《无聊》

时光的确飞逝了。当年龄二加一、二加二、不断地往上攀升时，压力总随之倍增。脸上未留下岁月的痕迹，但无奈与彷徨却呼之欲出。盼又盼长假的到来，脑海里浮现了无数的计划；但当它到来时，自己却软了个胫骨儿。懒得动动脑筋、扭扭脖子、动动身体，老是饭来张口，衣来伸手，大少爷似的，趴在沙发享受就是乐趣！这个坏习惯依旧不改。心理总是内疚的，但力不从心。反之，看戏、吃饭、睡觉，成了假期大计，以猪为友。。。腰又肥了一圈！为何？为何？就是‘懒’一个字吧。真不知将来如何成就大业？如何出人头地？也许就是假期吧，偷个懒也无所谓。逃避时，理由总是数之不尽。长这么大了，还如此淘气、幼稚似的，的确令人心灰意冷。

原来没有目标的人生是如此无奈、彷徨的。。。。。。

MALACCA’S CARI-CARI MAKAN TRIP

STOP 1: CHICKEN RICE BALL Dude, these are not fish balls.
They all are CHICKEN RICE BALLS.
Rice is granulated with the aroma of pandan leaves and a slight savour of chicken. Main course: White Steamed-Chicken with Soy Sauce
This is one of the best chicken meats I’ve ever had. The meat is tender and smooth. I prefer not to have it with chilli sauce because it would destroy the nature taste of the steamed-chicken.

There are many identical chicken rice shops in the town.
My clue to you is- get the one named:- Though you may also want to try others. Why not?

STOP 2: CENDOL & AIS KACANG
Within the distance, you can also find other popular local dishes, especially the one which can quench your thirst under the (Malacca’s extremely) hot weather. CENDOL
The Gula Melaka and Santan on top of it are really tasteful.
AIS KACANG
Ais-kacang is coated with Gula Melaka and extra ingredients especially the crunchy peanuts. Personally I prefer ‘Ais Kacang’ than Cendol.

To combine with Ais Kacang or Cendol, you may want to order other dishes like: ASAM LAKSA!
Or a plate of fried YongTauFo!!!

These all can be acquired under one roof:-

STOP 3: ALA-KAMPUNG SEAFOOD
Do you find it really hard to get some good yet affordable seafood in KL?
No worry- Malacca does offer you a variety of seafood at night, ranging from: Fried Sotong (Cutterfish)- The best of all! Butter Prawn!! Grilled Prawn in Stick Spicy Sambal Fish.

STOP 4: SATAY-CELUP
You should also try this unique Satay-Celup if you never attempt it before. Satay-Celup with various choices of food.

STOP 5: MORNING’S DIM-SUM

STOP 6: FOOD-TO-GO
Before a “Good-Bye” bid to Malacca, just grab some snacks home.
You should not miss:-

The Pineapple Tart Tan Kim Hock’s Dodol
And also Tan Kim Hock’s Sago cookies.

STOP 7: SEREMBAN’S SIEW POW
If you’re on your way home from Malacca to KL, have a stop-over in Seremban for the famous:- Siew Pow Crispy Egg-Tart

At last,
Congratulation to Malacca being awarded:

MY BELOVED GRANDMOM

IN MEMORY OF MY BELOVED GRANDMOM
(1933 – 2008)

This is the 100th day
You’ve left us apart
Though we are distant in space
Our heart will forever be with You
My Beloved Grandmom
Eng Chuan

《My Heart Will Go On》
<<心系于您>>

Every night in my dreams 在每个夜晚的梦里
I see you, I feel you 我看见您，我感应到您
That is how I know you go on. 我感觉到您的延续、您的存在
Far across the distance 虽然两地相隔
and spaces between us 时空之隔
You have come to show you go on. 您已悄悄来到我的身旁

Near, far, wherever you are 千山万水，无论您身在何方
I believe that the heart does go on 我相信您我的心将永不止息
Once more, you opened the door 再一次， 您摊开了门
And you're here in my heart, 您就在我的心窗里
and my heart will go on and on. 我的心将永远、永远系念您

Love can touch us one time 爱，感动了我们
and last for a lifetime 持续一生

And never let go till we've gone. 永不止息，永不磨灭
Love was when I loved you, 爱，就当我深爱着您时
one true time I hold you, 当我拥抱着您的那一刻
In my life we'll always go on. 一生一世，我们永不分离

Near, far, wherever you are 千山万水，无论您身在何方
I believe that the heart does go on 我相信您我的心将永不止息
Once more, you opened the door 再一次， 您摊开了门
And you're here in my heart, 您就在我的心窗里
and my heart will go on and on. 我的心将永远、永远系念您

