Do we ever learn?

If watching Eichmann, the Baader-Meinhof Complex and History Channel's documentary on Tiananmen taught me anything, it is about tolerance and understanding. While we look back in history, and assure ourselves that we are bigger people today than yesterday, events continue to happen around the world that slaps us in the face to tell us that there is still a long road ahead for humankind in tolerance, mutual understanding and learning from history's many lessons.

There are many things we take for granted in our lives - access to information, freedom of movement, material comforts and security. In some parts of this world, these remain inaccessible and unimaginable. Many people in these places will never get to experience this in their lifetimes, and their children, and their children.

Time and time again, we have witnessed the power of misunderstanding and arrogance. At the end of the day, we are our own downfall as we climb over one another to get further in life, to convince ourselves that we are superior to the neighbour. However, we forget that the earth is round, and no matter where we go, we are still circling around the same axel.

We must not overlook the lessons that history has taught us, and continue to educate the younger generations such that they never forget as well. We had the luxury of learning all these without having to go through the pain, the bloodshed and the hard times. It is not our right to be lucky. If there's something we could all do, is to promote peace, encourage understanding, facilitate education and allow for dialogue. We are already killing ourselves with our abuse of mother nature. Let's not expedite it through ignorance and selfishness.

The Bus Man

Koks and I make it a point to greet the bus drivers every time we get on the bus. It's basic courtesy, and when you think about it, it's a pretty routine job. The bus drivers drive the same routes every day and pick up random people at various bus stops. Some times, bus drivers will respond to our greetings; and sometimes, they just balk and stare at us as if we've just gotten on the bus and flashed at them, or we've got a third eye on our forehead.

There is a particular driver that Koks and I have grew to be rather fond of. When Koks and I used to take the same bus to work at the same time each day, we'd board his bus. What strikes me about this guy, is that he has a big grin and it feels like he grins from the bottom of his heart. As if he was genuinely happy to see us. 

Then we stopped taking the same bus to work, because a fixed-time Super Bus service started which ferries Koks from home to work in record time; and i started going to work later when i switched jobs. We don't see the guy that regularly anymore, and boarding his bus has become more of a bonus. Like a very pleasant surprise. Like waking up to freshly brewed coffee and a warm brioche. When i see him and his bus approaching from the distance, I start to smile; and upon seeing me waiting at the bus stop (it's not hard to see me from a distance), his face erupts into his distinctive grin. It just makes me warm inside.

This morning, I happened to leave home earlier than usual, and guess what? I got into his bus again!!! This time, i didn't realize till the bus was about 5 metres in front of me. I got on and he said, "Hey miss, good morning!" to which I replied, "Good morning! You're extra early today!" Usually, he'd ask me where my "husband" was and if he had already left for work. After my usual 15 minutes on the bus, I got off and we waved to each other as i walked away from the bus stop.

What a lovely way to start a day!

Introduced moms to Monk last night, before which i told her, "this will change your life forever." Haha, but isn't that true of every moment in our lives?

My Funny Friend

Seeing bhubs makes me laugh. It's not that he looks funny, or strange; but seeing him just makes me laugh. I think it's because he reminds me of all the irrational and unexplainable and ridiculous things we used to do when we were younger, and reminds me of how much nonsense we can be capable of. Not because we have something to prove, really... but that it can be so much fun to be full of nonsense and not care if people find us funny. As long as we find ourselves funny, which most of the time, is the case.

Bhubs is an old friend from senior high. I can't remember how exactly we met, but we were in different classes. I always found a big similarity between him and the character "Chandler" in friends. Bhubs definitely doesn't look like "Chandler" but they share the same witty humour and inability to resist the temptation to take a stab at someone. Bhubs has also always been a steadfast (wow, can't remember when i last used that word!) friend although we've been miles apart for many years, pursuing our own goals. It's true when they say that with good friends, distance and time has no real impact. When you meet again, it feels as natural as.... hmm... as good friends feel about each other.

It's great to have him back again.

Have been very low in motivation so far this week. Not that i have nothing to occupy my time or no deadlines to meet. Maybe it's time to get back into some physical activity to get my blood pumping again. Back to yoga routine next week and hopefully some tennis or swimming!!! Better get cracking on work before i have to swim against the current of time. It didn't feel good the last time, that's for sure.

I've got Music, I've got Rhythm.

Just had a wonderful day jamming with the girls, and we produced such interesting sounds today with the cajon, the sax and the bongos. We're going to play lovely songs for the teacher in 2 weeks, i hope it turns out well!

There's something about music, that calms the nerves, and nurses the soul. What i loved about learning music while growing up, was how it transformed my environment when I was playing my electone or piano. Then when i started getting into more electronic music, i loved how the music cruised into my veins and for the duration of the song, moves me into another dimension, into another world. In this world, no one else exists and i'm prancing and dancing with heightened senses. I could be physically in a bus, or walking down the street, but my mind is somewhere else. It feels like my own little secret, and I love that. You can't really explain this world, you can't really explain the plethora of emotions. It's liberating.

