Ray of Light

Is Feng Shui really that powerful? Misfortunes have not stopped knocking on my door since after CNY 2008 juz cos my current bedroom's inflicted by Five-Yellow (五黄). How bad can it get?

Wrist injury in March (till now still not fully recovered), cancelled Spain trip in April due to the injury, head injury in August, Dad's deteriorating condition, almost kanna bashed when on LV in SIN in Oct, economic crisis which discounted my unit trusts value by more than 50%, 2nd planned Spain trip in Oct cancelled, Jeff' dad's passing, his mum's deteriorating health condition, many other hiccups, etc...

Never-ending ah ... 1 mth and 20 days to go till 2009's CNY ... Can I tahan till then? ...

I will continue to fight on ... The power of the Mystic Law has given me strength to brave all obstacles ... I have had soft moments when water therapy was better than retail therapy ... At least it only hurt the eyes and not the pockets ... After letting all emotions out, I regained hope that a ray of light will shine when I open my eyes ... No matter what the outcome may be, it tells me where my next mission is ...

Mum, thank you for your encouragement and prayers ... I am very sorry that things had not turned out well recently ... I am very sorry that I may not be able to let you live a comfortable life for a while ... Sis and Bro, my apologies that I have caused so much inconvenience to you recently ... Thank you very much for your support during my darkest moments ...

To my battlefront kakis, we wouldn't have come this far without your cheers and support ... Our most sincere gratitude to your patience, understanding and most importantly, your guiding light when we were lost ...

Can't wait for the new year to come and leave all unhappiness behind ...

Is It Still Justifiable To Stay?

Once a land full of opportunities, now many can't wait to get out. Why?

24-hr Salik ... 1-year rent paid upfront ... Rentals increase by 7% per year ... ID cards Dhs100 per year of visa validity ... Bureacratic regulations for everything from registering businesses to registering for childbirth in hospital ... Still unable to find a place without a hotel as landmark after 5 years here ... Getting charged for doing pushups in a park after jogging ...

While the weakened dollar is trying very hard to recover, cost of living here is getting higher ... I have been working here for 5.5 years and getting salary increment each year ... But the amount of money I bring home is still the same as my first pay check, even though my overall salary has increased by almost Dhs2k but due to the weakened dollar ... See how much I have lost? ... The exchange rate was S$1=Dhs2.12 in April 2004 vs S$1 = Dhs2.7 in Oct 2008 ... It is as good as not getting any pay rise for 5.5 years ...

When I first saw this place, I was amazed by how cosmopolitan it was ... Highrise buildings, good road conditions, multiculture communities, clean and modern airport, etc ...

Frankly, I did not do much homework before packing my bags and leaving for the airport bound for this part of the globe ... All I know was, I need this job and will brave whatever this place has in place for me ... Well, back then, I was glad I have made the right choice ...

I used to encourage anyone who inquire about working here to get out of their comfort zone and come explore the world ... Now, I hesitate to answer any inquiries ... My reply is always "this place is like Beverly Hills of Mid-E" ...

If your employer do not provide you with accommodation, transport allowance, medical insurance, etc ... Think twice about leaving your nest ... 1) It's hard to find a place within your budget in the area your want ... 2) It's better to drive than trying to flag for cabs esp. in places like Deira and Bur Dubai ... Chances are good provided you can spare 1 hour putting your arm out whenever an empty cab approaches ... 3) Wonder where the certs from the docs here come from? ... MBK printers? ... It always take me 1 mth to recover from a simple cough where back home, I'll get better in just 1 week ...

Of cos with the current economic turmoil, if you still have a job, hold on to it ... Companies are making all kinda excuses to downsize before they can justofy the act ... One friend has already been a victim after being loyal to her company for 4 years, declining headhunters and competitors' offers previously ...

Wishing all out there all the best and hold on to your belts tightly ... We never know when our heads at the edge of the axe ... But I always believe: When something's taken from you, something better is waiting for you out there ... Go reach for it and never turn back ...

Working for Who?

A friend told me she could not understand why I worked so hard for a company that do not appreciate my efforts ... My reply was I do not see myself as working solely for the company but also for my customers and myself ... The smiles on my customers gives me great satisfaction ... It means they have appreciated what little service I can do for them in a short period of time ... That I am able to make their journey a pleasant one ... A recognition to my performance too ...

