-crossing thereafter.

(5) It may be noted, for every night they stopped by pretty near rivers. The guides didn’t survive only on the food they brought. At evening, near their rest point, they went to clean themselves up (bathing by the river) and went fishing. They must be so skilled, they had some fresh fishes for almost every meals.

(6) What happen when the food and fresh-water resources went low? For the later part of the journey, T only had half-cup of milo as breakfast. Portion for dinner was also reduced drastically, sometimes only half a “bowl” of plain rice.

There were some guides who were lazy to cook (or maybe left with nothing to cook), and went pinching (asking for little shares of food) here and there. Ha.. So cooking meals and having small snacks became more and more discreetly done. T had some chocolate in his back-packs, he no longer dare to eat openly. He needed them for survival also (for he can’t cook and can’t fish in the wilderness).

Besides, learning to pick up the courage to drink from river is almost a must. T recalled that the river water wasn’t even clear and clean-looking. Since the rest just drank from it, he just got to do it alike. He was left with no choice actually as his drinking water he brought along cannot sustain him for 8 days. Gradually, he got used to it. He just prayed he will not get sick.

One other thing I must mention. What do you think T’s eating utensils were? Just the night before he set off, T bought an instant-cup-noodle, the type that even provides a plastic spoon. That night, he ate the instant noodle and kept the cup and spoon for his entire journey. The cup was used for his morning milo, evening porridge, or whatever that came by. Haha..

(7) As they gradually proceeded to higher altitude, weather turned cooler, especially at night. I thought luckily (the way I know T), T is hardly afraid of coldness. This part I was quite right. But… it was the monsoon season!

T recalled that on the second or third night, it literally poured. Water seeped into his tent. The water-proofing job wasn’t well done, and he got himself all soaking-wet. From they on, the only pair of trousers his was wearing (yes, he had no other pair to change) and the few t-shirts he was wearing and brought along were never completely dried.

In other words, in the day, he was moving in wetness or dampness. In the night, he was sleeping in wetness or dampness. Plus as the days went by, the night can be so cold. Can you take it? I don’t think I can.

Some nights, because of the dampness or wetness and coldness, T admitted it was so cold, he was shivering and stole only a bit of short-sleep here and there. Yet the next morning, they had to move on as usual.

T only prayed he wouldn’t get sick. He didn’t.
T also prayed that his gout problem will not surface during this trip. It didn’t also.
Somehow, his mental power is so strong. He remained sick-free and his leg pain-free throughout his journey. Mind over body! Heh..

(8) During one night, it poured so heavily that the river nearby, the river they were supposed to cross the next day swell really badly.

No worries, there wasn’t a flood.

The next day, the leader-of-sort, decided that the river was too dangerous to cross and they just had to stay put at their rest point. No kidding, stay put at their rest point the entire day, doing nothing. And so a day-and-night went by boringly.

The next day, the river wasn’t look much tamed. But the same leader-of-sort asked the whole team to make the crossing however. They couldn’t afford to waste more time, T guessed.

In any case, because of the 1-day delay. There was a price to pay also.

(9) On their last morning, it was announced, “today, we must cover about 23 km”.

Er.. I wonder the young army guys remember their 24 km route-march experience? After so many grilling days and nights in the mountain/forest, how was T going to cover 23 km in the forest/mountain?

T may not have a good idea of how long 23 km was, he only tried his best to follow. Apparently his best was not good enough.

At around 2pm, his guide who was actually far in front of him at first, made a detour back to trace for him. Upon seeing T, the guide said, “From now onwards, you must follow my pace, no matter what. If not we will be get caught in the dark. That wouldn’t be very nice.”

Those words came like a stern warning, but T understood the seriousness. T followed his guide obediently. But his guide (and any other guides) move like mountain goats. T got to run after him, literally. He even got to make small jumps here and there as they were many gaps and protruding tree roots and rocks along the way.

T said with a smile when he shared this experience, “For so many years, I didn’t know I could run, not to mention jump.”

With all the brisk-walk, jogging, running, jumping from 2pm....
they managed to reach the end point at around 8pm. No doubt, T was the last to reach. But I think he was/is still the overall winner.

- - - - -

It may be noted, at the end point, they were all formally dismissed and each was making their own way back. At the railway station, T noticed he was again limping. The pain of the gout came back. He found a place to sit, he sat there waiting for his train in his blood-stained and damp t-shirt.

As he was waiting, he recalled...
“It all started as I cannot resist his offer of only RM400.”
“No regrets.”

Wow! For a retired old man to achieve that is indeed quite a feat!
There was a saying : 不爬大汉山非好汉！
看来，他真的是一条好汉！

- - - - -

I am tired just by writing this long-entry.
How am I going to endure that kind of experience, experienced by T?
I admit, I am not that strong.

Forced to be Parted ...

2008-03-26T05:45:00.001+08:00

This (real) story was shared with me some weeks back. It rings in my ears now and so… I thought of writing it down before going to school.

The context is in Taiwan, and the story time-line stretches from about 30 years back till quite recently.

So… About 30 over years ago…
A married couple got together happily and in a few years time they got two baby boys, their ages only a few years apart.

In the boys’ young nurturing years, it may be noted..
Boy A : Very naughty. Caused many troubles at home and in school. Being caught stealing once. Rather rebellious.
Boy B : Very obedient. Study very hard and always get very good results. A model student.

Boy A had given the couple much headache. The couple had no idea how to handle the situation and was feeling quite lost.

有人说…
不懂就问人咯。
不然，也可以问神嘛。

Indeed, the couple approached a medium for explanation (for their child’s bad behaviours) and directions (to overcome the problem).

In brief, the medium said :
你这两个孩子，一个是来报恩的、一个是来讨债的。

And when enquired deeper, the medium refused to make it clear which is which.

So, the interesting couple went back home to observe.
While Boy A got from worse to worst, Boy B got more and more promising by days.

They were quite certain Boy A was the one that came to their family as their son to 讨债. That worried them quite a bit.
And this dear Boy B must be with them to 报恩. Boy B was their pride.

They made an unthinkable decision (but in those olden days, I was told such decision was quite common). What was it? They decided to give Boy A away. Yes, to give their bone-blood-flesh away to someone as a foster-child.

Oh well, the decision was made and Boy A was really given away to another couple (with no son) and literally disappear from their lives.

From then on, the couple’s lives only got happier, no more complaints received, only loads of praises about Boy B kept pouring in.

Many happy years had past.

Boy B continued to grow and later got himself a place in an university doing medical course. Not unexpectedly, he later graduated with flying colours too.

So.. Who says life isn’t a bed of roses??!! (Although roses have torns hor)

There were big plans for Boy B’s future too.

大家只是感觉到什么是前程似锦。
两位老人家也很安慰、感觉很幸福。

But.. just at such wonderful moment, Boy B was diagnosed with a rare illness. Immediate medical attention was needed. The medical expenses were so costly. But never mind, Boy B had got a dream to live okay! The parents sold one of their properties to cover the medical expenses.

Boy B’s condition did not improve and treatments dragged on. The couple needed to sell away some lands and properties they had to pay for the medical charges. But… As the weeks and months went by… the ultimate : the couple got to sell the house they were staying to cope. Downgrading was the only option then.

When their material wealth was thinned till such extent …
Not to mention that their mental conditions were challenged so extensively…
Not to mention how their pride, their hope seemed to be fading right in front of them…
Not to mention..

Okay, let me come back..
Just when blah blah blah…
Boy B passed away.

The old couple was left behind with nothing-ness.
How would they be able to cope with the sorrows and poverty state at such old age??

Just when things seemed so bleak, Boy A came back to them and acknowledged them. Boy A had no grudges that he was once being given away. Boy A took the responsibility to take care of his biological parents unconditionally.

到底谁是来报恩？
而谁又是来讨债？
是我们肉眼凡胎来判断的吗？

Boy B 耗尽父母的家产，而在父母最无助的时候悄悄的离开。同时也把他们两老的毕生希望砸碎。

Boy A 却在父母最无助的时候悄悄的回来。没有计较、没有丝毫埋怨，只有尽心尽力来照顾父母两老，让他们从拾对人生的希望。

- - - - - -

When any two people come together, as family members, as relatives, as friends, as colleagues, as… erm.. anything in fact, yes… even as enemies… and so on.. , there is a reason why.

Let’s call this 缘.

The fact remains 善缘、孽缘 no one knows ; 报恩、讨债 no one knows for sure too.

So how?

Simple.

若是善缘和报恩的话，我们就当珍惜与感恩。
废话！Who don’t know?! Haha…

若是孽缘和讨债的话，我们亦当甘愿与感恩。
废话！Type wrongly right??!! Not really. Let me try..

孽缘也是我们的前世因果。
如果没有甘愿来承受，反而变本加厉，
那么这段孽缘并没有了断。
也就是说来世一定还会在相遇。

如果我们能甘愿来承受，
慢慢的就会自然了断这孽缘。
若有更高的智慧的话，说不定还可以把孽缘变成善缘。

In short, when things aren’t going the way we want it (especially in any human inter-relationships of all sorts), and if the only things we do are merely complain, curse, lament… and hope that things will suddenly become better. Mm.. Rather unlikely, unless…

若要有转机，明理的人要先开始。

TGIF..

2008-03-21T19:50:00.000+08:00

看着电视机、听着收音机 …
都说今天是 Good Friday… 「耶稣受难日」

Few thoughts came to my mind…

耶稣为众所受的难：值得吗？
Mm… I merely asking myself.
Of course, such thought will never cross His mind.
因为，
圣人就是跟着上天的旨意来办事。
只要是上天的旨意，就一定值得。
应该说，就连值不值得也没有衡量过。
因为，
能为上天办事本来就是无比的荣耀，
而那一种使命感就有无穷的推动力。

今天是一个纪念日…
What have we recalled?
What can we feel?
What would we do after that?
If tomorrow is going to be just another day, then what is the purpose of today?

- - - - - - - - - - -

有一位作者这么说：

每个人都会遇到困境，重点是，如何突破困境。
绝处逢生的精神，成就了传奇，
困境，並不可怕，
可怕的是，不懂得突破。

An Impressive Old Man.. (Part 1)

2008-03-19T00:10:00.001+08:00

I think T will admit proudly that he is an old man. He had retired already what..
Yet, recently he had just returned from conquering 大汉山 (Gunong Tahan). It was a grilling 8 day trip.

T talked about how he landed there in the first place. Interestingly amazing, really.

T was just on his way to meet his mother in M’sia. Along the way (in M’sia), he decided to detour a little just to do a bit of sight-seeing (since he has so much time with him).

Little did he know, this detour will give me an experience of a life-time.

In the detour, he first met 3 other Irish tourists in a boat ride. And coincidentally, they also checked in the same dome. The tourists later jio-ed him to join them in caving, since the guide (K) they employed can take four people at a time. So they happily went to see bats and all in caves nearby.

K is certainly a professional one and they get to know him better and better along the way. At one point, K mentioned casually that he has another trip coming up.

T : Where?
K : Gunong Tahan

T got interested. It was one of his many dreams to conquer 大汉山. K made an offer of RM1200 to bring him along. Mm.. That is an official price for a guide, anyway. Further negotiation brought down the price to only RM400.

Let’s get the facts right. T was only carrying a small haversack and a water bottle as his original intention was to visit his mum in M’sia. In that haversack were only some t-shirts and snacks, okay and some books. With that, he said “yes” to conquer 大汉山?! Alright, he added another RM50 to request the guide to prepare the food items needed along the way.

All was agreed..
But wait a minute. T has always got gout problems in his right leg. At times, the pain can be so bad he can’t even walk. And most of the time, he is limping. T was limping a little at the time when the verbal agreement was exchanged.

So.. When T handed him the RM50 to the guide a day before the departure, he added : This RM50 you take it and help me to prepare the food items along the way. If tomorrow, my leg is fine, I will join you and pay up the remaining sum. But if my leg is still painful, I will not be able to join you. You can then just keep the RM50.

The next day, T’s right leg was miraculously perfectly fine. He paid up the balance, and they (only K and T, one super strong, one really old) set off.

I think K is simply too brave liao. But wait till he shared more about his experiences, you will be more impressed with him, I believe.

I shall try to recount a bit. Again, through my silly writing, you can only sense less than 10% of his braveness.

(1) When he reached the starting point of the climb/trek, he had some astonishing findings.

a. The guide brought him to a congregation of a few tens of professional guides, all young and strong waiting at the staring point. So T is .. erm.. undoubted the odd one out, the special one.

b. The season was wrong. No one will ever think of conquering 大汉山 during the monsoon season. There will be so much rains. The rivers will swell. The paths will be slippery. The… alright you could just think about it. Remember few days back, many of us were complaining about the island-wide downpour for so long and so many days. Those were the days T were at 大汉山.

c. That trip was actually specially organized for professional mountain guides (only) from all over M’sia. K was actually reprimanded for bringing T along, because K is not supposed to. Yet K decided to, just to earn some spare cash.

d. There was a special mission for that trip. They carried long thick ropes. They were tasked to secure those ropes strategically to facilitate river crossing and/or steep slope climbing. They will also need to cut thick undergrowth and maybe to also clear the rubbish in the mountains. In other words, it was kind of house-keeping or maintenance trip by the professionals to prepare the routes for future use by tourists during the right season.

Have you already feel how out-of-place T must have felt?

(2) In the beginning, at the first congregation area, they were dispatched in small groups of about 4 to 5 people after a briefing-of-sort. I mean there was only one small speed boat but there were a few tens of people to be transported to another point (through shallow river) where they began the actual climb/trek.

T was dispatched at one of the last few trips.

When the speed boat stopped, they had to all jump down into the water of about knee-depth and they would walk to the dry shore and start they climb/trek immediately. The boat will then leave immediately to pick up the next batch.

T did something he shouldn’t.

When he reached the dry shore, he noticed his shoe and socks were soaking wet, making him very uncomfortable. He sat down to remove his shoe and soaks. He emptied the water in his shoe. He squeezed out the water in his socks. He wore them back and was ready to go. He stood up and realised he was all alone, beside a river, facing a dense forest on the slope of dear 大汉山. No one waited for him. He had no idea which direction they took. He had no idea whether they were splitted. He tried looking for trails left behind, but found none. He tried shouting to alert someone nearby, but got zero response. So technically speaking, he was lost before any actual climb/trek.

He knew he wasn't the last group leaving the first congregation area. But again, there was no guarantee that all the groups will have the same drop-off point.

