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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

ABC Wed: Letter P


 You don't need any explanation. The stress in on PO sound.
 Fish in a holiday paradise, at Sia Villa where I went during my July holiday owned by my friend, Diana Chin's family.
 Fish Pond with a Pondok, a small kiosk.
a mushroom shaped Pondok or kiosk, a small garden pavilion by the pond.  My grandad had a fish
 pond, seeing this was nostalgic for me. It was even more emotional when I went to my Grandad's pond a few days later. It was abandoned. Reeds and weeds  encroached the pond, making it a small creek.



Monday, October 29, 2012

Up in Bario Highlands.




 Little Edmund studies a yellow caterpillar. Perhaps there is the making of another Mr. WWF in the family. The photo below, Is Edmund scared of his grandpa's buffalo up in the Bario Highlands. May be he shouldn't have worn the red cap.  Photos by my niece Jane Kallang.

Up in the highlands, they still use buffaloes to plough their fields. The Bario rice is is very renowned and delicious. The only trouble is, this beautiful land can be accessed by plane only. They also mine a black salt which is very good for you.

http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/




Saturday, October 27, 2012

Photohunt: Spooky

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/574762-post39.html

A spooky belief.

I was looking for my Dad's first car, and googled and found this link. I explained and he gave me permission to use the photo.

The likeness is incredible. It has the same two tone and same color like my Dad's car. The number was S899, A good number, S can be $, 8 is Fa aka prosperous and 9 is forever.

At that time, there was a weekly 4 digits lottery, and it was popular to buy the numbers of car license plates. Especially if the car was involved in an accident, particularly if the accident was a terrible one.

I could never understand this spooky belief, if a person had died, why would he bless other people and let them benefit his tragedy?

My grand-uncle was in a bad accident that killed him. Some morons had the audacity to ask what his car plate was.



This old rusty gate makes me think of Briar Rose or sleeping beauty. 



27th ~ Spooky

Friday, October 26, 2012

Idesia Polycarpa red berries



When I stop at the lights as I go to church. I see this tree full of red berries. The photo on the right is the reflection of the tree on the left. The berries appear in Winter. It has heart shaped leaves.

This tree is called Iesia Polycarpa and only the female tree has berries. It is an ornamental deciduous tree which means I appreciate with my eyes only, and too bad for my mouth. You need a make tree nearby for your female tree to have berries.

I wonder if My friend CY has done right the right thing by chopping down all her male Dabai tree.



http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Colorful leaves



Thursday Challenge is a place for photographic fun and learning. 

"FALL/AUTUMN" (Falling/Colorful Leaves, Warmer Clothing, Windy, Cloudy, Flying Kites,...)

http://www.spunwithtears.com/thursday.html

My late Grandpa, Mr. Chan Kee Seng.




This is among the few photos left of my grandfather. This one was taken with my youngest sister Grace in 1975.

My dad's house was later rented out when Mum and Dad went to live in Australia. The storeroom was infested with termites. Gone were all our paper work, photo albums and all our souvenirs.

Grandpa always wore traditional Chinese emsemble which looks like fisherman style tops and pants. He had his head cropped with 1/2 inch of hair.

He was a fan of Bruce Lee and Kung Fu movies. He watched all those movies.

There was a time when a Chinese Kung Fu master beat a karate expert. Youngsters mistook him to be a Kung Fu master or See Fu. They kept pestering him to teach them. Grandpa was a Cantonese, and it was more thrilling to the non Cantonese Kids. It was as if he was a celeb from Hong Kong. We joked with him, why don't you pretend to be a Kung Fu master?

Sunday, October 21, 2012

ABC Wed: Letter O for Old.


 Francis, this is your old cane cosy for the tea pot.
 When my late paternal Grandma left China for Borneo almost ninety years ago, she brought two things. A marble coffee-shop style marble table and a Chinese tea pot with a paper mache cosy. She also brought a slave slave, given to her by her parents to serve her in any way she liked. This slave girl aka as MUI ZAI was in an era when the old paternalistic Chinese society when males were superior to the useless girl.

Grandma returned to China before the World War two .

Grandpa always had his tea pot filled with black Chinese tea. It was kept warm by the paper mache cosy. Grandpa married a second wife, so these items went to her.

That pot was very valuable as an antique. When Grandpa was still alive, an antique dealer came round to houses of old people to scour for old things. He offered a good price for the tea pot, and the paper mache cosy. The latter, the antique dealer had never seen. Grandpa refused to sell, no matter how good the offer was.

He told us, it was the only family heirloom that was worth anything. We teased him that he was an old romantic who could not give up the tea pot because it held so much memories for his old flame, my late grandma.

