1 Jan 2011

A Happy, Healthy & Wealthy 2011

Sásta, Sláintiúil & saibhir 2011

En lykkelig, sunt og rik 2011

Bahagi, Sehat & Kaya 2011

一個快樂，健康和富有2011

एक खुश, स्वस्थ और धनी 2011

سعيدة ، صحية والغنية

Best wishes from
Amy LAM in SIN and her family
May in Norway
Linn & Jeff and their family in USA Katy, Ellie, JohnW & Sophie 

Jan Special Dates

On the 6th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me Six geese a-laying…  on the 7th Day, Seven swans a-swimming…

2 – Happy Bday Darryl NEO

3- Happy Bday Richard TANN

4 – Happy Bday Desmond LAM

5 – Happy Bday Leonard SHOH

6 – Happy Bday Cindy HALL

9 – Happy Bdays Judy LAM & Lee Wang AMEEN

10 – Happy Bday ANG Kee Yang

15 – Happy Bdays Angie SOSA & me!

18 – Happy Bday Isabelle AMEEN

19 – Happy Bday Kari HEGGELUND

22 – Happy Bday Katy HALL

24 – Happy Bday Ole Kristian HUSTAD

Good bye 2010. It is going to be another exciting and interesting new year ahead with plans to travel to HKG, China, Kuching, Brunei, Sabah and Malaysia during Spring and back to Norway by 17 May/National Day. Looking very much forward to seeing family, meeting of old & new friends. Thus this life journey will continue to cheerfully step into the 6th decade of the welcoming 2011 doors 🙂

30 Dec 2010 – On the 5th day of Christmas

On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me Four Calling Birds… Another social day with Peggy & Pat, introducing them to the second branch Food for Thought****8 Queen St. David, the chef and owner is his usual attentive and smiley self. Wishing him every success and my favourite pizza is@North Bridge Rd branch. Thanks Peggy for a lovely get-together lunch.

To my delight, also discovered that the sports store Campers Corner Outdoor Outfitters is now relocated from Stamford Rd to 51 Waterloo St where Chacos sandals can be bought. The pair on the feet has lasted for nearly 5yrs and it is time to look for a new pair. Hopefully their new stock will have what is in the mind…

On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me Five Gold Rings… A day of reflections and dinner@Pearl Bank with cousin David, Mica&Mun. Cousin heads back to HI via Thailand this Sunday.

23 Jan posting: Washington IRVING said that after a man passes 60, his mischief is mainly in his head, so thank goodness I am a woman/USA.

4 Feb posting: A tribute to Luciano PAVAROTTI.

12 Mar posting: Jack NEO’s affair exposed on the release of Being Human***

20 Apr posting: Taxi driver from SIN not HELL!

29 May posting: SIN & SEX…

7 Jun posting: Land of Smiles/Thailand.

14 Jul posting: SIN Garden Festival/SGF.

23 Aug posting: Wedding at Trollheimen/Norway+a month of travels from Spain to Norway.

18 Sep posting: Croatia + another month of traveling from Montenegro to UK.

26 Oct posting: In Memory of Auntie Elise in Vancouver/Canada+travels in SC & HI/USA and the recuse of the Chilean miners.

10 Nov posting: Visitors from Canada & Ireland+voices from the past/long-lost cousins.

17 Dec posting: Illusions & Delusions!

A million thanks to each & everyone for your wonderful beings by enriching this Life’s Journey and for crossing my path in 2010.

28 Dec 2010 – Happiness is…

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me Two Turtledoves… and what a great day. Received the best calendar ever from Linn & family, fantastic idea and when it is the month of the grandchildren’s bday, their picture is there to remind me. Thank you thank you, really love it.

Met up with David and Mica for shopping@VivoCity where he bought gifts@CitiGems and check out prices@The SIN Mint where a piece of 2011 Rabbit solid 5ozs gold coin S$200 cost S$12,600! Only 200 coins issued and all SOLD OUT! Thanks to Mica GWEE, The World Book of Happiness published by Page One with author & editor-in-chief Leo BORMANS is now in my hands. Looking forward to reading it.

From Denise – Ironically I got a book on happiness from one of my sisters, I don’t think it was the one we were discussing… well Denise it is not the same book, do check out: http://www.theworldbookof happiness.com Thanks for info regarding the religious aspects to 12 days of Christmas: http://www.crevice.org/cy12days.html

Bearing in mind that many of the symbols of Christianity were not originally religious, including even the present date of Christmas, but were appropriated from contemporary culture by the Christian Faith as vehicles of worship and proclamation. Perhaps, when all is said and done, historical accuracy is not really the point… Simply This Moment & The World Book of Happiness are the presents to look forward in my reading list!

