Simple words to feed the soul

Lee Kuan Yew: The last farewell to my wife

I teared reading his words written from the depths of his aching heart. These are excerpts from his eulogy:

"As a young man with an interrupted education at Raffles College, and no steady job or profession, her parents did not look upon me as a desirable son-in-law. But she had faith in me" 

( Money doesn't buy you a good husband or father; nor does a good faithful , supportive husband or father is determined by a man's wealth )

"We have kept each other company ever since. We married privately in December 1947 at Stratford-upon-Avon. At Cambridge, we both put in our best efforts. She took a first in two years in Law Tripos II. I took a double first, and a starred first for the finals, but in three years."

( It's amazing that these two great minds married, can't imagine the meaningful , intelligent and life changing conversations they had! )

"We knew that we could not stay starry-eyed lovers all our lives; that life was an on-going challenge with new problems to resolve and manage." 

( The old fashion commitment that is getting extinct in our current age. )

"We never argued over the upbringing of our children, nor over financial matters. Our earnings and assets were jointly held. We were each other’s confidant."

"She had simple pleasures. We would walk around the Istana gardens in the evening, and I would hit golf balls to relax. Later, when we had grandchildren, she would take them to feed the fish and the swans in the Istana ponds. Then we would swim."

( He then proceed to share her activities during her leisure time. He became the story teller of her life.)

"She listened to her collection of CDs, mostly classical, plus some golden oldies. She jocularly divided her life into “before stroke” and “after stroke”, like BC and AD."

( Amazing lady who embraces the fact that life has to go on,  no matter how hard you fall. )

" Her last wish she shared with me was to enjoin our children to have our ashes placed together, as we were in life." ( At the end of your days, family is what matters most )

"I have precious memories of our 63 years together. Without her, I would be a different man, with a different life. " ( When we're sitting on our rocking chairs, memories will be our best companion )

"She has lived a life full of warmth and meaning." ( Warmth: The love she graciously shared with people around her, through kind words and gestures; Meaning: Living a life that leaves a positive imprint in another person's life. May i add, kind hearts are quietly kind :)

I should find solace in her 89 years of a life well lived. But at this moment of the final parting, my heart is heavy with sorrow and grief. ( Such simple words to string this emotional sentence that carries with it, the weight of his heart.)

Reminded

Stumbled upon her blog in the midst of sketching.
A nice short read about her bittersweet journey. 

High on the hill was a lonely vodka

Lay....yee... o....de lay...yee.. o... de lay....hee hooo

Week 2 in Suzhou, a lonely vodka has observed a couple of things:

1. She is a banana.  (Although she speaks and writes Chinese, she is definitely a freakin' banana.)
2. Asian drivers, Chinese I mean, sure can drive.  They drive as if they have a small penis (you know when you have a small penis you are always angry.  You are mostly angry at yourself but you know you can't do much to make it grow so you get angry at everybody else on the street.  *HONK* "Give way you loser, I have a small penis coming!!") Okay I know I don't have a wank but I tend to put myself in people's shoes (or in this case tighty whities) and I tend to pretend that I understand what they feel/think.
3. This place smells!  It's a mixture of pollution: factories, cars, trucks, cigarettes, spits, urine, poop, farts, burps, sweat, armpits, greasy hair, constructions, trash.
4. Chinese women don't like to wrap up their monthly business.  You see fresh blood next to the toilet bowl every where you go.  I feel like throwing up thinking about this.  
5. People love slamming doors at your face.  
6. Most people are color blind - red light doesn't mean anything.  
7. Men and Women love to scream.  (can you imagine staying next door to these screamers?  The whole village can hear the shit they are doing in the middle of the night).
8. Chinese women love to argue and fight.  (that I already knew, but this is intense!)
9. No access to Facebook, YouTube, twitter, Blogger and etc. (although, every once in a while, possibly 1% of the time, you can get a quick visit to Blogger.  But I still have no luck getting to FB, YT & TWTR) 
10. Vodka is an ignorant asshole who is not strong enough to live in Asia.  
11. And of course, I am not trying to say that everybody is like the way I described.  There are some really nice, down to earth peeps.  

On the positive notes, I have met some friendly people here.  They are kind, thoughtful, polite and just make you pray that the world is filled with a lot more of people like them. :)

Alrighty, pictures time!!

Daily Breakfast

Doesn't this look like a scene (sans the a/c units) in a kungfu movie?

十全街 - A street packed with little clothing, shoes, eateries, bars, knick-knacks & etc. stores

My first real Chinese lunch in 2 weeks since my arrival.  I forgot to take a picture before eating because you have no idea how deprived I was!

Can you spot a bridge?

This is a restaurant converted from a mansion owned by someone famous back in the days. (Yes I know I sound completely ignorant.  I wish I remember who it was and how old this house is!)

