No longer playing by my side

Celebrated Deedee's birthday last night in Grand Blue Wave Hotel, together with my sons and daughter-in-law, joining in the huge Buka Puasa crowd.

My little girl is 26! Who would think that my little, almost waif-like daughter, will now be a busy Marketing Executive, spotting interests such as paintball, rock climbing and happiest when she is with her friends somewhere else?

I was so busy through the day, I didn’t take the time to play.
When you brought your dolls to me, I told you “Not now,” and quietly,
I cleaned the house, I’d iron and cook, and when you brought your story book,
And ask me to sit and read to you, I’d say, “I have too much to do.”
I’d tuck you in your bed at night, I’d dim the light.
Too quickly I’d pass through the door, I should have stayed a minute more.

Each year flies past, my little girl grew up so fast.
No longer playing by my side, for me to nurture and to guide.
The books and dolls are packed away, no longer are there games to play.
That all belongs to yester-year.
My days once busy now are calm, the hours empty and too long.

Source: http://www.poem-and-poems.com/poemmotherdaughter.html


She makes the best of the small room she owns but abuses the wall! :-) Ke...ke...ke...

The rewards of the simple life

My little terrace garden in a complete mess.

At this stage I almost gave up!


Looking decent after 6 hours of toil today.





The beautiful view from my terrace garden

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~John Burroughs

My Mother the shopper "possessed"

Went shopping with my sister yesterday for a mirror. Instead I ended up buying a chair and a set of cooking pots, while my sister ended up with one candle lamp, a lot of candles and 3 pots of plants, 2 rose plants plus an orchid plant.

When we were looking at the flowers, somehow our conversation went to our late Mother. She used to have green fingers, she loved plants, especially roses and hydrangeas. She used to plant them rather successfully in our garden in PJ. We know she would have loved the beautiful flowering plants being sold there.

We also remember that our Mother used to be quite a "compulsive" or "obsessive" shopper. For things she really liked she just went like crazy. Besides flowers, we recalled that she used to like going to Kuala Selangor to purchase fish straight from the sea. We could almost see her adrenalin rising on the sight of the freshest fish and prawns. And, when she visited Chinese sundry shops which sell traditional Chinese food products like abalone, shark fins, dried fish stomach, etc. she would be almost like a woman possessed, like she wanted to buy them all.

These are some special memories of our late Mother that only we as her daughters, have the benefit to share and keep.

A mother loves her children even when they least deserve to be loved - Kate Samperi

If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours!

If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400, that carried over no balance from day to day, and allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and every evening canceled whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day, what would you do?

Draw out every cent of course!

Well, you do have such a bank, and it's name is "time". Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. If you fail to use the day's deposits the loss is yours.

-Unknown

Reproduced from http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/qtime.html

Time is a Great Healer

TIME IS A GREAT HEALER BUT A LOUSY BEAUTICIAN! :-) Ke...ke...ke...

Reproduced from http://www.oldpeoplearefunny.com/

Fasting a healing process for the body and the spirit

Picture of the famous Grand Mosque in Xian China, built in 742 during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
Source: http://www.lonelychina.com/xian/great-mosque-xian.html

Today is the first day of Ramadan. As ordained in the Quran, in the month of Ramadan the Muslims begin the day with an early breakfast and stay without food or drink until dusk. For the Muslims this is a month of self-regulation and self training when we learn virtues of piety, humility, are aware of God and fear Him, in the hope that this discipline will go beyond the month of Ramadan.

I understand that in many religions, there is a system of fasting.

In Buddhism, fasting is recognized as one of the methods for practising self-control. The Buddha advised monks not to take solid food after noon. In Buddhism, fasting is an initial stage of self-discipline to acquire self-control.

The Hindus believe that fasting is a means of showing that one can deny one’s physical needs for the sake of spiritual gains. The Hindus believe that fasting brings about a harmonious relationship between the body and the soul. The Hindus usually fast on new moon and annual festivals; practices vary, sometimes 24 hours of complete abstinence from any food or drink but more often an elimination of solid foods with occasional drink of milk or water; enhancement of concentration during meditation or worship, purification or a sacrifice.

