Land of Smiles

Day One. Excess baggage. Had to pay $45 for the darn stuff in my luggage. And I had to HAND carry the smaller one. Also heavy.

Reached Bangkok in the afternoon, picked up by the very smiley cab driver sent by my Thai partner. I didn't catch his name and we didn't understand each other, so I will just call him the 9394 man because that's his car number. By the time I checked into the hotel, it was already almost 5pm and raining heavily and the luggage handle I found missing. My Thai partner and I decided not to go to the exhibition setup today.

I took a cab to MBK (Mahboonkrong Shopping center) by myself. I remembered the way and the shops were all basically the same as the last time. Bought just snacks and had dinner, nothing really I wanted to buy. Got a cargo army look-alike pants, a bit more expensive than the normal 199baht range but much better quality and NICER, I think I paid 480baht. I was impressed that practically 70% of all the people on the streets are wearing yellow tshirts, to commemorate the King's 60th year ascension to the throne. Very supportive and devoted people. I wonder if Singaporeans will ever wear red or white (the ruling party's colours) throughout the year apart from National Day, if ever there is such a campaign. Nah...

Stuck in traffic jam for more than an hour on the way back to my hotel. It was so near yet so far. And it's still raining. Paid a 100baht note to the driver for the 83baht fare. He didn't give me back the change. Pretended to be fumbling and searching for something. Nevermind, what the heck. So I got off.

Couldn't get to sleep, and much later dozed off watching HBO ....

Worst type of poverty

"The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved."
- Mother Teresa.

100 million times

Be a light unto yourself.
Be your own confidence.
Hold to the truth within, as to the only truth.
- Buddha

This coming Saturday 29 July is Chokhor Duchen. It marks the first turning of the wheel of Dharma. For seven weeks after his enlightenment, Buddha did not teach. Finally, requested by Indra and Brahma, He turned the Wheel of Dharma for the first time, at Sarnath, teaching the Four Noble Truths.

One of the four Great Festivals (duchen) during the year relate to the life of Buddha Shakyamuni, at which time the effects of positive actions or negative actions are multiplied 100 million times.

What shall I do on Saturday?

How to be united in future lives

Then the Blessed One (Buddha) spoke thus, "If householders, both wife and husband wish to be in one another's sight so long as this life lasts and in the future life as well, they should have the same faith, the same moral discipline, the same generosity, the same wisdom; then they will be in one another's sight so long as this life lasts and in the future life as well."

When both are faithful and generous,
Self-restrained, of righteous living,
They come together as husband and wife.

Full of love for each other.

Many blessings come their way,

They dwell together in happiness,

Their enemies are left dejected,

When both are equal in virtue.

Note: I really truly believe so.

Old cow

Remember the example of an old cow:

She's content to sleep in a barn.

You have to eat, sleep and shit— That's unavoidable—anything

Beyond that is none of your business.

Do what you have to do

And keep yourself to yourself.

- Patrul Rinpoche

Wanted: A Quiet Getaway

By Elizabeth Ann Mason

If I could chance to get away
For a week or just a day
A month or more
Now that would do
Someplace special someplace new
With warm breezes and skies of blue
Gentle waves lapping a lazy tune
Soft warm sand beneath my feet
Pretty shells washing in from the deep
Lazy days all on my own
To sit just writing or sing a song
Anything I want to do
Maybe even dream of you
From dawn of day till evening comes
Doing anything or nothing as I want
To sleep with moonlight flowing in
My bedroom window open to the wind
The breaking waves my lullaby
Now who could ask more of life
No worries to trouble my mind
All left behind if just for a while....

Gan Gan Boy

Coming home after a late meeting tonight, nothing beats my weariness than being greeted by an excited little nephew who opened the door, and jumping up to hug me, saying "Hello yee yee! Have not seen you for a long long time!" as he hugged me tightly. Have not seen the little rascal for about a week. Sweet boy.

Lamp of health!!!

Lugged a 4.2kg salt lamp from KL on Sunday, in addition to my heavy bag and barang barang on my two-day -only trip to Genting Highlands and Kuala Lumpur. It was rush rush rush trip, one night in Genting for the cool air, spent it bowling (and ruined all my nails!) in the company of my company people. Extended one night to KL for mad shopping. Went Plaza Low Yat, Sungei Wang, Lot 10 and practically the whole stretch of road leading towards Chinatown. Bought nothing.

Next day last minute shopping in Berjaya Times Square, much better choice. Bought a pair of Garnet earrings from a crystal shop for mom, to match her Garnet bracelet and ring. I was bowled over by the salt lamp, which cost much more in Singapore. The one I bought was RM50 only. In Singapore it would have been at least S$80 ! Bought quite a few items for my niece and nephew. Hehe...I am the 24-hour aunt.

