Loving Lovers in Prague

I am currently watching korean drama "Lovers In Prague" on cable TV every Saturday night. It stars Jeon Do-yeon as the daughter of the Korean President, caught in a love triangle between a detective (Kim Joo-hyuk) and a rich man's son (Kim Min joon). I'm not like my aunts, who are crazy over K-dramas and will forgo sleep to rent/borrow/buy the whole series to watch from day to night for each drama. So I try to follow the series only on Saturday nights for a few weekends.

Somehow I quite like the storyline because of the actress who has a jovial cheerful character and the detective is quite cute too. Although actress Jeon Do-yeon is not what I consider a stunning beauty, but I like her good acting and her bright smile. Like what the detective boyfriend said of her in the show, "she is truly happy if her nose crinkles when she smiles".

I also watched her once in the 2005 movie "You Are My Sunshine" about a prostitute who falls in love with a simpleton and later found she has HIV. The intense chemistry between the two actors ensures that while the latter half of the film is nominally about AIDS and the high cost it extracts not just from its victims but from everyone close to them, it is far more a testament to the bond between lovers. A box office success in Korea, the film received 7 nominations for Korea's Blue Dragon Awards, winning for best director, best actor and best couple.

Again!

I am flying off again in 2 weeks time! This time is to Bangkok for a 4-day trip. Perhaps I didn't shop enough from Hong Kong trip. Perhaps I didn't rest enough. Perhaps I am just in a holiday mood. As far as I'm concerned, the year has come to a close, work-wise, and it's time to rest and relax! ...before the new year arrives..before I "cheong" (go all out) again!

So, Bangkok here I come... again!

Lama Tsongkhapa Long Life Initiation

Sunday I received the Lama Tsong Khapa long life initiation from His Eminence Lati Rinpoche. Before that, it was raining cats and dogs. But once I reached the place, the rain stopped and the weather remained cordial throughout the whole ceremony, which was not a surprise to me. Many people turned up as it was the last ceremony before Rinpoche flies back to India, to Gaden Shartse Monastery. I bought a thick thermal blacket for Rinpoche and presented it to him as it will be cold in India when he gets back. Just a small token of my appreciation for a living Buddha! Hope he comes back to Singapore soon!

When Dreams Come True?

The weirdest of weirdest dream I had last night. I dreamt of Fann Wong and Christopher Lee.

First of all, Fann appeared and she seemed to be in a frustrated mood. She was in her shortest bob hair ever with her fair translucent skin. She frowned and whispered to me about something. Now my dreams are mostly like those silent movies which the leading actors inside do not speak. The real me don't understand what she has said to the me in the dream. But the me in the dream seemed to understand. The me in the dream seemed to be comforting her and whispering something back. For the next few seconds, Fann calmed down and gave a helpless shrug.

Then the next moment, Christopher Lee appeared. His handsome face didn't looked handsome at all, with pimples bursting with redness. He was ranting mad, intent on arguing with Fann. His open palm revealed 3 small pieces of green jade which he showed Fann, and they started quarrelling. The me in the dream tried to stop them. Christopher was shouting at Fann madly (the me in the dream seemed to understand what he was ranting about).

I looked at Fann and she really looked miserable and sad. The saddest I have ever seen of her compared to all her reel screen appearances. She looked at me with her most pitiful downcast eyes. I can't remember how the dream ended.

I first saw Fann when she was filming in her very first TV drama "When Dreams Come True". She filmed a scene in my office. Anyway, I gather from my experience in my dreams, something seems not right in Fann's real life now. I can't say exactly what, but I think I know.

Blessed voices

Blessed voices from some of the 26 lamas which followed His Eminence Lati Rinpoche in his stay here.

Geshe Ngawang Longtho, 75

"There was one main sign when we raised the da-dhars (wealth sticks) while conducting the Namtose Wealth puja. It rained for 15 minutes, before that it was a very hot day with no sign of rain. It is very auspicious to have rain during or after a puja. It shows that deities and naga beings are very happy."

Geshe Phuntsok Gyaltsen, 69

"Chanting mantras is a request of blessings froma particular deity. For example while you are chanting Om Mani Padme Hum, you should visualise that you receive the blessings of the mantra of the body, speech and mind and it purifies our 3 doors."

Thupten Gyaltsen, 25

"Lati Rinpoche is not an ordinary monk. During mass teachings, His Holiness the Dalai Lama also frequently praises Lati Rinpoche to be exemplary and asks everyone to follow Rinpoche's practise. So the people in Singapore are really lucky to be able to meet Rinpoche and can receive teachings and blessings from Him. They have very good karma."

Gelek Thardoe, 34

"It is a great honour to be here to serve my monastery. The people are very religious and show great devotion and faith in the Three Jewels. I feel very good to see them coming everyday. The blessings they get are very great if they can perceive Rinpoche to be real Buddha, the merit will be inconceivable."

Wet blanket

I am back! Last night the flight was delayed because of Hong Kong weather condition, hence by the time I reached home was past 1am today. And after bathing and checking emails, I was knocked out by 4 am. The whole of today was unpacking and napping and unpacking and more napping.

