Carpe diem

Seize the day
This has been the motto of choice for me, (except when i have my pms)
It has been raining for the last 26 days. Rain in the morning, in the afternoon evening and night. Coming from Asia,I have never seen this much rain. More than 350mm of rain has fallen since the 2nd week of december. How to seize the day when you see nothing but rain, the ground is all slushy..and the sun.. he is on vacation.
During the Malaysian haze, life without the sun for 2 days was enought to depress the average joe.
Still I am not depressed. There is something beautiful and magical about this place. There is serenity and peace.
Squirrels come out each morning to eat the peanuts i leave for them. Each morning I see the unusual friendship of a lone seagull and a group of crows. The seagull seems to be part of the crow gang,it eats with them fly with them, sits with them. Amazing.
What is truly amazing is that even after raining continuously for 26 days and being close to the sea along with thousands of rivers and creeks, there is no flood on the road. In simple terms, it means that someone here has ensured that the roads and the drainages are in good working order. A good way to use the tax income.
Malaysia is supposed to be fully developed in 2020. It won’t happen. I can bet on that. Every time it rains for more than 6 hours, the capital is flooded and the minister for the road works have a magic word” act of god” to blame.There were atleast 4 times in 1 year, i had to abandon my car and take the LRT to go home after work. There was atleast 3 times, the underground car park where I used to park my car, got flooded.Nothing would change. Because Malaysians are pathetic. They take all the crap thrown on to them by the people in power. Food water and transportation and a roof over head is called basic needs of civilization.. but in Malaysia, we are more bothered about giving the islamic last rights to a supposedly islam convert. That is more important. Not to ensure that all her citizens have 3 meals a day. our children have good education and a proper building for schools(recently a teacher died, because he fell through the termite eaten floor), good roads, safe drinking water and religious freedom…. Glad i left

mother’s guilt

As a mother, I hv often wondered am I doing the right thing? Hv i done anything wrong, when it comes to raising the kids?
Sometimes we do rather not do something and then wonder why didn’t i ever think about tht.
Kids joined the school late…ie in october. My son’s teacher told me tht he needs a gym shoes and I bought a pair of shoes for him. My older daughter didn’t say anything and i didn’t ask either.( where did i leave my brain?)
few days ago my daughter told me her legs are wet when she is at the gym and I asked her why? She said after the walk to school in the rain, her feet is always wet and since she doesn’t hv a gym shoes, she wears the same shoes to gym. Only then she told me, she is the only child in the class without a gym shoes. I know why she never told me she wanted a new shoes. She knew I am broke and didn’t want to trouble me. She is only 7 yrs old. We bought a new shoes for her gym couple of days ago. I am upset with myself for not thinking and happy knowing tht I am blessed with a wonderful daughter.

Playing with mud

I hardly had any toys as a child. But still had tons of fun. One was playing with mud. We had our own little shed made of coconut leaves and we would make mud cakes and have the best tea party.
Making mud cakes was the best part of the tea ceremony. It involves stealing a bucket without my grandma seeing it. Walking to the creek behind home and drawing water. Mixing water with the soil to get the mud. the mixing part was all trial and error. After we get the right consistency of mud, we would pack them in to coconut shells. then tilt the shells and voila perfect mud cake,,,
Sometimes we would collect smooth rocks from the creek and decorate our cake. We also had mud chocolate milk shake, to be drunk from coconut shells.
Each evening at the end of the tea party, mom would have a good exercise for her lungs, screaming and yelling and whacking us with the broom stick. Neighbours must hv had first class entertainment, watching mom chasing us across the fields with the broom stick and us looking like ET.. Still the pain of all the beatings will be forgotten the next day.
Yesterday my son asked me if he could play with mud outside ou house and i let him. 5 mints later he came in to the house and told me, mama my hands feel funny. We washed his hands and I found tht he had developed severe allergy.
My son is allergic to mud… I think i am raising a genetically altered homo sapien or the earth has been so polluted tht even the mud is not safe.

Boycott Capilano bridge

Capilano bridge is a suspension bridge over the capilano river. 137 meter across and 70 meters above the river. If you want to walk on that bridge, guess what it doesn’t cost you 3 or 4 dollars. During off peak season..it is CAD 21.95 and during season it is 25.95.
Does it make sense, ripping the tourist off in the name of tourism?
On average the bridge has 800,000 visitors.. Do the maths. 800.ooo x 21.95= whooping CAD 17560000/year.
All the business in the world runs on profit. Which is understandable. But charging 21.95 dollars per person is nothing but atrocious, when the lynn valley bridge is free.
Even Vancouver aquarium,one of the largest in north America with over 60,400 Animals and over 166 aquatic displays charges only 17.50CAD.
Imagine the cost of maintaining the bridge and feeding aqautic animals.
Capilano bridge is beautiful and there is no doubt about it.However charging atrocious rates in the name of tourism is not the way.
Unless the owner reconsider reducing the rates, please boycott visiting the bridge.
Those interested in reading more abt the bridge, here is wht i found in wikepedia

In 1888, George Grant Mackay, a Scottish civil engineer and land developer, arrived in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. As City Park Commissioner he was one of the people to set aside Stanley Park as a recreational area. He also bought and sold farm land in the Okanagan, founding the city of Vernon. Mackay purchased 6,000 acres (24 kmĀ²) of dense forest on either side of Capilano River and built a cabin on the very edge of the canyon wall. Assisted by two local natives and a team of horses, Mackay suspended a hemp rope and cedar plank bridge across the river. Natives called it the “laughing bridge” because of the noise it made when wind blew through the canyon. The bridge and Mackay’s cabin became a popular destination. After his death, the hemp rope bridge was replaced by a wire cable bridge in 1903.