My second grandma is still alive and just turn 100. As for the tea pot, she doesn't use it any more. No, it is too precious to use, just in case someone, like clumsy me, break it. She will talk about it though.

This photo is an exact replica of Grandma's old tea pot. 
 This is Francis Chen, my friend from Kai Chung school. He likes to collect old things. He showed me the tea cosy. Only he didn't know what it was. It was exactly like the cosy I knew except it is well kept, in better condition than my grandma's. Thanks Francis for your hospitality.

 These two busts are Deng and Kong, the pioneers of my ancestors who came to Sarawak more than 100 years ago. My old friends from the university of Windsor in Canada took me there. I chuckled to myself. It takes a Hing Hua person to take me back to my Cantonese/Hakka roots. Thanks Peter Ning and Vanny.
 In my friend Diana's Chin's well maintained 60 years old Sia Villa, I see a lamp I knew when I was young and visiting my grand parents. It is an old kerosene pressure lamp.
 Along the road towards Sibu, my friends tell me that this old abandoned house was once upon a time the most beautiful house in Binatang/ Binatangnor. Even Binatang is an old name.
 These belongs to an old culture. I will tell you if you ask.
 A miner's lamp in the longhouse.
Are these bar bells? No, they are axles of an old train.



Our World Tuesday/outdoor wednesday/yellow : Labour day




Today is Labour Day. The first official day for surfing.




http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Photohunt: Sassy

20th ~ Sassy
This woman was sassy. They asked for a volunteer, and she put her hand up. I don't use this word and googled, and choose this to mean bold.


Friday, October 19, 2012

Weekend Reflection: Last tree Standing.



 You have to squint to see the reflection in the murky water on the left.

This is  a docu-drama,
a subject close to my heart.

Once upon a time,
Grandpa took me for a walk,
Look kiddo, this is the land,
The land of our ancestors.

Here, you remember our fish pond?
The fun we had, you and I,
when uncle drained the pond and we went in,
and laughed with glee as we held the fish in our arms.

This giant Totara tree is mine,
That one is your Dad's
That one is yours.
They are never to be chopped down.

Is it really mine?
Yes, when you and I were born,
We came with our mum's placenta, our twin.
We bury this and plant a tree.

This tree is yours,
This tree will protect you.
The tree is your spirit.
If it falls, so will you.

One day, a greedy drunk of an uncle.
He came with a group of men,
Welding machines, vroom vroom vroom
One is like a giant taniwha/monster.

That piece of paper, in their hand.
Signed with an X.
By that scoundrel uncle.
who didn't know,  1 from 2, after 3 bottles of fire water.

Alas, I return as a grown man.
Tears choking my throat, eyes blurry.
My fish pond is a mere trickle of water.
The fish is dead from pollution.

All the trees are gone except Grandpa's.
We chained Grandpa's body up the tree.
Even the modern men is afraid of our culture.
The last tree standing.

http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com











Thursday, October 18, 2012

Thursday challenge: Familiar-children's playground.




"FAMILIAR" (Anything that is everyday or familiar to you...)
rose
Thursday Challenge is a place for photographic fun and learning.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

ABC Wed: Letter N for New Zealand.




No Cloche but my Italian Wok lid will do.
Put the blind on, and eat.

Letter N is for New Zealand.
for New Zealand Chef Simon Gault.
For the Nation's loveable Masterchef cooking judge.
For his numerous awards,
For his involvement with CBM New Zealand.
For fine dining at "Night"
For Not seeing when you eat.
When you Nibble your food, you get an idea of what it is like to live with a disability.
You will Never forget how fortunate you are.
Appreciate the hard work of CBM New Zealand.
And Not taking for granted Simon Gault 
and his merry men sweating in the hot kitchen.
Thank your lucky star that you are Not singing,
"I am Nobody's child."

Ka Pai, Paki Paki Simon, 

Your work inspires me and make me think of my own charity for the Deaf in Kenya.




While you dine in such splendour, you will be raising funds for the wonderful work of cbm, who change and even save lives of children and adults living in the poorest countries of the world and carrying the additional burden of disability.
 
Simon has experienced this first hand, after traveling to Sri Lanka and visiting the Monaragala School for the Deaf and Blind, meeting children living with disabilities. 

“I shall never forget the kids I visited,” he said. “It was an emotional experience. I knew I wanted to do something to help raise funds for children living with disabilities in the poorest countries and cbm was the perfect choice.”

And speaking of disability, you’ll be given a token idea of what it’s like living with a disability, when from the outset, you’ll be blindfolded and rely on your other senses to experience this incredible evening.
 
Places are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.  Tickets are $150 with $50 being a donation towards the work of cbm.






Cbm New Zealand Non-Profit Organization 



About cbm in New Zealand Sign Language herehttp://youtu.be/yVer9r01zo0