Growing Old- a Wonderful Perspective!

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 a.m. and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when a beloved pet gets hit by a car?

But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day.

~ Author Unknown ~

Morning Walk in a New Village

I have heard of Kampong Chempaka. My students come from there.

Except for one row of well planned shop-house complex facing a rather strange round-about, this new village, like most new villages, is unplanned. Residential houses and commercial properties stand side by side. Cottage industry especially welding industries can cause quite a din to their suffering neighbours.

My son has never been to a new village and so this could be an experience for him. His initial reaction-dirty and smelly. My wife looked at the food - 'tak lalu' was her comment. We also went to the new market complex. Quite clean and organised. Looks like there are many stalls not taken up at the cooked food section on the third floor.

Quote of the Day:

"When eating bamboo shoots,remember the man who planted them." Chinese Proverb

Heartsong

Do Kindergarten teachers grow up?

I would not mention names but I know two of them quite well.

I guess teaching small kids makes them want to be in authority forever. You see they are not realists. They see things in the most simplistic manner. They believe they can do no wrong. They believe the world is a static one.

Their behaviour-only a thin red line between being childlike and being childish. Either one will not be good for them as time passes by.

These kindergarten teachers must learn how to grow up!


Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

From a Distant

I had an opportunity to visit my mother today. It has been a long time coming. Most of the time, I will be with my wife and we would be at the nearby pasar malam shopping for fruits and vegetables. Today, I was alone and so I popped in to see my mum.

Good to know she is fine. We spoke about those folks back at home and how they were coping especially after my brother's back operation. An unhappy episode particularly the financing bit as this brother was a real black sheep that squandered his money and live off my father.

As I was driving off, I could see my mother from a distant. She was doing her chores in days of old as if time had stood still.


Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Was that Really a Strange Reply?

I brought my daughter for her one day special: attending lectures at the Taylor's Business School. In the evening, I came early to pick her up. While waiting for her, I noticed the premise looks okay. Couple of young pretty things were loitering around.

When I took her back, the first question I asked her in the car was what did she found interesting about the programme? She replied: The economics lecturer was young and attractive. Should I expect that kind of answer?

I think my daughter has grown up.


Quote of the Day:

"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle." Erin Majors

Heartsong

Remedial Crusade

My son did awfully bad for his mid-year exams. At this rate, he will be a goner.

I have given him tuition classes but it looks like it is not translating into grades.

From now on, there is only one option left. To coach him.

I have looked at his SWOT. This is my analysis:

English: Average A
Maths: Borderline A
History: Strong B
Geography: Strong B
Living Skills: Average B
Science: Average B
Bahasa Malaysia: Poor

I have about 90 days to do some salvage work.


Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

God Moves in Mysterious Ways

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain:
God is His own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

-William Cowper, "Light Shining out of Darkness"

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Toilet Trouble

The down-stair's toilet developed problem on Thursday last and would not flush. The handle became loose after frequent attempts by users to flush.

This morning, at 6 a.m., I got up to solve the problem. Calmly, I disassembled the flush handle mechanism and try to find out what the problem was. Ah, so... there was an unnecessary plastic nut between the handle and the flush mechanism. I got rid of it. Then I fixed it all back and believe me, it was as tight as could be and the handle works like new.

Just before 12 noon. The up-stairs toilet acted up. My son flushed the toilet and the link wire holding the handle and the flush mechanism broke. On scrutiny, we found it broke because it had rusted through.

Together, with my son, who is on holiday, we got through some difficult problems because of the small space we had to work with. Ultimately willpower triumphed and we got the toilet flush working again.

I believe it will be sometime before we hear of toilet problems again. I hope.

Quote of the Day:

"The greater the difficulty,the more the glory in surmounting it." Epicurus

Heartsong

Something Stupid

After hearing both versions of this song, I was wondering do we really have a better version?

I thought the original by Frank and Nancy Sinatra's version has more coherence but the one Nicole Kidman sang with Robbie Williams is more current and one can certainly relate and associate better with the beautiful and mercurial Nicole than almost forgotten Nancy and dead Frank.

Just a passing thought, that's all.

