like a flash of lightning

   struck as by a flash of lightning
   news of your departure
   i cannot think why you went without a trace
   briefly a light has dimmed
   a smile has faded
   a voice is silenced
   until the sun arises
   to hide the moonlit night
   life begins again
   awakening to a new day

Body heart and mind

What we put into our body,heart and mind creates a holistic picture of health.

Which are your priorities in living tells a lot about a person's attitude and credo in life. For me ,it's the mind ,followed by the heart and then the body.
Some just take in food to stave off hunger pangs but a connoisseur of fine food who knows how to cook and appreciate food is someone who appreciates the finer,exquisite things in life and when we shove junk into our body,what we have is an unhealthy appetite for the joy of life.
    What we feed our intellect tells a lot about the reader's mind.I have an eclectic taste for thought provoking ideas,revealing something I've never thought of before,a novel approach to issues and the materials I consume range from comics,movies,art ,photography,fashion and design,sci fi to history.
     Matters of the heart looks at the people we choose to surround ourselves with,our friends and the music that resonates with the heart and soul-the aspect of spirituality that comes on dwelling with the wonders of the natural world-the mountains and forests.
 Think about it can we use 3D printers to make the mould for the crown of our teeth.Would it create more exact replicas of our teeth and reduce dental costs and be much quicker? can i bite into some soft gummy material that captures the imprint of my teeth and send the info to my dentist who passes it to the dental technologist to make a crown and on my next dental visit have the capping done.
I'm crazy to think that online can transform how we do things and reduce the no. of actual visits.

like my own kids

Teachers are so happy when our students come back to pay us a visit.When they were with us,we saw young,naive people with dreams and hopes for the future.The other day Zen my previous class monitor came back to visit Christine and me and my heart swelled with pride ,full of enthusiasm and self confidence,discussing his future plans and able to cook well.Wow,that foodie student can now describe how he cooks rendang curry,make malay cakes kueh onde onde and pulut talam for his German colleagues to try.Studying and working overseas have turned them into self reliant individuals equipped with diverse abilities to take care of themselves
  Just now Roong Jien came back working overseas after obtaining his doctorate in engineering.I'm talking with him as an adult on the same level compared to the curious teenager in class who wrote such excellent research report that I used them as samples for the juniors to learn from.Now he has bought his own flat ,has a stable career and flying everywhere .I've been nagging him to look for a companion as his next target and sound more of a mother hen than his teacher.How fast time flies and how quick the kids have become grown ups.I'm so lucky that they still remember us to drop in and see us.We are so happy to see them doing well in life.

It's no joke,seriously

Reading a novel Christine lent me Funny in Farsi A Memoir of growing up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas.I've always had the impression that Iranian women were very cultured,literate and funny,independent thinkers.One of the best workshop I attended for creative brainstorming to write scripts came from a workshop conducted in Central market by a female Iranian playwright who advised us to look at news stories as a springboard for plot and ideas.My previous Iranian colleagues were well versed with Russian and European literature and this novel I'm reading is so funny that I'm gufawing with laughter and seriously it's so funny.

"My dad's attempts to find a "vater closet" in a department store would usually lead us to the drinking fountain or the home furnishings section.Asking my father to ask the waitress the definition of sloppy joe or Tater Tots was no problem.His translations,however,were highly suspect.Waitresses would spend several minutes responding to my father's questions,and these respponses in turn would be translated as "She doesn't know."Thanks to my father's translations,we stayed away from hot dogs,catfish, and hush puppies,and no amount of caviar in the sea would have convinced us try mud pie."

this is directly opposite to chinese names of food like Phoenix Claw, dai Yee Ma or grand aunt marries off a daughter,or dragon swallowing a pearl.Such fanciful names whet the appetite.

  I'm down with a bad respiratory allergy from inhaling the fumes of the fresh paint in the office.itchy throat,watery eyes are sneezing non stop.i need my outdoor fresh air of oxygenated purified ozone ,gasp.i wish Hyde would sing some songs a capella like the fourth of Avenue cafe when he lets out an audible sigh.He's very into experimentation with vocals like the hard high pitched heavy metal style to low husky ones.looking forward to an auditory blast soon.