Which one is better: dragging yourself to work or looking forward to going to work? ... The former is purely working for the sake of keeping the job but lack of fulfilment ... Eventually, you will come to resent what you do everyday ... The latter raises your life condition and gives you strong life force even before you start your working day ... No matter what amount of work given to you, you'll take it on with stride ... Just like how I handle a grumpy passenger with the biggest smile I can offer till he could not find anymore fault with me ...

Would you like to work for the sake of going to work cos it helps to settle your bills? ... Or would you like to make the best outta your work, looking forward to a fulfilling day no matter how tough it may be and also seeing your bank account grow? ...

Thank You My Dear Friends

During my most helpless moments while in a foreign land, I was blessed with the company of many friends around me ... Without these shoten zenjin (life's protective forces), I could not see myself still able to encourage others despite my current situation ... Even people I have yet to know have sent prayers for me ...

Your prayers have brought me out of darkness and gave me strength to face all obstacles ... Your presence have told me that I am not fighting the battle alone ...

My deepest gratitude and heartfelt thanks to all of you out there ...

True Friends

Everyone is surrounded by many friends ... But how close is your relationship with them? ... Are they your true friends or just acquaintances? ...

True friends are the ones who know they can rely on you just like you know you can always give them a call, not only for a cuppa coffee ... They never hesitate to lend you a helping hand but their never want any repayment from you ... All they wish is to see that you are safe and sound and happy ...

Your secrets are always safe with them ... They never forget your birthday ... Cook for you when you are sick ... Check on you if you have the right medication for your illness ...

Even if they do not call you everyday, they never fail to wonder how you are doing each day ... They respect your need for privacy and know that you will connect with them again once you are outta your cave ...

They are your sunshine during your rainy days ... They bring rain clouds to douse your flame of anger ...

Daily Quote: 25 Nov 2008

Failure is an instrumental part of every success. Whether our life has been a triumph or tragedy can only be judged at its very end.


Copyright @ Soka Gakkai International. All Rights Reserved.

Lesson Learnt from Edison Chen's Scandal

Mama once told me:"No matter what you do in your younger days, be sure you do it with a clear conscience. 'Cos you may not know one day you may become a very famous person and the last thing that should happen to you is becoming a victim of the paparazzi." Very well-said, Mum. I have always kept these golden words in mind, no matter how much conflict there is between Mum and me.

Edison Chen's scandal has taught all of us a valuable lesson. They are faces of the public. Being in the entertainment industry, their private lives are always followed closely by the paparazzi. Whatever they say or do, they may be subjected to heavy criticism if it appeared to be on the negative side. The last thing they need is for their own scandals to be shared with the public.

This scandal had badly damaged many gals' reputation and some others' marriages. Though it may be fun to experience a wild time during younger days but no matter what, we should all still be responsible for our actions and others who may be directly involved with us.

Always bear in mind to watch out for your own actions before agreeing to doing something extraordinary. If leaked, it may be your biggest regret for the rest of your life. Also, think about the reactions of your children when they found out the truth as they get older. How are you gonna explain to them what had happened?

Salute to Mummy ...

Everytime I listened to mum's grumbles (sometimes with tears), I felt even more helpless towards my family's situation ... Dad's diagnosis with Alzheimer's Disease has changed certain things in life ...

Since then, Mum's cooking has changed to accommodate dad's health condition ... Bland dishes, less salt & sugar, herbal soups, fresh juices, raw veg, etc ... There's at least 10 different pills & vitamins on the dining table ... She's always listening to the radio, trying to remember the new recipes for certain health conditions ... Even when she has to go for religious activities or marketing, she'll never forget to give dad a call to make sure he takes his medication on time ...

Many a times, he walked into the house with his pants wet as he couldn't control his bladder ... Poor mum thus has extra stuff to clean up in the midst of her daily chores ... Dad's like the Ratatouille mouse in the house ... His sense of taste is still very good ... However, he would empty the fridge or cabinet if his favourite food is within sight in record time ... Mum and I even joked about getting a fridge lock from Ikea to prevent him from accessing to his favourite fruit which would aggravate his habitual cough, orange ... Hee hee ...

