What's the Pink Cause

October 29

A common question I receive by friends on my IM list, be it on YM, MSN or G-Talk as my status box in all these three has been promoting support for breast cancer awareness. A little more than month ago my aunt was diagnosed with stage one of breast cancer, had a mastectomy and an anxilliary surgery to remove glands from her armpit, and is now undergoing radiotherapy. It has been two weeks and she has three more weeks to go before six sessions of chemotherapy.

As she waited for the results of the biopsy earlier, there was deep fear in her eyes and resignation on her face to accept the worst. She decided that her mum, my grandma was not to know about it. She chose to withheld the news from her son and daughter-in-law who are currently working in Japan. When the day came for the results, I called her. It was obvious over the phone that she had been crying. It was heart-wrenching to hear the devastation in her voice, yet she spoke words of assurance and strength. She would know what to do and how to manage and I was not to worry.

I asked around if anyone was to know what sort of diet she should be having to increase the chance of healing, as well as to lessen the side effects of chemotheraphy. My chiropractor's mum was kind enough to share the list of herbs and items that promote wellbeing while undergoing the treatments.
No family history of breast cancer in the family. No eating out. Every meal was homecooked. Good diet of moderate carbohydrates, proteins, and lots of fibres. No smoking, no alcohol, no late nights, moderate exercise with all the house chores (never had a maid and raised two kids) and walking to and from bus stands and train stations for work.

Many can say the dreaded disease chooses anyone it fancies but the good thing was that it was detected early and removed. The suspected culprit were late menopause and the hormone replacement pills which she had been consuming for the past seven years. Yes, women on HRT are at increased risk of getting breast cancer. This fact was not made known to her. The saddest part was her O&G failed to highlight that those pills were not to be consumed for more than five years.

Now, most important of all is healing through treatments, with faith that God will make her well. Changing to a less stressful lifestyle and take things slower. Eat less meat and take more dark-coloured vegetables and fruits. Staying strong and positive in mind, body and soul with the support of loved ones and friends. And sharing her story and helping to build the awareness of breast cancer prevention and cure.

Breast cancer affects one in every 19 women in Malaysia. Early detection increases the chances of cure. Don't take life for granted!

http://www.malaysiaoncology.org/article.php?aid=114

Who Packs Your Parachute?

October 29

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience. Talk about turning the negative into the positive.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb said after, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory - he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognise people who pack your parachutes and be grateful for them. If you are taking them for granted, stop now because as easily as they came into your life to make things easier for you, they can also slip away just as quietly.

" Your mind is like a parachute. It only works if it is open." - Anthony J. D'Angelo

Touching Lives

October 16

I had the privilege to run though the results of two pilot ICT-Community Service projects in an update meeting which I was asked sit in. Slides, videos and pictures of undergraduates volunteered to train the IT deprived adults as well as underprivileged youths and to use personal computers and applications went up the screen.

One pilot took place in PJ in a community centre whilst the other in a home for the underprivileged in Semenyih. The former saw eight participants as young as seven and as advanced as 53 picking up the skills and knowledge. They were students, housewives, retirees and even hawkers. From zero literacy, they were able to browse the Internet, email to loved ones overseas, put up blogs and pictures, do PPT presentations and other basic applications.

The latter was children and youths in a home that worked toward raising funds through an Open Day, of which they used the applications to prepare proposal to obtain permission from the home administrator for the Open Day project, design and print invitation cards, flyers, send email invites, prepare presentation, and create a blog on the home itself.

In the midst of learning all these, the undergraduate trainers, who were trained and guided by a life coach specialised in NLP and lifelong learning, in both pilots helped developed in these lives another area often received the least focus - personal development. That was the second objective of the community initiative.

Not only these individuals built higher self-belief and confidence, faith and trust, teamwork, enhanced their creativity, and most of all, resourcefulness, the trainers themselves took back valuable lessons of perseverence, patience and putting others above themselves.

As I saw it, those had more deep rooting impact than applied IT. Yes, ICT helps to bridge many gaps and divides, across geographical vastness and value add to technical and applied skills needed in a working world. However, the intangible lessons and intrinsic values help character building, and character builds personality. That is what would bring these children and youths far in life, as persons.

Colours of Hope & Promise

October 13

It was past six in the evening when i stepped out of my working area for a breather. I always like looking at the sky, and I looked up. Right there, one of the most beautiful phenomenons, unnoticed more often than not. Beginning with red and ending with purple, it splashed across the vast sky like stripes of colours on a painter's canvas.