You're here, there's nothing I fear 您在我身旁，我无所畏惧
And I know that my heart will go on. 我知道我的心将永远惦念您
We'll stay, forever this way 我俩就这样相依到永远
You are safe in my heart 您早已烙印在我的心坎里
and my heart will go on and on. 我的心将永远、永远将记载着您

[A song of Celine Dion]

MALAYSIA’S LANDMARKS

MEASAT 1996’

MEASAT refers to Malaysia East Asia Satellite, which was launched in 1996 for the broadcasting and communication services. It is an ideal medium to link Malaysians internally and to the East Asian Neighbours, opening the door to simultaneous transmissions of video, data and voice over a single line.

PRETRONAS TWIN TOWERS
Petronas Twin Towers, being at the height of 452 metres, was once before the tallest building in the world. It is situated in Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). It was first exposed to the world at large through the movie “Tomorrow Never Dies”.
KUALA LUMPUR TOWER
Kuala Lumpur Tower (421 metres height) was the third tallest telecommunication tower in the world when it was first built. It provides essential telecommunication, radio and broadcasting facilities for the city of Kuala Lumpur.

MY FIRST’ STAMP COLLECTION

Stamp is a mini pictorial memory describing the pass events.
Apart from a mere stamp collection, I personally prefer to collect First Day Cover (FDC) which is issued and can only be purchased, as the name suggests, at the very first day of its issuance; and this is no doubt its precious part vis-à-vis a stamp.

MY FIRST’ 1st DAY COVER

This was my first 1st Day Cover presented by father in 1994. Since then it has aroused my interest on stamp-collecting.
Tunku Abdul Rahman is not only our Malaysian First Prime Minister; his memorial collection was also MY FIRST’ ever FDC.

MY FIRST’ STAMP ALBUM

My first stamp album in 1994.

This is a unique album for its six various series of stamps from six ASEAN countries: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand inside one mini album.

MY FIRST’ SINGAPORE 1st DAY COVER

It was the RAT- My first Singapore’s FDC.

Again this was presented by my Dad over my strong request. In fact it was extravagant to spend on this white elephant and yet, fortunately, Dad was willing to get me this ‘rat’ FDC.

MY FIRST’ PEWTER & NIOBIUM 1st DAY COVER

This is a niobium FDC: another sumptuous FDC as one piece of it cost more than RM100. 98’s economy crisis however did not prevent Dad from gettting me this special series though eventually he had got to burn the candles at both ends.

This is a pewter FDC cost around RM20 (in 1998).

MY FIRST’ COMMONWEALTH 1st DAY COVER

This was my first collection of Commonwealth Games in 1998. Special thanks to my elder sister who had brought home such a special edition.

MY FIRST’ HK 1st DAY COVER

Neither was it given by my father nor elder sister, it was in fact presented by my ex-housemate gratuitously when I was in Form 6. Without hers it was hardly in my collection any of these overseas stamps. This was my first HK’s collection.

MY FIRST TAIWAN 1st DAY COVER

Ten years after I first received the Commonwealth collection, this was another marvelous piece of FDC brought by my elder sister from Taiwan: The Legend of Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.

MY FIRST’ 1ST DAY COVER FROM POS OFFICE (HEADQUARTER)

Having queued up for more than 45 minutes in front of the Pejabat Besar Pos Malaysia, eventually this was my first collection acquired personally from the headquarter on Merdeka Day (31st August) itself. It was indeed worthwhile for the great exposure to meet up with a flock of profesional stamp enthusiatics therein: an eye-opener.

凌晨五点钟（II）

凌晨五点钟
为考试而起 深埋苦读
热腾腾的可可麦片
温暖了心中的冷寂
缓冲了考试的压力
这就是考试的乐趣

小时
生活贫苦
凌晨五点钟
离开被窝 乘着摩多
打包50¢的鸡饭
跟随妈妈割胶去
生火驱蚊 赤手取汁
溪水嬉戏 兵贼追逐
胶园里的回忆是美好的

小时
与青梅足马
躺卧在高楼
伸展双臂 望着夜空
切盼着流星雨的莅临
等待是漫长的
凌晨五点钟
瞬间 夜空一片缤纷耀眼
流星雨
一道又一道的
稀里哗啦 从空而降
红色的 黄色的 蓝带青色的
七彩缤纷的流星
点缀此刻的夜空
灿烂了童年回忆

