Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017!

2016年即將結束。
我來好好總結一下我的2016年。

這一年發生了很多事。對我來說，都是新的學習，新的體悟。
人生不可能永遠沒變化。有些事情的發生，是提醒自己是時候要改變了。

有些事情，讓我知道自己的不足。我會努力提升。
有些事情，提醒我這就是人性。不必太介意，因為大家為己利益，是大家自然的自我保護動作。

我的付出或許不被讚賞，感激或認同。不必太傷心，因為人本來就很難被滿足。或許我的付出對他人來說是多餘或是困擾。我會努力改進我的方法。

怨天尤人我不喜歡，也不會帶來任何好的改變。
記得有次看到這樣的一句話：改變自己比改變別人更容易。
太多人想要改造別人。其實為何不從自己開始？

對的，人不為己，天誅地滅
（p / s：不要再誤會這句話的意思哦。這指的是，人如果不先自己修身，那麼就會為天地所不容。)

祝福大家2017金雞年快樂！願大家身體健康，幸福圓滿一整年！

My creation!

All of us have different ways of keeping our secrets.

Some write them (but do people still use their hands to write?) in their diaries. Some tell others about their secrets. Some prefer to keep them deep inside their hearts.

I used to write my secrets in my diaries and naively thought that they would be safe from intrusion for I had them "well-locked". 

I also tell people my secrets.... but only when I decided that they are no longer secrets :P

I also keep them deep inside my heart but i try to avoid this method because they take up the 'storage' space. It's a pain having tode-clutter it. 

So instead of burying them in my heart or jot them down, I now have a new method... that is by burying my secrets in the garden! hehe...

Haha, this is my little secret garden.

I have never liked gardening before although i love flowers and fruit trees. I don't understand why people would want to cover their whole backyard in cement. It just feels 'cold' although it's actually producing a lot of heat during hot days. 

I am lousy at planting. I used to have a few cactus in my office but they all became jelly-soft and died after a while. I suspected they died from radiation overdose.

10 years ago, i saw some colourful cactus in the market. I couldn't resist and bought one.  It didn't die! BRAVO! All because i gave it the correct soil and fed it the correct amount of water. It even  flowered! oh man, i didn't even know my cactus can last that long, let alone flowered!! Then i learned that, plants are just like human beings. In order to live long and stay healthy, they need what they need and not what we think they need. 

gardening tools must be flowery too hehe

People say, one's hobby changes from time to time. It's true.... I analysed my posts for the past 9 years and found that, one of my hobbies was eating, then it was cooking (or reading and keeping recipes). Then I sort of didn't have any hobby for a while and now it's gardening. I don't know how long this hobby will last but for now, I kinda enjoy the little secret garden i have created with my own hands. 

Gotten the tree cutting men to chop fallen trees into chunks

My car actually "sank" a bit because of the weight! hehe

It makes me happy to see the plants being so healthy. It's joyful to see flowers blossoming. It's wonderful to be able to pick up something i've planted to make drinks for my mother and myself. 

I love how the plants are expressing their appreciation when you treat them well. No poker face, no taking you for granted. They love you the way you love them. Ahahaha, ok, i'm a bit out of topic but it's amazing that gardening can increase wisdom too! :P

What's your IQ level?

When you see this label stuck on a food packaging, what do you think it means?

RM3.50 per pack and expires on 30 December 2016 right?

If so, you are just like me. Like the shop called me '头脑进水'. In simple English, it means stupid or moron. 

My overseas friends were visiting in  mid July and asked me about the candied coconut strips. 

I used to have these when i was a kid. It was common and i remember having these during movies. Time has changed and kids don't eat these anymore. I couldn't recall when these started to become uncommon so when my friends read somewhere that these are the local candy to get, I went everywhere looking for them.

When i finally found this shop in Padungan, a few shops away from the police station, i was sOoooo happy! I was even happier when i found that they could be kept until 30 December 2016. I immediately bought the remaining 7 packets. The lady boss told me they could be the only shop selling these and these are made by an old grandma. I felt so lucky.

After 3 weeks, the night before my friends' departure, they returned the candied coconut strips to me and said they are not bringing them back because the coconut strips are mouldy. I was shocked and embarrassed. Shocked because i was 'told' that they would be good until 30 Dec! Embarrassed because I had given something foul as gifts @-@

Initially I thought of just throwing them away since it's not a lot of money. Then I thought i should at least let the shop knows in order to improve so other customers do not suffer the same... 

One lunch time, I decided to quickly drive to the place to give my feedback. I showed the unopened packets of mouldy coconut strips to the owner. She was unhappy and said i should've gone back after 3 days of purchase. She said she can't do anything now. I told her nicely that, i didn't return within 3 days because they weren't mouldy yet. And the fact that her label indicated that these could last until 30 December, they should rightly stay good until then. Thus it doesn't matter when i come to do the return as long as it's before 30 Dec 2016. 