Yet, he wasn’t really panicked. He noted that the speed boat journey took about 20 minutes along the rather shallow river. Worse come to worst, he just had to walk along the river and to track back the path the speed boat took.

He decided to sit himself on a rock in the middle of the shallow river and eat his snacks, drinking his water, and listening to the sound of nature in the immediately surrounding.

It was after quite a while, he sighted about two people walking nearby, walking slowly on the shallow river. He shouted to them and gladly those two people were also guides who were also in that same mission trip. So T requested to follow them.

According to T, luckily those two guides were really nature lover. They walked leisurely enjoying the peace around. T liked the pace, because that was the kind of pace he could follow. Haha..

At one point in time, one of the guides shouted to another. They seemed to have spotted something interesting.

What can be so interesting to have thrilled even the two experienced guides so much? When one of them pointed in a general direction to T about their finding, T couldn’t even figure out what was going on.

So the three went nearer (with a bit of climbing). They saw the largest and the most smelly flower in the world : Rafflesia.

Wow! The guides admitted that it was also their first time seeing the flower in full bloom. They had only seen them in the bud-stage in the past. Now, that was thrilling enough for anyone, yes, even the experienced mountain guides.

(3) T finally met up with the big group much later. They gathered together at the first rest point for the night. Maybe gathering is quite a wrong word. T said they worked very independently. They didn’t seem to communicate much with each other. They cooked their own meals. But K had to cook for T, since T was his customer. T is the only customer in that trip.

Anyway, usually cooking was only done during breakfast and dinner. For lunch, many survived with small snacks. Alright, some stopped briefly to cook instant noodles for lunch.

The first day/night went on just fine. It was quite an adventure ahead.

I am tired liao..
You must be tired reading such a long entry too..
To be continued..

A Bark for a Bark

2008-03-13T23:45:00.002+08:00

Happen to meet F just last afternoon. I recall quite a funny event.

- - - - - -

We were resting…

Suddenly, 3 wild dogs approached K and F who were sitting together (but I was more than 10 metres away watching). The dogs looked a bit fierce and were barking loudly at K and F while approaching them. The dogs advanced nearer and nearer and continue barking. They were then only about 3 metres away from K and F.

3 dogs barking… Rather loud indeed.

I noticed K appeared a bit stern (but remain seated), or rather more focused as he was staring at the dogs anticipating their next moves. He later told me that he was ever ready to deliver kicks at the dogs if they dare to come any nearer. In any case, the dogs continue to bark at them.

I was wondering then : Do they need my help?

But when the thought crossed my mind, I saw F stood up and got ready to act. I felt a bit more relief. I thought I could learn from F to see how he would handle the situation.

Why?
Because F lived in kampong during his childhood days well up to his teenage-years. Naturally, he would have more experience handling dogs, or even wild dogs. K on the other hand is very much a city person throughout his life.

But.. What F did was.. erm.. beyond my imagination.

He stood up and “bark” at the dogs. OMG! Haha..
On one side, we have 3 dogs barking at K and F ; on the other side, we have F “barking” at the 3 dogs. I know F was trying to scare the dogs away. But I tell you, the scene was so comical. It looked more like he was talking/communicating with the 3 dogs in the dog-language (bark).

And obviously F doesn’t know the dog-language well enough. He only made the dogs confused and barked ever louder. Haha..

I was thinking : Cham lah. What are you doing? Why challenge the (wild) dogs this way? *shake head*

It was then I think I need to go to their assistance.

I just walked calmly (but quite briskly) toward them (the 3 dogs, K and F). But my eyes were fixed firmly on the dogs, without blinking and I was carrying a disapproving look. When I was approaching nearer and nearer, the barks of the dogs got softer and softer. And when I was just about 2 metres away from the dogs, I waved lightly with my hands and they all kept quiet and quickly walked away.

Anyway, ...

(1) We were the one intruding into the dogs' space, I think. You see, we were not the first time there. At that timing, those 3 dogs were often found resting on that spot. That day for some reasons, K and F were resting on the resting spot for those dogs and of course when the dogs came by and saw their favourite resting spot being taken up, they became a bit furious.

(2) Whenever K talks about the event, he will always remember it as 4 dogs barking, not 3.

(3) Ha.. Am I fiercer than the (wild) dogs? :P

- - - - - - - -

有一位圣者这么说：

有形的富贵终必衰败，唯有无形的富贵，才能万古长存。

世人以为有财势则富，有地位则贵，
其实这是后天的富贵，也就是有形的富贵。

圣人以有德学则富，有才智则贵，
这才是先天的富贵，是属于无形的富贵。

所以，凡夫只重于有形，而圣贤这重于无形。

Till Such Extent??

2008-03-13T00:05:00.001+08:00

A stall tucked away at a corner was about to start business.

Someone (L) in front of me ordered : 请给我一包烧饭。

The reply was… erm… you might be surprised.. (highlight the region after the colon if you think you are ready for it) :
对不起，你是第一位客人，不可以要炒饭。
你叫别的好吗？

L : Huh? 为什么？

The reply : 因为。第一位客人要炒饭。等一下通通都要烧饭。

L : Orh.. 你们 Pun-Dang 是吗？

The reply : Err.. 是咯。Mm.. 不然你让后面的先生 (referring to me) 先点菜。那么就可以了。

If I was in my playful mood, I would have ordered “2 packs fried rice please”. Haha..

Dotz…

I don’t get the logic actually.
Isn’t it the same? I mean it’s all business. What’s so wrong about all ordering fried rice? Mm..
Okay, I try to imagine…
If really all are going to order fried rice, that would mean…
- they need to cook unusually more rice..
- the noodle, kuay teow, hor fun they (pre-)prepared will be untouched..
- the (pre-)prepared ingredients for many of their dishes will be untouched too..

Mm..

Fine..
They just hope to earn a decent living, and do not hope any other invincible force to interrupt unnecessarily.

- - - - -

I know many people are superstitious in many ways. But to let it manifested in such an extent puzzled me quite a bit.

Are you superstitious too? :o)

We may do what we don't believe in (at times.. )

2008-03-10T07:25:00.000+08:00

We know "x" is a rather complex concept to grasp (for newbies). Yet many times, I see many people introduce the concept the same way they were being taught.

I asked some fellow colleagues…
“Did you all find "x" a difficult concept to learn?”
“Did you all grasp it immediately the first time that it was introduced to you when you were a student?”

The reply was (of course) expected …
“No. We don't understand during the lecture. We only understand the concept after… blah blah blah… ”

I enquired again…
“Then why are we all still lecturing the same way we were being taught in the past, knowing full well the students are not going to get it anyway?”

I am not saying I have much more effective method or I am more effective in introducing the concept. But since there is now an opportunity of sharing, I thought such is always a good question to keep in mind.

有人说「己所不欲勿施于人」...
相信我们不时都得做一点调整...

- - - - - -

I have heard of too many people complaining about their naggy parents.

I think it is true. Not many people like to be nagged at.
We questioned the logic to nag.
We prefer some private spaces and certainly enjoy as much air of freedom as possible.
We don't quite like to be told what to do and be reminded almost constantly.
We think we know what we are doing.
We think we are mature enough already... and so on...

Interestingly, I live long enough to witness how they themselves grow up to become naggy parents themselves. Haha..

Maybe we don't have to wait till we become parents ourselves to know it.
Just observe how we treat our (much younger) little siblings, maybe we have some clues about it already.

其实，一切都是出于一片爱心与关怀...
那一种苦口婆心、那一种耳提面命 ...
如果有一天忽然间没有了... 如果 ...

- - - - - - - - - -

是不是想出去解放一下那有一点紧绷的心？

Not-so-Pretty Locals...

2008-03-07T02:10:00.000+08:00

I know this time, I shouldn't be here. But.... Suddenly I just feel like writing, writing about anything, just feel like writing anything that comes to my mind....

Imagine : The train (MRT) is very packed. The kind of usual "pack-ness" during peak hour. The seats are all occupied and of course there are many people standing.

Not difficult to imagine right?

Alright..

It was under that kind of scenario when a very pregnant woman (much like going to delivery anytime kind) and a very old Ah Mah (easily above 70 year-old) walked into one of the train cabinets. They stood almost side by side, while the stronger and younger ones sat very still in their seats ignoring their presence.

A while later... okay, finally one person that was sitting stood up. We may think he was taking the lead to demonstrate good civic-mindedness to give up his seat to the very pregnant woman and hopefully another will follow what he had done and gave up his or her seat to the very old Ah Mah. But not really. He stood up and walked to the nearest door because he was preparing to alight at the next station.

Then, there was only one seat right in front. How?

Pregnant Women to Old Ah Mah : Come, let you sit.

Old Ah Mah to Pregnant Women : No need lah. Thank you. You are so pregnant. You need it more than me. You sit. You sit.

Pregnant Women to Old Ah Mah : I am okay. I am so used to standing. Ah Mah, never mind you sit.

This "give-the-other-more-deserving-person-your-seat" play went on for quite a while.

Eventually, 姜还是老的辣 ...
The Pregnant Women "lost" and took the seat. Haha..

But.. but..
What made me feel very uncomfortable was that the play was unfolded in full view to all the people in the entire train cabinet. Those seemingly stronger and younger passengers merely sat still and stared at (with full alertness) how those two women were trying to give up their opportunity. Heh.. Now. Jus twho is really stronger and who is truly younger?!

The only good thing was : 鹬蚌相争、渔翁得利之事没有发生。

I know everyone is tired.
But it only takes a wee bit of common sense to understand there are people who need the seats more than we do. Maybe it takes more than common sense? Heh..

It wasn't a pretty sight.
What can we then conclude on the locals? Mm..

~ ~ She and her Shadow ~ ~

我们能不能从我们的一举一动来看到我们的影子？
看到可取的，是否有想来进一步的加强？
看到不良的，是否会想办法来痛改前非？

Okay, good ~~night~~ morning. :o)

Fallen Dead

2008-03-02T00:10:00.001+08:00

It could be me, but not me .. erm.. at the moment.

I was careless that my phone slipped from my hand and fell onto the hard ground. The fall was just about from knee-cap height and yet.. haiz.. the entire screen when fuzzy and eventually went blank.

While the phone was in the screen-blank state, I still left it in the ON mode. I could still hear some messages streamed in. Of course, I couldn’t figure out the messages or whoever the messagers were. I could still make calls if I know the number. But… nowadays, just whose number we remember by heart?

With the screen gone, I figured the phone was as good as dead. I switched off the phone. Ha.. Just hope those messages that streamed in were not of urgent basis.

The SE K770i phone is just too delicate. Unbelievably so! Argg…

Will I also go through those horrible experiences of servicing hand phones, that I heard from friends or learnt from forums?

So..
My phone has “given way”..
My shoulder ~~has~~ had “given way”..
My throat is that sore and is somewhat much like “given way”.
My.. erm… What’s next man? Heh..

- - - - - - -

Things don’t seem right..
I can be that disappointing..
很想化为微尘
隐于世界的小角落
不是逃避
而是修复
好让能继续走完前面的路 ...

Please! Don’t study that hard…

2008-02-23T21:30:00.001+08:00

When did I last write? I have lost the momentum, I guess. Heh..

L studied for a test...
His mind went blank during the test...
He scribbled whatever that came to his mind, making his scripts looked more like scraps of rough papers...
当时，他的内心一定很慌 …

His tutor (T) commented about him, in front of his whole class during a tutorial lesson, almost immediately after the test : L what happen to you? You merely submitted some rough papers.
T 一定是在想：你到底在搞什么鬼？？！！

I am quite sure T’s tone wasn’t too harsh. Still, the comment must have hurt L more.
无意的伤害也是伤害...

T hesitated to probe further when he noticed that L seemed to be feeling very bad. L actually tried to explain, but no words came out of his mouth, only some simple random hand-gestures almost implying “I also don’t know why”. He must have felt horrible, stressed out and very reproachful of himself because of his poor performance.

T can only generally tell the entire class to continue to work hard. L was then left alone... and the intended lesson continued...

But…

That night, L thought of calling T to explain (although T never demanded an explanation), but he cut off the line just during the first ring, leaving no missed-call-message on T’s phone.

L then requested his mother to call T to explain on his behalf instead...
请你帮我跟老师解释…

But while he was making the request, he broke down and cried, only making his parents more worried...

His parents observed that he also behaved strangely thereafter and pulled him off from college for the next two days, and also to seek medical attention.

T can’t help but ask himself : Did I trigger it? Mm...

T really misses the usual smile on L's face ...

I always wish these *little pals will study very hard. So it’s kind of weird for me to say, “Please don’t study that hard…”
But that’s my conclusion in such context. Mm...

- - - - - - - - - -

~ ~ Wrong Way ~ ~
We have to be on our way.
But it's dangerous to be on the wrong way.

Just small talks ...

2008-02-17T18:00:00.000+08:00

G really studies very hard. His learning attitude is solid. He makes it a point to make appointments with his tutors to clarify his doubts.

Many times, the longer I sat with him during consultations, the more worried I became. I was worried because of the kind of questions he asked. The kind of questions he often asked during tutorial sessions would often (if not always) make almost all (if not all) his classmates "turn-head", wondering why such questions can be asked in the first place. Mm..

Even his classmates were asking (me) : Mr Nanzi, how come G studies so hard, asked so many questions, but still failing all the time.

Let's be positive... he has an inquiring mind...

Lately, G talks :

Mr Nanzi, how you study? You were a student before. I believe you must know the answer well.. I mean I have problem concentrating. I study very hard, but still keep failing..

Sometimes, it is so frustrating. It feels very much like the whole world is tumbling down on me. It also feels bad when the people around me seem to be always getting it so fast, but I…

I always believe that if I were to persevere on. I will certainly certainly get it in the end. So I wish to find the correct methods, so that I can eventually excel.

- - - - - -

Here we have a young man with an aspiring mind. That's for sure.

I got to admit, before I know him better, I thought this G is trying to be funny and not doing his part of revising the basic of basics. On a few occassions, I even raised my voice in order to make my point clearer to him that I was not quite in favour of his attitude, before I knew that he was already trying so hard.

I got softened when he talked to me in one of our earlier conversations :

Mr Nanzi, I know you are worried about me. But not to worry. I will try very hard and I will make you proud of me one day.

You know, just like in my Secondary School days, my grades weren't good. But I studied very hard and now I made it into JC. My teachers said only about top 20% to 25% make it into JC. So I had make it once to prove it that I can be good.