The entire 6 days in Hong Kong was free and easy, saved for the one half-day city tour of HK and one full-day city tour of Shenzhen. The rest of the time was shopping and walking and shopping. I discover that it was tough as it involved my 83-year-old grandma, my mom whose legs are weak, my dad who couldn't stand shopping and the kids who have no patience to shop. Not to mention we had to find our own food during meal times. Hunger pangs and tired legs ruled most of the days.

Yesterday was our last day, so we went to the famous Wong Tai Sin Temple. It happened to be the 1st day of the lunar 10th month as well. There were throngs of people there. After that, we took the MTR to Prince Edward St for some last minute shopping. It started to rain. Although we were lucky that only the last day was raining, the older folks were by then too tired and impatient to shop. We had to live with my dad's black face throughout until I had to flag a cab to send them back to the hotel first. It (he) was a wet unhappy ending to the otherwise enjoyable trip. Next time there will be no more free and easy trips for the old folks. They can only tahan full-package tours where everything is provided for. Such a wet blanket!

More of the trip and pictures will come later, as I am too sleepy.

Yes finally!!!

I am finally flying to HK tomorrow! Just left office at 8pm and I have a 5am flight to catch tomorrow! Imagine how many emails I had to write! What a hectic emotional roller-coaster week! I seriously need a break before I make any major decision which I may regret(rejoice). Looking forward to spending quality time with my whole family, ten of us, all who matters to me the most on this earth. Hope the weather is good, and cool. I know I gonna be "the porter" again (as I always am with my family). Must make sure I can (have to) wake up at 3am!

It was that bad ....

Was at IMM over the weekend with sis and bro-in-law and godbro. As it was dinner time, and crowded and we were in a rush to adjoin to Daiso (the huge $2 dollar mall), we settled for the almost empty Four Leaves Bakery & Cafe Restaurant. I am a regular patron for Four Leaves bread but the Cafe?

They were serving western set meals for $5.80 which comes with a drink too. Me and godbro chose the chicken cutlet set as the chicken chop set was out of stock. My sis and bro-in-law chose the grilled fish set as the fish & chips were out of stock. We happily waited for our dinner. When it finally came, we almost fell off our chairs. My chicken cutlet was a miserably piece of fried chicken about half the palm size, plus a small chunk of salad with a few strands of french fries soaked in full oily splendor. The grilled fish set was the same. I glanced over at the customer at the next table with his two thin sticks of kebab, dark and half burnt! I didn't even bother to think if they tasted juicy. And overheard at yet another table, a customer was muttering: "My God, I can even count the number of fries on my plate!"

A huge disappointment at our paltry food. We were grumbling we should have gone to Burger King next door with a FULL set meal at the same price! I will never patronise the Cafe again! And it shouldn't be called a Restaurant at all. They should just stick to their bread. Period.

P.S. I hope the owner of Four Leaves reads this, not because I am hoping for a free miserable meal, but because...... the food would have put anyone (chef or customer) to shame.

Lha Bab Duchen

On Sunday was an awfully auspicious day for Buddhists. It was the day where Buddhists celebrate Buddha Shakyamuni's Descent from Tushita Heaven. Buddha's mother, Queen Mayadevi, had been reborn in Tushita heaven. To repay his mother's kindness, Buddhan went to Tushita to teach dharma to Mayadevi and other celestial beings. He remained there in Tushita for 3 months during the rainy season retreat. As a result of receiving the teachings, Mayadevi attained the realization of an arhat. Tibetans called this day Lha Bab Duchen. And anything positive or negative actions we do for this day will multiply 100 million times.

I woke up pretty early and attended a puja at 10am. It was the merits-increasing puja to Shakyamuni Buddha and the 16 Arhats. With this puja we call upon Shakyamuni Buddha and the 16 Arhats to continue to shower their compassion and protection upon sentient beings in samsara and ask them not to pass into Nirvana. We praise the Arhats and pray that they bless our glorious gurus with long lives and ask for their help so that the Dharma may flourish everywhere. There were huge trays of fruits, cookies, flowers, candles on the altar. I offered a huge lamp offering (which will last for 3 days) to Buddha and pray for the health and happiness of all sentient beings, especially my family of the past lives, this life and future lives. I also pray for the removal of my personal obstacles and negative karma. I dedicated the merits of the puja especially to my mother. May she always be healthy and free from sickness.

Tayatha om muni muni maha muni shakyamuni ye soha!

11/11

On my sis birthday 11/11, I brought her and family to Azabu Sabo Japanese Restaurant. It is a restaurant who is well-known for its famous Hokkaido ice cream. It's an all-in-one restaurant where you can enjoy a full Japanese meal, complete with all types of desserts. I heard that the dessert is so good that at least 680 people walk through the doors on a Saturday. Soft ice cream on sweet potato with green tea sauce and red bean paste is very nice. The starchy taste of the sweet potato enhances the softness of the ice cream. We ordered all different types of desserts to try. The macha with green tea ice cream combination is also simply heavenly. Oishii-ne!! Oh BTW, happy birthday, sis!

