A PG Breakfast

I was in my old neighbourhood, Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 for my half yearly dental appointment this morning. It was time for some breakfast after the appointment, I decided to pop over to food center at block 453 (453 market as we know it affectionately) to see if I could join my old pops for breakfast. 

There he was at his usual spot with 2 of his friends. They looked about my father's age, late sixties to mid seventies. I called out to my pa and greeted his friends, uncles in the Sinagporean fashion. In Singapore, any person older than yourself is usually termed as uncle or auntie out of respect for their seniority. 

I sat down beside my pa and ordered my breakfast. While I was midway through the meal, my real paternal uncle, 小叔, passed by. Called out to him and he joined us at our table. 

They started swapping stories about who used to make the best soy bean drink, the best carrot cakes, best fishballs in the past. Unlike these days where most food material came from factories. My pa even remarked that these days even the fishballs are the same size and weight in contrast to the good old days when they were made by hand, lots of texture and flavour despite the irregular sizes and weight. 

They also talked about our government and PAP, how years were good during the 70s and 80s. Everyone could make a comfortable living as long as they worked hard. Shared their opinions and of course, not without a few gripes of their own.

Suddenly I had this feeling that I was a teenager all over again, surrounded by real adult men. It was a good warm feeling on a rainy day. These guys were the heroes of the past. They grew and toiled during our early nation building years, having little or no material comforts. 

They are who in my eyes un-breakable in spirit and willpower despite all the hardships they been through even if the weight of years and hard work causes their backs to bend a little, their eyes a little dimmer today. They are the real deal, Pionner Generation. It was my honour to breakfast with them. 

Active Laziness - Dying before Living

 

The day we were born, we are destined to die. Yet knowing so, most of us are not equipped to handle death well. We go about our lives as if we will live forever and tomorrow always come; believing our family, friends, jobs with all material possessions we hold on will be there in the future as they were yesterday and today. Death then comes as a rude shock to us when we encounter it, how we weep and wail when someone close and dear to us dies.

 

Intellectually, everyone knows that death is inevitable but majority choose to ignore it, numbing ourselves with activities that do not better ourselves or the lives of people around us. This is in stark contrast to older times when people devote time to spiritual studies, reflection and practice for actual realisation of their studies and faith. These days, we simply lose ourselves in a furry of activities, burying ourselves between work and entertainment.  

 

On page 19 of "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying” by Sogyal Rinpoche, he wrote, “there are different species of laziness: Eastern and Western. The Eastern style is like the one practiced to perfection in India. It consists of hanging out all day in the sun, doing nothing, avoiding any kind of work or useful activity, drinking cups of tea, listening to Hindi film music blaring on the radio, and gossiping with friends. Western laziness is quite different. It consists of cramming our lives with compulsive activity, so that there is no time at all to confront the real issue.” He calls that Active Laziness.

 

I cannot agree more especially as a person living in a cosmopolitan city like Singapore, we see this sort of Active Laziness on a daily basis. We are active, constantly on the move but despite all these activities, we hardly grow in our ability to deal with death; lazy in our spiritual development. The subject is brushed aside as if it never will happen. Even on our rest days, we filled them up with things to do; places to travel and visit. If we can remind ourselves of impermanence and that life can extinguish in the next moment, we might choose to do things a little different, to be a little more mindful of ourselves and the people around us.

 

It is important to find some time for quiet moments to self reflect, be in touch with our true nature. In addition it is just as important to touch the lives of others around us positively. It can be as simple as spending a few more minutes with our family, sharing precious silent moments, simply knowing we are there for each other. For a friend or a colleague, a simple gesture to bring them a little more joy or lend a listening ear when they need them. No matter how many places we visited, no matter how much material possessions or titles we amassed, there is nothing more real than the here and now, to be mindful of the living and stop the buzzing laziness so prevalent in us who live in this city state, Singapore that we call home.

TF30 Exhibition

Mothership did not mince her words but their review was appropriate. TF30 did fall short of expectations. Most of their models do not look anywhere near the transformers we see in the movies. The saving graces of the exhibition were the pretty interesting 3D mapping light show (repeats every 3 mins) and a fair display of transformers toys and action figurines. Having said that, it did not stop us from having a fun day with the kids, filled with lots of laughter and very bloated stomachs. If you are interested, here's a video of the 3D mapping light show and some photos of the displays.

Three Wishes

Yaozong (Thomas Ong) lost all his memories in the episode 17 of Three Wishes aired yesterday evening. It was the price to pay for his second wish in order to save his dying father, leaving Yaozong a 10 year old again and no recollection of his life after that. 

It was a heartbreaking moment when his wife Shanmei (Huang Biren) found him alone lost in the park but he could not recognise her, greeting her Auntie. The episode was made sadder a couple of minutes later when Yaozong feeling lost, broke down and cried aloud, asking his parents when they have suddenly turned old. He wanted things to turn back to how he remembered. His parents seeing their grown up son sobbing like a child, having no answers for him, broke down together.

Scenes in tv series though often dramatised for effects, are in some ways reflecting our daily lives and concerns. It has set me thinking, what happens if one day any of my family members or myself lose our memories? Often our relationships are determined and influenced by our past memories. Will I still be my parents' son? Will I still be my siblings' brother? Will I still be your friend? Will I still be me? 

Qin, 你好嗎？我真的很挂念你

For your last 2 birthdays, this was the only way to wish you. It meant to me lots to see your reply on the post, to know that you have read the birthday message. 能看到你給我的祝願 that is the best birthday present i have received this year. My birthday wishes for the last 3 years was that my family and people around me are happy and well and also to have news from you again. 真的很感恩 it came true this year. My number remains unchanged. Just want you to know i'm still here.

The Rise & Fall of Little Voice

Another wicked production from Pangdemonium that just ended its run last Sunday. And i have to say, it was very nicely adapted to woo the local audience. 

Lots of jokes and puns were referenced to Singapore's very own unique scenes, winning lots of laughter from the audience. Let me describe one of the jokes and you will know what it means if you are a local.

Mr Boo (played by Rishi) thanked the sponsors in the opening act and so he goes on with the list of sponsors, "... National Arts Council ... Lee Foundation. Not that Lee, but this Lee that actually gives you money". Get it?

Mina Kaye who played the part of LV or Little Voice impressed me greatly in this performance. She was extraordinary. Her last performance in A Singaporean in Paris was admirable but did not exactly wow me.

This time, she did and i mean WOW. My friends (Megha, Cecilia) who attended the performance with me had nothing but praises for her too. This is no mean feat especially when we consider the fact that she acted alongside Adrian Pang in this production.

Far too often, Adrian Pang who has such a commanding presence on stage, tends to steal the limelight from the leads even when he is cast in a supporting role. Adrian Pang delivered as usual but Mina Kaye with her powerful performance, managed to keep the spotlight focused on her without being overshadowed.  

Can't wait to see Pangdemonium's next performance starring Adrian Pang and Janice Koh. I loved their intense performance from Rabbit Hole last year and i wondered if they will top that in their next collaboration come this October.

Qin 生日快樂