This time round, I will certainly make it again.

- - - - -

He is that determined. That's very certain.

I don't have answers to all his questions as to how to improve.. blah blah blah.. He has some learning difficulties I just couldn't specifically identify.

I just learnt that I got to have more patience (with him) than I think I already have.

As long as he is not giving up, there is hope.

I can only encourage him to seek consultation more frequently to clarify his doubts of the subjects he is studying. I just have to make a conscious effort to give him more attention.

Many times, it is through such simple small talks with these *little pals that I learn...
I hope I'm really learning...

很多人想飞得高、看得远

己力不足而借用他力，何尝不可

- - - - - -

有一位作者这么说：

《智慧来自烦恼》

春蚕吐丝 - 猜一成语

看到了只是看到
听到了只是听到
不要产生好恶

因为心里有了好恶的分别
就会有所执著

喜爱的就想占有
讨厌的就会排斥
患得患失，烦恼就来了

错把无常当做永恒
不希望接受无常的事实
烦恼就会出现

事情发生了
能够处理的就处理
不能处理的就接受

然后暂且放下来
待因缘际会时再处理
这就是智慧

时时观察自己微细的念头
不要被自己蒙蔽

烦恼来时、不要害怕、不要讨厌、让它烦去
自己不烦、久而久之、烦恼会愈来愈少

遇到烦恼、要面对它
接受它、处理它、放下它

有烦恼的时候
不要把它当成困扰，就没有烦恼

不论外在的境界如何变化
情绪都不会受到牵动
那么，就可以断除烦恼了

如感觉到有烦恼、有问题、先检讨自己
不责怪他人、埋怨环境、烦恼是自己的

当自己发现起烦恼时
要感谢使你产生烦恼的人、事、物
因为，他们是在帮助你修行

外在的帮助、只能暂时解决自己的问题
而不能穿透问题的根源、真正解决问题

唯一有效方法、就是仰赖自己
透过修行、来解决自己的问题

不自找烦恼，就是智慧
智慧生於烦恼而用於烦恼

烦恼既是菩提

谜底 – 作茧自缚

My Date on 14th Feb..

2008-02-16T09:30:00.000+08:00

Since so many sites were talking about their dates on 14th Feb, I think I shall also try to write a little bit about my date on 14th Feb.

It started with D initiating about 2 weeks ago : Do you have a date on 14th Feb?

I replied : No.

Without much hesitation, D added : Can we have an appointment on that day, evening time.

Wow! Yes! Of course! Certainly! Why not?

I stayed composed and I only said : Sure.

Things were set and I was only hoping 14th Feb could come sooner. So it finally came.

Ha.. I was rather excited. I actually went much earlier.

The details … erps… I don’t think I’m good at writing such. Haha.. But maybe I can still jot down a few memorable bits and pieces.

1. The chosen venue was very clean. Not too crowded. Peaceful ambience.

2. The lighting a little too strong. I mean it was very bright. So bright I can see D and the surrounding so clearly. Ha.. Actually, it was much to my liking.

3. Simple chat followed and it was suggested that I should change to something lighter for the next activity. Wa.. Everything was already so well-prepared for me. Impressed.

4. I was next lead to.. erm.. lead to a room. The furnishing in the room was simple and neat. It seemed that the main attraction in the room was the bed. The bed was new, big and clean. I bounced on it. Wa.. Very comfortable, much comfortable than my own bed.

5. Looking at D was comforting and reassuring. I can still imagine D’s delicate and precise touch.

6. One event leads to another naturally, expending much of my energy. Details censored.

.
.
.
.
.
Haha..
Before your imagination runs any wilder.. ahem..
D is my doctor.
The venue is TTSH.
The appointment is meant for my scheduled surgical procedure for my right shoulder.

The bed I was talking about was really new, bigger, very comfortable and pretty advanced. It was newly acquired by the hospital in January this year. The controls (of adjusting different parts of the bed) are done by simple pressing of buttons that I can also reach while I was lying down. The sides of the bed is not those familiar iron bars, but are those materials common to vehicle’s dashboard. Beige colour somemore, and it reminds me of my Mazda. There are only about 10 in the Day Surgery Centre and I was lying on one. Privileged right?

I must say the nurses and doctors are all very professional. They will try all means to be reassuring and try to calm us down. But one funny one was puzzled and asked me : "How come you appear so calm?" Haha.. Actually, I was already rather calm well before they started their calming and reassuring tactics. So that nurse must have felt a little awkward as to what else to do, I guess. Haha..

There were so many rounds (at least 4) of verbal verification, asking for my name, IC number, why I was there for, which part in particular to be operated on,… etc.. just to make sure I am the right one to be operated on.

Even the operating theatre looks like a normal room, a room with stronger lightings and with many different types of equipment.

The anesthetist came and he said : This will make you very sleepy.
I think I said with my eyes half-closed : Yes, I am already feeling very sleepy.

I lost all signals and awareness.

When I was awaked again, all done liao, without feeling a thing! But the effects of the anesthesia were still there, and I must say they weren’t pleasant at all. From then on, it was just sleep and eat (food and medicine) and change of ice-cold gel packs (placed around the operated area to lessen the effect of swelling) till the next day.

I must also mention the staffs are really friendly and they really make effort to make you feel as comfortable as possible.

For a few times, I made the nurses panic a bit and felt a little lost. No no no. Not that I was being naughty and uncooperative and all. They noticed my blood pressure plunged a little too much whenever I just wake up. My high-reading can be just your low-reading, if you get what I mean. Haha.. But they were puzzled and amazed why I could be still so alert and can engage in logical conversation with them. They only suspected the machine could be spoilt. Haha.. Each time, I took some deep breaths, took a cup of milo, and the blood pressure immediately stabilized to normal. Maybe that’s just my system.

The only thing I don’t quite like is the discharging part. The waiting time is.. erm.. too long. They were clearly under-staff. I must wait for the doctor to come and see that I’m okay. I must wait for the physiotherapist to come and teach me some exercises to strengthen my weaken parts. I must also wait for the next available nurse to give me a discharging briefing. I must still go to the pharmacy to queue again for medicine.

- - - - -

Now I’m feeling much better. Thanks for all the well-wishes from everyone.

Although I’m given 2 weeks of hospital leave, I don’t think I need it. Ha.. I am already going places as per normal. How can I imagine myself staying at home with a full alert mind and still bouncing around, and yet let my fellow colleagues who are already very busy to cover my workload? You see, after uploading this, I’m even thinking of going shopping around. :o)

In 2 weeks’ time, I shall be able to regain much power back. :o)

- - - - - - - - - -

~ ~ 就是觉得它们超可爱 ~ ~

Bare My Teeth..

2008-02-10T07:45:00.000+08:00

Many people don’t believe that I actually consulted an orthodontist and get my teeth set till my present “teeth-condition”.

“Your teeth very crooked in the past meh?” …
“I thought your teeth were all along quite straight?”

They were particularly surprised when I said I only got it done not too long ago (a few years back).

“Huh?... Why so old then… ?”
“So old still can meh?”

- - - - - -

Haha…

So… The $4k (appro.) spent… Mm…

I laid my hands on the moulds of my teeth before and after (the 2-year-long process). Let the pictures speak for themselves.

Before 1 : Before 2 : Before 3

(Click on the hyperlinks above for the before-pictures. Warning : rather unpleasant view, viewers' discretion is advised.)

~ ~ ~ After-Picture : NOW ~ ~ ~

Not 100% perfect, but I think I can feel the differences.

- - - - - - - - - -

人，一般上会相当用心的在自己的外表上「整修门面」。

我们是否也会同样的用心在我们自己的内在「整修」一番呢？
也就是说在我们的内涵修养上用功夫 ...

- - - - - - - - - -

小故事 ...

东汉和帝年间，杨震被大将军邓骘举茂才，四次升调荆州刺史和东莱太守。

当他去东莱郡上任，路过昌邑县，过去曾受杨震在荆州刺史任上荐举的王密，做了昌邑县令，便来拜见杨震。

晚上还揣着十斤黄金要送给杨震。

杨震说:“我作为老友，是了解你的；你却实在不了解我，这是干什么呀？”

王密说:“黑夜里，没有人会知道的。”

杨震说:“天能知道，神能知道；我知道，你也知道，怎么说没有人知道呢？”

王密听了，非常惭愧地退了出来。

CNY : Visiting Relatives …

2008-02-08T09:30:00.000+08:00

Of course, they are many aspects of CNY. Maybe today, I just write a little bit about visiting relatives during CNY.

Relatives, like branches of a family, are supposed (could be) the ones who can help us unconditionally in times of need. It’s miraculous (maybe difficult to fully comprehend) that just such blood-link can draw such power.

Yet, I heard too many (gladly, not all) people (especially the teens, even the younger adults, okay even many older adults) complaining (verbal or in writing) about how meaningless it is to visit relatives during CNY.

These people who dislike it have their reasons.
- Only see these relatives once a year.
- Don’t feel connected.
- They asked the same questions every year.
- Boring to be around so many people you hardly know well enough.
- Could use the time for other more interesting things.
- Feels bound by senseless traditions.
- and so on..

Mm… Some thoughts came to my mind.

(1) Who are the ones limiting to the number of visits in order to know our relatives better? Probably ourselves. Of course, we have reasons for not visiting. We are all so busy working for bread and butter, and sometimes even neglect the people staying under the same roof as us. Heh… So, if we regard them as relatives that we should know better, maybe we should take initiative to make time for visit, not just during CNY, but anytime.

(2) Maybe many people feel they don’t need the relatives for assistance anyway, and so the drifting apart doesn’t really bother them that much. It’s cold, isn’t it? Mm.. Do human comes together on the “need” basis?

(3) The feeling of non-connectedness… the feeling of boredom around relatives. Oh well, this I can’t say much, especially when the chemistry is already waning. But for sure, if nothing is done, or nothing happens, it can only fade away even more. Haha.. I always think that how interesting any meeting could turn out, we can play an active part. In other words, if the meeting turns out boring, maybe we are the boring ones.

(4) Traditions are around for some reasons. I would agree some are senseless, or rather no longer appropriate in our time. Sometimes, I even like to challenge that our people were surviving just as well before any particular tradition was set. Plus, people without our tradition are also surviving just as well now. Haha.. Of course, tradition goes beyond “surviving well”. Maybe, it’s also a kind of identity we like to keep and call ourselves Chinese, Malay or Indian accordingly. Visiting relatives is well practiced amongst all religions and races of mankind. The interesting thing is : if we don’t bother to even visit during festive seasons, maybe we wouldn’t during any other time also.

(5), (6), (7), ...

- - - - -

Beside visiting relatives, another good thing would be visiting friends. :o)

I'm writing too much already. I know it's boring writing too. Haha..

Nonetheless, hope you all have a great rat year ahead. :o)

Self-Restraint (for me)?

2008-02-04T21:15:00.000+08:00

K made an irresistable offer.
I like it (and used to yearn for it in the past).

I said "thank you", but politely declined.

Somehow, I learn what I like may not result in the best outcome for everyone.

I still like it and appreciate K's kind offer deeply, and it was that little self-restraint keeping me at bay, for the good of everyone, I think. Haha...

心中或许有不少的「想要」
我在瓜分为「可不可以要」和「应不应该要」。
就算机会现前...
我希望我还可以理智多一点点。 :o)

- - - - - - - - - -

有一位圣者这么说：

人必须有自尊。
自尊心是成就圣贤不可缺少的要素。

自尊则能自敬，自敬则能自重，自重则能自爱。

自尊必不自卑，自敬必不自贱；
自重必不自暴，自爱必不自弃。

能庄重，能庄严，能肃敬。
不苟且，不散漫，自可威光照人。

Big Chill..

2008-02-02T17:25:00.000+08:00

I had been following a few articles on the “big chill” over at China now. Somehow there is a chilling effect up my spine. It feels particularly different, especially when region I’d visited not too ago was mentioned.

- Why so cold? ..
- Why the country? ..
- Why now, nearing the festive? ..
- Why being caught so unprepared? ..
- Why a few more countries are also added to the list of extreme coldness and wetness? ..
- Why on recent years, there are so many natural disasters around the world that are reported as “这是 xx 年来最严重的 … blah blah blah … ” ??

若说事出必有因，那这是什么因？
若说异常大的风霜雪雨是哀的表现，那天地为何而哀？

还真担心这些只不过是前奏 …

- - - - - - -

在大自然的面前，人类是如此脆弱...

回乡的路冷冰冰，滋味铁定不好受...

- - - - - - - - -

有一位圣者这么说：

自己的行为，自己要负责；要求别人，自己先要做到。
先己则能率人，律己则能服人。
量宽则能得人，有德则能聚人。

Right Shoulder “Verdict”

2008-01-31T22:50:00.000+08:00

Interpreting a series of the MRI scan of my right shoulder recently …

There is a comminuted fracture at the anatomical neck of the right humerus. Separate fracture fragments are identified at the greater tuberosity. These are associated with prominent hyperintense bone oedema on IR scans.

The inferior gleno-humeral ligament is thickened. Suggestion of disruptions at the cartiliginuous labrum, anteriorly and posteriorly at their mid-portions.

A joint effusion is evident, located in the axillary pouch. A couple more lobulated fluid collections are observed adjacent to it, inferior to the scapula neck, suggestion paralababral ganglion. In addition, there is a sliver of fluid in the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa.

. . . . and so on . . .

- - - - - - -

The doctor gave his advice in a rather personal tone : If this is my shoulder, I would … go for an operation to get it fixed.

Kaoz.. I don’t like the word “operation”.

He proceeded on with the details of how it would be done in surgical terms.

Of course, he elaborated that I could opt to let it heal naturally, which will take much longer and not without ill effects (which frankly speaking, I must agree with him because I’m already experiencing those effects a little bit).

I opted in, although I don’t like it. I got to face it. Ha.. I can’t wait to get it healed fast enough so that I can .. erm… do whatever in full might again. :o)

So, soon enough I shall get myself cut and fixed. With the advancement of technologies, I was told it is going to be just two small openings, cut and sealed within 2 hours while I am forced-to-sleep.

Strange. I am actually looking forward to it, although I don’t like it. Why? I think it’s because I am looking forward to my full recovery much much more. If the surgical procedure is a hurdle I got to clear first (before my full recovery), I guess I got to clear it willingly and happily. :o)

~ ~ Leaping with Joy ~ ~

I hope to be able to leap with joy with all limps swinging freely too.

