A night out

My very kind and thoughtful friends organised an outing to meet up. It is very nice of them and I really appreciate it, I was going to ask them over this weekend to kinda of celebrate my birthday (i am a low profile personlah). They were quicker than me. Korean Bulgogi and mixed riced was yummy followed by a 90min exploration of True Fitness. My impression of True Fitness is mixed, negative points are confusing layout and very loud music (are we in a lounge?). Positive points are lots of machines and lots of classes. 74 yoga class a week! However, in terms of quality of the classes is something I woule like to find out.

found something I wrote down in the past...
7th December 2004

I am on my way to Brisbane on SIA. Had a very early start of 4am. Watched Princess Diary II and Before Sunset. Before Sunset is a highly intellectual movie discussing live, love and being alive. I would buy this DVD. I find it interesting, the idea of enjoying the process and the moment makes the person happy rather than having big ideals. I wonder what aspiration would one be to enjoy the moment. Law of nature (yin vs yang, positive vs negative, process vs big dreams, patience vsimpatience) is correct. Next movie is Cat Woman. I kind of like travelling, it is spiritually healing.

ha ha, not sure what I meant in the last part.

The Race

Our adventure to eat steamboat restaurant proves to be quite a race. This is our third attempt to eat steamboat in the last 6-8 months. At least we are successful today but not the last 2 times, once was on Father's day and another was a normal saturday evening.

Everthing about eating steamboat is about racing. We have to go early or else the queue can be number 28 which means wait for another 28 tables to be cleared before we can get one. Hungry stomach can't wait and hence dissapointment. Today, we have decided to go early and to prevent past mistakes, we took an early lunch. Early lunch is "alang alang" and ended taking snack (pisang goreng and cikodok goreng) at 2pm.

Finally, we arrived at the restaurant at about 1745 and there were only 2 other tables occupied. Hey, not bad we almost have the restaurant to ourselves. A feeling of victory! Then we look for the perfect table which is not under the cold blowing wind and must be near enough the food counter so that we can see what's being replenished. We started and it is 100% natural response to take the most valuable item which are the prawns and put it into the pot to boil. While waiting, the hungry stomachs needs to be filled and ended up eating "nasi goreng" of all things. The 100% natural selection for prawns proves to be true for all other tables too.

I count the available choices, it was at least 100 types of different things. A big % of that can be categoried under "meatballs and miscelleanous meatballs". I think I must have had the most number of meatballs any day of my life.

(;^o^)

So far so good, we sat beside a young couple who was already there before us. My mom sat facing them. They have big appetite and put us little eaters to distress. My mom wanted to eat the "ayam goreng" which looked very nice in our neighbours table but turned out to be super hard. Our theory is that the ayam is probably collected from other chicken rice shop. My mom had to race with the neigbour or shall I say the neigbours were good food promoters. This is kinda of fun nevertheless.

We agreed the best food is actually the dessert, there is kuih talam, seri muka, jelly, others and ice cream. A one and half our later, our little stomach is fuller than it should be and we are the first table to leave, leaving our old and other new neighbours in their quest to seek payback and seek return of value > than investment. ;-)

The story is not yet over, as we were driving out of the block, we passed another steamboat restaurant which has a queue outside and we wondered if we had gone to the right restaurant after all...

Wife : Can you replace the the broken light bulb in the room as it is distrubing me during meditation.

Wife (smiles) : I know it is not suppose too but I will like balance source of light.

Husband (smiles) : You should write this down as a joke!

Wiser : The light did not distrub you because you are the one who is aware of the light and not the meditation, therefore your mind is disturbed by your own thinking and if you are fussy, then the light is your object and not peace.

Breath of Fire (2)

It has been 3 classes of breath of fire so far. The amusing thing is I really like this class even though it is not a popular class by all measures. The class is neither difficult nor easy, we got to work very hard and there is always benefit to reap at the end.

