A Fight…

A fight.. a violent physical one.. and erm.. between a mother and her teenage-daughter.

Not elaborating the details here.

I know they have not been in nice terms for quite long, but to see it escalating to such an extent.. mm.. just finds it rather heart-wrenching.

I still stand by the saying 天下的妈妈 ( or 爸爸 ) 都是一样的 .
Okay, some may protest. But what I’m saying here is at the “heart-level”, the obscure one. We may easily missed it, if many "events" occurring are not too much in our favour. But the fact remains, their love / care / concern are there.

When saying 天下的妈妈 ( or 爸爸 ) 都是一样的 , I also have to agree the ways they express their love / care / concern can be so varied. Sometimes (many times, for some), the ways are just not their children’s cup-of-tea. Mm..

But have we also think about the ways we express out love / care / concern (here, I’m assuming we have plenty) towards our parents? Have we wondered whether the ways we adopt are our parents’ cup-of-tea?

看来……
「爱」与「关怀」人人有,
「体谅」与「包容」就不是人人都会做得好.

Parents are still parents after all ....
We may not fully understand the difficulty of how our mother carried us to term throughout her pregnancy. However,

Do we still remember how worried our parents were when we felt sick (or accidentally injured ourselves) during our younger days?
Do we still remember even when the purse-string was very tight, there was still a sum allocated to buy milk powder (and maybe toys) for us?
Do we still remember how dependent we were when we were babies?
Do we still remember how our parents put up with the stench when they wipe our bottoms?
Do we still remember ... the many many things done out of unconditional love ...

Often the "clashes" started when we think we know how to perceive the world and especially when our perception differs from that of our parents'.

I am not lecturing here. I’m not a perfect example myself. I’m merely reflecting at the same time. I am only thinking, no matter what, still, as a family, we can only try to work things out. Not necessarily easy, I have to admit.

Maybe I’m just feeling quite lousy for I can’t do anything to help.
Even the father of the child can’t do anything much about it.. mm..

Some say we need to wait until we are cradling a baby of our own before we can fully understand what being a parent is like and then we will be able to appreciate our parents better.
Are we sure we want to wait until then?

- - - - - - - - - -



有一位圣者这么说：

让彷徨的人儿学会坚强
散播温暖不怕雨露风霜
展开笑容而迎向阳光
心中永远存希望
勇敢地不怕心伤
今後不沮丧
接受考验更成长
擦干眼泪迈开步更前往
莫在角落独自黯然神伤
美丽的人生有如阳光
照耀照彻照亮世界的角落
因缘聚会地你我与他
珍惜相聚时光永远不忘
笑一笑 烦恼忘掉
理想去寻找
某天涯海角某个时候某年某月等到理想实现了
回首当年道
心境开阔更逍遥

Little Egret – The Way I See It..

Little Egret is a type of migratory bird (a type of heron also, I supposed) we can see in Singapore.

This is not a lesson on Little Egret, of course. I am just fascinated to see a solo graceful Little Egret at close range happily feasting away. Its pure white feathers attracted much of my attention. Besides, another of its features made me laugh pretty hard.

Just take a look.

~ A Little Egret ~

You see what I see?

Haha.. Little Egret is much like a type of heron wearing yellow socks! :P

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记者访问一群企鹅平时爱做什么。
全部都说：吃饭睡觉打滚滚。
只有最后一只企鹅说：吃饭睡觉。

记者就问：为什么你没有说打滚滚呢？
企鹅哭着说：我就是滚滚。

Feeling Like A Tourist …

I may be living here (tiny-red-dot-on-the-world-map) for many years.. ha.. but many times I still feel like a tourist when moving around here.

Beside the northern part of the country, also everywhere I go, I need to first consult a map. If I don’t visit the same new place a few times in a relatively short span of time, most probably I would need to consult the map when I need to go there again. Luckily, I have not much problem in map-reading.

I am always quite amazed by my father (and many older uncles and aunties alike). They can’t read maps, yet they don’t seem to have a problem moving around in the car almost everywhere. Just tell them the address, okay not even the full address, just : Bedok, Blk 412, quite near MRT lah. Most probably they will say okay and they just set off and their senses will guide them there. Silly me may still enquiry what is the exact street name huh? Got any special features near by or not? Wait, I read the map first. Still I can make some wrong turns here and there. Haha..