Quote of the Day:

"Even if you're on the right track,you'll get run over if you just sit there." Will Rogers

Heartsong

Thank God for the Distinction!

Last week, my friend called up to surprise me. "Hey, your daughter got a distinction for her Level 6 ABRSM piano theory music exam." He added,"There may be a prize reward from the examination board for her."

We were so glad and proffered our thanksgiving to God.

The downside-you will only receive the reward in a year's time. That was what my daughter told me later on.

Still, it is a milestone in my daughter's musical achievements. Amen

Quote of the Day:

"Hope is the companion of power and the mother of success. For those of us who hope strongest have within us the gift of miracles."Sydney Bremer

Heartsong

Sweet Seventeen Triumphs!

Jordin Sparks took the AI crown this season beating off entertainer Blake.

It was obvious sweet seventeen was the hot favourite to win and Blake was the underdog. Showing the most promise, she should go far.

As usual, Sanjaya came and tried to steal the show. In a way he did.

So that's the end of another American Idol.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Legs and Heels

No, not every girl can look good in high heels. You must have those long curvaceous legs that will be accentuated by the use of high heels. No varicose veins and no lumpy calves.

That is not all. The heels will determine how you walk. If you walk ever graciously even in 6 inch stilettos, you have it.

Hailly Scarnato, the AI contestant has one of the best pair of legs especially in high heels and how well and natural she walks and dances in high heels. A wondrous sight to behold.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Lower value ringgit, valueless 10 Sen

Raising prices- they have got it into an art form-impeccable timing.

Talking about inflation again, went to that famous mamak restaurant opposite the McDonald's in SS2 for my usual teh tarik. What a shocker. It has gone up 20 sen for a big mug. Walla, no need for roti canai to go up in price. Every other items like rojak, nasi kandar and the whole paraphernalia on the mamak menu would have orbited to new price levels by the end of July 2007.

Talk about the value of 10 sen. It is now almost worthless.

Went to our famous makchik’s nasi lemak warong in Paramount Garden to 'tapau' nasi lemak and what do you know. When paying up, she told me; “ Lain kali, kalau nak asingkan sambal, kena lah bayar 10 sen untuk bungkus plastik kecil ni.” My, my, imagine what 10 sen had become!

So don't act surprised if you get a much smaller and thinner roti canai before long….

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Cashing in while it is Hot News

Coffee shops these days are great. Even before civil servants get their new pay packets at the end of July, coffee shops are cashing in and beginning to raise their prices.

According to Sifu Ho, the advisor to the SEAPARK Residents Association, this particular shop in Paramount Garden has increased its red bean porridge by twenty cents this morning. It was RM2.00 yesterday but this morning when he was having this breakfast delicacy, he was shocked to have to foot the bill with twenty cents more on the tab. Boy, that sure was fast capitalizing on the salary increase news.

Dr. Lee, whom I met later told me that shop should be boycotted. Well, it is difficult if that shop is your regular watering hole. Maybe you can take a bowl of red bean porridge once every two days just to display your disfavour.

Or you can just take Dr. Lee's advice seriously and keep away from that shop. Choice is all yours.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

A Truly Badawi Moment

The most generous pay packet increase in the history of the Malaysian civil service. A truly Badawi moment.

Being an ex-civil servant himself, he knew the hardship of civil servants against run away inflation.How they suffered the injustice of being the 'poorer cousins' to the private sector.

Civil servants have been labeled corrupted and inefficient. It is hoped that with this increase, corruption can be further checked and performance upped. This new salary increase which gave 20% more (over and above the 7 1/2 to 35% salary increase to the civil service) to the police and army is a wonderful departure and is a first to recognize the immense contributions and the dangers that confront these two services. It is also a motivation for more to join the police and armed forces.

The civil servants have surely been blessed. Even the pensioners are smiling.

Congratulations to Premier Badawi. You have truly arrived!

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Morally Bankrupt Bosses

A friend related me this story.

He had the singular honour to serve such a boss.

Spineless and absolutely selfish, this boss fellow only feared for his own skin, ambition and career prospects. Married to a doctor, he was really fearful of her as well. She called the shots at home and so he brought his bullying tactics to the office.