The Baha'i abstain from food and drink sunrise to sunset during month of Ala from March 2-20; to focus on love of God and spiritual matters.

The Catholics fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. I was told that they take two small meals and one regular meal, with meat forbidden. Catholics believe that fasting teaches self-control, penance and solidarity with the poor.

Lack of Vitamin D linked to depression in elderly

This article is reproduced from http://news.my.msn.com/topstories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1374055 dated 5 June 2008

Low levels of vitamin D in elderly people may lead to increased depression and other psychiatric problems, Dutch researchers said.

"Underlying causes of vitamin D deficiency such as less sun exposure as a result of decreased outdoor activity, different housing or clothing habits and decreased vitamin intake may be secondary to depression, but depression may also be the consequence of poor vitamin D levels".

Researchers from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, studied some 1,282 senior citizens aged between 65 and 95, and found 26 had major depression, while 169 suffered from minor depression.

Vitamin D levels were 14 percent lower in those elderly suffering from some kind of depression, according to the study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

It found that poor vitamin D status also led to an increase in levels of a hormone secreted by the parathyroid. Overactive parathyroid glands are frequently associated with depression.

The findings could be important in treating depression as both low blood vitamin D levels and high parathyroid hormone levels can be corrected by dietary and calcium supplements or increased exposure to sunlight.

"Moreover, the clinical relevance of the present study is underscored by our finding that 38.8 percent of men and 56.9 percent of women in our community-based cohort had an insufficient vitamin D status," the study added.

Further studies would now be needed to show whether changes in vitamin D levels came before or after depression.

Ah...the simple life

Went to Pasir Penambang with Nor and Fuziani to buy fresh seafood. The fishing village still looks pretty much the same compared to 2 decades ago when I used to bring my Mother who liked to buy her fish from her facourite fat fisherman. Most of the wooden shacks are still there. The village still has more bicycles and motorcycles than cars. The old Hainanse bread shop which makes the nicest fresh coconut bread and kaya jam is still operating.

We stopped at a coffee shack for a drink and a little bite. There were groups of men there, with their feet on the stools in typical village fashion, gulping down crabs, prawns which they downed with tall glasses of beer, loudly chatting, laughing with not a care in the world! Ah..the simple life!

This reminds me of a popular story: A happy and Simple Life

The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, "Only a little while, Senor." The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos ."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

" But what then, Señor?" The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." Millions, Señor? Then what?" The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

A Happy and Simple Life

Every phase in life should teach something new

Yesterday marked another change in my life as it was my last day at work in the consultancy company where I had worked for 2 years.

The picture on the left is the bridge which I have to cross everyday to get to the work place. Strange as it may seem I think I will miss the early morning rush to work...minus the traffic jams!



The majestic building where the company is situated on the 10th floor









The breathtaking view of the city skyline from the 10th floor window.

My colleague Wai Mun, hard at work. On her desk is the 4 litre water bottle which she faithfully brings to work everyday without fail.

Every phase in life should teach something new. And we reach the point at which the heart can rest, knowing all is for the best - author unknown.

Putting the country first

I think today will be a significant day in Malaysian political history. Former DPM turned opposition,DSAI, not my favourite person though, will be sworn in as a member of parliament after his big win in the PP by- election. Hopefully, with his appointment as the opposition leader, the Opposition will find new political muscle.

For a democracy to be real the opposition must have a certain measure of strength. Hopefully Malaysia will now have a more robust legislative process, vital in an effective democracy. Domocracy is not real unless the force of public opinion is brought to bear, not only on the choice of parliamentarians every 5 years, but also on the legislative process between the elections.

With the general election and the by-election behind us, let's hope that our politicians will now stop the name callings and start to put the country first by looking deeply into the issues faced by our people.

He is rich according to what he is

Had a pleasant lunch with Teh Kechek. Yes, she has a strange name. Her late mother it seems belongs to the baba- nyonya clan, hence the strange name which sounds half Chinese and half Malay. We had known each other through work since 1992 and had maintained a close friendship, even after my retirement and her's. She still calls me "Boss" even though our relationship had changed. I had requested her many times to stop calling me by that ridiculous name but after all these years she had not succeeded.

