Its a world of ALPHABETS!!

Am I digressing or what?  I don't seems to understand many things these days!  Do I have to sign up for the latest language class where people communicate in alphabets?

Yes alphabets - the first sets of alphabets got to me is ROFLMAO, I thought it was a boy's name or a new spelling for ROMEO or something.... and when I asked what he meant he must think I'm dense!  All these while I was thinking I must be cool or what, I could sms (short messaging service), I could whatapps, I could chat on MSN and I used quite a bit of shortforms like brb, 2moro, nth, u, y, hv, b4, omg, lol, pic, n, d - isn't that a cool handful?

Then I came across this cartoon picture and I have this strong feeling that is where our future generations are heading......

And I could say its not really this generation's fault; its probably the fault of our generation if the following picture is anything to go by............

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I read the book "The Life of Pi" by Canadian author, Yann Martel and I have extracted a very interesting passage on one of Pi's methods of escape; the story is that he being a survivor of a shipwreck on how he (Piscine Molitor Patel) got through his ordeal..... "One of my favourite methods of escape was
what amounts to gentle asphyxiation.
I used a piece of cloth that I cut from the remnants of a blanket.
I called it my dream rag.
I wet it with sea water so that it was soaked but not dripping.
I lay comfortably on the tarpaulin and
I placed the dream rag on my face,
fitting it to my features.
I would fall into a daze,
not difficult for someone in such an advanced state
of lethargy to begin with.
But the dream rag gave a special quality to my daze.
It must have been the way it restricted my air intake.
I would be visited by the most extraordinary dreams,
trances, visions, thoughts, sensations, remembrances.
And time would be gobbled up.
When a twitch or a gasp disturbed me and the rag fell away
I'd come to full consciousness,
delighted to find that time had slipped by.
The dryness of the rag was part proof.
But more that that was the feeling that things were different,
that the present moment was different from
the previous present moment."

WARNING: No one should try this method of escape ... no matter what and we do not hold any responsibility of any eventuality. It is just something extraordinary that the writer of the book "concocted" - I hope, and which a blogger felt like sharing with others!! So be warned.
And, nevertheless, I still find the description very extraordinary and fascinating........

"Death"

Death ~~ what is it to you?

Most people fear death and do not even want to talk about it or simply avoid the subject in totality.

Have you ever ponder what death is all about?

I like what I read, this definition about death in Tony Parsons' book "One for my baby"; the words of Canon Henry Scott Holland.....

He said....

"Death is nothing at all. I have slipped away into the next room. I am I and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still."

"Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone, wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me."

"Let my name be ever the household word it always was. Let it be spoken without effect, without the ghost of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever means. It is the same as it ever was - there is absolutely unbroken continuity. What is this death but a negligible accident! Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well."For me, Holland's words are well said, simply makes "death" ~ the much feared word sounds so manageable, so easy to comprehend, something everyone needs to come to term with....... one fine day. The eventuality is definite ~~ we do not know when and how.

So, lets live our life like there is no tomorrow ....... taking each lovely day, one day at a time ...... always be thankful for yet another day to live.....

Let's live!!!

Dine & Wine

After 2 and a half years, finally the mystery woman was introduced to "Charlie"s angels.......:} in a restaurant called 1949 that serves Beijing Duck.... crispy, roasted, crunchy duck skin... yum yum....

The Chef carving the perfectly roasted duck.....

Duck skin served on white duck plate

condiments to go with the duck skin.... oh that little duck is not for eating, its a chopsticks stand

Diane and Marcella

Vina and Diane
(all natural shots.... no posing allowed)

This is the best and the fun part. The duck sauce requires some dressing. First you spoon the mustard and ginger paste on to the sauce in circular motion. Then you swirl your sauce plate in circular movement until a beautiful pattern comes on......you might not do very well on the 1st time.... just like me

Then you spoon the crispy fried shallots in the middle!

See what I meant? This one was done by the expert! Vina......

Oh, I forgot to take pictures of the best part of the meal, the desserts; they were so delicious that we can't wait to take picture before we dig in.....sweet rice balls with different flavour of ice cream inside and the best mini egg tarts I ever tasted... the tarts even have frosted decoration on it and its piping hot.....