Guess what this is?

A hole in one

Twas a funny day. I didn't planned it to be one. Perhaps tis what they call : Happenstance :)

At Starbucks, the waitress shouted out: "What can i get you?"
"Hot chocolate please."
"What size?"
- Placed one palm at the level of my neck and the other at the level of my belly button -
Then i heard burst of laughter.
"Wow! Didn't know you carried that cup size!" Chimed a customer.

There is this primary care doctor who has a rather peculiar habit. She would call to the Gastroenterology Team room: " Hello this is Dr.X i have a patient with loose stools for several days and some black stools with occasional nausea ..."
Victim ( Flustered me ) : " HOLD ON THERE! I'll let you talk to the Staff Doctor."
You will hear no " Good Morning, I am Dr. X, is there a Staff Doctor around? "
Oh no, she won't even ask who answered the phone.
Her verbal diarrhea is impeccable!
Imagine if the JANITOR answered her phone call and she throws at her victim her gruesome stories of stools and blood!

My staff came storming out of the colonoscopy room yelling: "OMG It's raining stool in that man's colon!!"

Other weird incident:
I was in the Emergency Department, when a patient stared at me and asked: " Doctor, are you from Mexico?"
The white face, slanted slit eyed me replied: " No but you are definitely drunk."

Somehow, customers of a particular restaurant kept dialing the wrong number to order for food. My friend's frustrated dad answered the 5th call.
Customer: " Hi i would like to have char kuey tiaw ( chinese noodles )."
" Ok, what else? "
" Hokkien mee, wanton soup."
" Today no more wanton soup."
" Ok, just hokkien mee then. "
" That's it? You can pick it up in 10 minutes. "
:D
We were rolling our bellies on the floor :D

Brilliant!
Note to self: Next time, just play along! :)
Life is short. Smile when you still have teeth :)

Questions for you and for me

Life.
Who owns your life?  Is it your work?  Your companion?  Your past?  Your fear?

Who controls your life?  Who tells you what to do to your life?  Is it your family?  Society?

How do you define happiness?

So many questions.. yet there isn't an answer.  Or is there?  Maybe you already knew the answer but you choose to ignore it.

Is it best to go with the flow and be delusional?  Or should one stand up for the life one wants to have?

Are you happy?

That's the question you need to ask yourself.

PS:  I want to go HOME!  Wherever home is.

Dear Vodka

Remember those days, of questions and questionnaires? I stumbled upon one, so Vodka, here goes :D

tell us about the first time you met and your first impression of him/her: loves to laugh and party.

tell us something funny about him/her: she wants to stop shopping, but she had her credit card details memorized 0.O"

what’s a weird habit or quirk that s/he has?: She can moon walk!

what makes him/her happy?: Colourful dresses!

what makes him/her sad?: Leaving home

what makes him/her angry?: Rude people

what excites him/her?: Alcohol!

what’s s/he like at home?: Welcoming and fun!

what’s s/he like at work/school?: Hm...would imagine she's always on top of things.

do you know who s/he hates the most?: Rude persons

what’s the first thing s/he would do or say if s/he fell down and scraped their knee: OMG! Ouch! Szeeeeeeeee.....:( Then proceed to hitting Dan for not saving her from her fall.

what would s/he do in an emergency situation with other people involved?: Scream, then proceed to the emergency exit!

which shop would s/he spend the most time at in a shopping mall?: She does online shopping more i think.

what would s/he have for a typical breakfast?: Hm...pan mee? Bak Kut Teh?

where would s/he want to go for dinner?: Anywhere with alcohol.

what kind of movie would s/he choose at the cinema?: Anything? 

describe his/her taste in music: As long as she can dance to it?

what item in his/her wardrobe would you like to burn: Erm...wow...nothing ( so far haha )

what is s/he good at?: Having fun! Making pan mee! 

what is s/he totally horrible at?: Speaking french...haha

what’s something that you two fundamentally disagree on?: Choice of drinks 

what’s something that you two agree whole-heartedly on?: Ruche!

why would s/he succeed in life?: For Sho'!

what is the coolest gift that s/he has ever given you?: My FAVORITE BOTTLE OF MILK! yum* ( Extra points for getting Chocolate flava' sista! :) 

what is s/he obsessed with?: Dresses and shoes

why would s/he be dangerous?: Her burp can induce earthquakes

what does s/he avoid at all costs?: Water rafting?

what does s/he spend the most money on?: Pretty clothes

what’s something about him/her that would surprise all of his/her friends?: She stands by her friends, uber fun chica, not an attention seeker!

what do you love most about him/her?: she cares like a bear :) 

the biggest lesson you have learnt from her?: Be bold !

Tickle your funny bone!

