You only live once, not twice

There was a James Bond film with the movie title " You only live twice".  Isn't it a little rediculous., How can we live twice?  Nature would not allow it .  Even if we believe in re-birth and in that sense, we will live many times around . Why is it named this way? There are many possibilities and many interpretation but finally, the real fact is that you live only once.

Our life is measured by the minutes and seconds and it is ticking all the time. It never comes back or reverse back.  All the idea of time machines and moving back in time is bull shit. Only in our dreams or our mind that we can recall the past but not to re-live in it.

It is so strange that  most of the time, we let the minutes and seconds slip away while we are evolving in a life circle. Doing the routines and missing the actions. Everything is within our choice but we just leave it idling away or chasing wealth or fame and power. We make our ego, our target . The good feeling about ourself.  Being admire by our peers, our love ones and our neighbours. What selfish bastards are we ?

Living is  a passion. The love of doing what is meaningful to us and the love in knowing more about  ourself and how we re-act to the outside world. We live to fulfill our asperations and our purpose and we live help others.We live to give  while we take and make a balance of our gives and our takes.

If we live to the expectation of others , then we are not living.  We should live for ourself and others and chart our own way through life and live the way we wanted it to be. We should not be restricted by customs, beliefs, religion ,race and habits as all these are set up by other people in the past and this establishment was their expectation.  These are expectations of man before us.  We should live without these bondage and break free.  Do the things we want as the minutes and seconds tick away.

You only live once and this is real. Do not have any other fantacy that we can reverse time or your life. It is only a one way ticket to the other side. Wake up and stnnd up . Be yourself.

Namaste.

Smile, everyone smile with you !

Be well, stay safe, and SMILE (it makes your face feel good),and if smiles are good, laughs are even better.

It's been said, "You don't stop laughing when you die,you die when you stop laughing!!"
 

My blog - life is a joke

At some point of time, I started a blog " life is a joke"  and I wanted to have a lighter side of  my life. The blog is mend to contain all types of jokes. Silly, vulgar or stupid. It dones not matter. It is a place for readers to visit if you need some laughs or de-stress themselves.  Anyway, laughter is the best medicine.  Life is so boring and hectic and we need to find space to release our anger, frustrations and pain.

Yes, yes, yes. I am definitely wanting to revive it  and keep it as a place for my slace.  It does not matter if this is an original joke from me or it is a copied joke somewhere or it does not matter where it comes by. The objective is to put all these jokes there as a library for people to access and enjoyed it.

Lets put away the ethic and the righteousness concept and just look at the noble objective of making people happy and merry. Why is it wrong to make people feel happy and laugh at some jokes? It is a good thing to do . So , I will not think too much and let you all laugh yourself dead.

In Chinese language, it is not laugh yourself to death but " laugh die me" which directly translate as LOL.

So, my friends. Look out for more jokes , laughter and fun.  What the heck? Anyway , life is a joke , right?

Namaste..

Lunch at Takehana : Ramen shop at Auto- City

 The crowd was sparse as my banker friend , P took me out for a lunch at this ramen food joint.  We ordered different types of ramen , maki , chicken teriyaki etc.  The outlet is a very good ramen shop and have been existence for a few years already at the same site.  I have been there  numerous times with different people.

At this auto-city, there are many eateries  like old town café , Soho, Golden triangle, starbucks , Coffee Bean and several banks. There is also a Bah Kut Teh shop at one of the corners.

After finished eating, we talk about the political situation in Malaysia, the EU problem and economic slowdown in China. But, the hottest topic was the coming Malaysia GE13 election.  Like all of us, he favors a change in the Government but the change should be decisive and a majority to either sides.  If  the outcome of the election is a simple majority , there will be a lot of political frogs which could change the political scenes and eventually, it will spell trouble for Malaysia.

Stability is the most important issue and without stability, it will be like Thailand in the past , full of demonstrations and bad political publicity.  It also ends in chaos unless the change of Government is smooth.  So , in the end , the red shirts won a majority ie 60% of the votes and luckily, the change of Government was slow.

In Malaysia, we hope the same will happen and if the outcome is decisive, the change over should be smooth and clear.  It is pointless to create trouble  and drag down the country and caused serious damages to the Country.  If the current Government lost this round , then they can wait for the next round.  It is very good to have a two party system for the country.  At least , there is check and balance to ensure transparency and well being for all.

We pray for such outcome and for political maturity for it to  happen.

Namaste.

Forgive or not to forgive ? A challenge.

There is a Chinese saying “ If you doubt a person, don’t use or employ him or her and if employ him or her, then you should not be doubtful”. This is indeed a very wise saying and it is very true.  

If we doubt a fellow and we still employ him, then we will be looking over our shoulders every minute or second , then how can we focus on the things we do ?  The chance of a betrayal or a stab in the back  is very high and why are we subjecting our self to this risk ?  We are wasting our energy and precious time in such cautious exercise.

However , sometimes, we want to give the “ doubtful” fellow a second chance and to see whether we can win him or her over and regain our trust in them.  This merciful attitude often make us more confused and subject our self to the test of giving forgiveness.  We always think that “ to err is human and to forgive is divine “.

To mend a broken trust  is often a very difficult task and it will take a long time to heal the wound  or regain the trust of someone. We hope that these people who have hurt us will realized their wrongs and repent.  If these people realize what they do is wrong then it is okay and they will repent and return your kind gesture of forgiveness but sometimes, they do not seek the wrong in their act.  They have the impression that they can differ to agree and still maintained that they do no wrongs.  Well, this is the scary part because we maybe keeping an enemy close to us or sometimes, we are sleeping with an enemy.

The next part is if we employ a person then we should not be doubtful.  It is rather foolish to employ a doubtful person isn’t it ? The choice of keeping the doubtful person lies with you and it is better to have a clean cut  in the relationship.  You can always fire the person on the slightest  doubts in their integrity or their trust. Why you need to keep employing that fellow?  Human beings are confused and always subject themselves to unnecessary and unwarranted  pressure and take the risk of being betrayed.

Human beings are emotional and by nature forgiving and many such person have died a painful death . Live and lets live , sometimes can be live to get killed.

Namaste.

My active Sunday

As I have told you before, Saturday and Sunday is supposed to be my rest day . However, this Sunday which is today was very busy for me.

It started  of with a breakfast with my  s family and my nephew , B and my Sister C. We had a Tim Sum breakfast at Kuta Bali, Farlim and during the cversation, we happen to talk about the housing properties in Balik Pul

au. My daughter , M's boyfriend wsa from Balik Pulau. The direct translation of " balik pulau " is going back to the Island. But, the place is not an island but it is across a hill separating the town and Air Itam town from the place. It took about 15 minutes to cross the hill from Farlim, Air Itam.

Balik Pulau is very famous for its durian estates and some of the best durians come from this place. Many outstation visitors visit this place for a few delicacies ie durian, laksa and nutmeg juice.

After the Tim Sum breakfast, we decide to take a break before we go over to Balik Pulau and upon reaching my home, I was requested by my wife to shop for some household items at the nearby Sunshine hypermarket.  It was a rush for me because I was supposed to pick up my daughter, M , my nephew and my sister to go property hunting in Balik Pulau. It took me an hour to finish shopping with my wife and I have to rush to pick up all the members and to on my way to Balik Pulau.