So Doc, I am leaving it to you.

Interestingly, I was later referred to a Pre-Admission Counselling & Evaluation section. And this is the place more scary than the operation theatre. This is the place I was told that my surgical procedure will cost approximately $10680 (and it will cost more if I were to be warded immediately after it). *Faint*

What are the means to gather such fund in general?

A conversation with someone yesterday crossed my mind.
Someone : Nanzi, your room phone number, last 4 numbers, come out first prize leh.
Me : Wa.. Really? Good man!
Someone : How much you win?
Me : My winning? Erm.. As much as my stake.
Someone : Huh? What you talking?
Me : Oh. My stake = $0. My winning = $0. So My winning equals my stake lor.

Hahaha ..

Okay, come back to the main topic. Hospital bills are worryingly high in general. I also don’t know what to say. You see insurances important or not?!

Different, but not weird...

2008-01-27T09:30:00.000+08:00

I saw Da pretty much in a daze. Maybe he was just disinterested in doing anything, but he still tried. At least he was there when his class is supposed to be there to prepare for a college event.

But just after we acknowledged each other presence…

Da was saying : My CT wants to counsel me, Ms A wants to counsel me, Mr G wants to council me, the school counsellor wants to counsel me, and so on. You also want to counsel me?

Not that he is looking forward to listen to me and think I can be a better counsellor, but he knows one more is not going to make a difference but may make the picture complete (complete as in all his teachers want to counsel him).

He was also commenting : Actually, I also know what they will be saying. What they will be saying is always so standard. Always must like this and always must like that. They think they are experienced and can understand people or me very well. But the fact is they don’t, not at all.

"Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into flame by an encounter with another human being"

Mm… We were told that teachers are front-line counsellors. Maybe that’s why all his teachers want to counsel him. But we were not really well-trained enough. Okay, to put it more fairly, we were given a 9-hour training programme spread over 3 weeks. Does that make us a counsellor? Oh well, a little bit of awareness, better than none, we may argue.

Also, maybe more so-called training can only make us produce more so-called “standard answers”? Haha.. In the line of counselling, besides training, I think we need something much much more. What’s that “something”? You decide.

- - - - -

Frankly speaking, just like Da, at the back of my mind, I think I also know what his CT, Ms A, Mr G, the school counsellor and so on would be saying to Da. What they would be saying will be for the own good of Da I’m sure, but sadly, not what Da wants at the moment.

But as it is now, those sessions (and more promised coming the way) only makes Da a little frustrated to the point of him saying to himself : Maybe I’m just weird.

Da is different, I got to admit, but not weird.
What can I do? Mm…

Oh well, I got to learn to be more optimistic and learn to trust them more lah. In actual case, they are really much more experienced than I am. And any form of recovery takes time.

我能做的只是那么少
难免有时会感到渺小

希望能急速看到成效
究竟我还能如何出招
还是该处于自然就好

- - - - - - - - - -

有一位圣者这么说：

看到别人，应想到自己；
顾及自己，更要推及别人。

与人相处，要学吃亏，肯忍耐，
要睁一眼闭一眼，才能和睦。

凡是与人无争，多退让，自然心安理得。

Paper too tough?

2008-01-25T21:10:00.000+08:00

~ ~ Taking Examination ~ ~

No one likes a tough paper.
Maybe everyone likes an easy paper where everyone scores.
Even when we know we didn't prepare well enough before the paper, even when we know we didn't do quite well during the paper, we still hope for a miracle-good grade. When ... if indeed we really get the grade we prayed for finally, we feel happy and even feel we can be so good (although we suspect we may fail initially). Haha..
Just what is the value of a good grade (in some institutions)?

- - - - -

Met *little-pal C along the walk way. In our conversation, she commented, “When got paper tough until can kill people one?”

I don't think she is being arrogant.
In her view, if we study (by studying, she also mean to understand), we can definitely (at least pass if not) score.

You agree with her?
However, we do meet a lot of situation whereby many *little pals swear that they did study very hard, but … their results are still .. erm… pretty undesirable.

By “studying”, do they mean “purely memorising”, and getting ready to “regurgitate”?
Mm… If so, it wouldn’t work. Or if it does work (occasionally), but I’m rather certain we can’t go very far in this way.

“Understanding” must play a bigger part. I quite like the saying : Studying is not how much we put into it, it’s how much we get out of it. So, harshly speaking, it’s almost pointless to tell anyone just how hard we study (just to prove something, ending up proving “another thing”). It will be most meaningful to tell anyone just how much we have learnt and willing to share the learning.

I think, there is another area of concern : Aptitude.
I simply lack the aptitude to do Art, English Literature, History, Economics, Politics, …
I simply lack the heart. How to memorise? Ha.. How to even proceed to the next level : understanding?
I understand myself enough to do what I think I’m reasonably okay with and steer away from those incomprehensible subjects, so that people don’t know how stupid I am. Haha..

You?

Oh well, oh well…
When I’m about to end this entry, another thought crossed my mind.
I see that there are quite many people studying things they don’t like in the first place, forced by circumstances. Mm..
Must be tough for them.
Wish them well.

- - - - - - - - - -

問 : 白貓 + 黑貓會生下什麼顏色的貓?

答案 : 一隻黑貓 . 一隻白貓 . 一隻灰色貓

After a talk..

2008-01-22T21:00:00.000+08:00

I am a little tired now, but I think I want to pen this down.

I noticed D is a little different lately. Today, he even tried to provoke me. Not that I’m not used to being provoked, but today was just a little different. He makes me feel that he needs help in some sense.

At the end of the lesson, just when everyone was leaving, he took his time packing..
Me : Hey.. What’s your plan?
D (answering half-heartedly) : I got no plan.
Me : Mm.. Rushing for the next lesson?
D : No.. Now is break.

I took that as a signal that we could carry on with the conversation and we did.

D skipped almost the entire Term 1 Block Test, after being told off by one of the teachers about his long hair during his first paper.

He was awarded a big-fat-zero for all the papers he missed. Oh well, he doesn’t bother at all.
He doesn’t like the system here (in the country, not particularly in the college).
He doesn’t want to be like everyone doing the same thing.
“Why is everyone keep telling me the same thing? Telling me to study. Telling me to go to school. I just don’t want to be like everyone.”

He feels like challenging the system. In fact, he did so ever since Primary 4. And once, he nearly got a lawyer letter from … heh… just to let you know how serious he could be.

He likes to spike everyone. He likes to spike every teacher and even our VP. He told the VP, he doesn’t need the college to be proud of him. And in the midst of the conversation with VP, he can simply blurt out.. “I don’t like you”. Of course, that only sent the VP jumping, I guess.

He likes to see the figures in authority turning somewhat speechless. All these… just because he doesn’t like the system, in the first place.

But he said to me that I am “no fun one, always smiling”, for his intention was to spike me. Because I have my way to turn his spikes and re-direct them back at him and poke fun at him, making the whole class laugh. The situation often sets that he can only laugh together with them. All these while, I know he can be rude, but he doesn’t know he is. He simply lacks tact and refuses to just conform. Okay, I got to admit, I am not being too helpful this way either.

He doesn’t want to be here anymore. He dreams to be at the States, where freedom is believed and truly practiced (according to him). But he doesn’t get the blessing from his parents in this area. Again, just how much he understands about the system there? He admitted, his understanding is merely through readings.

So, now at home, he can’t concentrate enough to do his work (he will end up scribbling on his assignments); in college, he can’t concentrate enough to stay alert during lessons (he will doze off too frequently).

He doesn’t see the need to prove to anyone about his ability. He just wants to be true to himself, speaking his mind willingly. He said, “when I am not agreeable with something, I will speak up one lor.” But he often does so in such a blunt way. His style only lands him in more trouble.

In general, he doesn’t feel good to be trapped here so unwillingly. In fact, he said he feels drained mentally. He wants to leave, but doesn’t have the means. What a miserable feeling, he must be going through. There must be some forms of internal struggle as he said, “I hope I can meet someone to impact me. But no leh, they always say the same thing.”

Wa.. How to impact him and turn him around? How to at least make him feel more focused, more directed and erm.. just happier? I have no idea, besides the occasional chats that we could share. I couldn’t really bear to see a promising youth “wasting away” day by day right before my eyes.

A bell rang.
Erps.. I had unintentionally used up his entire lunch break. Paiseh man, although he said nevermind. But he didn’t feel the need to rush to the next lesson. I know he had to go to attend another lesson he didn’t feel like attending. I can only give him a standard advice “Come on. Don’t be late. Catch up with you again soon.”

He has hopes..
Is the environment restricting him? Or is he restricted by his own mentality?

Mm.. Wish him well.

- - - - - - - - - -

有一位圣者这么说：

仙佛与凡夫有什么差别？

仙佛能够解脱情欲之轮回。
凡夫未能脱离罪恶之苦狱。

仙佛有济世之功，化人之德，功德多，罪过少。
凡夫有利己之贪，损人之恶，多罪过，少功德。

仙佛与凡夫，天堂与地狱。
是一门之距，一板之隔，
一旦开不了这门这板，则成天渊之别。

Feeling like a little gaint…

2008-01-21T21:35:00.000+08:00

I have not entered a Primary School for so so many years. Today, an opportunity struck and I found myself in one of the neighbourly neigbourhood Primary Schools.

I like the vibrant colours there. Mm… Maybe the colours at my workplace are just a little too dull?

So many little kids. Oh, and they will even come to you and greet you properly when your path cross theirs. Mm… At my workplace? Some colleagues commented that they feel quite transparent or “glassy” at times. Haha..

The “ladies” is called “girls” ; the “gents” is called “boys”.
I entered the “boys” (too urgent liao, no time to explore where the “gents” is), only to notice the urinals are slightly lower than knee level, the toilet bowls appears smaller and lower too. The washing basins leh? I got to bend down significantly to wash my hands. And the funny thing was… When I stood up straight to check my bearing in the mirror, I can only see the lower half of my face and downwards. In other words, I can only see my mouth and downwards, I cannot see my nose and eyes and my forehead. See.. I am a little giant there. :P

或许，
就是那一片童真的气氛吸引了我。

- - - - - - - - - -

On her first day of an English class…

Teacher : What is the difference between “ignorance” and “indifferent”?

Unknowingly, Teacher picked on one student, the worst in class…

Student : I don’t know and I don’t care.

Teacher : Correct!

Like to see their smiles..

2008-01-18T22:35:00.000+08:00

In the beginning of a lesson, after the class had greeted me, I asked the entire class to remain standing. They were a little stunned, half-expecting some sort of tongue-lashing, I guess. Ha.. Nay.. Not this time.

It was almost immediately after a major test and I asked the class to predict their results even before they got back their papers. Those who think they can pass may take a seat and those who think they are not going to make it shall remain standing.

Almost all were standing, except 4. But actually about half of the class passed the test. Poor prediction. Mm..

I then asked everyone to sit down and I returned their scripts one by one right in front of them, at the same time expressing how badly they had predicted their results.

The interesting part came when I was near Jm and she was one of those standing earlier on. She was amongst the first few I approached. I noticed she was a little tensed up. So… I decided to…

Me (in a rather fake puzzled tone) :
“Jm, Aiyo… why you need to be standing just now?”

To this, she gave out a heave of relief. In fact, the rest of her classmates were looking at her with a bit of admiration.

I looked at her scripts and paused for a while. Everyone and especially Jm were waiting eagerly for me to announce her good results. Then I added, “Mm… But you are right. You should be standing. You did not pass.”

The whole class roared into laughters.
You may think I was a litte “evil”.
Haha.. But most importantly, she was laughing together with them, she was no longer so tensed up, she could then face her little set-back with a smile.

I hope she could stand up and brave through this year with style. I know she can make it.

- - - - - -

St appeared a little teary when he learnt about his results. He proclaimed to me (with all his classmates as witnesses), “Mr Nanzi, Term 2, you shall see. I will definitely make a come back.”

I playfully commented (loud enough for everyone to hear) :
Come back? Come back for what? Come back for the chocolate* ah?

To this, the class burst into laughters again. Most importantly, St was sitting there, a little stunned at first because of my comment, but recovered quickly and he was also smiling very broadly.

His eyes were no longer that teary. I can sense his fighting spirit getting even stronger.

* I gave the top scorer of the class a bar of chocolate. St was commenting loudly how come he didn’t get one since he is the top scorer (for the class and most probably also for the entire cohort) in another subject - Chemistry.

- - - - - -

Eu voluntarily came to me trying to explain his poor academic performance recently. He related what he had done during his holiday and how he had “wasted” most of his time in daze and not working on his academic stuff at all.

He was rather concerned and very confused what of he wanted to be in the future. This “confusion” was/is enough for him to think and think and not doing anything about it.

He asked me for advice.
Wa.. My immediate worry was that he must be feeling really lost enough to seek advice even from silly me. And erm.. I am never good at this kind of thing. I tried anyway.

I have forgotten what I had said or shared.

But it just felt/feels good to see him walking away wearing a smile.

I shall see what I can do to at least let him find back the energy he once possessed to move on.

Deep within me, I somehow feel he will be one of my top scorers. I shall witness that in the near future to come.

- - - -

When the lesson ends, I saw Jn meddling with the visualizer while I was talking to Eu. I only saw his side-view. I was a little shocked, I got to admit.

How come his side-view is so much like Lj (another ex-*little pal)?

Ha.. I was/am probably thinking too much already.

I was walking away from the lesson with a smile too.

- - - - - - -

Of course, I dearly hope they also took away some learning during the lesson.
It’s just the beginning of a year…
We all still have quite a journey to walk together towards blah blah blah..

Styles of Dating..

2008-01-16T23:45:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I walked into a store and was looking out for one of my favourite items.
Spotted it.
Happy.
And I picked few up quite a few of them. Oh, I remembered we must always look at the expiry date and so I did.

Oh dear …

It read “Best Before 12 01 2008”.

Me (to the store attendant) : 小姐，这个好像是过期了。

I wasn’t hostile and I was using my nicest of tone. I decided to tell them so that they could remove the items and perhaps can avoid a possible food-scare.

I actually stirred up quite a bit of panic.

The lady I’d spoken to, ran to the lady boss. Obviously, the lady boss was more into account than inventory. She had only the slightest idea about what was going on in the store. But she was concerned and she went to the gentleman boss immediately. The gentleman boss was concerned but tried to defend by saying : “It is impossible. These goods just arrived yesterday.”