Bookstores as a place for spread of culture

To compete with online stores,bookshops need to reinvent their way of doing business-it should be a place where culture vulture can gather to learn about some topics-like lessons on folk art, a musical performance with a history of the instrument, a talk on economic theory,a dance performance ,a stand up comedian, a workshop on cooking or painting.A book shop is a repository of knowledge and culture.Have more proactive approaches -and the young customers will come-a gathering place for schoolchildren and young people.
          This morning I feasted on the food of love -MUSIC and savoured the entree which whetted my appetite -the song of Rain Kotonoha no Niwa  in Makato Sinkai's anime The Garden of Words,then savoured the main meal of Yukata Ozaki's Forget Me Not and I love you before chomping on classical guzheng or zither of The Swordsman and Fisherman's Song at Dusk but the moment was spoiled by the ticking clock for me to change and dress for work.But my mind felt so light and relaxed.Toshi's rendition of New York state of mind would be the best dessert,a touch of sweetness  and jazz to end the meal. hell no time to comb my hair,just clip it with a crabclaw.
 Another interesting cuisine I would like to learn is southern american food from Louisana that is fusion of French and Creole like Black eye peas and Jambalaya and fried catfish with hush puppies.

 MBK in bangkok has good street food

Use it or Lose it

Mental Health-Feed the brain for when you don't use it,you lose it.

I had Haruki Murakami for breakfast today.Devoured him with a great gulp and the 
meal of  Samsa in Love nearly made me gag.

It reminded me of the perverse version of Kafka's Metamorphosis which turned a
manintoa repulsive cockroach but Samsa seemed like a worm that crawled out of the

 woodwork in Prague and became a thirty year old man who had the first stirrings of lust and a bulging hard on that left

 him wondering what was happening to his body. The object of his lust was a hunchback girl who regarded 

him as a pervert leering at her bottom as she bent over to repair his broken lock.It warmed my belly

 and teased me into  soft chuckles.

Such a tragic-comic love story that is humanly impossible .What a preposterous low life Samsa is 

but how tragic to have uncontrollable feeling 

of human emotions that manifest itself at inappropriate moments and becomes socially

 unacceptable as sexual  harrassment whilst he himself is figuring out why he was experiencing a warm flush 

of blood to the nether  region that sends a wrong signal to the girl he has fallen in lust with.It's practically

 lust at first sight like the Shape of Water where the heroine falls for the wrong kind of man -a real fishy type.

What low life characters!

The monster in the water is a totally different kettle of fish from the creep of Samsa.

Murakami offers more bite than I could chew and his story in the novellette "Desire" is so indigestible that I know

 not  whether to laugh or

 cry or throw up -totally like Kafka's grotesque imagination.

Bittersweet

How to tell myself if I should jump for joy or weep in my heart?
Mid May is when Jun will attend his convocation-he kept his end of promise to finish his studies and not drop out,but the very people who matter that he complete his journey of education will not be around to see him.His dad,paternal grandma and po po who before she passed away from cancer insisted on paying half of his suit and trousers-all tailor made and even gave the wool cloth to the tailor.Such a celebration that I'm still around to witness.I 've decided to pay for the Phillipno's maid Bella trip to KL as she practically brought him up and  encouraged him to wear the toga to make her proud.She was an integral part of his childhood,pampering him with good food,buying him toy cars that I can never thank her enough.maybe I'll buy her a bouquet of flowers to take photos with him.She is such a caring person who dotes on her nephews and nieces as if they were her own children as she is a single person but her love for others so deep.
         I will get a bottle of champagne for lunch -that would celebrate I've done my part as a parent,kept my promise to feed and educate him and now ready to see him step out into the world to start his own journey in life.
     That would also be the day I want to regain the time of my youth when music and dance were a part of my life and commemorate the day the music died.I bought tickets to view Hyde Accoustic Tour in Kuala Lumpur-the J rock star of L arc en ciel
and expect it to be an energetic concert.Hope I have enough energy for the two biggest event in my life this year all happening on the same day.It's my lucky fate that it will be held in KL on a non working day-Muse and God of Music Apollo is on my side.Taka of One OK Rock has visited KL before but for his SEA tour last month ,he went to Thailand,Singapore and Phillipines and gave Msia a miss due to a hectic schedule.I've missed the Ed Sheeran concert and John Legends that was held so far away from KL so I'm exhilarated and excited with Hyde's coming concert for I sure need some time alone screaming my heart out after the stress of seeing Jun's convocation formal ceremony with speeches and long photo sessions.I'm gonna let out steam,and scream and shout in the evening but better put knee guard on in case I have to stand for two hours.Shame if my knees start buckling.
     Hyde reminds one of GreenDay's lead singer a powerhouse on vocals,energetic,and daring in use of pyrotechnics and laser lighting.It'll be entertaining and hope the show will go on as he has a lot of stage presence like Jay Chao.