If he knows that you are talented in a certain area of work, he will be calling you like crazy. This date-line and that dateline. You would be spending your entire life in his office like a page boy.

But when it comes to overseas trips and promotions, he doesn't remember your service. He will willingly agree to his deputies to promote some periphery creatures who are just plain wise-crack office politicians.

Such is the life working under spineless and selfish bosses.

Pray hard that you would be spared!

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Freddy-You are the Greatest!

I remembered Freddy Fender through two of his memorable songs- Before the Next Teardrop Fell and Wasted Days and Wasted Nights. I was then a bachelor at varsity and every weekend we would sing with fellow bachelors that song Wasted Days and Wasted Nights. It was fun then, trying to emulate the way Freddie sang the song.

That time has passed us by. Freddy died last October of cancer. Strangely, I recall of a friend called Joseph who looked a bit like Freddy. He passed on earlier than Freddy.

I am now listening to the songs of Freddy Fender. He sung them oh so beautifully and quietly brings home the long forgotten nostalgia of yesteryears. Bravo Freddy!

Quote of the Day:

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." Eleanor Roosevelt

Heartsong

Poor Downloading of Songs

One setback of downloading songs and music from the net-unstable connections. As such, after that draggy download that took eternity, you found that the downloading was corrupted. The down-loader is also not good at telling you in advance of the songs that are faulty when they are down-loaded.

So, it is no great thing, this downloading of songs business from the net. You will also encounter difficulty with loading old numbers. To date, I have got no any songs from Mark Lindsey. More hype than reality. Anyway, the thing is to be patient until you load a song that is totally interference-free.

Quote of the Day:

"In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you." Deepak Chopra

Heartsong

Sparkling with Jordin

Only 17, Jordin Sparks is is into the final of this season’s American Idol. From Glendale, Arizona, she auditioned in Seattle. Without the benefit of formal singing training, she claimed she started singing at the age of 18 months. When asked what are her other talents, she cheekily replied she could do ‘accents’!

She is a very prayerful person. Her goals are plain and simple-to be a successful singer; using songs to tell meaningful stories that will touch people’s lives.

In spite of his acidic remarks,Jordin loves Simon Cowell for his brutally honest comments; especially when Simon says that she was a sweet girl!

She is a basketball and football freak. Her downside - she struggles with Maths in school. She would like to learn to play the piano.

She sang the following song in American Idol:

I Who Had Nothing

She Works Hard for the Money

Wishing on a Star

Women in Love

Living on a Prayer

Rhythm is Gonna Get You

On a Clear Day

Hey Baby

If We Hold on Together

Heartbreaker

Reflection

Gime One Reason

Let us see how she will perform against Blake Lewis next week. Will she clinch the title of America Idol this year?

Quote of the Day:

"The day the Lord created Hope was probably the same day He created Spring." Bern Williams

Heartsong

So Difficult to Get Children to Study

These days, it is so difficult to get children to read and to study.

Be thankful if you have a child who is interested in books. The curiosity bug in them has been stirred and a life-long habit develops. They read and they learn how to question.

The art of studying is to teach them the critical analytical skills. The 4Ws and the one H questions. The four Ws are what, who,when,where and why and the H is the how.

By using this approach they would have found the keys to the knowledge maze. How to mentally explore issues and confront problems logically.

Question is: How do you get those who are not into books to study? If you can get them to put aside some time just to read, you may yet ignite the interest in them to study.

Quote of the Day:

"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow." Orison Marden

Heartsong

Micro-managing-Is is a Sickness?

These days, we have many people who loves micro-managing in spite of the availability of work manuals and desk files. This is prevalent more with women than men. Yes, my experience showed me that those men who are effeminate, also like to micro-manage. Is it the sense of power over others that make them so?

The worst type are those who want the job done only one way-their way. The work manual just give broad steps, leaving creativity and ingenuity to do the rest. What is more important is effectiveness and not efficiency per se.

But how do you tell these so called neanderthal bossy show-offs that theirs are not the only ways?

