a random feast... i must say... started from Filipino national fish called bangus
fried milkfish (daing na bangus), some vegetables (mushroom, laing, etc), green salad with bits of yellow mangoes, chicken adobo, cured pork (tocino), and some vietnamese snacks plus maldivian dessert (much like leche flan).
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
the yin and the yang are the basic opposing forces - negative and positive, dark and light, cold and hot, male and female which keep the world and all life spinning. because they are opposites they need each other to make the whole. out of the tension which arises from the attraction of opposites comes the dynamic of life...
- found this at Orangutan House, Jonker Street, Malacca, Malaysia (photo with Charles Cham... www.charlescham.com)
Monday, February 25, 2008
how is langkawi?
everyone asks when we arrived from the chinese new year break and what am i to say? the northern malaysia trip was special not because the beaches of malaysia are good or not...
what made the trip interesting... we went to pulau tuba which is not the langkawi island itself but a smaller island. quite a few boat rides (marble jetty!). not much tourists - off the beaten path. we experienced the rural life in malaysia... with our malay families cooking for us. i remember my childhood days in the farm of my grandfather. food - nasi goreng, nasi lemak, laksa, crabs, the mangoes with chili sauce (not for erika). najwa and i went for an early evening walk, twas relaxing and uncanningly familiar...
what else??? here are some photos...
everyone asks when we arrived from the chinese new year break and what am i to say? the northern malaysia trip was special not because the beaches of malaysia are good or not...
what made the trip interesting... we went to pulau tuba which is not the langkawi island itself but a smaller island. quite a few boat rides (marble jetty!). not much tourists - off the beaten path. we experienced the rural life in malaysia... with our malay families cooking for us. i remember my childhood days in the farm of my grandfather. food - nasi goreng, nasi lemak, laksa, crabs, the mangoes with chili sauce (not for erika). najwa and i went for an early evening walk, twas relaxing and uncanningly familiar...
what else??? here are some photos...
Monday, January 21, 2008
Back to the basics
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, famous writer from Colombia, and Nobel Peace Prize winner for literature, has retired from public life for reasons of health. He has a form of cancer, which is terminal. He has sent a farewell letter to his friends.
A GENIUS SAYS GOODBYE FOR GOOD (It is recommended reading because it is moving to see how one of the best and most brilliant of writers> expresses himself & with sorrow).
He says:
If God, for a second, forgot what I have become and granted me a little bit more of life, I would use it to the best of my ability.
I wouldn't, possibly, say everything that is in my mind, but I would be more thoughtful of all I say. I would give merit to things not for what they are worth, but for what they mean to express. I would sleep little, I would dream more, because I know that for every minute that we close our eyes, we waste 60 seconds of light. I would walk while others stop; I would awake while others sleep.
If God would give me a little bit more of life, I would dress in a simple manner, I would place myself in front of the sun, leaving not only my body, but my soul naked at its mercy. To all men, I would say how mistaken they are when they think that they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love.
I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn how to fly by themselves. To old people I would say that death doesn't arrive when they grow old, but with forgetfulness. I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody wants to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true happiness is obtained in the journey taken & the form used to reach the top of the hill. I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand, his father's finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life. I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down at another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the ground.
Say always what you feel, not what you think. If I knew that today is the last time that that I am going to see you asleep, I would hug you with all my strength and I would pray to the Lord to let me be the guardian angel of your soul. If I knew that these are the last moments to see you, I would say 'I love you'.
There is always tomorrow, and life gives us another opportunity to do things right, but in case I am wrong, and today is all that is left to me, I would love to tell you how much I love you & that I will never forget you. Tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone, young or old. Today could be the last time to see your loved ones, which is why you mustn't wait; do it today, in case tomorrow never arrives. I am sure you will be sorry you wasted the opportunity today to give a smile, a hug, a kiss, and that you were too busy to grant them their last wish.
Keep your loved ones near you; tell them in their ears and to their faces how much you need them and love them. Love them and treat them well; take your time to tell them 'I am sorry';' forgive me',' please' 'thank you', and all those loving words you know. Nobody will know you for your secret thought. Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to express them. Show your friends and loved ones how important they are to you... (some words deleted)
For you, With much love, Your Friend, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Reminds me so much of "All I really need to know I learned from Kindergarten". Its amazin how an acclaimed writer must admit that the monotony of everyday living can blind us (even for a little moment) of the most important things.
A GENIUS SAYS GOODBYE FOR GOOD (It is recommended reading because it is moving to see how one of the best and most brilliant of writers> expresses himself & with sorrow).
He says:
If God, for a second, forgot what I have become and granted me a little bit more of life, I would use it to the best of my ability.
I wouldn't, possibly, say everything that is in my mind, but I would be more thoughtful of all I say. I would give merit to things not for what they are worth, but for what they mean to express. I would sleep little, I would dream more, because I know that for every minute that we close our eyes, we waste 60 seconds of light. I would walk while others stop; I would awake while others sleep.
If God would give me a little bit more of life, I would dress in a simple manner, I would place myself in front of the sun, leaving not only my body, but my soul naked at its mercy. To all men, I would say how mistaken they are when they think that they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love.
I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn how to fly by themselves. To old people I would say that death doesn't arrive when they grow old, but with forgetfulness. I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody wants to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true happiness is obtained in the journey taken & the form used to reach the top of the hill. I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand, his father's finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life. I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down at another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the ground.
Say always what you feel, not what you think. If I knew that today is the last time that that I am going to see you asleep, I would hug you with all my strength and I would pray to the Lord to let me be the guardian angel of your soul. If I knew that these are the last moments to see you, I would say 'I love you'.
There is always tomorrow, and life gives us another opportunity to do things right, but in case I am wrong, and today is all that is left to me, I would love to tell you how much I love you & that I will never forget you. Tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone, young or old. Today could be the last time to see your loved ones, which is why you mustn't wait; do it today, in case tomorrow never arrives. I am sure you will be sorry you wasted the opportunity today to give a smile, a hug, a kiss, and that you were too busy to grant them their last wish.
Keep your loved ones near you; tell them in their ears and to their faces how much you need them and love them. Love them and treat them well; take your time to tell them 'I am sorry';' forgive me',' please' 'thank you', and all those loving words you know. Nobody will know you for your secret thought. Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to express them. Show your friends and loved ones how important they are to you... (some words deleted)
For you, With much love, Your Friend, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Reminds me so much of "All I really need to know I learned from Kindergarten". Its amazin how an acclaimed writer must admit that the monotony of everyday living can blind us (even for a little moment) of the most important things.
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