生活营
凌晨五点钟
木鱼声 引嵚声
唤起大家做早课
诵经念佛 回向众生
庄严的释迦殿
传来了古老的梵音
净化了人心
点燃了希望

平日
凌晨五点钟
我依旧卷卧在被单里
编织着梦幻故事
我是你的SUPERMAN
你是我的HONEY PIE
手牵手 我们共筑城堡
心连心 我们恩爱如滨
美梦好酒尽在凌晨五点钟

凌晨五点钟
最美的时辰
雕琢了童年的回忆
嬉戏胶园 许愿流星
聆听古老的圣音
凌晨五点钟
美梦编织的黄金时分
考试背书的辛酸时段
但
我就是爱它
凌晨五点钟

凌晨五点钟

一堆一堆如山高的书布满了桌面
零乱的文具 杂乱的纸张
时间一分一秒地飞逝
心脏随着嘀嗒声跳动着
此时此刻正是凌晨五点
还有六句钟就得应考了

翻阅着书本 背诵着笔记
双眸凝视着笔录
脑子里反复地思考
一页又一页
单元接单元
专注反复地咀嚼要点

凌晨五点的上空
即寒冷 即宁静
也很孤寂
人人都入眠了
唯独星星月亮
我与书本

一杯热腾腾的可可麦片
手里握着
温暖了心中的寒冷
充填了心中的寂寞
陪我度过五时的晨空
幸福漾溢着心里

幸福
没有外来的干扰
没有无谓的诱惑
没有多余的杂音
享受着
宇宙间的宁静
夜空里的灿烂
大地上的晨露
深深一呼
烦恼拋到九霄云后
深深一吸
好轻松 好自在
人生真美真美呀

清真寺的晨唤
划破了夜间的孤单
远处传来的一道圣音
点缀了五时的晨空
鸟鸣声 鸡啼声
忽忽悠悠伴随着

依旧
手里捧着笔记
埋头苦干地爬字
万籁俱寂的五时陪伴着我
这是一种幸福
一个我憧憬的生活
无忧即无虑
自我沉思 自我取悦
好豪爽 好豪放
大地的爱

凌晨五点钟
晨读 不再沉闷
考试 不再压力
我享受
享受
这样的考试生活
这是一种乐趣乎

BALANCE is the key!

In reply to the comment on “Open-mindedness or to drop out”.

Thank for your advice. Appreciate that. However, what I meant for all this while is that apart from enhancing our grasp of Chinese language, which should not be a problem for Chinese-educated people, we should meanwhile learn to open our arms to receive new things from the world outside, including new languages and new cultures though they might sometimes seem to be contradicting with our own. (Receive doesn't mean accept in totality).

Experience told me that if we are too persisting in CHINESE alone, we'll then be struggling in this multiracial country, not because of the smattering of other languages but mostly it is due to the misunderstanding arising out from the different cultures and backgrounds, as we can't mingle well with the rest.

That's my intent to urge my Chinese-educated friends to get ready, or even to take proactive steps to get ourselves accustomed to new cultures, including, at the very least, those relating to English and Malays. And definitely it's of NO harm- as I mentioned earlier- it's not a zero sum game that when your understanding to Malay cultures is getting better, your love and faith towards Chinese will deteriorate.

To understand the ideas I canvassed better, it's advised that you should read my three previous blogs written in Chinese language, which are “文化冲击”，“太CHINESE了!”and “谢谢你，中文”。 "文化冲击”described how my life was, being too Chinese-oriented, in the circle of life in Malaysia (though the descriptions might be a bit exaggerated.)

In fact my love to CHINESE is immortal. This can be seen in two other blogs named “太CHINESE了!” (which expressed my disappointment towards those who both abhors and despises Chinese language and the likes) and “谢谢你，中文” (as depicting how my loves to Chinese was formed). After all Mandarin or Chinese is my mother tongue- the language which I used to speak, listen and write from the very moment I was born to this world.

But again, my emphasis is: BALANCE is the key!

The taste of the food is in its spices and the spice of life is in its VARIETY.

