My CNY

What does Chinese New Year (CNY) means? A public holiday (for those working)? A time to collect ang pow (for the kiddos)? A time to spend money (for most people)? It seems like more and more CNY become an excuse for commercial activities. Buy new clothes, accessories, home improvements, foods (I know many Chinese do spend a lot on this item on this very occasions), travel (many take this long holiday seasons to do traveling). Excuse me, what do all these mean? And we Malaysian are so used to saying “Gong Xi Fa Cai” (may you prosperous), and all these seems to me CNY = money matters.

Yes, Malaysian and many others Chinese rushed home for reunion dinner every CNY. Yet, I have one question. How many really home while at home? How many bring their hearts home and really cares about the family members? I know that it is common in a Malaysian Chinese family when all the family members together, they likes to start the “I am better” competition. The kiasu-ness shown to the very maximum, comparing the house, career, money and the children and every other aspect of life that they could think of. Aiyah, why don’t just take the time to really care about our old parents that raise us up? Or spend more quality with your own child, understanding their needs?

We feast on the luxury foods. We look for dishes that have auspicious meaning, hoping that it with bring us luck for the New Year. Some go out and dine in the restaurant, paying through their nose as most restaurants markup extensively for the CNY dishes. Some let their old mum do all the cookings. To me, I think what food to have is less important. What’s important is that all get together and cook the food. Take the chance to bring everyone closer. If you prefer to dine out, at least spend the time to cherish the food and the time together with people that you love of.

Regarding the traditions, many have been diluted and forgotten in this busy and modern society. Many young kids nowadays only thinks about ang pow and how much it have inside the ang pow. I have overhead kids complained that this aunt / uncle is so stingy only give RM 2 as the ang pow money. Wondering they ever know the true meaning of ang pow. Ang pow is also called “ya sui qian” or “li shi” in Mandarin. Why is “ya sui qian” or “li shi” given by the elder to the young ones during Chinese New Year? The name itself “ya sui qian” and “li shi” explained why. “Ya Sui Qian” if I do a translation means money to bless the year and “li shi” means auspicious. So when someone gets an ang pow is means the blessings someone gives to you. So it is not so much about the money but the sincerity. So, please thank anyone who gives you an ang pow.

To me, Chinese New Year is reunion time, so be with you love ones. Take the time out to care about them, to give them your love. It is also means start of year as CNY is the beginning of spring. It’s time to forget about the past, no matter it is success or failure, good or bad. It is time to acknowledge and let go. It’s time to think about improvement and start to work towards it with a positive attitude.

I think that’s what CNY meant to me. Finally I wish all an auspicious year of Ox, may all be blessed with abundance in every aspects of life. Gong Xi Gong Xi.

有故事的人

許多次我被身邊的人問,“其實你喜歡的是什麼?什麼才是你熱愛的?”。我常常都無言以對。對了什麼才是我所愛﹖難道我是鐵石心腸的人,沒有熱愛的東西。我也常常為了這疑問而懊惱。不斷的追問自己,什麼是我所愛?

今天我又再次被電視介紹旅遊的節目深深的吸引,着迷着。無疑我喜愛旅遊,可是我可以用熱愛嗎?我真的有所保留。但至少我對它是感興趣的。同時在看完節目後,我發覺我也喜愛聽故事。關于人的故事,關於一個地方的故事。我相信,每個人,每個地方,每個物件都有故事。只要我們用心的去發掘,留心去聽和感受,它就會有感人之處。會不會正因為我愛發掘每個地方不同人物和地點不同的故事而喜歡旅行呢?着疑問浮現在我腦海裡,但現時我還沒一個答案。

也許我朋友講的對,熱愛由發掘自己的興趣開始,然後再慢慢培養。因此,我要去搜索。看看尋找故事是否是我所愛,而從中找到我熱愛的與我的志嚮。也許有一天,我也可以成為一個有動人故事的人。同時我也可以與大家分享許多別的事,物,地點的故事,可以讓你們感動。

Happy Niu Year

Wishing all a Happy Niu (Ox) Year! May all have a great year, blessed with wealth, health and success!!

After a long break in my blog, I already have few topics lining up to blog on...

Gong Xi Gong Xi. Gong Xi Fa Da Cai!!

Star Fish

My encounter with Starfish at Teluk Batik, Lumut.

Stay tune for my travel experience blog to T.Batik ^o^

Aging Gracefully

I received lots of birthday wishes and one of them is happy aging. I personally thinks that it is a very interesting way of greetings and it makes me reflects on the word of age.