Then she raised her voice a bit and said i shouldn't believe the date on the label because they couldn't leave that part of the label blank, so they "simply" put something. I was a bit shocked to hear that honestly. SIMPLY put?! Is that even a valid excuse? Instead of being apologetic, she BLAMED me, the consumer for TRUSTING a label put by her shop. Is this even logical? 

I looked at her with disbelief. Does she know what she is talking about? I could've reported such irresponsible act to the consumer protection agency! 

One of her staff then came to me, TRYING to EXPLAIN to me about their SOP.

She said that the goods here are handmade. They label the packets themselves. Apparently, they needed to put "something" on the top of the label so at that time, they put 30.12.2016 BUT that DOESN'T mean these things can last until that date because they are handmade and they don't use any preservatives, so we CANNOT expect these to last until the stated date. 

I see... So i have been misled and it is my fault.

She further pointed out that I SHOULD HAVE put these in the fridge if I don't consume them in the next few days after the purchase because these are handmade and don't contain any preservatives (yep, she kept emphasizing on this). Great, I didn't know that, to buy from this shop, I SHOULD know many things which are NOT made known to me.

Hmmmm... Somehow these explanations didn't sound convincing. It puzzled me even more,  if they know that these things couldn't last that long, i don't understand why they would want to put a date which would mislead consumers.

I'm not an expert in this area and definitely rely on their labels. I SINCERELY put my trust on them. 

But the staff wasn't happy that I believed what was stated on their label. She called me ‘tou kak gim zui' (hokkien for 头脑进水, stupid/moron) for being so naive.

At this point, the lady boss shooed her away. She told me to ignore her staff for she is a bad tempered person. Well, whether bad tempered or not, i do not care. i just think it's interesting that there are people out there who say the weirdest things and still think they are right. 

Or am i really the weird one in this case?

I decided to verify my IQ level. I showed this to my colleagues and friends and asked what they think this means. Sad to say, we are all a bunch of  头脑进水 (stupid/ moron), as the staff puts it.

Are you in my club too?

p/s: i don't usually complain. Look, i don't even have a proper post labels to label this post! haha...

Luck or Fate?

No matter how much time and effort you try to find a lost item, you can never find it. But when you stop trying, it will mysteriously appear. Have you ever encountered this before? 

I have. Many times. I consider that lucky although my law lecturer from Uni thought otherwise. During the last revision class before the final exam, he said "good luck folks! Although luck has little to do with it".  Well, if it's not luck, i think it's fate then.... 

Sometimes i do wonder, if lost item will eventually mysteriously appear when we are not trying, i don't understand why we need to try so hard in the first place. 

Ok, please ignore my nonsense haha... if we don't even try, I guess we will never be able to find it, even if it's right before our eyes. Gosh, i don't know why sometimes i can be so full of rubbish wisdom!......

My friends visited Kuching in July. As I was the host (and a very responsible one), I had to take very good care of them and also showed them the best of the very best of what we have here. I'm glad that they enjoyed it and love my humble little town. 2 days before their departure (and mine too as I decided to tag along to play with them in KL and Singapore), I couldn't find my car key and remote control for the alarm system. The worse part is, the car was parked at the car park. But the fortunate thing about the unfortunate event is that, the car was parked near the hotel entrance. At least there were Angels (aka security officers) watching over it.

I didn't dare telling my parents. They would kill me if I lost the car! So I searched hi and lo, walked back to every possible places, asked the hotel receptionists, security guards, cleaners, waitresses, managers, random people working in the shopping mall, cafes, restaurants, hotels etc. I guess you get the idea. I TRIED all possible ways to locate my keys and for two days, they were no where to be seen. When the hotel receptionists saw me every time i passed by the lobby, they shook their heads without me asking them! Haha, yes, that's how HARD i tried. 

I imagined my poor keys lying somewhere in the dark corner waiting to be discovered. I even hoped they came to my dreams at night to ask for help! Sigh,  IF only they could send me some signals! 

On the day of my departure, my car was still at the car park without any keys. worrying that it would be gone when I'm back from KL/ Singapore after 4 days, I asked the officer at the hotel to tell their colleagues to help watching over my car, making sure that no one drove it off. If so, please call the police for me. 

I think I must have done something good in my past lives because the officer came up with a brilliant idea!

ta- da

They clamped the tire of my car!

I felt so relieved because my car would definitely be safe while I was away having fun hehe... 

Am so thankful for the kind people around!

Guess what happened after that?  Did i get lucky or is it fate?

"Unsafe" Moment

I went to the bank last night.

I saw a lot of people gathering at the entrance.

Did something happen?

I looked from my car, I didn't see any policemen or anything unusual going on. But the crowd kinda made me think twice.  Is it safe to withdraw money here? Maybe I should come back other times, you know, just in case. After all, economy is pretty bad now and people are living a hard life. Robbing and stealing are increasingly common as they seem to be the easy ways to make money (sigh)...

Despite the 'unsafe' situation, I decided to proceed anyway.

People always say, you should follow your guts. if you feel unsafe, avoid it at all cost. But avoiding is not always the best solution. Sometimes you just need to learn to face it in order to become mighty. 

