The Lure of Nature: Sungei Buloh

I've been living in the far north (so close to Johore Bahru) for more than 3 years. But it never quite occured to me to pay a visit at Sungei Buloh Nature Park until lately. I guess it was after our second trip to the Southern Ridges that we thought we should venture there, together with our parents, for a nature walk.

Interestingly, the skies couldn't contain themselves each time we embarked on a nature trip. (Never seemed to pour when we went shopping?) It poured heavily that day on our way to the Park, exactly like the past two trips we made to the Southern Ridges. Oh well, extremely coincidental! The good part of it was that we had a very pleasant walk through the Park with cooling temperatures. Hardly a drop of perspiration despite trudging along the trails and footpaths.

Beautiful pond at the entrance. Doesn't this remind you of Monet's famous water lillies? Wow!



Our company of active, healthy elderly individuals - all raring to go!

The grandfatherly, kind park warden told us we should hang out at the exhibit areas to wait out the thunderstorm. So we did - for a while.

A 4 legged-crawling reptile of sorts surfacing from the swamp (ok, you can tell I am not into wild animals although I do appreciate nature!)

My folks stealing a rest at the Pavilion.


At Fred's command, we left, with brollies & water bottles.


I was intrigued that the sea bass we love to steam for dinner is actually a 'he-she'!

Random sightings of animals in the Park

Unfortunately, we didn't see no crocodile.


Right: weird-looking trees with roots growing above the swampy area

Left: bamboo but of a different kind... not the typical upright type (???)

Inside one of the hideouts



So up north we could see JB skyline... even the Malaysian telecoms welcomed us.

http://www.sbwr.org.sg/

I was barely 3 meters away from this nonchalant squrriel that just went chomp-chomp-chomp at his 'afternoon snack'. He wasn't a tad bothered by me & even switched sides halfway through his nutty-meal ;) Amazing! This was a rare personal encounter for a true-blue urbanite like me.

What a pleasant walk through these trails - reminds me of the numerous treks we took whenever we were overseas and I suddenly had the urge to repeat our ascent up Mount Kinabalu!! Well, that MUST be seriously considered - not the ascent but the descent, Unfortunately, my right knee has some wear & tear & I had to give up running ;( Not sure if the descent will take a toll on it. Otherwise, i really don't mind the ascent. The feeling was HEAVENLY. Ahhhhhh.. indescribable! The motivation to repeat the climb comes partly from the fact that we didn't really capture the amazing sunrise when we survived our way to the summit. Ran out of film (yes, still film back then!) Arrgghh...

Serenity

Calmness




Hear the birds call ... away from the hustle and bustle of city living, away from the stress and competition, back to Mother Nature, back to a place and time where living beings exist interdependently in nature's well-designed harmony.

Glad we didn't cancel our trip when it rained & hid in a shopping mall instead.

Dr Super Sis cured my flu!

I was a little downcast about a month back. Like I caught a bout of 'emotional flu'.

Generally, I rate my physical health as above average. I exercise on a regular basis and watch my weight, not merely for appearance's sake but for physical fitness. I don't come down easily with bouts of flu. I guess being able to pace myself at work and manage a good work-home balance are the main keys to a moderately low-stress lifestyle. Anywaz, stress loves to act out on my complexion, more than my upper respiratory tract. So - SIGH! Not that that's a good substitute.

As for emotional health, I rate myself above average for stability and I would say my typical affect in a week is - positive, i.e., peaceful, happy. Unless Fred and I have a tiff, which comes up once in a while (aha, those episodes can be likened to 'relationship flu') or we run into some annoying daily hassles, I normally feel uplifted.

But last month, my bout of emotional flu lasted for a while before it went away - slowly. The first tell-tale symptoms were a surge of anger, which slowly built up to an avalanche of a sense of injustice, of suffering mistreatment. Oh, how misery builds up! Then BAM!! I was hit! All defences down all of a sudden! I could feel my inside weakened and wounded, my spirit down, my thoughts skewed to the negative, my affect unhappy, displeased.

The funny thing was I spent some days actually trying to diagnose the root cause of this onset of flu, as it seemed totally impossible that it came shortly after a 'happy' event. I was trying to come to terms that I WAS actually emotionally 'ill'.

One of my self-help remedy was text-ing my sister. And here's what she did to cure me.

Dear Chin:
I was personally VERY blessed by this interview. It revolutionized my view of life. Hope it helps you too. You MUST read it.
Love,
TING

Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE " PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE" )
You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, "Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren , Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.
God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.
It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal wit h before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

Chinese New Year Celebrations: Wishful Lo Hei

CNY can be an annual hedonistic, gastronomical affair. Starting from eve of CNY eve, CNY eve, to Day 1, Day 2 and then nearing day 15 (which marks the last day of this festive period), I do what Chinese people do best - EAT. Lo Hei, which is the traditional tossing of Yu Sheng (raw fish slices) is one festive dish not to be missed.