We started off at about 11.45am and it was getting hot.  The weather in the morning was cloudy and it starts to get hot as noon approaches.  It took about 20 minutes before we reach Balik Pulau and there was a lot of cars heading for that direction as the durian season has just started.  Durian stalls were mushrooming all along the hill way to Balik Pulau.  The town was full of cars but we took the left turn heading towards a property at Pokok Upeh.

We reach a property site which have about 23 bungalows and each selling about RM1.4 million with about 6,000 to 7,000 sq ft of land. The show units was beautifully done and there was ample space in the living room and all in there are about 6 rooms. If we were to buy such landed property in E&O and the Lights or Pulau TIkus, it will cost about RM6 million. Although, Balik Pulau and Pulau Tikus have the same "Pulau" name , the price is so vastly different.  The difference is across the hill between two places. I think in a matter of time, the hill would not matter anymore if the land is getting less in the Penang town area.

Next, we visited Botanical. This is a new township located on a low hill and the place was better oganized and there is about a few hundred semi-D or terrace houses there. There is also an international school which is called the Prince of Wales International School.  It was a very beautiful building and the township is like a modern western housing sites. The area is booming and the pace of expanding the property have slowed down.  This was the first property site to launched in Balik Pulau.  The units are a little pricey , ranging between RM600,000 to RM900,000 per unit depenidng on whether it is a terrace unit or semi-D unit.  The price of these properties have increased since my last visit by about 40%.

The next site was a landed property site near the sea. It should take another 10 minutes to the seas. In this property , they provide a man-make river and the property have a mix of single stuble orey semi-Ds , double storey terrace houses, bungalows ranging between RM350,000 for a single storey terrace to RM700,000 for a double storey semi-D.  I think the place is mend to be a santuary type of living style.  It is a very big piece of development but it will take a few years to complete.

There is so many new property sites in Balik Pulau and compare to the property in the island proper , it is more affordable for many before the price of the land catches up with the Island proper.  Penang is an island so land is limited and it will stretch further and further into the island as the coast and the island proper gets more and more staturated.

After the property tour, my daughter M's BF  took us to have lunch at the new market place where we had laksa, persumbor , nutmeg juice and ice kachang. The laksa was quite good and my Sister , C loved it very much. Maybe, it is because she is hungry. LOL.

So, we rushed off back to Farlim and it was already 4pm in the afternoon.  I took a short nap and when I wake up, it is already dinner time. The rest of the day was the usual resting on the couch and watching my favorite Sunday movie. Yeah, back to normal and prepare for the next working day on Monday.

Namaste.

Dinner at Nostalgie, Stewart Lane, Penang

                                         Acrylic painting for sale - By French Artist.

I have been  checking out this outlet a few times in the past and was unable to eat at this restaurant due to the lack of  parking space at this Restaurant, Nostalgie. Finally, last night, I .make an attempt to bring my wife to this restaurant and surprisingly, it was a very cool  and nice place and the food was excellent.

This restaurant is located in  a pre-war shop house in a narrow lane , right in the middle of Georgetown and among many pre-war houses.  The reatuurant was operated by an American family and is offering pasta, sphegatti, pizza and a few of their specialty including tasty food  juice.  The setting of the place is like the China House at Victoria Street but this place is small but it has very good chi because of the fung shui setting. The design still maintain the old pre-war house setting with original oil paintings lining the walls. I felt so relax and comfortable and it brings back my childhood memories when I was raised  in a similar but small house.

My wife ordered a orange juice and two different types of Sphegetti and the taste and texture of the food was excellent.  Wonderful experience and I would recommend to my readers to try it out.  It is  a whole different experience especially it was a kind of home cooked food and serve it a familar environment. 

I have found another wonderful place to enjoy my life in Penang.

Namaste.

Lunch at Yeng Keng Hotel & Cafe , Penang

Yesterday, my nephew , B came  back from KL and invited my family including sister, C for a lunch at Yeng Keng Hotel, Penang.  He asked me for a direction and  he told me somewhere in Chulia Street, I told him the name sounded faimliar.  Yes,  I could have passed through it  a few hundred times in the past. I told him that  it was one of the old brothels  among the many in Chulia Street including the famous Sock Ann Hotel , the Nam Thean Hotel, etc  and they came brothels during its long history.  It is similar to the Susie Wong of Hong Kong red light district.

When I reach Chulia Street, I immediately located the hotel  It was right in the middle of Chulia Street. I entered the hotel by a side entrance and parked my car at the back portion of the hotel. Near the car park, there was a small swimming pool , the size of a large pond.  Good for just dipping ourself wet and go for the sun bathing. One look at it , it was set up for back packers and outstation guest from the mainland Malaysia. 

After entering a small door, it open up to a long corridor with rooms on both sides and it was every well designed and clean. After the long corridor, it was the main office and lobby. Everything tastefully done. The restaurant was located in the front garden on the left side of the hotel.

It was a small restarantd esigned in a fusion style mixing English and Oriental taste.  It look pretty awesome and relaxing.  Yes, it was done in good taste.  There was a few tables of guest there already  and we sat down to order our lunch.  The menu is mix of western and oriental cruisine and their specialty in local food is the Hakka dishes.  But, for the Hakka selections, we have to place an order 24 hours before. So, we can only select the common dishes.  B, selected a big pie to share among all of us and each ordered the food of their choice.  Some of us ordered a chicken chop, Bee Hoon , lamb chop and I ordered a Hakka noodle. Although, it is Hakka but a common dish in Penang.

The food at this outlet was quite reasonable and I believe their English coffee should be good as well. I like the setting in the restaurant  and after lunch, we took a tour of the small hotel.  I could notice the remenant of the past like the Chinese curvings and small wood designs of chinese deities on the wall. But, most of it is refurbished and looks new. Quite a relaxing place to be if  you want to find a break in a small town community.

After this experience, I start to wonder whether I am a Penangnite or not as I have not taken the time to know Penang where I have been staying for more than 50 over years., It takes a young fellow to lead me to some thing awesome in the Island where I stay.

It looks like a wise message to me. Our eyes are make to see fa r and wide but actually, we are foreigners in the place we live.  So, I have to start searching and wondering to know the mistery of Penang.

Namaste.

The tongue twisters - beware !!!

There is a saying “ every human have two mouth “  and there is a Chinese saying “ the mouth is sweet and the tongue in slippery”. What does these wise words mean ? How can a human being have two mouths ? Why the mouth is sweet  and our tongue can be slippery? Strange. These sayings have been passed down for many generations and it is still applicable to this day. These wise words depicts the dual nature of each human being when they are communicating with each another.  

There are many such people around who twisted and turn an event or the facts to their advantage for to create a discourse among people.  They will say one version of the event to A and a different version to B and their agenda to create a conflict or draw the support from this people by twisting the facts.  

Why than is the mouth sweet and the tongue slippery?  It means these people used sweet words and sweet words will come from a sweet mouth while the slippery tongue can twist and turn to create frictious and unwarranted trouble to other people.

When my mother was alive, she told me to be careful with such people who used people against people to their advantage or use people to kill another person.  This is the worst type of people to  be associated with. However, we should not let such people prevail either and create more harm to society.

