Thoughts...

Who believes in the power of thoughts? Many people advocate that what you think is the most important thing there ever was. I came across this principle again in the book "The Science of Growing Rich" by D. Wallace Wattles. It goes;

"There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which in its original state, permeates, penetrates and fills the interspaces of the universe.

A thought, in this substance, produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.

Man can form things in his thought, and by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created"

Lately I have been permeated by many negative thoughts and I've been pretty depressed lately - also for the past few months also I've also seen the results of these negative thoughts. It's power is pretty destructive and my mistake was that I underestimated it's lethality.

If that is the case, then I am armed and ready to destroy these crocodiles of the mind. Shouldn't we all?

I leave you with my favourite cliche on thought which goes like this:

"Watch Your Thoughts; They Become Your Words

Watch Your Words; They Become Your Actions

Watch Your Actions; They Become Your Habits

Watch Your Habits; They Become Your Character

Watch Your Character; It Becomes Your Destiny"

Fraser's Hill Trip

Though Fraser's seemed pretty boring but here I take the liberty of writing down the 'minutes' of the last 2 days meeting.

OK, so there's nothing much to do at Fraser's but we seemed to entertain ourselves pretty well ...see below

Saturday

Mid-afternoon : Picnic @ Allan's Water

-armed with our picnic basket of eggs, taboule, sandwhich bread, tomato, cucumber, cheese spread, grapes, pepsi twist and apple juice, we sat by Allan's water under a nice 'pondok' and discussed about history, culture, politics. In between, we were entertained by a 'national' boatrace by the locals which only costs RM6.00 per 15 minute for the participants - free for us though - how entertaining - I was vouching for the most outstanding participant which I name "Tudung In The Wind".

Evening : Season 3 of '24' @ Silverpark Apartments

- then we finished 3 episodes (or was it 4) of '24' in our home-made cinema at block B7-6-1. Pretty good achievement huh?

Late evening: Dinner @ Ye Olde Smokehouse

- yes, wonderful English "hospitality" shown by the staff of the olde smokehouse. I like the ambience of the place -our sour-pussed host fits the description for being the most 'english' thing in the Smokehouse- snobby, bland, blockheaded maitre-d.

I liked the Crepe Suzette and Kidney Steak pie though.

Later evening: Stargazing@ Brinchang Bungalow

- the moon was new and the sky was clear. What a better night than to watch the stars at Fraser's Hill. Brings back memories of my days in Frasers holiday with my cousins when I was in my teens. I managed to witness 2 shooting stars! Philippe saw 1 and then the stargazing ended when the owner of the bungalow came back and wondered why there is a Kenari parked outside. He must have thought he was seeing some stars too

Side events for Saturday - the lock in our door which only wants to be opened by the Silverpark Mat Motor.

Sunday

Morning : Elite Modelling Phone Call

- This was the highlight of my morning here in Frasers. I got a phone call by a Sex-Party Recruiter purportedly representing a firm "Elite Modelling and Event Management" based in Singapore who claimed to be doing a 5-10 minute survey looking for models for a high class party aka orgy. I don't know if I'm interested but I can recommend a few girls though....Philippe wonders why they never call him.

Late Morning: Final Episode of '24' over breakfast@ Silverpark

- this is the best! What's the best breakfast but to eat it over an episode of '24'. Agent Jack Bauer chopping his partner -Chase's hand while we eat Tuna Sandwhich and yesterday's taboule? Ooh la la.

Afternoon :Trek on Rompin Trail

- Romping on the Rompin - a 200meter trail which ended in some ugly squatter apartment. The walks to and from the trail along the Fraser's road was nice though - I managed to get a few specimens for my pressed-flower collection. We even saw a black and white monkey peeing in a tree.

Evening: Devonshire Tea and Cream

- yes, once again we subjected ourselves to the "english" way of entertaining your guests - which includes not giving them enough tea and explaining to your guests that the reason why you cannot have more is because 'The pot is Big Enough For Two'. The weather was typically English though - gray and wet. Though I must say the scones were excellent with strawberry preserves, butter and cream.

Late Evening: Jerai Waterfalls

- Walking to the waterfalls playing word games is quite pleasant - pretty butterflies fluttering here and there amidst the gushing of the Jerai river, the occasional Japanese birdwatchers with their super-large telescopic cameras.....

-Philippe was attacked in the right eye by a bug at the Jerai Waterfalls. Fortunately his eye killed it via suffocation. Complication was, the dead bug refused to be removed and insisted on staying in the eye rather than be eaten by the numerous and various birds of Fraser's hill.

-The Frasers Hill country club is approximately 5 km off the roads of Fraser's aka 'in-the-middle-of nowhere' -it closes at 4.30pm which explains why everyone is dying to get in. The guy at the pro-shop is quite friendly too. He let us know that price for green fees are RM73.50" on weekdays and "RM94.50" on weekends and best of all, allows us to use the toilets which we badly needed to (me to pee and for Philippe to extract the dead bug from his eye)

Evening: Journey Home

- Here's a tip - don't use the normal roads going home unless you like to sit in the car in the traffic jam. If you're heading back to KL, use the NorthSouth Highway from Tanjung Malim -saves you 30 minutes travelling time at least.

