Invited for Lunch ..

I was really glad to be invited for lunch. I mean invited over to someone else's home for a home-cook lunch. There wasn't any special occasion. SF happens to be on leave and she thought of a simple gathering for a few of us over lunch. That's really nice of her, I must say. Erps.. When the time was near, I was even reminded with a SMS. :P

I was the first to reach. Wa.. Like so yao gui like that.

In fact, she was still preparing the lunch when I arrived. I helped out a little. (Or did I mess up a little?) Anyway, there was still time and I took a few shots of some of the ingredients for the Mee Soto (with my hand-phone) :

And the lunch was not just Mee Soto only okay!
She even prepared the following as finger-food :

Not only that, when her mum returned, her mum prepared freshly squashed fruit juices for all of us. I was honoured to receive the first biggest cup.

The gathering was fine. The food was fine. *Burps* I was so full. Thanks!

Random Recollection Series 2005/Part 14

(1) Can you try to guess what the thing in the picture could be?

Answer : click here.

I had a hard time trying to capture this image. I had to make sure that the "coast is clear". It is understandable at that kind of location, people will be a little sensitive if we were to flip out our camera and start snapping away. :P

(2) Finally got wired to CableTV. It can be quite fun. There is no way I can be bored now. Nay.. If time allows, I only like the World News and Education basic groups.

(3) Just had an interesting view of the underside of my car. I asked the mechanic to check and he invited me to check along with him. It was rather fascinating.
[ Lately, I had been carrying more "loads" in my car. Consequently, my dear dear M3's bottom had rubbed against the humps I was clearing, on quite a few occasions. Ha.. Apparently, its bottom is very much intact. ]

(4) I was talking to a *little pal last night. I find this part of our conversation a little funny.
潘小弟问：“老师，你有喝酒吗？”
我说：“我可是千杯不醉啊！”
他用一种好羡慕以及崇拜的眼神看过来。
我继续说：“千杯是千杯，我是我。我不去沾它，自然就不会醉。所以说，我是千杯不醉！”
他无言以对，在原地愣了一会儿。他的表情是这样的 (-.-"')。
哈哈。。

@ Costa Sands Resort (Pasir Ris)…

I’d only returned from a gathering at around 2am today. It was a class gathering of my *little pals and I was invited along. I’m rather glad I played a slightly more active role in the “setting up” this time round, since 1pm yesterday.

What’s more memorable :
(1) Small talks with some individuals. I think I will always enjoy little chat here and there with anyone, particularly with those I am closer with. This occasion certainly provides much opportunity, especially with ZR and LP.
(2) The class attendance was 23 out of 26. I think that was impressive. Aiyo.. I was the only adult there. I think they were suspecting my other colleagues had pulled some kind of “stunt”.. ha.. which I don’t think so lah.
(3) We thought of night cycling. I was pretty thrilled. Erps.. We went to the bicycle renting stall a little too late and the idea was shelved.
(4) Though I have not played badminton for quite some time, I think I am still slightly (not much) better than some of them. :P Oh yes, they brought along rackets and shuttle cords. Ha..
(5) I discovered my retainer which was placed on the table went missing. Someone had cleared the table and may have unintentionally cleared away my retainer as rubbish. When I announced my concern to the ladies (as they are likely to be the ones clearing the table), they stopped their game and many of them, plunged their bare hands into the filthy dustbin in search for it. I must say, I am pretty touched. The retainer was recovered but not from among the trash in the dustbin.
(6) The guys were more into gaming with XBOX and the ladies were more into watching TV. Nevertheless, quite a good complement.
(7) Was a little surprised that there is a vegetarian stall at DOWN TOWN EAST selling cooked food near midnight. Okay, not really fantastic but edible, I guess.
(8) Driving some *little pals out hunting for drinks and supper. We were wondering in the car, chatting ... no worries, we did find some real food.

- - - - -

If simple gathering promotes bonding, this time it sure did. :)

I Seldom Bargain..