He looked at the item and was very puzzled. The item looked new, but the printed expiry date only suggested otherwise. The lady boss was also suggesting to him “please give them a call and find out”.

When all seemed set that I had done a “good deed”……
The gentleman boss picked up another item of the same brand (that is to say, also from the same company, same origin, but just different product), the expiry date read “Best Before 05 27 2008”.

Argg…
The confusion is just due to the different styles of dating.

American : mm/dd/yy
British (okay lah, the way we are more used to) : dd/mm/yy

I caused an unnecessary panic. Haha…

Paiseh man.
Nevertheless, they still thanked me (a little too much). :$
I was also given 10% discount on the items bought. ;o)

I think I am lucky to bring out the issue in my nicest of tone.
I think it is only good to be polite at any (no matter how unpleasant) situation.
Just imagine if I were to adopt an accusative tone in the beginning!

- - - - -

Were you surprised to learn that I was going to write about the styles of dating?
Haha.. But I guess you are a little disappointed. It wasn’t the kind of "dating" you have in mind. :P
Spare me. I'm just weak at those mushy mushy thingy. Haha..

- - - - - - - - - - -

Out of Reach..

2008-01-14T21:15:00.000+08:00

I walked into the registration area of MRI Suite. I wasn’t alone and so I have to wait. During the waiting, I overheard a conversation between an old man and the lady doing the registration.

Conversation translated from Hokkien.

Lady R : An Pek, you must come back on xx Jan at xxxxh.

Ah Pek (only looked at her and let out a sound) : mm…

Lady R : Ah Pek, do you hear me clearly? You must come back on xx Jan at xxxxh. You must do the scan first. If not cannot see the doctor. Ok?

Ah Pek : I hear you clearly. Can you please help me to write the date down.

Lady R : Oh, it’s already written here. On xx Jan, bring this registration card here also. The payment for the scan would be $470+.

Ah Pek (noticeably hesitated long enough) : 有钱才来。没有钱怎么来。
He was almost talking to himself.
But Ah Pek added : 你说对吗？

Lady R : You can tell your son. Must come punctually on the day. And bring along the payment. You can tell your son. Ok?

Ah Pek (almost talking to himself again) : 有钱才来。没有钱怎么来。没有钱也要看怎么借到。好吧。

Ah Pek added : Can someone lead me out. I don’t know how to get out of here.

- - - - - -

It was just a simple conversation I overheard. But it left a bitter-sour after-taste in me.
MRI is only the first step.
What about the follow-up treatments and/or therapies?
Why is he alone?
How can he cope with his medical expenses?

MRI Scan is indeed rather expensive.
$470+ quoted is actually the subsidized rate.
The non-subsidized rate is $720+.
Another person before me had to scan two areas, the rate quoted for him is above $1000 (I have no idea whether the quote is subsidized or not).

Mm..
While there may be many medical subsides, I think certain treatments may still be rather out of reach for some people.

- - - - - -

身无病痛简直就是莫大的幸福！

Feeling like a <晴天娃娃>

2008-01-11T21:25:00.000+08:00

Someone was commenting about.. blah blah blah..
And then she questioned, “你以为你是晴天娃娃啊？”

晴天娃娃 : 一种悬挂在屋檐上祈求晴天的布偶。

I was thinking about my simple Pulau Pangkor trip.
The sun was there when we need it. Mm.. Or rather the weather is always fine enough for whatever we planned despite a forecast of rains and thunderstorms.

I was thinking about the recent pretty erratic weather.
I was often out, but without umbrella.
I never got wet.
It may rain when I’m indoor, when I am travelling in my car…
But it always stop timely enough for me to hop off from one point to another without the need of an umbrella.

Just today.
I saw many disappointed faces, because they were all just prepared and all geared up for a good tennis game. But it started raining when they were about to get out of the office.
The rain seemed to get stronger and stronger.
Not long after, I was preparing to go home. I need to get back to wash up before I make my routine-visit to the Chinese Physician.
When I stepped down to the foyer, the rain stopped. It started raining again when I reached home.
I took a quick shower, took a little break and was ready to set off for the medical appointment. The rain stopped again. Wa..

How? Ha.. I really feel like a 晴天娃娃, especially today.

So when you need 晴天, hang me out. :o)

- - - - - - - - -

A little bit more about the injury-related..

2008-01-05T12:30:00.000+08:00

Using my left hand to lift my right hand and place it just in front of the keyboard, I type with both hands…

I got a new image : A crew-cut man with a blue arm sling.

So they like to ask : What happen?

I like to answer (especially to the *little-pals) : I fought. But don’t you worry. I won. The other guy injured until more jialut. I tell you, his whole body wrapped up.

I was joking with them, of course.
It is funny to see how their eyes opened widely in disbelief before bursting in laughters. ;o)
When I’m already in this situation, I choose not to gloom over it. Haha..

I commented to the Chinese physician : I think the situation is getting worse. Look at the big dark blue-black patches around the injury region.

The Chinese physician replied : This is very good. 这表示里面的淤血扩散出来。这是好现象。

I can’t deny that despite the new appearing horrible dark blue-black patches, I feel better. So blue-black is not necessarily a bad thing. ;o)

They still question : You still drive?

I replied in a cheeky manner : Erm.. Yes, of course. why not?

I know they asked/questioned out of good will. They can’t imagine driving with only one hand, and with the non-master hand some more.
I also asked myself : Am I endangering others?
If only with my left hand,
- I have to conquer at least 4 levels of multi-storey car park a few times..
- I can do right-,left-,u-turns almost subconsciously..
- I realised I can also do 3-point turn effortlessly..
I think I am managing well enough.
Ha.. So F and H are more relief that I’m indeed managing well enough when I drove them out for lunch the other day. :o)
I have to admit, quite a different set of skills are involved during steering with only my left hand. I didn’t know I got them, until I need them.
Okay, I will be more careful still.

Right hand is already tired, let it rest. I shall continue to type using my left hand…

The funniest words of advice would be : Nanzi, you must understand something. Certain things are not suitable for certain people. Leave the more active sports for the younger ones. We should be participating in milder activities. We cannot go against nature. Now, you see lah.

This piece of advice is from an aunty-level colleague mah.
She is also rather comical lor.

The *little-pals asked : Huh… Cham lah. You right-handed right? So are you still our tutor?

Yes, the right hand needs rest, and only rest.
Writing on paper is still possible, if I were to use my left hand to lift my right hand and place it near where anything needs to be written.
Writing on white board is impossible.
Then how?
I wrote in left hand instead.
They never complain about the kindergarten-level-like hand-writing. Haha..
I think it’s still pretty legible hor. I may have to work on the neatness and a bit more on the speed though.
In conclusion : I am still their tutor.

- - - - - -

After 1 week, the weird sensation is still there (of course), and the power of my right hand has only regained by a teeny-weeny fraction. Oh well.. Some cases took months to recuperate.

Day by day, I am getting used to it, getting used to using my left hand for anything and everything. Ha.. Really looking forward to the days where both my left and right hands can combine-force again. :o)

- - - - - - - - -

~ ~ I'd Rather Hold It ~ ~

Pseudo Left-Handedness..

2007-12-29T23:15:00.000+08:00

I shall begin by saying I am a right-handed person.

Today, throughout the day since early in the morning, I tried (experimented) to use only my left hand to do everything, as if my right hand is lifeless. I really mean everything in every sense.

1. I used my left hand to put my wallet and handphone in the pockets on my left. The little bulge at the left side of the backside pocket felt strange, not used to that.

2. I tried driving using my left hand only. I used my left hand to open the car door and even used my left hand to shut the door on the right of the driver’s seat. I used my left hand to insert the key into the keyhole on the right side to start the engine of the car. Sometimes, when I wished to activate the left or right signaling lights, I ended up activating the wipers. Making u-turns was a little challenging. Parking the car can be a little demanding at first. No worries, I was driving really slowly.

3. I carry loads of purchased items with only my left hand.

4. Wearing and taking off t-shirt or pants with only my left hand and keeping my right hand lifeless needs lots of practices. Buttoning jeans took me quite some time.

5. Toilet visits.. I better skipped the details. But I know it is not wise to go to the toilet only when I am urgent. I wouldn’t be fast enough for any big or small businesses.

6. Taking shower. Since only the left hand is active, I guess the right side can be cleaned. The left side? Since the right side is supposed to be lifeless, naturally certain left parts could not be reached at all. Mm..

7. I tried brushing my teeth with my left hand.. Heh… I felt rather strange. I don’t really feel clean and fresh.

8. Signing on the slips when making purchases using credit card… ha… those were the only situations I gave in a little. I mean I can’t possibly sign using my left hand (yet), in case I may be wrongly charged for forgery. Still, I experimented with the idea of having a lifeless right hand. I used my left hand to lift my right hand and placed in directly on the charged slips to be signed, then I scribbled my signature to the best of my ability.

9. When comes to eating noodles, I have yet to learn how to use my left hand to handle the chopsticks. I actually used a fork to eat a bowl wanton noodles. Haha.. Jusy like a little boy.

10. I even tried to type this entry with only my left hand. The mouse was just shifted to the left side.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15 …
ETC..

You may be thinking, just what am I up to? Wu Liao right?

Erm…

I injured my right hand. :o(
I was skating too fast. I was trying out something and was gliding as fast as I could, faster than whatever speed I used to achieve so far. When I was enjoying the speed, I missed a footing and dived face-down, tumbling like a durian dropping from high above. Haha..

My right hand was stretched out just in time to cushion my face from hitting the rough ground. My pair of ET-spec flew quite a distance away. With the momentum, of course I was dragged further. Aiyo.. just imagine my right hand got to shoulder the entire impact when my heavy body was literally slammed down on it, and I was gliding past my earlier-top speed.

I laid motionless for a quite a while. Help wouldn’t have come so soon even if I were to need it, as those gliding with me were quite far behind.

I sat up, only to realize I only suffered a few simple bruises on my right hand. Too good to be true. But reality set in soon. Haha.. I realised I can only lift my right hand half way up. I was/am powerless to lift it higher. The fingers can still feel and move, but there was/is this tightness on the right shoulder (quite swollen) giving a rather strange sensation, render me powerless to lift it up. I can’t even carry anything with my right hand.

So, besides the fingers, my right hand is pretty much lifeless.

Seen a Chinese physician to fix a slight dislocation.
Was also told that the tendon is torn, the muscle is injured.
Took a X-ray only to confirm got a few fractures.
Visited A&E at hospital to be told this kind of fractures will usually heal by themselves. Was given 10 days MC and loads of painkiller and made an appointment to meet a bone specialist soon.

Mm…

I am not complaining.

Actually, I’m feeling very grateful now.

- Instead of multiple injuries (more likely for such a fall), only my right shoulder sacrificed a bit.

- Yes, I know there was a little dislocation, the tendon is torn, the muscle is injured, some obvious fractures. But to think that my body slammed hard on it when I was travelling rather fast… wa… lucky liao lo

- All (no exception) the medical practitioners I met today were all very friendly and patient. We ended up chatting quite comfortably.

- Strangely and luckily, I hardly feel any pain, even till now. I admit I feel rather uncomfortable and a fair bit of numbness and suan-ness, but not that kind of sensation you wanna pumped in painkillers or even to give a scream of any kind. At most I will say gently “Ouch, please don’t touch here.” The ouch is just a natural response to ask people not to get near that sore zone.
Even, when the Chinese Physicians were pulling hard on my shoulder (yes 2 were working on my shoulder) in an attempt to rectify the slight dislocation, I just felt extreme suan-ness and uncomfortable, but was not in pain.
The doc at the A&E said he is a believer of painkillers and gave me 2 types of painkillers to assist me to handle pain of differing degrees. Apparently, these two types of painkillers have side effects and I was given another 2 types of medication just to counter the side effects. Heh… I don’t think I need to try any of those.

- I was told that the waiting time at the A&E of TTSH was horribly long because of the crowd. I was warned that even if I were to register at 4pm, I can prepare to be discharged near midnight. I was even advised that it might be wiser to go to Alexandra or even Changi. Somehow I still ended up at TTSH. The whole experience only took 75 min, despite a sign saying expected waiting time (waiting time to see the doc for consultation only, excluding treatment and actual consultation duration) is 90 min.

- blah blah blah ...

- - - - - -

There were some related funny moments.

1. When little N learnt about my injury, he commented “why is uncle Nanzi so clumsy?”
Haha.. he is so right.

2. The Chinese Physician I saw share the same surname as me. Frankly, I was thinking of W (sharing the same surname too) as to when will he be ready to serve as a Chinese Physician? Haha..

3. When the guy taking my x-ray said “Okay, don’t move. I am going to take your x-ray.” … I was actually smiling broadly as if I was being photographed. The guy had to add in a cheeky way “You don’t have to smile. I am only taking your shoulder.” Err…

4. Later, when I need to purchase something, the ladies and aunties at the stores volunteered to assist me to carry my items to my car. Paiseh la… I kindly rejected, acting tough only. Haha..

- - - - - - - -

Typing so much with only my left hand is tiring.

No matter how tired I must also add : Thanks to all dear pals helping me to kill a fair bit of boredom through exchange of sms-es during my pretty boring waiting and waiting.

I think he has great discipline..

2007-12-25T18:50:00.000+08:00

During the holiday, I still have to go back to college to prepare certain things. Each time I visit, I almost always see F. He will be there quietly studying by himself either in the library or outside the library (when the library was doing stock-taking for a period of time).

He is really studying. I mean, each time he brings along with him thick stacks of notes and tutorials, ploughing through time carefully.

Each time I passed by, we would simply acknowledge each other. And for a few times, he would take the opportunity to drop me 1 or 2 intelligent questions. Ha.. He was top of the class (also amongst the top amongst all my *little pals, and also near top of the entire cohort) in mathematics during this year promotional examination, so of course his questions are pretty intelligent.

Wondering so good, then still study so hard during holiday for what? Should go have a break right?!

Ha.. F is catching up on his Chemistry (his weakest subject). Not that his Chemistry is that bad. But a 56% is disappointing enough for him (and probably for his mother too).

So, while many of his peers are having a good break somewhere out there, this F decides to do something about his already-over-average performance. We know there are so many *little-pals who are weak in some/many areas and yet choose to take a total clean break during this holiday. Hey.. I still believe in taking a break, and please have one! But I think we can also try to take this holiday to do/learn something useful and catch up on our weakest link(s). This little effort/habit can actually help oneself in the next year, or later years.

