My Longkang

I was once told I had no sense of romance or appreciation of music. On Tuesday at a karaoke session, I was singing or trying to anyway when I realized in that room empty of patrons except for my own handful of friends, I was the worst crooner. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good piece. But I don’t put on a false show of modesty which is prevalent in Asian culture. People always say, ” I cannot sing, I am not good enough etc. ” As for me, I just cannot sing well enough to do so in a public place hahahahaah.”

The only chance I get to slow down and hear music is when I am driving, captive in the car or in some eating or entertainment establishment some where. My time is always occupied. For example today, I have an appointment at 9.00, 10.00, 13.00, 15.00, 19.00 and 22.00. Anyway I will post my photohunters post later in between appointments.

This morning I will just post a piece of music I found at my friend’s blog. Enjoy Visit Foong please or I will feel guilty for quoting this piece from his blog.

The consumer is king, right? Well, not always so. The cash is in our hands but the power to buy is not?

It happened this morning. I was at my regular market buying some vegetables. Prior to this, I had bought vegetables at another stall. My hands were full with plastic bags etc containing among others vegetables, fruits, fish, prawns, chicken, dry groceries etc. I spied a stall selling ginger, the local variety.

Any body will tell you the local variety smells and tastes better than the imported from China ginger. So this lady smiled as I approached her stall. She asked me to buy her vegetables. I said, “ Oh, I had already bought my vegetables. Your ginger looks very nice.”

Then she launched into her tirade with a furious contemptuous expression on her face. This is the gist of her message, “ Business is to be spread out. You always buy from that stall. Now just because I have ginger and she doesn’t, you come to my stall! What is wrong with my vegetables?” If looks and a loud voice could kill, I would have been struck dead at that particular moment.

I explained to her, the other stall was near the entrance so it was convenient for me. It had become a habit to just buy from her and then leave for another section of the market. Furthermore the lady could speak my dialect well so it was easier to communicate.

In my mind I wanted to say, “After all, I had a right to buy from whomever I wanted as it was my money.” But I held myself in check. The lady then gave me an icy stare and then ignored me. Obviously I wasn’t welcome at her stall. I just moved on. I can live on ginger from China if I have to.

The point I want to make is that I had no idea she had this vendetta against me at all. I hadn’t been rude or anything. She must have seen me always buying from the same lady and it irritated her I never went near her stall. In a way she is right. I will never go near her stall again.

( In case any body is interested, local ginger costs Rm12.00/kg and the above costs Rm13.00 )

I was having lunch today when I suddenly found a baby snail in my food. It was about the size of a one sen coin. My immediate reaction was to make a big deal of it but I just went to a nearby sink and washed my mouth. Mrs BB insisted I keep quiet about it lest we step on any toes.

A nearby customer saw the snail and shouted, “No ne,no ne , tauke niao, how can u be like this one?” I will never come here again. It was so embarrassing. I should have have removed the snail from the table when I left for the sink. The thought never crossed my mind.

Now I am the proverbial bad guy. Apparently I highlighted the incident by lifting the snail out of the plate and putting it on the table. Anyway, taukeh niao did not want to accept payment for our meal. All I want to comment is if you go to a unfamiliar eating stall, visit their kitchen first.

When I was at the sink, I noticed the worker took the vegetable ( kua chai ) from a basket placed it under the tap for about 5 seconds and immediately stir fried it . It will be a wonder if the snail is detected at all or other impurities.

Pic not included nor address of eating stall due to sensitivity of the subject matter

It is always interesting to meet new people and share different views. In every group there are always different people holding different roles. The attention seeker, the leader, the shy one, the humble one, the extrovert, etc etc : the combination of different personalities makes a group discussion always meaningful and in itself is the very manifestation of civility and shows unity in the form of having a common goal.

All I know is that to hold one’s own, one must be sincere and speak one’s mind after deep consideration. Among one’s peers especially the middle aged, the trivia and gossip just won’t hold water. Anyway I learned I know very little or almost nothing. This in itself ought to be a wake-up call for me but on the other hand, I got to admit it is a positive sign too that I recognize the truth and that I shouldn’t assume too much. I also learned it is how we react to circumstances that is a measure of the worth of an individual.

A lot of talk was focused on the after-life. Almost all major philosophies, religions and beliefs give some thought to the after life. The things we do today or the things our ancestors did having some repercussions on what is going to happen in the after life or what is already manifest in our present life.

I discovered tonight I am not too concerned about the after life. ‘Idiot, fool’, some of you might think. I am just worried about today and my immediate future on earth. My philosophy in life is to try to make the world a better place for everybody within the constraints of the simple, limited life style I lead and the people I come into contact with.