Benefits of salt lamp:

- near your computer to reduce fatigue and EMF (electro magnetic pollution) created by office equipment. The lamp will also improve your concentration.

- Feng Shui: A few Salt Crystal Lamps placed at strategic spots will enhance chi. A lamp in the relationship corner will be greatly beneficial.

- Meditation: Use them for Yoga and meditation: When you repose in peace and quiet, a Salt Crystal lamp near you is known to enhance your meditative experience.

- Natural Health Practitioners: A Salt Crystal Lamp glowing in your consulting or treating room assists the healing process and creates a calming environment.

- Allergy Sufferers: Salt Crystal Lamp in your vicinity will help your wellness and keep the air around you clean, ionized naturally, and beautifully.

Enjoy now

"If we are ever to enjoy life, now is the time, not tomorrow or next year... Today should always be our most wonderful day."-- Thomas Dreier, Author

PS. Tomorrow I will be heading to Genting and KL to "enjoy life" for the weekend. :)

Maybe it's fair!

Excerpts from Ajahn Brahm's book:

Often in depression we think: "It's not fair! Why me?" It would ease matters a little if life was more just, we think.

How often is it that we do a 'crime', some hurtful, spiteful act, and we are not made to suffer for it? Do we ever say, "It's not fair! Why wasn't I caught?

When we are made to suffer for no apparent reason, though, we moan, "It's not fair! Why me?" Perhaps it is fair. Perhaps there were so many other 'crimes' where we weren't caught that life is fair after all.

이영애 - The REAL beauty lies within

My idol's down-to-earth India trip. I just love her for being so real.

Gratitude

Was reading Ajahn Brahm's book "Opening The Door Of Your Heart" last night, found a story quite interesting. He was narrating what an old man said to his son-in-law at a wedding ceremony in Singapore.

The old man said: "You probably love my daughter a lot, you probably think she is so perfect in each and every way.... but after a few years, you will begin to see the flaws in my daughter..... When you begin to notice her flaws, I want you to remember this. If she didn't have those flaws to begin with, son-in-law, she would have married someone much better than you!"

We should always be grateful for the faults in our partner because if they didn't have those faults from the start, they would have been able to marry someone much better than us.

P.S. A few weeks ago, while attending an exhibition at the Changi Expo, I bumped into Ajahn Brahm, who was supposedly in Singapore to give teachings at that time. He is a tall monk walking hurriedly among the sea of corporate people dressed in suits and formal wear. What a refreshing sight. Otherwise I would not have noticed it's him!

Won!

I just discovered this morning that I actually won $90 TOTO lottery last week on my birthday. Well, I guess heaven's luck was with me, despite the hooha of that day! I was advised me to carry replica of a Monkey with me all the time. This is to harmonise things that may not be smooth going for me this year. And on 6 July, my birthday, it was the day of the Monkey as well.

"Make me feel important"

"Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says 'Make me feel important.' Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life." -- Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

Wah biang!

What a day! What a day for a birthday!

This morning it rained heavily. I took it as it meant wealth! I was stuck at home could not get out of the house. Called for a cab, managed to book one after 15 minutes. Waited for 25 minutes, the cab did not showed up. Complained to the cab company who found me another cab finally. While on the way to office, my colleague called, informing me that all the 18 lifts in my office broke down due to thunder and lightning. But I was already half way there. Birthday smses kept coming. First call was from god bro who wanted to buy me dinner. Real glad he remembered. My friend B also sent me birthday greetings.

Reached office building. Took my own sweet time to the fix my pair of shoes at the cobbler's and spent some time shopping at Watsons. Alas after all the deliberate dilly-dallying, the queue at the lift area was a long long snake of people still waiting to go upstairs (only one back-up lift was functioning). The air was stuffy and hot. Saw quite a number of my colleagues and we lamented at our state. I should have slept longer at home. Birthday smses kept coming. Joan and Veg sent greetings from Perth.

Finally at 11.30am almost lunchtime our turn at the lift came and we reached our 33rd floor office. The air was hot and stuffy too inside the office. My upper left eye started twitching non-stop. Real hard. I couldn't concentrate on work. Birthday smses kept coming. My sis sent birthday sms. Aunt Doreen sent birthday email. She finally got my birthday right. Hehe, every year she will call me on 7 June (one month earlier) to wish me happy birthday.