Dad's favourite past-time is peeling any dry skin off his newly healed scratches/scars ... As he has diabetes, mum has always try to warn him of the risks of getting infection from an open would ... Instead of being grateful, mum got scolded for telling him off ...

Whenever mum tries to ask him not to do certain things or correct his actions, she'll get a dressing down from dad ... That sudden burst of anger, I believe, was accummulated from years of nagging ... I remember hearing Dad saying this "我为甚么一定要听她的, 我以前甚么都顺她, 现在不要了" ... Sometimes I really wonder if dad's really suffering from Alzheimer's Disease or he is just pretending to lose his ability to remember things so that he can stop answering to anyone's requests and just laze around ...

Don't know why but since Dad's diagnosis, Mum has seemed to treat me like her new best friend (of course the nagging still stays) ... In my presence, she'll 一哭, 二闹, 三上吊 ... But my sis said that Mum never behaved that way towards her ... Whenever I'm back on leave, I'd wanna go back to DXB on the 2nd night ... It's not the about the hardship of taking care of dad (it's no hard work at all, just watch where he goes and what he eats can already) ... It's about Mum's irrational behaviour ... It's very draining emotionally ...

Understanding what Mum's going through at home, I try to lend her a listening ear whenever I'm back, relieve her from looking after dad so that she can go relax herself while I stay with dad ... It's not an easy job to care for someone with such condition ... It's very draining emotionally ... That's even worse than plain physical efforts ...

It doesn't feel good being scolded for having one's good interests at heart ... But as I have always tried to explain to Mum that Dad's outbursts towards her were accummulation of years of unhappiness and nagging ... The more she tries to get him to do anything, the more resistance she'll face ... Instead of getting angry at that very instant of outburst, try pretending not to hear anything (like what dad's most "kiang" in doing these days) or walk away to cool off a little ... The worst thing that she loves to do is to complain to me about Dad in his presence!!! ... He may be senile but he definitely remembers every single word she said to me ... Then, since his pride and ego has been hurt big time, it'll be harder to get him to respond to future requests ...

Have tried so many times to explain to Mum that sometimes her words and behaviour will affect Dad's reaction towards her ... But it just can't get though to her ... It's never to easy to change overnight or understand something so "chim" ... Like the chinese saying "学坏只须三天, 学好须要三年" ... Letting negative feelings out is much easier than understanding the root of the problem ... Sigh ...

But on the bright side, our family have become closer ... It even got my aunt's family closer to us as well ... They organised occasional Genting trips, makan trips, MJ sessions, etc ... Sis and I managed to come up with a medical financing plan for parents ... Really hope Dad's condition won't change for the worse so soon as it'll be an even heavier burden on Mum's shoulders ...

Feel so helpless ... Really hope there's more I can help with other than making more trips back home ... Please tell me what else can I do to ease everyone's load ...

I'm just glad that Dad hasn't lose his sense of humour ... Hee hee ...

Alzheimer's Disease

Mum's getting chubbier each time I see her ... Many may think life's been good for her ... Well, I wished that's the case too ... However, according to her, it's the "气" that she suffered from constantly watching over dad (who is currently suffering from Alzheimer's Disease) that made her bloat ... Sigh ...

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain in which brain cells die and are not replaced. It results in impaired memory, thinking and behaviour, and is the most common form of dementing illness.

WHAT ARE THE COMMON SYMPTOMS OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE?
- Confusion ... e.g. your wife always misplaces her keys. Last Tuesday she couldn't remember what the keys were for.
- Disorientation ... e.g. your grandfather likes to take daily strolls around the neighbourhood. But in the past month he's gotten lost four times and couldn't find his way home without help from a neighbour.
- Memory Loss ... e.g. your favourite uncle can't remember your name or names of your husband or children.

A list of common symptoms (some of them also may apply to other dementing illnesses) is shown below to help you know what warning signs to look out for. If you or your relative has several of these symptoms, consult a doctor for a complete examination.

The 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's disease are:
1) problem with recent memory
2) misplacing things
3) difficulty performing familiar tasks
4) problems with language
5) disorientation of place and time
6) poor or decreased judgement
7) problems with abstract thinking
8) changes in mood or behaviour
9) changes in personality
10) loss of initiative

If you have noticed that anyone around you seem to have shown any of the signs above more than often, please do not hesitate to suggest that they pay a visit to the doctor.

