An expression

We were strangers you and I
A decade plus 2 years ago
Its from there the process starts
Knowing you and knowing me

3 years passed and I went home
Hoping I could stay behind
But like the rivers to the sea
Our friendship grew and grew

Sometimes we don't talk so much
But we would know what to do
Our silent moments are indeed golden
Knowing you and knowing me

Talk we do of everything
We laughed we cried we embrace in love
Through all the years good or not
Our friendship grew and grew

Made of all things strong and good
You are God's fine piece of work
How I cherish our bond
May it last in eternity.

Departures

I finally got my hands on the dvd for the long awaited movie "Departure". I tend to go for international movies when making selection for in flight movies and this movie caguht my eye. At the time of selection I was not aware of the rave reviews it attracted or the nominations given. I am very much into most things Japanese and is recently addicted to watching "batsu" game shows. to get an idea of what a batsu game is, please read the information here.

I digress.

During the numerous recesses I took in writing this post I originally intended to give a synopsis of the movie but then again after having benefit from the recesses I decided that I wasn't going to spoil it for anyone.

It touched on death, taboo subjects, discrimination and social conditioning with other related topics. It was a quiet movie in a sense that there wasn't a lot of dialogue, but the silence and acting skills deliver a powerful imagery and message.

It also made me cried buckets too.

2 thumbs up for this movie! go grab yourself a dvd now!

Of my tools

It was just another day at work.

There were many files to clear and much drafting to be done. It came to a point where I thought a short break would be in order. So I put my pen down and closed my eyes for about a minute. When I opened my eyes its gaze happen to be upon one the tools of my trade, my trusty pens.

Like all other things, there is a story behind these writing instruments. Eversince I started cursive writing ( I am very grateful to the teachers of At. Andrew's school who made us all learn it when I started Secondary 1 after spending 6 years in Chung Hwa school previously), I grew to be fond of fountain pens. Ink stains on my thumb and middle finger is a near daily occurence and I would never miss the fountain pen counter on our family weekend outings at the departmental store. Actually it was just Yaohan then. Before that it was Klasse. Hehehehe.

In the time of computers and keyboards I remain true to pen and paper. It is just not the same writing with a pen compared to writing using the keyboard. That personal touch is missing.

One thing I love is to receiving and reading letters from friends and family. Those letters are testaments to the love and thoughts as expressed through the movements of their own hands. I don't really know how to put it across articulately but I hope you get the idea. I kept all the letters that I received in a box and time and again I will take them out and read it. When the family was moving house last month I took out the letter that my (then) little brothers wrote to me. It brought back so many memories. I could imagine the look on their adorable faces as they wrote, sealed and posted that letter, with their thoughts of and affection for me.

Ok moving on.

What you saw in my pen case are the 3 most used pens.

This is the first fountain pen that I used and also my favourite. My father gave it to me when I was whining about not having a fountain pen of my own. It has a broad nib and a very smooth feel. You can see the ravages of time on the cap. This is pen is about 3 decades old. I use it mostly for drafting.

This MontBlanc Meisterstruck ballpoint pen is a gift from my uncle after he knew that I has passed my LLB Finals. When he handed this pen to me he told me " Chui, I hope with this pen you would do what you think is good and right." A motto I practice in whatever I do.

This Sheaffer fountain pen is a birthday gift from my senior and colleague. The most recent addition to my fountain pen collection and is currently occupying the last slot in my pen case. It has the initials "SW" which I use at work. It has a medium nib and I generally use it to make amendments and take short notes.

This Lamy fountain pen is for "rough use". It has a medium nib and resides in my office room.

This Pilot G3 has a 1.0 nib which is the broadest thus far. Great for signing letters especially the waxy ones.

Ahhh...this Pilot G2 1.0 pen is my correction pen. I am quite fastidious an tend to make alot of amendments when it is called for and I use this pen to make sure that the secretaries don't miss my amendments. The red ink plus my "unique" penmanship is a source of neverending sufferance for the ladies. I am a leftie after all. He he he.