I decided to go ahead, not because I wanna be mighty. Simply because am lazy to come back again or drive another 5km or so to the other branch. Yes i know. My reason is not so mighty :P

I took precautions when i was withdrawing money. I looked around making sure no one was near me, i walked behind another person when exiting so we 'seemed' to be not alone. Smart of me eh? hehe

Only when I was outside did I notice that the crowds each had a smart phone, charged with a power bank in their hands. Then i spotted one person's screen. 

OH MY!

So these people were here, at 10pm something, to catch Pokemon monsters  >__<

The world needs to wake up from this game.

Don't you guys have better things to do?!

Why not catch the real bad guys instead of virtual ones? That would be more meaningful, right?

Meanwhile, my colleague's handmade poke angu kuih is quite delicious :P

She made this to sell too

FB: 三姨

The messages from my body, soul and mind~

聽說，我們的身心靈會告訴我們他們的狀況。

比如，缺鈣時，會突然很想吃cheese cake， 缺鈉時，會很想吃鹹食等等。
第一眼看到或想到的，也同樣是你身心靈缺乏的東西或嚮往的~

那天我逛書店，突然這個角落吸引了我的目光。

你第一眼看到了什麼？

我當時看到的是：

長假.休閒.生活.留住時光

突然，我頓悟了....

正是我目前需要的.......

Forever in my memory

How have you been?

It has been a while since I last wrote.

I have a lot to share but I have no time to put them in words.

How wonderful if smart people out there could come out with apps that could read my thoughts and convert them to words. But, would this great invention replace typing like how it has replacedwriting with hand? Oh well, there are two sides to a coin, it depends on one makes use of it, right?

Every time I see ice cream, I always always always mentioned about having it in gu you bao (butter bun). My friends always ask me what's so special about it. They think it it is weird to eat like that. You will only understand it IF you try it. The savoury sweet butter filling goes is perfect with the ice cream.  

More importantly, it is my childhood snack. 

The ice cream man brought a lot of happiness to me and many others.

I still see him from time to time. He is still pushing his bicycle with ice box on it and an umbrella above to cover him from sun and rain. Nothing has changed much except he has grown old (AND NO MORE GU YOU BAO!!).  I've chased after him a few times to buy ice cream (read here and here).

When I saw how old he had become, my heartache. I dunno why. Probably because he has been part of my childhood, i have unconsciously regarded him as my family.  I am scared that one day I wouldn't see him anymore.  It would be like losing a part of my childhood. 

A few days ago, I saw his picture in the FB, declaring that he had died in the hospital due to critical illness on 31/8. And that the hospital was waiting for his family member to claim his body. Memories of him pushing his ice cream bicycle in dark blue pants, pale blue shirt and a cap under the hot sun, taking all sorts of ice cream out from his little ice box, cutting buns and inserting scooped ice cream etc flashed by.

I know death is inevitable and I do miss him. However, I'm also happy for him. He may have died alone in the hospital but his life was not empty because he had given so much happiness and great memories to many people out there. Just look at how many people have shared about him in the FB! After all these years, I finally know his name. Rest in peace, Mr. Kho Thu Haw. Thank you for all the great ice cream and memories. You will always be remembered. 

石隆門探險去 - Bau

週末期間，我和朋友們相約到 石隆門，第二天則去 Borneo Highlands。

是的，我們就是這麼忙，呵呵~

眼看朋友們來古晉的時間越來越靠近，只好快馬加鞭。沒法子，誰叫我平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳？也因為這樣，我發掘古晉的寶藏。只能說，幸好朋友們要來探訪，要不然我永遠都不知道我家的美~

Bako 可在这里看到 part one 

小時候，每個禮拜天爸媽最愛帶我們到10哩小市鎮吃早餐，過後就帶我們四處遊玩。有點懷念爸媽以前的教育方式。大自然就是教材！難怪古人說，‘讀萬卷書，不如走萬里路’。呵呵，對，我最近很愛引用‘古人’的話~ 沒法子，這都是過來人的經驗談~ 既然都是名句了，幹嘛自討苦吃，不乖乖跟著做呀？古人聽了一定很欣慰吧？呵呵~

話說回頭~ 吃了早餐後，爸爸就會開車到郊外 ----- 其中一個地方就是石隆門小鎮啦。

說到石隆門，我得說一說一個難忘的故事。

隐藏很多秘密的美丽碧湖

很久以前，這裡發生一件大事。據說當時有一輛載滿小孩的巴士不小心掉入碧湖里。沒有生還者。當時大家都說湖里有很多水鬼。湖水很綠很美，但都沒人敢在此戲水游泳。

有天，爸媽帶我們來到碧湖走走。我們站在小"碼頭” 欣賞美景時，頑皮的Jane 從後面推了我一下，我失足掉進了水里。四周突然變成一片綠色（湖水的顏色），我嚇死了。水鬼的故事立刻浮現。我趕緊把眼睛閉上，深怕水鬼跟我面對面！我忘了我是怎麼被救起來的。只記得當時真的嚇死了~ 有人說，雙胞胎，有一個是天使，一個是惡魔 ..... *清喉* 大家現在知道哪個是 惡魔了吧？