Address:

Azabu Sabo Restaurant

Marina Square 02-170/171, tel: 6338-1244.

WHERE GOT??!!

Was reading Lillian Too's World Of Fengshui (WOF) magazine, the article on "Reading The Faces Of Future Queens". There was Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Kate Middleton (girlfriend of Prince William) among others.

Lillian said Princess Mary has a perfect egg-shaped face which according to Chinese face reading techniques is the ultimate face shape to have. An egg-shaped face for a woman indicates she is certain to marry well and to someone very wealthy. I look at my own face, I also have a perfect egg-shaped face. WHERE is the wealth?? WHERE is MY Prince??!

Lillian also said "what is lucky about Mary's cheeks is that they not just indicate wealth and more than enough to eat, but also success, a life of luxury and great popularity. Finally if you look at Mary's chin, it is slightly pointed and also tilted slightly upwards, these are two important signs of power in old age. Women with this kind of chin are said to bring excellent fortunes to their husbands." I look at myself, I also have pointed chin. WHERE is MY power? WHERE is my husband ??!!
As for Kate Middleton, her face resembles that of Princess Mary, in fact her face indicates plenty of good fortune. The Chinese describe this type of face not just filled with good luck, but also attracts luck to all those around her. Her cheeks and chin also bring her extreme good luck. I look at myself, with similar features.... WHAT good luck? WHERE is my love? WHERE WHERE WHERE ????!
Thou shalt wait and see.

No.3

I am so absolutely delighted that my niece who is in Primary One got back her exam results today. She is No. 3 in her class. There are two No.1s and no No.2 in her class. So technically she is No.2. And her position is No.4 out of 328 students in the entire Primary One.

My whole family was beaming with pride, relieved and overjoyed, her parents, her grandparents and even her babysitter! It may sound like we are behaving like hard-nosed pragmatics. But we can't deny Singapore is a place where literary achievements are so emphasised. I know she is only in Primary One. She still has a looooong way to go (before University), but for the time being, we take pride in the simple joy of seeing our little sensible girl making progress and enjoying whatever she do, be it learning piano, or swimming or drawing or studies.

Even if she is the last in class, me being the doting aunt, will still reward her with her favourite ice cream in Swenson's or sashimi in Jap restaurants. Or anything she likes!

Touched

Last week I went for puja, I was expecting to see His Eminence Lati Rinpoche but he didn't join us. He was upstairs. Then tonight I went for puja again, not expecting to see him, but he appeared!

I can't describe how I felt. When he walked slowly towards the high throne seat, I instinctively knelt down, some others did the same. My hair were all standing and I was near tears. This is mostly how I felt when a living Buddha is next to me! Especially more so for Lati Rinpoche. The energy he was emanating was intense. The overwhelming joy was hard to contain when meeting him again, finally, unexpectedly.

When Rinpoche was seated on the high throne seat, he looked around the people in the room, and for a few moments, I felt him looking at me. Again my hair stood up. As puja started, for a brief few seconds I suddenly smelt a whiff of nice smelling flowers. Although there were huge vases of flowers surrounding him, I didn't smell anything before his arrival. That was strange, I thought. It's really the smell of Buddha's presence (I experienced this many times before). After the puja, I was blessed by Rinpoche. I really felt extremely happy tonight!!!

Thinking of .....

Was just tidying up some songs in my MP3 folder. Came across quite a number of songs which reminded me of some people, some occasions, some stuff, sometime or another ....

伤痕 (Sandy Lam) - I thought of Jess
今生今世 (Leslie Cheung) - I thought of Veggie
不想让你知道 (周惠) - I thought of Bear Bear
后来 (刘若英) - I thought of the beautiful love story I wrote
你怎么舍得我难过 ( 黄品源) - I thought of my 王杰-lookalike idol
唱歌给你听 and 哭 (阿牛) - I thought of limited edition CD I gave
Stay With Me (Coco Lee) - I thought of my jobless days
天才白痴夢 (许冠杰) - I thought of MH
只想一生跟你走 (Jackie Cheung) - I thought of MH
哭砂 ( 张惠妹) - I thought of Andrew
Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton) - I thought of Bear Bear
出界 (鄭秀文) - I thought of cycling to Orchard in those days
I Will Always Love You - I thought of Turkey trip
In My Life (Emi Fujita) - I thought of Lynn
老鼠爱大米 (Jocie) - I thought of my niece and nephew
红豆 (Faye Wong) - I thought of someone singing it
Lovers Concerto (Kelly Chen) - I thought of someone singing it
庆幸 (堂娜) - I thought of Nana bowing in gratitude/tears in concert
流泪手心 (Lee Hom) - I thought of Pearl
至少还有你 (Sandy Lam) - I thought of PL
How Deep Is Your Love (Bee Gees) - I thought of YA
Om mani padme hum (Boris Grebenshikov) - I thought of Buddhas I met!