Journey To Remember

Remember......

2011-11-29T16:05:00.000-08:00

Parenting skills are so different from the days whilst i was growing up. I remember the phrase that children could be seen but not heard. If we expressed an opinion, most likely we would have got a knock on the head for speaking out. I remembered the times that i have spoken out loud, my parents, my aunt or my uncles would have given me that stern look, so i had better keep my mouth shut. We learned total obedience and we just do what we are told to do.
Nowadays, it is so different. If you tell a child to clean up her room, the reply would be i have a lot of homework to. Yet she would be sitting on the sofa watching the TV or playing games on her handphone. If you remind her a second or third time, the reply would be 'yes, i know....i'll do it later'. What a contrast! Yet today, child psychologists say that children are very stressed. Well, i just wonder what are they stressed about. The parents of today give their almost everything they can afford. They are chauffered to school daily, good food on the table and wear the most beautiful clothes that their parents can afford. This really set me to recall the way i was brought up. I had to wake up at 5 a.m. every morning to wash the clothes and make sure they are all proerly hung up on the clothes lines. Carry buckets of water from the roadside tap and fill up all the big receptacles in the house. After that only could i change and walk 4 0r 5 kilometeres. Of course, i was most happy at school. After school, i must head straight for home. After a quick lunch, i had to set about doing all the household chores, collect firewood, cook dinner and so forth. It was only late at night we had a little time to do our homework and complete them. We did not experience any stress, we only know if we did not complete all our chores, we would certainly receive a good spanking.
Now as i reflect on my own childhood, i realized that my parents did not do such a bad job bringing me up their way........

Remembering...

2011-11-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

It's been such a long while since i visited my blog. Time truly flies....i didn't realised that it is more than a year ago that i wrote. Well, my little grandchild is now a toddler ....crawling and walking everywhere as long as she can hold on to something. Guess this is what kept me busy all the time. Little HM is a bubbly child, always smiling and gurgling....but she also has a temper of her own. She likes to play with the TV remote control, handphones and computer keyboards. If i take away any of these items while she is playing with it, she can literally scream the house down. Modern mums and dads nowadays are very different from my days. My time, i would have smacked her bottom for being so naughty....not too hard but enough to discipline the child. Nowadays, the parents always give in to their children....thus we have loads of spoilt children who do not understand the word 'NO'. I truly hope and pray that HM will not be one of these spoilt children.
Another observation......modern parents buy lots of toys for their children. These toys are certainly very expensive. However, after a while , the child gets bored with it and they are put away for storage or given away. What a waste of good money. Mothers today hardly make any soft toys for their children...the easiest way is to go to a shop and get one...fast and save time. I would think making a soft toy for one's own child would show how the mum loves the child..in the literal sense.
Yes, i am showing that grandparent love by knitting a neck scarf for HM......learning how to knit now when i'm in my sixties. In my young days, i did a lot of tatting and crochet, but never knitted. Well, i guess it is never too late to learn. To all grandparents, it can also be fun to learn at this age........

Remembering.....

2011-04-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

I would like to share my thoughts on Maundy Thursday service which was held yesterday at the Wesley Church. The pastor shared with us about the washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus and the last supper. I think all of us do not have any problem regarding the last supper, after all we have been reading this passage of scripture every year. The washing of the disciples' feet was Jesus teaching us about humility and servanthood. I think all of us accepted this too. However, when the pastor went on to teach us about Jesus washing the feet of someone whom He knew would betray him that this really hit home. i have been wrestling with this doctrine the whole day. How to wash your enemy's feet? How to be a servant to someone whom you know have betrayed you?
Tonight was Good Friday service. Jesus had to carry his own cross all the way to Golgotha. i remembered the way very well...i had the privilege of walking the same route some years ago. Again pastor shared about us carying our own crosses every day. Crosses are not burdens. Burdens we can surrender to the Lord but crosses we have to carry every day. This is indeed food for thought. We need to differentiate what are our burdens and what are our crosses. Cast all your burdens upon the Lord for He cares for you. Carry your crosses daily and God will show you His plans for you and bless you richly........amen to that.

Remember....

2011-04-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

It is almost a month since i came home. The moment the plane landed in KLIA that i realized i truly missed being home. Home is where the heart is and how true. It was certainly good to be in familiar place again after so long. To be away from home for almost six months is just too long. After a good rest and sleep, i went out to look for good old Malaysian food. I never knew that i missed the curry noodles so much. Of course, they do sell curry noodles Down Under, but the taste is so different. In fact, there are lots of so called Malaysian food sold in Australia, but somehow the food cooked there taste different. Apart from the food, i missed all my friends too. It was good to know that my friends missed me too. There was so much of catching up and chit chatting and we still have not finished yet. The saddest part was a good friend had gone home to be with the Lord. This is one person whom i visited regularly and spent time together sharing our thoughts and experiences. Well, i shall always cherish our time together and remember him with fondness in my heart. When we reached sixty years of age, it is as if the time we have left has suddenly become less. I don't know but this is exactly how i feel now. So i must learn to value the time i have left on the earth.....to learn to love instead of sowing discord and hatred. Maybe then when i leave this earth, people would remember me with fondness too.

Remember.....

2011-02-12T19:59:00.000-08:00

How time flies! Tomorrow will be the middle of February and it's Valentine's Day. As usual, the restuarants will be fully booked by young and old to celebrate Valentines's Day. As for me, my valentine is my brand new grandchild. She is such a lovable baby and cute. She was born on 1 Jan 2011. we love to write her date of birth as 1.1.11.
After more than thirty years of not taking care of a baby, i find this quite a novelty. The type of care that we were used to is of course quite different now. Nowadays, any thing that one need to know is quite easy...just go and look for information in the internet. Even taking care of baby is so high tech. As i remember, it is so simple then to take care of a baby. We did not have a wide range of milk formula to choose from, and we used only one milk bottle not six. Baby clothes were simple ones...all sewn by my mother. Now i look at Hannah-Maree's clothes and they are just beautiful. Baby's toys are also so plentiful and colourful. I remembered Christina had a baby doll and it was made of plastic. That was the only toy she had until Barbie dolls were in the market.
How time have changed.....children of today are so much more fortunate. Anyway, i'm just wondering what sort of toys will the children of future generation be like????

Remembering......

2011-01-29T13:37:00.000-08:00

Hannah-Maree was born nearly a month ago. This is truly a time of remembering how i took care of Christina when she was brought home to me by my mother. As i take a good hard look at Hannah-Maree, i realized she is just like her mother....the way she sleeps and stretches herself....the very same posture indeed. Hannah-Maree is a good baby in many ways except when she cries for her feed. She must be fed immediately or she will scream the whole building down. After more than thirty years, a baby in the house certainly draw all your attention. In the midst of doing housework or cooking, the moment she cries, everything is put aside to attend to her. The modern baby is so precious.....nothing less than the best the parent can afford is given to her. This baby is truly blessed indeed.
This month is also a time of trying to remember the dishes i need to cook for the nursing mother. This is the most important month for a lady who has just given birth. She needs to eat the proper type of food so as to boost up the health of the mother. So, one imagine the amount of sesame oil, ginger, chicken and meat and fish one has to consume to return to good health. I must say this one month, Christina has indeed much more healthier than before.
On the other hand, i have put on much weight because i share the same food with Christina. I remembered my mum used to have seperate food from us. We would not have a chance of tasting her specially cooked food. Nowadays, because of economic reasons, one can get to eat all type of food if one can afford it and know how to cook it. How time has changed. I just hope it will be for the better............

Rejoice......

2010-12-29T15:17:00.002-08:00

After almost two and a half months away from home, it is indeed good to be back home even for a short while. It is good to meet familiar faces again. However, it is also sad to hear and know that quite a number of friends have since migrated to another world. This brings to mind that one needs to value friendship because life is so transcient, here a moment gone the next. Life is always in the hands of our Maker. We can't prolong our lives a minute nor can we shorten it. We need to live our lives to the fullest....thanking God for each moment. Another aspect we need to learn is to accept change. Change seems to be the constant factor nowadays. Friends moving to live in another place....certain places in town change due to development. Guess this is what life is all about.
Personally, i too need to adapt to change. Never in my adult life would i dream of travelling between Malaysia and Australia twice in a year. This is something i still can't believe. This morning, the Malaysian Airlines System called me to change my morning flight to the night flight so that connecting passengers from Europe can go straight to Sydney. For being agreeable to the change of plan, i was upgraded to business class. Wow! This is certainly a great treat and new year present. I know i will never be able afford a business class ticket. This certainly a change i would welcome.....truly thank the Almighty for this great chance. Everyone in the family was certainly thrilled at my good fortune.
The next three months will be busy enough for me. Christina's baby will be due in two weeks. So it will be a time of cooking for the nursing mother....and help out to care for the little one. This will be another change for me too....a new addition to the family. Come what may, i need to learn to rejoice in all circumstances. However, i never dream i would someday be a grandmother. It is certainly a pleasure and i hope i would be a good granny to the little girl.

2010-12-29T15:17:00.001-08:00

Remember.......

2010-11-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

It's been almost six weeks since i arrived in Sydney. I must say during these six weeks i have my up and down moments. The last time, i said i needed to follow the young generation with their ways and their thinking, and to keep my opinion to myself. Well, needless to say, this is easier said than done. I guess an old lady like me is simply too set in her ways, and just too difficult to change...thus, i often ended up in heated exchanges. I suppose this is what people call the 'generation gap'.
Here are some of the things i need to remember....firstly to keep your thoughts and ways of doing things to yourself. The younger people have their ways of doing things in their own home. You can only have your own opinion and your own ways of doing things when your are in your own home. So, i need to remember this. Secondly, clear up any mess immediately...remember you're not in your own home and you cannot take your time clearing up. So, please remember this too. These few weeks made me realized that when one is getting old, the reflexes are getting slower and even the memory is playing havoc. Things simply got misplaced. Luckily, i still remember how to catch the train home after a day out in the city.
The weather is also not predictable....often rains and too cold for my liking. I guess i just can't wait to go home to Teluk Intan. As the saying goes...there's no place like home.

Relationships.........

2010-10-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

i have learnt, in these two weeks, relationships change in time and space. Relationships in the past will always remain in the past. Future relationships will have to be built in the present. Things can never be the same. A hard lesson for an old lady like me to learn but i have to learn neverthelessor else face some severing of a relationship. Even the close relationship between a mother and daughter can be affected after the said daughter got married. The mother must realized that the daughter's world view has changed because she is now the partner of a man. As they build a life together, she too has to adjust and change in her outlook in life. This is quite a shock for many chinese mums like me .....as we thought nothing can change the relationship between a mother and a daughter. How wrong i was! Now i understood how my own mother felt when my sisters got married....why she preferred to live with me.
I certainly learnt to speak when spoken to....don't be too eager to offer your opinion. Your opinion does not matter....so keep you opinion to yourself. From now onwards, just follow their ways...they are happy, you are happy so as to speak. The whole world will be at peace.........

Remember....the civics lesson we learnt

2010-09-26T05:46:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks, i read with interest some of the news items in the papers and this kept me wondering what has happened to the moral values that we had learned. It looks as if society is now moving towards a situation where moral values do not exist at all. We are going backwards to an age where only the laws of the jungle is in force. Survival of the foetus is the only law we know.
Children nowadays are not taught about showing respect to the elderly. They are not taught to be polite, to be well mannered, to care for others and to be humble. For example, during a buffet lunch or dinner, they are not taught to take enough food for themselves and to leave food for others who are at the back of queue. When every one has taken their share, then they can go for a second round. Instead, one can see the children just pick the food they like best and piled onto their plates as high as a mountain. If they can't finish the food, they just dumped it into the bin. What a wastage of good food and the people at the back of the queue has none. The second observation is that children are not well disciplined. They are left to do as they like. The parents don't seem to teach their children what is right from what is wrong. So when something terrible happens, they begin to ask questions....but then, it will be too late.
I always wondered why as a nation progresses, there are so many social problems. Then i realized parents are very hardworking indeed to earn as much money as possible. As a result, they spend very little time with their children. Consequently, the children are not taught properly or disciplined. The cycle goes on and on until today this is the result we see. I'm truly fearful for our future generations...........if we don't act now.

