Weblog
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
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My three accidental wishes
CAUTION: This is just another senseless entry based on a true, personal experience that took place very recently.
The country's still in the midst of celebrating Aidilfitri (Eid ul-Fitr @ Id-Ul-Fitr). Was supposed to fly back home last Friday but stayed back for a friend's wedding on Saturday. Yet another wedding- wow. Tiring year attending weddings.
Eid ul-Fitr or Id-Ul-Fitr, often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting.
Because of the wedding, I had to postpone my flight till early Sunday morning.
When I woke up last Sunday morning, I rushed to another friend's place to have the friend fetch me to the airport. Was kinda in a rush last Sunday morning as I had got out 30 minutes later than planned. I do that most of the time on a Sunday morning, and because of that, I'm usually late for church. Couldn't help staying up very late the night before.
And when I got to the airport, I was still recovering from the mad rush I had gone through earlier on.
In my haste to get to the plane, I noticed one Caucasian lady looking at me from afar. I had no idea why she kept on staring at me.
Oh my gosh, anything wrong with my face? I hope not.
I boarded the plane- and so did the Caucasian lady... and then I forgot about her completely.
As I was about to get to my seat located at 11C, a man walked up to me and whispered, "Excuse me... Your button..."
Excuse me, you crazy girl... your button...He then walked past me towards his seat behind the plane. He was this short and plump Chinese man who just happened to be a very observant person. What, you thought he looked like someone who just stepped out from the cover page of Calvin Klein's latest clothes catalogue?
I looked down and realized that the second button from my cool-looking American Athletics blouse had come undone without my knowledge. ^~*
No wonder those observant people out there looked at me as though I was some kind of Suzie-Wong-gone-wrong.
AAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHHH!!!!I didn't know whether I should thank or tank this Chinese shorty, but as I saw him walking out from the plane after the flight and then disappearing from my sight, I had secretly wished for a chance to probably see him again and take a picture of him so that I could somehow blog about him.
A few days passed by and it was finally Tuesday. Was supposed to catch the 6.00 p.m. flight back to my workplace but was caught in the most horrifying end-of-vacation traffic jam that caused me to be 30 minutes late for my scheduled flight.
I had no choice but to cough up some extra money for the next available flight at 8.00 p.m.
Our God is an awesome God. He sometimes answers prayers that sometimes don't sound like prayers (see underlined sentence above).
Lo and behold, while queueing up to board the 8.00 p.m. flight, the Chinese shorty was standing in front of me in the queue. My wish "to probably see him again" was granted
I was even more shocked than ever when I got into the plane. Chinese shorty and I both got the aisle seats. He sat at 21C whereas I sat at 22D. Sitting at 22D gave me a somewhat good view of the Chinese shorty so that I could quietly "take a picture of him". Great to have such a silent camera that has a non-flash mode. And great to be seated at 22D with the two other seats (22E, 22F) empty all throughout the flight so that I could take a picture of my old friend at 21C without having more people stare at me.
The one I had wished for... 
My wish to "somehow blog about him" was also granted now that I've managed to see and take a picture of this old friend of mine.
AE once said that I have a great ability to attract weird people.
The one brand that brought me unexpected instant infamy at the airport...
The American Athletics label is designed to appeal to men, women and children of all ages, particularly baby boomers and their kids, when they are engaged in leisure or recreational activities. Following its American origin, it has a wide variety of outdoor active apparel developed with an emphasis on being casual and comfortable with a combination of being a little fashion-forward or trendy. These apparel products include graphic T-shirts both long and short sleeves, shorts, long pants, knit and woven shirts, as well as complimenting accessories like bags, caps and belts. American Athletics products are definite value for money - being high in quality and reasonably priced. (Text taken from here)
I will never ever, EVER wear another American Athletics T-shirt to the airport again!!! EVER!!!
Dear God, please send a decent guy into my life for once, PLEASE!!! -
Something interesting
Cleveland Pastor Dan Smith mixes rap and religion...
Read all about it- here...
And visit the church website here.
