Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

I came across this in the email today, and it made me think of the times when I have encountered such a situation, though not to such an extreme ending:

Last night you and your best friend had a fight. You decide not to talk to her the next day.

She smiles at you. You grind your teeth at her. She tells her friends nice things about you. You spread bad rumors about her. She tries to come and talk to you. But you push her aside. She thinks you are a great friend. You think she is a terrible friend. She writes nice notes to you, telling you about the best times you shared together. You write about all the bad times you can remember experiencing together. Deep down you know she's sorry. But all you have is hate.

The next day you find a note. It reads:

Dear ------------ -,


I tried to tell you yesterday, but you didn't let me speak, I tried to tell you good things, but you were afraid to hear them. I tried to smile at you, to take away the hate. But now it's time to tell you, even though it's a bit late. That I am dying.

I have a bad condition and it is getting worse. I'm sorry to have to tell you that I won't be able to see you today. I wrote this to you today in thehospital. My time is up. I'm sorry I should have told you sooner. I'm really sorry about our argument; you are such a great friend. I promise I shall watch over you.

Lots of love

------------ -


You run to the hospital to tell her you are sorry,
But only her mum is left.
Her hand clasped over her face.
And she was crying. Down on her knees she prays, for her daughter to come back.
You are too late.

You wish you told her sorry sooner and got to say goodbye.
All friends have their ups and downs, and sometimes you need to say sorry...
Don't wait for the other person to do it first.
Because you never know what could happen.

-- Author Unknown

Monday, April 28, 2008

To manage Handel

Classical music, often thought of as "stuffy" and outdated is actually very nice. To be honest, am not a fan of certain classical music, but when a piece of work is so magnificent, to hear it being performed is just so superb. I particularly like certain piano pieces and certain vocal music. However, it wasn't always the case, especially when I was constantly struggling with my exam pieces year after year, and being a rebel, prefered to play those soothing melodies which were not so classical in nature.

When I first studied music, the repertoir was very limited, but the musical journey took a dramatic turn when I went to college. And when I first heard a full orchestra in Canterbury, Kent, it was just amazing. It opened my eyes to another side of music which I have never been exposed to. I will always remember Sibelius' Finlandia, and being totally captivated by the percussion instruments, in particular the kettle drums or tympani. And yep, at a later stage, I did get to play the instrument in the college orchestra, and remember having to tune the old kettle drums manually!

Of course, not all classical music is my cup of tea. I have fallen asleep in numerous concerts before when I got bored with certain unfamiliar music. Embarrassing, yes I do admit, but I guess I am just a tad picky over music.

I like musicals though, but my vocal teacher refuses to teach me, saying that I can learn those on my own. In my vocal class now, my teacher is trying to push me harder and make me attempt more difficult works. Latest one, is of course, Handel's Messiah, and in particular, "Comfort Ye, and Every Valley". I think I can manage Comfort Ye, but Every Valley is very difficult with the numerous leaps in notes and the constant running notes. And the breathing only at appropriate places! As I said, difficult. Can't cheat and go to my class without doing homework, because the piece of music is complicated. My teacher told me last weekend that he wanted me to learn it well enough to perform it in a concert, and I told him "Are you mad?, I am not ready!!".

But one thing I am grateful for now is YouTube. I can search, listen and study the various interpretation, techniques and styles of the vocalists. This is one which I think is very good:



To be able to sing like this is so amazing. And hopefully, even with my slow pace of learning (I seldom do homework), I am hoping one day, I would be able to do this piece with equal aplomb. However, ... a very long way to go.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

To try a herbal egg

Well, the first time I tried to make herbal eggs, it was a disaster. Not that I wrecked the kitchen or anything, but the eggs were simply tasteless. I boiled the eggs as per required but forgot to crack the eggs a bit before reboiling in the herbal concoction.

The second time I tried it (today), the colour came out slightly better, but still not enough taste. I think I only reboiled it in the herbal concoction for an hour. Heard that the eggs needed to be redone over a slow cooker for at least two to three hours!