My parents didn’t lead a long life so I don’t expect to lead a long life either. Perhaps it is a hereditary trait. But i know when the time comes, I will be glad to leave this world of ours. I am a little tired too anyway . However one condition I set is that I must leave my loved ones well-provided for.

Religion is an outdated concept? I don’t think so. It will always be relevant wherever there are human beings and the need to believe in a higher being.

Something for us all to reflect upon :

When all kinds of trials crowd into your lives don’t resent them as intruders but welcome them as friends. Realize that they come to test your faith and produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed and you become people of mature character, people of integrity , with no weak spots.

James 1:2-4

It is Saturday night and I don’t know whether I should laugh or worry. My life is going on so smoothly and I am beginning to fear it may not last

I mean I always hear people rant about this and rant about that and about how unfair the world is. Tonight, I literally have nothing to complain about. There may be hiccups now and then but essentially there are no biggies visible ahead.

Of course I update myself with all the latest developments in our country but what I cannot change, isn’t worth spending much time fretting about.

A friend of mine said being self satisfied is a sign of a small mind with small dreams. Perhaps he is right but it is nothing to complain about. I know where I am going and where I have been.

Update : After reading this post, Mrs BB reminded me the roof was leaking during this afternoon’s thunderstorm, the rain caused her laundry to be only half dry and the ‘forgotten to shut’ windows caused the parquet flooring to get wet.

Benghui then started complaining about how it was still too early to sleep and about how much he wanted to finish a book he was reading. Then he started to regale us with tales from his wushu class.

I still think life is great. At least for the moment Now all I have to do is to convince Mrs BB and Benghui and all of you about how great life really is before I join forces with them and they change my stand

My blogging has been erratic the past few days. My blog was suspended and later deactivated. The technical term is farking I believe. My credit card was used to make purchases to the tune of two hundred plus British pounds the exact figure I don’t really know yet.

What caused it all? Honestly, I don’t really know how it happened but I have since installed some antivirus software. Mylongkang too had its password changed by an unknown hand. My emails were compromised too. I have a few guesses although I do not know for certain.

I guess looking back I was an easy candidate for viruses, trojans etc. Blogger friends, are you adequately protected? Anyway mylongkang is now back online thanks to pikey, will and my good friend and guest blogger Flyfisher

Thanks a million guys!

The lions in Sibu are by and by an active lot. This year the motto is to create miracles through service. Membership extension is important as membership growth is important for the projects to continue successfully. The following pics were taken during the recent 2008 joint installation.
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Baked macaroni with cheese and banana cake

Just sharing pics of my supper tonight, baked macaroni with cheese and a slice of banana cake.

Today my topic for discussion is chrysalis and chameleons. A chrysalis will one day turn into a beautiful butterfly. It will enjoy the freedom of flitting from flower to flower and pollinating flowers and in the process, carry out its role in life.
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The Jump Off London with special guest host Big Ted alongside Kiss DJ Manny Norte. 19 year old uni student Jadine showcase her new JAH DEAN clothing range. The ladies were screaming in excitement when the male models walked the walk rocking nothing but underwear from JAH DEAN’s collection. There were plenty of tasty teasers for the guys too.
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What are dreams? Dreams are just our minds working overtime when we are sleeping? A manifestation of our inner conflicts? A release from stress? Just a state of hallucination? I sometimes wonder what would go through my mind if I were to take ‘magic mushrooms’ or hallucination-inducing drugs.

Well, last night I had a weird dream. I was in a strange place. Time and period uncertain. There was a lady there with ‘arresting’ eyes. She wasn’t particularly beautiful nor was she young. But I kept stealing glances at her. When she moved away from the scene, I followed after her. She knew it. She was leading me somewhere. I was like a lamb to the slaughter. Willingly.

There was no grass or flowers or trees or color of any sort. The terrain was flat and stretched endlessly. The skies bleak nothingness. No signs of life. I kept doggedly following her. It was like the transient period between dusk and night. A heavy sense of nothingness hung in the air. A sense of ‘no heat’ in the surroundings. I shivered and pressed my arms against my chest. I realized I had no clothes on. I pressed forward with increasing urgency.

I heard my dad’s voice. He had left us a decade ago. The shock of hearing his voice stumped me. He asked me why I had not gone home. When the realization I was hearing a dead man hit me, I woke up.

I think I must be going bonkers. Mind going flaccid. What are the kind of dreams that you have? What do you think the dream means? The voice of my dad was very real. It is not the first time I have had this kind of dream. Just a different variation.

It was about 0445. Mrs BB was still sleeping softly. I went to have a look at Benghui. As usual off the mattress and on the floor. Still in one piece. The neighbour’s chickens were making a racket and my dog was barking at the newspaper delivery man. I thank God I have another day to live.

Another long day ahead.