There in awe, I was again reminded of God's promises and covenant that He made with mankind that He would never again flood the earth with water: "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth... .. the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh." (Genesis 9:13,15)

Life and hope are gifts that are bestowed upon man. Life without hope is dead, and there can never be hope without life. Hope is a trust grounded in faith. It is the light at the end of the tunnel that gives strength and courage to persevere against fears, failures, struggles and challenges. It is the thread of optimism that preserves sanity and provides reason for pressing on and living. The pot of gold is indeed waiting at the end of the rainbow.

Do The Right Thing or Do It Right

October 12

Siam 62, Nyonya Place or the Thai steamboat in Bandar Puteri Puchong were the three choices suggested for dinner and I was fine with any of them. Then, my significant half had a change of mind in like less than half a minute and quiped that he felt like having western food.Hmmm...I was not surprised as he has this odd ficklemindedness when it comes to anything but work. I flipped through some papers for places that we had not tried out and at the same time suggested this place called Memphis Bistro that we came across in the papers recently. Oh, that place with Elvis' music...he didn't bite. Sigh. "Have you tried MFM?", he asked. Nope, I have not, neither has he, so off we went to the MFM outlet in Centrepoint Bandar Utama.

We ordered our drinks, and a main each, both fish - a cod and a salmon - and the bill, let's just say, not quite worth the amount we spent, and not to mention a waiting time of above 15 minutes when we were the only table at that point of time. An hour later, we walked around Centre Point, to look see look see and to help get the food down. After an hour of browsing through fish shop, hardware store, DVD shop, some stalls with ceramic products from China, and Guardian pharmacy, we decided it was time to go home. On the way I told Adrian that my stomach felt funny, and his felt the same too. Wouldn't that be odd that both felt queasy in the stomach? Perhaps it was the oil, or sauce, we both thought.

My stomach was not quite forgiving, unlike Adrian's and all contents were emptied two hours after the meal. Even all the vitamins and supplement that I took were wasted. Though I hit the sack with an empty stomach, it was a real relief! Empty stomach was better than an upset one, anytime. I was contemplating of filing a complaint to the restaurant management, which happened to be a supportive client of my employer. Should I proceed to make a complaint for bad food served as we could have had food-poisoning, or should I forget about the whole incident and move on without jeorpardising the company's relationship with the client? It is a question of doing the right thing, or doing it right. I opted for the latter. Yes, I compromised and I hope it was the right thing to do. But unlikely MFM would see another visit from us.

Grilled Pacific Cod

Grilled King Salmon Fillet

Rendang and Muhibbah

October 11

Our neighbour, Abang Ramlan and wife, Kak Latifah came over just as we were leaving the house for our brunch. "Come over for dinner tonight, we are having an open house for family and friends". Delightfully we agreed. We popped over at eight, just after Maghrib prayers with a hamper. No, we could not step into a party empty-handed. It was just outright rude. We bersalam with the hosts, and immediate family members including Kak Tifah's mum who personally prepared the beef rendang. I decided not to take any photographs although I brought my camera along.

We dugged into the simple spread on the table - beef rendang, nasi lemak with sambal kerang (cockles in chillie and oil) and sambal sotong (cuttlefish cooked in chillie and oil), nasi himpit (malay style of stuffed rice) with peanut sauce, cakes, fruits, teh O (plain tea) and orange cordial. Adrian had like four helpings to the rendang and nasi himpit, and I glared at him for being such a glutton, and sternly reminded him that there were other guests, mainly relatives and friends that had just arrived and had not had their share. Sigh, no brakes to that stomach of his.

It was such a long time since I attended an open house during Raya, and being there was a heartwarming reminder of the muhibbah spirit we all shared. There was no difference in skin colour, or religion, or culture. There were just friends having a good time and a hearty meal.

This localised scene was a starking contrast to the issue of racism that has been sweeping our nation way before the March 8 elections, and is still razing on, as well as the endless politicking and lobbying for posts and roles at the expense of justice and truth, was reflective of the immaturity of politicians. In all honesty, our ancestors were all immigrants. No race own this land. It was just a matter of which race came first. In our history books, we read of Parameswara, the Sumatran prince who fled Palembang and stumbled upon Malacca, which he named after the tree he napped under. That was the origin of the Malay Sultanate, that continued to be present in this land today.

I was born in the Taiping general hospital over three decades ago, and I shared an incubator with an Indian girl for an entire month as I was born prematured. There were Malay infants in the same room. Were we then still immigrants, having born in the same hospital, almost within the same time and date? By heritage I am a chinese, my upbringing was Malaysian and was educated in Malaysian schools, graduated from the first university established in the country, working in a homegrown company and contributing the the economy of Malaysia, and paying taxes to the Malaysia IRB. I might not have brought glory to this country in academics, sports, beauty pageants, or other fields. Does that make me less a Malaysian? Is it not that citizenship is granted when you are born in Malaysia, to Malaysian (chinese) parents and family? My MyKad and passport state my nationality as a Malaysian. Doesn't all these make me a worthy Malaysian?