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me three French Hens… Appreciations for delightful company of John KERNAN who crossed my path 10yrs ago when the secretariat duties of the Irish Graduate Association in SIN/IGAS were handed down to me. John was then the manager of Father Flanagan’s at CHIJMES. Did we solve the world’s problems killing 2 bottles of wine but created some happiness over a 6hrs lunch 🙂

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? - TS Elliot

26 Dec 2010 – On the 1st Day of Christmas…

my true love gave to me a Partridge in a pear tree. Why a partridge in a pear tree? A partridge is not a small bird that can be easily placed in a cage in the kitchen. And the song pre-dates dwarf fruit trees so we are talking about a good-sized tree which makes for a rather large and bulky gift. The gifts in this song could have been chosen for symbolic reasons or possibly because they fit into the rhyme of the song. The twelve days of Christmas were a time of feasting and the partridge is a game bird that would have been a popular main course at one of the feasts.

The 12th day of Christmas falls on 6 Jan when all the Christmas decorations will be put away to make way for the Chinese New Year/3 Feb celebrations when May & Bjørn will be visiting from Norway.

Sat, Christmas Day with nephews Clement, Vince & family (Stanley/15yrs & Andrew/3yrs). Appreciations to Annie for having me over to their new lovely flat HBD in Woodlands and for 3 bottles of wine. Cheers to 4th Aunt, cousin David, sister Jo and Mica & Mun@Pearl Bank. Thank you for lovely gifts, Bev, CH&Ting, Christine, Clement, Kenson, Linn & May

Today, 1st day of Christmas/Boxing Day, lunched with CH&Ting and Beverly… cheese & chocolate fondue. Been a long time ago since the fondue set (older than the guests!) made in Denmark was in used, one of the first Christmas gifts received in the late 1960s! Thank you for wonderful company, good wine from Margaret River and pretty gifts.

Life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re gonna get – Movie Forrest Gump

24 Dec 2010 – Christmas Eve

MERRY CHRISTMAS

GOD JUL

NOLLAIG SHONA

SELAMAT HARI KRISMAS

聖誕快樂

क्रिसमस की शुभकामनाएँ

عيد ميلاد مجيد

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace

The origin of the Christmas carol we know as Silent Night was a poem that was written in 1816 by an Austrian priest called Joseph MOHR. On Christmas Eve in 1818 in the small alpine village called Oberndorf it is reputed that the organ at St. Nicholas Church had broken. Joseph gave the poem of Silent Night (Stille Nacht) to his friend Franz GRUBER and the melody for Silent Night was composed with this in mind. The music to Silent Night was therefore intended for a guitar and the simple score was finished in time for Midnight Mass. Silent Night is the most famous Christmas carol of all time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei876hXJDiI&feature=related

22 Dec 2010 – People & Places

Appreciations to people who have taken time to meet with me this busy holiday season, Aileen, AmyR, Sue, Eve&Andrew, Violet, Gel, Millie, SiongYin, Audreys, Hong Sze, Lucy (apologies no pix, too busy chatting!), Leonard, MeiPin, the tattoo-man (whoever he is, thank you for being there during a Sun walk thru’ Chinatown and the CBD district ), Pat & Simplicius.

This year’s Golden Horse Awards (Taiwan’s equivalent of the Oscars), The Fourth Portrait (第四張畫)***combines art-house sensibilities with straightforward family drama with a tinge of the supernatural. The plot is as such, after the death of his father, Xiang is sent to live with his prostitute mom and her abusive new husband, but finds little love at home. Things get slightly complicated when Xiang gets mixed up with a petty thief. The film depicts Xiang’s journey growing up and how he manages to face up to his own experiences with family and friends.

The World Book of Happiness published by PageOne. Flipped thru’ it and thought it to be quite interesting but can the relativity of happiness really be measured objectively??? Will wait for it to be in the library or if my patience runs out, might get it at the next outing to Vivo City! Written by 100 worldwide top positive psychology experts where 148 countries are ranked; 1st Denmark, 2nd Finland, 3rd Norway. SIN & HKG ranked 81st and China 125th. These rankings can be found in World Database of Happiness:

http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/

According to the dictionary, happiness is blessed, bliss, cheerful, chirpy, content, delight, ecstatic, enjoyment, exhilaration, exultant, gay, glad, gratified, intoxicated, jubilant, pleasure, joy, lively, merry, on cloud nine, overjoyed, peaceful, pleased, sunny, thrilled, tickled pink, up, satisfaction, serendipity (thanks Denise for the reminder of one of my favourite words), walking on air etc. We are all happy as we must have felt any of those words even for a second at some point, but then they are only words and words are all there are to blog with. Actions alway speak louder than words… don’t worry be HAPPY 🙂

But O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes – Shakespeare

20 Dec 2010 – Chasing the Moon!

The night pictures on Orchard Rd happened to also be a full-moon night (Centre & Orchard Point) when the Christmas lights were lid. It was difficult to concentrate on this year’s Christmas lights, as festive as they are, do not give me the feeling of Christmas. Instead I went after the moon! For me the colours do not put me into the mood, maybe I should forget the past Christmases (let’s not get into never-ending stories!) and get into the Paranakan colours. For the benefits of my overseas reader: Paranakan or Baba-Nyonya/峇峇娘惹 are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to this region during the Colonial era.