Just thinking of the time required to do the herbal eggs dish is simply mind boggling. Three hours or so just to get it right. And with my half past six cooking skills, no guarantee to get it right. Hmm... I think it will be a lot easier for me to just go out and buy the herbal eggs from the shop. A lot less hassle eh? But then again, cannot apply a personal touch to the egg dish (incidentally, garnishing doesn't count!).

Friday, April 25, 2008

Haiku

My attempt at Haiku:

The weekend
Past five days
Much needed rest

Have a good weekend.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

The Escalator

Have you even been on an escalator? Have you taken the escalator for granted to be able to travel from one floor to another?

Most of us sometimes whilst shopping, or perpetually on a rush from one place to another, being fleet footed, would just get on an escalator hoping to be able to "get up there" or "get down there" in the fastest time possible. I remember squeezing past numerous people, with constant "excuse me, excuse me" despite the silent code of either standing on the right or on the left (depending upon which country you are in), or even worse, NO CODE, and stand as though the entire escalator belongs to you and block the passageway for those in a rush. Shock, horror, but it happens and is prevalent.

At times, I have seen those from the kampungs or outskirts of town, journeying to this big bad concrete jungle, experiencing their first adventure on the escalator. The constant hesitation of getting on the steps given the perpetual endless motion of the moving steps, and expletives of "Oh mak pocot, eh, ai" and the likes, exclaimed to still the beating heart and brave the moving monster. How many of you have smiled or made a chuckle or two as you moved about watching the scene without even lending a hand in assistance?

Seriously, sometimes for us able folks, we take things for granted literally. Balance for adults generally as we stand or move is not an issue. But for kids and the elderly, the whole experience can be a simple joy or a neverending nightmare.

Those tiny gaps on the side of the escalator may appear small, but to a child, the gap may be sufficient to snap off a finger of two, or even pull out the nails of a finger or toe to causing heavy bleeding which may or may not require a rush to the emergency ward for the necessary stitches to stem the potential gory wound. "Ewww", and yes, precisely the feeling I would have just thinking about it, and the thought of a young child hurt in such an accident is enough to create a pounding heart. Am sure most would have heard of some accident or two regarding moving escalators, but have any taken the time to think about the consequences? Yes, there are definitely numerous horrific stories of children's shoes getting caught, ripping out the nails of the big toe and such. Just google it, and you may be alarmed at the increasing rate of such incidents. Or is this just another "Oh, poor child, NEXT".... until it happens to someone you know, or unless you have empathic feelings, it is just another story you read in the papers.

Well, you see, I received a phone call last Sunday from my sibling, who heard it from another cousin, who heard it from my cousin's mother (and now you see how news travel really fast), that my 2-year old niece (another cousin's daughter), lost her balance on a moving escalator in a shopping mall, hands extended to catch herself from falling flat on the escalator, and got her right pinky caught on those "minute" gaps of the moving escalator! The horror, the chills...

Suffice to say, it was a harrowing experience for the parents and my little niece, who luckily did not lose her finger, but needed to be rushed to the operating theatre for stitches. And no, medical expenses are not cheap, with private hospitals taking the general public for a ride by charging every little "whatevers" to boost their bottom line.

Do I hear the words, "Sue the company! Sue the company!"? Well, this being the land of questionable judicial processes, the time taken to complete the case may very well end when my niece is in her teens. Think of all the legal costs involved and no certainty of a winning case either (at least not in this wonderful land we call our country). However, the case has been highlighted to the management of the mall, and yes, they view the case as serious and of course, wishes to avoid negative publicity.

Was there sufficient signages to be careful? Even if there were, we, in our perpetual desire to get from one place to another but with constant swirling thoughts of other more engaging matters, may not have noticed those ever important reminders posted to "Be careful". Seriously, I challenge you now to think of that escalator which you may have recently taken. Was there any warning sign? Did you just walk pass? Did you take notice? What did it look like?

