Colour me B...L...U...E (Part 2)

Hmm, didn’t feel good about ending the day on a blue note. Well, blue is still a beautiful colour, not to forget that every sunset brings peace and may the sunrise tomorrow bring hope…

Each new day is like an ocean wave
returning to the shore -
You have no idea what it will bring,
just as you have no idea what surprises
the surf will lay at your feet.
On calm days, ordinary shells are left at the
water’s edge, but after stormy weather,
all kinds of treasures are churned up
from the deep-rare finds for those with
the patience to uncover them.
The phases of life itself are as
unpredictable as the moods of the ocean –
sometimes smooth, sometimes turbulent.
But beyond this mystery lies one certainty…
While you can never know
what gifts life will bring,
you can trust
that every sunrise offers possibilities.
Every day holds beautiful moments
and new dreams
waiting for you to come and find them.

~ Renee Duran

Colour me B...L...U...E

Isn’t it amazing to see a clear blue sky? You probably feel like a bird, all set to fly high and far, no limits and no boundaries. The vast blue or turquoise ocean, the sounds of waves, the breeze that brushes itself against your face…the little wonders of sitting by the vast blue ocean. Blue is a beautiful and calming colour, isn’t it? Well, at least it used to be the colour of my secondary school uniform, I kinda like it too, feels like you will never go wrong with this colour. But I am just curious, why do we say we feel blue? It seems to have a negative connotation. Couldn’t they use another colour? They say colours express moods, feelings and emotions. Is blue really that bad? Is this the only way we see it? Hmm, I wonder who has the answers to these questions. Know what, till I get the answers to these questions, I just know that right now, I am feeling kinda blue…

What is CNY all about for me so far?

· Wearing a new set of pyjamas…a shocking pink one, goodness, think it’s so bright it could glow in the dark :P
· Woken up by the sounds of lion dance and drums on the first early morning of CNY but still couldn’t really be bothered by it, went back to sleep for another hour :P
· Wearing high heels (filled with much regrets, not really my cup of tea at times), dearly missed my pair of Havanas slippers. My sis asked me if it’s alright for her to go visiting at her friend’s place wearing slippers. I think I could relate to that and fully understand how she felt. But if my father were to come to know of us wearing slippers during our visitations, think he’s gonna give us a good lecture on showing respect, courtesy and presentation again :P
· Visiting my grandma and giving her a hug :) Love holding her hands, the pair of hands which used to make nice Teochew kueh, rice dumplings and tao suan. She’s wheelchair-bound now so not really that mobile but it’s still lovely to see her smile…
· Entertaining and playing host to relatives visiting, it’s socializing time!
· Watching movies, thanks to my sis whose target was to watch I think about five movies (mostly Oscar award winners in some ways) within these few days, couldn’t she set a more realistic target?
· Snacking in between meals on those CNY goodies, it would certainly go well with a can of coke :P Oh gosh, it’s time to work out!
· Taking afternoon naps whenever I caught sight of my bed and blanket (difficult not to), there’s just this addiction that’s tough to kick. Or is it trying to catch up what’s lost?
· Reading those fashion magazines that I have missed out for the past one or two months
· Heh, got started on my blog I guess, truly appreciate the amount of time which I called mine – my precious time. Must make sure I will always create “My Time” for myself!
· Bringing some work home to complete but yet in constant denial state
· Well, this is just the beginning, there should be about 14 more days of CNY to go. What would it gonna be like the next couple of days?...But hey, what exactly is CNY all about?

Reunion dinner

On the eve of CNY, unlike the past years, we did not have our reunion dinner in any restaurant with our grandma, uncle and auntie. Instead of the usual eight or nine course dinner for the nine of us, we had dinner at home, four of us. My bro will only be back tomorrow, second day of CNY. Hmm, according to my grandma, coz it’s not really one year since my grandpa passed away last year, thus, we can’t really so called celebrate CNY, must be kinda low key kind. Not quite sure about these customs but will just respect what the elderly said. Anyway, I really dun mind homecooked food for reunion dinner. There’s cabbage soup (with lotsa great ingredients!), our family’s favourite – wu xiang (the Teochew style, which we probably make and eat only about once a year), steamed fish (my favourite kinda fish! Thanks Mummy!) and abalone. Simple stuff but just got this cosy feeling eating all these together, a pity my bro couldn’t join us, nevertheless, sent him a photo of those food prepared. Well, the ladies of the Chan family helped to prepare the meal. My mother, the supervisor of the kitchen, made the delicious and rich soup. I fried the wu xiang (we made so much of those!), it was supposed to be my sis’s job but she chose the easier task instead – slicing the abalone. Well, I guess I dun need an eight-course meal in a restaurant to understand the meaning of family reunion dinner.