Today is nice.

I feel like a tourist again.

First time visiting Mustafa Centre.
A 24-hour shopping place. Heard that it is very crowded over the weekend. Have been around for quite long. Must be visited by millions of genuine tourists already.

First time visiting Beach Road – Army Market.
Yes, not kidding you, I went through NS, heard about it but never once step foot in it, until today. Haha..

Oh, and traveling first-time on some new roads too.

Actually, the feeling is quite refreshing. Obviously, I have not been moving around frequent enough. So suah-gu lor. The worst situation was : My father had been sending me to NUS-hostel almost on a weekly basis during my uni-days for 4 straight years. Two years after graduation from NUS, I got a driving licence but I immediately realized I still couldn’t make my way there on my own. Now I know, of course. Okay lah, over the years, there has been slight improvement. =)

While feeling like a tourist is nice and refreshing, I do encounter varying degree of embarrassment. I have been approached by genuine tourists many times and I hardly can help them or give them any sensible directions. Today, I was approached again... erm … Luckily, some pals were by me for the “rescue”. Haha..

Give me some time. I think I will get my bearings right.

Better to be Developmental than Judgmental...

A 4-year-old kid, C drew something.

She rushed to me to show it to me while I was attending to something.
She asked, “You see. You see. Colourful hor?”

I looked at the drawing half-heartedly. It was messy. And erm.. Nothing seemed right. But I was only thinking of getting back to what I was doing and so I simply gave her a very casual thumb-up.

Upon seeing my approval, she rushed back to her group of friends proclaiming out loudly, as-a-matter-of-factly and cheerfully, “Nanzi gor gor says it is colourful and nice!”

I heard that of course. I still continue to attend to what I was doing, but I know my mind wondered away… and I was no longer concentrating on what I was doing…

I was thinking…

- What would happen if I were to tell her the truth?
Hey, you really cannot make it leh. You call this a star? Stars got green, blue and red colours one meh? You just look at the proportion of the stars and moon, you must be kidding right? Now, you look at the people you draw, why their hands are of different sizes? Do you know each hand got how many fingers or not? How can the hands be so much bigger than the face? … …

- Is there really nothing in her drawing that was right?
She really put in effort, her best effort. She tried to make things colourful because she must have just learnt (from comments by adults) to associate the adjective “colourful” to "very nice". The concept of proportion may not have set in yet, but certainly the awareness of the co-existence of moon and stars is a plus... ...

In short, we could always look at things in a more positive perspective. I believe my “affirmation” (albeit very casually done) gave her more courage to continue to experiment. I hope I have learned to be more sincere the next time, when attending to kids. And maybe give more constructive guidance, not just affirmative remarks.

What is the point of being so judgmental?
Oh well, there may be a need at certainly point in time, some argued.
Shouldn’t we be more developmental?
I believe we wouldn’t deny this (especially when we are at the receiving-end) . I just hope I wouldn’t forget this in practice. :o)

I also try to draw stars and moon.
You see, you see, colourful hor?
I think my style of drawing has been very much influenced by C. Haha..
So are you going to "develop" me? :P

- - - - - - - - - -

By the way, I find the following "simple yet so powerful" clip pretty amazing.

"Kiwi!" is an animation about a Kiwi - a type of bird that cannot fly, who spends its whole life working towards achieving his dream … no matter how absurd and seemingly out of reach your dreams are, what's stopping you from achieving them? … read more

听海 - Listening to the Sea

Some of us were just sitting by the rocks just beside the sea, listening to the sea. We didn’t talk a lot, we didn’t talk too loud either. There wasn’t any need for much conversation, maybe. And I think we liked it that way. The splashing of the waves on the rocks was pretty rhythmic and so we let the waves did the talking and we listened. We didn’t talk about what we had heard, but we will certainly hear something if we were attentive enough. It was calming, especially coupling with the soothing breeze.

I was with some *little pals and we were at the beach and the sun was good.

