A Fine Sunday Morning

It was 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning. I was waken up by the deafening sound of thunder. My wife had just disconnected the internet and unplugged the TV and all electric sockets.

Then I saw the bright light from the kitchen toilet. Feeling the urge to urinate, I sat up and then rushed to the toilet with my sleepy eyes and heavy legs. My breathing was still long and heavy after a deep and sound sleep.

It was cold and windy. The rain might have come in the early morning to give me a nice sleep. I remembered the night before was really warm and stuffy. And I had the ceiling fan turned full blast on me before I slept........

Going back to my bed, I lay down. But my eyes refused to sleep. The rain sounded like music to my ears, with its beautiful tune and rhythm.

Maybe time to have a refreshing morning bath. I could still remember the days in the village taking cold river bath before going to work.

Walking into the bathroom and undressed, I turned on the tap and let the cold water running through my body. Wow! It was fantastic. Maybe I should try to take an earlier bath at 3 in the morning, just like old days, I told myself. And I liked those lovely smells coming from the fragrant soap.... Wow!

Coming out of the bathroom, I could still hear the rumbling sounds of thunder in a distant. But the rain was definitely getting heavier.

The lightning and thunder had finally gone. I Switched on my laptop and reconnected the internet; it's time for a little business. Checking up on all my mails, I spent sometimes reading and replying them. Then I had a nice time with Facebook, checking on my friends, updating my status and playing my games. Then I started to ponder about what to write in my blog. And this was the outcome.

It was still raining outside, though not very heavy now. There were more roosters crowed and I could hear more vehicle sound. The morning activities had begun........

It was almost 8 a.m. It is time to have breakfast and a cup of hot coffee. It is time to get ready for church worship. The journey was an hour away, but my family and I were not going to miss it.

Looking outside of the window, it was indeed a fine Sunday morning, and I liked it.

Back To School

It was the first day of school after the Chinese New Year.

Everything was back to normal again. Time to wake up early and prepare for school.

It was a cool and beautiful morning. The traffic was getting heavy again along the various ways to school. By 6.55 a.m., my daughter and I arrived at our school.

It was not easy to start the first day of school. Everyone was adjusting. Many students and teachers came with slow and heavy footsteps. Many were still feeling moodless, just staring at the floor. It seemed that the school bags, laptop bags and backpacks were getting heavy and ready to drop any time.

I put down my stuffs, cleared and cleaned my desk, and gave instruction to teacher on an important document. Then I went straight to my class after the second bell.

The corridors were busy with teachers and students. Everyone was getting ready for their first lesson. A few students greeted me and I was happily smiling as I greeted them back. A show of respect could really brighten the day. I was walking faster, better, and easier. Yeah, I was ready for my first lesson, I said confidently to myself.

I entered my class and found the students waiting and ready. Everyone had their reference book and notebook opened.

They were some with red and tired eyes, and some dark eye bags. Some were coughing. Some were happily smiling. Nevertheless, everyone was paying full attention to the lesson.

I was teaching on the causes and effects of inflation to Malaysian Economy. It was rather easy to start off my lesson as all of us had a common reference book to start with.

I started by revising some of the important concepts on inflation. As we discussed further on the "Cost-Push Inflation" and "Demand-Pull Inflation", the students started to get excited on the two graphs.

Then we dwelt on the negative internal and external socio-economic effects of inflation. Everyone started to talk about the cost of living, the standard of living, the price hikes, the family problems, the social problems........ All the sudden, the room was abuzz with great ideas and suggestions. Carefully I jotted everything down on the blackboard while hinting for more.

Then I explained the importance of inflation in optimizing and scaling up investment, and its effects on national workforce, unemployment rates, national income etc. Now the discussion became lively, passionate and interesting.

It was 8.15, the bell had rung. I summarized my lesson and demanded the students to do their notes. Then I got out of the class happily smiling.

Yeah, not bad for the first day of school.

What A Wonderful Day

For the first day of Chinese New Year 2010, we had quite a number of visitors.

Most of our visitors came with their family and friends.

There were also first time visitors, coming together with their family.

There were times when the sofa set and the marble table set were packed and squeezed with people.

We had to use the dining table set to cater for the needs of other visitors.

Virtually we had taken out all our available chairs down stair.

Sometimes we had more than 30 people in one setting.

No...no....... don't be mistaken. I am not bragging about the number of visitors visiting our home.

What I am saying is that we have been blessed with more visitors every year.

These visitors came every year and continued coming. In the process, we had seen babies became kids, kids became adult, bachelors got married, and the ever increasing family size,....... "Be fruitful and multiply the earth!" LOL - wonderful, wonderful.......

Every conversation was filled with tease and laughter, with many words of reminders and encouragement....

Every conversation was filled with ideas and thoughts of past visitations, with many creative and innovative ideas of how to decorate the home further.

We learn a lot through open houses.......