In 1910 Edward Mahon purchased the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Mahon built the Tea House in 1911, using cedar timbers stacked one on top of the other. Unsure of the bridge’s strength, Mahon reinforced it with additional cables in 1914.

“Mac” MacEachran purchased the Bridge from Mahon in 1935 and invited local natives to place their totem poles in the park, adding a native theme. In 1945, he sold the bridge to Henri Aubeneau.

In 1953 Rae Mitchell purchased the bridge property from Henri Aubeneau. A dynamic businessman, Mitchell aggressively promoted his attraction world-wide. Unsure of the 1914 cable strength, he completely rebuilt the bridge in 5 days in 1956, encasing the cables in 13 tons of concrete at either end. He developed the trails on the west side of the bridge and converted the Tea House into the Trading Post Gift Store. When Mitchell retired, business declined and Capilano Suspension Bridge and Park faced an uncertain future.

Since Nancy Stibbard, the current owner, purchased the park in 1983, annual attendance of the bridge has more than quadrupled. Her goal, to elevate the park from a mere stop-off to a destination attraction, was realized in less than ten years.

In May 2004, Treetops Adventures was opened. This new attraction consists of seven footbriges suspended between old-growth Douglas Fir trees on the west side of the canyon, forming a walkway up to 100 feet above the forest floor.

[edit]
Other Park Features
As well as the bridge itself and Treetops Adventure, the park also features award-winning gardens, nature trails, North America’s largest private collection of First Nations story poles, a gift shop, a cafe and a burger grill, a multimedia display about the park’s history, and an educational exhibit about the temperate Rainforest. Also, Nature Guides give ecotours of the rainforest. The park’s decor and costumes reflect an 1890s theme, and during the high season, park employees entertain guests with musical performances and skits. Guests can also witness a First Nations performance, featuring costumes, masks, dancing and storytelling.

Ha Ha Ha campaign

How often u hv received emails from mrs kabila,mrs arafat, jr kelly, international lotto.. abt the money in swiss account or the one in which u won substantial amount of money in an online lottery?
I hv always deleted the messages, but it looks like there is no end to my good luck. So here is wht I propose
Hit the reply button and type hahahaha in the message. Imagine the yoyo receiving 1000’s of mails and hv to open each and every one of them and read hahahaha.. He will open your email reply, cause he needs to know who fell for his/her scam.
To those who are worried tht, they will know tht ur email s valid when u reply, well they know it is a valid email, tht is why they are sending you the spam.
So please.. reply the scammers.. make them sweat a bit

Canadians and Malaysians

Half of the stuff in my home is given to me by total strangers. They understand the struggles of newly landed immigrants.
I hv received a 27 inches colour TV, tv stand,coffee table, 2 desks for the kids,waffle maker,toaster, dining table and chairs.plates, mugs and cutleries. This morning a BMX bicycle for the kids, not to mention tons of toys.
Before i left Malaysia, I wanted to give away toys and clothes and other things. I placed an ad and Guess wht,for toys.. those who came drove merc or volvo.. They could very well afford it, but still wanted the free stuff. Couldn’t care much for those who really need. it ws i me and myself.One lady even offered 10 dollars for some of the lego blocks, for me to deliver to her place in Bangsar.
Kids hd lots of clothes, all branded like osh gosh and elle( i didn’t buy, ws given to them by my sisters, who knows how stingy I am!!!)All of them in good condition. I asked the cleaners of the place where i lived, if they wanted the clothes.. they said yes. I washed all the clothes and packed it according to the size and the next morning I saw the whole contents in the thrash bin..Tht is the difference..

How we judge

Question 1: If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Read the next question before looking at the answer for this one.

Question 2: It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates.

Candidate A – Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He’s had two Mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B – He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C – He is a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on his wife.

Which of these candidates would be your choice?

Decide first, no peeking, then scroll down for the answer.

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Candidate B is Winston Churchill.

Candidate C is Adolf Hitler.

And, by the way, the answer to the abortion question: If you said yes, you just killed Beethoven.

Pretty interesting isn’t it? Makes a person think before judging someone.

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember: Amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.

phew.. I survived the holiday season

Christmas ws great. Santa came 10 mints after the kids went to bed. He gave the older one brat doll and a chess set, boy got a train set(7th one!!!) again and magnetix. Baby got a brat doll and dora the explorer. Mama got a weighing scale..to see how fat she is getting…

I also realized i am really growing old, ws in denial all the while. years ago, new years eve I used to worry more abt how to be “not drunk” and attend all the parties. Now i am beginning to act like my own mother. when i asked her wht is her plans for the new year, abt 15 yrs ago. She tilted her head to one side and sighed”oh wht is a new year..it is just another day!!!!’ This new year when my kids asked me I said the same dialogue without even realizing. Then it dawned to me, damn I am morphing in to wht i thought ws the worst of my mother and my kids would be thinking the same way abt me. But then again, I am really too old to party and I really don’t see any point in spending a huge amount of money just for dinner and a glass of cheap wine. So i hd a nice bottle of okanagan wine at home..
No resolutions either.. I am happy with all my imperfections.. so why change?