The picture above shows a clever modification of Yu Sheng from Mrs Chia Siew Eng's kitchen. For some reason that I don't remember (aftermath of the last Asian economy crisis???), we never feast on REAL Yu Sheng. As a substitute, we get abalone mushroom shreds. Well, not that I am complaining, the fun of Lo Hei is the tossing act itself. Being with my family of origin, I can be myself - boisterous and uninhibited. So my lines this year were:

May the stock market be bullish!!!

May the property market crash!!!

These are my self-serving wishes for this year. But my very intellectual and serious brother-in-law looked at me and made a kind comment - Aren't you being contradictory? How can the stocks rise if the property market crashes? (me: ????? duh? duh?)

Well, that's why this is Lo Hei. Wishful statements only lah!

Other festive ingredients: prawns, roasted pork, sea cucumber (oh! what will I do without them!), abalone, a variety of mushrooms, pig's stomach ....

This year's pseudo-Yu Sheng Lo Hei saw Fred missing in action. He was present in the body but not in the spirit. The reason was: his body sent an extremely peculiar message to his brain that day. The message was decoded as 'I just ate lunch less than 4 hours ago and I am not hungry. I eat only when I am hungry. In fact, I am slightly put off by what these mere mortals are doing - eating, eating and eating!' So, with due respect for his self-regulation and discipline, we had to 'tah pow' some food for his later consumption. His 'deviant', non-festive behaviour set me thinking about myself: many times, I don't eat ONLY when I am hungry. I eat because I want to be with my family. Mmmm.. a family who eats together bonds together. How true! Well, no sanctions for the deviant son-in-law. One has to allow for individual self-expression and autonomy, even in a tightly-knit family ;0)

Chinese New Year Celebrations: Extended Family Gathering

Inevitably as I grow older each year, I become more and more nostalgic. Chinese New Year gathering with members of my maternal extended family is one such event that evokes nostalgia.

Among cousins whom I used to play with on regular Sunday gatherings at my granny's place, I was chief of them all. I am the oldest and one of the more boisterous and talkative ones. Naturally, I provided much of the leadership during our playtime. Back in those bygone years, while the adults gathered for their weekly mahjong sessions, we the children gathered for our make-belief and role-playing of movie scripts with imaginary 'good' and 'bad' characters. Some of us get typecasted unfortunately ;0)

When we got too exhausted shooting and killing one another or were simply bored lying down and pretending to bleed and die, we would break for granny's dessert. Sometimes, we gave up the high drama for reenactment of slices of everyday life, like becoming hawkers touting customers at the top of our voices. We exchanged our own currencies, made up our own laws. Someone would feel slighted, offended and retreat to a corner and cry in self-pity. An adult would intervene or we would just leave the poor outcast alone, until he or she was ready to rejoin the group. Little did we know, of course, that we, as children, were all really having a big dress-rehearsal for the ups and downs of life in the adult world. Now we know - with its fair share of happiness and heartaches.

This year, one of my younger cousins, Leonard, is getting hitched. Leonard is the elder son of my fifth and only uncle. My mother was his caregiver from the time he was an infant to his pre-school years. Leonard was much doted on by my sister, who even at that young age demonstrated very positive mothering qualities. No wonder God has now bestowed upon her two most beautiful children. As for me, my mother used to say I was simply too immersed in my own world and most times, was quite oblivious to my surroundings. This manifested in an impressionable episode when I was asked to babysit Leonard. I had him sitting and leaning on my chest. But I left him to do something and the next moment, a loud bang and he was lying flat on the marble floor, wailing out of shock and pain. Wow, lesson learnt - never imagine an infant can sit upright on his own, check before assuming. There were other hilarious moments - me getting annoyed at Leonard for writing on MY piece of homework; my mother complaining about Leonard doodling on HER table cloth, and lamenting on how he was too tardy learning his Chinese characters but loved counting his coins. As it turns out, Leonard is now branch manager of a local bank ;0)

In my memory, I cannot remember exactly when Leonard left us for formal school, when his younger brother Adam took over as the infant in our home and left us as well; and when all our weekly rowdy gatherings came to a natural death. Other things took over in all our teenage and adult years. Work, church, sports, girlfriends, boyfriends, marriage, children. Now, we the cousins meet once every Chinese New Year. Our interactions - one cousin proudly announced the freedom of staying single; another 'naughty' cousin commented on how I never seemed to have grown taller, much to my objection; others getting amused by watching the 'photocopied' versions of my sister - her children. Secretly, I imagine each of us must have had a fleeting thought that we will never be able to go back to being just children ourselves.