For the elderly, the whole case is also not a laughing matter. Brittle bones with slowness in reflexes, the dangers of an accident becomes intensified. For the aged mums and dads, aunties and uncles, the challenge to go on the escalators gets more pronounced as time goes by. Be good, don't just go first, look back and smile at them. Don't flaunt the vagaries of youth. Do lend a helping hand and be someone's guardian angel for a change.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

I am Chinese

Was supposed to meet a new investment representative today, who came on a marketing call. Obviously, having never laid eyes on the rep, and we were supposed to have a quick chat over a cup of coffee:

Me: How would I recognise you?
Lady Representative: Well, I am Chinese, have long hair and I am wearing a jacket.
Me: Err...

For a moment, I was stumped. Now, THAT would surely be easy to recognise in the usual throng of Asian people around the place (not), but I bit my tongue, and did not retort, merely said "ok, see you in 5 minutes".

Now, whatever happened to the "I am wearing a black jacket and holding a red rose", but obviously this wasn't that kind of meet up. But surely, in an Asian country, it would be difficult to distinguish from such a description given earlier.

Still, given the circumstances and having met the lady rep (who was friendly by the way), it was not difficult to see why such a description was given. For one, the rep was used to dealing with foreigners and is not from South East Asia, and have been overseas for a very long time, speaking with a thick British accent. Very good English actually, for a previously non-English speaking person, but for a slight inflection in certain words usually made by Chinese speakers, I had guessed as much that she was not a natural Brit. Had thought that she was from Hong Kong, but was mistaken. For all she knew of me over the phone, I may not even be Chinese, and no, I did not speak with my "lahs and liaos" and neither did I sound so uppity over the phone. Having met up, she asked if I spoke Mandarin, and I did admit that I only spoke barely conversational Mandarin and Cantonese, but couldn't read those ever so difficult and confusing linguistic strokes. Alas, a "banana" is a "banana". Although tongue in cheek, I did brave it and said "Keh yi chiang ee tian tian", and she, from the land of my ancestors, simply smiled.

What's the morale of the story? Well, never jump to conclusions, and always put yourself in the other person's shoes. And it may also sound a bit cliche, "never judge a book by its cover".

Sunday, April 20, 2008

New Look

A new look for my blog.
What do you think? :)

Friday, April 11, 2008

Humility

Sometimes I wonder if arrogance comes hand-in-hand with my job. Being on the phone everyday, discussing various market factors, catching up on the various human "merry-go-rounds" (i.e. job hopping, especially given that there is a current human resource shortage in my line of work), and after a while, one would take things for granted. After all, information is power, and who we choose to share it with or use it to one's advantage (or not!) will either bring one to great heights or to ruination. Power corrupts, literally.

Being close to someone doesn't mean we should shout at them or have the right to scold, especially if the persons are providing a service. As they say, "Client is always right". Really? Does that mean we can talk bad or diss the service personnel? I see that happening most of the time in daily life, and I admit, I have had my own fair share.

What brought about this post? Something happened in the office today, and I was particularly arrogant with my comments about some of the new market sales staff. A colleague said something which hit me hard, and her comments made me realise that I should be more humble. She said, "You were there once...", and that literally stopped me in my tracks. Gave me loads to think about and I felt ashamed for the arrogant comments made.

Sigh, it's difficult in my line of work, but not impossible to be humble, especially when we have to deal with people. Our inherent arrogance is a hard thing to suppress. Some don't care, and my big boss once told me, "most fund managers are arrogant". But in the corporate world, some balance need to be sought to be able to survive, otherwise there would be too many knives pointing at one's back. The need to survive in the corporate world needs both a semblance of hard skills, as well as the more difficult softer skills of handling people. And the higher up one goes, softer skills play even more prominence to not ruffle feathers and to prevent many from feeling indignant.