I seldom bargain, but when I do, the success rate is pretty high. Haha..
Just two slightly more recent tales that I could recall now :

Tale One..
I was browsing at some CDs. Mm.. Some caught my fancy. I asked for a better price and I got about a 10% off effortlessly. Just before I was about to foot the bill, another guy came by, picked his choices and asked for a better price. The stall owner insisted that his prices were already the best and he couldn't give further discount. He ridiculously suggested that, if the price was too high, maybe that guy just buy one CD and not two CDs. Aiyo.. I know this is tactless on his part, but it was done in a rather candid tone and no one find it being offending, I hope. I feel a little strange of course. I mean I got the discount from the same range of product (effortlessly), but not the other guy just beside me.
When I was paying him the money, the stall owner asked me a question, "Have anyone ever mention to you that you look like someone?"
I smiled and replied, "Huh? Who?"
He said, "Sxx's¹ 的师傅 ：Lxx 啊。哇！脸型和气质都很像²。"
I said even more politely, "没有啦，我一点音乐细胞都没有。哈哈。。 谢谢。。"
I didn't know just by looking like someone has such "benefits" (albeit this time is a cheapo one).

Tale Two..
It is stipulated very clearly on the pamphlet that the company only cater a buffet spread for a minimum of 20 people. In fact many other company set the minimum to be 30.
I went down personally to the company and managed to clinch a deal of a buffet spread for only 15 people. Hehe..
My only relief will be my fellow colleagues like the buffet spread and there wasn't any wastage of food.

I am sure that there are other instances, but I don't intend to recall till so far back.
I usually don't bargain. I will just look at the price tag, and if the price is already reasonable. Bingo! If not, I may look at it longer, closer, then leave it alone and walk away.　

- - - - -
¹ Sxx is a super super star okay! :P
² I certainly have a common face (大众脸). Many times, I was told I look like who and who or so and so. Haha.. the names are not even consistent.

Stark Differences...

Believe me, we are already so blessed.
I don’t intend to reason this out. Keep our eyes open and see it for ourselves.

If we want to complain about our learning or working environment ...

If we are thinking of complaining what we are eating...

If we are so sick of the game we are playing...

If we are thinking that our bed is not comfortable enough...

There could be a difference in the feel of a hug...

When size matters ...

Be contented.
Be grateful of what we have.
Be forgiving.
Crave less.
Make a difference... in whatever little ways within our means...

送别了好友 ..

说着、说着，YG 今天就飞过去越南与 GX 同甘共苦了。

GX 也算是兄弟一场，我当然得送 YG 到机场。这一回他们应该是到农历新年才会回来吧。

相信我会相当想念他们。想念他的“唠叨”、想念她的料理。哈哈。。
中午去接她的时候，还吃了她亲手煮的“黑胡椒 Udon”。哇！赞！

在未上飞机前， YG 问了我一个问题。
她说：“你不认为夫妻俩儿同在一间公司上班会很可怕吗？”

哈哈... 这叫我应该怎么回答嘛？:p
经验告诉我，她要的不是答案。如果她真的觉得“可怕”，她也早以提起勇气来面对。
祝福他们！：）

- - - - - -
Side Note :
Our airport terminals both have staff canteens which are not "publicized". They are not big and there will not be obvious signboards leading you there. But these are the places where we can get food at more or less around standard hawker centre rates in Changi Airport! How's that?

So, how to get there?

In Terminal 2 :
Go to level 3. Head towards Car Park C. When we are just out of the main building and just right into Car Park C, we will see a signboard telling us to take the staircase to access the staff canteen, on the right. There is a vegetarian stall (慈心) there. Yahoo!
In fact, a lady told us (I did the exploration with YG) that all the restaurants/eateries in our airport are briefed to provide vegetarian food upon request of guests.

In Terminal 1 :
That lady also told us that the staff canteen is at the basement in T1. I have yet to see it myself, so no detail here.

谈“心”

Some days ago,
-Fly- was saying 世界万物，始终还是围绕着用“心”对待.
I quite like it. However, thinking about it now, I have a little "caution".