The Holy Dalai Lama once said , “if you do not want to  help people , do not harm them”.  This advise is directed to these lowly creatures who is out to create havoc in this world. I hope we all should stand up and unveil their scheme and highlight their intention and agenda.  Brighten up these people and let others be aware of their existence and be weary of their words and actions. Shine a light on them.

Again, I would like to say “ Evil arises out of goodness “, the more good and forgiveness we give to these type of people, the worst it will become.  I do not agree with another wise Chinese sayings “ Things or events which is not related to us, we should not take actions “. This is really a selfish and unethical act.  We should STAND UP and be stronger than these weaklings.  GOD is not perfect, so we have to help GOD to perfect the situation.

Namaste.

The beautiful mind

There was a book by this title and it talks about a professor who can do see and analyse extra-ordinary things. It was in a study that a normal human being use only 3% of the mind's capacity and for genius, they use more than 5% and for the super-genius , they would use more than 8% . So, if a human being can use more than 10% of his brain, he would be super intelligent and he could perhaps perform extra-ordinary  task.

How cou could we tap more into our brain power? In Anthoney Robbin's " unleashed the power within you". He talks about how to believe and bring out the best in you and unleashed your emotional and intellectual power in all of you. The most important factor is that we believe we can do the impossible and we set out to do it. In some cases, we will get into trouble and difficult problems.  If we try numerous times , then we will get better each time and eventually, we can do it.

If we believe in ourself and our capability, nothing is impossible or impossible is nothing. We can stretch ourself far and wide. When people are put in a spot or push to their limits, there are powers within us that will rise to the surface and make us do the impossible or extra-ordinary tasks.

Our mind can also play trick on us and if it exceed its limit,  strange things wll happen in our mind. The mind becomes illusional and we will be come unsure what is real . What we see outside or in our mind is real? What we see outside might not be real and what we feel and touch within us is real.

When we look at a thing the first time, it appears to us in a certain image but if we look at it the second time, it starts to change and if we look at it more and more times, the image will continue to change. If we glance at it quickly again , the image is different but if we slows it down, again the image is different. It is changing all the time depending how you do it. The thing is the same but our perception changed.

People have different perspective because they are seeing things in different angle and in a different mind. In many occasions, people argue and fight over what they see or not see .  They did not know that they are looking from different angles and at different time. Sometimes, even in different lights , that the same thing do look the same. This is the beauty of our mind and the greatest wonder in life.

Namaste.

Abbot of Than Hsiang Temple , Bayan Lepas, Penang

I read about a man. KH Neoh who had an engineering degree  who works for a big MNC company and start his business and  fnally gave  up his career to be a monk. He have already been a monk for 20  over years. His reason is his  wish to serve mankind through his Buddhist teacings. This person must have a strong and focus mind and know what he wants to do in life. Every few people will give up such comfort and luxury to live a simple monk's life.

I  read about the last  words of Robbin Gibb when he was dying of cancer. He said that the death of his younger brother , Maurice Gibb and his suffereing could be the karmaric effect of the riches and fame he has enjoyed for a long time. When he was young , he escape death during a very serious accident when many people died.

The message here is if we sow good deeds, good things will return many folds and if we do bad deeds ,,we will suffer in many  ways. Excess riches , fame and wealth have its negative rewards as it can be wasteful or misused.  We have to balance our karma and lead a happy life.

Coming back to the abbot of Thean Siang Temple, he chose to devote his life the Buddha  when  he feel the time have come to make the decision. There is a time for everything to happen and he had accomplished many projects under the Buddhist organization over the 20 years after becoming a monk.  All these projects could be his destiny which he had fulfilled.

Like a verse in the bible, many are called and a few are chosen. Everyone have a role to play and I believe the abbot must have  heel a call from within.  The show is on-going everytime and when the curtain falls, it is time to move on and sing the song "My Way",

Namaste.

One type of rice feed 100 types of people

This is a Hokkien saying “ One type of rice feed 100 types of people.  It  is no joke and it is very true. It simply means that  people is not “ one single person” per se but make up of people having 100 types of characteristics or personality. Nobody  is the same. Period.

People are influenced by their upbringing ,  culture, beliefs, influence, teaching, exposure, religion, habits , environment and so on and so forth.  It is endless  and with these different influences and experience, they are mould into different personality and with different thinking.  If we were to multiply the different factors with the different personalities , we will have more than 100 types of individuals.

People is  the most difficult factor to manage and the outcome can never be controlled or predicted accurately. It is because of the diverse factors of human personality.

Sometimes , under a same set of factors , the outcome can be different. This is especially true for the female. There is a joke that a decision can be different after we go to the toilet and back.  This how flicker the mind is.

This varying and constantly changing factor is really a challenge in our life. So, it is better not to expect anything until the last moment.  The only time , things can be final is “ when the coffin is nailed”.  It implies when a person is still alive, the decision can still be subjected to changes. How incredible is people – people ?

In my previous message, I say “ GOD is not perfect “ because HE create people who can think and can make their own decision. But , I also said that this imperfection  is indeed a perfection , otherwise, life will be boring and stale.

Okay, lets not take things for sure , live by the day and let it be , come what may.

Namaste.

GOD is not perfect

I agree that GOD is not perfect and in this way, it is perfect. If GOD makes everything perffect and I cannot imagine what the world will be. There will a million me or billion me, dressing , thinking , behaving and looking alike. It will be so boring and life would be meaningless.  Of course, if you are the lesser children of GOD, then you might not agree with me. God makes everyone special and perfect in their own image.

GOD by making lesser children of GOD or some gays, lesbians and freaks, provides variety to life. Some bigger, stronger, some shorter , some taller, some smarter and some weaker. It takes  all these impercections to make a perfect world . A world of differences and variety.

GOD also provide colours to the world . He paint the same thing with so many different colors and shades. By so doing, it mkaes the world a perfect place instead of being monotonous. Even in his image, human beings came ispnto this world with different colors and shades  and speak so many different  languages and dialects. It will take a few life times to learn all these languages  land dialects. Each color comes with its own beauty and each language comes with different magic.  Life is so beautiful and perfect.

Yet human beings do not value these beauty and magic. They create disparity, hatred, anger and jealousy among themselves and kill each other over power, wealth , pride and greed. They aare lost in their world of materialism, power and greed.  They becoime heartless , cold and dangerous. Where have tney gone wrong ? Or is this  part of perfection?  For the wise can see and  know to live in this perfect world  and the unwise to perish in this unperfect world.

Some human beings can twist the truth facts and turn it into a different storey while the righteous will unwind the twist it back and reveal the truth. Such twist and untwist became a daily affair and mkes our life meaningless and wasteful. Is this another perfection ?  Or is this a counter balance. A check and balance mechanism.  Oh, my GOD , here comes again.  Twisting , unwinding and twisting  as the perfect world rolls in.

That is life for many but a few share the difference and see and know that perfection is in motion.

Namaste.

The wind of change - an insight

There is a belief that we should change and be part of the change , if not, the changes will make you change. It is very logical as in the past , there is no computer or the computers are huge machines and we are only taught of the basics of  system information.  But , through the years, computer have evolved so much and now, it no more a luxury but a necessity.  For those old people, they have to pick up the IT knowledge , otherwise, they will not be able to live comfortably or enjoy the facilities fully.