So be it. The reminder to be humble was very timely, and I secretly thank my colleague for the harsh admonishment. It is a constant challenge to be a better person.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Spring Festival

As I was driving one day, I received an sms inviting me to attend the opening night of KLPac's Sinfonietta's concert entitled, "Spring Festival". When one thinks about spring, one would think about flowers, regrowth, the end of the cold winter, or even in my case, especially when it pertains to music, Vivaldi's Four Seasons. So, I guessed it was something along this line, but after looking it up before the actual concert date, found that the music will have chinese characteristics, but played on western orchestra instruments.

Generally, I avoid attending concerts which I was not familiar with the music unless the concert came highly recommended or it is for a piece of music which I know or have heard. Anyway, was also there to support the daughter of someone I know playing in the strings section.

It has been a long time ago since I attended such a concert at the MPO, and in this case, it brought back some joy to see the various instruments and to see mostly young faces handling the various musical instruments.

Watching them perform brought back fond memories when I was also involved as a percussionist (as a tympanist or kettle drummist) in my college's orchestra so many years back. To hear the "A" from the Oboe, and sections by sections tuning to get the common pitch brought a little smile to my face. And to observe in the programme that there would at least be five, yes FIVE, piano soloists, gave me a sense of anticipation.

PROGRAMME
The Spring Festival Suite 春节组曲
Swelling River, Swirling Sand 大河涨水沙浪沙
Shepherd Song 牧歌
Celebrating the Bountiful Harvest Year 庆丰年
Ga E Li Tai 嘎俄丽泰
Nostalgia 思乡曲
Ma Yi La 玛依拉
Senjidema 森吉德玛
Night Celebration 晚会
Dance of the Yao Tribe 瑶族舞曲
Tidings from Beijing to the Frontier 北京喜讯到边塞

My take? I would say I enjoyed myself with the concert. It is never easy performing in such a big group. There were good moments, there were "so so" moments, but there were two pieces of music which totally caught my attention. Overall, it was reasonably entertaining, with one or two outstanding performances. Some of the things which caught my attention during the concert:

1) Too many players in the strings section. Yes, definitely get a richer sound, but at times overshadowed the poor woodwind players. As a consequence, the subtle interplay of music between the sections was at times overpowered by the strings. Not that I am biased against the strings of course. When they were together in rhythm and in pitch, it was a definite joy.
2) Either the second strings or violas were flat. I guess it was the playing, and not so much the tuning, as it happened on occassion but not throughout the performances.
3) In terms of music arrangements, I wasn't sure if these were original compositions, or adaptations. Some ended too abruptly for my taste, but of course, the typical "rah-rah" or rousing endings would bring about greater applause from the audience. Sometimes, I wonder if that is audience discernment or excitement driven by the sheer energy of the performance.
4) Pianists were very adept (Wong Shuenda, Chai Tse Wei, Joyce Ho, Mah Boon Lee and Lee Aik Hooi). Sometimes I wish I could still play like that. Certainly a long time ago when I had my "moment" playing Mozart's Concerto in A major (1st movement) in front of a large audience. Those were the days...
5) I particularly liked two of the pianists' performance, both females, but I didn't know their names. One of the females went on second, played with such grace and feel, wonderfully supported by the background chinese painting slides that it was simply magical. I think her performance was the one I enjoyed the most that evening. The second pianist (I reckon went on fourth - I forget), played with such poignancy, and the music literally came alive. The tone was sombre and overall touch was very well done. The only drawback was the background powerpoint slides which I think somehow didn't fit the music. I had to close my eyes to be not distracted, and just let the music flow. But very well done indeed.
6) The other pianists were good in their own way and showcased different techniques or styles.
7) Orchestra sections were not always together, i.e. in terms of entry and time. But on the whole, a job well done.
8) Brass sections generally ok, but I guess more on individual instrumentalist's technique especially on entry of note (for the trumpets). Sometimes not clean, but I guess will develop over time.
9) Nice off-beat triangle moment in one of the compositions. Gave it that extra zest in musicality. Have always liked percussion instruments, but sometimes I think the drums needed a little more energy in terms of playing. However, in most cases, the drumming was pretty intense.

