Here I am, sitting in front of my computer at 3.54am on the 23rd of November 2006. In 10 hours, I will be on a flight due for Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Although the yearly 3 month trip back to Malaysia is a journey that I have made physically, mentally, psychologically many times in my life, it is somewhat different now. It is possibly one of the last few times that I will be able to be with my family for such an extended period of time. I wasn't even supposed to come back for this long this time round were it not for my brother's wedding.
The truth is that most adults that work and live away from their hometowns don't get the chance to spend months reconnecting with their roots in their hometowns. Sometimes they can only spend 2 or 3 days visiting their parents. I am privileged to be able to come back and reintegrate with the town that I grew up in.
I remember that for a period in my teens of about 2 or 3 years, our family never sat down as a family unit together for dinner even once. This was because of our links both to New Zealand and Malaysia, my sister and my brother would be studying in New Zealand, or my parents would be away back in Malaysia. So I was tremendously happy a couple years later when once again my whole family sat at the same table; my father, mother, brother, sister, grandmother and me. That is why I cherish coming home and spending time with my family. It won't be long until my brother moves into his own new house (which is next door to my father's house btw), and my sister and Jake move back to New Zealand, and I'll be somewhere God only knows and the family unit that I know of will forever be changed.
I have got a couple things to look forward to, we are moving into a new house, my brother Anthony Ling is getting married to Jo Cyee after 4-5 years of courtship, the yearly musical that was postponed last year might be held this year, being a helper at the national Methodist Youth camp Youthquake, and seeing old friends and finding new adventures!
And once again, I feel a reluctance to let go of the life I have built this year in New Zealand. I still haven't really cleaned up my house since exams were over. I have close friends whom I do not want to leave for 3 months. I want to explore who I am and what I can be now that I have time.
But these feelings aren't new, these conflicts not unfelt before. It's just that with these old feelings comes a new feeling of urgency. To make the most of my time that I have left in Malaysia.
Because I'll be coming home as usual, but it may not be the usual much longer.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Of Fairy Tales and Fables
If you look to www.dictionary.com and searched for the word "fable," you would get this as the first result. According to dictionary.com, a fable is "a short tale to teach a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters; apologue: the fable of the tortoise and the hare; Aesop's fables."
How many of us would remember who Aesop was? Or what some of his fables were? And no, Fable is not a computer game developed by Lionhead Studios! I remember reading about the fox and his sour grapes when I was young and learning good a moral lesson - never despise what we cannot get. Looking back in my life, I see that this little lesson has played a big part in my life, and how did i learn this lesson? A mere fable. The television shows that kids watch these days, such as Spongebob Squarepants and Cow and Chicken, seem more for entertainment than for teaching kids about morals and values. Can we blame people then when they don't know anything about sportsmanship or honesty? No, not really. However, some cartoons do attempt to espouse good moral values but once again I would say that it is still overshadowed by the need to entertain. We do need to be mindful of what we feed our children's minds, and our own minds. Anyways, That's not really the point of this post.
An interesting fact, did you know that it was not uncommon for a fable to not have a happy ending? Hansen and Gretel were eaten by the witch, for example. However, people like happy endings and now almost every story you hear has a happy ending.
The REAL point of this post for me to tell you a little fable. I call it:
"The Bird and the Boy"
There once was a boy and a bird. The boy lived by himself in a small house and the bird lived in a nest in a tree just outside the boy's house. Now, it was springtime and so all the birds would chirp and sing but this bird was the best of them all. The bird would sing louder than any other bird. The bird would sing all day, in the morning, in the afternoon and again in the evening.
Now the boy had heard the bird singing every day, but he disliked the bird because it disturbed his peace and quiet. He would chase the bird away everytime the bird began to sing. But the bird, as birds do, continued to sing his merry little song.
One day, the boy was got so angry that he came up with a plan. He would throw poisoned food outside of his house and maybe the bird would eat it and become sick. He did this.
The next day, the boy heard the bird singing again, loud as ever. However, he decided to forget about the bird and continue with his daily life.
One week later, the boy noticed that the bird did not sing anymore. There was no more cheerful chirps around his house during that day. "Maybe the bird is just too busy to sing today," the boy thought. The next day, the boy tried to listen for the bird's song, but again there was no song to be heard. The boy started to get worried but as the days passed, the little bird did not appear.
The boy realised that he missed the bird and its songs. He felt lonely now that the house was so quiet. He remembered how the bird would sing and fill the house with song, but now all that was left was the boy and his little home.
*THE END*
Little bird, where are you? Won't you come back and sing another song?
If you look to www.dictionary.com and searched for the word "fable," you would get this as the first result. According to dictionary.com, a fable is "a short tale to teach a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters; apologue: the fable of the tortoise and the hare; Aesop's fables."
How many of us would remember who Aesop was? Or what some of his fables were? And no, Fable is not a computer game developed by Lionhead Studios! I remember reading about the fox and his sour grapes when I was young and learning good a moral lesson - never despise what we cannot get. Looking back in my life, I see that this little lesson has played a big part in my life, and how did i learn this lesson? A mere fable. The television shows that kids watch these days, such as Spongebob Squarepants and Cow and Chicken, seem more for entertainment than for teaching kids about morals and values. Can we blame people then when they don't know anything about sportsmanship or honesty? No, not really. However, some cartoons do attempt to espouse good moral values but once again I would say that it is still overshadowed by the need to entertain. We do need to be mindful of what we feed our children's minds, and our own minds. Anyways, That's not really the point of this post.