That many roads lead to Rome? That there are many ways to skin a cat?

Quote of the Day:

"We make a living by what we get,we make a life by what we give." Winston Churchill

Heartsong

Where is the Limit?

Just where do you draw the line?

When the times were good, he will spend like a duke. He has exhibited no remorse for whatever wrong he has committed. He has abandoned all his family and filial obligations. He buys a car and his father has to foot the installments. He takes money from illegal money lenders and his father has to pay up. His grandchildren are fed by his father. He gave them no money. He goes out cavorting with loose women.

When he is down, he expects help from the very people he has bullied and let down. He has done nothing to take care of his rainy days.

On day he had a fall. It wa so bad that it affected his spinal column. A few vertebrae slipped.

In December, the family members rallied to buy him a chest brace to ensure that his backbone is in place before the operation. Once he got that, he plays again by riding on a motorbike to seek whatever his heart pleases him.

Now he has come calling again. This time seeking another four grand for the operation.

All of us are retired. We have our obligations. When will this stop?

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Temptresses

When you are 18 years old, you are easily distracted. Distracted by the opposite sex. In school, the boys will be talking about some hot stuff. Someone they have met, have dated and have wicked stories to relate to boost their newly found male ego.

It was that time in life that being invited to house parties was the greatest thing. So when my friend Willie held his birthday bash, all the classmates closest to him were invited. Girls from the convent schools were invited especially the 'hot stuff'. The 'beauties' of the class were also invited.

After the formal dinner and cake-cutting, the music came on and the brave young men went for the hot-stuff. I remembered clearly a girl named Shirley. I think she must have spent a lot of the time in a beauty parlour before coming to the party. She was dressed to the nines, with a fabulous hairstyle to boot.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

The 3 Loves of Philip

I guess he matured earlier than most of us. He was attracted by girls earlier than we were. He dared to take action and wear his heart on his sleeve when we wouldn't. That was the Philip I knew.

His first love was with a sickly Doris. Pretty and oozing more personality than beauty, she was the epitome of pride. Her name was bandied around millionaires' sons and the literati of the local community. But woe betide her, all the so-called wooers were not to be. She married a fellow teacher that looks more like a small town butcher.

Second love Jenny was pretty and bubbly. she spurn every move that poor Phillip made and returned all the birthday gift he sent to her home as soon as she received them, be it flowers, electrical goods etc. I really do not know what became of her.

Pretty, pouty and sexy third lady. I do not know her name. Philip met her at the electronic factory where he works; swept her off her feet and married her. Bore him a few children and she stays at Kg. Lapan with Philip now.

That ends our story.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Will Genting Sell Asiatic?

Genting is a cash cow by all measure. However, with the new Sentosa Island project and the operations in the UK, can it raise capital through normal organic growth?

Resorts World has sold some notes on the market to raise capital which is a very strange thing to do for another cash cow? Then , what about the albatross around it's neck-The Floating Flotilla of Doom call the Star Cruises? Dump it and raise cash for the new projects?

My belief is Asiatic will the last card they will play in this game and so I think they would not sell Asiatic to IOI in spite of the market rumours which have push both Genting and Asiatic shares up today.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Life Then and Now

The kids of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s had a different childhood altogether from the kids of today. Theirs was an era of adventure where they savour the joys of carefreeness. The kids of today on the other side of the spectrum are overtly protected and are technology-savvy, the result of the excesses of new found wealth brought about by rapid economic development.

Let us look at life then.

First, we survived with mothers who had no maids. They cooked /cleaned
while taking care of us at the same time.

They took aspirin, candies floss, fizzy drinks, shaved ice with syrups
and diabetes were rare. Salt added to Pepsi or Coke was remedy for
fever.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and
when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.

As children, we would ride with our parents on bicycles/ motorcycles
for 2 or 3. The richer ones are seen in cars but with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a private taxi was a rare treat.

We drank water from the tap and NOT from a bottle.

We would spend hours on the fields under bright sunlight flying our
kites, without worrying about the UV ray which never seem to affect
us.

We go to jungle to catch spiders without worries of Aedes mosquitoes.