This is one of the big change that have torpedo through our time and this is a change which we must be part of it.

The evolution of the internet  have flatten the world  and information come in the speed of the light. Something happen in the US or EU, we can access it instantly  and this really impact  the events which is evolving around us. For instance, one big bank suffers a huge loss , it takes time to filter through to the rest of  the world and there is still time to manage the finances or the respond in the past.  Now, it is as if , it is happening locally.  So, we can imagine whatever is happening in any part of the world, we are influenced and impacted instantly. No way to hide or avoid the disaster.  In this sense, we are more inter-connected than before.

Hence, we have to be ready for change and be mobile and fluid.  If we still behave like a big elephant , then we will be roll over and be killed.  Elephant cannot dance so we have to be light footed.

Changes can come with information as it is more clear and transparent to the people and their deep knowledge of events and things will make them change their mind or perspective of things whether it is a political , economic or financial change,  it has a total impact on an individual.

So, Change will come our way and we have no choice but to be prepared and faced it and change with it.  Fear not of the change that is coming but be prepared to change ourself.

Namaste.

Chinese Art of Fung Shui - Wind & Water

What I am about to write is not on the subject of Fung Shui which is very complex and superstitious. ThisI  art is in the roots of the Chinese culture including palm reading and facial features reading. The art of fung shui is based on the belief that there is in existence bad chi or energy or good chi. Logically, we should collect as much good chi and divert away the bad chi. So, good chi will bring good fortunes and bad chi will bring bad incidences.

Who are the people who believe strongly in this art of managing the fung shui?  People who can feel or see and feel into the past and the future and they are sensible to the "happenings" around them.

I have a female staff, N who play all the fingurings of the deities or animals on her desk to fend away the evil spirit or chi. She has to faced a particular direction or her fung shui seat. Her favorable direction will change with every new lunar year.  It is impossible for her to change her desk very year so she will play the appropriate fingurings to block the bad chi and if the direction is correct, she will removed the fingurings.  It depends on your zodiac sign and you choose the right animal or deities fingurings. Not everybody used the same finguring or have the same direction.

This afternoon, I have a meeting with a Japanese colleague , T and on her table is a replica of a golden arowana fish. The Chinese believe that a golden arowana will bring good luck and fortune. So, it has spread to the Japanese.  I also saw a laughing Buddha on his table and T told me that the Buddha brings him happiness and relaxation. Suddnely, he gets up and show me a Balinese mask of  Deity in Bali. It was facing his back. He told me the arowana fish bring him good fortunue and his Balinese Deity mask will drive away the evil or prevent his adversary from backstabbing him.  he is well protected by the God and the good chi. T also told me that in his house, he has an animal replica and the animal will eat all the good things and will not shit it out. The meaning is very good that good fortune will come and stay inour pocket or our house.

I do not totally reject the art of fung shui and I believe that it can be scientific and logitic in some forms but in extreme, it is totally unbelievable.  Yeah , the hormony of a house depends on how we design it or landscape it. Some of the preventive forms are very logical like painting your house in red. Like fire which makes the people living in it very uncomfortable because of the unbearable heat or we should not wear black because black retained heat and make us feel very uncomfortable or a house entrance should not face a T junction because the head light of the car will continue to shine into the house or if some drunk driver can drive straight into the house.

Nevertheless, everything happen for a reasson or do not happen for a reason.  It is fate or destiny and like I say before, when it happens, it happens and if not that is the way , it should be.

Namaste.

Politics turn religions in dogma ( insight)

How true is this statement ?  Who  re-brand religion and turn it into their benefits ? Who else ? Politicians.  Yes, through their administrative influence or their falsehood interpretations. Religion is pure and simple and it is the people who makes it complicate and cumbersome.

In Buddhism, the lord Buddha’s teaching of the 4 noble truth and the 8 fold path which leads us away from suffering and to enlightenment. Through the years, his disciples and follows add their insight to make the religion complex and difficult to understand.

A monk’s life is not simple now and there are so many ceremonies, procedures and literatures which teach us to discipline our self and our mind and stir us towards enlightenment. The way of meditation, the way of thinking and the way to achieve enlightenment is so varied and diverse.

I have used the example of a path up the hill top and have urged my readers to use different paths to enjoy new adventures to the hill top.  In this case, it is the reverse.  There is one hill top and Buddha have lay the path to the top but in the end, there are so many path going in different directions to the top. So, which way shall we choose? The end result is the top.

So, Buddhism has so many types , the Thai style ( forest monk) ,the Tibetian type, the Indian type, the Japanese type, etc. So, diverse and yet the end is the same.

I read about this Islamic author , Irshad Manji  and I fully agreed with her that it is the people especially politicians who re-define religion  and use it to control the people.   The unenlightened became the enlightened and this is the most scary part  of the evolution.  Religion can be interpreted at different perspective or under different lights. This is utterly rubbish and we must go back to the basis and refrain from been bloody foods  following the unenlightened.

Such behavior is happening all over the world and it is instead evil rising out of goodness.

Namaste.

Death of Robbin Gibbs - A tribute.

 

The news is out.  Robbin Gibbs died of cancer at 62 , the same age as Donna Summer and for the same reason.  Obviously, both of them have been suffering from the disease for sometime now.  

Robbin Gibbs was a member of the band , Bee Gees. The band of three brothers have created waves in the music industry and  is considered the most successful band of their time and until now. Their hits like Saturday Night Fever, Words,  How deep is your love, Gotta send a message to you,  New York Disaster, Only One Night and many more songs.

Yes, I grew up with their music and now, it will be in the past.   Life is like that you come and go at GOD’s  Will.

Thank You, Robbin for all the good music  and the happy memories.  Like what is written in the song “Words”  -  I have only words  to express my appreciation.

Namaste.

Alzeheimer's disease - Extracts.

Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative disease of the brain, is estimated to hit some 106 million of people by 2050, according to the report by the American Health Assistance Foundation. People with Alzheimer's usually will face symptoms such as memory loss, personality change and impaired judgment. Mainly affecting older people, it firstly affects the brain areas that are responsible for memory and language. Until now, there is no single known cure for this disease. Drugs available mainly control the effects of the symptoms. Plant-derived medicinal drugs are mainly from Ginkgo biloba, Common sage (Salvia officinalis) and Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis). These botanical drugs acts against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the enzyme that breaks down brain chemical receptor. In Alzheimer's patients, acetylcholine levels drops due to the excessive amounts of AchE. In 1994, the German government passed the sale of Ginkgo leaf extract. The active compound is ginkgolides, the plant's chemical that is neuroprotective and has cholinergic activities of the Alzheimer's disease mechanism. Sage also can help fight Alzheimer's. This herb has long been used traditionally in Europe. Additionally, sage was reported to possess in-vitro cholinesterase inhibiting properties. It also said to enhance mnemonic performance and improve mood. Lemon balm is another herb that could be the potentially answer for the search of Alzheimer's disease miracle drug. In a study conducted in 2003 on patients with mild and moderate Alzheimer's disease stage, it was shown that M. officinalis can be useful against the disease.