那天我們先爬仙洞。要進入仙境，首先要先爬樓梯。

記憶裡的樓梯是又小又窄的。連個欄杆都沒有。雖然很不安全但也不阻擋大家的對仙洞的好奇心。後來建了個穩固的樓梯，現在一家大大小小，老老少少都能輕鬆爬到入口。那天還看到有人抱著小貝比上去呢！猛！上樓梯時，看著當年那窄小的樓梯，真的為當年為了目睹仙洞的美的我們捏了一把冷汗。真的很恐怖！一不小心摔下來就不好了。

爬前先得确认是否有懼高症~

‘新’的楼梯

仙洞很原始。打亮山洞的光不是來自於LED燈而是自然的陽光！這裡真的住著仙子嗎？感覺這裡是他們的玩遊戲的院子，因為真的好大好大！

好大的"院子"

人小的如蚂蚁

大大的世界

站在仙洞的高處往下看，人都很渺小~ 你看！不遠的人，就像螞蟻一樣呢！ 2隻手指就能壓扁她！

在我手里！

下山後，我們到不遠的保靈山玩耍。這裡的小山洞擺了幾尊佛像，是華人參拜的地方。也有不少其他種族來此參訪~ 爬仙洞耗了我們的體力，在這裡，我們吃了2條冰棒及一粒雪糕包。奇怪呀，為何就是沒有雪糕’古油包‘?! *還是不解*

饿了，渴了~ 呵呵

在石隆門小鎮，我們發現了一間好吃好喝的咖啡室。在這裡，我一人就喝了3杯飲料。他們家的檸檬茶，檸檬汁，奶茶太好喝了！叉燒燒肉燒雞也是。還有那碗充滿肉香鹹菜香的湯！簡單又美味！我們大家吃得贊不絕口。決定下次再來這里大吃大喝！呵呵~ 沒辦法，我們以食為先，呵呵~

便宜又好吃！

老旧的木店屋

默默照亮路的路灯

美麗的發現 - Bako National Park

我開始越來越愛我的家鄉了~

這幾週，我去了 Bako National Park, 去了石隆門，去了 Borneo Highlands ，去了 Ann​​a Rais...

最後一次去 Bako 是十幾年前。當時我們留宿一晚。那時的設備也不先進。洗澡的水來自大地 ----> 雨水。洗了好像沒洗過一樣，呵呵~ 晚上用餐時，我們被猴子兄弟們圍觀。我們吃的很急，深怕猴子來搶食。 十幾年後，Bako 變得摩登多了。有自來水，有水泥屋，還有冷氣房！幸好原始的森林仍被保護。

我們的 Sampang 船抵達時，還有隻山豬來出來歡迎我們，可愛極了~

大自然的美！

我們選擇走最短的山路。但越走越吃力，因為有些地方的確是要爬上去或爬下山的。有人邊走邊抱怨。當天天氣真的很熱，有些平時沒運動的，對他們來說的確是吃力的。大家互相鼓勵，盼望爬山後的那頓海鮮餐。

到底是造桥的人辛苦还是走桥的人辛苦？

其實國家公園真的是寶藏！好多稀有的花草樹木，昆蟲，動物，石頭等等。好好去欣賞，不難發現它的魅力。

終於走到終點。迎接我們的是遼闊的海洋。從山崖往前看，好美的海，好美的山，好美的天空，好美的世界！這裡的海風，把所有的累都吹散了！

陶醉在美景里

我是到了月球吗？

一部分的人決定用自己的力量走回去，而我和幾位朋友，決定用金錢買時間和力氣，呵呵~ 聽起來很沒出息吧？ 俗語不是說‘一寸光陰一寸金，寸金難買寸光陰’嗎？古人的智慧我們可是有聽進去的喲~ 這寸金不但買到了時間，還買到了海中美麗的景色 ---> Sea stack 還有遙遠的山都望山。另外我們及時回到HQ, 幸運的避過了場大雨。當我們在食堂快樂的補充飢餓時，其他大夥們正在森林裡冒著雨回來。可見聽古人的勸告是重要的！呵呵~

远方有个sea stack， 你看到了吗？

7块钱买到光阴还有美景！呵呵

‘辛苦’后的奖励： 海鲜餐~

相見恨晚~

最近有一種相見恨晚的感覺。
是否人要到某些年紀才懂得什麼叫感恩，什麼叫珍惜？
不管是什麼原因， 慶幸自己有了這種感覺....