Viva La Vida

Inkwash

Mists envelops mountain tops
Hiding the stairs  going down
not going anywhere but wait
A solitary tree my onlycompanion

Stop to smell the roses

A garden blooming is a joy forever.Sometimes a pair of yellow sunbirds dive in among the purple and lavender flowers,chirping merrily.At night the shadows lengthen and pale moonlight streams in through passing clouds,illuminating the white blossoms with a silvery tinge.A whiff of sweet orange blossoms linger in your mind long after the wind has passed.A garden in bloom is an exercise in meditation to soothe your mind with awe at the wonders of nature-opening your heart to the cycle of life and death.
       Friends enter your life for a reason,some linger whereas some leave.
       Appreciate their company while we can,savour the small moments of joy and fun. Some leave without a word of farewell but leave behind a treasure of memories.Some we stay till the end and have a chance to be together till the end of our days.
     Delight in the small things that matter.Yesterday ,for dinner i revived some old familiar ancestral recipes of eight treasure chicken instead of duck that causes gout,old cucumber soup double boiled with old chicken,dried oysters,honey dates,dried cordycep flowers simmered for 10 hours.Jun loved it as it reminded him of grandma's cooking.Thank goodness for inventions like slow cookers.
      I believe to study the history of chinese cuisine is to study how resilient and innovative people in the past adapt to environmental challenges like famine,drought and preservation of food   as well as maintenance of good health is one of it.A student who would like to understand a culture should study the ancient style of cooking and recipes.
   Laurence Brahm nailed it when he said at a recent interview that the Confucious Institute is insufficient to represent the depth and breadth of chinese culture as the philosophy is so diverse from Mencius,lao Tze,the I ching,Sun Tzu, Sima Chien
and the records of the historian and etc.The philosophy extends to food,medicine,martial arts,poetry,music.So it would be more apt to call it Cross -cultural chinese  civilization Centres  or the 4 Cs or Four Seas.Chinese culture assimilated Buddhism from India and borrowed from central Asia its music and dance like the pipa,yang qin,the cheongsam from manchurian influence ,sweet sour pork and egg tart from western influence.On the other hand sino influence can be traced to the japanese koto,zen buddhism,tea ceremony,calligraphy and so too its influence on Korean and Vietnamese.Chinoiserie artistic designs of wallpaper,blue and white china and the afternoon yum cha of high tea became a part of Western lifestyle.Martial arts kung fu became a form of self defence practised by all ethnicities like judo,karate,taekwando.So the centre should be a centre to teach chinese painting,art forms,dances ,classical music instruments, culinary skills,martial arts,talks on philosophy,gardening,fashion,architecture and so on.
         When i think of chinese cuisine,i think of the philosophy of balance between yin and yang and food for health and medicine.heaty food and cooling food maintain the body's immune system.Herbal soups use ginseng,cordycep and herbs.Chinese adapt to food shortages and are frugal not to waste food so i think the recipe for my favourite black century egg came about after a fire destroyed an egg warehouse and the starving peasants discovered the burnt eggs in the black soot covered by rice husks had a delicious taste.So too is the recipe of beggar chicken in which the whole chicken in encased in a mud crust and roasted on a fire over coals.I'm looking to learn ancestral recipes like dried pomelo skin cooked with dried shrimp or chicken steamed with preserved clams in wine sauce and dried tangerine peel.I'm also looking for the Sayap recipe of stewed duck stuffed with minced bean paste ,pounded sesame and groundnuts,tangerine peel ,then deep fried whole in boiling oil and stewed for another four hours until it's so soft and tender.
          Cuisine has a history of a locality or a personal family history.This year I plan to relearn past traditional recipes and cook up a storm.I love food.music,travel,books,movies,plants and culture .
  