Death of Donna Summer - a tribute

The death of Donna Summers came as a shock to me. She died of cancer at 62 and it took some time for this news to sink into me. Her music grow up with me especially the song " Hot stuff "....It was very popular during the 80's  and the song top the charts for many weeks.  Her name was on the lips of everyone at that time. Another great song from her was " She work hard for her money ".

Her death was not so long after the death of Whitney Huston. These peoople were so talented and their voice is so beautiful and powerful. A few days ago, I was watching the American Idol contest and the contestants was down to the final three.  Sanche, Phillips and ledet.  Out of the three, Ledet was a black and his voice was excellent and powerful. But, he was voted out. When he was singing, I could link him to the powerful black singers like Diana Ross, Donna Summers and Whitney Huston. Their high pitch and powerful voices brings out the wonderful feelings and meanings in a song.

I believe everyone who come to this world have a role to play. For Donna Summers , she gave us her voice , music and message to her listener. Her destiny was to be a  great singer and make a lot of people happy while enjoying her song. She had done her duty and play her role well.

Everyone of us should search within us and know our role. If we are destined to do great things, please do all out to do just that and if it is our choice to live a plain and simple life , so be it.  Greatness come from our choice and destiny. Nothing can ever change that , not even GOD.

One thing is for sure " How long we live is uncertain but how well we want to live is for sure ",

Namaste.

Tesco, next to E-gate, Penang

This afternoon I was resting comfortably  in my house under the air-con and I was very thankful to the guy who have invented the air-con to spare me from the intense heat outside. Suddnly, my daughter, M who was resting upstairs came down and asked me to drive her to Tesco for shopping  She is having a salad exam tomorrow and she wants to buy some  stuff to practice her practical. I have to oblige and eave my comfortable living room.

On a sunday afternoon, the traffic was heavy along Green Lane and  we have to make a detour to reach E-gate. It was also comfortable in the car because of the air-con and when we reach Tesco, it was also in a air-con environment. There was only a short lapse under the intense heat during the trip.  The crowd at Tesco was sizeable and I think some of them is also trying escape the intense heat outside in the open.

I took the opportunity to walk around Tesco while my daughter, M goes around doing her shopping. I found there that it has a huge variety of food stuff and household accessories. The price of the items in Tesco is always economical and competitive as its policy to buy in bulks and sell in large volume. Such hypermarkets or suppermarts have kill off  many traditional sundry shops or mini-marts. The trend is the big fish eat the small fish and the smalller fish eat the smallest fish and the smallest fish eat the dirts and the leftovers. This is a dog  eat dog world and it is very realistic.

After two hours  of walking around in a free air-con environment , it is like exercising in the gym with interesting shopping items and finally, the craving to purchase won me over and I spend more than one month's gym fee on my purchases. Well, money is not everything and if this incident makes me happy then it is worth it.

My advise to my readers is that get off your comfortable seats and do some exercise. If we move, we will get moving. Every type of exercise is good for us and keep our system moving.

Namaste.

Dinner at Perak Lane -Bee Hoon & Congee shop

The traffic was heavy on this Saturday evening.  I was on my way to Perak Lane as my wife have requested me to buy her the Bee Hoon soup for her. I brought my sister C and brother W along and as we reach the stall , I asked my sister and brother to wait in the car for me. The traffic in the place was a mess with many cars double parking as diners congregate at this place. There are many other food stalls in this area.

The Fish Head Bee Hoon & Congee shop have been there for 20 over years based on my memory. My late elder brother loved to eat at this restaurant including my brother in law, S.  The food here is with lots of seafood and porky's internal organs. It is very tasty and the restaurant have  lots of supporters and one of them is  S. He speaks highly of the food and he is a  goodwill Ambassador for this restaurant. S have bought food from this particular stall when his father was sick and dying.  He has brought us to this
restaurant many times and my wife like it so much that we have gone there several times by ourself.  For a bowl of Bee Hoon, it cost me RM11 and whether it is pricey or not, it depends on who pay for it. For some people ,it is reasonable because of the stuff in the Bee Hoon but others may find it too expensive. It is a matter of judgement.

I ordered Bee Hoon with fried fish, pork liver  and intestines for her. The traffic going back to my house was bad and it took about 2 hours to reach home.  After eating her dinner, my wife told me that it was good and she told me that she over eat. I could see that she enjoy the food very much. However, she told me that such good and rich food cannot be eaten everyday. Yes, I totally agreed with her as internal organs are not good for health in the long run.

Another insight into my choice of live to eat. So , eat well.

Namaste.

When the heat is unbearable (An insight)

Lately, i have been sweating very much during my yoga session. At end of each workout, I am dripping wet and feel exhausted. The air is dry and there seems to be immense heat in each breath I took. Among my members, I was the only one sweating so much. My yoga, teacher M keep asking me whether I am all right or not.  I know how she feel when I look so wet.

At lunch time, I visited my sister, C and after lunch, I show my brother some basic Tai Chi warm up exercise and after a few swings, he stop and told me that he feel tired and he was sweating so profusely. For me, I am okay and when I get out of my sister's house, it was so hot  and I feel a burning sensation on my skin. The weather have been so immensley hot during these few weeks if there is no rain. It is calm and hot before a storm and it is just building up in the air until the rain comes.

This type of weather just drove us back into our comfortable air-con home and make us so tired and inactive. To make our life more comfortable, we need to make our home , a really home for us so that we can do the things we like or have enough space for us to move around.

Once, I was complating to  buy a one room sea facing apartment as my wife was preparing to  buy a simple place for our retirement. Accidentally, I talked to a friend and he gave me a very valuable advise. He told me that we need space to move around or do our things.  If we have a one room apartment, if any visitors come around, I will not have any space to hide or continue with the things  I am doing. It was a wake up call and the advise make a lot of senses. The advise came jus tin time for me to reject the offer.

If I have make the decision and when the heat become unbearable , I would have to find a space in the apartment or go looking for a cafe or a restaurant to hide away or I will have to travel to the club. It will be okay if I am still able to move around but what if , I need assistance to move around. It will be very cumbersome.

We have expect the weather is unpredictable and the heat on earth is increasing and moving in the open is getting very uncomfortable.  Home is the place where we need to plan wisely and properly to cater for any eventuality.

Home sweet Home. A home is not a house and a house is not a home, if there is no love and warmth.

Namaste.

Once bitten, twice shy.

There is saying “ Once bitten, twice shy “ but the  current generation have extended it a bit.  “ Thice bitten, will never try”.  This is a protective nature of human beings.  For some people, this is more severe ie Once bitten, never try “.  If we feel our trust is betrayed, to re-gain the trust is an uphill task.

I have encountered to incidents and I wanted to share the insight with all of you.  My MD, H  is a severe type.  If someone betray the trust once and he feel cheated, he would immediately instruct us to terminate the relationship and bar that person from our factory.  I can understand why because he is a very senior person and he has to rely on his key people.  He cannot have unsecured and untrustworthy people around him. As an MD, he delegates important functions to his people and he has to have complete trust on them. I am almost having the same profile but I can still managed the spoilt relationship  or I am more forgiving type.

The second experience is with my expatriate colleague. Each time , he is doubtful he will asked me whether it is a trap or he openly will asked me whether I cheat him. He is very suspicious with new ideas and new transactions.  I think he has been bitten hard before and he is very protective of himself.