These *little pals were in the same class in 2005, but were spilt in 2006. So they were together as a class for just about 9 months or so. Today, they decided to get together as a class again and ha.. they got me to join them too. It somewhat amazed me that this class in 2005 is that close. Many commented that they would be happier if they were to be still in the same class in 2006. Aiyo.. Is the mistake mine? Mm..

Putting that feeling aside…
I think today we still had a pretty good time.

We were playing soccer and volleyball. I think I bent all the rules of the game(s), because in the first place I don’t know the rules (particularly soccer). :P I can’t help but to notice that some people were watching us. They must be finding it weird to see a lao uncle playing with these *little pals right? Haha.. I don’t care.

Confirmed! My stamina really cannot make it. I was in the verge of giving up in the midst of the game(s) while most of them seem to be still going strong. Malu sia, but I persevered on lor. I then took any chance to support anyone suggesting a break. Haha..

Most of the time, we were just sitting around chatting. Once in a while, we just get ourselves soaked and wet.

The good part of the morning and afternoon just went by like that.
Tired, we may be.
Relaxed and contented, we are.
Aiyo.. I think I never learn. I forgot all about sun-block again.
Yes, I am red again. Heh..
Now that I'm typing this entry, I can feel that my skin is cracking at the nano level and the effect is escalating.
I hope I would not have another peeling session. Mm. Fat hope! :-)

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The following letter had been circulating in the email-circle for quite sometime. I read it a few times. Find it pretty interesting too. It makes me reflect more. I hope you can read "traditional" chinese text.

雲林縣草嶺國小李政勳的一封信

這是一所即將被合併的小學校,校長與心中小孩的對話,確實是蠻令人感慨的!

孩子：「校長，我們學校為什麼要被合併？」

校長：「孩子，學校合併後可以省很多錢呀！」

孩子：「校長，辦教育很貴嗎？」

校長：「不，孩子，辦教育比辦監獄、比請警察、比整治治安便宜。」

孩子：「校長，那為什麼要省教育的錢？」

校長：「孩子，你不懂，教育要計算成本的。」

孩子：「校長，你養小孩有算成本嗎？用多少錢可以買到孩童的笑臉？用多少錢可以買到生命裡的感動？用多少錢可以買到老師無悔的付出？用多少錢可以買到社區的希望？用多少錢可以買到校長的熱忱？用多少錢可以買到政府的責任？」

校長：「孩子，你不懂，教育是很貴的，政府沒錢了。」

孩子：「校長，政府沒錢為什麼還可以常常放煙火？為什麼還可以常常辦晚會？為什麼花大錢買武器？為什麼常常印刷一些沒人看的文宣？為什麼馬路挖了又挖？為什麼做一些沒用又破壞環境的攔砂壩？」

校長：「……」

校長：「孩子，校長告訴你，到大學校去，有多一點的同學，多一點人際互動，你的學習會更豐富。」

孩子：「校長，山上有各式各樣的蝴蝶、滿山遍野的野花、青翠高聳的大樹、驍勇善戰的鍬形蟲陪著我，和我一起玩，難道不能幫助我的學習嗎？」

校長：「孩子，美好的學習經驗必須和人互動，走入人群。」

孩子：「校長，司馬遷寫下史記時；梵谷畫出向日葵時；貝多芬譜出命運時；愛迪生讓電燈發亮時，有和人群在一起嗎？」

校長：「……」

孩子：「校長，要合成本，要多人一起讀書，那為什麼是我們要往山下走呢？」

校長：「孩子，因為下面的資源多ㄚ！」

孩子：「校長，醫院在山下、圖書館在山下、文化中心在山下、書局在山下，所有一切用稅金蓋給全民的東西為什麼都在山下，為什麼？」

校長：「孩子，因為我們人少啊！」

孩子：「校長，人少也是一種錯嗎？人少就應受不公平待遇嗎？我聽爸媽說，以前我們這裡也曾一班有很多人，九二一不是我們自願的，農產品不賺錢也不是我們自願的，我們的祖先選擇在山上更不是我們自願的，為什麼我們不能享有最基本的教育公平環境。」

校長：「孩子，你現在好好讀書，以後可以幫助家鄉啊！」

孩子：「校長，現在連學校都保不住，等我長大，家鄉還在嗎？」

希望這個孩子的父母不是您，但不幸的，這個校長就是我，我真的被這個孩子問到無話可說。

每個人心中，都有一個孩子。靜下心時，這個孩子會跟您說話，我被這個孩子問到熱淚盈眶，您呢？傾聽心中孩子的聲音吧!