My sis...a lifetime friend

When I was just a little girl, I always remembered my younger sis as the crybaby in my family, crying probably at the slightest things, from taking photographs to attending swimming lessons, or was it taking the swimming test? Did she even get her bronze for swimming? Goodness, I was wondering what’s there to cry about or to be fearful of during the test, after how our swimming instructor had kinda ‘tortured’ us during our swimming lessons. But all these have become history, this younger sis of mine have grown up to be a beautiful, confident, smart and courageous lady I would say. Numbers are her friends and her cup of tea and now her rice bowl whereas for me, I think I could turn suicidal by just looking at them, sometimes they seem like some kinda foreign bodies to me. We could be so different but yet most of the time, I thought we have shared great memories as sisters. For the past three years that she has been travelling frequently in the course of her work, I always kinda look forward to her coming back home. At times, I just feel that whole house seems so empty and much bigger without my siblings. Ha, my sis and I used to watch amazing race together and I remember her telling me that she will never have me as her travelling partner if we were to take part in an amazing race as I would probably be the kind who would just look for a hotel and R & R in the midst of the race, she knows that I kinda like to laze around a lot, especially during trips abroad. Ha, I wouldn’t disagree with her, I think when I feel like being lazy, even a bulldozer will not be of much help. Anyway, I’m not interested in any race, winning has never seemed to be a part of my agenda in life.

A note for my sis…
Dear XF, I am gonna really miss you…miss those shopping trips that we have gone together, stopping for a cup of teh and kaya toast at Toastbox, there was a period of time, we kinda frequent that sandwich place, O’Brien. Yummy, those chips were great! Gonna miss watching movies with you. Gonna really miss those times I kinda dived into your bed and cuddled myself up with your quilt cover and plush toys, will miss Viola and Darly. And ha, you always pinched my butt for messing up your bed! Ouch! Gonna miss those laughter and gossip we have shared. Heh, gonna miss those times we ‘scolded’ each other, you would scold me BH and I would scold you KNS. Goodness, talk about graciousness :P Will keep these memories we have shared close to my heart. I am sure there will be more. Hmm, I guess we will not be able to see each other for quite some time. But as you embark on a new chapter in your life, always remember that you will always have my blessings, love and support. Take good care of Purple for me (hope to see him in June, muack!) and most of all, take good care of yourself, eat well (you better learn some cooking over there after buying quite a number of cookery stuff and household items! Oh boy, it’s kinda tiring shopping for those stuff with you! You better make sure you can cook something decent to show us.) and sweet dreamz every night. Love you always…

Is that a promise?

I didn’t manage to catch the movie “10 promises to my dog” when it was showing in the cinema. Have always wanted to watch it but every time I saw the DVD on sale, there’s just some kinda of hesitation, should I get it or not. I just couldn’t resist the pic on the cover and decided that I should buy it, the puppy’s face on the cover seemed to be like telling me to bring it home. I am quite sure I am gonna shed tears watching that. Sometimes, when the ‘tap’ is turned on, it could be difficult to turn it off, ha! I bet it’s gonna be sweet looking at that puppy and dog in that story but I bet the ending of the story could be quite predictable. Well, needless to say, when I watched the DVD, I kinda cried buckets, especially towards the end of the story. Those movies or stories that gotta do with dogs or animals or children somehow are very capable of stimulating my tear glands. I could just tear hearing the experience of a friend’s dog being put to sleep coz of illness. Some of my friends would advise me not to have a dog coz it might hurt real badly. Well, I am also kinda concerned about giving my dog enough TLC should I ever have one. I think anyone who wishes to get a puppy or dog should watch “10 promises to my dog”, keeping these promises would be wonderful as dog owners. Hmm, a decision is made with the brain but a commitment is made with the heart, thus I guess a commitment is probably more binding than a decision. Keeping a dog is certainly a commitment. At times, even when a dog is unlovable, the dog owner will still love by carrying out his or her responsibilities dutifully, taking good care of the dog’s daily needs and I am sure that is also a way to love. Hmm, I would also love to have a dog but when would be a good time? Is there a good time? Would I be capable of being a good dog owner? Would I be able to keep my promises?