反思《钱不够用2》

（I）
记得当初我养儿，我儿今又养孙儿
我儿饿我由他饿，莫叫 孙子饿我儿
父母的伟大 重如泰山
父母的恩惠 情似深海
今生今世我们磨齿难忘

在医院里
我们总看见《孝顺的父母》很多
不分昼夜、无微不至地照料着子女
《孝顺的儿女》似乎且寥寥无几
病久床前无孝子
真是可怜天下父母心

（II）
没有水，鱼儿就不能游
没有太阳，月亮就不会亮
没有花香，就没有蝴蝶飞舞
没有蓝天，鸟儿就不会自由地飞翔

没有父母，哪来今天的我们？
没有父母，哪来今天的家庭温暖
没有父母，哪来今天的荣华富贵
没有父母，也许你我早已是个孤儿了

（III）
回家感觉真好
我的家就是我的城堡
每一砖一瓦用爱创造
家里人的微笑是我的财宝
等回家才知道自己真的很重要

如果双手能为家人而粗糙
那是多么荣耀、多么骄傲
您为我把饭烧， 我为您打扫
啊！回家的感觉实在真的太好
哪，今天你回家探望父母了吗？

（改编于书籍、短讯、歌词）

Open-mindedness or to drop out!

“一间房，两张床，两种语言，两个思想，两个不同的世界。
一个根，两个文化，多重冲击。”
“One Room, Two Beds, Two Languages, Two Thinking, Two Diverse Worlds;
One Root, Two Cultures with Multiple Crisscrosses”

IN summing up the three current blogs relating to Chinese language, I hold no hesitation to say that being a Malaysian Chinese I’m proud for being able to master my mother tongue since young.

In the first blog, it was mentioned that I preferred English and Bahasa than Mandarin in my secondary school, mostly because my command of Mandarin was rather poor as compared to other peers at the time and hence I never knew how to appreciate the latter. The scenario however was totally changed when I first stepped out from my hometown to further my study in PJ. My love and appreciation towards Mandarin were escalating when I was first assigned to tutor some students, including non-Chinese to learn elementary Mandarin and, worth to mention, I was really touched by their enthusiasm to stay back after school solely to brush up Mandarin; therefore, in comparison, I am really grateful as I was bestowed the opportunity to learn my mother tongue since young. In fact this wasn’t their fault either (for not learning Mandarin) because the final say was with their parents. From my observation, they really hoped to master the language, not of the rising powers and mounting influences of China in today’s world, but it is because Mandarin has become a common language among local Chinese community.

Be that as it may, as mentioned in the subsequent blogs entitled “Too Chinese!” and “Crashes between Cultures”, it’s to be reminded that we shouldn’t feel over-complacent by the fact that we know Mandarin. Because the reality is, at least in Malaysia, no matter how good your Mandarin and Bahasa is, English is still the most important and useful tool in our daily life. Be clear, I refer, not only to the language itself but also the 'cultures’ related to and derived from English, including the musics, movies, books and thinking. There are plenty of differences between Chinese-educated and English-educated people, albeit we all are Chinese, particularly in the ways how we perceive things, as we’ve been exposed to two different languages and cultures altogether, e.g. via newspapers and TV programmes, when we were still young.

In my opinion it’s really hard, or it might be a miracle, to require the English-educated’s to change; and hence WHY NOT we Chinese-educated people learn to get used to them, for engaging into their ways of life, learning English language and also other related cultures thereof, then only we’re able to be in the same wavelength with them and understand them better.

This HOWEVER doesn’t mean (emphasis added) we surrender to their superiority; instead we’re flexible and elastic that we can master, accept and embrace both the Chinese and English cultures with open arms. We cannot cope with these disparities arising from the crashes between two different influences UNLESS AND UNTIL we open up our mind to adopt new things, new cultures, new languages and new mindsets while at the same time we uphold our root, viz to learn Mandarin and preserve our culture. It’s accentuated that learning English and other cultures is not a zero-game that by learning and accepting them would dilute our Chineseness!!!

Open-mindedness is the key to success, so let’s us open up our mind, for not only reading Chinese books, watching Chinese movies, listening Chinese music, but also those of the ENGLISH and MALAY at the same time. Friends, we should not live under the cocoon of Chinese world only, too, we should widen our horizon to see and meet the world outside.

I’m now ‘struggling’ for that; or should I call it ‘striving’ instead? The process is never easy but we have to JiaYou (加油) & JiaBaJingr (加把劲儿).

Last word to mention, for my English-educated friends, you guys need to buck up as well because English is no longer the only passport or panacea in today’s flat world and in fact it’s never rugi to learn one more language and comprehend one more culture, particularly if it’s your root and origin.

And it’s inappropriate to name English-educated Chinese ‘Banana’ because some of them are not much less 'Chinese’ than us though they never learn Mandarin before; conversely some might be much ‘Chinese’ (than us) in term of preserving the traditions and cultures. Yet, I don’t deny there exist some who are much like an Englishman, apathy to their own root and origin. Nevertheless the fact is we all come from the same family though differ in some aspects of life, for which the derogatory metaphor ‘Banana’ should then be discarded.