 

Meme

When was the last time you laughed till your belly hurts?

After all, laughter is the best medicine :)

Coins on the ground

Have you ever been tempted when you spot coins laying innocently, quaintly on the ground you trotted?
That was the dilemma the whole week. As though the earth/ cosmic universe is wanting to thank me for using my own shopping bags instead of plastic bags, dimes and quarters were scattered along my path for several days straight.

First impression: Oh Hey! Coins!
Sub conscience Uno echos : Gramps said it's wasted fortune if they're not picked.
Sub conscience Dos rebutted : My good friend's parents once told us picking up coins means picking up bad luck.

Ugh. There i am starring at them waiting for my mind to be decisive. My limbs wait in anticipation.

And of course the coins are yelling: Pick me up from dirt! I am to be traded , not tramped!
But then again, there are some coins who are perfectly content: Ah, a vacation! I shall lie here and smell the roses!

How about some thoughts from the third party.
" Don't let your friends tell you that you are overly frugal for picking up dimes. You could be a dollar wealthier  in one week! Just tell them you don't like litter. "
" Yuck, don't pick up dirt! "
" I don't do it for money, just out of curiosity. "
" I prefer 100 dollar bills, not coins. "
" Only pick it up if it's heads up! "
" My dad says if you get bird poop on your head, it's brings good luck! " ( Completely irrelevant )


Superstitions vs Practicality.
I walked right by them hoping it will make some stranger happy when they're found. :)

Do you wear your heart on your sleeve?

Othello ( Shakespeare ): "But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at."

Teaser

< Which fruit has its seeds on it's outside? >


A room with lots of natural light and a fantastic view! With such space, who needs furniture? :) 


< Strawberry! >
What have you learn today?:)

His Holiness

Something I read awhile ago that's been stuck in my head:

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, was asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered that:

"Man (Human being).  Because one sacrifices one's health in order to make money.  Then one sacrifices money to recuperate his/her health.  And then one is so anxious about the future that he/she does not enjoy the present; the result being that one does not live in the present or the future; one lives as if he/she is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."

一画胜千言

Life with lemons and lemonade

Today, the world is divided to two groups of people: Those that inspires and those that leaves no speckle or tint in our lives. While we are at this junction, do people around you live to inspire or are tucked away in their ivory towers? 

I sat in clinic with Dr R. He is a humbled man who has worked his way up on the corporate ladder. He is funny and hilarious with interactions. He made each and everyone of his patients smile and laugh in some way. 

" I was born in Gary, IN. " He answered to my question. I gasped and pondered what his story-line would be like. He attended Catholic school and moved to Indianapolis for college. As a Jew, he was bullied and got into many fights with a classmate of his. He packed his bags, bought a one way ticket to Israel.

" I need to figure life out. "    

He did.

Israel kept him for 10 years. He met his wife of 26 years and together build a family with four wonderful children.

Today, chatting with Dr. R. who is the head of his department with a body filled with funny bones, I couldn't have imagined this amazing journey of his!

In his office, i kept starring at a picture of a very frail old lady knitting. The story goes: This lady lost her husband of 60 years and was sinking into depression. Dr R. knew she loves to knit and asked her to knit little hats for newborns. She sprung into action and knitted 1000 little hats. She grew cheerful each day embracing her new purpose in life. 

Dr. R informed her that the clinic cannot store her little hats as her rate of production exceed the rate of babies born in our hospital! The little frail old lady went home. The next visit to the hospital, she brought in a whole box of knitted baby blankets! ( That matches the hats! )

One day, the nurses brought our little old lady to the baby units and her heart swelled up with joy seeing all the blankets and hats providing warmth to the babies! She regained her sense of purpose in life. 

He saved her from the antidepressant pills.

Ah, i heart stories that actually warms the ticker. I've learnt a sense of Hope is a powerful gift. 

Eye Candy of the Day

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May Day Musings

 
Opened my eyes this morning and was ready to spring out of my blankets, singing: The hills are alive~ In the Sound of Music~~:D
Instead, got hit with a pang of Nausea. ><"
My stomach is stirring up a storm of butterflies. My fingers are freezing for some reasons unknown.
"May day!" my pal scribbled in her text.
Rolled myself out of bed and dragged my lethargic self to clinic.
I was successfully sent home by my staff the 1st minute i stepped through the door.
o.O" ( Must have looked like Edward Cullen or Bella. Stone cold, pale and bloodless face with bloodshot eyes with an evil snare that grips one's throat till the victim breathes it's last breath. )

"You need a doctor" my cousin chimed.
So i consulted myself in the mirror.
Treatment: Sleep it off.

PS: To the green fingers.
PSS: Such a lovely carpet!
PSSS: Where is Vodka? Someone DRANK her....o.O