Chance Meeting

How strange life is sometimes... It's the peculiar events that sometimes bring excitement to life.

I had the opportunity to meet two new friends last weekend. They were introduced by another friend whom I met through a good friend. The strange (and wonderful) thing is we all just clicked after meeting one another.

These two new friends are on their vacation and stopped by Penang and TH had asked SS to ask me if I could maybe bring them out for some local tastes. It's just coincidence that they came on a Deepavali weekend and I had some free time to show them some sights of Penang.

We had a grand time going to some places even I haven't been before. The Thai temple at Pulau Tikus with the grand looking gold Buddha image and very nicely done archway. The Spice Garden - I had stopped by many times but had never went in and walked around. The newly open Hard Rock Hotel - well, it's new.

And they loved the Chicken Rice Shop! For the weekend, we went there two times!

It was just a chance meeting... But what great chance it was!

You like him, He likes you

But why did nothing happened?

Sometimes people are strange. We reacted when we didn't need to and didn't when we needed to. We talked when we have nothing to say and kept silent when we should have talked.

Sometimes just a few words could change our whole lives. And yet, the words did not come.

Why do we complicate our lives?

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Surprisingly, I'm enjoying the movie. Hawaii is looking real good. I have always wanted to go to Hawaii ever since I was a little kid watching Fantasy Island on tv. The sights are just so so beautiful.

My favorite part from the movie was when they just jumped off the cliff into the ocean - in a very spontaneous manner. What a thrill!

The thing I love most about movies like these is that the ending is always good. Downtrodden people will always find their strengths and opportunities, and turned out the better for having gone through a bad patch. Totally feel-good! And the world could always use a feel-good moment anytime...

Split Second Change

We may be in a status quo for a while or even for a long while, but, in a split second, the situation of our lives may change - for the better or for the worse, forever. Just like accidents, they happened so suddenly, when we least expected. Or even, good fortune. Like those people in the casinos who just hit the jackpot. In a blink of an eye, their lives are forever different.

Actions that we performed in one second could dictate the way our lives might turned out.

This could be scary, or, reassuring... depending on where you're coming from.

Hmmm...

View from my window

It's sometimes nice to just sit back, enjoy a cup of tea and look out the window...

Snake Temple, Bayan Lepas, Penang

I suddenly found myself at a lost when was required to think of a place to bring some visiting uncles to. My dad out-of-the-blue thought of the Snake Temple. One of my uncles who used to stay in Penang some 50-odd years ago could still remember the last time he visitted there (almost 60 years ago), so, it turned out to be quite a nostalgic trip for him.

I haven't been there for many years myself. I was surprised at the number of snakes that were there - there were more than I expected! And the crowd was bigger than I expected.


There were some signs of commercialization - as expected - pictures with snakes for a sum of money and a whole area with exotic looking snake which require a small token entrance-fee.

The Kuan Yin Shrine behind the main temple was a nice place to just walk around. There were a few trees in a protected area which has a small crowd of people hanging around. My dad later told me that they were snake-watching. There were actually snakes in the trees!

Hmm... sometimes it is interesting to re-visit places that have been kinda forgotten...

Caught up in life....

It's one of those things that if one is not careful of, one would be totally caught unaware. And by the time one is aware of its trickeries, time has passed us by and life would be as it seem for naught.

That is life and that is work. I have been afraid that I have been too busy with work to live life. And the past month or so of work had given some cause to my fear. I have been so caught up in work that there has been none for much of anything else.

That is a danger.

Time to think of more...

MJ, life and gone...

Surprisingly, his passing affects people from all walks of life. of all ages.

Looking at pictures from his youth, when he was just starting out, he was really a cute kid.

how could a person who started out with such strong religious background, with such brightness, with such support, turned out at a low and bowed out leaning on past glories?

I would like to think that he was really that innocent, decent and pure mind. Who was just misunderstood. Rest in peace...

Charming Guys Who Lie

Oprah's show today touched on lives of women who were for a short while touched by violence and torture in the hands of a person they loved and trusted, their own husbands. We looked at their stories and wondered why these women even started a relationship and loved these men and why they stayed married to them.

It's difficult for a person on the outside to understand. Even these women who appeared in the show, for them, it's difficult for them to see who they were in the past.