The benefit is lots of energy afterwards and a complete "reset of the state of mind". Terrorlah. Very suitable for those who operates in super stress environment. You have to experience it to know what I mean. I will be sticking to this for the next 3 months and see what happens then.

Peace and Happiness through Dhamma

as a good student I take notes - 3/12/06

What is Dhamma?

Dhamma is the knowledge that enhances the quality of life. Quality of life is measured by how happy or peaceful one is. This is to be differentiated from quality of living. One who lives is in luxury house has higher quality of living compared to one who lives in a broken house. However, the rich person may not have higher quality of life compared to the poor person.

There are 2 aspects of Dhamma, the theoretical aspects and the application. One can be happy and peaceful the day one starts to apply.

How to apply?
Use The Noble Eightfold Path. The factors of the Path are inter-related and to be practised simultaneously. Those factors are mutually inclusive and mutually supportive. The Path is, of course, described in terms of three aggregates consisting of morality (sila), concentration (samàdhi) and wisdom (pannà).


The Noble Eightfold Path
1. Right Understanding (sammà diññhi)
2. Right Thought (sammà sankappa)
Practise of 1&2 leads to Wisdom (panna)

3. Right Speech (sammà vàcà)
4. Right Action (sammà kammanta)
5. Right Livelihood (sammà àjiva)
Practise of 3,4&5 leads to Morality (sila)

6. Right Effort (sammà vàyàma)
7. Right Mindfulness (sammà sati)
8. Right Concentration (sammà samàdhi)
Practise of 6,7 &8 leads to Concentration (samadhi)

Samadhi is to calm the mind. A calm mind can focus. The practice of Vipassana (insight) meditation has to go together with the practice of samadhi. Insight is the ability to see the cause and effect of relationship.

Practice of Dhamma also includes practice of Metta. The more one practices Metta the more selfless one becomes.

It is not true that it is difficult to practice. Think "One Step at a Time" and pushing the boundary of the practice. For eg, if one can meditate for 5 minutes comfortably, then one can push the limit to 8 or 10 minutes. The boundary is different from one to another.

Count My Blessings

I was in Manila since Monday and rushed back to avoid the possibility of clashing with Typhoon Durian which hit southern Phillipines on Thursday and it was scheduled for Manila Friday morning. Initially I was excited to hear that a storm is coming, have not have this kind of experience before. However, later due to safety reasons, some of us manage to leave the country earlier than scheduled, better be safe than be sorry.

The typhoon have little impact to the rich and middle class, other than a few days disruption of electricity and road closures in the cities. We were also told that some locals will die everytime a typhoon hits. It is very sad to know that and even more sad that nothing much can be done to prevent it.

Can you imagine if you are a villager and waiting for the typhoon to come through your kampung? Well, this is life for some people, and for those of us who are much better off, stop complaining and start living.

For more stories, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6197478.stm

Little Life's Instruction Book

"Have a firm handshake.
Look people in the eye.
Sing in the shower.
Own a great stereo system.
If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.
Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.
Always accept an outstretched hand.
Be brave. Even if you're not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.
Whistle often.
Avoid sarcastic remarks.
Choose your life's mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 percent of all your happiness or misery. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.
Lend only those books you never care to see again.
Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.
When playing games with children, let them win.
Give people a second chance, but not a third.
Be romantic.
Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is? as important as it first seems.
Don't allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It's there for your convenience, not the caller's.
Be a good loser.
Be a good winner.
Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.
When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.
Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.
Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.
Don't burn bridges. You'll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.
Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets
Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the one's you did.
Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.
Take charge of your attitude. Don't let someone else choose it for you.
Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital; you need only stay a few minutes.
Begin each day with some of your favorite music.
Once in a while, take the scenic route.
Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, 'Someone who thinks you're terrific.'
Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.
Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.
Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.
Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.
Become someone's hero.
Marry only for love.
Count your blessings.
Compliment the meal when you're a guest in someone's home.
Wave at the children on a school bus.
Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.
Don't expect life to be fair."

In my view, the above refers to Subject = "Life and Living" - Module 101 only.