Small Things That Make You Smile

Every now and again, I see those small things that would make me smirk, things such as: elderly holding hands, the ability to make a friend to actually laugh out loud (not LOL) because it's pretty cute to see her laugh, heard jokes that aren't funny but are funny for that reason.  Even things like...it started raining just before I fell asleep.  Things like that.

Recently, a friend of mine told me a real story of two toddlers (age 4 and 3), a pair of lovey dovey seen walking down the street, holding hands tightly.  The elder boy led the way, the younger girl just willingly followed whenever he went.  At one point, the boy heard his mother yelled, 

"James, you are looking a bit hot, please take off your jacket".  

James looked at her mother, then looked at the girl next to him, clinging tightly to his hand, James appeared terribly confused.  The next minute, he looked at the girl in the eye and told her something unbelievably genteel.  

"Hayley, I have to take off my jacket now and I am going to have to let go of your hand for a minute".  

Before the girl could even respond to any of that, the boy continued,

"But don't worry, I will hold your hand again afterward".  

Hayley happily let go of his trustworthy hand, James took off his jacket and quickly return to Hayley's! 

Enjoy life's sweet little tidbits.  Share as often as you can too, if your will permits.

Just Like It Used To Be

We can get attached to people, things and places, you know...the tangible stuff. 

One can also get attached to feelings too if you care to admit.  

I do.  I would deliberately take a journey down memory lane and revisit places where I once belong, just to recollect.  I went back to a frequently-visited coffee house near my old office today, in search of something, a feeling rather.

It has been ages since I last stepped feet there - a spot where I used to watch people, hear politics talking, a station for reminiscing and bonding during my lunch hour get-away.  And today, I went back to purposefully look for Francis - the shop manager - whom we have become friends after a friendly bash regarding their appalling services years ago.

Good old Francis still remembers my name despite my sudden disappearance without bidding farewell.  Delighted to see me, I was welcomed from afar as soon as I approached the counter.  Not only did the lovely drink smells of wondrous gold and prepared just how I wanted it, a complimentary cake was thrown in for us mortals as well.

The lunch hour stretched long into the next hour without me noticing.  As if time has stood still.  

Everything is just like it used to be, but only better!  

They Certainly Didn't Teach Us That At School

As I was looking at the maps that spread across my dining table the other day when trying to pin down places I want to go in my next vacation, I thought, "wouldn't it be nice if there was a map of life" that could sort of guide us along our life's journey?

We do have to resign to the fact that things in life do not often go as planned despite our best intentions.  The thing is, our life has a way of teaching us lessons that we would never have learned otherwise.  Yup.  Definitely not learnt in school.   Some of life's lessons, unfortunately we would rather not have and some of what we learned we wish we never had to. 

If life were predictable and always within our grasps, we will never grow.  The solace is, we can choose to learn and grow from whatever life teaches us, no matter what! 

It is okay to look back once and a while and visit "pity city" for a short stay, but we have to leave it all behind and walk on without fearing the unknown before us. 

It's easier said than done no doubt, but hang in there my friend.  And don't forget you have all of us who supports you and your family on your life's uphill, downhill journeys in which we have all benefited so much from being part of the bandwagon.  We learned miracles can happen every now and then as well - as a MERCIFUL thrown-in bonus! 

Add oil - as we all like to say !

Double Standards

You disrespect that woman who has just jumped your queue and hopped on to what ought to be your taxi.

You disapproved your husband when he can't be swift enough to grab one when you were standing outside the shopping mall with an armful of shopping.

You looked down on those kids and questioned how they were brought up when none of them gave up their seats when an elderly boarded the train.

You didn't want your own kid to give up her seat after thinking how heavy her school bag was and what thought to be a long day for her at school. 

If your girlfriend asked you for a back rub and you said no, you are being termed as a real ***hole unless you have a very pressing matter you have to attend to.  You automatically assumed that by this logic, the same rule would apply both ways.  If you are an ***hole for not providing her with a manual release of tension, obviously, she would also be one if she turned you down when you asked for a manual release of tension.


I am of course just saying these hypothetically here to make you laugh (and think hopefully) but as you can easily imagine, the list can go on and on.

We are all human being and human being are flawed - understandably.

We finger-point at people, forgetting when we do so, we actually have 3 fingers pointing to ourselves!

Therefore, next time when throwing stones and boiling tar, make sure lest you get stoned and sticky yourself.

J.Edgar: Best Picture Nominee?

Do you agree that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has pretty much been a staple in our list of TV drama series growing up?   


For me, it started with Twin Peaks in the 90s, followed by X-Files, then more recently, Without A Trace, Criminal Minds, just a few on the top of my head.  If you have been glued and been vastly interested with any of these just like me, not only proved that you are my age, you have one person to thank.  

He is J.Edgar - you can call him the first ever FBI Agent who founded the whole institution in the 1930s. 

Played by Leonardo DiCaprio, the movie gave us a look at the man right up to old age.  After watching it, you will then understand the popularity of detective stories all began from him, who took an active interest in ensuring his bureau was not only well-represented in the media, but that the FBI was depicted in a heroic manner in all instances.

So, is the movie worth a look?  Certainly.

Being a bit of a geek in secret agents and with DiCaprio starring, Judy Dench in it, make this movie a must-watch for me.  A good take-away, is to try your best to ignore the very awful makeup during the 2 hours+ screen-play.  Their makeup artists have somehow managed to totally mess up the looks of the elderly version of not one but everyone.  In return, you might be surprised to get a rather touching love story mixed in, which sort of, balanced it out!

Met With AIDS Affected Orphans

I first came across Chi Heng Foundation (CHF) 2 years ago and have been extremely touched by their charitable aim in trying to help children in the rural part of mainland China who have at least one parent who is living with or has died of HIV/AIDS.

Before that, I always thought helping other people or any charitable institution for that matter would cost me a lot - financially, but very soon, I came to realise lending a hand to those who are in need doesn't have to be expensive at all. 

Today, I have been given a golden chance to meet with a few of the orphans - in which I regard as a great new year present to myself.

Back in the 90s, a blood donation tragedy occurred in China resulting in almost a million people in Henan province alone, being infected with AIDS. Now there are hundreds of thousands of AIDS orphans and Judy is one of them, whom I have spent most of the time today chatting with. 

He grew up in a small village in Henan province and his parents got infected with AIDS and Judy lost them since very young age.  Life after that for him, long story short, has been nothing but miserable.

Talking to him reflected how fortunate my life has been, but the most delightful thing was to be able to hear him speak of his own story of transformation.  How a boy who struggled to hold his head up has now become a university graduate (thanks to CHF's sponsorship).  He is all ready to earn a buck or two as an engineer, but he would rather deploy wisdom in action and help the underprivileged.

I have full respect for this youngster who is full of positivity and energy.  It is things like this which reminded us just how strong we really can be.  We were given this life because we are strong enough to live it.  

As Kelly Clarkson's new song says,


"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,
stand a little taller,
doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone."


So...do what you can, when you can!