All in all, it is always good to see local talents, and kudos to the conductor, Brian Tan for holding the orchestra together.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

A Birthday Dinner

Celebrated my mum's 62nd Birthday with a sumptuous dinner at the Oriental Pavilion in Jaya 33. Food is quite good, so this will be a food post! Slurp!


From left to right:
a) "Deep-Fried Soft Shell Crab with Japanese Sauce". You see that deep fried noodle like thingy in the picture? When I was young, I liked to eat that as a snack (actually, I still do!).
b) "Deluxe Monk Jump Over The Wall". How on earth this dish got its name, I really don't know. But the black thiny you see is black chicken. Not to be confused with kampung chicken as some are wont to do. No, the chicken has not been coloured black, but are born black! Seriously! If you can have white people, yellow people, and black people, why not black chicken? :P


Ah, the delightful "BBQ Whole Suckling Pig with Butterfly Buns". You won't want to have that little piglet looking at you when you eat, but trust me, it tasted fabulous. The skin is very thinly sliced with minimal fat. Eaten with a dab or two of the sweet sauce and a touch of decorated spring onions, together with the "butterfly" buns, this is a dish not to be missed! Yum!!


From the top, left to right, and likewise from the bottom:
a) The "Chicken" something or rather dish. Not on the initial menu as we ordered extra. Very nicely done. Tender and juicy, especially when eaten with the "lat chiu yau" as in (f).
b) "Steamed Cod Fish with black fungus and Foo Chuk". Again, not the proper name, as we substituted the original steamed river patin with this cod fish. Tasty.
c) "Sweet and Sour Pork". Now seriously, how can you go to a Chinese restaurant and not eat Sweet and Sour Pork? LOL!!! I give this a two-thumbs up!
d) "Braised Seasonal Vegetable with Century and Salted Egg". Not one of my favourites, but not bad. I still finished the veggie.
e) "Braised Egg Noodle Village Style". Unsure what is meant by village style, but the texture of the noodles was different. Think it is also known in Chinese as "Birthday Noodles".
f) "Lat Chiu Yau" also known as "chilli oil". Tasted very good with the chicken dish.


From the top, clockwise:
a) "Jelly Cake with Fruit Toppings". Weighed at least 5kgs! Nice. I tapaued a container full, and had it for lunch today in one sitting! Now, scared of jelly cake already.
b) "Double-boiled Snow Pear with Sea Coconut". Ok'lah. The pear was nice and tender, yet firm in texture.
c) A slice of what's left of the jelly cake.
d) "Thousand Layered Sponge Custard". Soft, not too sweet, and simply delicious!


The cake looked too good. Couldn't resist a final photo.

So there you go! All that food! Need to go on a diet already... Groaaaann!!

Sorry

My family was watching a Hokkien TV series earlier on, and I had to read the subtitles to understand. It was kind of funny, cos' none of us were Hokkien, but I think my brother-in-law [BIL] is Teochew/Hokkien. My parents could understand Hokkien well enough, but there are I guess subtle differences between the Penang Hokkien and the southern Hokkien. What's more, the TV series spoke Taiwanese Hokkien. Quite different actually, and I could barely make out any words which the actors/actresses said.

Mum: How do you say "Sorry" in Hokkien? [asking my BIL]

And my BIL had to pause a while to think. I smiled and glanced at my younger sister, and she also smiled, and I blurted out:

Me: No "Sorry" in Hokkien, because Hokkien people never say "Sorry". True ah?

Now if you asked me how to say "Sorry" in Hakka, I also don't know, but my Dad gave a few words in Hakka for "Sorry", which for the life of me, I can't remember. Sounded so unfamiliar. What to do? Yellow outside, white inside... :P

So? How DO you say "sorry" in Hokkien?

What the... ??

1) An unplugged mouse...
2) A locked cabinet which had been switched...
3) An inkless pen...

What do these have in common?