Lounging beside the pool in Icon where my cousin, Kenny's apartment is

Snapshots of Icon

View from Sky Terrace at 31st floor

Sanctuary-like terrace in resort-style high-rise living

 Fred pointing to a view

The Chronicles of the Children (Episode 12): Imaginary Play

The siblings took an imaginary car ride - right in my living room on Chinese New Year's eve. Di Di suggested going shopping, which was gladly taken up by Jie Jie. So off they went to buy food and ate a full meal. Initially, Di Di took time to ponder over the fact that his car had no wheels (not like the ones he has at home), hence it couldn't quite move. Gradually, he seemed to give up the idea of being pushed in his car. I guess he came to terms with it and settled instead with the imagination of a moving car, helped along with Jie Jie's enthusiasm and leadership. The duo brought back a huge sack of carrots from their shopping trip and ate them up instantly.

The Chronicles of the Children (Episode 11): Singapore's Next Top Model (Kid's Version)

I wanna write about winning Singapore's Next Top Model. The thing is - to be successful, you can't BE a model. You ARE one. Naturally. It's part of your being, your personality and what defines you. You dun scream - get those lights and camera off my face! Instead you say, well, I feel beautiful & happy right this moment. And I can express that cos the world's not gonna judge me for liking myself and being happy. That's the kind of free-spirit you need to have inside you.

Of course, there are other practical pointers in looking photogenic all the time. For instance:

1. Show some skin appropriately

2. Be slim and slender

3. Exude feminism (that puts you in a different league altogether)

4. Do a James Bond pose for fun

5. Be engaging with the camera

6. Be cheery & happy

7. Lastly, have a life - enjoy family & fun

Truly, the people behind my success deserve credit. I wanna thank my Grandma. She's the support behind my mum and has been greatly influential in shaping my mum's character. But of course, I also need to thank my Great-grandma, without whom my grandma would not have been positively influenced and would not have then been able to influence my mum.

Grandma, Great-grandma & me

And most of all, I thank my mum, the direct influence over my life and my success. Also, my little brother, Tristan, whose energy and creativity constantly inspire me to discover more of my world. Who will STILL play with me despite my bad hair days. I love you all, Tristan, Mum, Grandma and Great-grandma. MUACK!! Peace.

The Chronicles of the Children (Episode 10): Gong Ti Fat Tai!!!!

Hai, the economy is bad. Times are hard. To earn one ang-pow, I have to say a 4 syllabus-phrase sounding like 'Gong-Ti-Fat-Tai' and this being accompanied by clasping my hands into a fist. That's not enough. I have to shake my fist gently (because it's not kung-fu) and move them up and down while I say the phrase. And then, for some strange reason, this phrase has to be spoken with considerably loud volume and gusto. So I have to take a deep breath and almost shout it - Gong- Ti - Fat - Tai !!!! Preferably I say it with a cute smile but I forget most times because I have to focus on getting it out loud enough. Hai! Nowadays, it's hard to please those adults! Tough times, tough times.

Chinese New Year Celebrations - Steamboat & Fun with Kids!

The eve of Chinese New Year, we welcomed our first little guest. Tristan came with a well-rehearsed greeting of prosperity and wealth!! 'Gong-Ti-Fat-Tai!'

Not-so-little but equally adorable Ashley reciprocated warmly to Fred's open-arms' welcome. The gal was ever camera-ready. Look at her spontaneous pose!

These two people are undoubtedly my VIPs! Very Important People.. haha.


"My solo portrait taken at Chin Yi Yi's house - wanna see my kung fu moves?"

Ash, Tris, Rob & Ting looking picture-perfect.

This picture captured Tristan's yawn! haha. After a few rounds of 'Gong-Ti-Fat-Tai' & photo-taking, Tristan was tired.

Restless boy - "Dinner's not ready yet? Hai! Let me laze around first... couch's comfy"


While the VIPS were entertained in various ways - doodling with mummy and watching a Hello Kitty cartoon ...

... the kitchen was bustling with non-stop action. Commander-in-chief: Mrs Chia Siew Eng.

Yummy steamboat served! Thanks to Mr & Mrs Chia!

Ashley cooperating to get a good shot here - "Ash, your 'Gong Xi' too high, blocking your face... no, no, too low... move higher...." Everybody else concentrated on the food, with the exception of Mrs Chia (she has disappeared into the kitchen) and me, I was the picture-taking fanatic... hee.

Post-dinner entertainment: While the adults tried to watch 'Kung-fu Hustle' on TV, the VIPs imagined a choo-choo train ride by tucking themselves into the living room stools. Mmm... wise to invest in furniture that could double up for child's play since my other-times 'child-proof' home is completely devoid of toys and such.

The VIPs were cleaned and changed into their PJs, so that they could get into bed the minute they reached home.