After half a century of gaining independence, our country seemed to be regressing instead of moving forward. It is indeed a sad state that our country had landed itself in. Over the years, I began to look outward for job opportunities, with hope that it'd gain me a better life in a country that would recognise me as its citizen. How long does it take dear Malaysia to realise that there are many that love this country, and all the constant insinuation would only drive away its very own people that would proudly call themselves, Bangsa Malaysia?

A Pot Anew

October 7

I opened the door, about to unlock the grills, when i spotted the mess in my porch. "Stupid idiot cat," I cursed under my breath. "Don't let me catch you or you are so dead," I fumed away as I scooped the poor plant into a small spare flower pot. I looked at my watch and I was late hitting the road and dreaded the traffic on the LDP after seven in the morning.

The big pot with my money tree was knocked over by a cat somewhat middle of the night, and there was soil all over, within one and a half feet radius of the broken pot. That also explained the thud that woke me up from my slumber. I am a light sleeper, sigh.

When I finished potted the plant, swept the remaining soil aside to be cleared later when i get home in the evening, and threw away the broken pot, I left for work. As I drove, I pondered. Was there a need to be upset? Could I have viewed the mess differently? That reminded me of the book, Buddha that said that one's emotional state was 100 percent within one's control. Getting upset or angry at something or someone was giving away that control, and I lost that battle this morning, to an unknown cat! (Darn!)

Not everything and everyday would turn out the way we would like them to. As Master Oogway said to Po, yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift and that is why it is called present. Everyday is a new day, and day in itself cannot decide to be good or bad. It is how we react to people and things that determine the outcome. There would be hitches and glitches, good days and bad, and it is through these that we learn to see the good in bad, the meaning of optimism and hope. The flower pot was broken, but the plant is still alive. All I need to do is to get a new flower pot. :)

Journey to the East

October 2

After many years of not stepping foot in the town of Bentong, we took a trip to visit my Khaw Foo, who was re-posted back to oversee the Lee plantations in that district a few months back. Travelling on the Karak Highway, the scenic landscape was a soothing treat for eyes that daily saw heavy streams of cars on highways twice a day. Layers of mountains in green-blue hues as far as the eye could see - the Titiwangsa range that separates the town from the much congested and polluted city of KL. One could even smell the grass and trees in the air. Ah, so refreshing and I had missed the smell of greens, like those in Taiping. Would these still be around in the next 10 or 20 years? Would urbanisation wipe these away?

Typical of a chinese family, we nursed our stomach the moment we reached. Khaw Foo had earlier booked a table at Qin Han Lou for lunch and a lavish one we had. Among its signature dishes were the fish paste noodles in soup with superior chinese wine and fresh steamed fish balls that were amazingly springy and tasty. We had steamed pomfret that was so fresh that its flesh was sweet and crunchy. The most expensive dish was probably the stewed deer tendon with water terrapin flaps. The other dishes were yong tau foo that were served rather differently from those in KL, stir-fried spinach with anchovies, sliced pork in black pepper-mustard sauce, and fried tung fun, (glass noodles) with prawns, onions, eggs and chillies that was eaten wrapped in fresh chinese lettuce.

Contrary to the Buddhist monk, Zuanzang's pilgrimage to India to obtain Sutra, the Buddhist religious texts in one of the greatest classical novels in Chinese literature, Journey to the West, we were lured to the East by the delicious food. Now, weren't we religious? :P

Brick-away

October 1

The first day of Eid ul-Fitr, or commonly known as Aidilfitri, the day Muslim friends celebrate the end of fasting in the holy month of Ramadan, it was our visit to the apartments that my cousins purchased and had been handed the keys. One of the units was to be renovated for stay, whilst the other three units were placed on the market. It was an easy drive to Old Klang Road as there were not many cars on the road.

The contractor Mr Tan, a friend of my Khaw Foo's, was very professional and patient throughout the entire discussion between him and Say Yee and Uncle Simon. Whilst the latter two described the changes and renovations they had in mind for the wet and dry kitchens, he offered many good suggestions for placement and materials to be used. He even warned my aunt against closing up the entire kitchen balcony with a brick wall and to check the regulations and requirements with the building management to ensure that they do not get into trouble with the local municipal. Such wall enclosure would change the outer design of the apartment and this was considered as illegal renovation works and extensions.

