A time to count the blessings

On this day two years ago, we tied the knot and started our journey together.

We are grateful that every step of the way has enriched our lives in all possible ways. And too our gratitude goes to all the available support given to our growth.

Pausing for The Awakening

The definition of things has become, well at least it is from my perspective, bigger. I have always been fascinated by things that can really get into my vein. You know, not physically but the, I'd say sometimes it's, creepy kind of feeling that penetrates the whole mind and body. And watching this movie by BBC Film actually gives me the pleasure of not only appreciating a good work but also seeing "ghost" from a more, I'd say, interesting angle.

I never fancy horror's horror. You know, the type that merely aims to scare the hell out of you so you feel all the excitement and none of the joy into following the story.

This movie gives not only the thrilling impact but also (something I always like so much about British movie) the sense of humour in defining values, customs, beliefs etc.

Ghost, while have always being known as "spirit"or "dead", has bigger meaning in this movie. And the way it's put through to audience lands just right on the spot we need.

I don't want to spoil any mood of yours by saying anything about this movie.

Please watch.

I mean it.

Let's talk later.

If anyone of you watched "Game of Thrones", the cripple son of Eddard Stark, Bran is here in this one.



P/s: sorry for missing in action for almost 2 months.

Penang, a Tropical Island of Heritage

Never have I really done any visit to the places of interest of my own hometown taking public transport. Everyone is so used to taking their own vehicle. It's called "convenient" because one has the freedom to follow own schedule and pace. Most of all, I guess it is all about avoiding the hassle of squeezing with others.

However, thanks to the courtesy of Ministry of Tourism (MOTOUR) and Project Penang, a trip on a very comfortable Rapid Penang Coach to one of the many specially designed routes has given me an opportunity to experience my lovely little Penang in a very special way.

It is Route number 101 where the journey starts from Jetty Penang and ends at Teluk Bahang (and return). We started the trip at 9am, given 45min to make visit respectively, enjoyed a one hour very delicious lunch and reached Jetty around 6pm. Along the way we stopped by KwanYin Temple, Penang State Museum, and the bus terminal at KOMTAR.

KwanYin Temple is one of the renown temple in town. It's located along Pitt Street, next to Penang Chinese Town Hall. Being the oldest temple in Penang, it attracts many people throughout the year.Every 1st and 15th day of Chinese Lunar Month, people (mostly Taoist) will come for prayers and make their wishes. During then, all of the architecture including stone crafting and wall painting were done by masters from China. They are still well-kept until today (after more than two hundred years). I am always fascinated by the look of the sincere faces as they hold up high the jossticks in their hands when praying. It is as if I could see/hear their whispers wishing for good health, luck and abundance in their life endeavors.

Penang State Museum stores the stories of how this almost invisible land on world map was notice and how it has prospered since Sir Francis Light back in 1886. This old premise that host artifacts and witnesses of development is reaching it's limit and will soon be extended to another building in Macalister Road.

For those who wishes to jump on different buses to their target destinations, you can either look for what you need at the Jetty or KOMTAR because these are the only places where all the buses meet.

Next stop, the 33-meter Reclining Buddha (at Wat Chayamangalaram) and Standing Budda (at the Burmist Temple) in Pulau Tikus. I don't want to tell you how incredible it is to see such a big statue lying there peacefully listening to visitors. What I do want to tell is this temple is open daily from 6am-5pm and it is free entrance. And another thing I do want to tell you is drop a 50cents into the box and ask your question in your heart. You will be amazed how Buddha can actually answer you without miss.

After some serious thoughts seeing the power that faith could possibly provide, it's time for some fun - The Toy Museum. Situated in Tanjung Bunga, it comprises countless number of toys under one roof. Too bad the limited space that houses so many innocent dreams was less organized and the ventilation was not very pleasant otherwise it would be the best place for parents and kids to hangout together sharing one common language - TOY!

Before our journey ends, we came to the floating mosque as well as Tropical Spice Garden.

This place of worship were built not very long ago. Watching this solemn building standing high over the water, a tranquil and peaceful feeling arouse. It is important that people of different belief have the compassion and tolerance when it comes to the topic of human race and mankind. No division should come in between because the fundamental of a prosperous world is love and respect.