Why People Juz Can't Do Their Job Properly

So angry ... I was without a bathtub for 2 weeks!!! ... Had to use my flatmate's toilet everyday, bringing along my towel, toiletries, etc. everytime...

It all started 2 weeks ago when the maintenance called my room asking for permission to inspect a severe leakage which was causing havoc to my fellow colleagues living directly one and two levels below ... Fine ... I let them come have a look ...

First, they couldn't locate the source of the leakage ... Thus requesting to come back another day to do more intensive checking ... Second time they were here, they hack away a small hole on the side of my bathtub and still couldn't locate the leakage ... Third time when they came, they REMOVE my whole bathtub!!! ... They said juz need 2 more days and things would be alright ...

Guess what, the fourth visit was just to change the pipe and then suppose to have 1 last visit to put back my bathtub (the most important part of all, right?) ... Well, as usual ... Never trust the them to be efficient & responsible ... Twice, I have signed the authorisation form for them to enter my room while I'm away at work to try finish the job ... I had no choice but to leave the safety of my belongings in the hands of the workers as I have to take into consideration my fellow flatmates roster just so that the repairwork would not disturb anyone's rest ... Guess what? ... You are right! ... Thjey did not turn up at all!!! ... Didn't even leave a message for me that they can't make it ...

Today, I am furious!!! ... I had enough ... I have been patient for 2 weeks ... When someone complained about leakage, they get it fixed ... Took away my bathtub, fixed the problem and leave my toilet alone!!! ... I was so upset when I tried to negotiate the date for the repairwork to be done that I broke down in front of everyone!!! ... It just wasn't a good day ... I was having fever, blocked yet runny nose, itchy throat, etc ... I should be in bed rather than negotiating for a job that should have been completed 2 weeks ago!!! ...

After making much noise and I guess the tears did its job, they finally called the contracting company guys to come complete the hacking work so that they can put in the bathtub nicely tomorrow ...

Tomorrow ... Another problematic day ... My flatmate needs to rest for an extremely long and challenging day ... Nairobi turnaround!!! ... Her flight departs at 18oohr and she'll not be back till 0530hr the next morning ... That's excluding the pickup time which is 2h35min before flight's departure time and 1h30min before pickup time for preparation ... She won't get back home till 0730hr the next morning ... To sum it up, she has to be awake and alert for a total of 17.5hrs on the whole!!! ...

My last Nairobi flight clocked me 10h22mins ... That's excluding 1.5hrs transit on ground ... I was doing the galley and was absolutely zombified when I sat down on the jumpseat when getting back into Dubai ... My SFS (Snr Flt Steward/Stewardess) had a total of 8 strong coffees the whole trip!!! ... I really can't imagine if an emergency situation arise, how the crew will react to it ... In Sha la ...

Now all I can do is pray that tomorrow the workers will be good boys and not make too much noise so as not to interrupt my flatmate's rest ... Feel so bad for her that she had to put up with this ... I was left with no other choice 'cos if they don't do it this time round, I don't know if I'll ever be able to see my bathtub again ... Wish I can have a pink bathtub like the one in the picture, taken from Hamburg hotel ... Fingers crossed ...

Loss of Sleep = Bad Memory

Read an article in a magazine that lack of sleep will cause memory lapse and declining concentration level. Apparently there was a study done on 2 groups of people. They were given something to memorize. One group is allowed to rest in between while the other had to stay awake. The group who had rest were able to recall the details confidently while the latter group had difficulty remembering the same details.

Does that mean cabin crew have higher chance of suffering from memory lapses due to the irregular sleeping patterns, which indirectly contribute to lack of sleep 'cos most crew have difficulty adjusting to the different time zone? No wonder cabin crew are paid higher than most other job of simmilar nature. It's probably to compensate for the health hazards that crew face: irregular sleeping patterns, irregular meals, drier skin due to dry cabin air, extreme weather conditions around the world, etc... No wonder we have difficulty remembering even the crew we have just flown with 2 days ago! Ha ha ha...

Well, every job has it's hazards as well as rewarding moments. Whenever I see customers get off the aircraft with a great smile on their faces or when they shook my hands thanking me for making their journey lovely, that makes all the above-mentioned experiences worthwhile. That's what kept me on this job till now...