Now I remember reminding F (and others alike) to catch up on their weaker subjects during the holidays, besides taking a break. I remember F telling me “yes I will”, and he puts it into actions.

Of course, I also believe those I didn’t see during the holiday season, must also be catching up on their studies besides having a good break. I’m optimistic. :o)

I think it takes great discipline and focus to do that, to do even what we believe in.

人就是有惰性嘛。
我们是否都能克服我们的惰性？
我们是否都有相当的毅力和决心来完成我们的志愿？
大家加油吧！

Season’s Greeting :
Merry Christmas &
Happy New Year

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Tattoo of the Year??

A December to Remember - Pulau Pangkor / Melaka – Part 3 of 3

2007-12-23T19:25:00.000+08:00

I think I better be more disciplined and complete the last Part 3 of 3,
in case, memory gets faded (I know that wouldn’t) and erm..
in case, there are people waiting for the read.. haha.. siao.. (I know that wouldn’t too), and erm..
No “in case” lah.

I thought this is just a pretty neat avenue for me to practice a bit of writing and get familiar (and more hands-on) with a bit more of IT.

So..
Here I go again.

(1) We thought 2 days is more than enough to explore almost all (if not all) of Pulau Pangkor. We decided to have a change of plan.

Hence, on the early morning of 13/12/07 (Thursday), we took a bus ride southwards towards Melaka. It was again a long long ride. This one.. kaoz.. started late, and the driver was not-fast and the bus stopped at almost every small town along the way and so it took another 10 hours or so. Unexpectedly long. So I can also say, we went Ipoh, we saw Klang, and blah blah blah..

We survived, anyway.

Oh, before I switch mode to Melaka, let me shared a few more random pictures taken by WK at Pulau Pangkor.

A fishing boat stopping by…

~ ~ Sunning Anchovies ~ ~

The beige colour spreads are anchovies.
We can smell them from where we stood and took this picture.

(2) Wa.. I visited Melaka about 1 and a half year ago. Now .. It bears noticeable changes. Still I quite like the rather laid-back feel, not-so-fast pace atmosphere, yet quite well-structured town.

Walking around is simple and most importantly, it feels pretty safe.

We can easily a few Singapore-licensed cars along the way. I understand that during weekends, Singapore-licensed cars can flood (I’m exaggerating, but you get what I mean) the street.

(3) We learnt that the all-famous-cannot-be-missed Jonker Walk is only active on the nights of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Erps.. WK just got to miss it (as we had bought our return-tickets back to Singapore already). Being more optimistic, this will be a good reason for a re-visit for WK next time, in the near future.

(4) Showing you some random pictures of Melaka..

A street of Melaka early in the morning.
Somehow it reminds me of our own China Town.

Another street of Melaka early in the morning.
Noted the Renaissance Hotel at the background? There are quite a few many-stars accommodation in Melaka. But we chose to stay at a budget accommodation, paying only RM24.5 each. The beds are pretty comfortable and the room has attached bathroom also.

~ ~ Elaborately Decorated Ricksaw ~ ~
If we choose not to walk, we can then choose to be driven around the town by such elaborately decorated ricksaw. I think I pretty walking. Haha..

(5) Confirmed! Score 8 : 0. What am I talking about?

I think I really have immunity to mosquito bites. Envy right? This time round, I have statistical proof.

I recall that while we were at a particular store in Melaka, W and WK were complaining about the many mosquitoes around. I wouldn’t have noticed the mosquitoes if they didn’t mention it at all. They got an average of 4 bites each and I got none. So the score is conservatively 8 : 0. “8” being their combined score; “0” being mine alone. If we were to stay longer, their combined score would improve and mine would still be "0"… hehe..

WK commented that the reason behind is likely that the mosquitoes in M'sia know that my blood being not as nutritious. Haha… Actually S’pore mosquitoes also have the same “knowledge” lor.
I think that’s because maybe my heat-signature is not as strong as theirs.

(6) I am hesitating a bit now. Should I write about “it”? Erm.. Okay, maybe write a bit more mildly.

I didn’t know WK is rather keen about SPA. Because of the currency conversation rate, it makes everything more attractive, I guess.

During our first night at Melaka, he suggested to check it out. Okay, so we went, and he decided to go for it. I joined him.

It was erm… rather comical on my side, I tell you. I went without having any good idea of what to expect.

We were given a towel (one each, of course) with the instruction : Please change to towel only. When I was wondering where would be a good place to do so (as the lady masseurs were just nearby), this WK who was just beside, already professionally and tactically transformed into his only-towel gear. I was… okay… let’s skipped to the part that I was finally changed.

I was trying very hard not to make a fool of myself. I tried to secure the towel the best I could. It was tied around my waist very tightly. I couldn’t imagine what if the towel were to accidentally drop. I thought I was being clever.

We were invited to lie face down. That was easy.

I was trying to make myself comfortable. And erm.. The first thing she did was to loosen the knot of the towel. Not so easy for her. Remember how I tried to secure it? Haha.. No lah, don’t be crazy, she did not remove the towel. The towel was just spread tactfully over my bottom for decent cover.

She started with the calves and toes and I was supposed to relax. How to? Haha.. I actually felt a little too vulnerable. Anyway, she worked on. And I told myself that I should relax and the good thing was I gradually learned to, trying to enjoy the experience. But… erm … to my surprise… she…

She…
Okay, how would I know she wouldn’t even leave my buttocks alone?
How would I know even my inner upper thighs were not spared?
Haha… I am not complaining, but… I was just feeling a little embarrassed.
I knew she was working on my calves and toes and gradually worked up to the back of my thighs. I thought that was it. But… those eventual warm palm strokes upwards to the regions that I think even some people in close-relationship hardly reach with their bare hands until.. erm..

Aiyah.. I don’t want to elaborate further already, although it can be juicer. I thought I looked foolish enough liao. :P

I feel a little warm ticklish feeling on my face now that I’m writing this. Haha..

On a fairer note, I think the whole process was rather professionally done. I don’t doubt the good effects of a good massage. And for a whole body massage, I would agree clothing can be a kind of hindrance to some extent. So, the current problem is just me, who has yet to learn to really relax under such situations.

Anyway, because of such intimate physical contacts during the process, I think I would prefer the idea for a pair of couple to administer massage on each other. It will be perfect, I guess. Just a thought.

Okay, enough laugh for you. Byee…

- - - - - - - - - -

A simple and relaxing trip. Thanks to W and WK. :o)

- - - - - - - - - -

Good Reason to Wear Pajamas to Bed!!!

A December to Remember - Pulau Pangkor / Melaka – Part 2

2007-12-20T22:20:00.000+08:00

(1) I finally saw how real sea cucumbers look like.

When canoeing towards Pulau Giam (a small island facing Coral Bay), the water gets clearer and clearer, so much so that the sea bed can be seen. What can be seen then? Plenty of sea cucumber! I tried to tickle a fat sea cucumber with my index finger. It felt so fluffy and spongy. :P

Of course there were fishes, some corals and even some sea urchins. Oh.. I actually sighted twice when a relative big group of small fishes decided to leap out of water together. Pretty cool!

In fact, sometimes during low tide, one can simply walk from Coral Bay to Pulau Giam.

This is Pulau Giam viewed from Coral Bay

Gliding leisurely towards Pulau Giam. Gliding leisurely towards the broad horizon later when making round(s) around the little island.

I noted that our skin tone were so fair before our canoeing trip.
Although the sun almost went into hiding during the two hours, we still looked quite baked after the canoeing experience. :P

(2) You experienced “beach therapy”?

Wear a well-fitted floating device, a life jacket.

Just lie down on the beach at the coastline so that our body is partially submerged. Due to the inclination of the coastline, our lower part of the body is actually floating, but our head quite well-rested on the sandy beach. When the waves come in, we can be slightly lifted and become almost totally afloat momentarily. It’s okay even if the waves drag us slightly away from the beach and more into the water (for we were wearing life jacket).

“Beach Therapy”

Just relax, yes even our limbs.

With our eyes closed, listening to the gentle waves, feeling the cool light splashes, under the gentle heat of the sun… it was rather therapeutic. I almost felt asleep.

Oh, how can I forget?!
When we were just sitting by the beach, partially submerged in water, resting, there were quite many little fishes swimming around us, waiting to be fed, I guess. They must be the anchovies.

(3) The hygiene level of those street-side food stalls (街边摊) is questionable. We didn’t try it, and W almost.. almost tried it till he scrutinized how the food was done at one particular stall.

I mean how hygienic it can be when fried oily food is displayed (without cover) just by the road side? The roads can be quite dusty with many cars / taxi-vans / motorbikes travelling by almost non-stop.

It didn’t help if the same pair of hands can handle the handles of the motorbike, the money and the food in sequence without washing of any kind (as observed by W). Haha.. But food poisoning is not heard off in the region though.

A street-side stall.
On one side is the main street. On the other side is the beach.

Another street stall (to be operative only at night), left unattended in the day. I think the ingredients kena "robbed" by hornbills.

Nevertheless, some proper eating venues can really come up with simple tasty food. We were rather impressed with the small restaurant at Purnama Beach Resort, very nearby.

(4) There isn’t any vegetarian food stall in Pulau Pangkor. A driver told us vegetarian food will be sold only during the first and fifteen day of the lunar month. We didn’t stay long enough to see how and where.

But, of course, the chefs in restaurant-like eating places will cook anything the way we like it. I didn’t skip a single meal and every meal was rather nice and filling in fact.

However, when we were back in Lumut ferry terminal, a 5 minute taxi-ride took us to Sitiawan. And while we were travelling along Jalan Lumut, we sighted 3 pretty big vegetarian restaurants on the left. We didn’t dine there. A taxi driver directed us to another one, well within walking distance from where we alighted and leisurely look-look-see-see. Oh, I remember we only paid RM10.3 for the dinner for 3.

- - - - - - - - - -

Adding a little humour in our attitude, even when situations are unfavourable.

I think I’m still the kind of shy shy type.

2007-12-20T09:00:00.000+08:00

I thought I am not that kind of shy shy type, but now I think I am! Err..

I was casually introduced to E and we ended up chatted quite a bit. But a few simple comments from her during the conversation (although may be a little flattering if we were to take it positively) stunned me quite a bit, making me erm.. just a little tomato-red in the face, if she realised. Haha..

E (smiling) : 你好文静、好斯文哦 ..
That’s because I haven’t warmed up yet.. Haha..

E (smiling again) : 对你讲话，我都不敢大声。我发觉我讲话也变得比较柔一点。
Wa.. How am I going to continue man?
Me : 没有关系啦，你就自然一点嘛。

E (smiling, almost laughing) : 你讲话真风趣。
Erm.. I have forgotten what I was saying. Never mind.

E (smiling and enquiring) : 你看起来好阳光哦 … 你是不是有常常运动？
Erps.. The little sun during the recent trip can also do the “trick”. :P

文静、斯文、风趣、阳光 ++ = ME ??!!
No lah. I can laugh at the idea. Haha..
But for a fine lady to comment that right in my face (during first meeting).. erm.. I am just speechless. :P

If we go on talking, maybe she would realize I can actually be 罗索、无聊 too ..

- - - - - - - - -

有一些知名人士这么说：

「快乐要做有意义的事，有意义自然就有动力。」

「给需要水的人一杯水就是最大的帮助。」

「一个人最大的快乐，就是可以给别人快乐。」

「想想我们不是没有东西，而是你有没有想过你有什么，而且去做。」

「假如你想快乐...
一个小时，就去睡个午觉
一整天，就去钓鱼
一个月，就去结婚
一整年，继承一笔遗产
一辈子，去帮助别人。」

She had a bigger share because…

2007-12-19T07:30:00.000+08:00

L met up with a friend (N) for dinner.
With agreement of N, L decided on the menu and the dishes were served shortly.

Dish A looked appetizing and both L and N liked it so much. So they munch and munch and munch.

Dish B looked fine. They both tasted it. Both thought that it was not that fantastic, but still edible lah.
N exclaimed (after tasting it once) : I am not going to eat this anymore, you can have it all.

N continued to munch and munch on Dish A.. and subsequently Dish C (which she liked) and left Dish B entirely to L.

So L got this opportunity take more of Dish B which both thought that it was only so-so, and ate less of Dish A and Dish C which both thought that they were fantastic. Mm..

I know we like good food.

But…

On a sharing basics (and assuming we don’t tolerate wastage and we have similar consumption capacity), taking more of one, means taking less of the other.

In other words, when we say “I am not going to eat this anymore”, we are also implying to our mates “please continue to take this not-so-good food and I shall continue to tuck in on the better ones”.

But we know we all like good food. Mm..

Wouldn’t it be more “appropriate” when we all feel that something is nice, we share with friends fairly and even hope they could have a bigger share? Haha..

Something like, “Oh, this is nice. I see you like it too. 多吃。多吃。”

In the same light, wouldn’t it be more “appropriate” when we all feel that something is not that nice, we don’t mind taking a bigger share and of course in the least it’s okay to have a fair share with friends? Haha..

L did not “complain” lah.
L and N are merely stranger characters I saw over the next table during dinner.
I wrote this because N’s comments were loud and could be heard easily and I was stunned a little.

Maybe the basic principle for a more gracious society is still
《一人一半》

But I don’t mind (and in fact gladly doing so) taking a bigger portion of the not-so-good categories, because I know my pals will have a bigger portion of the better ones. =)

- - - - - - - - -

HOW TO HANDLE A PROBLEM NEIGHBOUR

A December to Remember - Pulau Pangkor / Melaka – Part 1

2007-12-17T20:10:00.000+08:00

Little notes (not necessarily in chronological order) that I can recollect..

(1) The journey was long.

A good 10 hours bus ride brought us from Singapore to Lumut (in Perak) bus terminal, where a ferry jetty is just beside. It was a night bus, and we were supposed to sleep during the journey so that we can reach our destination in the morning feeling fresh. Erm.. So.. The long bus ride was quite manageable.

From the jetty at Lumut, we had to take another 25 min +/- ferry ride to Pulau Pangkor.

We landed on the little island around 0800h on 11/12/07, filled with anticipations. :o)

(2) We set off knowing the weather forecast was like

for all the days we were supposed to be there. Sianz right?!