We had seen different shades of colored walls, beautiful and expensive sofa sets, table sets, screen and sound system, creative decorations and festive Chinese New Year lightings, ........ I was really amazed with the time and effort every family spent in making their house a home for everyone.

Then the friendly small talks, the serious concerns on various regional and global happenings, the wonderful ideas of bringing up babies, kids, and teenagers, the incredible ghost and horror stories and sightings, the many jokes and humors, ...... oh my goodness, the topics were just endless........

Then looking and examining babies and kids behaviors, characteristics and attitudes...... the many funny and innocent moves and activities..... and couples with all grown up children playing around childishly with other couples' babies and kids.... the sound of applauds, cheers, claps and jeers..... and the good wholesome laughter and fun...... Wow! It was just wonderful.......

And so the many moments of heartfelt feelings.....

The many moments of personal touches and helpful thoughts.......

It was just impossible to understand how a single day like this could achieve so much feelings, caring, loving, helping, comforting, consoling, laughter and fun, closeness, and help to clear away all clouds of doubts, worries, tensions................

Oh what a wonderful day!

Depression Hurts

Moving towards the office block, I sudden felt very sick and tired.

And as I worked along the corridor to the office door and realized that it was locked, the sense of depression was more.

I then walked along the corridor with heavier and slower footsteps, looking around and keeping watch of someone who had the key.

It took quite a while before a good Samaritan appeared.

Again, another depressing look.......

Yet another..... and another.........

All of a sudden, all the good feelings to work had long gone.......

*******

Feeling tired and bored is part and parcel of everyday life.

Dealing with the same matters day in and day out is no fun at all.

Some dwell on their depression and feel it even more throughout the day.

Some just get on with their life, push hard and succeed to get rid of it along the way.

*******

But then there will come a day when we are just too lazy to do anything.

Suddenly the loads at work, at home......... become very heavy and difficult.

The sense of uncertainty and anxiety is mounting high.

There are promises to keep, obligations to meet, rules to uphold, details to remember, sequences to follow, processes to monitor, races to win,........

Ouch, it hurts and sucks!

*******

And so we continue with our lives and our lifestyles........

Dragging in the mud and trying to push........

Life is hard and cruel......... and difficult.

*******

But then when we start to envision our goals.......

Wading our feet in the clear and refreshing water........

Slowly and carefully moving forward and overcoming barriers........

Then we will see the clear blue sky, its white fluffy clouds, all the green trees and the beautiful Hallelujah Mountain.......

Then as we dip our feet and wash ourselves in the fountain of Life.......

All depression is gone....

All burden is gone.......

And it doesn't matter anymore........

We Recite And We Learn

Lying close to my late mother, I enjoyed listening to all the tune she sang while sucking my bottled milk, kicking my legs and swinging my hands.

The same songs I heard all over again.

They were so familiar, so very near, that they continued to hide in the bottom of my heart until today.

Once in a while, I would hum and sing spontaneously and unknowingly while doing my work or playing my game.

I was told they were wise sayings and stories, poems, proverbs, songs, quotes, jokes, facts, thoughts..... passing through the centuries in beautiful tunes and with genuine fervor.

I loved them all and remembered them all.

But now I have slowly forgotten the lyrics... only remembered them as tunes and the rhythms of the past.......

*******

I remembered how I had studied in my primary school.......

How we had recited the pages everyday...

We knew the books by heart...

And were able to read through the books without any reference...

We learned our arithmetic tables by heart...

We were detained in school until we could recite all the answers from 2x2 to 12x12 without making a single mistake...

We sang our many songs by heart...

And we could easily sing along the musical symbols: 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3,.....

And we could pick up any tune easily just by hearing once or twice...

We also acted in our plays, so natural and spontaneous were our gestures, our body postures and movements, our eyes contacts, our smiles and laughter, our facial expressions, our tones of voice, our speeches and words.......

I loved them all and remembered them all.

But then I had slowly forgotten them... only remembered them as tunes and the rhythms of the past.......

*******

Yes, we have to recite what we learn...

Yes, we have to remember every single word, phrase, sentence, page, and book...

That was how we read, write, count, sing, act, play.......

And we remembered them all and loved them all...

And we all loved our teachers and elders.......

*******

Children today continue to recite.......

But they know and remember mostly music and songs, catchy tunes and melodies, dances and exercise moves, chants and mantras, famous quotes and sayings, ........

No... no... they don't recite anymore than we do.......

They explain simple truths in many words and difficult terms...

They don't explain difficult theories and concepts in simple words and phrases...

No... no... they don't practice remembering things anymore.......

********

The baby continued to enjoy sucking his bottled milk...kicking his legs and swinging his hands.......

The mother continued to sing... with simple words in simple tunes...

She remembered everything... all her children and grandchildren birthdays and events... all the happenings and goings.......

All the wrinkles on her face and the sparkling of her eyes could tell many wonderful stories and tales... in beautiful tunes and songs.......

The old woman continued to recite... and to remember...

It was all so very important to her.......