曾經我覺得這個家鄉無趣。感覺很落後，設備也比不上西馬。
曾經大家勸我不要在這裡久留因為沒有前途。
曾經外地朋友們來探訪，我絞盡腦汁想不到古晉有什麼好玩好看好吃好做的。
曾經我看到來訪的外國人，心想他們應該很後悔來到這麼悶的地方。

不是古晉的錯，是我晚了用心去體會它~

或許年紀大人，開始懂得品嚐生活。
生活，不是來自於人事物。
生活，對我來說來自於自己如何看待這個世界。
好心情來自於自己的內心。

外國朋友們將到古晉一遊。
我覺得我有責任呈現古晉最美的一面。
這幾個週末，我忙昏頭了。
準確的來說，我是忙著玩耍，呵呵~ 但我是帶著責任去玩耍的喲~

也因為他們，我更深入了解我的家鄉。
也因此，我發掘了很多’秘密‘。
也因此，讓我更愛這個家鄉。

原來它一直都很美~
我.... 差點錯過了.....

等著我們去發掘的寶藏

老街，这次来真的啦!

朋友們說，我幹嘛要把自己搞得這麼忙。導覽要花自己的時間，又沒錢賺。

正是這樣的想法，古晉的百年老街才會不受大家的矚目和愛護。若連我們自己都這麼不在乎，又怎能讓其他人也愛護它呢？大家都花錢飛到檳城，馬六甲看古城，但卻“沒時間”去了解只要踏出自己家門的“老巴殺'〜

我雖不是老街長大的小孩，但我熱愛這個地方。因為這裡是‘我們’的開始。
看著古建築一間間的被拆掉，我心裡很難過，也抱怨政府和人民為何這麼不懂得保護古蹟。

抱怨不能改變任何事情，所以我決定以我微小的力量為老街做一點事情。雖然這個決定來的不容易，但還是豁出去了，呵呵〜

經過3個月的上課和尋找資料，我才發現，原來我之前這麼不認識自己的家鄉！

原來所見的跟所知的可以差這麼多！

原來一條老街隱瞞了這麼多秘密！

那天突然收到團長的電話，問說這星期六可否幫忙導覽。是學校的活動。

這星期六？！既是大後天吶！我沒有心裡準備。更沒有準備任何資料！

團長說，對象除了華人，還有馬來人和原住民，所以得用英語導覽。我連中文都說不好，還得說英語哦。但我心想，小孩子應該還OK啦〜也不用說的太詳細，畢竟還小，說太多他們也聽不進。我計劃好以遊戲方式帶動他們。我怎麼這麼聰明呀，呵呵~

第二天晚上，我們開會討論行程和主題時，我才知道原來對像不是小孩子而是學校的老師! 哈哈，我真的誤會大了。我跟其他團員說我原本的計劃，他們笑死了, 哈哈〜

星期五，我趁放工時間，趕快找資料。印了一些出來就趕緊回家。

晚上參加朋友的生日大餐，我連資料一起帶著。萬一有空，我可以看一看。哈哈，其實帶著也只是一種自我安心的方式而已，因為根本沒空看！

11點回到家，我認真的ķ資料到凌晨1點才睡。

每次都是我聽老師講課，現在我竟在老師面前“講課”！

說真的，剛開始有點擔心。我想像一堆嚴肅的臉孔看著我.....好恐怖！

後來我發現原來老師們私下也可以是這麼的‘幼稚’的。哈哈，跟我沒兩樣嘛 **突然覺得很有親切感 :P **

一切都很順利。雖然途中下起雨來但大家還是很認真的聽我們說故事〜

有老師說，他們常常會來這裡吃早餐，或經過這裡，但從來不知道老街的故事。這次更認識這個地方了。

照片from 砂拉越华人学术研究会属下的文化导览团 FB

献丑了~

聽了真的很開心。 覺得付出的時間和力氣都值得了~ 

下一代是否能跟我們一樣能看到這老街，在這老街穿梭就在我門的手裡了。

有空你也來聽聽我們說老街的故事，好嗎？

《小小生病體悟語》

在醫院時，有位同事上班時間突然跑來找我。
她說：我找你找了好多天！打(電話）去你的位子總是沒人接。原來你在這裡！
找我找的那麼急，怎麼啦？我問她。
她回說她有心事想要跟我說~
也就是說，她找不到我的期間，她被她的心事困擾了好幾天 @-@

安慰她後，她鬆了氣的說早知道就來這裡找我。

躺在病床上，我突然體悟：

尿憋久了會尿道發炎
屎憋久了會便秘
心事憋久了會有心病，會失去快樂
照這樣來說，真的不該憋。
不該留的應該及時‘丟掉’
丟掉是為了走更長遠的路。

Searching for new love~~~

It was 3 am in the morning.

I was still wide awake.

My body was tired but my brain refused to go to sleep.

I replayed today's events - what did I do or had that made me unable to sleep?

Was my brain too stimulated from the cleaning which I did just before i went to bed?

Wait! My heart was bumping pretty crazily, it must be the bitter coffee which I struggled to finish this afternoon! Darn~ 

I was once addicted to milk tea.

After many years, I finally got rid of my milk tea addiction.

However, I am hooked to white coffee instead.

I must admit, I'm not really great in coffee. Black coffee tastes like medicine. I don't know how ppl can be addicted to it. And sometimes coffee makes my heart beats faster than usual and gives me headache.