With mere 5 pebbles (stones), we would have an endless game. With a ball
(tennis ball best) the boys would ran like crazy for hours.

We catch guppy in drains / canals and when it rain or we even swim there.

We shared one soft drink with four friends; from one bottle and NO ONE
actually worry about being unhygenic.

We ate salty, very sweet & oily food, candies,bread and real butter
and drank very sweet soft sweet coffee/ tea, ice karang, but we
weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, till streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours repairing our old bicycles and wooden scooters
out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot
the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to
solve the problem .

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, multiple channels
on cable TV, DVD movies, no surround sound, no cell-phones, no personal
computers, no Internet.WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found
them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and we still
continued the stunts.

We never did have birthdays parties till we are 21.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and just yelled for them!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard
of. They actually sided with the law!

Yet this earlier generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem
solvers and inventors ever!

The past 40 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

There was freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned.

What about the kids of today? What have they got to show?

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Teacher's Day

One day a year we celebrate Teacher's Day. The schools make it a big thing- a grand affair. A teacher will be in charge of sales of flowers, chocolates and all kinds of paraphernalia. These are, oftentimes, sold to students from the school cooperatives or specially customised booths in the school compound.

School classes are suspended as students stroll about bringing presents to their favourite teachers, who oftentimes are lady teachers.

My favourite teacher is the one I had a crush on when I was a little boy- my Standard Four class teacher, Amy Tan.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

The Good Shepherd

Just saw the movie. Quite pedestrian. Two hours and forty-five minutes.

The Good Shepherd is a fictional film based on real events. A tad too long, this film lacks excitement. In its intention to make it almost authentic, it loses its entertainment value. The cat versus mouse sequence of spy versus spy can get real tiring.

Matt Damon’s okay in his role but oftentimes he appears wooden. His lovemaking scenes are highly contrived. Even Angelina cannot bring appeal to the film. If you have the time to kill and you do not mind learning about espionage during the Second World War and the early CIA, then the movie may be just the thing for you.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Inflation, Bank Rates and the Stock Market

I was talking to my friend the other day. We were crystal gazing. I asked him what was his take of the economic outlook.

He said the three elements that we should take note are inflation, interest rates and the stock market. Inflation is rearing its head and it will effectively be above interest rates. Growth rate is going down. We may only be getting 5.5% or lower in terms of economic growth. The stock market is artificial. In spite of the new record setting composite index, things can be misleading.

The mutual funds are facing its biggest challenge in years. They have to re-balance their stocks in favour of foreign stocks as there are just too few good stocks on the Bursa as more and more good stocks are being taken private. Malakoff and Maxis are taken private. In some way PPOil is also on that track. Magnum 4D has already been taken private. Resorts, Tanjong and Berjaya Sports Toto may just go that direction too. Foreign feeder funds are coming in. If they should show better returns than local funds, there will be an en masse liquidation of local mutual funds in favour of foreign feeder funds.

The stock market may come down and with it interest rates. THe longest bull market is never beyond 15 months and the bear can takeup to a few years. With that knid of track record, not man ywill play the stocks when it coems tumbling sown.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

The Botched-up Nose Operation

I underwent a nose operation way back i n1998. After all the anxiety pangs and loss of blood, it failed.

The operation was supposed to be a simple one. All they needed to do was to cut the long end of the divider at the upper reach in the nose so that I could breathe more easily.

Post operation visits showed it still covered the right side of my nose. Only a pin-hole was available for breathing.

Dr. KN. Subra told me to have another ops but I declined.

Poor chap has also passed on after suffering a heart attack on the tennis court.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

The Dragon Inns

Which is the better Dragon Inn? The original-starring Shangkuan Lin Fong and Shih Cheng which was directed by the movie maestro, King Hu or the latter version helmed by Tsui Hark starring Briggite Lin, Maggie Chung and Tony Leong?

For me, there is no better version. They are not really comparable. King Hu's version was the technology of the later 60s and Tsui Hark's was almost towards the 80s. Story-wise, both did not depart from the original script.

There was more love-play than sword play in the later version. King Hu's was dead serious.