At noon my 3 marketing gals and 2 colleagues bought me lunch at a Jap restaurant. And they surprised me with a cake too. Real touched as I normally am quite shy about birthday, do not really like to celebrate my birthdays. I don't know what is the big hooha, really. But anyway, at least they bothered. Birthday smses kept coming. Jess sent me birthday sms.

After lunch finally settled down to work but was too sleepy after the heavy lunch. My left eye kept twitching. Aunt Stella called wishing me happy birthday, and as usual asked me if i knew why she remembered. I said yeah yeah I know. It's because her Korean idol Lee Beng Hyung's birthday is very close to mine too! Real "flattered"! She wanted to treat me to the Korean movie "King & Clown". Birthday smses kept coming. One fengshui master told me the good news that he has selected quite a number of units of my new house area for me and he has dropped the info in my letterbox. And he did not charged me a single cent. I am real grateful.

Dinner time went to sis house for dinner, cut the cake again! This year I cut the BD cake thrice. My sweet niece made me a card with a pack of biscuits she bought from school with her own pocket money. So sweet. The night before we have actually celebrated at the seafood restaurant with the family. They ordered my favourite chilli crab. They didn't know my interest in crabs have waned because I could not bring myself to eat these poor creatures as I have released lives for crabs and fishes often. Afterwards, we proceeded to Geylang for durians. It was fun. It was family bonding time.

During dinner tonight, we got the good news that my cousin who was in a coma has finally woke up and seemed to be able to recognise people. It was a personal relief for me. So my dream about her 3 days ago was a good omen. This piece of news was enough a birthday gift for me. Tonight came home, and saw the small parcel Aunt Joan sent me. It was the Sutra of Amitabha Buddha with an air brush. I am supposed to transcribe and write on the entire sutra in chinese words in the booklet. It was said that doing that will bring me immeasurable good merits. It was a sweet gift to me. Birthday smses kept coming. YQ sent greetings too which was a surprise to me.

And it's today that I discovered a friend was using the tiny gift I gave to this friend long ago. This was another surprise to me. Some more, this friend also wished me happy birthday. Wah biang!

Today is also the birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the reincarnation of Chenrezig (Goddess Guan Yin). I wish to dedicate my merits to the long and healthy life of His Holiness. May all his dharma wishes and projects be immediately completed and fulfilled and may the Dharma remains in these degenerating times till the coming of Buddha Maitreya.

Thanks to all who made my birthday quite an "adventure" this year.

茉莉花的日子

This song by 伍思凱 Sky Wu was a birthday gift to a friend last time. I am dedicating it to me today. Happy Birthday, Me.

你曾在素淨髮上
繫一朵清香消息
那芬芳就如此蜿蜒地流到現在心裡
你曾在胸前口袋 藏一絲清香秘密
那氣息曾貼近心情蘊藏著女人的心
為了綻放 所以和晨風靠近
為了緣份 所以我們相遇
我只能如此猜想你的世界
在茉莉花的神情
安安靜靜沉澱在自己的心事
點點滴滴流洩細微的美麗
我能否如此看待你的生命
在茉莉花的日子
沾著露水流轉到我手裡
不曲折卻不容易忘記

Mindful of the unspoken

"Listening is a high art of loving. Ask yourself, 'When was the last time I really listened to my child? My parent? My brother or sister?' When someone is ready to share, three magic words amplify your connection, and they are: 'Tell me more.' "-- Rev. Mary Manin Morrissey

Mindful of the spoken

Excerpts from Master Lynn's comments:

Do you know that when your luck is down, you should always think of ways to improve your luck ? Do not sit and wait for too long.

So are you always “positive thinking” all the time or not at all? How to know or how to observe ?...... is to pay attention to all your words that you say to others, be it your clients, your friends etc. …..then you will know what you are saying is always positive or always negative…… then do the necessary changes.

Bottomline is : always stay positive, look at the positive side of things and laugh all the time……and you would be very blessed in life.

Friends in many lifetimes

In the same breath, as I mentioned, it was an otherwise nice day because my 3 closest friends celebrated my birthday in advance for me. It was also a gathering. Nice to know that the 4 of us have known each other for almost 20 years, since schooldays. Although we lead separate lives now, it's good to know they are doing reasonably well and it's kind of heart-warming that despite little arguments or misunderstandings in the past, we have remained friends and at ease with each other whenever we meet. As usual the 3 of them are more chatty than me ( I am supposed to be the more quiet and blur one). There is no awkwardness. There is no pretense. We must have been close family or friends in our previous lives who meet again this lifetime. That's a very dear special sweet thingy to me. And I am very sure we will meet again in our next lives.

Thanks, Jess, Joan and Veg.

Utter crap

My otherwise nice day was spoilt just because of a friend's comments.