The Bibliosopher

Bibliophobe I'm not!

Recently Chiam's email made me realize that I've read more books than I ever had since I could remember. Thanks to my innate goal to read 2 books a month, it's surprising what your mind motivates you to do whether consciously or sub-consciously. I've also to thank the people that motivated me to want to read in the first place, mainly my uncle Vincent (since I was small, he never fails to buy me books ), then Terence who got me more, Florence (my sister whom I sometimes borrow her books without asking), my initial book club members - Pooi Ling, Ju Lin, the fictionandfriends book club people(though I've been guilty of not attending the past 2 meetings) - Chiam and Monisha for the discourse.

So here's my book list for the year 2005

Books Read So Far (Up till June 2005)
1. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
2. Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman
3. Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman
4. Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pullman
5. The Two Sisters - Tagore
6. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
7. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azhar Nafisi
8. He's Just Not That Into You -Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo
9. The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
10. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

Now reading:
The Piano Teacher - Elfriede Jelinek
Harmony Silk Factory - Tash Aw

According to the National Literacy Survey conducted in 1996, the average Malaysian reads only 2 books a year -this was an improvement compared to 1982's survey which reported a mere 2 pages a year on average -shocking!

No wonder books sales are bad -I was in the Rent-A-Book shop in Central Market last week. I offered to sell some of my books to the shop-owner since I had my bulk of 'already-read-books'. He said "Sorry ma'am, even the books I have now are slow-moving and I have too many already. Business is not so good" Now you know why there are discounts all the time at bookstores and why there are bookstores like Pay Less Books etc.

I wonder why people don't read. Someone said to me "I don't like to read because I don't do anything" - 'Don't DO anything?' - He continues " I'll only read when there is really nothing else to do"

So I ask myself why do I read?

I read because I like to read - because I like to curl up on a couch under the ceiling fan with my book and munch on chips while following a story in my head.
I read to support the book business - because I like the arrangement of the books in MPH and Kinokuniya and how nice and new the books look on the shelf and later on in my bag.
I read because I gain words - because I like to listen to the author's voice and their play with language
I read because I gain knowledge - I hear opinions and learn new things about people, life, myself.

Hence, I read because I like to read!

Lessons from Mount Kinabalu

Upon popular request, I shall now blog down my Mount Kinabalu experience.

Mount Kinabalu- conquered at 0455h, Saturday, May 14, 2005 by me, the first 2 climbers to reach the top for the day.

Whoever said Mount Kinabalu is an easy climb was bluffing. And its even harder if you haven't done your homework about the equipment you need to bring. I remembered laughing when Kaynis said I needed a tracking pole for Kinabalu - now I know why. Thanks Kaynis, I'll take ur advice more seriously in the future. Walking uphill in the rain, jungle, mud for five hours to Laban Rata is no joke. Vincent and Ahpua had cramps even halfway up the mountain. As for me, I was just glad that I wasn't carrying my backpack too as it was almost 90% all uphill climb all the way.

Lesson 1: Prepare !
Lesson 2: If the going gets tough, just focus on your breath and keep walking- don't stop.You will be surprised that you can go further than you thought you could.

I remember on the way up there was a young lady travelling alone with her porter. I wondered how did she feel travelling up alone without any friends. What drives her to climb Mount Kinabalu?



I reached Laban Rata at 5.45pm before the rest -dishevelled, wet, out of breath and glad to finally, finally be at the rest house. The climb seemed never ending - and there was more to come after this! The rest house was already full of climbers having their food at the restaurant, lounging, talking, laughing. Though I knew no one, I could sense a caramaderie among 'us', the people at the rest house - "Yes, we too have climbed the five hours up the hill to reach here. We know how you feel now do come in and rest". Within the hour, all my other 5 comrades reached the rest house. We were really hungry for dinner by then....By then it was already pouring with rain again outside.

Farewell Pope John Paul

Pope John Paul the 2nd returned to the house of the Father on April 2nd 2005 - he was 84.

I remember a time when I was about 8 or 9 years old - a little Convent school girl in blue pinafore attending Cathechism on a Friday afternoon. I always looked forward to Cathechism, not because I was actually interested in the content of the class but because just after school ended (it ends at about 12.05 noon) and just before Cathechism (it starts about 1pm) -there is always a window period to play with my Cathechism mates who also so happened to be friends which i enjoyed playing with. Also I enjoyed class because I always knew most of the answers to the bible questions that Sister so-and-so asked and this of course made me feel very goodla.