Those people who have been burned by fire  will stay away from fire and those people bitten by dogs will have chased the dogs away when they gets too near.  I have friends who do not eat fish and I asked them why and they told me that during their younger days, they have eaten a bad fish or the fish bones have piece their mouth or their throat.  This is a nature instinct  and it is really very difficult to overcome.

To err is human and to forgive is divine . This is easy said that done but to make our self happy , we have to attempt to let these bad memories go away or let go of these fears. It is like gathering sticks or stones and put it in our bags and carry with us on our life journey.  It is getting heavier and heavier by the day and it damages our health.  It is important that we are aware of  its consequences.

Namaste.

Coffee may help drinkers live longer - report

　

Coffee May Help Drinkers Live Longer, U.S. Study Suggests

Coffee, caffeinated or decaffeinated, appears to extend the lives of people who drink it daily, a U.S. study found.

Men who drank 2 to 3 cups a day had a 10 percent chance of outliving those who drank no coffee, while women had a 13 percent advantage, according to research published today in the

 

The study by researchers at the

 Freedman, an investigator at the NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics in Rockville, Maryland, in a May 14 telephone interview. “It doesn’t seem to increase one’s risk of dying.”

The results “offer a little bit of reassurance to coffee drinkers who like drinking coffee that it won’t affect health,”  said

 

National Survey

The researchers looked at more than 402,000 men and women who were part of the

excluded.

From 1995 to 2008, 33,731 men and 18,784 women died.

The study found that men who drank 2 to 3 cups a day had a 14 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease, 17 percent lower risk of dying from respiratory disease, 16 percent decreased chance of dying from stroke anda 25 percent lower risk of dying from diabetes than those who drank no coffee.

National Institutes of  Health-AARP Diet and Health Study and were 50 to 71 years old at the start of the trial. Coffee consumption was assessed one time when the patients entered the trial. Those with cancer, heart disease and stroke were

Women’s Results

Women who consumed 2 to 3 cups of coffee a day had a 15 percent lower chance of dying from heart disease, 21 percent lower risk of dying from respiratory disease, 7 percent decreased chance of dying from stroke and a 23 percent lower risk of dying from diabetes.

In most cases, drinking six or more cups a coffee a day for men and women lowered the risk even further, the study showed.

Coffee wasn’t associated with a lower risk of dying from cancer in women. In men who drank the most coffee,there was a slightly higher chance of dying from cancer, the research reported.

Today’s study, which was funded by the

National Institutes of Health, may not reflect long-term patterns of coffee consumption and information on how the coffee was prepared also wasn’t included in the research.

Still, “the association between coffee and mortality has been unclear,” he said. “This is an observational study so we don’t know for certain coffee is having a cause and effect.”

Americans drank 77.4 billion cups of coffee valued at $35.8 billion in the 12 months ended June 30, 2011, according to a Sept. 7 statement by the research firm StudyLogic. About 64 percent of U.S. adults drink coffeeevery day and 73 percent drink it weekly, according to the New York-based National Coffee Association.

Americans consume about 3.2 cups of coffee a day, the group said.

National Cancer Institute is the largest to compare coffee drinkers with those who avoid it to determine whether the beverage can delay the risk of dying from ailments such as heart disease, diabetes or respiratory illness, said Neal Freedman, the lead study author. It’s unclear why coffee may be  beneficial and more research is needed to study that question, he said. New England

Dinner at sakae sushi, Sunday Carnival Mall

My wife have to stay back at her office to handle some urgent work,so after work ,I stay back a short while and decided to go shopping at Sunway Carnival Mall at Sebarang Jaya. It was about 15 minutes from my office. I was caught in a short jam on the way to the mall due to the after office traffic. But, the jam was not that bad after a short bottleneck. Upon reaching the mall, I search for a parking place and fortunately, my timing was right as one car was moving out. I thanked my lucky star. After entering the mall, I went to the sport shop to look for some training pants but I did not like the materials . The mall house a few eateries and many optical shops , computer shops like Apple and Dell. I was not hungry so I went around window shopping. I visited Popular bookstore, Espirit and some sport shops. Finally, I told myself that is enough so I look for Sakae Sushi. It was not difficult to locate the shop. I was alone and I sat at bar and start to eat the food on the conveyor belt. Some Tau Foo maki, eel sushi, vegetable sushi and a char somen. I ordered two types of sushi for my wife and start to walk back to my car to drive back to my factory to fetch my wife. The dinner cost me about RM50. For a Japanese restaurant, the price was reasonable. The taste of the food was so-so good. This is a Japanese English way of expressing average. For no complains. My impression of the mall's business was not so good. For a three store mall and a basement , it would be difficult to sustain the operation of the mall. Maybe, my impression is wrong because today is a weekday. The crowd at the weekends maybe more. There are no too many malls remaining on the mainland side of Penang. It is very funny that the Penang Island is more prosperous and well developed. Like islands of Hong Kong and Singapore, people likes to live on the islands and they gave the island mentality that they are isolated and one-up-manship. However, no man is an island. Wake up, Penang people, living on the island does not make more superior. Namaste...

My colleague, HK ( an insight )

Today, my colleague , HK drop into my office. He was outside my room talking to my staff and he suddenly came into my office. He sat there and told me that he went for the book signing ceremony the night before. The author was our mutual friend, Dato Lee Hwa Beng.  He was my class mate at TARC.

HK told me that the book was about the Port Klang Case which involved the  former MCA top guns. The case is still in court and it is not convinent  to talk about the case. However, he believe that it was a  total scam involving the tax payers' money. HK was a MCA central delegate and he seems to be supporting the opposition. He was disgusted with the MCA leadership which he told me is controlled by a few old man who is fighting to hold on to their post. It is a sad case as the Association is mend to represent the Chinese in the Government.

The Port Klang fiasco involved huge sum of money which was  unaccounted for and two former MCA leaders were charged for misleading the cabinet but not for any criminal offence. It is something which is amusing and confused.

The current political scene is confused because the Bersih cried for clean election while the Government is saying there is nothing wrong with the country or the system.  The conflict and difference in opinion is hitting the news everyday through news paper or the TV. Such pick up in the activities mend that the general elections is near. There is a lot mud slinging now and it is going to be more muddy down the road as the election date gets nearer.

In Politics, there is no permanent enemy as HK has hopped from Gerekan to MCA and back to Gerakan and then back to MCA. There are many of these political frogs and it is a normal trend now. Actually, there is nothing wrong. If the party have turned bad , we moved away and if it is reformed, then we move back and vice versa. The perception of these activities is not good but in reality, you have all the choice to choose whichever party , you think it is good.

He shoke his head in disgust as he continued to run down the current politicians who have been opportunist talking about bring back the free port status to Penang or the outer ring road which have been laying idle for 4 years and such topic is getting hot now with lots of broken promises in the past.  It is surpringly  that there is nothing embarassing about hopping as long it is your choice and you think it is right.

End of the day, we are answering to GOD or our creator for all the things we have done. The choice is ours but the judgement is by others and GOD.

Namaste.

Lunch at Zhao Chow, Chai Leng Park.

I had  company lunch at Zhao Chow restaurant in Chai leng  for two continuous day ie Monday and Tuesday. The dishes selected by my boss , H is different for the two days.