Last but not least, my Pilot Shaker mechanical pencil. Mostly used when I am updating legislation. It is used together with my correction pen. I started using Shakers when I was 12 and was devastated when I lost my collection of Shakers that I had with me for over 15 years. I bought this from Hua Ho 2 years ago together with a black version of it. I was so so happy that they have Shakers in white.

There you go. My tools. Its use, like many other things, has an impact not only on the person who uses it but also those who made it and those who receives what come out of it. So whenever you express yourself through these wonderful tools, give them a thought as they certain deserve the same.

A treat for my eyes

Between Denzel Washington and John Travolta...its Denzel any day.

Lunch with family

I have been eating out quite often lately due to several reasons but mainly so that I can spend some time with my family. We had lunch at a restaurant near No. 2's workplace and I was also missing the "fried meat" that No. 2 ordered yesterday. Since No. 3 has yet to taste I seized upon the opportunity to order the same dish.

Wet fried noodle with mata lembu as ordered by No.3


Yes the tasty "fried meat" that has left me craving for more!


Mama's sweet and sour pork rice.


My ginger steamed free range chicken. Not very impressed with it. I guess I don't like eating this dish cold.

The quest for chocolate pudding

I read from a website somewhere that there is this place which serves a decent chocolate pudding/fondant/lava cake. Excited, I enlisted my Chin Chin to go try it out. She did not have high hopes for this outing as somehow she feels that she'd be disappointed. We are quite, if not very strigent on the standards for this dessert. That is because (the word "because" to be said with a slight drawl) it is our bonding food. So it has got to be a very good one that is.

We started off with having lamb with gravy for our main course. For the price we were charged I find it acceptable. The mash potatoes were not bad but certain pieces of the lamb were tough to chew.

Then came the dessert. Hmm ice cream is outside instead of on the pudding. Hmmm crust looks too light coloured. Hmmmm. *scrutinizes*

As I took a closer look, the texture of the crust looks like that of a cake which looks to thick to be that of a chocolate fondant.

As suspected. Too thick and gooey. I have read the history of how the chocolate fondant came about but this really looks like an unbaked cake!


I could only finish the crust as I could not stomach the molten chocolate. It was more buttery and chocolatey. *shipai da*


Verdict: I would not order it again.

On one of those acts I find most unpleasant

"…Throughout life, from childhood, from school until we die, we are taught to compare ourselves with another; yet when I compare myself with another I am destroying myself. In a school, in an ordinary school where there are a lot of boys, when one boy is compared with another who is very clever, who is the head of the class, what is actually taking place? You are destroying the boy. That’s what we are doing throughout life. Now, can I live without comparison—without comparison with anybody? This means there is no high, no low—there is not the one who is superior and the other who is inferior. You are actually what you are and to understand what you are, this process of comparison must come to an end. If I am always comparing myself with some saint or some teacher, some businessman, writer, poet, and all the rest, what has happened to me—what have I done? I only compare in order to gain, in order to achieve, in order to become—but when I don’t compare I am beginning to understand what I am. Beginning to understand what I am is far more fascinating, far more interesting; it goes beyond all this stupid comparison."

Jiddu Krishnamurthi
Talks & Dialogues Saanen 1967, p 86

Going to my second home for a seminar

It was a great pleasure to be able to attend the 15th annual seminar held by the Malaysian Aikido Assocation ("MAA"). Having seen the scale of the event and the organization it takes alot of manpower, resources, dedication and perseverance to reach where they are today. Here I would like to offer my congratulations to Low sensei and MAA for a job well done! From a small association that started 15 years ago it has overcome many obstacles and remain united to reach where it is today. It is my hope that aikido the oragnization responsible will also flourish in my country.

This is my second time participating in the MAA seminar and it was good to meet old friends and made new ones. This year I had the pleasure of travelling with my senpai Chiong and his wife Jeon. We attended the sessions and exhanges noted with each other, trying out the techniques taught and had good discussion about what we learn and to bring back to our country.

I had a great time training with the shihans on the mat, who are always so obliging and willing to share. What the shihans and sensei taught had a common theme running through it, which is the importance of keeping connection. Some are very particular about how the attacks are carried out, while others focused on footwork and yet others teaches you how you prepare your mind to train. There was so much to take in and it was just like in Tanabe. I was in aikido heaven.