雲林縣草嶺國小李政勳敬上

They Got Me into a Pool & then into a Box

These *little pals, examination is over for them and they are playing like crazy. They are seriously playing and .. oh well, at the back of their mind, they know they are going to play hard for a while more (or until they are sick of playing or until their means run dry – whichever comes earlier). I would have done alike. =)

Interestingly, they asked me out to join them too. So on different days, with different groups..

- We dined and chatted for long… ha.. just about anything and everything.

- They got me into a pool. Haha.. Kidding, not what you are thinking, I supposed. They asked me along to join them in the game of pool. I learnt that some of them are plain solid, so pro in the game. I was like.. erm.. never mind, I was not that horrible lah. :P
It was enjoyable.
What was the last time, I played the game? I think it was years back with J at Bukit Timah area. It was pretty memorable too.

- They got me into a box. Erps.. I’m exaggerating again, not what you are thinking, I hoped. I wasn’t stuffed. Haha.. They asked me along to join them at K-Box. Wa.. Realised got so many tian-wang- and tian-hou-calibre singers. I am impressed by their vocal stamina, which I can't match. They just went on and on...

- Once, they also suggested to play LAN in town after dinner. I followed them into a shop (it was one amongst so many in the area). Kaoz.. Only to realise I was running short of time and I got to rush to another appointment. If not, that would be my first LAN experience.

There are a few more get-togethers in the schedule. ;)

They are happy now, I can see.
Happiness Always! :)

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有一位圣者这么说：

所听到的道理不是教训人，而是自我教训、自我回光返照；
所得到的启示，是来自内心的领会、所感应的灵感；
而将其流露在动静之中，潜移默化于人，
启开自我之心，才能指示自我之方向。
如此，便能打开他人之心，引导他人之迷津。

Fellowship of NZ Conquest

The Fellowship of NZ Conquest got together.

Master W sets the goals and plans the paths.
Schemer F evaluates the resources, ensuring a smooth conquest.
Schemer-supporter D makes sure F is doing a good job.
Conquerer S shall have our safety at heart.
Oh, certainly they need soldiers, let ME be one. Haha..

We pledge to have fun in a very relax manner.
We wanna conquer NZ,
but will gladly surrender ourselves to the beauty of nature...

Kaoz.. What am I talking? Haha..
I'm just glad things are taking shape and certainly becoming clearer.
The anticipation is .. erm.. such a wonderful feel by itself.

Really thankful for whatever that is happening (even) right now. :)

~ ~ Marlborough Sound ~ ~

Just a sample picture of a scenic NZ.

A Little Note on Epiphyllum

I woke up in the middle of the night, taking a sip of warm water, still thinking about the dreamy (yet vivid) scenes of meeting so and so, taking about this and that, meeting people I have been longing to meet, talking about things I have been longing to talk about… Alright, the dreamy scenes aside, I was looking out of the kitchen window at my neighbour’s gardening area and I was greeted warmly by some blossoming Epiphyllums.

They were mesmerizing. Under normal circumstances, I would have just grabbed my camera and snapped away. But the lighting wasn’t favourable and I just have to rely on what I can kope from the net :

If you are thinking : wait till morning lah!
Then you don’t know much about Epiphyllum. Haha..

Epiphyllum only blossom in the middle of the night. ( 静悄悄的开 )
It withers a few hours later when the sun rises. ( 也静悄悄的离开 )
Hence the phrase 昙花一现 to describe such observation.
Oh, yes, by the way, Epiphyllum = 昙花 .

My mother used to plan Epiphyllum too in the past. I could smell the blossom too and it smells good. Each developed bud only flowers once at night for a few hours and due to the slightly different timing in development, we could see different buds flowering (in the middle of the night) and withering (in the next morning) for consecutive days. I quite like the experiences.

Looking at them and appreciating them, they somehow set me thinking :

- We like beautiful things and like things to turn out beautiful. Even when things are beautiful or turns out to be beautiful, they are not going to last. Many times, they are much more short-lived than we expect or hope to be.