Remember....

2010-09-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

Today is the first Saturday in September. How time flies! As i was watching Hurricane Earl on TV, i remembered the storm we experienced in Teluk Intan on Monday. Almost the same time every year, around the end of August or the beginning of September, we sure would experience some form of this type of tropical storm. Well, it was not like a hurricane but the winds were strong enough to cause some forms of damage. Many roofs of houses were being blown off, trees were down. This time around, the winds were strong enough to shift the tiles of my house and water was dripping profusely down from the ceiling. Fortunately, it was confined to one room only. The telephone line in my house was down too. For two days, i could not make any calls nor receive calls. Also, this time around, some parts of town had hail stones too. What a storm....it came suddenly, caused damages to some houses and we were left assessing the destruction. For those people whose roofs were blown off, would have spent quite a bit to replace them. Anyway, storms of such destructive nature were unheard of while i was young then. It was only in the last decade or so we experienced such severe storms. I wonder if this is the consequence of us cutting down forests to make way for housing projects to cause this form of climate change. Also, for the past few years, big trees of more than a hundred years old were being cut down because they were too old. I remembered while i was still teaching then, a new principal would come with ideas of planting lots of trees around the school compound. We teachers would be so happy because it would not be so hot around the school and we had some shade for our cars. After 7 or 8 years when another principal came, he would start cutting down all those trees because he had other ideas. I remembered very vividly the day i went back to school after the long holidays, how bright the whole school compound was, then i realized why....the trees were all gone.

Remember.....

2010-08-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

We met in church....the Chans, the Chins and I. After that we went out for lunch at a local restaurant. The food was good and we really enjoyed ourselves. For the Chans, it has been some time since they tasted Malaysian dishes so they really like them. There was so much to talk about.....their lives in Brisbane and our lives here in Malaysia. The topic on politics is never far and today especially they were waiting to know the outcome of the election results in Australia.
The get together for lunch was not enough so we met again for dinner. This time i got to meet Kelly, the Chan's only daughter, and her husband and her two sons. Oh, her two sons are really cute. The younger son, Nelson, looks exactly like Shawn, Kelly's brother when he was at that age.Then, there's Jeanie Chin's grandson Nathan, who too looks exactly like his father when he was a little boy. So imagine the 'oooos' and the 'ahhhs' when we saw these little ones. Truly, this brings back memories when we were young then. Well, i guess at this time in our lives, all we have will be our memories....... our happy times or otherwise.
Anyway, i shall be meeting the Chans again in the not so distant future in Brisbane i hope. Kelly and her family will flying back to Holland tomorrow night. Eddy and Lucy Chan will be going to Singapore for a week......Sydney for another week...then back home to Brisbane. What a flying visit but we were certainly glad to see each other again.

Remember.......

2010-08-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday 22nd August 2010.....a day of reunion again. The Chans are in town. They emigrated to Down Under more than twenty years ago and today they are back for another visit. This is true friendship...never forget each other.....trying to meet each other when ever possible. I remembered the times I spent at their home in the palm oil estate. What wonderful times we had. This is one family who was very hospitable and still is. The invitation to their home in Brisbane is still open.....come visit anytime...just let us know. This has been their parting words whenever we contact each other.
Jeanie and Solomon together with their grandson are also in town for a visit, and also to meet the Chans. I truly thank the One above for our friendship.We have continued to be good friends all these years. Throughout we have supported each other, encouraged each other, cried together in our sorrowful moments and laughed together in our joyful moments...and the moments i like best were the times we laughed at our sillyness. It's good to be able reflect on our actions and reactions on hindsight. This helps to mould our character to become better persons i hope. We are already in our sixties, and we are still learning about life. Indeed, life is a long learning process....we can always learn something new every day.
Today, after church, we will have lunch at a restuarant in town....a time of fellowship. After all the chatting and laughing, we'll say goodbye and hope to meet again sometime in the near future. I guess this is what life is all about..........

Remember.....

2010-08-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

We met for breakfast. As i had thought, the topic of conversation was centred around her adaptation to life in the city and the grandchild of course. After breakfast, the three of us set out to paint the town red. Our first task was to accompany her to three banks to close accounts and to transfer funds to other accounts. Then we to the shops and the market to get all the much need ingredients for her cooking spree in the city. The amount of food and dried ingredients that she bought will be enough to last her for the next two months or so. She kept telling us that it is so easy to get all the stuff she needed in a small town like Teluk Intan which, of course, i totally agreed with her. This is one of the reasons which i would like to stay permanently in this small town. I would certainly like to go 'jalan-jalan' in the city once in a while.['Jalan-jalan' means visiting or touring in the local language].
Many of my friends who had migrated to bigger cities always have the same old complain when they come back to visit Teluk Intan. The people in TI are so much friendlier. It is so easy to buy stuff needed for cooking. In the big cities, one has to travel a long distance just to get some stuff. The most important thing is, just with a trip to the town, all the household bills will be paid. In the cities, one has to locate the relevant places first before one can pay the bills and these offices can be far from each other. Not so in Teluk Intan. One can just park the car in one place and almost all the offices are within walking distance. Well, my advice to all my friends who were adventurous enough to migrate to cities after retirement is this...it's time to learn to use the computer and pay all your bills online........hahaha........

Remember....

2010-08-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

Today is August 16th. Half of the month left. It seems time is just flying. To my students, time seems to move so slowly. They are just waiting for their exams to be over and then to have a good time during the year end holidays. Ah...the minds of the young! We older folks will just dread the start of another year. It will mean we have to make contingencies for the new year. It is interesting to see parents make all sorts of plans for their children for the coming year. As for me, though Christina is now married, i still have some plans in my mind. At the moment, the coming addition of a new member to the family circle is in my uppermost mind. I realized that eventhough i had a western type of education and influence, in many aspects, i am still very chinese in my thinking. I guess this is the legacy my parents left me...to take care of the family. This trait is already ingrained in me that i can't change much. Many a time, i wish i could change but i simply can't because it is like forsaking my duties....and this is not good for my conscience.
Today, i am also going to meet one of my morning walk croonies for breakfast. She has migrated to the city of Kuala Lumpur but miss us too much. So she comes back to Teluk Intan quite often to do her shopping of fish and chicken and to meet up with her friends of which i am one of them. I know we will be talking about her new life in the city and also about her granddaughter. ....

Remember....

2010-08-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

Remember...

2010-08-01T04:45:00.002-07:00

Today is the first day in August. How time flies. It is just like the blink of an eye and we have already entered the second half of 2010. i am trying to recall what are the stuff i have done so far. Apart from the usual household chores, i managed to complete two patchwork blankets for my girl. At the moment, i am sewing a smaller one for the future grandkid. As i reflect upon my days , i realised that i'm just like my mother. She too did a lot of patchwork in her life time for family members, friends and relatives and she even sold a few to good friends. I remembered mom would asked me to take her round to all the garment factories around town and to buy all those remnant materials for her patchwork. She would buy them by the sacks and when she reached home, she would sort them out piece by piece. The ones that she could use, she would put them aside in boxes and the unwanted ones would be thrown away. i used to nag at her that she was just wasting good money as she would had thrown away more than she could use. As a result ,i started using the smaller pieces to create my own patchwork. Because the pieces of material were so small, i had to hand stitched the patchwok. It would be impossible to use the sewing machine. So mom had the whole sewing machine to herself. In a way, this was a good arrangement because we didn't have to share the sewing maching. So today, i need to thank mom for those smaller pieces of remnant material. If they were thrown them away, i would not be making use of them. By sewing, i have found a good way to make good use of my time other than reading or listening to the news on CNN, BBC, Aljezeera or the Australian news network. Mothers' Day this year has long passed but i would like to take this opportunity to say thank you mother. As usual, mother knows best what is good for her children when she had rested from her labours......i hope too that i will be able to leave a legacy for Christina when i migrate to another planet.

2010-08-01T04:45:00.001-07:00

Remember....

2010-07-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

The World Cup Football is almost over. Germany versus Uruguay on Saturday and Spain versus The Netherlands on Sunday. Yes, football fever is on, even here in sleepy Teluk Intan. This brought to mind the football final in 1974 between Germany and Holland at that time. That day was the day i bought my first televion set. It was a National T.V. set and a black and white one. The shop had to deliver it in time so that we can watch the final that night. What a treat for my dad as he loved watching football. So it was football which made me buy my first T.V. set. Since then, this is the 10th world cup that i'm watching on T.V.
You can imagine the amount of bettings that are going on at this time. Large number of people have already fled the little town of Teluk Intan.....for fear of the moneylenders. Here we call them the 'Alongs'. My students told me that many people have borrowed from these loan sharks to make bets. Well, the results have all gone wrong. They had to leave town because they just can't pay back the loan sharks.....principal plus the interest, this can be quite a hefty sum. Well, even students in schools make bets. Few lucky ones will be enjoying their ice-creams for some months to come. Bets on ice-creams....loose three ice- creams but if you win, you'll get thirty ice-creams. I still cannot make out how they bet, and i guess i will never understand...........

Remember......

2010-07-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Dorothy has left Teluk Intan for two weeks already. She's a grand old lady of more than eighty years old. I have known her for more than fifty years, and i can't imagine that, at this great age, she has to leave this little quiet town and resettle in noisy busy city of Petaling Jaya. I always thought that most senior citizens would retire in small quiet towns like Teluk Intan or Kampar or even Bidor, but i thought wrong. We retirees are so set in our ways that we won't find it easy to readjust to life in new places. However, readjust to new places we must when we find ourselves in a situation like Dorothy. Living all alone in a house when one is old is certainly not recommended. The amount of housework we have to do on our own sometimes boggles me....cooking,washing, dusting, wiping, even gardening. There's no one willing to do these chores even if one is willing to pay for these services. So, we have to do all these on our own. Also, our mobility is limited nowadays. We have to learn to do things slower than before. We have to learn to take little rests in between our chores, lest we get tired...and we certainly get tired easily.
I am thinking of myself at the moment. Will i have to make this choice in twenty years' time if God grace me with another twenty years of life? I don't know. But i hope i don't have to make this choice...i am praying that i would be healthy still till that day. One thing i learnt from this...life is nver certain....we need to learn to take life one day at a time. Making plans is when you are young. Now that you are old, live your life to the fullest for the day. We will never know what tomorrow will bring............

Remember....

2010-06-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Parents' Day in church. A day to remember our roles as parents. It was good to see so many children in church today to celebrate together with their parents. Sometimes i too wonder ..was i a good parent to Christina while she was growing up? Did i bring her up properly to face such challenges that are in the world today? Every time that she calls me from Down Under to chat or to share her experiences with me, i must confess that i worried for her too. Though she is now married herself and has a husband to share her life with, there are certain things only a daughter can share with her mother, the woman who has brought her up. In these circumstances, it is good to know that as a mother, you are still very important to your girl. Nowadays, we share and exchange recipes that we have tried out and the dish turned out nice. We exchange news about our mutual friends or share with each other our funny encounters with people.
This brings to mind my own relationship with my parents. The relationship was so very different. We were told to obey what they told us to do....without questions or arguement. As a matter of fact we just have to be submissive to them. Even now they are dead and gone...i.m still trying to understand the parents of yesteryears. One thing i realized was that our parents followed the example of their parents..and i believed this is one of the ways the sins of the forefathers being passed from one generation to another generation. This is because we believe that what our parents did was always right.
Today i count myself very blessed indeed. I was the blessed few who managed to go to school and got an education, went to college and had a career. I know i'm a different from my own parents. I'm guided by a different set of values in life. I hope that when the time comes when Christina herself becomes a parent, she will have better set of values in her life to pass on to her own children....