After two whole hours, it finally concluded and Mr Tan was to provide a quotation for the agreed renovation works and materials. That was five in the evening. All four cars then travelled to Seri Kembangan, to Khaw Foo's house in Taman Universiti Indah, which was recently extensively renovated as preparation for his son, my cousin, Anthony and wife-to-be, Mei Yee's wedding later in December.

By the time we were done, it was just over six and we decided to have dinner in Seri Kembangan at Soong Kee Restaurant. Ah...good food. We had a wonderful dinner in good company :)

(Top to bottom) Steamed chicken, Four Heavenly King (stir-fried aubergines, long beans, twisted cluster beans (stink beans), and okras with prawns, onions, dried chillies and sambal paste), and Fah Guat Lung (boneless fish)

Price of Vanity

September 13

"Cheryl, you are one of the 50 recipients of the complimentary vouchers from Bizzy Body whom we have selected to extend our promotion to. When would you like to come in?", asked Karen from the Uptown Bizzy Body outlet few days after the voucher had expired on August 31. The voucher came when I made some purchases from Edmundser 1Utama about two months back during sales. The voucher was for a facial or a body slimming session. I had totally forgotten about it. The call took me by surprise rather than delight. Oh well, I thought I might as well give it a try, and made an appointment.

As I was waiting to be attended to, I saw a few middle-aged ladies came through some doors after their facial treatments and realised I was the youngest. Of course the outlet service staffs, beauticians and consultants were much younger, well groomed, and good looking.

Before the session commenced, the outlet manager and beauty consultant, Hooi Ping sat down with me to run through some Q&A, a session done with each client and deemed necessary to understand clients' lifestyle, diet and beauty regime. My regime turned out to be the most basic and minimal - cleansing, toning, moisturising. No skin-whitening products, no day or night serum, no anti-wrinkle products, no hydrating cream or whatsoever, and no weekly or monthly facial treatments. Firstly I was just too lazy to do anything more than the necessary, secondly nothing that would escalate my cost of living, and thirdly, too impatient to spend hours in front of the mirror looking back at myself.

The other questions on body care and body slimming received affimative no from me. Never thought of slim wrapping, or any other body care and slimming therapies except for gym workouts. I could not really determine the expression on her face, whether it was contempt that I seemed to lack regards for body care, or sorry that I was ignorant to body care as part of personal grooming.

My weight and height was recorded before i was to be attended to by another body slimming therapist, Jeannie. In I went to a room for slim wrapping after changing into a satin-like robe. Measurements were taken, from my arms all the way down to my ankles. Ginseng essential oil was applied on my arms, mid torso and legs before three to four layers of tight string wraps went around. I could hardly walk, except to hobble a few steps and plopped myself onto the therapy bed, which had a thermal blanket-like wrap spread out. Soon after i was wrapped up like a cocoon and Jeannie turned on the heat, and adjusted the temperature. It lasted 30 minutes.

The subsequent 30 minutes were spent on what I would term as mild electrocution. Electrodes were selectively placed on areas that required slimming. Similar to the electrodes used when one does electrocardiogram (or ECG in short, a test to record electrical activity of the heart), except that they were slightly larger. While the ECG records the electrical waves, the machine for the slimming therapy was sending out the electrical current that resulted in the selected areas to vibrate. The higher the intensity, the higher the vibration. Measurements were taken again when the session ended.

The therapy session, had i to pay for it, would have cost RM520. Yes, it was an experience to know what slim wrap was like, especially Rosie Phua in Phua Chu Kang seemed to be obsessed with the treatment (haha). This is what I would term as an activity for the rich and famous. As for me, even if I turned a billionaire overnight, such therapy is not of any priority. I must say though that it is a fast-growing business as beauty trend takes on a new perspective, and spending power for such treatment is on the rise.

It is undeniable that beauty can be an asset for monetary gains, hence the price tag. Exceptionally beautiful people walk on fashion runways, appear on commercials, or on the covers of lifestyle, beauty or fashion magazines. That is how the world sees beauty, not that it's wrong, just a different perception. Such has been the benchmark adopted by society in general for the longest time.

Beauty is really quite subjective and is perceived differently by different people, different races. Does it matter if one is tall, average, below average, petite, lanky, voluptuous, muscular, fair, dark, or tan? Everyone is beautiful (and clothier, WH takes on this tagline). As they say, beauty is skin deep and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Price tag or no price tag, benchmark or no benchmark, whatever shapes and sizes and colour, well, that is probably something worth pondering upon. And sometimes, not everything is about physical beauty, and dollars and cents. I once read, being beautiful may not neccessary be a good thing. Hmmm...