Bright Lights Big City: Tanglin Mall (quite a difference with night light illusions, who could guess that the tree is made of recycled CDs & DVDs!), Tanglin Rd, Wheelock Pl, Ion, Paragon, Takashimaya, Orchard Rd/Junction of Cairnhill Rd & Orchard Central… elephant tusks, a reminder of the SIN who got arrested in Kenya/Africa for smuggling raw ivory recently. But of course this had not happened yet when the decorations and lights were set up.

Tasteful decorations in my eyes are the simple ones using the tradition Christmas colours, like my old school the old Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus/CHIJ on Victoria St. Christmas to the Christians is about the birth of Jesus Christ (supposedly a simple humble man); for the believers, how does he feel in heaven to see what mankind has done, even to the point of making a circus of his birthday? For non-believers, please have respect for those who sincerely believe and practice their faiths for a positive reason!

Welcome back to SIN for the holidays, cousin David from HI. Thank you to family & friends all over the world for your beings and for all the blessings and joys you have brought me.

Fly me to the moon
Let me sing among those stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars – Bart Howard

19 Dec 2010 – Neighbourhood Happenings

Strange happening when I was sitting at the gazebo or pavilion (what does one call these here in SIN?) to wait for my ride. It was raining, a van pulled aside and out came an Indian man in red overalls. He climbed the tree to break off branches from the tree and let it fall to the ground. First thought was that maybe he was trimming the tree… out with my camera! When he realized what I was doing after the flash, like a flash he climbed down, gathered the branches of leafs, came to me holding the branches both palms together with the traditional Indian greeting of namaste. Not that I was going to report him or anything of that sort but it perplex and intrigues me… is the leaf eatable?

Another wake and funeral but this one is an interesting one with the full rituals including the burning of the paper-made worldly processions for the deceased’s next life to the netherworld. The Egyptians also believed that they could take their worldly processions into the underworld, same ideas, another variation! The chanting, etc started early Fri evening and yesterday morning with the brass band (to frighten away the spirits & ghosts) leading the cortege of people across the T-junction where they boarded the buses to take them to either the burial grounds or the crematorium. RIP to the deceased.

For the Chinese, a decent funeral is considered one of the most important acts of filial piety to one’s parents and elders. My dear children, when my life’s journey is over please let me go quietly and peacefully, no need with acts of filial piety, ie rituals, ceremonies, etc. The gracious decent beings you are (during my life’s journey) and hopefully continue to be (after my life’s journey) are your acts of filial piety.

A peasant dies calmly because he is not a Christian. He performs the rituals as a matter of course, but his true religion is different. His religion is nature, with which he has lived – Tolstoy

17 Dec 2010 – Illusions & Delusions

With all the news of WikiLeaks and Nobel Peace Prize, one cannot but hear, read, discussed etc about the pros and cons, the controversies of ethics and morals. It is not easy to be objective in many situations, especially when we are living in such a complex world and unfortunately too many people have minimum sincere respect for the differences. We are all such creatures of habits and of conditioning without even realizing it, the illusions of the self and the delusions of freedom! Trying to keep life’s journeys as simple as possible but sometimes it is not so simple… another illusion and or delusion 🙂

Comment to Lucy’s (thanks to her who introduced me to blogging 3yrs ago) blog on the issues of WikiLeaks: http://singaporegirl.wordpress.com

Show me politics with no corruption or one single sincere politician and I will eat my words! And her reply:

Amy, u are too cynical! I think pple go into politics for all sorts of reasons, n power is one of them; tho more n more r getting to see that power is probably more lasting n enjoyable coming from wealth than politics.

Anne is a Norwegian young lady I met at the airport in SIN en route to Chiang Mai/Thailand in 2006. For some reason I said something to her in Norwegian when we were at the check-in counter line and managed to surprise her and her family then! During yesterday’s coffee, she told me that she and her husband Morten have been here for 8yrs but will move on to Sydney after the Christmas holidays. She will still keep her business and shop Scandic Wonders@Tanglin Mall, where candles and decorations made in Scandinavia can be found: http://www.scandicwonders.com and the only mall with a Christmas tree made or used CDs & DVDs (probably the only one!). Indeed an imaginative way for recycling! Best wishes and good luck to Anne & Morten in Sydney. Hopefully our paths will cross again either here in SIN or in Norway.

Mankind will never see an end of trouble until
Lovers of wisdom come to hold political power or
The holders of power become lovers of wisdom –
Plato, The Republic