- Yes, please continue to like beautiful things and hope things to turn out beautiful. Cherish the moments (every moment), not just by words and thoughts, but actions too.

- What if things aren’t beautiful or are not becoming beautiful any tme sooner? Have we also learned to accept them bravely and strongly as reality, yet optimistic enough that there are still other beautiful things to look forward to?

- Many opportunities may come by (but) only once. Even our life-time now happens only once. If we are allow to write our own biography, how would we want to begin and how would we want to end?

Aiyo.. I am really long-winded lor. I should not ramble on and make this entry too long. Of course, my writing may stop, but let our thinking continues…

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An inspiration note left by an author :

我们都老得太快，却聪明得太迟。
人人都很愿意牺牲当下，去换取未知的等待 。
许多人认为必须等到某时或某事完成之后再采取行动：
明天我就开始运动；
明天我就会对他好一点；
下星期我们就找时间出去走走；
退休后，我们就要好好享受一下。
然而，生活总是一直变动，环境总是不可预知，
在现实生活中，各种突发状况总是层出不穷。

一个人永远也无法预料未来，所以不要延缓想过的生活，
不要吝于表达心中的话，因为生命只在一瞬间。
每个人的生命都有尽头，许多人经常在生命即将结束时，
才发现自己还有很多事没有做，有许多话来不及说，
这实在是人生最大的遗憾。
別让自己徒留「为时已晚」的空余恨。
逝者不可追，来者犹未卜，
最珍贵、最需要即时掌握的「当下」，
往往在这两者蹉跎间，转眼错失。

有许多事，在你还不懂得珍惜之前已成旧事；
有许多人，在你还来不及用心之前已成旧人。
遗憾的事一再发生，
但过后再追悔「早知道如何如何」是没有用的，
「那时候」 已经过去，你追念的人也已走过了你的生命。
不管你是否察觉，生命都一直在前进。
人生并未售来回票，失去的便永远不再。

将希望寄予「等到方便的时间才享受」，
我们不知失去了多少可能的幸福。
不要再等待有一天你「可以松口气」，
或是「麻烦都过去了」。
生命中大部分的美好事物都是短暂易逝的，
享受它们、品尝它们，善待你周围的每一个人，
別把时间浪费在等待所有难题的「完满结局」上。

找回迷失的生命。
死亡也许是免费的 ─ 但是，卻要付出生命的代价。
我們老得太快，却聪明得太迟。
我们要懂得把握當下，莫等待。

Starting Late?

I have noticed 2 candidates appeared so much more mature compared to the rest of the candidates. A quick check reviewed that the slightly older one is aged 33. They are re-taking their A Level this year. They must be in their mid-career (one even turned up for the paper in long-sleeve shirt and business pants) , but still aspiring to go into university.

Somehow, there is this feeling of admiration towards them. Really admire their determination.

Maybe, there is no such thing as starting late.

Maybe...
- as long as we know we really want...
- as long as we have the support from our loved ones...
- as long as we have the means...
- as long as we are happy about it...

Why not? :)

Oh, in case, we think we are (too) late for something, just speed off and go a little faster. ;)
不怕慢、只怕站、更怕回头转。

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有一位圣者这么说：

道理不要做文字解、不要做字义解，
要从心灵方面去体会、去深入，
能够更渗透心灵层次、每一个层次，
道理才会越听越有味道、越嚼越有味道，
而这味道长留在口中，
不会因为东西吞下去了就没味道。

@ Blue Wave

There were plenty of waiting.
While waiting, of course there was plenty of chatting too. Oh, what did I see? My homeland viewed from across the causeway. Ha.. And so I captured this

Oh no, this is just too much for a pair of eyes to see. Zooming in a little..
More to the right :

And I thought the ripples on the water surface were rather calming.

More to the left (out of that big picture actually) :

See those red-white pillars at Senoko? But actually it was the little pier (on the bottom-right) that drew most of my attention. Pier – A starting point of getting-away. What am I thinking? Mm..

More waiting, more chatting, more looking-around till sun-down :

And then dinner began.
All ended pretty punctually.
Thanks for all the planning.
We left with filled stomach.
Somehow I still felt a little empty. Mm..