After lunch we visited our old friend Robin, the goldsmith, who had been tempering to my friends' and office collegues' fancies since the 1980s. Robin had his shop not far from our office and those of my collegues who fancied all things glittering had been his faithful customers. We discovered he is still on the same street but had changed location to a bigger place.

That's Teh Kechik with Robin and all his glitters!

In the 1990s when I first knew him, he was still young. Now he is 52. He still remembers us! We were told by him that gold then was about RM20 per gram, now it is RM100/RM105 per gram, a more than 5 fold increase! He said,"You should have bought a lot of gold then, now you would be very rich!" Hmmm...how does he know I am not?

Make no mistake, my friend, it takes more than money to make men rich
- A. P. Gouthey
He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has
- Henry Ward Beecher

The Innocent, the Beautiful and the Angelic

God! She is only 6 weeks old!

In Kalamazzo Michigan, USA on 25 August 2008 a six-week-old baby was taken to the hospital in critical condition. It was found that she had suffered a fractured skull, two broken ribs, a broken and dislocated right arm near the elbow, a broken leg, broken finger, broken toe and numerous bruises about her body. The suspect in the case, who is the baby's father, confessed to state police detectives while being questioned at the Coloma Township Police Department.

A toddler's Hell!

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10237746

In Salt Lake City, USA a mother has pleaded guilty to charges related to abuse that left her toddler with sight-threatening chemical burns. Amy Roberts, 30, and her boyfriend, Derrick Lee Crispin, also 30, were charged with eight counts each of child abuse, a second-degree felony, and one count of obstructing justice, a third-degree felony, stemming from injuries Roberts' daughter sustained.

Investigators in January interviewed Crispin and Roberts after the couple brought the toddler to St. Mark's Hospital with blood on her hands and face, bruises and other injuries. Doctors found chemical burns on the toddler's face, hands and eyes. The burns on the girl's eyes caused severe corneal damage that could result in her losing her vision. The girl also suffered hemorrhages in both eyes and at least 50 cuts on her hands. Doctors discovered seven broken bones in her left hand and five in her right, which they believe were caused by "violent squeezing or blows directly to the hands". Patches of her hair were missing as were two teeth, injuries which doctors' said were consistent with blunt force trauma. The toddler's biological father took custody of the girl after Roberts' arrest.

A typical pleasant evening

3pm. Arrived home, found the rooms in a mess. Ms maid had to do some damage control straight away!

Now that the house is in order, relaxed with the mewspapers for a while, then switched on the computer to continue my report writing.

5.30 pm. Went to the letter box, met little cute Aishah, father from Pakistan, mother from Kelantan. Gorgeous little one!

Talked to handyman Ah Hoy about the leak from the upstairs unit.

Walking partner Prof. Noor arrived for our 7.5 kilometer brisk walk.

Lovely day and lovely neighbourhood.

7.00 pm. Arrived home, just in time to bump into good friend Fuziani, Electrical Engineer, coming back from work.

Content I pray I'll always be- with home and hearth and family...Content in my small realm to reign. Happy in my own domain...Thankful for whatever's there - goodly feast or frugal fare. --Pateince Strong

A Government Employee's Three Wishes

This is very insulting but quite funny.

A Government Employee sits in his office and out of boredom, decides to see what's in his old filing cabinet. He pokes through the contents and comes across an old brass lamp. "This will look nice on my mantelpiece," he decides, and takes it home with him. While polishing the lamp, a genie appears and grants him three wishes. "I wish for an ice cold diet Pepsi right now!" POOF! He gets his Pepsi and drinks it. Now that he can think more clearly, he states his second wish. "I wish to be on an island where beautiful nymphomaniacs reside." POOF! Suddenly he is on an island with gorgeous females eyeing him lustfully. He tells the genie his third and last wish: "I wish I'd never have to work ever again." POOF! He's back in his government office.

source: www.jokesforfree.com/