One particular Cathechism class I remember was on a hot Friday afternoon in the room behind the Primary CBN Chapel. In the room there were a few chairs, some cupboards and a faded photograph of a man in a white dress and skull cap in the act of blessing a person. Sister Theresa (I still remember her) was our Cathechism teacher for that year and there were a few of us (4 or 5 little Convent girls in blue pinafores)

Sister Theresa began the lesson by posing this question: "Do you know who this person in the white dress is?", she said gesturing to the man in the white dress and skull cap.
-Silence -
"This is The Pope," she said. "Pope John Paul"
- At this point I am a little confused, this little 9 year old girl thinks "I know the Pope, and he doesn't look like the man in the picture and his name is Pope John Paul the SECOND" But of course, me, I never say anything or speak up in class so I let her continue.
" This is Pope John Paul the FIRST. There is now a new Pope who is also called Pope John Paul -that's why he is called "The SECOND"".
All of us little girls come forward to scrutinize the picture of the man in the white dress. Satisfied with Sister's explanation, I too, look at the man in the photograph. At that point I decide, 'Hmmmm...I don't know this guy. He looks like a slimmer and handsomer pope- but I still prefer the Pope John Paul I know"

That's my earliest and fondest memory of Pope John Paul II.

Farewell father, you were the one and only Pope John Paul for all of us!

Book Clubs and Such

Yesterday I attended a very interesting book club who call themselves "Fiction and Friends". Previously I think I posted some updates on my starting a book club and this is the follow up on that story.

The meeting was in Bangsar on a very quiet hill. Not knowing what to expect, I went up to the apartment where the gathering was the be held. The door was ajar already, expecting the coming of guests....and that set the mood of the meeting. I felt of course a little out of place and awkward as it's not everyday I step into a strange person's home, among strangers, to discuss about of all things, books. I was even more abash when everyone started off at the dinner table - not only am I invading someone's house, I was going to eat their food too!

But everyone was just lovely. Not overbearing, polite and friendly - they were genuinely interested and concerned about helping me in my own book club. 8-10 ladies, one gentleman and all sincerely enthusiastic about books. Again I felt a bit embarrassed that my knowledge on fiction and well-known authors was so poor. Nevertheless, they were all very positive and encouraging - there was never any pressure and that's how I think our book club will be.

Sharon, Muntaj, Jessica, Sandra, Monisha, Krishna, the pretty lady with short hair, the quiet lady next to her, the young Chinese girl who reads a lot, Sarab, Shashi - thank you for the wonderful evening and for sharing your love for books!

Sports Mania

Besides the normal gym routine, I've been dabbling into several different sports for the past few weeks. Like golf -I met up with my trusty friend Lau and good ole Canadian Jamison (who inherited what he calls 'crappy'clubs from his wife's customer) at the KLGCC driving range. My parents are golf maniacs who tried to 'convert' me since 1995. However then, I couldn't really hit the ball and golf never took on somehow. Last Sunday's driving session however changed my perception - I can drive the ball up to min 50 metres - and I'm hooked!

Then there's bowling - I went bowling a few times with different bunch of friends. This is not really my forte though -my average pin per bowl is like 5? So my average score for one game is around 50....definitely some room for improvement.

This Saturday, I'll be joining some friends for another round at the driving range and then to a squash game straight after. This will be my first time playing squash. My previous experience with 'racquet' sports eg tennis, badminton have not been very favourable - somehow I'm not so good with whacking things with a bat so we shall see this weekend.

Till then!

The 3 Past Weeks in January 2005

Happy New Year!

Oh well, its the 18th of the month so its not really the new year -better late than never. Highlights from the past few weeks(Chronologically):

Week 1
New Year's Eve Celebration
With Sarah,Kajai Gang, Angie and Pooi Ling
Sarah was my partner in crime from Point A in the Rennaissance dinner with the Kajai Gang, moving on to Point B in Pacific Regency with Pooi Ling and the MC gang up to Point C with Angie and Swedish friends in Thai Bar. What a nite! Thanks Sarah for company -you're the best!


Week 2
Kung Fu hustle Experience
With the Slovaks who had a shock (esp Zuzka)
I love this movie that I watched it twice- hilariously funny! Can't call me a banana if I like this film!

Ocean's Twelve
With Terence and Sarah

Zuzka and Laco's Housewarming
With a whole lot of other people

Week 3
MPO New Year in Vienna Concert
With PLing, Zuzka, Laco and Philippe
I love Strauss!

Run Up Bukit Nanas hill with KK Roadies
With Hui Yee, Yoke Li,Vincent, Ah Pua, Pooi Ling
It was a very nice Sunday morning on Pineapple Hill - green trees, clear morning skies and black mosquitoes. The highlight of the morning was of course the breakfast after at yut kee's - kaya toast, kopi o, chicken chop, mee rojak and half boiled eggs

Hmmm....not bad for the first few weeks of 2005! Looking fwd the the rest of the 49 weeks of the year!

"Plan Your Day, especially the use of free time. Unplanned time often becomes wasted time. Make variety part of the planning" - Rev. Joseph Gallagher