Let's look at the word “心”:

Wa! Did you see what I see? Yes, the little hook (勾) within the character right at the corner (角). I would like to call this character “勾心”. Hence, I don't think it is a good idea to 用“勾心”对待.
No wonder there are just so many unnecessary 勾心斗角. Haha..

Let's look at another character :

Albeit this may not be a standard chinese character, everyone will not fail to recognise that it also represents the heart. There isn't any hook or corner, it's upright and straight. I would like to call this character “直心” or “竖心”.

It's not difficult to see what I am driving at. While we remind ourselves to treat people using our heart, we ought to understand what kind of heart we are using. If the "hooked heart" is used, we might end up hurting each other. If the "upright heart" is used, be sure we shall be rewarded. At least we still can hold our heads high and bear a clear conscience. :)

大家都是有心人。:)

The Wedding of F and DY..

The Wedding Bell has rung for F and DY.
Wow! Lovely!

F is such a fine colleague and I can say we are pretty close, right from the beginning. He is forever that humble and so willing to learn. Many times, we open-heartedly talked about the "problems" we encounter with our *little pals and see how we can best "solve" them. He is always thinking of how he could best help his *little pals. I think it is his genuine spirit in sharing, his openness, his demonstration of trust and respect in people, that inevitably draws many people rather close to him.

Somehow, I feel so much different about this wedding of his. Maybe because I'm more involved in this wedding than any other I had attended so far.

Many of us (his colleagues) gathered a day before to assist in the preparation of about 450 sets of welcoming gifts to be given to all his guests during his church-wedding. The idea came from some fellow female colleagues and mind-you, they started off a few days earlier and the gifts were largely hand-made. It involved ordering of 900 packets of honey sachets, purchasing 9 big rolls of ribbon, a few yards of satin to sew the packaging. We worked through to put all these items together in the way we want them to be. Nice.

Oh yes, many of us also went down to his church the night before to arrange the furniture, just to set it right. And it only became right near 11pm. Oh, by then, one of them realised he needed to get his car "conditioned". *Ahem, he went to get it cleaned and vacuumed. Just imagined how late he turned in.

On the actual day (yesterday). Ha.. I also found myself useful. I was a few hours early and I thought I will be idling. Nope. Haha.. I was asked to do some final touch-up to the venue before the church wedding. Certainly gladly and proudly offered my service.

Oh, after the church wedding, we had to proceed straight to his wedding banquet at The Oriental, Singapore. I need to be there early also. I was the appointed MC (Master of Ceremony) of the night. He didn't know (or didn't believe) I have kind of stage fright. But how can I say "no" to him? Haha.. I accepted his request when he approached me many weeks ago. I said "yes". For a friend, I am willing to face my "fear" and think of how to battle it myself. :)