Sunny baby, you are in my thoughts…every time I see a dog along the street or anywhere else, I kinda just think of you. Be a good boy k, hugz :)

Quite a few years ago, I think it was 2000, I remember watching a documentary in Cameron Highlands, it was showing how a herd of elephants moving across a desert in search of water (something like that), all were thirsty and tired. Amongst them was a baby elephant accompanied by his mother, the journey had proven too much for him and he finally collapsed, not able to walk any longer. His mother started using her trunk to push him and urging him to persist…but after a couple of minutes, the baby elephant did not move and lay motionless on the hot sand and his mother still continued pushing him, wishing he would stand up and catch up with the rest. Tears welled up in my eyes and of course, they made their way down my cheeks. So paiseh, I just simply could not help it! In my heart, I knew the elephant had died but seeing his mother using every ounce of her remaining strength to push him just moved me so much! One of my travel mates kinda looked at me with a strange look on his face, wondering what’s there to tear about. Dun ask me why, I dun have an answer, it just moved me to tears…

This is my blog...my story

This is my blog and I know I have the freedom to express my feelings and thoughts. Ha, I remember I was described by Kat as having “language diarrhoea” when I express my thoughts and feelings in words. She’s right, I can go on non-stop. I am pretty amazed at how much I can ‘produce’ and ‘splatter’ during my ‘language diarrhoea’. Ha ha! To some, it’s kinda like having the ability to ‘smoke’. Ha, is that a positive effect or a negative one? Hopefully, I dun cause any kinda addiction or lung infection amongst people around me. Well, not sure if this irritates others, I guess maybe it does but nevertheless, this is who I am and what I am, most importantly, I guess that’s what makes me special :P Juz like the pic above, wonder how many people would actually stop to look at it or even admire it? That small flower can easily go unnoticed amongst those shrubs and algae but once you take time to slow down, you would probably be able to notice it how special it is and appreciate it. After looking at it for some time, one would realise that it's indeed beautiful amongst the greenery. Thanks to Mark during our trip to Taiwan for pointing that little flower out to me and for helping me capture that in a picture, I think it has since been a reminder for me in life.

I feel that it is always a luxury to be able to spend time to reflect about or upon our experiences and life despite being city people and always having to fight against time. Sometimes one can be amazed by the kind of wonders these little and simple moments of reflection can bring to our lives. I love to read reflections by others too because at times, they bring insights into my own life and at times, I like the way how some questions and thoughts by others set me thinking. I am that kinda person who don’t believe that things in this world are always black and white. Heh, for those of you who have read till this point of my reflection, you probably can’t stand me already but that’s me! Well, we express ourselves in so many different ways and maybe it is with acceptance and understanding that friendships and relationships blossom. For those close friends around me who have been bearing with my “language diarrhoea”, thank you for your patience :)

The splendour of nature

It was 2006 when I took this photograph in Perth. If I were to spot an interesting tree, I knew I would take some time to admire it. I am glad I took this photograph but nothing beats standing there next to the tree and gazing at those branches and leaves. How many of us would actually take time to do that? There is simply beauty in the way the branches arch and reach out. I feel that trees have a way to calm nerves and soothe souls, especially the way the branches sway in the wind, the melodious tune as the leaves rustle in the wind, the way the rays of sun shine on them, the smell of leaves after a rainy day. If you were to close your eyes and smell the aroma when you are amongst trees, you could probably weave in some life into your body and heart. You know at times, we are probably alive physically but dead within us, in our souls and hearts. Somehow, trees have a healing effect. Trees are strong because they are the ones who would stand there despite strong winds, storms and the scorching heat, they bravely stand in the open to battle the natural elements of the world and these battles I guess will make them stronger. They are the ones who will provide shade and shelter. Aren’t they great? They really deserve to be appreciated in one way or another, well, at least from my perspective. I was asked to change this profile pic for msn and facebook a few times by my friends but I feel that I just couldn’t do it, it’s such a beauty to be ignored. I am sure there are many more to be admired and appreciated. It’s indeed a blessing to be able to see them and feel them…