And when you watch musicians in their element, it is one of the most inspiring and motivational experiences. Passion, is such a powerful internal motivator and discipline mister/ mistress.

The weekend has (almost) come to an end!!! Will pick up dinner somewhere now, and retire the night with a movie or more reading. I embrace the new week with refreshed vigour! Rigor, not ruthlessness. Self effacing, not self promoting.

I aspire to be a Level 5!

Have decided to name my saxophone Monk, after Thelonious Monk. =)

That's not very mediterranean, is it?

It's Delightful, it's Delirious, it's Delovely!

What a week.

*rubs eyes, eases back into chair and takes a sip of carrot juice*

What a week.

The big mango with Mom was relaxing. I suspect it was something that both of us needed - for me to recover from the past insane weeks and for mom to escape being a mom and wife for a few days. We had breakfast in our room at the newest hotel in the city, went for manicure and pedicure, leisurely lunches, 4 hour spa treatments, shopping, indulged in luscious women-loving underwear and caught up on our lives - fears and joys included.

It was Delightful.

I finally took my first major step in achieving one of my childhood dreams. I knew that I would make it happen some time, but didn't know when and how and if it were possible still. You know how we want to do like a million things in our lives, but only really manage a couple. After weeks of discussing it with Niks Biks, who has agreed to impart her knowledge and skills to me, I braced myself, took a deep breath and purchased my saxophone. It's currently called YTS275 but will soon have a very exotic mediterranean name. As Niks Biks, Kokopops and I walked towards the music store, i felt goosebumps as I really couldn't believe that it was going to become a reality.

Moms and Pops introduced me to Kenny G when I was a kid, and I listened to him on repeat. Silhouette, Songbird... I thought he played such soothing music, and I honestly thought he was good looking as well despite the maggi noodles long hair. So, when I went to high school, I eagerly joined the school's military band with the hopes of picking it up. At the try-outs, they made me try mouthpieces of different instruments. Lo and behold, I could create a sound in all of them, except the saxophone. Good Lord, i thought, you must be kidding me. And at that time, I was a chubby kid. They must have thought it could be funny, or esteem destroying, to then delegate me to play the Bass, which was the largest and probably most unglamourous instrument of the band. I accepted that graciously, and quit the band a few weeks after. I thought it rather silly to have to do push ups on the tarmac drive way so as to "toughen us up". If they had given me the saxophone, it could have still been manageable... but the bass????

More than a decade later, the saxophone and I are reunited, encouraged by Niks Biks, Kokopops, my close friends, moms and pops, stan getz and coltrane. I should send an email to Kenny G and tell him how much of an inspiration he was to me.

It's Delirious.

Last night, we celebrated the dancer's birthday and we were all dressed in bright neon colours. The colours kinda influenced all our moods. Guess it's kinda hard to be grouchy when you're dressed in lime green, flourescent orange and screaming yellow. It was really nice to get everyone together again at the end of the week, chatting, laughing, hugging, having some happy drinks and then some dancing. I personally think i danced abit too hard. By the time we were getting home, my knees were really sore. Gee, when did our bodies deteriorate?? Still, it was a great party.

It's Delovely.

Life lessons learnt this week:

1) The Asian Female has to rethink her strategy in order to excel in a male and caucasian dominated field.

2) Being young and rich does not give one the right to be rude and impolite. Must remember to tell friends to bring up their children the right way in the future.

3) One is never too old to pick up a new skill, or to pursue a passion, or to reignite a dream.

4) Paciencia, chica, paciencia.

5) Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive. - Andrew Grove

Take a moment

From the middle kingdom to the land of smiles, I am on the next flight to the big mango. 

Overnight flight from the middle kingdom to new plus slope was yucks... overnight flights in general are just yucks. Sleeping while seated up is just unnatural. Then there was the baby in the row before me who was crying like crazy, the crew serving food at 12:30am and everyone digging into fried rice and fried noodles.

darn it, have to run! laters!

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

My Gross Individual Happines (GIH) index today is positive although it's been a rather tiring and hectic day. So, that's GOOD.

The Good

- I am in a better hotel today than yesterday.

- I managed to do almost everything I had set out to accomplish.

- I met a relatively informative cab driver who gave me alot of fringe information.

- Got my lunch in 7 minutes and finished it in 15, thus achieving the 30 mins timeline I set for the servers at the restaurant. They were very proud that they managed to (1) suggest a quick dish, (2) serve it quickly, and (3) allow me to be in and out of the restaurant in 30 mins.

- I had yam flavoured ice cream!! When was the last time I tasted that??

- The staff at the noodle counter at dinner was a cutie. He broke into a huge grin while trying to explain "麻辣" (numbingly spicy) to me, not knowing that it's my middle name. But he had one of those smiles that lits up the face and illicits a smile in return, so he got away with it.