Personal opinion: When you're out in the world, it's easy to be diluted and jaded by the influences of the world though you know that you, as the salt and light of the world, need not be of the world- to the extent of treading on a fine, thin line between the moral and immoral.
"...there are actually only two available sources of supernatural knowledge and power in the universe: either God or Satan." (Derek Prince, "Blessing or Curse: You can Choose!")
A Christian had come up with the "amoral" theory for Christians to blend in with the world in order to put more flavour into society. The cynic within would ask, "Is the amoral world a place where God and Satan hang out together?"
Read more from Derek Prince, and you'd realize that the middle way was actually created by God's adversary- for "you do not know her ways"...
Won't hurt to check your compass before heading too far sometimes.
Check out this site as well- Way of the Master. You'd notice someone familiar in this website...
Kirk Cameron at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, May 5, 2007.
Kirk Cameron is an American actor, director, and Christian evangelist who is perhaps most notable for his role as "Mike Seaver" on the sitcom 'Growing Pains'. Cameron is currently a partner in the evangelical Christian ministry 'The Way of the Master'.
In his website, Kirk Cameron talks about the "fallaway rate"- that in 100 decisions to follow Christ, there will bound to be 80 to 90 percent of backsliders; and in 294,000 decisions to follow Christ (as found out from a major denomination in the States a few years back), it was discovered that only 14,000 are in fellowship whereas the remaining 280,000 somehow backslided- mostly due to the directions taken by churches that had somehow veered away from the biblical way of presenting the gospel, not because of a lack of follow-up.
According to Kevin Sites, there are 82 million Americans who are currently using the Net for faith-related reasons- much, much more than the numbers of people using the Internet for online banking and dating. Freaky... Are we all really THAT lost?
Kevin Sites is Yahoo! News' first correspondent. His current project is "People of the Web", a series of feature profiles on the people behind websites, viral videos and online phenomena. Sites began his career at Yahoo! with the award-winning website, "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone". Before coming to Yahoo!, he spent a career in television journalism, including five years covering wars and disasters around the world.
Monday, 15 October 2007
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Cheapskate Uncle
I will now tell you the story about the Cheapskate Uncle from the Ben Thanh Market of Saigon...
Ben Thanh Market (from Vietnamese 'Ben' meaning "wharf", and 'Quy Thanh' meaning "turtle citadel") is a big marketplace in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City, in District 1. The market is one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and today is considered one of symbols of Ho Chi Minh City, popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, ao dai, and souvenirs, as well as local cuisine.
The neverending traffic on the way to the Ben Thanh Market
The endless stretch of telephone wires...
We finally reach the Ben Thanh Market (this picture was taken from Wikipedia- the rest are mine, and mine alone).
Inside the Ben Thanh Market...
Some of the things that can be found at the Ben Thanh Market... Delicious snake and scorpion juice- which I didn't attempt to consume...
In this picture, everyone seems to be in a rush, except for one. There will come a time for everyone to slow down and look at things from a different perspective, regardless of who you are.
Noodles? Bangles? Ear-rings? Rubber-bands?
All things dried- prawns, fish, sea cucumber, and SEAHORSES too!!!
Greens (and reds) for sale
Preserved foodstuff
The shop that sells tea leaves and coffee beans and stuff like that
Guy at the shop putting coffee beans into the grinding-machine to turn those coffee beans into coffee powder
Stalls outside the Ben Thanh Market
Those flowers were for real... bigger and brighter than the ones I usually see back home...
A street beggar playing the flute through his nose. He's actually blind. The girl standing in front of him refused to walk away from that place and kept looking at my camera... And now, the story of the Cheapskate Uncle from the Ben Thanh Market of Saigon...
This shop sells lots of affordable ao dai, robes, evening dresses and various other shiny, silky clothes...I got an ao dai from this shop less than twenty-four hours before a friend's wedding. It's a last minute thing as I had not brought any evening wear with me to this country. I went by faith, okayyy....
While in the process of selecting my ao dai from this shop, AE and I noticed a Chinese businessman and his friend standing near us.
At one glance, I had a feeling this Chinese businessman, whom I shall call the "Cheapskate Uncle", was not looking around for a lingerie set for his wife.
