the minack theatre

this is one of the nicest place i've visited in england. twice!

http://www.minack.com/

sitting on the stone bench and watching that tiny man try to fish, or was he just standing there waiting to see the sun set? the drama that comes before you in truly dramatic. after the sun goes down, stars appear and before you know it, the backdrop of the stage has totally changed.

was there first in 2001 (24th July, The Unsinkable Molly Brown), then in 2003 sh@ron, v0n and junyu@n went along (19th June, The Odyssey). i loved it both times, and i still do.

it's a truly beautiful place. also mousehole, st michael's mount, st ives and land's end. so beautiful. i really want to go back to penzance again. and the next time, i'll bring mum. i will.

5 days 4 nights

not sure how and when i fell sick, but i did fall sick.

this 5d4n trip to macau & hong kong was certainly most exhausting. like bK said, too many activities, too little rest. i think i should set a rule not to fly budget for distance further than bangkok. 3 hrs 30 mins on a plane, restricted movements and little fluid intake is perhaps too much for me, and i suppose worse for mum. so no more budget airline (for distance further than bangkok).

meeting mart and theresa was perhaps the best that could have happened. they are such angels, sacrificing their shopping time to bring us around. and they are such fun people too. and of course bK, iC and Rth are all very accomodating. thanks, pals.

school's starting again soon (too soon!) and i'm so not prepared for that. maybe this falling ill has got nothing to do with the weather, the travelling, the cold ... maybe this falling ill is largely because of stress. i am really getting a little tired of the job. not that the job is exactly tiring but i just feel lazy and restless. and the short trip really didn't quite help, did it?

but i'm glad i brought mum out. this may not be the best trip we've taken, but it's one more we've taken together. so that must be a good thing :)

seeing double

one good thing about my brother is that he knows how to make the best of things. he is a very positive person, much more than i am. i don't know why i am writing this about him but i guess someday he should know that i think quite highly of him, with respect to this.

today bro and wife brought kaikai and yingying on a bus ride. they went to ride on a double-decker. kind of like a nice, fun family excursion except that the air-conditioning could have been too cold on the bus.

and bro took the twin-seater sofa in my study to put it in his van. now that has become a luxurious van, the most luxurious one i've seen. that's my brother. he comes up with cheap, crazy and yet brilliant ideas. i think he got that from dad. father was very good with things too. he was very good with his hands and very intelligent.

i often think that father will be very pleased with bro if he is still here today. he would be a happy grandfather. and i sometimes wonder what he'd say about the flat now.

time heals. does it?

a mean thing

this office girl from hwa called.

"hello, may i speak to chch pls?"

"this is chch speaking, how may i help u?"

"we are looking for volunteers to sell donation tickets this weekend"

"um...sorry, i am not available."

hwa girl chuckles

"did i say something funny?"

"i haven't told you the time and you already say you're not available, hee hee. what about next weekend?"

"i still don't think that's funny."

"so is this only for this period of time or are you not available to volunteer anymore"

"i can't speak to you now. thanks for calling"

after i hung up the phone, i immediately called sher and told her the story.

what is it in us that makes us want to be mean to people? how much does it take to be nice? we constantly bombard ourselves and others the niceness of being nice and yet, we are the very people who steal moments like this and try to use them to justify our wrongdoings. why can't everyone be like mother teresa? we need not save the whole world, just start being nice.

i'm so sorry, hwa girl. but i'm not sure if i'll have the guts to apologise if we meet someday.

may you have a good life.

little miss sunshine

i was hoping to see olive getting crowned and the whole family getting all happy and jumping and making the whole trip all worth it. but she didn't win. and who's to say that the family was not happy? why must we always win to be happy?


many times, it's the small things that we do together, the not-so-nice things, the "unplanned" things, that last forever. those things make a family realise that there is a family and we're all part of it.

everyone has a role in the family and all of them played their parts well. this is a good movie, and of course, not everyone's going to be able to see that. most, unfortunately, will say it is boring and unglamourous. and i've learnt to realise that it isn't worth it to insist and push one's points across. they just don't get it and it's ok to leave them alone.

have a sunshine day, in your heart.

the blower's daughter

how could anyone write such a sad song?

of course someone could. it's been written!



this morning bk sent a link to the latest addition to his multiply, also a song - eason's buru bu jian

http://music.zjkubi.com/êÞÈѸ-²»Èç²»¼û.mp3

i'm coming to appreciate musical talent a lot nowadays, be it singing, writing, arranging or performing. and somehow i wish i still play the violin.

why tengboche

a few people had asked why "subzerotenboche" and i shall explain now.

"subzero" because it was really cold, and "tenboche" is where i thought i was going to die last december.

i captioned this picture like this in my kodak online album: in this room i had my first ever panic-attack. i woke up in the middle of the nite and couldn't sleep. it was so hard to breathe. i took off my socks and thermal and still didn't feel good.

that was the highest and furthest we were going on that trip, my first time in nepal. i guess the air was far too thin for me and all of a sudden, the sleeping bag became too warm and too tight. i felt so uncomfortable i had to get up and get out of the room. and as if that wasn't enough, i went out of our "hotel", ignoring the fact that it could be dangerous out there on a cold, quiet night. i just had to breathe.

other than this little episode (which nearly took my life), the trip was beautiful. the trek was good, the company was fantastic, the scenery was magnificient, the mountains were huge, and we were so tiny. when what stands before you is one huge mountain, all you can do is take a deep breathe and tell yourself: you are so lucky you're seeing this.

and then you look at the people and you wander: how do they do this? my students come to school thinking that i owe them the world. these kids walk two hours to school each day and they only start school at 10 am because they need to do some chores at home in the morning. i went back to school and told the few nepalese in 4e5: you are so lucky to be here. arn't we all?

side note: thanks quietnorth for reading my posts and for sharing the little story about you and your father. since you're not going to get any information regarding vesak day by reading my previous posts, i'm going to extract this bit from http://www.sg/explore/people_festivals.htm

"The Buddhists observe Vesak Day, which denotes perfection and commemorates the birth, enlightenment and Nirvana (liberation from earthly passions and desires) of the Buddha. Vesak falls on the full moon day in the fifth month of the year. The occasion is marked by chanting, recitations and offerings at shrines; the ritualistic bathing of Prince Siddartha's (the earthly name of the Buddha) statue; the practice of vegetarianism; and the release of captive animals. Temples are also decorated with flags, lights and flowers, and vegetarian meals are served to those present."

We have eleven public holidays per year here in Singapore: Chinese New Year (2 days), Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji, Vesak Day, Deepavali, Good Friday, Christmas, Labour Day, National Day and New Year's Day - it's 2 per ethnic group, and 3 for all :)