The first day, he ordered Perfect 10, a chinese herbal soup which make from 10 different herbs and in Hokkien, it is called " chap chuan" and it means perfect 10. It is a healthy herbal soup which is good for our general health especially to strengthen the body. According to my sister, C , it is gives energy to the body and if we drink too much, we will have a bleeding nose. Such soup was mend for the labourers in the early days when they have to carry heavy rice bags from the harbour. The rest of dishes was like some home cook food  ie fried sardin fish, chicken and rice, etc.

For today, he  ordered the fish stomach or the "Hoo Peow" , Sar Choi fish, prawns, bean curb,etc. Some of the dishes were similar to the monday lunch. Today's soup the fish stomach soup is mend to balance back the previous days's energy food. The soup was sweet and tasty and it is a very costly soup especially the dry fish stomach.

During my younger days, my mum used to cook the Perfect 10 soup for us to strengthen our body and our health for me to study and for my father and brothers to work . As a simple house wife, she knows all the recipe of the chinese herbs and on many occasions, she will cook such herbal food for us to eat. Those were the happy days and it gets deeply rooted in my memory.

The food of yesterday and today bring back my memory of my mother's cooking and the joy of my younger days. Yes, like I say going back in time is only for fond memories and it does make me happy.

So, Fellas . It is time to search for such recipe and it is becoming a fading secrets as the present generation is only going for fast food and lack the adventurous spirit to go for such herbal food. Take care and have a wondering spirit,.

Namaste.

Mee Goreng at Bangkok Lane, PG

For breakfast.  I took my wife to eat mee goreng at Bangkok Lane. This is not a proper breakfast menu and it is actually very unhealthy but my wife likes it , so we went there to eat. The mee goreng store is situated at the corner coffee shop at the T-junction between Bangkok lane and Burmah Road.

The mee goreng stall is very famous and gets alot of outstation visitors during the public holidays and weekends. We went there abit early and we have a very comfortable seat. I ordered mee rubus and my wife ordered mee goreng.  Suggested a big bowl and we share both types and when the food arrived, it was a big portion. Nevertheless, we eat it all. When the bill came, the mee rubus cost me RM6 while the mee goreng cost me RM5.  It was abit pricey but the portion was sizeable.

The Hokkien mee stall in the same coffee shop was just as famous and it also draws the crowd on the holidays and rest days. Comparing both stalls, the mee goreng stall have much better business. These two stalls bring business to the coffee shop.

Comparing the mee rubus (soup type) and the mee goreng (dry type), the goreng type was better as for me but the soup type also have its followers. It is better to eat it sparsely as this is quite unhealthy with dry sotong , eggs and the yellow noodle.

Again, we are here to live and eat.

Namaste.

Dinner at Chez Weng, Precint 10

Last night, I had a family dinner at Chez Weng at Precint 10, just next to Island Plaza, Penang. The set up of Precint 10 was similar to the auto-city concept in Juru, Prai.  There was a few concrete blocks housing Old Town Cafe, Macdonald, Soho and few other restaurant and cafes. It is still not fully occupied as there are still a few vacant lots.The business was only moderate at about 9pm. Probably, it was  abit early.

Compare to Straits Quay, the place is like a fortress with just eateries and drinking places while SQ has a marina  and it is sea facing. The atmopshere is better at SQ and with more varieties.                 

The serving at Chez Weng is western and their special dish is baby back ribs or pork ribs. There is an offer now at RM40 per set if you order online and the normal price is RM80.  The serving at RM40 is acceptable but at RM80 it is too pricey. The taste is good and it is served with a soup , french fries and a piece of sizeable pork rib.

If compared to the pork rib joint at Burmah road, it is not as good but comparable to the rib joint at Gurney Plaza , it is still okay.  The pork rib shop at Burmah road have ceased their business. It is really a pity as the serving was excellent.

I advised my reader to go online and check for Chez Weng to get a good discount if you like pork ribs or beef.  A special offer have a expiry date. So , enjoy it while the offer is there.

Namaste.

Going back in time

It is never possible to go back in time.  Master Time is always going forward. Why ?  The principle of evolution is going forward.  The cycle of life is birth, age, sickness and death.  Otherwise, it would be iimpossible to manage.  Any other combination will defy the logic of life. What about death , age, birth and sickness? Rediculous , right ?

If you look at our human body, it has been perfectly designed . We have one pair of ear , for us to hear both sides, one pair of eyes , to have a balanced view, one mouth to eat and one anus to shit, the blood supply oxygen to all the organs and the brain to think. Why is it so perfect? If there a creator or we came here by accident like the big bang. The answer cannot be found so is the logic of Time.

Why did the river flow down from its source to the sea ? Why cann't it flow backwards from the sea to the source? High to low., right ? This is the natural law of evolution and the changes is always going forward.

Human beings have always trying to live longer or to be young longer. But, the natural principle cannot  be avoided. Life must end at a specific period for all living beings.

Can we go back in time to change our past or history? Wishful thinking. The past is gone forever and we only have the present. The past is only memories and the future may or may not come. If we dwell on the past and regret, we will miss the present.  The present will continue to be the past. Hence, we have to grapse every moment and be aware of what we have.

Some of us have lost track of the present and is always going back to the past. If only have done this sor done that, then my life will be different. If we continue to live with "what if" , our life will be wasted . By the time you are awaken, Time would have gone forever and all will be just a dream. Your whole life would be just a dream without any real experience.

The choice is ours . Whether  you want to live in  a dream or in real experience. To some people, it does not matter whether it is a dream or an actual experience as long as they are contented and happy. But, for most people, the need to actual live the experience and going through the joy of life is really living. The difference of dreaming and living is like you dream of exercising and the real actions of going through an exercise. The feeling and the outcome is very differrent.

Do not continue the debate of what is the difference or continue to living in the past or going back to the past. Living in the present and live it well. During our thinking, the seconds have beacme the past. It is really frightening as Time gets less.

Namaste.

Snake in my house

I was told by wife, S that during my trip to Bangladesh, my daughter M told her that she saw a snake under her car and she took a phone  of the snake. She showed it to me about 15 minutes ago on her Iphone. i was surprise at its length.  Just a one hour ago, I cleared away all the pundan leaves in my garden  togeter with my maid. we tound two small eggs and my maid told me that they are snake eggs.

I ponder for  awhile how do I handle the matter. i decide to flush it into the drain.  I know that the snake will come back to find their eggs , so I have to clear away all the plants and bricks. Yeah, if I clean up the place and let the sun in on the place, it will chase the snakes away.

I leave all the pundan leaves in front of my house near my rubbish bin and immediately, some passer-bys asked for the pundan leaves.  There are several uses for pundan leaves . Firstly, it can be used  to cool desserts with sweet potatoes or if we keep a bundle of pundan leaves in the car , it helps to remove all the sweat smell in our car.  Some people believe that pundan leaves chases away bugs and ants. Well , I do not have any facts to back it up but it  has been pass down from many generations.

Back to the snakes, if we want to keep away the snakes , you can spread some sulphur on the floor or ground next to the fence and  the sulphur will keep the snake away.

We should live with nature as nature will keep our environment in  an harmonous balance.

Namaste.