Finally, while we dine and wine, we were being entertained by Jimmy, the cricket. He sang all the way through our meals until when we asked and the waitress brought him in his cage to introduce him, then he stopped singing (shy, we think)......special!!!

"All Quiet on the Western Front"

"All Quiet on the Western Front" today simply means "for lack of action".

It has become part of English language commonly used by babyboomers for lack of action in the modern days. This slang is adapted from the German Army war term; translated by author, Arthur Wesley Wheen in 1930.

However, while in a conversation with my son, a dotcom kid in his twenties who was not aware of such term gives me a feeling that we are not passing on such terms and knowledge to our kids thus causing THE generation gap.

I do appreciate the advance in technology but still feel strongly that we should retain some of the good English used by the babyboomers........anyone dare to defer?

Financial Cycle

Is this latest modern theory or what?..........

It is the month of August, on the shores of the Black Sea. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town.

He enters the only hotel, lays a 100 Euro note on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to choose one.

The hotel proprietor takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the 100 Euro note, and runs to pay his debt to the pig grower.

The pig grower takes the 100 Euro note, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.

The supplier of feed and fuel takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the town's prostitute that in these hard times, gave her "services" on credit.

The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the 100 Euro note to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.

The hotel proprietor then lays the 100 Euro note back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything.

At that moment, the tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms, and takes his 100 Euro note, after saying that he did not like any of the rooms, and leaves town.

No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism.....

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is doing business today.

Wow, this sounds simple enough!! Basically, it just means that when recession hits, one should not stop spending, in fact, everyone should be spending, spending, spending in order to allow the cash to flow. No one should be guilty of putting the brakes on this "cash flow" machinery.........

Grandma's Hands

Grandma's Hands
by
Bill Withers

Grandma's hands
Clapped in church on Sunday morning
Grandma's hands
Played a tambourine so well
Grandma's hands
Used to issue out a warning
She'd say, "Billy don't you run so fast
Might fall on a piece of glass
"Might be snakes there in that grass"
Grandma's hands

Grandma's hands
Soothed a local unwed mother
Grandma's hands
Used to ache sometimes and swell
Grandma's hands
Used to lift her face and tell her,
"Baby, Grandma understands
That you really love that man
Put yourself in Jesus hands"
Grandma's hands

Grandma's hands
Used to hand me piece of candy
Grandma's hands
Picked me up each time I fell
Grandma's hands
Boy, they really came in handy
She'd say, "Matty don' you whip that boy
What you want to spank him for?
He didn' drop no apple core"
But I don't have Grandma anymore

If I get to Heaven I'll look for

Grandma's hands

Yes, its a song... a beautiful and meaningful song by Bill Withers (listen to this song). But I was actually motivated by a forwarded email on a story about how grandma's hands were in good use; for prayers, for soothing, for assisting her to move around in her old age.... I suddenly realised that how important our hands are. And in honour of my grandma who has passed on years ago, I now take pictures of my mother's and sisters' and nieces' hands.......DO CARE FOR YOUR HANDS!!This is an original photo but not an original idea......

The Sexiest, The Funniest & The Most Admired!

The Sexiest Man

The Funniest Man

The Most Admired WomanOkay, there you are, I managed to take pictures with the
3 most interesting personalities
of the World!!

Ooopps!!
I have been busted.... ya you were right, I was in the wax museum,
Madame Tussauds, London. How else can a common person
take pictures with the uncommon.......

"Kiasu" Syndrome

Are you "kiasu" or "kiasi"? Do a survey; first on yourself, then among your friends. Ask yourself whether you are "kiasu" or "kiasi". For those who do not understand these terms; they are actually Hokkien (one of the multitude of Chinese dialects) coined to portray "afraid to lose - kiasu" and "afraid of dying - kiasi". If I am not mistaken, this started in Singapore due to the competitiveness of this small nation and they, the Singaporean are being labelled "kiasu" for their fear of losing out due to the smallness of their country - unfair but quite apt!

So the "Kiasu" syndrome has expanded to include "kiasi" and the like "kiaboh". I personally do not advocate "kiaboh" - meaning - fear one's wife, simply because it has a gender connotation and a personal attack on all men without their defence being called. Also, I do sincerely respect men who listen to their wives and pay due respects to them instead of those, chauvinistic types who treat their wives as mere second class.... so "kiaboh" is definitely not in my category of vocabs!!