Everyone knows at least one thing for sure: Penang is popular for its existence since centuries ago, being the platform for east and west to meet for barter system in exchanging what they want with what they have. And the most popular of trade during then was SPICES! Today, some of the wonderful aroma ingredients for cooking as well as herbs for medicine can be found here. Tropical Spice Garden has become the place of study for scholars and this very common looking garden actually contains endless discoveries waiting to be realized! Under these shades, I can really feel how unselfishly the humility and generosity of mother earth providing us the ground to learn and grow!

Penang is a beautiful place.

I have always tell my friends, "if there is one reason I cannot leave this place it would be it's beauty". It has greens, sea, sunshine, rain, and most of all, a lot of mouth watering food.

Feel it with your heart when you set your foot on this island. You will agree with me and many foreigners who finally decided to spend their lives here after visiting.

Many thanks to the invitation to this trip. It has been a very valuable journey.

A Day of Remembrance

My last post was in July.

After such a break (for 3 months) comes a day that is going to be remembered for another reason - my birthday, also the same day the world remember the passing of Steve Jobs.

My friend said to me, "birthday is the day we remember how our mother had gone through big pain to bring us here in this world. We should be grateful for that, especially on this very day".

I replied to him saying, "well I am grateful for everyday since that great pain because it is from that day onwards I get to witness and experience all the wonderful things around me".

And then I realized this day also mark another special message - with the passing of a great person, who had brought the world a different dimension in seeing and enjoying connection with style and personality, not only inspired so many young souls but also motivated such different perspective in seeing things, everything in our life is a creation of our believe and effort.

Leave no regret when we are to waive this world goodbye.

We can do great things. We can, however, do better in doing small things with great love.

To Steve Jobs (1955-2011): thank you for your big message. For you have done your part to this world in this life, may you be in a better place in the next continue to become more inspiring.

     

Love that remains

It's the pictures from a family cum dear friend (a.k.a. darling) that gave me the idea of writing this post.

The title goes like this: photoshooting weekend - 7th July 2011, and the album consists only a few random shots, taken using handphone in the car.

Driver is the groom-to-be, bride-to-be is sitting next to him. Parents of bride-to-be as well as the photographer at the back seat.

Obviously it is a trip for the wedding portraiture shooting.

And yes, parents are tagging along.

I bet some will give me the look of "What? What is the point parents following?" while others might probably say "how sweet the parents care so much to the little detail of their baby's wedding".

Ever since my dad's passed on, we siblings have been taking our mom together to almost everywhere we go. Well not that we did not do so when our dad's still around, but he wasn't keen in going out with us (at least not too often) and so mom will always accompany him. Thus the most we could do was to have family meal together as often as possible. That's the only time dad's keen (everybody eats).

The idea of "accompanying" comes from the concern of "spending time together". We do not want to let mom feeling alone or left behind, which will eventually make her misses dad even more; but most importantly is we want to have the chance to really appreciate the time we can spend together.

What's the point of having time spent together? Those are the moments that will become the most precious afterwards.

No matter what we are doing for as long as we do it together.

That is the best thing that nurtures the love, and eventually the memory, both share.

(inspired by: Photoshooting weekend - 7th July 2011 by Joanna Lim)

The Gap in Between

The world moves in a very fast pace.It has always been that way. What I am talking here is the pace of our life runs. We sleep less, work more, need little but buy tonnes, play only what shows status, forgetting the joy of being simple.

Yes, life can be better. Yes, money buys most of the things that make life more enjoyable. Yes, we want to have more freedom to get whatever we want whenever we want it however we want it to be.

But can we find the simple happiness without so many considerations?

We furnish ourselves to fill the gap between what we want inside and what we portray on the surface. That is why we see and feel differently.

Thus by listening to this song and watching the MV together give different impression.

But I like it because it gives me the pleasure of seeing and understanding as well as feeling the gap in between things.

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Future - Michael J. Fox

Sometimes it is interesting to look at life itself from various perspective.

From monetary point of view, our life is pretty much depend on how much money we can earn (to our level best) to not only put food on the table (putting aside the type of food and its cost) but to afford a little bit more of luxury (that's how people tend to put it this way - more comfortable, which its degree always different to people).