When asked, the women just said that the guys were so charming and nice in the beginning. The bad side sneaked in gradually after the wedding, often years after. And on why they stayed on, the women said that when they uttered their wedding vows, they really meant it and so didn't think that the husbands did anything wrong.

The good thing is that they managed to get out of the abyss and that they are all in good situations now.

I wonder if I were in this situation if I would ever have the strength to step up and out.

CSI without Grissom

Grissom is CSI. How could there be one CSI without Grissom? When I found out about the imminent change, I thought I would give it a chance, although I really couldn't imagine how it would be.

After watching a few episodes, it seems the feeling (from watching an episode of CSI) is gone. The excitement is gone. The mystery is gone.

Somehow Grissom's character brought something to the show that is missing even with the new guy who is not any light weight came on. It seems strange to replace a character with Grissom's caliber with a newbie! I was excited to see Laurence Fishburne sign on but his character is not doing anything for me. In other words, the character is boring and flat. And the new girl is not convincing either. The character tried too hard.

This is sad.

Just chillin'...

I just want to chill. Live a life that is meaningful to me. Go on a pace that does not have me rushing through the motion. Surround myself with people that feel good about themselves and thes, allow me to feel good about myself. Feel confidence with my faith, virtues and decisions. Feel beautiful and good in my own skin.

Adam is still my Idol... regardless...

I was quite devastated when I found out that Kris is officially the American Idol. I guess I had a thought that this could happen. Afterall, he was the dark horse. He was good in the finale but somehow, Adam was marvelously amazing! Well, good people have lost aplenty historically.

I'm sure Adam will go far, regardless of whether he is the idol or not. The world is at his feet right now. He just has to choose his preferred path...

O yay! Adam & Kris made it!

I came back home too late to catch the results show for the American Idol but managed to catch the news... Danny is out. Adam and Kris are on to the finals next week!

Contrary to news that stated that Danny was the favorite, he was never my favorite. i thought he paled in comparison to Adam. And even Kris with his impressive performances this week was better than him. I think Danny is a nice and good guy but in terms of 'idol', he seems to be a bit short of something. If Adam was voted out this week, I'm not sure if I'll have the mood for the Americon Idol Party that I'm hosting next week!

So YAY!

Last Three

Last three on the American Idol this season. It seems that this season went by so quickly. Now, it's down to the last three already. Adam, Danny and Kris.

Personally, my favorite is Adam. Kris is still a dark horse which I've grown to adore. Danny, I'm sorry to say I don't fancy that much. Yes, he's talented but I thought he's kinda boring. He's a humble guy, and for that I don't quite like myself that much for not liking him.

Maybe we should have an Idol party during the finals... That would be a fun get-together!

Love memories

A friend compiled a photo recollections stretching back to a decade or so ago and include the song 'Perhaps Love' to serenade the presentation.

The song ended with 'My memories of love will be of you'. In the length of our lives, I'm sure we have experienced many different kinds of love. To me, the strongest bond of all is the familial love we have for our parents, siblings, children. It is unconditional. Then, there's the other love for which people search all their lives for and many willing to do many things for.

I have a good family whom I know loves me and they gave me strength, faith and confidence to be what I am.

Then, I have one memory of love which is of one person. And they are just that, a memory. We know a memory for what it is. It is just that, a figment of thoughts in our mind. Something that happened in the past. It was real then. It is not real anymore. Time to cease sadness and let happiness soars again.

But it's not sadness I feel. Not anymore. Not for a long time. Yet, the memory remains.

Balance in Life

This year has been a busy year, at work, for me. I've always been able to control my time and leave work at a reasonable time and do things that I like. But this year has been difficult. In the first five months, I have logged on the same number of jobs that took the whole of last year for me to complete.

I'm still thinking and considering how to balance and adapt. Afterall, a life of just work is not healthy at all...

A.I.D.S

Over the weekend, a teacher taught us that we need to have A.I.D.S in life. Not the disease, but aids = assistance, help. Life is hard enough, who doesn't need aids to make life easier.

A = adaptativeness. Being able to adapt to whatever comes in life. I have been thinking of this a lot lately. For now, it seems as if my life is all work. Which I don't like. The job I love, it's just the some times long-hours that I kinda don't like. I have been thinking of how to balance up things. I understand why some jobs are urgent, I'm sure there's a way to make things easier but at this point, I have no solutions yet.