Mothers' Day 2012

To all the mothers, a happy day to all of you.  I have chosen to greet all of you aday ahead of the occassion., In the family, you have been deemed the Queen of the home or the mother bee which feeds all the offsprings. You nursed them from birth till their adulthood and become independent. This is a great responsibility and it has been naturally imposed on you since generations.

Your love to teach , feed and nurture your offspring is unlimited and you will protect them like a mother hen all of them under your wings. This is the enormous compassion and loving kindness to them.

In return, I would like call on all the children to remember this great sacrifice of your mother to protect, love and feed you to return this loving compassion and kindness to them by celebrating with them on this occasion and show them how great your mother have been.  After this day, you should continue to spend more time and give more love to them. Without them, there is no YOU.  There is a Chinese saying " when we drink water, we must not forget its source". All of us are connected and involved as one big colony.

For those mothers who have no children, take care of yourself and have fond memories of your offsprings. Your children is always near you and in your heart.  Feel them there and you will feel calm and love. If you are lonely, you have always your inner self to accompany you. You will never be alone.

For the mothers who are old and sick, learn to let go and live in the present. A new day is a blessing and live it well as if there is no tomorrow.  Enjoy every process and task and see the beautiful things in every moment.  Have a good twilight years and celebrate the mother's day in a renewed spirit.

Once again to all you, Great Mothers.   A Happy Day and remain happy forever.

Namaste.

Citibank's 200th anniversary celebration dinner at E&O Hotel

I was invited to Citibank's 200 years anniversary dinner last night at the E&O Hotel, Penang. The cocktail starts at 6.30pm and I was late coming directly from work and arrived only at 7pm.  There was already about 40 guest and about 20 Citibankers.  My relationship manager , Mr P came to out to receive me and pull me into the crowd. One of  the female citibanker walk over to me and introduced herself as J.

From then on, I was stuck for 30 minutes with several female citibankers coming one after another to promote their Citibank's product to me. Well, I just hearing without listening and talking without actually speaking.  I drank the wine and the whiskey during the cocktail standaround.  I was saying Hi! to everyone who greets me. I was actually very tired after a trip to Bangladesh and having reach home at 11.30pm. The tiredness was all over my face.

The dinner starts at 7.30pm at the room just opersite the cocktail room. Yeah , before I forget. My drinks of wine and whiskey was served by some SYT ( Sweet Young Thing)  and they could not wait to serve you so that they can earned commission from the total sales. I think this is one of  the sales gimmicks to get the Citibank customers to drink and be merry. Okay, back to the dinner. On the table, there was the name tags telling who sits where and with whom. This was a normal routine when comes to a formal dinner.

I was put besides their Area Retail Head, A and a mid aged Citibanker, T who was with the consumer business group. Before she starts her selling talk ,I engage her to talk about life and her passions. I have to lead the subject , otherwise, I will be suffering for the next two hours. I have enough sales talks for the night.  I have ordered chicken as my main course and it was excellent. The soup, the appetizer, the main course, the dessert was marvellous and excellent.

Recently, E&O conducted a Master Chef competition and there were severak good chef in the competition and I think some of them have joined E&O as their chef. The tood was excellent and the drinks were plentiful.  I was getting tired but I could still enjoy the food and keep talking to the female Citibanker, T.  i talk about destiny, the Buddhist philosophy , the Dharma , Ajhan Chad , Ajhan Brahm and the Dalai Lama. She was listening intensely. When I talk about yoga, she told me that she was an athlete when she was young and she compete in Tae Kwan Do ( a korean martial art) and she was a sea games , silver and bronze medallist.

She told me that she has not be practicing the martial art and her flexibility and agility is getting stiff . She can still kick but not like before and she is too busy to exercise . Everyday, she is working hard for her money and take care of her only daughter.

My conversation with her keeps her interested until until 10pm where I take  my leave . The remaining guest were drinking and chatting away. I was extremely tired already and I got on my way home.

Looking back at the dinner, all the drinking and talking and so much noise , I just wonder it is real or a make belief world. It is all an illusion that we are happy drinking and eating. with strangers. Someone starts talking about running a marathon, hiking the hilly peaks in Malaysia  and getting inspriation from people's claps and supports. Fake, fake , fake . It is a fake smile in a illusionary world. Who are we really are? enjoying the process through life or living in a fantasy world , laughing , eating and talking.

Namaste.

Body pains - our feelings

Everyone of  us have many body pains. It is not the pain that we get from exercise but the accumulation of our experience , knowledge and influence through our life.  The older you are , the more body pain you have. In simple terms, these are mental habits which is stored in our memory and will float up when the occassions demands it.  When this happens, it takes over our mind and control our response.

This afternoon I was scolded by my boss, H because I omitted some updates in  my report.  He told me that it will damage my creditability and reliability because of the small error.  I was upset and in my mind, I would like to tell him that he lacks understanding and forgiveness.  To err is human and to forgive is divine.  Of course, he treats all the mistakes  as mistakes without taking in consideration of the condition of my mind.  I have just came back from Bangladesh and I have been very busy trying to prepare and catch up with my work and shuttling between meeting and my office.  I look terrible as my colleagues tells me.  I know it is no excuse because I have chosen to come to work when I am very tired. I could have make time for a proper rest. 

The thought of his unforgiving remarks continued to  upset me and by thinking about it, I was like giving it more power to my anger. It is just like plugging in an electric wire to light the bulb.  It is like even turning up the power to make it brighter.  Our focus on the anger is empowering th anger.  In my heart, I sway  #@$%&  him. Then, I realized that the more  I think about the negative remark, the more hurtful or uncomfortable I become.  Suddenly , I became awaken and start to put the thought to rest.  Just accept it  and do nothing about it and sway our thoughts away from the anger. It starts to lost its power and it becomes bearable and finally, it will be forgotton.

To all you readers, body pains really exist in all of us and we do not realize that it exist.  We can deny its existence and burn the thoughts  but it is still there.  We need to be aware and take the focus away from it. It maybe difficult at first but if you realize that it is within your power to take away your focus and you feel better, it is the start of the solution to control the body pains taking over your actions.  This is the alignment to the Universe and it will continue to influence and haunt you.

Accept and  be aware.

Namaste.

Mother's day celebration at E&O restaurant

Last saturday, I invited my family to celebrate Mother's day in E&O Hotel at the Sarkees.  The restaurant have moved to a new location in the Hotel , just below the car park. Ow! , the new restaurant is very spacious and have been specially designed for a buffet gathering.  We took a place near to the coffee corner and start our food hunting.

The food spread at the buffet was many and in various variety , ranging from seafood,  Japanese maki, fried ducks, char koay teow, spheggati, sushi, sashimi, fried chicken, beef, prawns,  lamb chops, cakes, ice kachang, etc. The list is long and unstoppable. The price have gone up and it is now RM76 ++ per person and for senior citizen is RM67++.  It is abit expensive but it is value for money if you are a big eater.

The crowd was light at the beginning when we start the eating at 12 noon and by 1.30pm , the place was already pack.  I believe on the actual Mother's day ie 13th of May, 2012 , it will be very pack. 

I enjoy the food very much and my family could relax while they eat.  It is highly recommendable for those of you who can afford it.

For that day, I live to eat.

Namaste.