Yes, every birthday passed and it means we add one more year to the figure. What does age means? Does age means we grow older? In today society, I think it is generally perceive aging with a negative perspective. Terms that usually associate with age includes deteriorate in health, beauty, capability or even death (even that this is one of the subject that human like to avoid the most). Yet, I would like to share with you a positive meaning of aging.

Life is like a travel journey. Each day passed we deposit more memories to our memory banks. As we age, it means that we have more deposit sits in our bank. So, shouldn’t we celebrate and thankful for being able to age.

Age itself is just a figure. It is not an excuse that we can do this and that because we are at a certain age. It is actually a matter whether we want to do it or not? A person can be very old but very young at heart. It is just that many of us pre-fix that at a certain age, a person should do this and that, or not to do this and that. Well, why sentence ourselves to jail (mentally) as we age and as we have more pre-fix concepts? Supposedly, as we age, we are more experience in life and we gain more skill to create and add more colours to our memory bank. Somehow, human always hold on too much to our past experiences (esp. bad ones) and we become less and less adventurous in life. So shouldn’t we learn to age smarter and more gracefully?

And this is one of my birthday wish this year. May I able to learn to age gracefully. Lead on a happier and fuller life. Be alive while i'm alive!

Thank you

No matter is a simple sms, phone call or facebook message, I really appreciate the birthday wishes my frens and family had sent me. It is the thoughts that counts.

It makes me realised that I have the best gift in the world already - there are so many people that cares about me! I am happy and thankful for the abundance in life. Yay!!

Thank you for all the wishes. I wish you all well and abundance in life too!!

Busy, Blind or Death

Busy, 忙 -Mandarin we pronounce it as "mang". Blind, 盲- Mandarin pronunciation is "mang". Death, 亡 - Nope it is not pronounce as "mang" but "wang".

In old days, Taiwanese singer Sylvia Chang sang a song 忙與盲(Busy and Blind). If you are not familiar with this song, please see the original lyrics below. (Sorry no English translation).

曾有一次晚餐和一張床　在什麼時間地點和那個對象我已經遺忘　我已經遺忘　生活是肥皂香水眼影唇膏許多的電話在響　許多的事要備忘許多的門與抽屜　開了又關　關了又開如此的慌張我來來往往　我匆匆忙忙　從一個方向到另一個方向忙忙忙　忙忙忙　忙是為了自己的理想　還是為了不讓別人失望盲盲盲　盲盲盲　盲的已經沒有主張　盲的已經失去方向忙忙忙　盲盲盲　忙的分不清歡喜和憂傷　忙的沒有時間痛哭一場

I love this song very much as it reflects the life of a city girl like me. It talks about people who chase over results and life become robotic. Sometimes, we are so busy until we are blinded on the directions we are heading. It says here that, because of busy we’re unable to distinguished happiness or sadness in life. And because of busy, we don’t have time for us to cry.

We always claim that it is a fact that city people have a busy life. We are busy with our work and we have no time for our family, children, everything and ourselves. We are so busy, we rush in everything we do. We eat, yet our mind is somewhere else thinking about work, boy friend dates, family commitment and so on. Most of the time, we didn’t even know the taste of the food we eat. We are so busy and used to the fast pace and that we didn’t chew our food properly. Same applies to every other thing we do. Physically we are doing one thing and mentally we are busy thinking on the next thing. Busy, that we never see what is now. Aren’t we blinded, living this way?

To me, it is not only busy and blind (忙與盲). It is busy, blind and death (忙,盲與亡). When we are blinded with busyness death follows. Why I termed it this way? When we hide behind the excuse of busy for everything, it means death of heart “亡”. It is so simple for us to tell someone or even ourselves that “I’m busy” and so we ignore the incident happened to us as if we have nothing to do with it. We forget or ignore the dinner with our beloved parents, because we are busy. Relationship dies. We don’t waste a single minute in enjoy the happiness and go through the sadness. Emotion dies. We stop giving to other because we don’t have the time. Love dies. We haven’t got the time to even care about our health, busily and blindly chasing over the material things (that we think is so valuable) and one day death comes, and realized there is nothing but emptiness.

Next time, before we tell others or ourselves that “I’m busy”. Stop and think twice, are we really that busy, or we simply reluctant to stop and look at now and be alive? I believe busy is just an excuse. I think if I can embrace the “stop and look at now” practice more, I will have much more time, my world would have more colours and I’ll be living more present. So let’s us keep the “busy, blind and death” away and enjoy the beautiful life of now.

Happy New Year

HAppy New YEar!! I choose 2009 to be a great year in my life.

New year means a new start for me. Lots of dreams to realise, put in the efforts and pray for the best. Enjoy every single step of my journey. Celebrate every win I have and acknowledge any wrongs that I do and move on.

Go Go GO!!