As I will be on an one-week business trip to Bangkok in August, was toying with the idea of extending my trip for the weekend just to relax and do a little shopping there. After asking a few close friends, their schedules clashed with mine, so no one can go with me.

One of these friends, B, who is an accountant and whom I have asked earlier if she wanted to go. She said no. In the midst of my meeting, she started sms-ing me today, saying "just mentioned to my senior at work about your extension of bkk trip. He said it's very wrong to do that, he thinks it's not right and his ex-company, people don't abuse it. He said yours must be a very small company and normally people try not to do that too. Told you people don't do that."

WTF..... I was pissed. "What the heck, I am paying my own money. I am not from N** and I am not D**** and I don't fly first class. Even their accountant is in trouble now, so-called a big company." I replied in anger, referring to a scandalous well-known company.

My friend B doesn't give up, continued to sms me saying, maybe I should ask around my friends for their opinion. I was really pissed. I said I have not decided to do anything and why should I waste my time asking others opinions if this is moral or legal etc... when it's a simple case of agreement between my boss and me. Do I report to HER boss? Am I asking for HER opinion? Am I asking for THE WHOLE WORLD's opinion? Am I asking for ANYONE's opinion for goodness sake?! Have I killed someone? Have I committed some unpardonable sin? My pure intention was asking a friend if she want to go for a break! Accountants can be so one-of-a-kind inflexible. To be fair, B has a heart of gold, but when it comes to spoken words, she is one relentless critic, which may be her undoing one day.

Anyway, for now, get out of my skin. I don't have to answer to you for MY life.

PS. This is a case of Bazi clashes.

Blame who?

Last night I dreamt of my cousin, the one who met with a car accident and still in a coma. This is the first time I ever dream of her in my life. The cousin who is now lying in an unconscious state in the hospital for the past 7 weeks. In the dream, I saw her smiling brightly in a white blouse with gold floral prints. I was so excited and relieved to see her, being like her normal self. When she saw me, she spoke gently: "You know, I will blame people if I didn't get well." Which left me stunned for a second. That was the dream.

I wonder was it of any significance. Is my cousin going to be alright? Is she going to.....? On the bright side, I can interpret the dream as my cousin has gotten well and was just telling me of her thoughts and regrets if she didn't survive the ordeal. However, on the other hand, was this some sort of bad omen? Is she going to survive this ordeal?

Diamond solitaire

Saturday, my mom and I were at a Jewellery Fair. My mom bought a solitiare diamond ring for me, which was what I have been wanting for so long. She said it is for my coming birthday, I was so so touched. She insisted despite my protests. I didn't want her to waste money on me. It was her hard earned money which cost her one month's salary. I am so touched. Thanks mom!

Sick weekend

I was sick the whole weekend which started with a bad sore throat on Friday. Drank loads of chinese medicine brew and I think it got worse.

Saturday brought my parents to the Chinese restaurant "Dian Xiao Er" to try the famous herbal roast duck, with Dong Bo pork and their special crispy toufu. My mom loves the tender Dong Bo pork. Bumped into 2nd aunt at the shopping mall. She who is a pious Buddhist joined me for my evening puja afterwards. I think she likes the calmness of the small center which has become my weekly refuge. She said I must bring my sis and kids there so that my sis would learn to meditate and learn to be calm.

Sunday woke up at almost 11am with a bad body ache. Went to see the doctor because my throat and cough and bloated stomach were killing me. Practically slept through the whole day. Now I am going to bed again. The cause of drowsy medicine. But I do feel better.

Powderful job

My god-bro finally found a job one and a half years after his graduation. His job search was beseeched with many obstacles and hiccups. Although he blamed it on his "bad karma", many of us who know him thought he is plain fussy about his first job. He wants to start with a job with high pay, loads of the bright career prospects and with a reputable company.

His mom and my aunt who are very concerned about him have been praying for him. And many advise from higher beings always gave the same answer "He is just too fussy and choosy". It's not that he could not find a job. It's just that he wants a GOOD job, so to speak.

Well, it came as no surprise to me he finally plunged into a job with a "powderful" title for a fresh graduate. Just as I expected and know of him so well. Anyway glad he found a job. Welcome to the REAL world, brother. Hope you stay REAL.

Me me me

You like wise and trustworthy people. You are smart, enthusiastic, well-behaved and a quick learner, however your enthusiasm usually doesn't last long.

You are influenced by the stars, so you do not like to show off. You do not like to make decisions and often wait for the opportunities to come to you. You are born intelligent and clever, but cannot quite stick to what you do. You have short-lived enthusiasm, are interested in many things, but lack the determination and perseverance to carry it through. In addition, you show a very strong and obvious reaction between love and hate, and willing to sacrifice for one and totally block out the other.