Remembering....

2010-05-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

This week, we saw in the news how Bangkok was smouldering in flames and smoke. The destruction is just unbelievable, I can't imagine the level of anger and frustration as shown by the Thai people, but i can understand their feelings. All of us do experience some form of anger and frustrations and we have to release all these pent-up emotions.
I was in Bangkok a couple of years ago. A sprawling city...the roads were very wide indeed. During traffic jams, we hardly heard the sound of car horns....motorists just sat there waiting patiently for the long line of vehicles to move. It took us almost three hours to reach our hotel from the airport.
The people there were friendly and always smiling. The shopkeepers were always polite and friendly and helpful too. I wonder how long the people there will take to rebuild Bangkok. My friends and i plan to visit Chiangmai in Northern Thailand and stopping for a few days in Bangkok this year end. ...but it looks as if we have to postpone our trip for the time being as the whole country in still very volatile and emotions can still run high. The next time i visit Bangkok, it will certainly look very different......

Remembering....

2010-05-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

correction at third line of last blog....it should be 60 years and not 60 days. Pardon the mistake.

Remembering....

2010-05-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today is Mother's Day. Though a year has passed by, i still remember my mum so vividly. 365 days have gone by, but the memories of her are still so fresh in the mind. The woman who had took care of me for almost 60 days...how can i forget her so soon. I'm sure the thoughts of her will still be embedded in my heart for many years to come.
What would i like to remember most about mum today? Obviously all the good and beautiful things about her ...a woman of courage... a woman, who in times of hardships,taught me to endure...a woman who taught me about hope in hopeless situations...a woman who gave her best to take care of the family. Pastor said today that it is mothers who will set examples for their children to follow. Well, it is true. How we turn out to be is what our mothers have taught us. The greatest teaching, i personally believe, is the ability to differentiate right from wrong. Sad to say, this is very lacking in our society today. Motherhood has undergone an evolution nowadays. Mothers are too busy......no time for their children. Children are left to do their own stuff. Television programmes are the mothers of today....the programmes teach our children what values should be, teaching our children to be aggresive and violence....certainly many of these cartoon networks are perpetuating many negative values.
As for myself, i hope i can say that i have brought up Christina to be well-balanced person....able to differ right and wrong. For the time being, i hope she is a good wife. To be a good wife and mother is not easy....but has to be learnt....so that generation from generation we can have children who will truly carry on the good name of the family.......

Remember.....

2010-04-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

I really try to remember when was it that the weather was so humid and hot. Simply can't remember a time when the days and nights are so hot.....and also i have to bathe 4 or 5 times a day. The moment one step out of the bathroom, the sweat glands start to work. So better sit under a fan to cool off first before one gets drenched in sweat all over again.
I went out to the garden this evening..and most of the plants are so limped for lack of water. Luckily there is no water rationing or else most of the plants will just withered away for lack of water. I wondered how people can survive in times of draught and the weather is hot. It is so blessed to live in a country where we are not affected by earthquakes, typhoons, or periods of draughts. Landslides.... yes in the rainy seasons. These landslides are generally caused by deforestation and the cutting of trees for development, so the authorities say. Anyway, can the cutting down of trees and deforestation cause such hot weather? I don't know.
Meanwhile, we just have to learn to adjust and to accept this hot weather stuff will be here to stay. Tomorrow will be another day and the hot weather will be here to stay.........

Remember.....

2010-04-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, 4th April, i met some of my classmates, seniors and juniors at one of my classmate's house warmning party. It was indeed nostalgic....meeting so many of them after more than forty years. Many of them i couldn't even remember their names or their faces. A few of them i could remember their faces but not their names. Some i could still remember their names and make out their faces. Just imagine! We left school in 1965. We are the boomers. Many of them are millionaires in their own right, having done very in the field of business, real estate and so on. They have indeed done very well in life and very generous too....contributing much financial help to the schools where they had studied in their childhood. A few of them truly live up to our school motto..'Live to Serve'
Besides the good food, wine and beer were free flowing. This is one night i realized that time is so short. There was so much catching up to do amongst the seventy or eighty of us. It seemed as if it was yesterday that we all left school and now that we meet again, all of us are already in our sixties. Many already have grandchildren! Many too have regain their single status. The next round of gathering i wonder how many of us will be able to attend...........

Remember.....

2010-03-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

The hot weather has finally come to an end i hope. I cannot remember a time when i really eagerly waiting for rain. It came yesterday...a very heavy downpour. Today, the day is just nice...cloudy and not so warm.
I took a ride round the town today.....and i missed the many big trees that lined the roads. Those big, big rain trees. I went to a particular part of town where many years ago there were those lovely trees where during the hot weather,the whole trees would be covered with bright red flowers.....our teacher told us these trees were called the flame of the forests. Another type of trees were covered with bright yellow flowers and we were told they were called the angsana trees. Yet another type of trees which were full of purple flowers, but i have forgotten the name of these trees. Where have all the trees gone? They all have been cut down in the name of development. In its place, we have broader roads, all tarred nicely but emitting such heat....
I went to a part of the riverside...it is so sad to see the river eroding away the banks. Nothing much is being done to prevent such erosion...a truly sad state of affairs. When can we have responsible statesmen who truly love the country and do something constructive so as to preserve the country for the future generations?
In such matters, we can only hope and pray............

Remembering....

2010-03-07T03:47:00.000-08:00

For the past week, the weather had been very, very hot. Nearly everyone in the house is having heat rashes and we are all scratching everywhere. There is no escape from the heat. Just wish to put a big block of ice in the bath water and cool off.
I was away in Hatyai in southern Thailand and the weather is also very terrible. No escape from the heat. I just wonder how the local Thai people can stand under their umbrella and sell their stuff in such great heat. In my entire life, i can't recall a time when we had experienced such heat. Even the mattress and pillows in the bed room is hot, not warm. No wonder my friends who live near shopping malls will go to these places to cool off in the afternoons.
The rain came today. Instead of cooling the earth, it make matter worse. After the shower of blessing, the earth emitted more heat, making us feel even worse.
Ah, when can we experience cool weather again. In another month i hope. The Chinese in this part of the country where i live believe that the 'cheng beng' period is a time of periodic showers and i certainly hope it is true. By the way, 'cheng beng' is a twenty days period where we visit and pray at the graveside of our parents and relatives. This is the time when we will experience periodic showers..not too heavy rain but enough to cool the earth. So i'm just hoping this time around the rain will come....the earlier the better.

Reflections.....

2010-02-27T12:35:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day of the CNY celebrations...the fifteenth day. I wonder what the year of the Tiger has installed for us all. Something good i hope...Tiger joy, Tiger health, Tiger wealth, Tiger prosperity and i hope Tiger peace. The tiger is such a beautiful animal and yet the rich people of Indonesia are encouraged by their government to adopt tigers and keep them in cages at the back of their gardens. This is to ensure their survival so they say. I wonder what the world has come too? I believe wild animals should be in the wilds and not be kept in captivity. Man should not be so greedy as to destroy the rain forests that the animals of the wild have no place they can call home. Man should realize that for all the wealth they amassed would one day be destroyed too and their efforts of hoarding more wealth would come to nought.
The CNY period this year see us experiencing the worst heat wave. It is simply unbearable even when we are inside the house. Imagine us sweating away even in an air-conditioned restaurant. This has never happened to me before as i would be the first to complain about the cold in an air-conditioned room. Times have changed, so they say. Indeed, it has, so be alert........

Remember.....

2010-02-23T05:11:00.000-08:00

The Chinese New Year celebrations almost over, another week to go. Time just don't fly, it just zooms. The first time that i spent the CNY without mum. My sister and i talked about the times when mum will tell us what to cook and what to do for the celebration. After all the recollection of the past, we realized that from this year onwards, we will have to set our own style of celebrating the CNY. We will set our own traditions and pass them to our future generation. In time, they too will set their own traditioons and pass them to their future generation.
However, i'm glad to know that the tradition of 'balik kampung' or going back to the ancestral home to spend the CNY is still very strong amongst us siblings. So, i was very glad my brother and his family came back to celebrate with me and my nephew. My sister too came to visit. Despite the fact that mum is no longer with us, we still feel the sense of family ties. This is good relationship indeed and i hope my nieces and nephews will carry on this tradition at least.
Celebration is also a time of eating and drinking. I'm sure i have put on two or three kilos already. So from now onwards, it will be a time exercising to control my weight. Just hope that i can go back to my original weight.......

Remember.....

2010-02-12T06:30:00.000-08:00

Time flies. Tomorrow will the last day of the year of the Bull according to the Chinese Lunar calendar. Most Chinese members will travel back to their parents' homes to celebrate the reunion dinner....and then welcome the New Year. Next year will be the year of the Tiger. It is predicted that the Tiger will enter the new year with a ferocious roar. After being hiding in his cave for so long, it is hope he will indeed roar his way into the new year. So, everyone can expect something exciting next year.
This will be the first Chinese New Year i will spend without the presence of mum. All said and done, i still missed her very much....the matriach of the family and the director of operations. This time around there is no one to direct us on what dishes to prepare and cook for the celebration. So, we just cook what we like to eat. This year though, we have lots of cookies and biscuits...gifts from friends. It is a good practice exchanging cookies...then we do not have to make so many types. Also, we get to sample each other's cookies.
Christina and Peter will be celebrating CNY in Sydney this time. I am so glad to know she will be celebrating the reunion dinner with her friends from HK and China. It is a pot bless session, so she too will be able to sample each other's cooking too.
I'm taking this opportunity to wish every one reading this a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.....and God's choicest blessings. Till then.......

Reflections.....

2010-01-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

We're in the middle of January....a new year has begun. Well, the year 2010 will be the beginning of another new family story. Christina has got married and there is a new addition to this family. Well, welcome to the family Peter, and may you enjoy our warm fellowship.
As i reflect upon the incidents of the past year...two members of family migrated to another planet, so as to speak.....another person has come to join the family. I guess this is what life is all about. Our loved ones may leave us but there will be other additions to make the family complete either by birth or by marriage. Another family saga will begin.
Well, 2009 ended with wonderful news. Carmen, my niece, finally was given her citizenship . She is now a full fledged Malaysian citizen. This is indeed timely as she has to apply for her identity card this year. Then there was Christina, she lost her wallet on a train in Sydney. Not much cash in it but important documents like her Malaysian identity card and driving licence were in it. Thank God it was found some hours later. A good Samaritan found it and passed it to the station master. My belief that there are still good people around was proven right this time. Take heart, the world is still a good place to live. Lastly, Christina has passed her uni and is now a full fledged nurse....and she also has got a job too. All praise to our great and mighty God.
The month of December has been a month of baking....cookies and wedding cakes. In two weeks, we will be hosting a wedding dinner for Christina and Peter in Teluk Intan, Malaysia. Around three hundred guests, friends and relatives, will coming for the dinner, and also to witness the wedding blessing. What a celebration it will be........

Remembering....