- Someone asked me if i'm a teacher, and i replied with a chuckle and said no. I asked him why he thought so, and he said I looked "儒雅", which according to an online dictionary means "风度温文尔雅", which means "气质彬彬有礼,行为典雅端正", which means someone who has class, who is very polite and proper. *blush* 

The Bad

- Faced some brickwalls today and didn't get as much information as I had hoped for.

- First part of today was too rushed, and insane. Had my first meal of the day at 3pm within 30 minutes (see above).

- I pointed to the orange coloured ice cream tub in the ice cream fridge and asked what it was, the reply i got was "ice cream". Gee weez, I really couldn't tell.

- When I asked for a gin tonic at the bar, I was given a bottle of bombay sapphire and a can of tonic, and a question asking if i was taking it away.

The Ugly

I pigged out at dinner. I convinced myself that i deserved it after a hard 2 days on the road. Initial plan was to have an appetizer, main course and dessert, but a buffet greeted me at the restaurant. So I ate the following:

- 2 slices of raw salmon sashimi

- a piece of sushi

- 3 mouthfuls of stir fried noodles

- 2 mouthfuls of fried rice

- a portion of squid strips simmered in spices

- a few slices of spiced pork

- a small bowl of pulled noodles in mala soup with a piece of mushroom and some vegetables

- 2 carrot sticks

- 3 celery sticks

- 1 slice of thin crust pizza

- a bite of garlic sauteed beef

- a rosemary and garlic marinated chicken wing

- a scoop of yam flavoured ice cream

- 1/5 scoop of mango flavoured ice cream

- 2 teaspoons of creme brulee

- 2 teaspoons of tiramisu

- a mini fruit tart (kiwi, peach and strawberry)

- a bite of brownie

- 2 glasses of apple and orange juice

- a gin tonic

My thoughts are with cacat and her family today. 

Sore ankles and dusty shoes

It's been commas and semi-colons since yesterday morning. Without a "full stop", it feels like it's still Monday and not Tuesday coming to an end. Let's have a look back:

Monday

8:45am - Woke up

9:30am - Went to work

1:00pm - Lunch

2:00pm - Coffee and business meeting

3:00pm - Back to work

5:00pm - Conference Call

8:20pm - Left work

8:40pm - Arrived at cacat's house

9:20pm - Left cacat's house

9:40pm - Got home and packed

10:00pm - Showered

10:25pm - Out of the house

11:00pm - Arrived at the airport

11:45pm - Went to the SATS premier lounge

12:30pm - Went to the gate

Tuesday

1:30am - Left for the northern capital

7:20am - Arrived in the northern capital

9:40am - Left for smoky stage

10:50am - Arrived in smoky stage and drove to dragon's mouth

12:00noon - Arrived in dragon's mouth, lunch

1:00pm - Work

6:oopm - Finished work

8:00pm - Dinner

10:13pm - Blogspot

I've been walking and walking and walking...

Need a "full stop" now and enough commas for today.

Tay Mui Mui: Type A do not like to lose, don't like wasting time, especially things you can't control. Can't control their temper. Hard on the system - headaches and heart diseases. Love competition. Strong need for recognition and advancement. Always in a hurry. Alert. Prone to anger. Key problem with Type A behaviour is stress. Likely to be more depressed than normal. Incapable of relaxation. High achieving.

.... and that's Life.

I told Nawoo that I was going to start a blog again, and he asked, "write about travel?"

And i told him, "about life, travel, love, food, death, passion, friends, everything."

Not in order, of course. That's also life, when you think about it. Nothing happens in order, or as planned, aside from the natural order of things - we are born, we live, we die. End of story.

Nope, i'm not pessimistic or cynical. In fact, I am very positive by nature. Today, I was reminded again that life is fleeting, that "life is but a glimpse between two eternities". Unfortunately, I learn these lessons through the short lives of some of the people around me, and the pain that the people around them have to go through. So, celebrate life! Celebrate love, celebrate living, celebrate being!

One of my favourite questions to bug my friends is "what is your objective in life?" Trust me, I've had quite a few looks, but I haven't had many earth-moving answers. Maybe we have been tricked into unsatisfactory objectives, maybe we haven't had time to ask ourselves that question, maybe we're afraid to look into ourselves for fear of finding only darkness and no answers. I'm not sure what's worse - not asking, or not having answers. 

One thing, to me, is for sure. Travel. 

It opens up your mind, it refreshes your eyes.

It is liberating, it makes you feel vulnerable.

It warms your heart, it makes it beat - in every rhythm.

It renews hopes, it creates dreams.

It heightens your sense of being, it is real.

And so, i almost live to travel so that I can learn as much as possible from this earth and with this life and body. Along the way, some people join me in my journey, and show me another aspect of traveling; and enhance my joy of discovering new things and accummulating new experiences. 

... and that's Life, my friends! That's Life!