@ The Oriental, Singapore.
(1) Firstly, I'm rather impressed with this venue. It's classy, really. The ballroom is really nice.
- The ceiling is high enough. No "cramped up" feeling.
- The lightings have a warm feeling, yet it is bright enough. Photography wouldn't be a problem at all, I think.
- It is more or less shaped like a fan (not the boring rectangular). There isn't any pillar to block the views of almost anywhere. Almost everyone is within line-of-sight with each other. Cool.
- The table cloth used has nice texture on it, breaking the monotony.
- The white porcelain plates used by the individuals are squarish with a slight artistic twist.
(2) The service is good. But not without reasons. *Ahem, there was a briefing conducted to all their waiters and waitresses at around 6pm. I tell you, the briefing was done in olden military style. It was loud and delivered much like an angry order. I heard, "If I catch any one of you eating at the back, I make sure I charge you the amount I charge the clients." Yet another, "Besides...., the rest come right to the front NOW!" and many more in fact. I am not saying I like that kind of style. I learnt from another colleague of mine who was there last year. He witnessed the same thing.
(3) There was also a briefing by the hotel manager to the groom, our overall coordinator, and me. I think the briefing was very useful. Wa.. After witnessing the kind of briefing the waiters and waitresses had had, I was thinking what kind of tone, will the hotel manager use to brief us. On the contrary, he was overly friendly and accommodating. He was very experienced and really of great help throughout the entire night, giving me the more vital cues along the way.
(4) Oh, my MC-ing part in Chinese. I was nervous, as always before any stage-appearance (be it singing, performing, giving a speech, etc.). The frequency of the wash-room rush increased. My hands became rather clammy (cold sweat?). The stage just doesn't belong to me, I think. Yet no one will believe me that I can be that nervous. Ha.. Maybe as always, strangely, I will become very much stablised after speaking two lines or so.
Erm.. I was told by the overall coordinator, many sisters (姐妹团) he was working with, had shown a little interest in me, after my first delivery.
They were asking about my name, my nationality, whether is it that I am really that poetic, blah, blah, blah.. .. the overall coordinator must be kidding.
Aiyo.. he was teasing me like hell... haha.. only making me more nervous for my second appearance. Haha.. Rather funny, there were indeed much more friendly stares and smiles when I was walking to and fro the wash-room after my delivery. A bit paiseh also lah.
I am only glad that I can do my little part upon the request of a colleague, a friend. Yes, for a friend, I am willing to battle my own "fear", my own "weakness". Okay, I must also know my limits.
(5) Towards, the end of the dinner. Many of us (his fellow colleagues) were the last few to leave. I like the warm hand-shakes from the bride and groom at the end of it all.
(6) I said something before we took our leave from the bride and groom. And that set all of them laughing so hard. What a neat way to end the dinner. :) Oh what did I say? I was looking sincerely into his eyes and I said very slowly and seriously, “F 长大咯！从今天开始就要懂得好好做人咯。” The pun is intended. :P

~ ~ ~
Wishing Them Happiness and Good Health Lifetme Ahead

Random Recollection Series 2005/Part 13

(1) Since Monday, I cleared away almost everything on my desktop. It looks bare. I think I like it this way. What a clear start! Besides, JP is right. Starting up becomes so much faster.

(2) Just the other day, I travelled more than 20 km just to get a packet of noodles for mum. The contentment on her face is contentment for me too. See, for food, I travel. Heh..

(3) A *little pal went overseas and returned lately and he got me a little gift. Ha.. it is really a little gift, but the thought of which is heart-warming enough, isn't it? I didn't expect that at all. I am certainly delighted. I shall treasure it. :)

(4) 常言道：“君子动口不动手。” 哈哈 ... 我倒是有另一番的体悟。

(5) I remembered a particular instance some time ago, while I was playing with a kid. I think he is just about 2 to 3 year-old. Before we parted, he came near me and actually called me "小和尚". Heh.. There were so many people around. His voice might be tiny, but the subsequent attention he drew (upon me!) from the crowd was rather "powerful" man. Hahaha..

The Message from Water ...

Dr Masaru Emoto is the man behind this.

" From Mr. Emotos work we are provided with factual evidence, that human vibrational energy, thoughts, words, ideas and music, affect the molecular structure of water, the very same water that comprises over seventy percent of a mature human body and covers the same amount of our planet. Water is the very source of all life on this planet, its quality and integrity are vitally important to all forms of life. The body is very much like a sponge and is composed of trillions of chambers called cells that hold liquid. The quality of our life is directly connected to the quality of our water."
~~ An extract from http://www.wellnessgoods.com/messages.asp

Even Institute of Science of Society (ISIS) talks about it here.

- - - -

I heard about it quite a long time ago, I wasn’t so fascinated then. All of a sudden, it came back to me yesterday. I find it pretty amazing, now.

It sets me thinking about the possible implications.
Our thoughts, attitude, emotions can
- positively impact our environment,
- favourably impact our personal health, and so on ..

We also heard of people mentioning
- plants grow better when we talk to them nicely, praise them, sing to them, or expose them to classical music,
- how effective 胎教 is, and so on..
Don't you think, the theory behind these is the same? Ha..

我们问问自己，我们对周遭的人、事、物
存有感恩几分、产生埋怨多少？
在天地间，我们是增加了多一股善气，还是多添了一份恶缘？

其实不只“水”对环境的心念、态度、情绪有感应，万物万灵也在感应着！

这果真是属灵的世纪啊！