2009-12-13T05:47:00.000-08:00

Time truly flies. Already we're in the middle of December. Another ten days to Christmas and then another week to the end of 2009. This is the time of making new resolutions but to keep them...i doubt. It's fun to take stock of the past year and then try to make some new resolutions but how many of us even remember the resolutions that we make on midnight 31st of December each year. As for me, i stopped making resolutions since i know i would have forgotten them when 1st January arrives.
January 2010 is going to be a significant year for me as i watch my girl getting married in the church she was brought up in. Most ot the church members will be in church to witness the wedding blessing. I have already baked the wedding cake and also prepared the gift items for the guests. The menu for the light reception has been prepared and the dishes for the dinner party at night have been selected. 3 days before the wedding, a group of us ladies will be in the church to decorate the pews and the pulpit area. Preparations for a wedding is very exciting and stressful too. Every little details count. Hope and pray that the special day 22nd January will be just fine.
I'm also very glad that many friends and relatives will be coming to Teluk Intan from far and near. I only wish that my mum is here to enjoy all the fanfare...........

Remember.....

2009-11-21T02:02:00.000-08:00

Mum grew up in the little town of Teluk Intan. Her mother had met a motor mechanic then and married him. So mum and her brother grew up with a bunch of half sisters and brothers. Obviously, her brother being a male was okay....but mum has to do all the house work and cooking and also to take care of all her half siblings. According to mum, her mother was an autocrat....anything she said was law. Instead of being a daughter, she was made a servant. She had to slaughter tortoises and boil them with herbs for her stepfather to drink who always abuse her with words. He had never appreciated all that my mum had done for the family and also part of her inheritance that she had brought into the family.
When she was twenty years old, she was forced to marry a guy she doesn't even like....and bore him few children. After ten years,she just left everything and went to find her own life. She sold sweet potatoes to earn a living. She was just going into the next phase of her life.
I have always ask her why she didn't go against her mother's wishes and endure such hell for ten years? In those days, no one go against their parents or there will be consequences she told me. I know that it's true because her own brother never came to see her.....she went to the grave without any reconciliation with her brother. As for me, i could never understand this sort of a relationship.....letting someone rule your life even from the grave.........

Remembering....

2009-11-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

After a marathon viewing of the film " The Little Nyonya", i thought of what my mum told me about her own life. My mum was born just after World War l...that was 1918 in Kampar, a small town in Perak. She was privileged enough to be born into a quite well to do family. He father's family owned a well known restaurant in that town and also had timberland concessions. Unfortunately, her father died when she was three years old and her younger brother a year old. Her mother, being a young widow, was at the mercy of her in-laws. However, she was brave enough to defy them and brought a case against them. Subsequently she was awarded sixty thousand dollars but had to leave the family. Her young mother took her two young children then went to Chenderiang and Tapah. My mum remembered her childhood days at these two places very vividly.....the waterfall and the river where the water was so cold. The waterfall is still there today but the river water is not so cold nowadays. Meanwhile at these two little towns her mother tried to start a restaurant business but was unsuccessful. So they moved again and came to Teluk Anson....as Teluk Intan was called then.
In Teluk Anson, they stayed at Sungai Nibong...the place is still called by that name today but have changed so much in recent years. That old wooden shophouse where my mum grew up is still there. It is now an abandoned building and it will be demolished soon to make way for a new one. My mum passed away this year and it looks as if the house where she grew up will also have the same fate as her. My mum told me lots of stories of her growing up years and also her many friends. I would like to record her stories so as to remind myself of her strength and courage and to draw lessons from her life..........

Remembering....

2009-11-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

Time really flies. This is already the month of November and Christmas is just round the corner. In the neighbourhood, three families are remembering the passing of their loved ones. Two young men have gone home to be with their Maker almost a year ago and the other one almost a month ago. All of them young men......just about to embark on life's journey and their lives ended in such tragic circumstances. We always think that heart attacks are for the older folks not young people. How wrong we are. We hear of more young men succomb to this disease than older men. Just can't seemed to find the answer.
Is it because of the food that we are consuming these days...especially those fried foods. Children nowadays are introduced to so many varieties of fast food by their parents. My niece and nephew just love the fried chicken, the burgers and the fries....and also those frizzy drinks. I just wondered whether at such tender age, the clogging of the blood vessels have already started. I also noticed that parents tend to take their children to these fast food haunts to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries....or the passing of their exams.
November is the month children in most schools have their end of the year parties. The first dish on the menu will be KFC...fast and easy, every pupil get a piece of finger licking chicken. Every one is happy as there is no necessity of toiling in the kitchen. Other choices are burgers and pizzas. We have to move with the times so they say....who wants to cook? Parents are too busy to do the cooking and you can't expect the teacher to cook for 40 pupils........

Remember.......yesterday's foolishness

2009-10-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i nearly fell victim to a hoax. Women are usually very gullible and i am certainly one of these women. I was checking email when i saw one of my contacts online in windows live messenger. This person ,who happens to be my pastor, told me that he is right now in London and has lost his wallet and air ticket. He asked for my help and asked whether i could remit some cash to him asp. I then asked why he did not contact other members who are in better position than me to help him. The answer was they all turned him down. Then i began to call other members to inform them our pastor's predicament. After a few calls, it was found to be a hoax. Pastor was away in Kampar, a small town about an hour's drive away.
At that moment, when i read about him being stranded in London. All sorts of thoughts went through my mind except the rational ones. After it was found to be a hoax, i went through the conversation and i was really silly to fall into this. First of all, pastor being pastor, will never travel in a taxi cab in London. He would have certainly use the underground to go places. His return ticket would not be in his wallet. And he would certainly have gone to the nearest Methodist mission to seek help.
So yesterday, i was thankful i am not a cash rich person. I survive on my monthly small pension only with occasional sale of soya milk and cookies to go by. But then, if i am cash rich, will i be willing to part with my cash......that is the question.

Remember.......

2009-10-18T02:44:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 13th October 2009....my neighbour's son passed away suddenly. He complained of severe chest pains suddenly and his friends sent him to the hospital or clinic. The doctor tried his level to save him but it was all in vain. This young man was only 29 years old....in the prime of his career and life. It was so unbelievable. In this modern age it seems the heart attack syndrome is happening amongst the young people. Why? Is it because of the food we eat or is it because of stress? The doctor or anybody for that matter can't give an answer. All one can say is it just happens.
In retrospect my sister indeed had a lucky escape so as to speak. She too had the chest pains on a Tuesday. She is alright now, thank God. In a way i was glad i was there when it happened. I just kept praying for her. I remembered that that very afternoon just i felt an urge to sing praises and just kept repeating certain prayer confirmation. So when it happened that night, i did not panic or felt any worry....it was as if everything was under the control of someone greater than i.
Well, life is uncertain but death is certainly certain. It will happen to everyone at anytime....so we must be prepared, even though it may sounds morbid.

Remembering....

2009-10-11T04:18:00.000-07:00

How times have changed....i just contacted one of my old classmates for a social gathering at the end of November.....and the answer is ' i'm sorry , i can't'. The reason...i have to take care of my grandchild. When i first retired from teaching, i thought i could visit my old school friends and have occasional meetings together. Well, that's not the case. The grandparents of today love their grandchildren too much to leave them to the whims of maids...or babysitters. In this so called modern society, we hear or read in the papers how children are being abused by maids and sometimes even babysitters, we just can't leave our next generation to these hands.
The other day, i asked my sister the real reason for her to take care of her grandchildren. For starters, she gave me a very direct answer....for money. Obviously, my niece gives her a very good allowance for taking care of her children. The second reason being she loves the grandchildren too much to leave them in the hands of others. Everywhere she goes, the grandchildren have to follow her and obviously they have picked up some bad habits.
For me personally, i feel children have to be disciplined....or they will turn into spoil brats. As i observe around me, i can see that most children today are totally spoilt. They do not know what moral values are. They just do things the way they want...without any regards to other people. I remembered while i was still teaching in school, this parent parked his car right in front of the school gate to wait for his child. As i was in a hurry to go out, i asked the guard at the gate to tell him to move his car so that i could go out. This parent refused and i just had to sit there until his child came out. I remembered the next day i went to the class and gave the pupils a lesson on what it meant to be considerate. From that day onwards, i noticed that that parent parked his car right in front of the gate. Some adults need children to tell them of their faults. The parents of today forget that they need to be good examples for their children to follow. They can't seem to know they will reap what they sow.
Anyway, this classmate of mine cannot come to the social gathering because she has to take care of her grandchild. She will be missing all our jokes and talks and most of all the stories when we were young. Well, we will miss her at the party and hope she will be able to come for the next one.......

Remembering.....

2009-10-08T23:49:00.000-07:00

6 October 2009 at 9 p.m. is one night i will not forget as long as i live. I was attending the wedding dinner of one of my distant nephews when my sister was seized with terrible chest pains. The pain must be excruciating as she was screaming away and wriggling her body. i just could not calm her...so we rushed her to the nearest clinic. The doctor at the clinic just could not record her blood pressure even after four tries and he decided to do an E.C.G. The result was good as there was nothing wrong with her heart. So the doctor advised us to take her to a hospital immediately after giving her a pain killer. We then rushed her to a private hospital 60 km away, thinking she would be given adequate medical attention. Believe it or not, this hospital after examining her, told us that we need to send her to another hospital as there was no cardiologist in that particular hospital. In the end we sent her a better well-known private hospital20 km away. There she re-examined by the doctor and some heart imagery was performed on her. Again the conclusion was there was nothing wrong with her heart
What i'm recalling was that at that moment in time , i could have lost another member of my family again. Life is so fragile.....one minute you're here and the next second you may have slipped away. It brings to mind again that nothing is certain in life except death. I kept recalling that we were just talking and laughing and the next minute she had this terrible attack.
This brings to mind that i need to value relationship even more now. Nothing matters any more except our loved ones may be taken from us any time...any where. So value people...loved ones or friends........

Relationships....

2009-10-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Bethany Home celebrated its 43 anniversay...not 42 as i thought. Today, the Wesley Methodist Church in Teluk Intan celebrates its 60 anniversary. It was a time of reconnecting with people who had left the church for another place but came back today to celebrate together with the members who are still here in Teluk Intan. It was a joy to meet again the former members. So much to catch up.......so much changes.......and also a time to exchange handphone numbers and email addresses.
The guest was the Rev. Dr. Ong Hwai Teik. What he shared with us was so true. The moral values of most people is so low that no one cares for anything, let alone people. We behave as if laws are made to be broken, and we just do whatever we like regardless. There is no longer any check and balance. Society has evolved to such a sick stage. Any change must come from people who know the difference between right and wrong and willing to stand by it. We must not be afraid of being ridiculed or mocked at....when we are standing on the right principles.
I'm glad i met many old friends today. Most of us are already past 60years of age......and all of us agree that from thence on we live from day to day. Though we may have many plans, whether these plans will be fulfilled or not are not up to us but in God's hand. We live each day by the grace of God and we need to learn to be thankful for all things ...both great and small. At the moment, i'm thankful for all the people reading this blog and i'm happy to share my thoughts and opinions with you. Have a great week and God bless all of you............

Remembering....

2009-10-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today is the 42 anniversary of Bethany Home. It is a place founded in 1967 by Swedish missionaries to help special children with disabilities. From a humble beginning, it has now grown to a famous institution which is known both locally and internationally. It is indeed very heartened to see the dedication of the staff taking care of these special children. It is indeed great to know that these special children are not forgotten and left to be. It is good to see the hand of God at work touching people to work with these special children. I have been going to the home for many years now and most of the staff is still working there...truly dedicated people. I believe that dedicated persons like them have big hearts full of love...and this love can only be from God.
I was indeed very thrilled tonight a few of the children came and greeted me. They still remember me...and they can tell me stories and even crack a few jokes.
My friends came from Ipoh to join in the celebration too. Yes, it was a time of reunion too for them too. They too were supportors of Bethany Home while they were residing in Teluk Intan. Now they still support the home with their prayers and donations in cash and kinds.
We also took time to remember Dr. Victor who was for many years provided medical assistance to the children of the home. He left us suddenly in May, and now the good Lord has provided another doctor to care for the children. Certainly, there is no shortage of volunteer for the work in Bethany Home.....the home which was named after Bethany in Israel......the place which i had the opportunity to visit in 2005.....a beautiful place.