But … wahaha …

Amazingly, we have fair weather whenever we need it during the entire trip.
E.g. It poured once when we were sleeping.
It only rained when we just got into shelter, or after our scheduled activities, or when we were in a bus or a taxi, or…
Even when we were canoeing or snorkeling, the sun went hiding behind huge clouds.
As if the weather was planned around our activities, and not our activities were plan around the weather.

I can only feel very thankful. :o)

(3) The island is infested with hornbills. Ha.. I mean we can see pretty big hornbills (not mynas, not doves hor) flying around the coastline day-in-day-out.

(4) Interestingly, all taxis on the island are vans. To be more precise, they use candy-pink vans as taxis. What’s candy-pink? Let’s see it, to understand it.

A ride from one point to another almost always cost us RM10 (for a group size of 1 to 4), unless the journey is unusually long or we demanded a longer non-standard route for some reasons.

A driver shared with us that in this peak session, he can easily accumulate more than RM20000 in earning. Not kidding, the number of zeros is correct.

(5) The beaches are generally fine, but not fantastic.
They are better than what we have at East Coast or Sentosa or just anywhere we have here locally. But .. still not too fantastic.

The picture shows the best public beach – Coral Bay at Teluk Nipah.
I stress the phrase “public beach” here. There are some better private beaches – beaches only accessible by guests of some classier and pricier resorts.

Anyway, some public beaches around the area may be better (more beautiful) than Coral Bay, but they may not be that accessible or they are just not that suitable for swimming or water play as we wish no trouble over deep waters.

I understand better that even the venue may not be super fantastic, the good company can still make the experience really great and memorable.

(6) There are many fishes in the waters. You will understand when you bring bread along during snorkeling.

I chose to place some bread right in front of my face (my face being under water) and saw many fishes (big and small) dashed towards me for the bread and bit off pieces of bread just before my eyes. I think the sight was rather awesome. The bigger fishes we saw were only about a feet long but some can be quite colourful.

During the feeding frenzy, some couldn’t differentiate the bread from my pale-wrinkled-and-water-soaked fingers. But no worries, their bites were very mild. Haha..

I took the opportunity to sayang them (the fishes) also. :P

Oh, snorkeling usually cost about RM20 for as long as you like! But.. erm… the suggested site is really too crowded and too small.

I think the better and more affordable snorkeling sites not too far away from us would be Krabi, Phuket or the islands off the eastern coast of West Malaysia. Haiz.. Sad thing that the eastern coasts of Malaysia are having serious floods now. Let’s wish the people there will be able to cope well and they can all return home safely soon.

(7) It may be appropriate to also share some random scenes captured to give you a better feel of the island.

One of the streets at Pangkor Town. And this is during so-called peak season? There is even a branch of Maybank on the island. I think I also saw a shop selling 4D. Many shops sell fish products. There is a fishing village on the island itself. In fact almost the entire eastern coast of the island dominates with the fishing trade.

This is the main entrance of one of the few Chinese temples around the island. Ha.. Why is the donald duck there? Is this where the east meets the west?

The eastern coastline is filled with this kind of housing (on tilts). This is a fishing village after all. This is one end of a long stretch of such housing. Further in, we saw many bigger boats parking just beside such houses.

- - - - -

This is only part 1, but I have already shared all the photos that I had taken. Haha... I was a little lazy to snap when I noticed WK was doing most of the snapping. From part 2 onwards, I think I shall be using WK's photos accordingly.

Trade in your HP @ Singtel Shop or M1 Shop or .. ?

2007-12-16T16:40:00.000+08:00

I’ve got some simple statistics to share.

This near-2.5-year-old old toy of mine (Sony Ericsson K750i) was quoted $50 flat at those official Singtel Shops and M1 Shops if I were to trade-in. They aren’t really interested in its condition at all. They looked at the model, referred to their standard price lists and gave me a quote straight away. Haiz.. The value of the phone has fallen so so much. Mm..

I approached a nearby stall selling second-hand handphones. That stall looked at the condition of my old toy and quoted me $80. Wow! That’s 60% more lor. I thought it was quite a neat deal already.

I approached another stall also selling second-hand handphones. The new quote became $100. Heh.. 100% more leh! :o) The guy was quite frank with me, saying that if I were to do a trade-in (that is, I sell them my old toy to them and also to buy one of their toys in return), they can even quote me $110. Mm… Hehe… I rather get a new toy instead.

In conclusion, I think it is really unwise to trade in our old handphone at those official Singtel Shops or M1 Shops (and probably Starhub also) when we upgrade to a new handphone.

Talking about handphone-upgrade…
I think M1 usually offers better handphone deals.

Just a simple illustration (I did not do any comprehensive analysis at all) :

Sony Ericsson K770i is now being sold at Singtel at $188 (with contract for not so high-end plan), but this model is now being sold at M1 at $68 (with contract).
See and feel the difference?

So if I were to make an upgrade to the said model, I can literally get $32 back in return (by signing the contract with M1 and selling my old toy to that second-hand handphone shop).

~ ~ Sony Ericsson K770i ~ ~

I had just made the plunge. Hehe.. Isn't it good to be given a new toy and at the same time being paid ? =)

- - - - - - -

HOW WAS YOUR CEREAL THIS MORNING?

Good to be away ; Good to be back

2007-12-14T23:50:00.000+08:00

It’s always good to take a break, have a holiday somewhere.

How about taking a long long ( be it comfortable or uncomfortable) bus ride to just anywhere where you know you are going to just relax and have a neat break?
How about lazing by a decent beach with good water?
How about tucking away in a small village where pace of life is slow(er)?
How about having little sincere chats here and there with the locals of a small village?
How about getting closer with wild lives?
How about gliding on the surface of the sea, and gliding leisurely towards the broad horizon?
How about purchasing simple good local food items back to share with family and friends?
How about having fine weather throughout (whenever we need it) when actually storms and rains were forecasted?
How about having good company of pals for some days throughout?
How about … ?

Just experienced all of the above (and more) !! Haha...

And yes, I am just back.
And yes, feeling equally good.

Thanks for the fine weather.
Thanks for the fine experience.
Thanks for the good company. =)

一直很想去散散心
有诸友人相随真好

能走得放心、能玩得顺心、回来了也安心...
也就多了一分感恩之意...

Different Screams..

2007-12-08T23:45:00.000+08:00

S : Maybe you should try fishing.
Me : Mm… Maybe not ba..

After a while, we met again over lunch.

S : Really, maybe you should try fishing. You know, the feeling of fishing something real out is really cool! Who knows you might eventually like it?
Me : Mm… I think the fish very pain leh.
K (to S) : Ooi.. (in a friendly tone) How would he try fishing? You still repeat so many times..
S (to Me) : Oh… sorry sorry. I know you would not want to try fishing.
Me : Hey.. Come on.. What sorry? It’s okay lah. 或许我还会调到美人鱼呢。 Haha..

As a matter of factly, I still appreciates S's intention of sharing. :o)

- - - - -

I think I understand the joy of fishing.

We know there are people who are pretty hooked on it. They can rent boat and went out to the sea in the middle of the night to hook out or net up the fishes.

They are tired but always certainly happy and share willingly their prizes with friends and relatives.

I can imagine when they caught their prize(s), they were screaming for joy. But on the other end of the line, the fishes must be also screaming (silently though) – screaming of agony.

I can imagine how terrifying it can be if someone were to force me into the water : a medium which I don’t belong to (live in). Hence it is also not difficult to imagine how equally terrifying it can be if the fishes were to be forced out of the water and into the air : a medium which they don’t belong to (live in). The feeling of out-of-breath is .. erm… I don’t think I need to elaborate.

Mm…

While I do respect individual’s decision, I can only gently advise against it (fishing).

倘若是愿者上勾，我就无话可说了...
可是，我看的总是人们的千方百计、天罗地网...

我们是不是都喜欢如鱼得水的感觉...
那么为何要鱼儿承受如人溺水之苦...

不要说鱼儿不懂痛、不懂苦...
记得它们上勾、入网时的垂死挣扎...

I don't mean to criticize anyone. These are just some flow of thoughts. Anyway, there are always many reasons why many people are doing many things, no matter how silly or proper these things are.

- - - - - - - -

有一位圣者这么说：

一个具有理想抱负的人，是不会满足现状，安于现状，
他会一而再，再而三的激励自己，以更具影响力的行动，
来改善世界上一切的丑陋。

知责任者，大丈夫之始；
行责任者，大丈夫之终。

希望常与失望相倚，
若希望不使失者，唯有毅力可致。

Yoghurt Making..

2007-12-07T17:25:00.000+08:00

I know some of my pals like yoghurt.
Then I learnt that one of them like it so much that he (B) started making yoghurt himself. That's how serious he is.

Making yoghurt. Erm...

I further learnt that making yoghurt is so simple. No kidding : Right here you get it! There are many other reliable sources also, of course.

An interesting point to note would be : technically speaking, once we kick-start it, we could have endless supply of yoghurt.

Then I read about the goodness of yoghurt or rather the goodness of Lactobacillus Acidophilus, since this is the thing that makes yoghurt so good. :o)

Hey.. I didn't just read about it, I put it into actions.
I try to make yoghurt myself. It works!
Now I have free-flow of yoghurt. Haha..
It's free as long as you can get free milk. :P

But erm.. The unflavoured yoghurt is just a little too sour for me. Adding honey and finely-cut fresh fruits is always a good idea, but I am still far from mastering the art of flavouring.

- - - - -

There are primarily two reasons why I decided to give it (yoghurt making) a try.

(1) I once had a pretty bad experience of stomach flu, due to attack by unfriendly bacteria. I suffered quite a bad appetite lost and a constant bloated feeling in my stomach. The doctor actually administered friendly bacteria for me. Ha.. Now I know I don’t have to pay and can administer those friendly bacteria myself. :P

(2) B’s uncle had actually suffered digestive problems for years. Many consultations with doctors only made his wallet thinner, but his suffering prevailed. He even consulted doctors in the field of TCM, still nothing worked. Things changed when he turned to eating simple stuff like yoghurt.

肠胃问题不再有
觉得好舒畅 … :o)

- - - - - -

有一位圣者这么说：

道德完成的良窳，完全操之在我们的手中。

路是人走出来的，
在道德上，用言语说是没有用的，只有实地去做，才能成功。

事前之夸炫，固不能壮其声势，亦无补于事；
事后之自疚，已经不能挽回既成的实事。

所以，
沉默而有效的行动，
比千言万语更具震撼力以及影响力。

I Made Them “Younger”.

2007-12-03T20:30:00.000+08:00

I would believe I am never far from wrong if I were to assume that everyone hopes to look young(er). But how is that going to be possible with years passing by each and every one of us?

In reality, don’t ever dream about it.

In the virtual world, on well.. let’s see.

Today, I have just (finally, after years of procrastination) managed to explore the basics of healing, blurring, smudging, cloning, … blah blah blah about Photoshop. I mean I really only know the very basics of these functions. Nevertheless, I shall try to apply my limited skills.

Before :

After :

How do you feel? Somehow it works right? Haha.. Realised the man is now almost wrinkle-free? Noticed that even his hair now appears darker? Even the lines under the eyes of the little girl vanishes. I think the picture can be further improved of course, but… I am just too lazy to spend too much time on it lah.

I begin to imagine :
If I were to show the healed pictures to that ah pek, I think he will smile so much (and so hard), resulting in more deep set wrinkles in real life? :P

Kind of glad I picked up a little skill today (but certainly needs further polishing) .

You wanna look younger? Maybe I can experiment and help out a little bit and make you younger virtually. Haha..

你怕老吗？
怕也得老、不怕也得老。
哈哈…
不如来个老得自在、老得自然。
再来个老得更潇洒、更有智慧。

所以，有的人就是越老越「美」。
我们呢？

Witnessing My First Marathon.

2007-12-02T17:05:00.000+08:00

Oh I’m talking about the SCSM 2007 held this morning. I was there witnessing the full marathon. Haha.. That means I was there only to look-look-see-see and I was not a participant of the full marathon lah. But I participated in their lowest category. Not kid-dash hor, but the 10 km run.

I shall try to recollect some interesting moments or the things that struck me most (not in any particular order) :

(1) Very well-organized.

Thus far, this is the run with the most participants. Still, there is no bottle-neck effect everywhere. From baggage deposit, forming up at the starting point, get-set-ready-go, on-the-move, collection of medals at end the point, baggage collection, drink station, banana station, toilet facilities… just everything : almost negligible waiting time.

Thank you very much to all organizers, volunteers and helpers! Without them, it will not be possible at all.

(2) Babies clocking better time than their fathers.

I saw two male participants (at different locations) running with a pram in front of them. Heh.. Not empty pram hor! Ha.. The babies were seated comfortably in the prams while their daddies pushed on and jogged at the same time.

In one case, I actually saw that the baby was sleeping soundly within the pram. In another case, the baby was observing excitedly at the runners around him and maybe also enjoying the unusually high speed that the pram was moving.

So technically speaking, the babies eventually crossed the finishing line before their daddies. Haha..

(3) I was faster than an eagle.

A guy wrote a message and pinned at his back.

The message was :
Watch me soar on wings, like an eagle.

But I passed him ~~effortlessly~~. :P

Erm… So I was only faster than a particular eagle. Haha..

(4) I can laugh during the run.

Two gals wrote the same message and pinned the message at their back. They were running side by side.

The message was :
To lose 10 kg.

I know I was a little “evil” to have laughed.
Hey.. Come on. I wasn’t really laughing at them. But I was simply amazed at their courage to admit they really have spare 10kg to lose.

Anyway, if I’m not wrong, these two ladies actually covered 21.1 km. Admirable, indeed. Don’t play play.

(5) Full marathon runners are all winners in my eyes.

We have some solid fellows covering the entire 42.195km and coming in well within 2h 15min. I really don’t know what to say man. Oh, it seems that KENYA and ETHIOPIA produce solid runners.

Anyway, some of my pals joined the full marathon and came in within 4h, 5h plus a little, around 5h 30min, 6h plus a little, around 6h 45min,…

Well past 7 hours after the official starting time, we still saw many full marathoners making their way to the finishing line. That was solid determination, I must say. To me, they are all simply amazing. I cannot imagining myself going through such punishing journey.