White coffee on the other hand, tastes pretty good to me coz it's not too bitter and not too sweet. Although coffee at some places can still make my heart pumps faster and gives me headache.

Then my addiction went a bit wild. I started having Kopi C (white coffee) everyday. Sometimes even having it twice a day @.@

Lately, I feel my heart pumping fast after coffee and my body starts sweating.

I think it's my body telling they don't want coffee. 

I think I should listen to my body and quit drinking coffee.

It's time to find new love.

Searching.... searching.....

生病記~

曾經聽過一位講師說， 經歷不代表經驗。剛開始我有點聽不懂。後來我才知道，對耶，真的不一樣！

你可以經歷了一件事但沒有‘走出來’。你還是你，或者是更糟的你。

當你突破自己時，那就是‘經驗’了。

上週一連串的事情同時發生。一位朋友來醫院探望我時，聽我冷靜的訴說（其實也說了幾十遍）我入院的過程。她看著我說，你怎麼這麼冷靜這麼開朗啊？她離開後，我想了 想她剛剛的話。我真的冷靜真的開朗嗎？

星期一 11/4

吃了早餐後，我覺得肚子抽痛。我以為大姨媽要來拜訪了。後來我越想越不對勁因為到了中午，連個影子都沒有。

午餐點了雲吞和奶茶，越吃越想吐。朋友說鐵定是身體熱到了。帶我去買風痧丸。吃了反而更想吐。肚子抽痛的更猛烈，渾身也開始無力了。後來才決定看醫生。

我向來只吃中藥，因為我自認為中藥可以治本而不像西藥這樣只是把病暫時‘壓下去’。吃藥後，晚餐什麼都沒吃就去休息了。不料當晚卻開始不斷的嘔吐。我爸媽 嚇壞了因為我 很少這樣。後來吃了一點胃藥就睡著了 （又自己當醫生，呵呵）。

星期二 12/4

肚子還是疼。開始不能站直了。去看西醫。他細心的檢查，然後叫我放心，確定不是盲腸。太好了！他診斷是腸胃炎，開了藥我就回家休息了。一天除了肚子還是抽 痛外，一切都很平靜。晚上也早早去睡覺。但刺激的事情來了....

晚上肚子激痛到醒起來3次。我抱著肚子，捲成熟蝦的姿態。我記得我心裡想，癌症的病人真的很可憐，我這樣偶爾的抽痛就讓我難以入眠，難受。何況他們的痛是 無時無刻的。在祈禱中，我睡覺。

星期三 13/4

再跟老闆請一天假。

第三天了，肚子的抽痛有增沒減。老爸建議我還是去照肚子比較保險。

老實說，我活了這大把年紀，只驗過血一次，而且是13年前。好啦，把你的下巴收起來。 20個人聽了都是這個反應。我知道了.....

Anyway, 中午時間，我到我 Office 後面的醫院看醫生。那位女醫生按壓， 放開我的肚子，還真的很痛吶。她說確定不是盲腸（再一次歡呼！）但發炎的狀況似乎有點嚴重。抽了血我就回家休息等待消 息。 2小時候後，醫院打來說報告出來了，叫我回去見醫生。這次是驗血的，應該可以對症下藥的吧？好期待拿了藥回家休息。

到了醫院，醫生叫我等一下。然後我看她很忙的到處走。後來她跟另外一位醫生一起走過來（大事不妙）。她說我的報告不是很樂觀，發炎很嚴重但還在找源頭。另 外一位是腸胃醫生，他再幫我檢查。簡單的幾個檢查後，腸胃醫生要我做多幾個比較深入的檢驗。很快的，我就被推入急診區，護士們幫我插管，開始了一連串的檢 查。約下午3點，醫生過來跟我說，我今天不能回家，要住院觀察。

我平時不來做檢查，一檢查就是入院？哈哈~ 

我記得我還跟醫生求情先讓我回家打包一些東西過來，但醫生不答應。說這樣的情況開車很危險。就這樣，我被送入病房。幸好我的office 就在後面，我請同事在我桌位幫我打包幾本書，借了電話 charger, 拿些飲用水等等給我。 Office 就在後面，真的太方便了！哈哈~ 爸媽晚上也帶了好吃的粥給我補身體，還有一些書（但為何都沒帶換洗的衣服給我呀？好可愛）

我媽媽看見我的模樣，心疼的問我晚上要不要她在這裡陪著。當然不用呀。沒床睡很不舒服的。我自己可以的。我早已當著自己是來度假２，3天了。可以趁機休息 其實也不錯呀。我告訴媽媽我真的沒事。 。 。很快又是活虎一隻了。

我在醫院過３天２夜。很多人來探望我。連不熟的人也來了，呵呵。謝謝大家的關心呢~ 

這期間，雖然有很多痛苦（肚子疼痛，加上一直發燒，燒退了然後又發。還因此差點得多留院一晚），但其實我很享受在醫院什麼都不用做（因為什麼也做不了）的 時間。只是靜靜的跟自己相處，靜靜閱讀那些年買了但沒時間看的書。清晨時分靜靜的跟我的”新朋友“一起站在窗前看著外面忙碌的世界。靜靜的發呆著，什麼 都不想。

