Monday, October 24, 2005
Happy Birthday CK
Yesterday was Choon Kok's 34th birthday. Thought I would surprise him by baking him a carrot cake. So I went to work this morning with this heavy pyrex dish containing the cake. And guess what? He wasn't at work.
SMS'ed him. Only to find him in the US visiting his sister. Well well. We couldn't wait for him to return to celebrate. We had the cake in the office without him. And the cake tasted equally good. : )
Sunday, October 23, 2005
The Evolution of God
My colleagues commented that I watch too much National Geographic when I mentioned that I would be interested in the "evolution of God".
Allow me to clarify I was not thinking about Darwinian evolution but more in the sense of cultural evolution. I am keen too study the history of the idea of God, starting back from prehistoric times, culminating to the Abrahamic GOd, as manifested in Judaism, Christianity and Islam to whatever ...
Allow me to clarify I was not thinking about Darwinian evolution but more in the sense of cultural evolution. I am keen too study the history of the idea of God, starting back from prehistoric times, culminating to the Abrahamic GOd, as manifested in Judaism, Christianity and Islam to whatever ...
Friday, October 21, 2005
Progression of Bird Flu
Friday, October 14, 2005
Least expected
Li Jian is a friend from China. I have known him since he firts came to Singapore to work. That was many years ago. He is one of those I thought would never show "tenderness" towards anyone. It was a surprise to receive the following story from him. Goes to show how wrong I can be about people I thought I knew.
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A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap thebottle and keep it in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot the matter. The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle fascinated byits color and drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meantfor adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed the mother hurried him to the hospital. He died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how she was going to face herhusband. When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just five words.
QUESTIONS :
1. What were the five words ?
2. What is the implication of this story?
Scroll down to read....
ANSWER: The husband just said "I am with you Darling". The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a pro-active behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no pointin finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened. No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her. If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world. "A journeyof a thousand miles begins with a single step." Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.
MORAL OF THE STORY
This story is really worth reading. Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out some warmth in humanrelationship.
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A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap thebottle and keep it in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot the matter. The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle fascinated byits color and drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meantfor adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed the mother hurried him to the hospital. He died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how she was going to face herhusband. When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just five words.
QUESTIONS :
1. What were the five words ?
2. What is the implication of this story?
Scroll down to read....
ANSWER: The husband just said "I am with you Darling". The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a pro-active behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no pointin finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened. No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her. If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world. "A journeyof a thousand miles begins with a single step." Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.
MORAL OF THE STORY
This story is really worth reading. Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out some warmth in humanrelationship.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Definitely Not Mine
Hey, hte baby in the picutre is definitely not mine. He is cute, adorable, but not mine.
Beng Hui has invited all of us from the office to her son's first birthday. Where? Loyang Aloha.
And where is Loyang Aloha? A place that almost caused me to missx the birthday party. So difficult to locate ...
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Thanks Linda
Linda suggested I should stay young by thinking the following thoughts:
- Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
- Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. ( Keep this In mind if you are one of those grouches;)
- Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!
- Enjoy the simple things
- Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and Lots of time with HIM/HER.
- The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourself. LIVE while you are alive.
- Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
- Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
- Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
- Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Jonathan & Stephanie
Jonathan and Stephanie finally decided to take the plunge. They were married yesterday and hosted a dinner at Sentosa tonight. There were so much to talk about. Jonathan joined my department in 1998. Stephanie joined much later. And when did the spark start? Some said it was at the poolside barbeque I organized. Others said it started when the department practise for the opening item for our Dinner & Dance. We made Jonathan, Stephanie, Nelson and Janice the lead dancers for our performance.
Well, well ... I am glad they found each other. I am happy for them yet a little envious of them. May be I should seriously consider going to Vietnam or China to find a bride.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Leon is Back
When the news that bombs exploded in three packed tourist restaurants on the Indonesian island of Bali killing at least 25 people and injuring over 100, I frozed. The first blast that tore through the Raja restaurant in the shopping district of Kuta, and the other two explosions that ripped through a pair of beachfront restaurants 30 kilometres away in the fishing village of Jimbaran were all too familiar. I visited these places before and news of bombings after bombings are getting too frequent for anyone's comfort.My only comfort was that Leon who was in Bali for a meeting decided to cut short his trip and returned to Singapore on Friday. If he had stayed on for the weekend, I can well imagine him dinning at the Raja Restaurant. [Picture taken from Channel News Asia.]