Full marathoners can also get an extra black t-shirt after they finished their conquest. For any reason, if they were to be disqualified, that t-shirt will not be given to them. In other words, those people wearing that t-shirt suggests a certain kind of status. While I was talking to myself whether will I ever have a chance to clinch that trophy (that black t-shirt), this WK suggested that I could just try ebay.com or Yahoo Auction. Argg… So encouraging lor. Haha... But I think he is so right. :o)

I just learnt that the prize money for the first runner (Men's Open and Women’s Open) is USD25000. Wow! Have I just given you a reason to pick up running? Haha.. If you think it’s already too late for you, go train up you kids!
跑吧孩子! :P

(6) I am part-time massager.

I mentioned before a good calf-massage after a run is good. I mean I experienced that during the Real Run. The relief of the calf muscle was almost immediate (when the massage was done properly lah).

This time round, the rub-down service was only available for full marathoners. It’s okay.

But while resting, WK’s right leg got a sudden attack. 是抽筋啦. That was when I came in as a substitute-leg-massager. I tried to recall what was done to me (on my legs) the previous time and I mimicked. It worked, I tell you (I think). Haha..

(7) Nice Atmosphere.

Running at Shenton Way or just the CBD area can be an interesting experience. The roads are wide, the buildings are tall. So when we were running on the roads there, the shadows of the buildings provide a good cooling shade. In other times, these roads will be congested with vehicles, but during such runs, we rulez.

I also quite like the music pumped up during the last stretch of the run. There were many supporters also. We (any runners in general) must be tired, but I felt that we were actually moving much faster.

I think atmosphere makes a difference (to me at least). In other words, I don’t think I can make it alone.

(8) Feeling fortunate.

After the experience, we were pretty tired, yet we were fortunate enough to be driven around comfortably by W, for lunch, and even for a relaxing journey home. Wow! What a feeling. Haha..

If given more time, I think the list could go on. But I think I stop at (8) : an auspicious number. Haha..

- - - - - - -

~ Quite A Cool Millionaire Winner ~

Slip of tongue? … Funny.

2007-12-01T00:40:00.000+08:00

I shall try to write something light and funny.
I need to do a bit of recollection.

Okay, tale 1 :

Not too long ago…

Many of us were talking. One of us was commenting that the movie <不能说的秘密> is really nice. Another one was suggesting to sing the leading song of the movie on a certain occasion.

A : 不然的话，就唱《不能说的秘密》的主题曲咯。很好听哦。
B : 怎么唱？都没有音乐伴奏。
C : 是咯。这首歌那么新，音乐伴奏应该很难找吧。
D on the far side heard our conversation, being very helpful, he shouted over.
D : 我有！我有！我有《不可告人的秘密》。

Haha ..
We laughed so hard. He only noticed the slip after a while.

If we are ready, let’s go to tale 2 :

I don’t remember the particular context of our conversation very well now. But I’m sure we were talking about some packaging or some covers that must be needed to make something more secured.

A : 我们需要一个袋子来把它装好。
B : 这个可以吗？
C : 这个不行啦，不够安全，不够保险。不知道有谁会有比较像样的？
D on the far side heard our conversation, being very helpful, he shouted over.
D : 我有！我有！我有《保险套》。

Haha..
There was an awkward complete silence for a few seconds. Nay.. We weren’t shy about the topic, but we just couldn’t figure out how he would continue. Again, we laughed so hard.

Just another one to close the day.
Tale 3 :

We were talking about some wedding preparation of a friend. G was tasked to 「挡酒」. He was excited of the role and he is so sure he will be able to do it well as he often talks about his 「千杯不醉」. Mm…

Still, he is quite new to the entire flow of events of the day.
So, he tried to clarify.

G : 我什么时候才需要出来「挡酒」？
Someone answered him…

G : 我是帮新郎「挡酒」，还是帮新娘「挡酒」呢？
Someone replied him…

G : 新郎新娘喝「交杯酒」的时候，我需要去「挡」吗？
No one replied him.
We stared at each other in disbelief..
Haha…

In my mind, I pictured the funny scene during the wedding.
Emcee : 请新郎新娘喝「交杯酒」。
While many are waiting for the solemn ceremonial magical moment, G stood up and he said...
G : 等一下，我来帮你们「挡酒」。

I always think a good laugh is a good way to start the day, to end the day.

Cheers! :o)

Behind every success…

2007-11-29T22:45:00.000+08:00

Just visited MMM yesterday. Frankly, I quite enjoyed the learning journey and I really like the culture of the company.

I don’t think it is by mere chance a company can survive more than a century and still be that iconic (almost magical), where creativity and innovation are concerned.

Talking about creativity and innovation, I think of APPLE who have clinched awards after awards in the field of creativity/innovation. But.. mm.. we know who first came out with the idea of storing hundreds and thousands of songs in a highly portable harddisk and make listening to music so convenient. That’s certainly creativity and innovation. But it wasn’t the same who that had brought the product into the world arena in gusto and class. Alright, there are many other reasons behind.

In all, I find that behind every success, there are some reasons. We can/should learn from them , learn from them what ticks and what not. Nope, I’m not dreaming of being that successful. Ha.. I just hope to know enough not to get myself into trouble. :P

~ ~ Successfully Conquered the North Pole ~ ~

Aiya.. We can always define successful the way we like it, anyway, and feeling being successful always. Haha..

Coincidentally, today “3M” has a slightly different significance to me, in the line of a tiny luck. :P

- - - - - - - - - -

有一位圣者这么说：

善念虽小，其心可喜，其行可嘉。
恶念虽小，其心可诛，其行可怕。

莫因善小而不为，莫因恶小而为之。
善恶在一念之间，天堂地狱也在一念之间。

「转台」

2007-11-27T22:00:00.000+08:00

I have noted in recent years I have changed from listening to FM93.3 to FM97.2 to FM95.8. I think I had mentioned this before quite a long time ago.

Lately, for some unknown reasons, I find myself switching again. But this time round I am toggling between the English channels most of the time instead. Heh..

I must have changed, I think.

A close pal actually appeared in my dream some days ago and he said : Nanzi, you have changed.
And then he disappeared.
I woke up feeling a little strange also.

说真的，我知道我自己变了。
外在的(你们看得到的)就不用提了，
内在的(你们看不到的)确实也变了很多。
Mm…
很多事情我不再理会、
很多人、事、务我加倍在乎、
很多实情我难以启齿、
很多得失我看淡许多、等等…

我明白唯一的定数就是变数。
也就是说你也在「变」。
乐观一点，
我只希望我们大家都能「变」得更好。

~ ~ Winds of Change is Blowing ~ ~

Allow me to just quote :
If you can see change not as an enemy, but as a welcome friend, you will secure the most valuable prize of all - The Future.

- - - - - - - -

有一位圣者这么说：

吾心信其可行，则移山填海之难，终有成功之日；
吾心信其不可行，则反掌折枝之易，亦无可成之期。

心愿是成就事功的原动力，
小自个人的改脾气、去毛病、变化气质；
大则净化人心、普渡众生、扭转乾坤，
都从一个愿心充扩而成。

只要人人有愿有爱，人间终究成天堂。

Bonding..

2007-11-26T21:30:00.000+08:00

I was about to wheel down a slope. I noticed a big fat man (not meant to be insulting, but I’m merely describing) riding a bicycle and he was riding towards my direction and he was about to engage the same slope. What I witnessed later made me smile, somehow.

Just before the man (riding the bicycle) engaged the slope, he shouted, “Let’s go!” That was how he caught my attention, anyway. I was wondering whether he was talking to me, but really a little out of context lor, what “let’s go!” ??!! I don’t know him leh.

He rode hard and fast. But not too long later, he was panting really heavily. With his mouth wide open huffing and puffing, it was .. mm.. quite a sight. But he was not near giving up, he just went on.

Since I was wheeling down and he was riding up, we got nearer and nearer. When we were quite near, I heard something. I heard a very young and tender voice. That voice can’t be his. Wa.. I glanced over and noticed that a boy was seated at the back of the bicycle. But because of the man’s big size, the boy was completed hidden from view at first. So the man was shouting "Let's go!" to that young fellow behind him. Never mind, this is not the interesting part. What warmed me a little was a short conversation of theirs when they were near me.

Young Boy : Daddy, let’s take a break.

Boy’s Daddy : It’s okay. We are reaching the top soon.

- - - - - -

It was a very simple encounter. Actually it was a very brief one too. It all happened well within 5 seconds, I supposed.

But, I think I can sense the bonding between them.
The son hoping the father can take a break and not to stress himself too much…
The father demonstrating to his son the going-all-out spirit for his son…

- - - - - -

I believe, naturally there are bonding between parents and children. However, the way I see it, the bonding may not come as naturally. I mean, sad to say, we often observe strong bonding between parent and young child, but as the child grows older, the bond is somehow weakened or even strained. Mm..

I am just thinking, the way they demonstrate their care and concern for each other (between a parent and a child) may be very varied. In other words, our parents love us, but the way they do so may not be the way we can appreciate it, sometimes. (Still, we must not forget their unconditional deliverance.) In the same way, we may say we love our parents, but are we sure the way we demonstrate so is the way they can accept? (I always think we should reflect on this more.)

在意见分歧的时候，
我们是否真的有智慧看穿这一切只是「做法」的不同，
但「心意」却是一致的？
我们是否会先软化自己，来圆融一切？

真正明理的人，总是要跨出第一步。
如果一味的要等到对方改变，自己才改变，那么… 咳。
我们自己认为结局会是如何？
不要说就是因为尝试了，我们才会那么失望。
尝试了而又没有效果，难道我们就没有怀疑是我们自己的方法有误吗？

说到来也离不开一个「缘」字。
「缘」好，那当然好。
「缘」若是不好，我们也要懂得「修缘」的功夫。:o)

今天，话也多了些。。
好,停笔…
bye bye…

“Watchful” Week..

2007-11-23T00:25:00.000+08:00

I know the week has yet to end, but I can already conclude this is a “watchful” week. I mean I’d already “watched” a little too much :

- Caught two movies in cinemas.
- Sat down and listened (and watched) 2-days’ worth of live presentations.
- Re-visited some movies/serial-episodes in avi/rmvb format.
- Catching an old Taiwan serial borrowed from a pal some time ago.
- Caught up with some animes.
- ++

I think I need a rest. I think my eyes need a rest too.

「眼睛」可看尽世间百态。
我们是看到世间百态的「表层」，
还是领悟到世间百态的「内幕」？

有时候，我也想好好儿看看我自己。
不是观察我的「外貌」，
而是反观我的「内心」。

我该学习的，
真的还有太多太多了…

- - - - - - -

Since I wrote a little about watching movies here, maybe I can also share a little joke about one of my silly experiences.

Quite some time back, a *little-pal (D) called me up and suggested to catch a movie together. Oh well, his suggestion fitted nicely into my schedule. I volunteered to get the tickets, for I have some legal means to get at a discounted rate.

It was last minute kind of planning and I decided to go earlier to buy the tickets rather than securing the tickets online.

When I was there, I asked for two tickets. The lady at a sales-counter showed me the screen to select my seats. There were so many crosses (suggesting that the seats were taken up). Or rather, there were crosses everywhere. I had problem looking for seats not marked with a cross. I was actually a little panic that I may not be able to get the tickets. Scanning through the screen quickly, I noticed a pair of seats together at a corner and they were coloured differently with no cross marked on them. I thought the different colour used was meant to indicate seats-not-taken-up. Without questioning, without clarification, without hesitation, I said I wanted the two seats. I was actually quite happy for being able to secure the two tickets. At least, our plan to catch the movie was not spoilt mah.

So D appeared and we went in together.

When we approach the seats, I noticed something different. I asked…

Me : How come no divider in between the two seats one huh?

D : Ooi Mr Nanzi, this is couple seat leh.

Me : Err.. Just seat lah.

I got to admit, I was a little embarrassed. I was that su-arh-gu for not knowing got such thing as couple-seat. Mm..

Putting the label aside, seats are just seats. Haha...
I don't mind one lah. :P

- - - - - - - - - -

Would you have problem translating this?

A Dull Sound : < Tart >

2007-11-20T22:55:00.000+08:00

A shroud of sadness enveloped me when I heard the dull sound “tart”.
I sensed a life was about to be taken away.
Indeed I saw the struggle before the last breadth was drawn. Haiz..

I was driving pretty slowly (at most only 60 km/h) along a road in a neighbourhood. I noticed a bird was pecking away (on some seeds) in the middle of the road. That was a normal sight, I believe you would agree. In normal context, the bird would mind its would business (pecking on some seeds) while we would mind our own business (driving). Besides, the bird should be street-smart enough to fly away timely when a car approaches it, unless…

Haiz..

For my case, today. A bird (myna) was also pecking on some seeds in the middle of a two lane road.
When I drove nearer… when I was less than 5 metres away from it..
That bird would be so safe if it were to just stay there and continue to peck. I think even you will be quite safe it you were to stand in the middle of a two-lane road when I only travel on the left most lane.

Instead, it decided to attempt to fly.
And you guess what? It flew not away from my car, but it chose to fly in such a way cutting across my route of advancement. It flew steadily, gracefully and slowly some more. That was suicidal lor!

I panicked but I can’t possibly stop in time.

I heard a dull “tart” sound. A shroud of sadness enveloped me immediately. I sensed a life was about to be taken away. From the rear-mirror I saw the black myna flapping its winds and struggling. I drove on for a while, feeling I had just executed a hit-and-run.

My mind was in a swirl, but I finally decided to drive back to take a look. I didn’t know what I was expecting to see. I was sure I hoped not to see the bird. I mean I hope its injury was only minor and it actually flew away to recuperate.

But I was greeted by a lifeless bird as I drove past that very spot in the opposite direction. I froze a little. I stopped at a nearby carpark, pondering what should be my next course of action. I didn’t/don’t feel good.

I stepped out of my car.
Walked to the lifeless bird.
With my shivering hands, armed with plastic bags, I actually picked it up.
There were blood and exposed organs, but no warmth. I was… erm…
Yes, I admit I was scared. But I can’t bear to let it rest there. I know, you know, if I were to delay more, it would be flattened by some cars sooner or later.

I carried it back to my car.
I drove on with the body of the bird in my car, near me.
I drove on not knowing exactly where to go.
But what I had in mind was to find a place to bury the bird.
I could have just thrown it in the nearby bin.
But.. mm.. Although that bird was suicidal by action, it made me feel like a killer.

I was only thinking, the least I could do was to show a bit more respect to its body.

It was finally buried.
I am feeling emotionally exhausted.
Feeling headache, thinking about it. Haiz..