You like mature and dependable persons, dislike frivolous behavior, and admire people with artistic talent and those who can enrich your spirit. Your entire life is like the stars, stable, secure, and without uncertainties. You are most afraid to be covered by the dark cloud that reflects the down time of your life, during which you may be unappreciated, unaccepted, and face many unexpected obstacles. Although very painful, as long as you face these challenges, learn from others and do not complain or blame others, you will learn and grow, and then become the brightest star in the sky.

Your cardiovascular function is weaker, requires additional care. Therefore, it's very important for you to maintain a stable schedule in your life, avoid fatigue, and, most importantly, do not to stay up overnight. Try to eliminate iced and cold drinks in order to avoid losing your vitality.

You seem to prefer bitter flavors like black coffee and chocolate, which means your cells are filled with too much fire element. This negatively affects your health, fortune and career, so we suggest you try different foods to balance your diet and nutrition, which leads to harmony in life and a balance of yin and yang based on the five elements. In addition, if you have recently felt unlucky or things were not going smoothly, then you are probably affected by bad spirit, which caused bad luck. The best solution is not to eat meat and fish for a period of time until the bad spirit goes away. The bad spirit tends to stay with those who eat meat and fish, and also chicken, duck, green onion, garlic, leek and other spices, so a vegetarian diet can help change your luck.

You are a night owl as you seem to be more energetic and inspired at night, so you tend to sleep late and get up late. However, sleeping and waking up early is extremely helpful to your fate and destiny, even though it's not easy for you. You don't easily offend others as you don't like to be the one on top. You better stay away from alcohol if you want to change your fate and destiny, as it drains your energy quickly and negatively affects your fortune. If you are able to develop the good habit of sleeping and waking up early, it will completely change your fate and destiny with better health, more wealth and happiness coming into your life.

You are willing to be devoted, dedicated and sacrifice for a relationship. Your love is full of romance, so to be your companion is to be blessed with love and happiness. When the passion cools down in romantic love, many problems emerge, which require your tolerance and wisdom to overcome. In romance, you are easily attracted to someone you admire in your heart, but you often end up empty-handed because you are too shy to go after him. Generally speaking, men need time to discover your inner beauty. You, however, tend to like a person at the first sight, but not after a period of time. Therefore, if you are still waiting for a good romance, try to show your inner beauty by doing more activities, establishing better habits, and socializing with more people. This way you can express your inner beauty naturally all the time, which makes your romance go more smoothly. In the journey of life, your romantic or marriage partner might be introduced by relatives and friends. You tend to be unable to express yourself, and do not know how to actively pursue someone without being too sticky or giving up easily. You have opportunities but are afraid to get hurt, so eventually it is not easy for you to have the spark of love. If you are still seeking your love partner don't rush because someone nearby likes you, so as long as you sincerely give a little hint, the happiness is right beside you.

Career and Wealth Analysis: You know how to make money, but it is not easy for you to hold onto your money. Your life is more philosophical, so you are not stingy with yourself, family or friends. You spend what you have even when you are financially tight, and are generous when you are financially comfortable. Because of this, it's not easy for you to save your money. In addition, you maybe convinced easily by friends to make some financial investments that cause you to lose money. You like to make many friends, so you easily lose money if you cannot evaluate risk or reject people when they approach you for investment. You will spend most of your wealth doing things you want to do throughout life because you consider only money spent as the wealth actually owned by you. Afterwards, you will bequest most of your wealth to your descendants.

Bazi clashes

It's July, the first half of 2006 is over. How time flies. I hope the next half will be even better.

Although some people do not believe in the metaphysics of Chinese fortune-telling based on Bazi (date and time of birth), I would vouch that it's often about 70% accurate. Sometimes when two persons' bazi clashes, things just do not go smoothly for either parties.

For eg. if a person is born in a year or day of the dragon, he may not get along well with the dog person. Or between a pig and snake. Or between a rat and tiger. For eg, if one person trips and falls even before meeting the other person. For eg. if two business associates whose bazi clashes would not succeed in having any deal done. For eg. when two persons clash, any meeting or discussion always end up one person being exasperated with the other. It's really queer how all this works. And I am still learning. The trick is to be able identify those who clashes with us and those who are compatible.

busy bee

My 7-year-old niece is so busy. Apart from school, she has to attend phonics class, abacus class, piano class, speech and drama class, chinese and english tuition, and to top it off, she is starting swimming lessons. God, she is even busier than me........