Remembering the dearly departed

Brother Tai Kam came back from abroad to perform the QingMing prayers at Mother's resting place in Fairy Park,Meru, Klang, together with sister Wan Lan. Several days before going to Fairy Park, sis Wan Lan also performed prayers to the departed ancestors in Father's house in PJ.

Apparently, QingMing or Chinese All Souls Day goes back 2000 years ago to the Han Dynasty in China when the tradition of visiting the graves of the ancestors started. QingMing means Clear Brightness in Chinese because QingMing is the time in Spring when the days are longer than the night. In the Chinese solar calendar the season of spring is sub-divided into 6 divisions of approx 14 days each. QingMing is one of sub-seasons and normally falls on the 5th or 6th of April.

I found this picture and the Chinese poem by Chinese Poet Du Mu about QingMing. Du Mu (803 - 852 CE) was a famous poet during the Tang Dynasty.

English translation of the poem:

"A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day; The mourner's heart is breaking on his way; Where can a wine house be found to drown his sadness? A cowherd points to Almond Flower (Xing Hua) Village in the distance."

Source: http://www.squidoo.com/tomb-sweeping-day

Just fooling around

The first photos I took using my new hp camera.

My front yard

My backyard

Self portrait..he..he...heh

SYTs and SOTs

5 decades ago as SYTs these 2 friends and I had often spent lunch times together, most of the time in the MGS Kuala Lumpur school canteen and sometimes at roadside stalls. 5 decades later, we are still close friends and still having meals together occasionally. The only differences are, the bowl of noodles does not cost 50 cents anymore but $18 and we are now SOTs, not SYTs. He..heh..heh..

你是哪一种人?

您知道這世界上只有哪兩種人嗎？答案: 好人, 壞人!

你是哪一种?

Wish it was just a bad dream

Glued to CNN an BBC till late into the night. The images were just horrific. We are used to seeing images of death and destruction in movies but this time the death and destruction were real. I cannot even begin to imagine how terrifying it must have been for those who were directly affected in Japan.

The earthquake yesterday is said to have moved Japan's main island by 8 feet and shifted the world at its axis!

This is such a sad day not only for Japan, but for the entire world. I wish it was just a bad dream.

My silent friends

Flowers are our greatest silent friends. ~ Jim Brown

The maid paradox

I have an elderly father who is no longer able to look after his everyday needs. We need a maid to look after him. With his "idiosyncracies" and his strong preferences, a nursing home is out of the question.

He has 5 children, two being overseas and therefore are spared the responsibility of looking after the father's everyday needs and spared the everyday worries. Three of his children including me are still in the country but inviting him to stay with us (which we have tried) is a non-starter as he would never leave his house.

So, we depend on a live-in maid. Herein lies the paradox: we cannot do without a maid, but we also wish we do not have to have a maid. Changing the maid may result in other problems. Well, you know the English proverb 'Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know'. So to solve the problem we allow the problem to be.

My date with 外丹功

Four months ago I joined a Waitankung 外丹功 class, with great trepidation, at the invitation of a friend. Now I find myself maybe a little bit more agile and energetic. Well, it is an ancient Chinese exercise, not a martial art but more of an exercise for health enhancement. The basic principle is to activate the Hsien Tien Chi (inner energy) inside the body so that the energy flows smoothly through the internal organs. I understand this is a good exercise routine for the middle aged.There is a discipline to Waitankung. I still cannot perform all the movements properly but hopefuly I will get there one day.

Well, with exotic names like "Tortoise Breath"面東龜息吐納功 , "Fluttering of a Bird"翼臂足翹一妙功 , "Lift of Pearls" 捧珠入覲安魄功"Big Crane Walk"大仙鶴步 , etc, there is reason enough to be motivated. hehe.. .

What the elderly do to have a little fun

My friend sent me this elderly humour several days ago. I think it is nice..hehe...

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting.
Well, for example, the other day, Bev my wife and I went into town and visited a shop.

When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.
We went up to him and I said, 'Come on, man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?'
He ignored us and continued writing the ticket.

I called him an “a--hole” . He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn-out tires.
So Bev called him a “s--t head”. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.
Then he started writing more tickets. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote.

Just then our bus arrived, and we got on it and went home.

We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's important at our age.

Source: unknown

Not an easy process

I realize that bitterness festers over time. We may be able to suppress the feeling most of the time, but the when the memory gets triggered the rage will return, worse than before. The pain and the injustice overwhelm us again.

It is possible to recover from bitterness, but it is not an easy process.

CNY at my Father's

Four generations and friends under one roof on CNY day at father's house in Petaling_Jaya.

祝大家新年快乐 !

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

Every Chinese New Year since Mother passed away I had diligently cooked Mother's CNY dishes. There is always stuffed fish maw, staffed shitake mushroom, stewed sea cucumber, poached chicken with chicken rice, among other dishes. Even if nobody truly appreciates my efforts, I take comfort that I am doing this to keep up Mother's tradition.

要開開心心過每一天!