And then it comes to pursuing life goal, such as social status, more a recognition from the society, to feel good being appreciated.

However, ironically, most people realize that all the above that give rather high level of feeling in terms of life accomplishment seem significantly less important in compare with health, much when one is down with illness.

I was at the bookstore yesterday and his book caught my eye.

Finding that balance between all aspects is the key lesson each and everyone of us learn throughout our lives.

Don't you think so?

Our World

There are many sayings about Apocalypse, End of Days, End of the World, Judgement Day etc. If the world does end, let say, tomorrow what memory would you have?

Rest assured that ending is waiting somewhere, since there has been beginning.

It is a cycle.

What really matter is the journey that we have on this world. The footsteps and the times we had through thick and thin with people around us.

The world is beautiful because we see it with our heart.

Celebration

When I first heard, "when you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced; live a life in such a manner that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice" by Kabir an Indian Poet, I thought it has described how one should really live so that they have a life.

Until I hear "Actually funerals are an important ritual in the grieving process. They don't just recognize that a life has ended. They recognize that a life was lived" from the movie Love Happens.

Life is indeed a celebration, although the departure is always hard to people around.

For some reason, I realize and open the photo folder of my father's funeral and the memories of the day we received call from Thailand about his demise and all the afterwards of such sudden shock came back. For me to remember that day, I still keep in my phone the messages that I corresponded with my youngest brother when he was there handling the body pick up with mom.

There are often lot of times we have regrets in being not able to do something especially when it comes to losing someone dear. We mourn until we barely able to get on our feet after such hit.

Yes on one hand I comfort everyone including myself that he is at peace without pain but on the other hand I somehow still feeling that loss inside, which the separation has taken out from me - we did not get to say good bye, face to face.

I guess this is the hardest part.

Until the idea from the movie got into me.

As I looked at the pictures taken that day, although they are filled with our grief of losing a father, a husband, a healer, a teacher and good friend (my dad has always been a good friend to me), I know too that he, although may not be able to speak his last words to us personally but, has given us the opportunity to look at life itself - so that we live too the life and get recognize when the time for us to leave comes.

It is a matter of how we look at life itself. And dad, you just never stop teaching me things even you are gone.

We miss you dearly.


And Happy Birthday pa, wherever you are.

Dance Day for Earth

Being responsible and care for nature does not mean only not littering or not wasting natural resources, although both means so much in keeping the planet cleaner and healthier. There is another thing that is still lacking - love, that includes make connection with mother earth. It is like taking care of our house, or more personally, our body. You not only keeping it clean (hygiene) but also maintaining your body in a tip-top condition at your best and at the same time paying attention to feelings and level of esteem.

In conjunction with World Dance Day, this year Penang is holding it with the title as "Dance Day for Earth"  emphasizing on soul connection - human to human, human to earth, and earth to human - from children to teenagers and adults, caressing the soft grass that is rooted to the soil.

 
Held at Fort Conwallis Penang in small groups, all workshops maintained the learning process effective by limiting the number of participants.The weather was not too good, big sun all the while and came dark clouds followed by down pouring, but it eventually helped to keep the number of patrons small.

Aida said, "although we received many students last year but it was too crowded and we end up not knowing whether the students benefited or what have they learned".

Different workshops including expressive dance for children & adult, contemporary dance, hip-hop, traditional Chinese dance, traditional Malay dance and improvisation session.

 

 

 

"This year we might not have such overwhelming response but we can monitor the progress and it will help us to do better next".


Sometimes it really isn't about the scale we do things, rather the effectiveness make the difference. To cultivate that awareness of allowing our body to listen to the whisper of mother earth is awakening our natural born instinct to connect with our source.

Before wrapping up the day, the showcase session consisting modern Japanese dance (performed by Ms. Hitomi), contemporary dance (performed by Phor Tay Private and Han Jiang Private), traditional Borneo dance, hip-hop and finally a part of River Project, delivered one very important message - connection happens when we pay attention.

One thing I like very much about the night: the rain put everyone, performers and audience, under one roof on the stage (because that's the only place with shelter) - we all perform and watch at the same time in our lives, thus play that role with people around us and most of all live up to the fullest!