I = initiative. The initiative to think up new ideas and to think big. I have no problem with thinking up things to do. It's just the thinking big that I'm hesitant of.

D = dynamics. To transform the initiative into action. To manifest the ideas. To put words into action. To be more energetic. To be more effort-full. To overcome sloth and torpor.

S = service. A life spent to be of service to humanity must be the utmost worth living. Not everyone has the luxury to do that. But I guess we should all strive towards that. My personal conflict is between service to others and being and doing things for my own family. Which I still need to reconcile and adapt.

A lot more of reflection for me...

Deluded

By chance i caught the show called 'Helter Skelter'. It's about the gruesome acts of a man who managed to collect a group of people who somehow thought that he was God and all of them lived in a commune in a ranch, sharing everything. They would go into a person's home and brutally murder everyone in the house. Including a pregnant lady and an elderly couple. And they thought they did not do anything wrong.

That's their reality.

Reality could be so warped sometimes.

My time in Bali (I)

It was the most amazing time, the six days spent in Bali.

The weeks leading to it were hard. Between work and coordinating the itinerary between three other companions were tough. Considering that all of us were situated in different locales.

The morning we were flying off, I was a bit apprehensive abt the connecting flights. Would we make it catch the flight to Bali? I would then console myself by saying that we would be catching the early morning flight out of Penang and early morning flights are typically on time, if not early. And we already have ample time between flights.

Anyway, all the flights were smooth, other than a little delay of the Bali flight.

We got into Bali and met our guide, Ketut, & driver. And checked into our first hotel. The Pura Dewata at Seminyak. Ketut turned out to be a fun and flexible guide. He took us for a spin around Seminyak. Stopped at the memorial area at Legian where we had a little time to shop a bit and took some photos. Then proceed to Jimbaran Bay for sunset and BBQ dinner by the beach. The sunset was typical but the dinner was good. The mussels were to die for. After the food arrived, we kinda forgot about the sunset! It was a good, good start for a first day.

Second day started with a blast. We had breakfast at the hotel and met Mr Chee,Katherine & LeeMin! In Bali of all places! I was supposed to join Mr Chee and the gang for dinner just a few days before but I couldn't make it due to work... And I met him in Bali! Anyway, we proceed to Sukarwati and Ubud area for shopping, and onwards to Mount Batur.

Sukarwati was fabulous. This is indeed the place to go to for shopping and the time to go is early morning to get all the best deals! Tegalalang is a good place to shop for carvings! And the paddy terraces were nice too! ALthough if you have been to Vietnam, this is a mini terrace. But the concept of proper dining by the terraces is indeed interesting. I doubt the hygiene though.

We had the babi guling at the famous place in Ubud, Oka Kartini... It wasn't that good.

The rain came down heavily at Tegalalang shortenned our shopping spree. Actually, it was terminated before we managed to buy anything.

The road to the mountaineous area has tremendously amazing sights. The hotel, Hotel Segara, turned out to be rather nice. and cosy. The dinner at the hotel happened to be one of the best meals we had in the whole trip. The fried maggi was incredible.

The end of the 2nd day... All still good (other than the heavy rain in the afternoon).

Amazing and Blessed

Saturday was a good day for me. It was good reconnecting with some friends. It was good being a spiritual day. It was good being in the presence of really sincere and wholesome people. It was good being in the presence of people who only wants the best to happen. It was good to be the catalyst that put the factors together to get all those people to get together. It was good to have family and friends who helped get the event in shape.

The house dana turned out amazing. I had worries aplenty before the event. Would there be enough food? enough plates? enough utensils? enough cups? enough room? Would I get the events to go smoothly? Would everyone come? Would they be on time? Would they have a place to park their cars? Find my place? All in all, everything went smoothly. The number of people who turned out was just nice to fill my house but not too many that it was crowded and uncomfortable. The kids tended to get rowdy but I thought it was not too bad. At the very least, they were entertaining.

I think everyone got a dose of spirituality and hopefully left, after the talk, with a sense of what would be good to do to make their lives happier. I am very glad that Bhante agreed to grace this event and gave a thought-provoking talk. The responses he gave to the questions raised were really impressive. They really gave some points to ponder without being patronizing. I felt that he has really progressed exponentially since I last attended lessons with him. He really has a way of presenting his views in a way that is subtle but halfway through hit us with the realization that 'omg! that's it! that's so true! that might just be the way!'.

What a day!