I saw the latter version yesterday night over TV2. It was still fun to watch the antics of Maggie Chung and her band of brigands robbing almost everyone blind at Dragon Inn.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

My Good Friend, Kok Chian

I remembered fondly this kind gentleman who stayed at the quarters next to mine, to be exact Block 18. He was a teacher and was doing his degree in geography.

Initially, because of the age-gap, we kept away from each other. After some-times we became familiar with each other and went out for dinner. He was a nice guy, really and likes to sing old cowboy songs such as the one sang by Slim Whitman. He plays the guitar well.

I still recall him crooning away "South of the Border" in his unique style.

Those were the days. I wonder where is he now?

Heartsong

Values- Mixed and Messed up!

We are no in a paradox. Oriental values versus western exposure and assimilation. What gives?

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Bursa Lethargy

After a few lacklustre days of see-sawing action, Bursa has now gone into a stupor.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

An Invitation to a Wedding

Yacob, my bosom buddy of old has just sent me a 'summons' to attend Nur Azza, her eldest daughter's wedding at the Hotel Singgahsana in PJ on 10 June. A pretty lass, so my daughter commented.

Well, it only means only one thing-we are getting really on the older side of life. Perhaps a few more milestones left in life.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Need to Watch Some DVDs

It's been a long while. The last good movie that I laid eyes on was Apocalypto, The Queen and Pan's Labyrinth. That was ages ago.

I guess blog problems took a lot of time away as well.

I think I will go and buy a few DVDs such as The Last King of Scotland and the Good Shepherd.
Spiderman 3 was supposed to me good, graphics-wise, I was told even though many do not fancy the dark side of Spiderman not Mary Jane' career challenges.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Can we really make money from the Blogs?

They want originals. Be it blog writings, pictures or audios. Not easy.

If they suspect plagiarism or piracy, they will remove your blogs. They would not be responsible if you are being sued.

So think again, Can you really make money on the blog? Small money maybe...

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

The Dream Centre

After returning from the good old USA, some three years ago my Pastor was really impressed by the way churches raised money to have their own dream centres to do out-reach and mission work. We did not have our own church building and the congregation was getting larger.

Now, we need to have 4 celebrations. So he decided to launch on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the DUMC church, his vision of the Dream Centre. The centre will be funded fully from the contributions of the congregation.

We managed to buy an old building. With renovations, it will cost us close to RM50 million.

Today, work is progressing well on the Dream Centre in Section 13, PJ. We are expected to move in officially on 23 June 2007.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Trifling Trivia

Do you know what is was like in the 1500s in England? Well these are the facts of life then.

People those day bathed something like once or twice a year. So they will smell after sometimes. Wedding will take place in June before the lady stary having body odour. To disguise these smell, if any; they will hold a bouquet of flowers. Thus brides today carry a bouquet of flowers too.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Mother's Day

For those who are traditional bound and observe Mother's Day, it is on again this Sunday. For my church, they give out a stalk of rosebud to every mother in the celebration session.

Mother' Day just like Valentine's Day is big business to florists. The hotels and restaurants capitalized on this day to have special funcitons to ring in the ringgits. A real commercial affair.

My daughter fashions out a greeting card for my wife on Mother's Day.

For the rest of us, it's just another day.


Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

The New Neighbour and His Bag of Tricks

A new neighbour will move into a newly renovated house opposite ours very soon.

He must certainly be house-proud. In order to ensure that no one park their cars around the perimeter road shoulders of his house, he has got some Indonesian workers to plant palm fronds at strategic areas in such a manner that only a Kancil or Kelisa can park between the trees.

Let us see how long these palms will survive the rough neighbourhood.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

The Circle of Love

First you are take a fancy on someone you see, your heart starts to feel a romantic longing; you become attracted amorously, your mind becomes overtly creative;. as your eyes behold, your hands wants to hold and your arms wants to hug.

From an emotive plane, you want to move on to the physical plane. You covet. Your love turns to lust.

And once you have stooped and conquered, you move on to the next flower your heart an eyes fancy. And that is the circle of love and lust. It starts again...


Quote of the Day:

Heartsong