Remembering......

2009-09-19T01:12:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of the 8th month according to the Chinese Lunar calendar. Throughout this month many young people will be tying their knots in marriage. So tonight i shall be attending a wedding dinner at a local restaurant. The occassion is to celebrate the marriage of my neighbour's daughter. I still remember the little girl....thin and lanky....when they first moved into the neighbourhood. Wow, today she is getting married. How time flies. This month of September also saw the wedding registration of my own girl in Sydney, Down Under on 09.09.09. Well, the neighbourhood children have all grown up now and almost every one of them is starting a family of their own. This reminds us that we are getting older day by day.
This afternoon i visited Dot...a grand old lady of our church. She's over 80 years now and still very hale and hearty. She still has a good memory and never fails to ask about my nieces or nephews. A person with a big heart.....showing so much love and concern for others. God willing, she will be attending my girl's wedding dinner on 22 January 10. Whenever we meet, there's so much to share.....about family members, personal needs and of course TV programmes.
This month also marks the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival. There will be plenty of mooncakes for sale. Through innovation, there are plenty of flavours for mooncakes....durian, pandan and so on. This time though i'm trying one type...black sesamee lotus paste .....for filling. I do not know how's the taste is like but since i like black sesamee, i guess the taste should be alright. Generally, i prefer to stick to the more traditional type of filling for mooncakes....hope this will turn out well for tomorrow..........

Realize.........

2009-09-12T05:56:00.000-07:00

It will come a time when one will realize what true friendship is. I just came back from Ipoh after spending two days with a long time friend of mine. This friend and i have lots of mutual friends too. As usual, when we meet, she will ask about the welfare of our mutual friends. She has never fail to show care and concern for friends that she does not often meet or has not seen for a long while. A true friend is indeed a person who we can share all our thoughts, our dreams and all our aspirations.......and also someone who can point out to us our weaknesses and our strength.....so that one can improve oneself. Hence one can always learn to be a better person.
We had a good time going round eating the delicious hawker food. Just hoping i would not put on much weight. We also spent our time shopping...and it really takes a good friend to go round the shops with you.....patiently waiting for you to finish your shopping....not a word of complain.
Yes, it was time well spent with a good friend....so we plan to meet again next week but this time in Subang and i shall be taking them back to Teluk Intan for a flying visit to her old friends before going back to Ipoh. Thank the good Lord for good friends and i know in my heart this friendship is for keeps.............

2009-09-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

I love Fridays....the start of another weekend. I always remember TGIF...thank God it's Friday.....this was what my American lecturer used to say to us students during our English lesson on Fridays. Those days i still have to attend lectures and work on Fridays but these days Friday is the start of a long weekend for me.
Today i shall be visiting my friends in Ipoh. As usual it will be a time of chit chatting and going round the town for some good food. My friends have been telling me the prices of food in Ipoh has gone up tremendouly and it is no longer cheap as in those days. The cost of living has gone up so much......and the income of the people simply cannot cope with the rising cost of living. Yes, there is not much money to spread around but living in this country is much better than many countries in the world. At least the government here does hand out goodies to the lower income group. So, in life we should not complain too much but learn to appreciate the little that we have, then living is so much more pleasant and happier.
One of my cousins called yesterday to invite me to her son's wedding party in two weeks' time. I just can't imagine all my nieces and nephews getting married and having children of their own when my memory of them was they were just kids. Now they are all grown up and ready to face the world on their own. Not too far in the future i would have little kids addressing me as grandaunt........this thought is certainly very daunting. Well, that's life.........

Reflection......

2009-09-07T04:39:00.000-07:00

The three days long weekend, i was at a secluded place in Gopeng. The place was called Harvest Haven ....a beautiful place for retreats in the middle of a vast palm oil plantation. You can see some low hills in the distance and as far as the eye can see, only palm oil trees. The whole place is very quiet and except for the people staying in the bungalow, not a soul is in sight.
Eighteen of us gathered at this place for a time of reflection and also re-energizing ourselves. This is our fifth spiritual retreat.....we have been meeting once a year for the last five years. It is good to get away to a quiet place, away from the 'busy-ness' of daily living once a year to reflect. It is good just to sit amongst some plants and have a quiet contemplation of the past year. To be in oneness with nature...to feel the peace and to breathe in such fresh air is just too indescribable.
The eighteen of us too share our experiences of the past year and also share some of our more personal stuff. It is good to be able 'unload' all our baggages and burdens so as to speak. It just makes us realize that all of us are so vulnerable and we are so easily hurt and we carry these hurts with us thus making our lives miserable. We learn to release all these hurts to the Almighty and ask for healing so that we can go on with our lives....to live a more fruitful live. The tears and the laughter were all part of the learning process.
We will meet again next year, and i hope that by then our lives will be richer and fuller. Till then.......Shalom.

Remember.......

2009-09-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

The journey through this life is not an easy one. Every day there are choices to make. It is the art of making these choices that will help us to determind what quality of life we are going to have. If we want to be happy, then we have to make a concious effort to think of happy things, to remember the happy moments of the past, to recall the good things in other people....to see the good that is in others. Not easy but not difficult to do. This calls for an exercise of the will that is in all of us.
I have a neighbour who truly irks us most of the time. Thank goodness she is not my immediate neighbour. She is friendly to only few people. Those she is not friendly with ...watch out...as her immediate neighbour found out one day. I do not understand why certain people behave in such manner. If they are not happy with anything, why not talk it over and resolve the whole issue whereby come to an understanding...instead of keeping others guessing their motives. So one day this was exactly what my neighbour did and asked her why she did all the stuff like throwing away all her brooms or clothes she put on the fence to dry. This funny lady just kept quiet and walked away.....so issue not resolved till this day.
Conclusion...some people are just too difficult to be liked. However, she has a good point that i can see in her......she's very helpful to the ones she likes...like doing errands for them.

Remembering......

2009-08-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

In the news this past few days, there is talk of reconcilation among the various races in Malaysia. This is good as we should think of ourselves as Malaysians. We are decendents of various races but we do need to cultivate the idea of being Malaysians. As for me, i'm proud to be Malaysian. In this age of technology where one can receive instant news, it makes me realized that Malaysia is one of the best countries in the world. The various races here do practise tolerance. The citizens of this country do have good health care. The government provides hospitals in most major towns and health clinics in rural areas. Here we too have private hospitals to cater to the rich and famous..or if one can afford it....one can take up a medical insurance. In the past weeks, i have been following the news on T.V. that even though the US is the richest country in the world, the majority of its citizens do not have access to health care. This is indeed very shocking. So, Malaysians, you are indeed very blessed.
I just hope the leaders of this country realize that reconcilation is more of action than of words. They need to formulate policies that will unite all the people rather than segregate them. I still remember in my working days, we need to fill forms regarding our personal particulars. There was always a part that marked 'Nationality'. We were supposed to put our race in this blank, and i always wrote 'Malaysian' in the blank. This showed that no one ever read or check the forms as no one pointed that out to me that somehow i have made a mistake.
Interestingly, the people of Kenya too dislike the idea of stating which tribe they belong to in their registration form....i heard this over the news. Tribe or race is such sensitive issues these days.....so we need to regard each other as just people.....nothing more .....nothing less.

Remembering....31 August

2009-08-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

Last week in August.....the country will be celebrating its 52 anniversary of independence on 31 August. I remembered so vividly the year 1957, 31 August when Malaysia got its independence. I was in year 2 Primary School. The Union Jack was lowered down from the flag pole and the Malaysian flag was raised and we all sang the national anthem. Obviously, we were taught the national anthem weeks before so that we can all sing the song by heart. Ever since that day, on this auspicious day, we had gatherings and parades on the town field. While in Primary School, i was always a spectator at the parades. When i entered Secondary School and joined the Girls' Brigade, i took part in the parades. I remembered also certain years we had beautifully decorated floats going round the streets of Teluk Intan after the parade in the field. Of course it was always the Boys' Brigade Band that led the parade then. How proud i was of the boys in blue. Our school has the only band in the town then.....the Anglo-Chinese Secondary School.
Many years down the line, on 31 August, i remembered this day my Dad passed away. It is already 22 years now. I too remembered this day so vividly. We were watching the T.V. when my nephew called me and told me that my Dad was gasping for breath and within minutes he was gone. So this special day will always bring back sweet and bitter memories for me.....the day the country celebrates its independence and the day my Dad chose to migrate to another planet.

Remembering......

2009-08-24T04:22:00.000-07:00

I heard over the news last weekend that the NZ government is going to reverse its anti-spanking law for children. Personally, i think it is a good move. Children need to be disciplined. A little spanking would certainly not do any harm. As the saying goes...spare the rod and spoil the child.
I was staying with my sister in Klang for the last two days. My... i have never seen such undisciplined children in my life. I am talking about her two grandchildren. They fight over each other's things. When they can't get their ways..they bite each other or bang their heads on the floor. When they cry, they scream at the top of their voices ....i thought their throats may burst.
Coming back to my own childhood, we never cried unless we had had a good thrashing our parents. Maybe then we had nothing to fight over. Now as i recall my own girl and my other nephews staying together in the same house, they too hardly fight with each other. Of course, there were the usual disagreements but i don't they ever screamed their heads off.
So today i had a long chat with my girl. I remind her to discipline her future children if she plans to have any. I can't imagine my grandchild screaming off its head or creating a spectacle in a public place. Of course she just laugh the matter off. Anyway, i just shudder to think if i ever have such a grandchild....

River of No Return

2009-08-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

I wonder how many of us still remember this song ' The River of No Return' by Marilyn Monroe? How apt this song is. Our life is just like the river of no return. Many things that are gone will not return . Happenings of yesteryears are just memories..... some are fond memories, others not so happy ones. Yet life goes on....like the river......the water never stops flowing. My other nephew asked me just now what is life all about. So i used this metaphor of the river to explain about life to him. I reminded him that whatever the situation we may encounter in, life is certainly worth the living. Life is very precious and should not be taken lightly as some people do. I recall someone one once told me in life there is always hope. No situation is ever hopeless.Yesterday a student asked me what keeps on adding and cannot be subtracted. The answer...our age. How true! As the days go by, we are getting older. This weekend i am going to Klang to celebrate my nephew Clement's eighth birthday. I know he is very excited..just waiting for us to buy him a birthday cake and all the goodies for him and his friends to enjoy. Only the little ones want to celebrate birthdays...we older folks will just keep our mouths mum.
I am looking forward to this weekend....meeting my family members after so many months. So, have a nice weekend everyone.........

Remembering....

2009-08-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

The third week in August, how time flies. Next week is semester break, a week of holidays for students in schools. A welcome break for both the teachers and students. After the break will be examination time for the students, one exam after another. Boy, aren't i glad i'm retired? No more stress....no more evaluation of exam results. Yes, remembering those days sure make me glad i'm retired now.
My nephew Clement will be celebrating his eighth birthday next week, on 26 August. He will be getting a PS2 play station and a carrom board for his birthday. This reminds me of how times have changed. Children of today always remember their birthdays. When we were young, none of our siblings remembered our birthdays. If mum ever remembered our birthdays, the child concerned will get to eat a hard boiled egg. That would be our birthday present. Anyway, i don't remember i ever celebrated my birthday until i was 21 when some of my friends celebrated my birthday for me. Then was my first year of teaching in Kajang. I still remembered the few friends who gave me my first birthday present....a gold bracelet. I wonder where they are now. The last i know May May was in Singapore, Siew Luan and Eddie in Klang. If i were to meet the three of them now, would i be able to recognise them? These three friends, wherever they might be, i just want to ask the good Lord to bless them and grant them good health. It's so funny ...the birthday of my nephew could bring back such memories. I guess this is what life is all about. So i wish everyone whose birthday falls in the month of August....'Happy Birthday'.