你多久沒靜靜的跟自己相處了？

一場病後，發現健康還是最重要的。有時，休息是為了走更長的路。所以何不偶爾放自己一個假呢？哪怕只是1小時，也是可以讓疲憊的心靈有個呼吸的機會。

一場小病換來那麼多體悟，我覺得也不是件壞事~ 在醫院裡，我看到其他病人病的比我更嚴重，讓我覺得自己有多幸運，生命有多脆弱。活著就該快樂。曾經聽到這一句話：沒有過不了的事，只有過不了的心情。真的，深深體會.......

沒有過不了的事，只有過不了的心情

日久生情~

跟他朝夕相對、相依為命幾天～

連上洗手間也緊緊跟隨著我。

告別時,  我竟然還有點依依不捨! 我是瘋了嗎?

my companion

肯定是藥打太多了..... 呵呵

Cherish before it's gone....

We came home one day to find this....

All Flat! T__T

ALL gone.... Not even sparing my mum's secret farm...

Impermanence 

It reminds me to cherish while you still have it... You never know when you will lose it....

What have I been up to lately.....

LIFE has been HECTIC lately... 

Our minister has encouraged the people in the country to do two jobs instead of complaining about them not doing enough to lighten our daily burden. Brilliant idea to solve the problem! Since we cannot depend on our "mother" to provide for us, I guess we will just have to suffer and work our ass off to earn a living.

These days, if i get to sleep before 1 AM, it is a bonus to me. If i am still able to wake up the next day, it's a celebration...  It's not the kind of life I'm used to.... I have not been going to the gym for 3 months! Money down the drain T___T  ; I turned down invitations to food gatherings (oh gosh!, is this even normal?);  I couldn't meet my friend who visited from outstation;  I skipped lunches to run errands and etc.. basically, my life is turned upside down and I no longer have any ME time.... except when I'm in the bathroom :P 

I guess I could make this a HUGE fuss because indeed, i have lost all my freedom T_____T but.... do I want to kill my own body cells by feeling unhappy about the change? What's the use of complaining since it doesn't solve anything except making myself even more upset.

I'm a practical person and I believe that only by take steps to adjust to the change will make life easier. Yes, it's a MIND GAME. It's an opportunity to upgrade myself and change for the better anyway... 

I must admit, it's not easy doing 2 jobs. So much things to do but too little time. How i wish there were TWO of me! I can sense Jane's objection :P

Anyway, no matter how busy life is, we should still remember to slow down and smell the flower... Too bad there are no flowers at the moment since it has been raining non-stop lately. 

How about sipping some wine with old friend at the old part of the town?

Chit Chat over a bottle of wine 

This, i like :P

We also spotted this beautiful "painting" by the mother nature and human beings. Love how the leaves were silhouetted against the wall. Kinda feel serene just by looking at it. 

Beautiful isn't it?

Happiness is not how much you have, it's how you see the world....

New Discovery

I thought I should write a post here, just to leave a footprint since 29/2 only happens once every 4 years. How rare~

On this “auspicious” day, I think I should write something happy, something positive. After all, we only get to live this day once every 4 years.

The week before CNY, it rained EVERYDAY in Taipei. Although it’s inconvenient especially when we had to bring the whole house with us.  What to do when there is an 11 month old nephew with us?

We told my sister that may be she should create a fan page for YY. He attracted sOOooo much attention! Even strangers stopped and looked at him and told my sister how handsome and adorable YY is haha….  Too bad we did not meet any Star rearcher or else YY could star in some baby commercials in Taipei and make some money to subsidize our vacation :P

2 days before CNY, it suddenly stopped raining. Could you imagine how happy we were! It was a breezy afternoon with a bit of sunshine, Jane and I decided to cycle around. We went to the nearest MRT station to hire U-bikes. Then, we cycled EVERYWHERE aimlessly. It was great fun! We even cycled to the eatery my parents like when they were there 2 years ago.... just to see whether they would be opened the next day. Too bad they were close for CNY preparation. What to do? it's a big event after all.

We had come to Taipei countless of time. Every part of it feels familiar to us. Somehow, Taipei feels different when we cycle around. I don’t know why but I like the feeling.  I discovered nice places which I didn’t see before when walking. I cycled in a big city full of crowds and cars and high rise buildings, somehow I felt like I was cycling in a park! It’s strangely amazing!

On the first day of CNY, the city was practically empty. We cycled on 忠孝东路 like we owned the street! We cycled back and forth and sang 忠孝东路"骑车‘9遍 at the same time.. I know, we were over-excited haha... 