One thing I must say though about my experience training with the shihan and senseis. Without question they read a student very well having this wealth of experience in training and teaching. So they know to what extent you can take ukemi from them. But what I feel from each and every one of them is the respect and focus they give to their practice partners. That is something I don't get half of the time. You have some who don't really want to train with you because you are a white belter and some who are also white belters also don't really want to train with you because they want to train with a black belter. We bow to each other in seiza before training but the sincerity is not necessarily there.

Another thing also was what Smibert shihan reminded us: we should strive to do exactly what the sensei taught and/or showed us in class as each sensei has his/her own way of doing it. If you just keep to what you have been doing all along, that is all you have. This is for everyone of us!

There are alot more to share but I will save it for another time. This post is looking as if its going on and on and on...

Happy training!

The seminar venue - Wisma OCM


Representatives from Aikidamashii Dojo, Brunei


From left to right: Chiong, Bernie senpai, Phillip sensei and myself.


From left to right: Chiong, Horii shihan (he rocks!), Sandy from Hong Kong and myself


From left to right: Chiong, Imanul Hakim sensei (always so eager to share) from Indonesia and his wife Shanti sensei with myself.


Chiong and I with Kubota shihan ( an unforgettable session with Chew Boon as his uke)


Smibert shihan (thanks for the reminder) and Chiong


With Sato sensei. He acted as interpreter to Kubota shihan and Tsuboi shihan during their session.


With friends from Hong Kong Sandy and Alan sensei


Jemy from Perth. Very nice to train with and very fast with his hands.


With Chew Boon the most popular uke during the seminar.


Chiong and Chew Boon having a bit of fun.

Problems problems problems

"…From childhood we are trained to have problems. When we are sent to school, we have to learn how to write, how to read, and all the rest of it. How to write becomes a problem to the child. Please follow this carefully. Mathematics becomes a problem, history becomes a problem, as does chemistry. So the child is educated, from childhood, to live with problems—the problem of God, problem of a dozen things. So our brains are conditioned, trained, educated to live with problems. From childhood we have done this. What happens when a brain is educated in problems? It can never solve problems; it can only create more problems. When a brain that is trained to have problems, and to live with problems, solves one problem, in the very solution of that problem, it creates more problems. From childhood we are trained, educated to live with problems and, therefore, being centred in problems, we can never solve any problem completely. It is only the free brain that is not conditioned to problems that can solve problems. It is one of our constant burdens to have problems all the time. Therefore our brains are never quiet, free to observe, to look. So we are asking: Is it possible not to have a single problem but to face problems? But to understand those problems, and to totally resolve them, the brain must be free."

That Benediction is Where You Are, pp 18-19
Jiddu Krisnamurthi

Going somewhere?

I was anxiously waiting...

and waiting...

and waiting.

Finally I got the approval today! I get to go to the MAA seminar this weekend!

Yaaayyyyy!

Thank you AI!

Hold on...I need to take some precautions before I fly off. Well let's see, I have taken my flu jab, I am in good condition, taking my tablets etc and...oh I need some masks! (I know that these precautions will not bring to naught my exposure to the H1N1 virus because I am travelling but its better than nothing.)

Guardian pharmacy was out of masks and instead of going to the other branches I picked a pharmacy where I thought people won't think of going to...the one next to Ayamku in town. I went into the pharmacy and lo and behold! They have a whole line of masks for you to choose from! There's the diosposable flimsy one right to the sophisticated ones with an air regulator. I shortlisted 3 but ruled on out because it made me look like a duck hehehe. I know what you are thinking...ini untuk keselamatan apa lagi mau cantik.

Anyway I bought 2 masks.

This is the mask that is recommended by most friends including those working with MOH as it offers more protection. It costs B$4.50

Ahhh...I saw this one which I quite fancy. Its got an air regulator in front! It also looks more reliable.

Turn to the back and there are instructions on how to put them on. This one costs a cool B$15.00.


I just hope that I will be able to avoid the snare of the H1N1 (like, forever!) and have a safe and enjoyable trip. Have a great week ahead and a smashing weekend!