Readings.......

2009-08-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

Today i need to rectify some mistakes that i told my friends about the Garden of Eden. There was never a tree of life in the Garden of Eden. There were other trees in the garden but the tree that Adam was instructed not to touch or eat of its fruits were the tree in the middle of the garden.....the tree of knowledge. The tree of life was only mentioned in the new city of Jerusalem in the book of Revelation...the last book of the Bible. Very sorry for the misinformation indeed.
Still on the subject, i began to ponder about temptation. It struck me that temptation is a very subtle feeling. It clouds our feelings, our sense of sight and create a desire of wanting something. What Eve felt when she saw the fruits of the tree of knowledge.....the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for....., i think this is the same feeling most women have when we go shopping. The modern pastime or hobby...window shopping....never did end up just that, window shopping. There is always something that catches the eye and we ladies will most of the time end up buying something home. We can never resist a temptation of buying because at that moment in time it is such a bargain and we just do not want to miss the opportunity. Well, maybe now we can learn to understand Eve and not ask the important question...Why did she eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge?

Reunion

2009-08-14T05:15:00.000-07:00

Time truly flies. This the beginning of another weekend. I love weekends. This is the time where i can be on my own, doing the things that i like to do, or to catch up with some house cleaning chores or to do some gardening.
This weekend however, is a time for reunion. The Past Pupils Association of the Horley Methodist Secondary School is having its annual reunion dinner. This is truly an exciting time, meeting up with classmates as well as school mates. We also get to meet up with some of our teachers who have taught us so many years ago. I sure am looking forward to meet one of my teachers who is now more than 90 years old and is still strong and hearty. I wondered if he still remembers us...the class of 1965...the year we completed our secondary school education. Many of my teachers have since migrated to another planet, but he is still with us and his good wife too.
As for my own batch pupils, many too have left us. It will certainly be a time of recalling memoriesof the things we did when we were young. Many of us have since retired and living in different parts of the country. This will be a time of meeting in this town where we were born more than sixty years ago. The town of Teluk Intan has changed much....no longer a sleepy town. There is much economic activity in town, being an agricultural area. There are also many biscuits factories around the different parts of the town. I know many of my friends would be wanting to buy these different biscuits to take back home as gifts for friends and neighbours.
Not far from Teluk Intan are also many fishing villages. These villages are along the sea coast or the Perak River. Many of my friends will be going to these places to get their fresh fish, prawns or crabs. Yes.....sure am looking forward to see all my friends again.

Readings.......

2009-08-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

This morning, as the three of us were having our usual walk round the field, the subject of human nature came into the conversation. As always, the fall of the human nature is an inevitable topic. I was listening to these two friends of mine relating the fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. It never fails to amaze me how people interpret the story of Adam and Eve. My friend A was telling my friend B that Eve ate the apple from the tree and asked Adam to have a bite. Somehow the apple got stuck in Adam's throat and that was why all men have the Adam's apple at their throats. It was so funny and the three of us was laughing hilariously.
Suddenly, Friend A said to me," Soo...since you're a Christian...you should explain the story to us". Yes, I'm a Christian but i'm a low profile one. Since they asked me, i tried to explain the story as i understood it.
First of all, the fruit in the Garden of Eden was never recorded as an apple. It was simply stated as a fruit of knowledge. There were two trees in the centre of the garden....the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. If Eve had defied the serpent and taken the fruit from the tree of life, i guess all of us would never die. However, Eve chose to listen to the serpent and ate the fruit of knowledge....so sinned against God. And this consequence is separation from God...and finally death. If one study history, one would realize that the human race may have reached the pinacle of knowledge in the present time.
Coming back to Eve eating the fruit in the garden....this has resulted Man to be born with the sinful nature eversince. We always blame other people for our own mistakes. When we have done something that is not right, we never account for it. In fact, most murderers always plead not guilty.The famous last words..."you are only guilty until you are proven guiltly".Human nature... i wonder who can explain in a better way?

Reunion.....

2009-08-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been a time of reunion. It is good to attend the anniversary of any occassion as it is a good opportunity to meet up with old friends. I was indeed very blessed to meet up with friends that i know i would not have made an effort to look them. The Chinese Methodist Church in Teluk Intan celebrated its 90th anniversary yesterday and i had the opportunity to meet up with the different pastors that i had made friends with. It was certainly good to see the pastor who baptized me more than forty years ago. I also met the pastor who baptized my father and later conducted his funeral rites. There was so much catching up to do and so much to talk about that we found that time was indeed too short. Most of these pastors serve in a church for a few years and then move on to serve in other churches. Meeting them is always by chance. One good point about these gentlemen of the cloth is that they might not remember your name but they can always remember your face and guess which church you belong.
During the dinner party, i also met up with many friends who have left Teluk Intan many years but came back to attend the dinner and also to meet up with old friends. As i look around, i noticed that we do not change much in our physical appearance but we have lots of silver threads on our heads. Guess we are all getting old.....i just hope we will all grow old gracefully.

Reasons.........

2009-08-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today, the little town of Teluk Intan has been hit by the so called disease swine flu. Many students have been tested positive of the H1N1 virus. This has caused even one of the schools to be closed for a week. Many other schools are placed on high alert. Students are advised to stay at home if they have symtoms of coughs and high fever. Some schools even asked students to wear masks. This terrible disease certainly put fear into every one...teachers and students alike.
We are finding reasons how this could happen to our town. Obviously there are none. Lots of things can happen without we finding out the reason why. Many people travel about, that's for sure....but in these times we need to be careful and vigilant. We must not take things for granted...we need to learn to take precautions even for the smallest things. Parents who have to travel about on business have to exercise some degree of caution. Many people seemed to have forgotten the proverb......Prevention is better than cure.
Many weeks ago, two of my friends who had terrible flu symtoms were quarantined. One of them took the initiative of self imposed quarantine because she was in Singapore for a reunion with her brother who came back from Melbourne. The other guy was attending a retreat in a hill resort with a small group and one of members was tested positive of the H1N1 virus. This caused the whole group to be quarantined by the health officials of the various states. The government is certainly taking this disease seriously thank goodness. Many of us are still looking for reasons why this virus can 'travel' here.....but there seems to have no answer.

Reunion

2009-08-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend was certainly a hectic weekend. Going from Ipoh to Ayer Tawar and back to Ipoh again in a matter of hours. The time spent with old friends was so very, very short. Howeever, we had a good time together...eating the famous food in Ipoh and talking. It made me realized that true friendship is so very precious. Though we are so busy with our individual lives, and we are seperated by sea and distance, the moment we got together that's so much to share. We are not shy or ashamed to unload all our feelings to each other. We talked about our lives' journey these thirty years.....our children. We really can't believe that all our children are already in their thirties...almost all of them are married with children too. This year my own girl, Christina is getting married at last. In a couple of years i hope to be blessed with one or two grandchildren. The next round of meeting there will be more to share then.
We shared some tears when we share about our trials, our pain and tribulation. As we share with each other, it made us realized that we are more matured now, more understanding and have empathy with each other. We now know that every one has their fair share of problems and we should never judge a book by its cover. We should learn never to judge others or be critical of others.....instead learn to be more understanding and tolerant. Well, it is easier said than done,but if we never try, we will never know.
When we recalled our past days ......there was much laughter. The silly things that we did when we were young. How could we have done this thing? we asked ourslves and really had a good laugh. Life is ongoing.....never stagnant. We need to learn from our past and try to improve on our future. Life is certainly worth the living........as we are all in our sixties now.......we have to make the best of everything.

Reunion

2009-07-30T03:05:00.000-07:00

Today i make a trip to Ipoh to meet old friends of mine...a couple. It is really good to be able to keep in touch with each other all these years. Imagine to my surprise i was treated to a lovely lunch to celebrate her husband's birthday. As i look round the table, i can't help but realized that we are indeed getting on years. I just wonder how many more birthdays can we celebrate......so we must learn to enjoy each birthday that we celebrate. Anyway, a very happy birthday to my dear friend.
Tomorrow, we shall be saying goodbye to another good friend of ours who will be flying back to Down Under. Though the time we spend together is short but it is certainly good to see each other again. Will be looking forward to tomorrow when we can enjoy the famous food of Ipoh and have a few hours of fellowship together before she flies off to Singapore and then to Australia. Well, i hope to see her again when i next visit Sydney in the distant future. She has promised to fly down to Sydney from Brisbane when i go to Sydney next year if i let her know well in advance.
So, i wonder how the three of us will spend our time together tomorrow.........

Responsiblities......

2009-07-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

Finally, i met up with my friend from Down Under. It has been ten over years that we last met. Actually, she comes back to Malaysia two or three times a year, but we can't seemed to find the time to meet up. The real reason is that we have to take care of our loved ones at home. ....and there was no one else who would help out. Though our hometowns are only an hour's drive away from each other, it was quite difficult to make time to meet. Now that my mum has migrated to another world, it's possible for me to meet her. However, she has her own responsiblity to care for her brother who is almost blind and immobile. I truly admire her .....she is willing to fly back to Malaysia few times a year just to take care of her brother for a month then fly back to Australia. Her two brothers here in Malaysia would not take up this responsibility of taking care of this younger brother. ...so this guy is left alone in a big house to fend for himself. Every trip that she came back home, she is more depressed than ever with the family situation.
When we met yesterday, i told her that i too am in the same position as her. Even though mum has gone, i still have to take care of a nephew who is a schizo. It is not easy taking of sick persons or someone who is an invalid. We have lots of adjustments to do. I have learn to take things as they come and not presume too much.....learn to keep the mouth shut and not to offer any advice or opinion, lest this will lead to arguments or quarrels. I also learn that sick persons have their own personality too and we have to respect them as they are.
Well, the learning process is a ongoing process. I guess it will only stop when we stop breathing. If we are willing to learn each time we encounter a problem and learn intelligently, i guess life is certainly beautiful and worth the living.........

Reunion....

2009-07-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

Today i'm meeting an old friend whom i have not seen for almost ten years. She left Teluk Intan in the early eighties and migrated to live in Australia. Though we met once or twice in between the years, this is the longest period since i last saw her and her family members. It is indeed very exciting when old friends meet up. From the photos that she posted in the computer, she still looks the same....as young looking as ever. All her children are married with 2 or 3 children and so she is a grandmother already.
I just wonder how the meeting will turn up to be...after such a long time. I'm sure we will have a lot of things to talk about....... how our lives turn out to be like after almost 30 years. If she had stayed in Malaysia, will our lives be different? I wonder how she will react when we asked about many of our mutual friends who had long departed from this earth and migrated to another planet. Certainly lots of things have changed since then. The town of Teluk Intan has changed too....the roads in town are all one-way. If you make a wrong turn, then you would have to make a big round to go to your destination. So it would be better for you to plan all your errands, park in one central place and walk. This way, it is faster and saves a lot of time instead of going round and round.
I am planning in my head where to take her for breakfast....I wonder whether she would like to have 'chee cheong fun' which is the famous food in T.I. 'Chee cheong fun' is just batter steamed with a bit of fried filling and rolled up like a sausage. It served plain or with some chillie sauce.

Reflections.....