An interesting fact, did you know that it was not uncommon for a fable to not have a happy ending? Hansen and Gretel were eaten by the witch, for example. However, people like happy endings and now almost every story you hear has a happy ending.
The REAL point of this post for me to tell you a little fable. I call it:
"The Bird and the Boy"
There once was a boy and a bird. The boy lived by himself in a small house and the bird lived in a nest in a tree just outside the boy's house. Now, it was springtime and so all the birds would chirp and sing but this bird was the best of them all. The bird would sing louder than any other bird. The bird would sing all day, in the morning, in the afternoon and again in the evening.
Now the boy had heard the bird singing every day, but he disliked the bird because it disturbed his peace and quiet. He would chase the bird away everytime the bird began to sing. But the bird, as birds do, continued to sing his merry little song.
One day, the boy was got so angry that he came up with a plan. He would throw poisoned food outside of his house and maybe the bird would eat it and become sick. He did this.
The next day, the boy heard the bird singing again, loud as ever. However, he decided to forget about the bird and continue with his daily life.
One week later, the boy noticed that the bird did not sing anymore. There was no more cheerful chirps around his house during that day. "Maybe the bird is just too busy to sing today," the boy thought. The next day, the boy tried to listen for the bird's song, but again there was no song to be heard. The boy started to get worried but as the days passed, the little bird did not appear.
The boy realised that he missed the bird and its songs. He felt lonely now that the house was so quiet. He remembered how the bird would sing and fill the house with song, but now all that was left was the boy and his little home.
*THE END*
Little bird, where are you? Won't you come back and sing another song?
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
My dad and his brothers and sisters have always been close even though there are often a lot of dramas between them. But they know well that blood is thicker than water. When my grandfather was still alive, my uncles and aunties would meet up every night at his house to chat about daily events and when we were young, we would be brought along to this daily ritual. I had stayed at my grandfathers house for a few years with my family after we moved back to Malaysia while my house was being built. So this means that I got to know my cousins pretty well after seeing them every night for years.
I have more than 15 cousins on my father's side. However, I do not consider myself close with all of them. However, there has always been 2 of my cousins that I have considered closer to me than the others. One of these 2 is my cousin Jamie.
My dear beautiful cousin Jamie was married on the 4th of November 2006. She is 2 years older than me but sometimes I felt that I was the one protecting her from all her admirers (and she had a lot!). We have always been close since we were young. I remember the times when we were younger when we would play Ghost, and cook things on milo lids with candles for fires, and go out with lanterns during the mooncake festival to 'scare evil spirits' away. I will also always remember being taken to Pesta Laut (before they banned it!) with your family and how you and Annie told me it was bad to whistle at night because real ghosts would follow me home. I remember the talks and laughs we shared throughout the years. Your family helped make me feel welcome when I was just a young boy who had just moved back from New Zealand and had no friends. I am just so grateful to God for such a great cousin.
However, girls who dream of marriage change into women who get married so CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. I pray God's blessing on your marriage and may you bring God's presence to your new family! Sorry I couldn't make it because I had exams then. So a note on blogspot will have to do for now till I can offer you my congrats in person.
We are still close (she works for my dad), but I wonder how things will turn out now that you're married. Will we still be the same? Somehow I think we will. :) Benz you are a very lucky guy, you need to take care of my cousin or you will have to answer to me! Hehe, I guess I still got that protective streak in me.
Congratulations Jamie, may you find your happily ever after. I think you owe me a celebratory dinner when I get back to Malaysia. ;)
I have more than 15 cousins on my father's side. However, I do not consider myself close with all of them. However, there has always been 2 of my cousins that I have considered closer to me than the others. One of these 2 is my cousin Jamie.
My dear beautiful cousin Jamie was married on the 4th of November 2006. She is 2 years older than me but sometimes I felt that I was the one protecting her from all her admirers (and she had a lot!). We have always been close since we were young. I remember the times when we were younger when we would play Ghost, and cook things on milo lids with candles for fires, and go out with lanterns during the mooncake festival to 'scare evil spirits' away. I will also always remember being taken to Pesta Laut (before they banned it!) with your family and how you and Annie told me it was bad to whistle at night because real ghosts would follow me home. I remember the talks and laughs we shared throughout the years. Your family helped make me feel welcome when I was just a young boy who had just moved back from New Zealand and had no friends. I am just so grateful to God for such a great cousin.
However, girls who dream of marriage change into women who get married so CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. I pray God's blessing on your marriage and may you bring God's presence to your new family! Sorry I couldn't make it because I had exams then. So a note on blogspot will have to do for now till I can offer you my congrats in person.
We are still close (she works for my dad), but I wonder how things will turn out now that you're married. Will we still be the same? Somehow I think we will. :) Benz you are a very lucky guy, you need to take care of my cousin or you will have to answer to me! Hehe, I guess I still got that protective streak in me.
Congratulations Jamie, may you find your happily ever after. I think you owe me a celebratory dinner when I get back to Malaysia. ;)
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