So back to the question in time ~~ are you "kiasu" or "kiasi". For me, after some thoughts, I think (feel) that I am not afraid of dying but I probably would be more afraid of losing. I have always try to do better than others, I love to compete and win and there..... I am "kiasu"!!!! What about you??

So long, farewell, Bambino!!

Introducing.....................Bambino and Bambinee!!!

First it was "Bambino", originally white in colour, rescued from a young owner who took good care of it but have to part because of his father's nagging. "Bambino" came to me limping with 4 flats but with the help of my brother-in-law, I managed to nurse "him" to health. That was 25 years ago.......

10 years ago, "Bambino" had a whole body overhauled and was given a nice "Mercedes" blue outfit, grey seats, air-condition, polished antique number plates, new lights and indicator covers even with the original "Fiat" sign specially imported from Italy!!

"Bambino" served me well as a reserved and it was alway a pleasure to go with him around town. He commanded respect and attracted quite a bit of attention..... sweepers stopped their work to salute him. He is also a subject for conversation; strangers came up to me to talk about him.

But viola! there he goes, I have to part with him due to my changed of lifestyle.... I have to just only stick to "Bambinee" because she is the only one I can manage to cope with, she is the only one that can take me around town quickly.....

So .... so long, farewell "Bambino".... I am happy you have got a new owner who will appreciate you and take good care of you... The last I heard is that he is going to give you a brand new RED outfit..... YOU SURE WILL LOOK GOOD IN IT!!!

A place for everything, everything in its place

Are you one who spends endless waking hours looking for this and looking for that? And in the process gets very frustrated and annoyed with others and with yourself?

The rule of thumb is to first get organise. Have a specific place for everything, then make a conscious effort to put back the things you took in their special place immediately after use. Avoid the "I'll do it later" attitude. If you have to get up and walk 10 steps to do it... do it and do it in that moment. Believe me, it works.
"A place for everything, everything in its place" ~~~ if you get into the habit of practising this concept you will not only save yourself a lot of wasted time but also cut down your stress level especially when you are in a hurry and knows where you can put your hands on the things you need.

Ladies, if you have handbags with many compartments, this is one habit you want to practise. Save yourself a lots of stress rummaging into your handbag for your car keys and handphone when it rings.....

My Favourite Time of the DAY

Its not dusk or dawn, nor is it noon, midnight or morning but it is now, when the sky is covered with dark, threatening rain clouds.

You can feel the huge rain clouds beckoning the smaller ones to join him as the pressure builds up while he floats around gathering more strength, working hard to gain momentum against the ever penetrating persistent sun rays.

The struggle is on between the two great powers; the sun and the rain clouds, fighting with each other to gain control. The end result is not always the same; sometimes the cloud takes over but at times the sun will remain in control. The winner takes it all.

If the clouds win, you can feel the pressure building up, with thunder and lightning, the atmosphere is tense and gloomy, the sky turns dark and when at its peak the cloud can hold on no more, the rain starts to fall..... sometimes just tiny drops but at times bigger and faster and the rain beats down like a thundering sheet of metal. You can feel the dry earth soaking up the water with great joy..... cooling down the earth naturally....

What is "Numbers" in your life?

Everything about us "earthlings" is connected to numbers. Had it ever crossed your mind? Think about it; isn't your age, your weight, your height, your address, your account number, the amount of money in your account, your ID cards; the list goes on...... all about NUMBERS?

Imagine your life without numbers, won't it be chaotic? There won't be any date or year, you won't have an address, you won't be able to deposit your money in the bank or maybe there is no money at all!!

There won't be 1, 2, 3 but will there be one, two, three? Think about it ..... isn't it unthinkable?

Everything about Anything

I felt very lucky to have retired early at age 48. At least I can say I am luckier than most people. Having a global family, I now have too much time on my hands.

Brainstorm is about anything and everything that people discussed in the world and is about what goes through the mind of an ordinary person. I hope to entertain some who stumbled upon this site.

I was like just drifting from being lazy......having nothing much to do to contemplating getting into another job....

Having chosen to stay unemployed and enjoying my well deserved freedom, I was starting to get bored.