2009-07-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

Living in this modern world is certainly not what i would have imagined some years back. Those days i imagined a peaceful world....one that every living person would want to live in. Today, however, when one turn on the T.V. or open up a newspaper to read, one couldn't help but hear or read about wars, violence, bomb blasts and so on. I sometimes wonder why human beings like to kill or destroy each other. I believe there are better things for them to do than to think of ways and means of destroying each other.
This week, Teluk Intan was placed on the Malaysian map. There were pictures of a gruesome killing of a local resident......naked and with many stab wounds. Seeking peace and settlement with dialogue seemed out of the question. The only way of seeking peace is through the gun or the sword.
The town of Teluk Intan is so different now. Vice is just at every corner. Neighbours keep to themselves and hardly greet each other. Most houses erect high walls and gates to 'protect' the people living in them. The Teluk Intan of yesteryears was so different. Neighbours protect each other. Most houses were left unlocked and nothing was missing. Nowadays, one cannot even leave a pair of new shoes outside the door.....you can be sure that it would be missing the next day. What has the world come to? I certainly don't know. Can someone please enlighten me?

Remembering........

2009-07-19T00:44:00.000-07:00

Many months ago, i wrote something about Carmen my niece. Today, i have something good to share about her. This little girl was born in Indonesia in April 1998. Ever since that day she has been the holder of an Indonesian passport. When she came back to Malaysia that year, i took her to the Federal Registration Office and applied for the Malaysian citizenship. Since that time till now, we have waited for more than 10 years. In June this year, we received a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs that her application has been approved at last, and the citizenship certificate will be ready for collection within 90 days. This is something which the Soo family is always very thankful and a big 'Thank You' to the Malaysian Government.
Carmen is a very bright young girl. She is now in Primary 5 and next year she will in her last year in Primary School. The future is in front of her and i know she can go very far if she puts her mind to it. Right now, she only needs encouragement and guidance.....that is why i always encourage her to attend Sunday School where she can learn values which will help her to be a better and responsible person. As her aunt, i will certainly help her along this journey....and it is not an easy road to travel. With help from the Almighty, i am confident i can take up this challenge.

Reflections.....

2009-07-18T01:52:00.000-07:00

So many days had passed by. Had to send the computer to the shop. Just pressed the wrong button and the whole screen went blank. As i have observed, the young kiddos are so much better at the computer. Why are the more elderly persons so inapt at the computer? Maybe, the action and reaction of elderly persons are slower....the co-ordination of the limbs may not co-ordinate very well. The many times that i pressed the wrong buttons and had to send the computer to the shops really embrassed me. Thank goodness this time there was nothing wrong with the computer.
This week, i realized again that friendship is as thin as a sheet of paper...thus a Chinese saying goes. It looks as if there is no one on earth that one can trust.....so have to be very careful when cultivating friendship.

Reflections.....

2009-07-11T00:39:00.000-07:00

It is very true when people say that everyday that we're alive, we are learning. The learning process never ends. Today i learnt that the person you thought you could trust most is the person who in the end rips you off.......financially or emotionally. The people of today is just out to out best each other, and after that they just move on to find other people whom they think they can try the same trick again. I remember someone once told me that no one can force you to do what you don't want to do. How true...no one can force us to do what we don't want to do. However, when your good friend approach you for something and you are in a position to help, of course,you will help. That is what friends are for. I always remember this proverb which i learnt in my primary school days.....A Friend In Need is A Friend Indeed. Nowadays, this proverb does not apply anymore. You can help a friend in need but be prepared that that friend may not be your friend indeed. I have learnt that if i help anyone....that's that....expect nothing more. Get on with your life and be happy. Life is too short to mull over all these unimportant things. One thing i have learnt...there's plenty of people out there who would like to be your friends. Isn't that nice?

Relationships....

2009-07-03T01:01:00.000-07:00

This morning, while we taking our usual walk in the Speedy Road field, one of my friends commented about her relationship with her daughter-in-law. This brings to mind how are we going to form an amicable relationship with our daughters-in-law or sons-in-law. To be able to get along with other people is so important. If we don't cultivate the art of getting along with other people, then we will not have many friends. This is very sad indeed as no man is an island. The human nature is such that we need to interact with other human beings. To have few friends or no friends is indeed a sad existence. Some are friends..that is just friends. Other friends are only your friends if they can get something out of you...sad isn't it? Thank goodness there are others who are more than friends. They are closer to you than your own brothers or sisters. They are always there when you needed them most. They will call you up when they don't see you at the usual place and usual time......they show concern for you. They care what happens to you and make sure you are all right. Thank God for such friends. You are truly blessed if you have such friends. I confessed that i'm truly blessed today because i have such friends.
My girl, Christina, has got herself engaged. From today onwards, i not only have to cultivate a good relationship with her but also with Peter, her fiance. One of my friends commented...' hi..soo..so you are going to be a mother-in-law, hah...' I quickly replied,' no..no...i'm going to be the mother-out-law'. From now onwards, i just want to have a good relationship with Christina and Peter, and also with all my nieces and their spouses.

Reflections.....

2009-06-29T05:39:00.000-07:00

Today....the second last day in June......i received a piece of good news. My niece Carmen has been granted the Malaysian citizenship after a waiting period of more than eleven years. She will be celebrating her twelve birthday next April. What a waiting period......there was much anxiety because it is better to be granted a citizenship when one is a minor. All thanks and glory to our Almighty God. Indeed He is the Alpha and the Omega...the beginning and the end....and He makes all things possible.
In fact, my brother and i were contemplating to see some politcal persons to help. We were just waiting for another sister to come back from Korea to go together. Meanwhile, i was praying that God would intervene in this case before we seek help from humans. Truly, he has answered my prayer in His time. His timing is perfect. Praise be to God.

Remembering........

2009-06-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

Today...the last Sunday in June 2009. How time flies. We are now going into the second half year of 2009 in two days' time. Most of the time we would experience hot weather at this time but this year there is a significant change in the weather. The rainy season seems to have come sooner. The thunder and lightning are more frightening. The winds of course are stronger than ever......some roofs are even blown off.
Just hoping that the second half year will bring us finer weather, as plants will start to rot if there is too much water. The mango tree has begin flowering and this will not be good news. No mangoes to eat.
Will try to complete 2 of my patchwork blankets. Started doing them many moons ago but was kept away for almost a year. Life is funny at times. When Mum was with me, i was kept busy. But now that she's gone, i'm also equally busy with other stuff. Things that i can't seem to find time to do, i'm trying to do them all now. Also, i have been trying some recipes....well, the dishes turn out quite well too.... . Maybe after a few tries, i may be able to share in this blog.

Remembering........Michael Jackson/Farrah Fawcett

2009-06-26T03:51:00.000-07:00

Today...it was a shock to learn of Michael Jackson's passing. I remembered the young boy who sang in the Jackson 5. That was in the sixties.....then we had black and white television sets in Malaysia. Obviously those days we did not have a T.V. set at home.....my parents couldn't afford one. If we wanted to watch anything on T.V., we would go to a neighbour who had a set. All of us would stand outside the door or peer through the window to watch the programme. So, those days i would remember the Andy William Show and the Ed Sullivan Show wihout fail. Since we only got to watch these two shows once a week. Amazingly, i could remember the day and time without difficulty. On the dot i would standing at my neighbour's door or window waiting for the show to start.
Only in the seventies could i afford to have a T.V. and watch these entertainment programmes at home. The only regret i have now is the fact that i did not have the opportunity to watch his live performance in K.L. I'm thankful that i shall be able to get some his videos. May he rest in peace.
I also remember Farrah Fawcet today. I had always enjoyed watching 'Charlie's Angels' too. May she rest in peace too.

Reflections.....

2009-06-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i attended a meeting of the Christian Cemetry Committee meeting and a member of the Perak State Legislature. The main purpose of this meeting was to bring to the attention of the authorities that the Christians of Hilir Perak has run out of burial plots to bury their dead. Two weeks ago, a family had illegally buried their dead relative on a grave site belonging to someone else. This had caused the caretaker of the cemetry to make a police report, and the authorities realized now that for a number of years, the Christians in this area has been burying their dead relatives condominium style because of the lack of land for burial purposes.
A guy who is not a Christian suggested that the Christians should sell the burial plots to generate income so as to be able to buy more land for this purpose. The price of burial plots can vary from a few thousands to a few hundreds depending on the location of the land. Well, this sure can generate a great deal of money. However, he does not understand that the Christian cemetry does not make money out of a dead person. The fee collected is for maintainance only and it is a one-time collection. Moreover, the burial plots are marked accordingly so there is no expensive plots or cheaper ones. All are the same and no one can choose where they want to be buried. All have to follow the line. Well, it was sure interesting to attend such a meeting...one can certainly learn a lot .

Reflections.....

2009-06-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my church celebrated Parents' Day. This was the first time that i did not have a parent to celebrate with. I was feeling sad and a bit down, but then i pulled myself up and thank the Almighty God i had sixty odd years of mum with me. I had good memories of the times we spent together......going out for dinners and giving her an "ang pow"(i.e. the little red envelope containing cash). This would make mum very happy.
This makes me wonder how i would be spending Mother's Day in future. Christina will be settling down in Down Under. Unless i make a trip Down Under, i would be all alone. Thinking over, maybe all the mothers who have children working in other places can get together and celebrate this special day together. Well, we need not go out to a restaurant. Each of us can cook a special dish and bring it for the celebration. If there are ten of us, imagine the ten types of cooking we can get to sample. Thinking of it now makes my mouth wants to water because the ladies i have in mind are fantastic cooks. Yes, i think we shall have a wonderful Mother's Day celebration from now onwards. Thinking back, our parents will leave us one day and our children may have settled down in other parts of the world, yet we still have good friends around to celebrate together......what a wonderful feeling.

Remembering........

2009-06-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Today i had the privilege of helping in the Sunday School to prepare the children for a concert tomorrow to celebrate Parents' Day. The children of today are so fortunate.They have almost every thing that their parents can afford. Because of this culture of giving the best the parents can afford makes the children take things for granted. Truly i have never seen a bunch of kids so spoilt and indiscipined. They don't listen to their teachers at all and just do what they fancy. They keep shouting at each other and just walk about. The poor teachers had to keep on calling them to pay attention to instructions. I just wonder what these kids will turn out to be twenty years down the road. Any way, i just hope that every thing will turn out right tomorrow.
This brings me back to my childhood days where i too attended Sunday School. What a contrast....all of us just sat in our places quietly. We were so frightened of our teachers that when we talked to each, we whispered. What ever work the teachers handed us to do, we just did them without murmur. I remembered i just love to go to Sunday School. I'm thankful to all my Sunday School teachers for teaching me and disciplining me. A'm also thankful to all the Sunday School teachers who had taught Christina..my girl...and helped to mould her to be what she is today. She's a lovely young lady....helpful and caring.....someone who makes a parent proud of her. So a big thank you to all you Sunday School teachers. I now know that it is not easy to teach in a Sunday School as i found out today. God bless you all.

Remembering........

2009-06-19T03:32:00.000-07:00

Today, i want to pay tribute to the woman who brought me up and gave me a chance to be what i am today. Mum was a woman who placed great importance in education. I attended two national schools while i was in Std. One to Four. In the morning, i went to an English school, while in the afternoon, i attended a Chinese school. For these three or four years, she would bring me lunch in a tiffin carrier, my Chinese school uniform and school bag to a friend's house opposite the Chinese school. When morning school was over, i would walk to this house. There i would have my bath and lunch, changed into my other school uniform, took the other school bag and walked to school. Then she would gathered up my other uniform and school bag and other stuff and cycled home. At the same time, she would also be carrying my younger brother on the bicycle too as there was no one else to care for him at home. Attending two national schools came to an end when the Education Department sent a circular to inform the schools that every student can only attend one national school. So i made a choice to stop my Chinese education.
The growing years was quite a struggle for all of us. Dad was out of work most of the time, so Mum had to work to support the family. She was a laundry lady for several households and in the afternoons she has to go back to those households to do all the ironing. By then, we were all in our teenage years. Many of our friends and relatives advised Mum to stop my schooling and go to work as a domestic servant. However, Mum was adamant that i should continue with my schooling as i was not a bad student....and she even went with me to the Social Welfare Department to apply for book loans. So for my generation, i was the only one who had the opportunity to go to college and trained to be a teacher.
Now i have a good life...and it is all thanks to my mum who cared so much for me. Thank you Mum.