Discover Taipei via U-bike

The weather during CNY has been great. Jane and I went cycling at every chance we had but we still have a lot to cover. The next time we cycle, we plan to explore this little old place located in the heart of the modern city called 四四南村。Oh, i can't wait~ 

我回来啦！

好久不見！大家還好嗎？

好久沒更新我的部落格了。我知道你們想我，所以不論我多忙，還是要update一下。說我貼心，其實是怕太久沒更新，你們以後都不來了 :P

這新年，我過得很充實。

法國的小侄子終於要到廣州跟爺爺奶奶首次見面，一起過年啦~

貪玩（還是念家）的姐姐提議，在回廣州之前，先​​到台北玩耍。問我們要不要一起到台北來個 Pre-CNY　團圓。 哇，可以不用飛几十个小时到法國探望他們，當然去呀， 呵呵~

但...我們家的爸媽永遠不能給我們肯定的出國的日期。每每問他們，他們都說‘看先’。媽媽這次倒是爽快一些。他說‘我們二十九去，過年初三回來’。哇，我媽媽這麼豪爽呀！ 1月29號到2月10號是整整13天耶~ 這下我可先問問我姐姐們，老闆了。畢竟真的很長。

由於大家分散在不同地方，決定一件事情變成了一個挑戰。在等大家的回應期間，我趕緊先請我的旅行社朋友幫我 reserve 飛機票。簡單的放個名字可以鎖出較低的價格嘛，呵呵~ 這是經驗之談因為本人花了很多冤枉錢，只因為我的爸媽很愛最後一分鐘也下不了決定 T___T　吸取以前的'痛“，這次我當然要機靈一點，動作快一點。有句話說'功夫是假，手腳要快！” 哈哈，的確没錯~

不巧，我的朋友带團出國了，我只好請她的助理幫忙~  我對我這次的效率真的感到太自豪了！接下來就不用擔心機票漲價啦！可以放心了等待姐姐的回复了。耶！

幾個小時後，我朋友的助理打給我說機票已經訂好咯，問我什麼時候過去拿。我愣住了一下。只是放個​​名字而已，有需要拿票嗎？後來才發現，她誤會了我的意思，竟然出票了！歐麥卡！我們的台北之旅就這樣陰差陽錯的被確定了~ 心裡百感交集~

幸好後來姐姐們也很合作，喬出時間配合我們。老闆也爽快的批准了我的長假。真的感溫啊~

要去台灣前幾天，真的超級無敵的忙。除了要完成手上的工作外，還要打掃家和買年貨準備過年。雖然年初一到三不在家，但接下來還有12天是新年，當然不可以馬虎。另外還要準備給姐姐和侄子帶回法國的東西，打包行李，換錢等等。時間不够用呀，真希望一天有 48個小時！

要出國前的前几个晚上，媽媽抱怨說，為何要那麼早去台北，"害"他要在短短時間忙上忙下，有點累。唉呀，要29號去可是他自己說的呢~ 結果她回我說，他提議農曆29去台灣的。

農曆29和陽曆29差整整9天吶！我沒想到媽媽給我農曆日期呀~ 這真的是一個大烏龍！

機票和時間都弄錯～　好吧，看來我們是注定要去台北這麼多天的了，就順緣吧，呵呵~ 就這樣，我們在台北玩耍了13天，留下了美麗的回憶，當然還有爆炸多的行李！

Family time in Taipei!

離台當天，我和爸媽的 check in luggage 一共 93公斤。除此之外，我們還有8件手提包和行李。真的快把整個台北帶回來了，呵呵~

Ready to Welcome the Monkey King :P

Chinese New Year is 11 days away~

I bet everybody must be busy with the preparation at the moment.

This year, we started the cleaning, decorating and stock replenishing processes a bit earlier. Yup, lesson learned last year.. hehe... 

Everything is faster this time because my super mum is doing most of the work. 

There is a Chinese saying "To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools" (工欲善其事，必先利其器). I so strongly agree with this! Effective tools do make work and life easier and increase my efficiency too!

When I was in Uni, i came across a statement in one of our tutorial rooms. It reads: "Dear Boss, you can't use yesterday's tools to do today's job and be in business tomorrow". So true. Everything is changing so fast and if we do not change ourselves, one day we will be left behind. That's the way the world works. So u can either sit there, complain about the speed of change and wait for things to change to suit you, which rarely happens... or you could upgrade yourself to beat the speed of change. The choice is in your own hand. After all, you are the writer of your own life...

This year, I use 3 effective cleaning tools  - a vacuum cleaner, Amway multipurpose cleaner and my spin mop. Of course, the most important cleaning agent is ME hehe.. without me, these 3 items are useless. Agree? hehe

I did major makeover at some areas of my home. I re-arranged the setting, vacuumed and then mopped the place. In no time, it becomes spotless. Man, how i love that I was able to complete more tasks in less time! 

My home is now ready for CNY~ 

Have a blessed CNY!

Another incident :S

I accidentally hit my foot against the edge of the refrigerator door when i opened it. 

I didn't think it was serious until i saw blood on the floor where I had walked. 

Sigh, another painful experience T____T

Fresh wound

Don't ask me how I could hurt myself so often. If I knew the answer, you wouldn't see a category created just for "Painful Experience"....