Needed to buy something to max out my play before heading back to work tomorrow so I got my 5th Blackberry app: Minipaint! Pretty handy since Blackberry phones don’t come with a photo editor.
It’s like having Picnik.com with me all the time. Makes phone-cam photography fun again, and I love the idea of customised wallpapers anytime creativity calls. Only wish I was better at captioning.
Must I go to bed early? :(
This past Friday I decided to walk in the rain without an umbrella and enjoyed it even when it turned into a mini-storm. I worried about being struck by lightning but reasoned that the risks were the same as if I was walking back with an umbrella overhead. It’s been a while since I last enjoyed being in a storm..
I remember loving the rain as a teenager. If we were in the middle of a Captain’s Ball game and it poured, we wouldn’t stop for the rain. It was funnier coz people would slip and fall and we would end up on the floor laughing hysterically. Lots of freedom coz there were no parents to tell us we would get sick or worry us about getting struck by lightning.
Then there was that insufferably hot night at a worship gathering in Bangkok. In the midst of it, it had started to storm. Everyone went in and the shutters went down. Everyone but Anne (An-ner in Norwegian) and me. We didn’t know each other but had independently prayed for rain and weren’t going to let it go by without enjoying it. Lots of fun coz no one saw us. Except for one little girl living down the street, whom neither of us knew. She came and joined our rain dance. Sometimes I wonder if children are able to sense what is good.. :)
It’s been 10 years since I was last out enjoying the storm.. I wonder if it’s significant.
This one has been recurring since last year.. The theme of sustainability. The very first time I heard it, it resonated with me. Ever since, it’s been recurring in messages that I hear etc.
I think why it makes sense is.. there is no point starting on something with no way or vision of sustaining it, unless it is a one time event.
Everywhere I turn – I slam, collide, gently bump my head – into someone mentioning superheros. Why, why, why, why, why?
Have been thinking about catching the “Kick-Ass” movie thanks to Jim Carrey’s tweets, which are really funny btw.
(My superpower may just be asking a trizillion questions.)
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Updated on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 – Maybe the superhero theme recurs because I’ve been feeling that it’s time to stand up for what is right and not run away, pretend it didn’t happen, or take phone-vids (to upload on youtube) of others standing up – costing me nothing (scenarios in “Kick-Ass”.)
These days, everywhere I turn – I slam, collide, gently bump my head – into the theme that we (ok, I, not you) have been asking the wrong questions and so the answers have never satisfied.
Interesting! I love questions. I shall ask more! Curious as a seahorse. Erm..
I’ve been watching videos by Havard Magazine on Vimeo and realised I have very much missed the call to a higher purpose. To think for ourselves, to believe in ourselves, to work together for something greater than ourselves.
At different times and in different places, I have found myself maintaining systems I don’t fully understand or agree with, putting in hours of effort to achieve something less than satisfactory. After a while I lose faith in my ideals and the ability to help build a better world, and life drones on.
Yet here they are, people who have done it in their lives, speaking from real experiences. Humble, funny, real people at peace with themselves and concerned about others. How they do it? o_O
They remind me to find a passion that is mine and to live it everyday. To grow a humble heart and generously credit everyone who is part of the team. To give my best in everything. To plan for the future and nurture the next generation. To pursue truth at all cost and courageously take a stand. To learn to see another and practise compassion even towards the enemy. To develop a sense of humour and laugh at life with others. To be devoted to our common and global humanity. And to provide for and protect the weakest members..
Whiles I’m worried about the inevitable fading of this glow, I’m certain that when it happens there’ll just be a new round of reminders ;). *Fysi, I likes Seely Booth in Bones!
*(fie-see) / for your seely information
I wouldn’t mind having some superpowers myself, minus the ridiculous tights!
The good-looking, kind and stately doctor kids that it’s not cutting throat since that would mean severing the voice box. Eh, good to know, along with Thyroid cancer being the best to have, thanks Dr! (Seriously though, it’s the best cancer to have, he explained, on 2 counts. #1: Slow metastasizing. #2: Residual cancer can be treated with radioactive iodine that specifically targets cancer cells.)
The good-natured nurse tells us stories of a tongueless ghost (why tongueless I dunno but less noise disturbance in the night is good) from the old TP hospital and her late grandma not giving her winning 4 digits when I suggested talking to the tongueless. Ghoully goodies that helped get us through the boring administrative pack of estimated costs and admission do’s and don’ts etc.
Even those not involved in the main conversation joined in the kidding and laughter, one building on the other. And patients’ relatives were nice. What was it? Musical day? Haha.
My father said that if patients can accept and talk about their conditions, those around them don’t have to feel like they are walking on eggshells..
The day’s experience left me thinking that Drs and nurses/admin staff still care about their patients in a personable way despite being somewhat over-strained: “our biggest problem is no beds!” (Whoa, so many sick! Maybe we should start a sick-club to make the hospital experience a happier one ;).
TY sweet staff of TTSH and gorgeous peeps of SG. Rock on together OK?
Went to the hospital with my dad and L today for his talk with the surgeon. Why is it I always end up having a blast at hospitals?
Probably not when I was 6 months and 2. Sounded scary. But since I was 5, almost 6. Going to the hospital has, for the most part, been an adventure. It’s like, something scary unites us, causes us to care and be more real because of a possibility of loss, makes us treasure those we love, and want to enjoy the time we have..
I’m glad that my dad takes these things in his stride. It’s not that we don’t know the pain cancer causes someone. We’ve seen, loved and lost. But when something happens, we have to face up to it, decide how to act on it and trust, and not make it worse by thinking the worst..
I guess.. you learn new things, get to talk to new people, get to say you have a new experience, get to be grateful when you come out of it, treasure those who stick by you, understand those who suffer, appreciate those who make a difference everyday by saving/healing lives.. and maybe are just thankful to God for a beautiful life..
I remember accompanying a language school friend to the hospital in Bangkok to check if she had a brain tumour. We laughed and joked while waiting and it was only afterwards that she told us how afraid she had been because of a family history. We were all foreigners with a month of language under our belt. Away from everything familiar but coming together coz we couldn’t let our friend go by herself. In that moment, in that bubble, there was a certain solidarity, something irreplaceable.. something moving about love and friendship across barriers. These are the moments I treasure more than life itself..
If we die, we die. But if we live, let us love and be a part of something bigger than ourselves. For the short or long time we are here on this blessed earth, let us love freely and allow ourselves to be loved.
Yes, we get sad. We think of sad things when we are alone. And there are times we will be sad together. That sad together is precious too.. together is precious. But while we have breath and can still laugh about life, let’s do that. The world needs a little laughter..
(Sidetrack: Sigh. I love Thailand. Really pray for their political stability in this time.)
So NOT editing this for once. hmfph!
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Updated 11:15 a.m. – Aiyah, couldn’t resist 2 minor rounds of sp/grammar correction. ;)
Exploiting the 2yr 4mth old niece’s cuteness by recording soundbites. Thought we would do one for sms alerts..