Remembering........

2009-06-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

It is almost a hundred days since mum passed away....the mourning period is almost over. It is fitting now that i want to remember mum before memories of her fades away. Mum is always Mum to me as she's the best person in the world. I truly thank God that i had more than 60 years of sharing my life with her. To see her getting weaker and weaker in her twilight years would always remind me that one day i may have to go through this journey too. I'm also afraid that i would have inherited some of her traits.....stubborness, independence, wilfulness. On the other hand, i would certainly hope to inherit her other traits....generousity, helpfulness, charitable, hospitality, the ability to love under all circumstances and to continue to hope even the circumstances seem so slim. Mum is always so hardworking.....i still remember the days when we were so poor.....there was always little food on the table....yet mum always worked to put food on the table for us. This is why now i learnt that the most important thing in the world is to have a roof over one's head and next enough food on the table. As for other things, they are just distractions. Mum, thank you for teaching me the most important thing to survive in this world. I love you always.

Remembering........

2009-04-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

The last time i wrote seemed ages ago....yet it was just more than a month since. In these few short weeks, so many events happened. I still can't believe that i have to say goodbye to two of my family members. 23 March, Monday, an ordinary day....this was the day my brother met with an accident and he passed away. Up till now i still wondered why he and his son both had the same fate.....to die after an accident. Now i understand why people say that life is unfair.
1 April...the day my mum chose to leave us. She was 93 years old...a ripe old age they say. We were all prepared for her departure, but the minute she breathed her last, we felt a vaccum in our hearts. I know i should thank God for allowing us to enjoy her company for more than half a century. Many people do not have this priviledge of having a mother with them....much less when one is already a grandmother or a grandaunt. This is one blessing that i shall cherish always. Brother and mum...wherever both of you maybe....rest in peace. Love always...

Reflections.....

2009-03-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

Another day gone by. Another uneventful day. It was a hot day but by the evening, the sky had darkened and the rain came, pouring from the sky.
Mum asked me today to take her home....she wanted to go home. She just could not understand that she was already home.....or was she asking me to take her home to that special place? I don't know....her thoughts were so muddled up. Hope she would be better today.
I made soya bean milk. It was delicious.....so much better than the drink that I bought from the shops. So today I am going to make more of the soya bean milk and also make some 'taufu fah'. As some of my friends say 'yum...best in the world'.
What is installed for me today? Something good I pray. Anyway, all I know is that I'm going to watch a documentary at 3 pm...just hope I don't forget.

Reflections.....

2009-03-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I put my thoughts into words. This is already the middle of March 2009. How time flies! Between January and now so many things had happened. The economic downturn has turned to economic depression. My mum's health has deteriorated as each day goes by. Every day I just wonder whether it is her last day on this planet earth. But, being a resilient person, she keeps bouncing back. Caring for her these few months set me thinking about life and death. Is it worth living a long life when at the end of it all there is no quality of life? Looking at my mum's body now that it has been reduced to only skin and bones, i wonder where has all the muscles gone? Her diet has been the the puree stuff these few weeks and she has difficulty in swallowing....even water she finds it difficult to swallow. Though she may not be considered as bedridden, she could hardly walk a few steps. She could hardly talk and all she does now is to whisper. Her thoughts are all muddled up and even I do not understand what she is saying at times. She keeps talking about people I do not know and of places and times about a hundred years ago. As the Malay saying goes...sangat susahlah....caring for an old person. Now I begin to think about myself....am I caring for her because I love her as my mother or because it is simply my duty to care for her? She has other children too but .........????? Do I want to live to such an old age myself? Certainly not if I have a choice. The only choice I have is to pray every day that I age gracefully and healthily. Will God Almighty grant me this wish?......I certainly hope so.

Musings........

2009-01-23T06:45:00.000-08:00

January is almost coming to an end....and the Chinese New Year is just round the corner. Thank God all my baking has come to an end. The whole month of January was a mad rush to meet datelines and orders. Despite the tension and stress, it was quite fun too, come to think of it. This time around, it makes me realize that as the years go by, we can do what we can. More than that will bring tension and stress. So if i am still around the next CNY , much thought will have to be given to planning and time strategy.
My niece and nephew together with their parents will be with me to celebrate the CNY together. Well, a part of me do look forward to their visit..but another part is dreary of the cooking, cleaning and washing. Ha, ha but that's family and we need to spend as much quality time together as possible. After all the celebrations, everyone will go back to their routine and getting together will be less and less as each has their own things to do.
so, i take this opportunity to everyone of my friends a very happy and prosperous Chinese New Year.

Reflections.....

2009-01-06T05:48:00.000-08:00

Well, 2008 has gone by nearly a week now. What would i like to remember about the year 2008? Well, the year 08 had seen me meeting some of my classmates which i have not seen for more than 40 years. Many of whom i have not seen or heard from since the day i left secondary school. We went on to pursue different carreer and thus hardly had the opportunity to meet. It is only now that most of us are retired that we have the time to organise a dinner meeting and try to get in touch with as many classmates as possible. Thanks to boon leng, tham poh thiam, chiam and a few others for the task of getting us together. However, it is also sad to learn that a few of us classmates had also migrated to another world. Life is certainly too short ...so make the most of every moment to make others and also ourselves happy.
2008 is also a year i like to remember good friends who had passed on...Baby chi (tit hup), sister siew, uncle teh. Baby chi and sister succomb to the dreadful disease cancer and uncle teh of old age. I shall always remember their smile....their jokes and most of all their encouragement.

Today.......16 Dec 08

2008-12-16T04:49:00.000-08:00

Today...16 December 2008....9 more days to Christmas.Usually, around this time, one can see lots of activities in town. People will be busy rushing here and there to buy lots of stuff for Christmas, the New Year and also The Chinese New Year.This year, there is a vast difference in the economic activities in this country, Malaysia. Most of the people are buying essential stuff only. Nothing is spent on extras.
This year is so different from all those years. In the past, I never understood what is economic downturn. I always have food on my table, clothes on my back and all biscuits that I made had sold very well. I was never short of customers. The phone kept ringing for orders. However,this time around,the phone hardly rings. Orders are few and less...much less.
I am just wondering what the Chinese New Year atmosphere will be like? Quiet and not much of a celebration....because there is nothing to celebrate.

Countdown to 2009

2008-12-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 21 more days to 2009. Today the weather is fine and we see some sunshine....not like the previous few days where we experience rain and more rain. This year we have a lot of rainfall. Many parts of the country, especially the East Coast of West Malaysia, are already experiencing their annual floods.In some other parts however, many people were shocked to experience floods. Due to poor drainage,the heavy rainfall has caused many areas to be flooded...damages to properties and goods. In Kuala Lumpur, it has brought about landslides to houses on hill slopes. The prestigious housing area of Bukit Antarabangsa was a scene of chaos with land slides occurring at around 4.30 am while everyone was sleeping soundly in bed...this happened last week. Houses and cars were destroyed. Trees and roads all came crashing down. What a scene! I thought we see this only in films but it is happening right in front of our eyes in this country. Well, not a very happy ending for the year 2008
So i learn to live one day at a time. We don't know what the next minute will be.

My Thoughts on Today

2008-12-08T01:27:00.000-08:00

Today...8 December 2008....another gloomy day in Teluk Intan. Rain showers from early morning till now... evening. The sky is still overcast. Come to think of it....i truly missed the sun today. i just hope that tomorrow the sunshine will be back.

Ah yes, Carmen who is my niece, taught me something today. I invited her to stay with me for the holidays and she said no. That's fine...considering that she would like to be with her family. However, after 5 minutes, she asked me why didn't I persuade her to stay? Then I asked her how do I persuade her to stay? Her reply was I could always offer to let her play games on my computer. I told her that that would be bribery and she said that that is what she called bargaining. Well. one up for her for diplomacy.

Well, I guess there are lots of stuff we can learn from children if we pay enough attention to what they are saying.

How To Stay Happy

2008-12-07T04:51:00.000-08:00

It is not easy to stay happy. Living in this world, happenings and events seem to make us unhappy rather than happy. Once, i thought that if i have money, i would stay happy...but this is not the case. I found out the hard way that in order to stay happy, i have to learn not to allow other people to make me unhappy. I have to ignore a lot stuff that people throw at me and get on with my life. i need to learn to stay happy and get on with my life regardless of what others say or do. I also have to learn not to make others unhappy. Life is indeed too short for happy people and too tough and long for unhappy people. Life is indeed a learning process and i have to learn to accept the good and positive and discard the hindrances and negative. So everyone out there...learn to stay positive and be happy.

4 Christine Breese Power Of Now Mindfulness Moment Breeze

2008-10-23T03:30:00.004-07:00

Power Of Now - By Christine Breese

Why Think Positive?

2008-10-23T03:30:00.003-07:00

When things go wrong, remember:

It's not WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU that matters most.

It's how YOU THINK ABOUT what happens to you …

EXAMPLE:
Let's say that you are at the airport, waiting to catch a flight, and the airline tells you, "Sorry! Mechanical trouble. You won't be leaving for three hours!"

You get very angry. You tell yourself: "This is terrible! This is a disaster!"

While you remain stressed, things will get worse!People will trip over you, spill coffee in your lap and lose your baggage.

When you fight life, life always wins!

Then finally you cool down.You tell yourself: "There's nothing I can do about it. I am probably where I am meant to be. I'll make the most of it."

Suddenly, everything changes! From nowhere an old friend appears, or you make a new friend, or you stumble on a fresh opportunity - and life begins to support you.

Once we change our thoughts about "a bad situation", we can take advantage of it. You already know this!

Life's great opportunities mostly arrive disguised as misfortune and disaster.

EXAMPLE:
Imagine two women, Mary and Jane. Both get divorced. Mary says, "I've failed. My life is over." Jane says, "My life has just begun!" Who will blossom?

In a Nutshell

Every "disaster" in your life is not so much a disaster, as a situation waiting for you to change your mind about it.

Trying to Change People

2008-10-23T03:30:00.001-07:00

Trying to change other people is usually a bad idea!

Why? Because you get frustrated - and they start to hate you!

Example 1:
Fred and Mary are lovers. Mary figures, "Fred is not perfect ... but I can CHANGE him! I'll teach him manners. I'll stop him drinking ..."

Mary is determined to "fix" Fred. But Fred doesn't want to be fixed.
So Fred gets angry and resentful - and Mary gets exhausted.
Both are unhappy!

Example 2:
Let's say that my life is a total mess. I'm out of control, and everyone can see it. Friends give me advice, and I ignore it.

Soon enough ... KABOOM! I go bankrupt or I get fired ... or I get arrested.

I am shattered! But BECAUSE I am shattered, I start to pay attention! I change my behaviour - and my life improves.

Positive change is a natural process. Frequently it unfolds like this...

Step 1: STUPIDITY, followed by
Step 2: DISASTER, followed by
Step 3: DESPERATION, and finally
Step 4: COMMON SENSE.

We need each step.

If you force change upon people, you disrupt the process.

You say, "But it's painful to watch other people being STUPID!"
Right! But when you force them to change, they don't learn.

In a Nutshell

People fall into two groups:

a) Those that make regular adjustments to their life strategy
b) Those that like to hit a brick wall, and then change.

Neither want you to tell them how to live!

Hello!

2008-10-23T01:49:00.000-07:00

Hello,this is my first post.