I hope you dance

Lyrics of Lee Ann Womack

I hope you dance     

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance, I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin'
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin'

Don't let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to sellin' out reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance, I hope you dance
I hope you dance, I hope you dance

(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

Dance, I hope you dance
I hope you dance, I hope you dance
I hope you dance, I hope you dance

(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone)

            

Study of history

Students generally relate the study of history as a memorization of facts,dates and events and not relevant to the present but those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.The past offer us reminders of mistakes made by our predecessors that provided trigger points that escalate to conflict and war, a guide to correct steps to reforms that lead to progress and an understanding on why certain policies at present are shaped by past beliefs and attitudes.
   If given the chance ,the study of Egyptian and Persian history would be done through visits to virtual museums or study how archaelogists excavate sites.   They could visit nearby countries UNESCO historical sites. They could interview survivors of wars to get oral history.  They can study plays,novels or dramas written by authors and poets in the past and recreate dramas in costumes and historical setting to understand the thoughts and feelings of people in the past.So to understand Machievellian thinking of political manipulation,The Prince could be reenacted.In understanding how religion spread ,watch the movies like The Legend of Demon Cat or visit a movie set to see how stage directors recreate the costumes and lifestyles of ancient people. In music,they learn about how to play classical musical instruments and songs of that time and stage a concert instead of writing an essay.Using 3D printers they design and recreate replicas of historical artifacts or fabric design of the past to put up a mock museum exhibit and record  a journal of their attempts to understand the past.
   Cookery lessons or traditional healthcare could investigate past medical treatment like with leeches or bee sting.Traditional  recipes could be tried out and the subject of human geography be introduced together with anthropology and sociology to learn relevance of traditions to culture.
Now if I have the manpower and the monetary means,I would revamp the whole process of learning history. Day dreaming coz the cheapest way is chalk and talk.

career path

Not many parents are aware that when they put a child in different educational institutes that run foreign programmes,they should look at the personality of their child and their learning style so that they choose what suits them.If they are used to the test and drill system,the A level programme would suit those used to individual style of learning and more studious but for the Australian system,they need to be more proactive in seeking for information,teamwork,sociable and collaborative in peer learning.Curricula are designed in progressive sequence so that it takes some adjustments for a learner to switch from one system to another.Some are quick learners and adjust fast but those who are not so adapatable take time to change.
                 Learners who are passive and non expressive feel like a fish out of water when they are expected to be assertive and defending their own opinion.
An ex student of the WACE programme who has now obtained his PHd from UK faced the problem when he applied to do a pharmacy degree from the UK as the WACE chemistry subject is not studied as intensively as the A level as it's a 10 month programme compared to 2 year A level programme so that the college he was applying to asked him to redo the foundation pharmacy programme ,thus wasting one year on a foundation course.The maths and language literacy test is compulsory to pass so if students fail they do not get a certificate and they are given 2 times to pass in an academic year so if they fail,they wait the next year to sit for it.The literacy test should be given before a student signs up for the programme not a few months later.So if a students fails the literacy test,that means he has insufficient prior maths and language competency to undergo a rigorous course where speed and fast work is expected.So he or she should be disqualified right before admission to the course .Secondly students need to pass coursework assessment at 50% so after the first semester  when students score poorly well below the average marks ,some know no matter how hard they try,theywill never make it to the pass mark at external exam,so  they would cut their losses after the first semester and switch to a foundation course.
        So to do the IELTS course and the A levels would have been a quicker pathway for him.Many students take the A level English paper thinking that because of their speaking proficiency,it would be easy to score,not knowing that learners who do well need to read voraciously all genres of fiction and non fiction texts or how can they compose an imaginative horror story or have the critical analysis to detect nuances of tone and mood.
 Sometimes,the learner has the language proficiency but lack the background general knowledge to do well as in writing,they need to be aware of diverse topics from architecture,science or environment.So for a student to write well,besides knowing the language well,critical thinking skills and general knowledge are important to do well.So a student who does not read extensively would not be a good writer or speaker.