True enough, AE and I heard the man utter something that sounded like this to his other guy friend: "My wife does not have this kind of a body..."
The Cheapskate Uncle then told the lady in the shop to wrap up that shiny, silky robe.
The girlfriend must've been thrilled to bits to see that Cheapskate Uncle had got her such a lovely piece of garment from the BEN THANH MARKET OF SAIGON.
There are so many other shops in Saigon that sells nicer clothes...
So many nicer clothes with more elaborate designs on them...
There are even shops in Saigon that sell much nicer lingerie sets......but the Chinese Cheapskate Uncle who's already married with a wife and goodness-knows-how-many kids decides to go to the BEN THANH MARKET OF SAIGON to buy a cheap piece of shiny, silky table-cloth for his girlfriend in Saigon.
AAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
That's the way the world goes, sad to say...
Jennifer Lopez's version of "My Love Don't Cost a Thing":
You think you gotta keep me iced
You don't
You think I'm gonna spend your cash
I won't
Even if you were broke
My love don't cost a thing
Think I wanna drive your Benz
I don't
If I wanna floss I got my own
Even if you were broke
My love don't cost a thingCheapskate Uncle's version:
I think you're gonna keep me iced
You won't
I think you're gonna spend my cash
You won't
Even if I were broke
Would your love cost a thing?
Think you wanna drive my Benz?
You won't
If you wanna floss you gotta do it yourself
Even if I were broke (if, and only if)My love won’t cost a thing- ‘cos I get your stuff from the Ben Thanh Market of Saigon…
And my wife does not have this kind of a body… (Huh??)
Also, read about the Obama Girl vs. Giuliani Girl. The Presidential Elections in the States seem to have gone to another level of wackiness recently...
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Caught in the act
Pathetic story taken from The Star:
Couple in khalwat raid may drop second home plan
LANGKAWI: Retired American policeman Randal Barnhart, who was subjected to a 2am raid by religious enforcement officers, is reconsidering his plan to make Malaysia his second home.
“After that unpleasant episode two weeks ago, I do not feel like making Malaysia my second home. It is a pity because both my wife and I really love Langkawi,” he said.
On Oct 12, Barnhart, 62, and his wife Carole, 61, were in their rented condominium in Kuah when enforcement officers continuously knocked on their door at 2am, accusing them of committing khalwat (close proximity).
He said the officers demanded to see his marriage certificate, although he had told them that they were Christians and should not be subjected to Islamic law.
HAPPIER TIMES: Barnhart and his wife Carole posing for a picture during an outing. They felt humiliated by the raid by religious enforcement officers in Langkawi recently.“We find it difficult to forget the unpleasant episode. My wife was so terrified by the incident that she fears sleeping in that condominium,” he added.
Banhart said the officers were rude and insisted on “seeing the woman” when he opened the door.
“My wife had to show herself despite only having a sarong on at that time. We felt humiliated for being treated this way,” he said.
He said he had to send his wife back to the United States on the next available flight because she feared people might return to the condominium to terrify her in the middle of the night.
She flew home on Wednesday.
“I want the religious department to apologise to me and my wife in writing,” he added.
“I also want the department to compensate the RM4,315 I had to pay for the return ticket so that my wife could go home.”
Banhart said he would be sailing to Thailand once his yacht was repaired.
State Religious and Humanity Development Committee chairman Professor Datuk Wira Dr Othman Ishak said he would investigate the matter.
“I was not aware of this case. I will ask the Religious Department head. We will get feedback from the vice-prevention squad in Langkawi before making comments,” he said.
Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said he would check with the state Religious Department to find out what really happened.
“I was not informed about this case. I will find out what really happened before making any comment,” he said.
Such a big embarrassment to the country...
Anyway, here's one really interesting noticeboard discovered at a certain local inn...
Picture snitched from this site...My brother makes a better investigator when it comes to catching people (and animals) at close proximity- complete with hardcore evidence...
Venue: Undisclosed location
Time: Unrecorded length of time
Guy and girl quietly planning their next rendezvous- they didn't know that they were being watched by a person who's equally as insane as I am.
Guy and girl caught in the act of sleeping together.
Guy wakes up looking dazed.
Not sure how this picture goes with today's entry, but the two kitties ran away after waking up...
Thursday, 11 October 2007
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The Little Emperor (and the eyes of society)
I had intended to put up more pictures of my recent trip to Saigon, but I think I shall skip that for the time being and talk about something else- something still very much practised within the Chinese and most Asian communities.
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning since the founding of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. When referred to as the "Son of Heaven", the Emperor was recognized as the ruler of "All under heaven" (i.e., the world). In practice, not every Emperor was the holder of the highest power of his land, though this was largely the case.
The title of "emperor" was hereditary, traditionally passed on from father to son in each dynasty. There are also instances where the throne is passed onto a younger brother, should the deceased Emperor have no male offspring. By convention in most dynasties, the eldest son born to the Empress succeeded the throne. In some cases when the empress did not bear any children, she adopted a son as her own (all children of the emperor were said to also be the children of the empress, regardless of birth mother). In some dynasties the succession of the empress' eldest son was disputed, and because many emperors had large numbers of progeny, often led to wars of succession between rival sons. In attempts to resolve disputes after death, the emperor often designated a Crown Prince in early times. Even such a clear designation, however, caused problems within the imperial family involving jealousy and distrust, whether it was the crown prince plotting against the emperor, or brothers plotting against each other, and did not actually ensure a peaceful succession. Some emperors, like the Yongzheng Emperor, after abolishing the position of Crown Prince, placed the succession papers in a sealed box, only to be opened and announced after his death.
There is this little town where I used to live in. I still live there, but I don't go back to that place that often anymore now that I've moved to another place for reasons I have yet to find out.
Little townA little town usually consists of people that look almost like that...
Just like in most little towns, you usually have families that regard themselves very highly in the eyes of society...
The crème de la crème of high societyYou also have various other types of townspeople such as these...
And most families that are like that...
Or like that...
Oh, and let's not forget the animals too...
In this little town that I come from, there's this one family that regards itself very highly in the eyes of society. The head of the house is a doctor. And then there's the missus, who is the doctor's wife, and also three kids who have been programmed since infancy to score straight As in every major school exam.
The first two girls in the family secured scholarships to study medicine in other countries. The youngest in the family, whom I shall call "Little Emperor", was also very successful in school and got straight As in every major school exam- 'cos he had been programmed since infancy to do all that, you see.
And so, Little Emperor was sent to another beautiful country to pursue his studies in medicine as well. I mean, the dad's a doctor, so it's natural for the Little Emperor to end up as a doctor as well, right?
Anyway, everyone in town expected Little Emperor to come back and take over the daddy's business empire- one stretch of shophouses converted into a clinic.
One day, Little Emperor comes back for a holiday and drops the most frightening piece of news that a father and mother could ever hear...
Mummy, daddy... I know you love me and I know you've sacrificed much for me to have a good future. But I don't think I want to do medicine. I've always been interested in fine arts, and, and... I can't go on studying medicine anymore... I hope you can understand what I'm going through- I mean, I just can't do this anymore... I'm sorry...When I heard that story, my face could only go like this:
In this little town where this one family regards itself very highly in the eyes of society, the lady of this house is known for her style, à la Victoria Beckham, and sternness, à la the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Victoria Beckham
The Empress Dowager CixiTo have the parents of Little Emperor hear such a shocking confession is akin to having a man suddenly finding out on his wedding night that his beautiful bride is actually not female.
There can be only a few reactions that I can think of coming from Little Emperor's mother...
1.
2.
3.
And the reactions from both parents...
Poor Little Emperor.
In the eyes of society, status is of utmost importance. But we can't please everyone because in the eyes of society, we have more than one pair of eyes looking at us, and each pair of eyes would have different ways of perceiving us.
Each pair of eyes are also linked to different types of brains. Some have big brains, and some- not so big brains.
Dexter, the boy genius
Homer Simpson's brainFor a cute story about "pleasing the crowd", click here.
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