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Saturday, October 14, 2017

green green bamboo

Next month I will be returning to my ancestral home in China. I have never been and am getting excited. The family income was bamboo. I wonder if they still have it.

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Thursday, October 5, 2017

sago

Image may contain: 1 person, eating, sitting, table and food
 My first recollection of sago was the "Sago liap". Liap being small. They were small round hard compacted sago flour.

My maternal Grandpa Kong had a grocery shop and produce collection centre. Ibans come sell their rubber, and buy things from Grandpa. We saw the Ibans buy the sago liap and eat them at the shop.
We took the sago liap and ate them. They didn't taste good, hard texture and dry. They stuck in our teeth.Grandma chided us in what would now be unPC. 

Years later, Sis E went to teach in Mukah and learn from the Melanaus to eat with peanut, ikan busu aka ikan belis. All the ingredients were raw, and I couldn't stomach them. May be I was already allergic to peanuts.


Today, the Borneo Post published a photo on Sago symposium where my younger sister is involved. I wonder if Margaret was thinking of Grandpa's sago liap while she was researching it. There she is, 2nd from the left, Dr Margaret Chan.


Photo shows Sis E's grand daughter eating Bario Highlands worms similar to sago worms.

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Sibu Hindu Temple

Kids and childhood shenanigans.
In 1960s, we moved to the Government Quarters at Padang Road near to the Sibu Prison.
We were a bunch of boys and girls. There was a Indian Temple, and had an eerie feeling. It was little, and there were no windows except sticks at the top of the wall. We climbed up to look at the figurines. The girls supported by the boys standing on their shoulders. Outside there was a murky uncovered well. The silliness in  us spread rumours that someone had drowned there. Worse still, it was haunted and bidding us to look down and fall into the well. Childishness made us scared, yet not scared enough to climb up their tall spiky calamansi/lime fruits and their gardenia flowers. As we approach home, we threw away the flowers fearing mum might tell us off for going to the forbidden place.
I went back in 2013, my reporter took me there. The old temple was gone. In it's place was this school lookalike building.
Next to it used to be the Girl guide hut which I didn't see.
Ann Chin Kong Tong Kiong Hindu temple in situated at orchid road on the right side of girl guide building while Sikh building on the right side of race course road and prison is just nearby. Can see cow grazing in the compound of the Sikh building

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Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Sarawak Mulu Caves

When I went to Mulu, I was treated like royalty. They danced for us.

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Saturday, August 12, 2017

Auckland Family History Expo

http://mondaymellowyellows.blogspot.com.au/

I was exhibiting at the Auckland Family History Expo, and this lovely lady wore her red costume and her yellow daffodil.

The Auckland Research Centres are able to provide the tools and resources to help you on your family history journey. Whether you are just starting out or are wanting to explore something new, find out what we have to offer here:
http://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/EN/heritage/familyhistory/Pages/familyhistory.aspx



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Thursday, August 10, 2017

Tom Sawyer and fence




Do you have incidences or chapters in books that you remember?
I don't know about you, but I do.
Tom Sawyer's whitewashing the fence by Mark Twain is something I always remember how Tom tricked his friends Huckleberry Finn and others (boys and girls) to paint his work for him by pretending it was a lot of fun. They had to "pay" him for this privilege. May be it is the constant reminder by all the fences around me. Perhaps it is the phrase: Build bridges, not fence that is deep inside the recess of my mind that has this impact.
I chanced upon this gentleman painting his fence that just jotted my memory. I studied this chapter when I was 12 and had just started my Secondary School in Methodist School in Sibu. I can't remember if it was chapter one. I never forgot. I can picture the teacher's face though I have forgotten his name.


http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.co.nz/

Monday, August 7, 2017

Singapore zoo




http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.co.nz/














A moat separated us from the performing elephants in the Singapore Zoo. Every now and then, the elephants used their nose and sprayed water at the unexpected spectators.

Our World Tuesday Graphic

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Elephants in Singapore

This is Singapore Zoo. I like the humane way they treat the elephants.











A moat separated us from the performing elephants in the Singapore Zoo. Every now and then, the elephants used their nose and sprayed water at the unexpected spectators.

Some one wanted photos of elephants, I forgot who. She is welcomed to used these. Just acknowledge my source.


Friday, June 30, 2017

Chia Seeds

Salvia hispanica, commonly known as chia, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala. The sixteenth-century Codex Mendoza provides evidence that it was cultivated by the Aztec in pre-Columbian times and economic historians say it may have been as important as maize as a food crop.

“chia” is the ancient Mayan word for “strength.”

Sometimes I add a teaspoon of Chia Seeds to my white coffee in the morning.

https://authoritynutrition.com/11-proven-health-benefits-of-chia-seeds/ 

Image may contain: coffee cup and drink 
 Image may contain: drink

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Don't be a bully and call names

When I was in school, I had a close friend who was slightly overweight. She was teased for being fat, and it really affected her personality. She argued back which made it worse. She said she was teased even at work. Shortly after I saw her before I went abroad, she killed herself.



http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11884200


A Hamilton City councillor has come under fire for saying fat people are a hazard because they could fall on you.
Councillor Siggi Henry made the comment during a council debate about sugary drinks this week.
"It does affect a lot of things. I mean, you have a fat person falling on you, I think that would affect you, too," she reportedly said.
When asked about the comments after the meeting Henry said she knew "it wasn't right" as soon as she said it.



bookniture

I watched this on TV and thought what a great idea. Imagine folding your stool and displaying it like a book. When you have visitors, you open up your book like origami and you have a stool.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1985945130/bookniture-furniture-hidden-in-a-book



BOOK x FURNITURE = BOOKNITURE

BOOKNITURE is an extremely compact furniture. You can store it or carry it around just like a book. In just a flip, it unfolds from a book to a piece of multifunctional furniture. 
  • Easy Storage
  • Quick Setup
  • Multifunctional
  • Highly portable

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Celebrating diversity




Tonight , Mt Albert Baptist Church celebrated our Mosaic Global Cafe Night. Our survey showed there are 24 ethnic groups worshiping here. We have Malaysian Peter and Angie Seow who led in the worship with their beautiful music and song.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Triumph



https://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz/


For years, the resident of this premises had many Triumph cars parked not only at his car park, his neighbour's car park, but on the roads on both sides of his residence. They were an eye sore. He was dodgy when people asked why his cars were parked there, using up parking spaces. He wasn't tinkling with them. They were just parked there.  He didn't seem to be collecting them as a hobby. Was he illegally selling them?

One day, those cars on the main road were removed.  There are still other cars. 



Temple

In the early 60s, we lived in the Government Quarters along with Malays, other Chinese dialect groups, Ibans, Eurasian and so on.
Near to the houses were a small Hindu temple . There were no windows but had louvers to admit light and air. We climbed up on the wall, my brother supporting me, and we saw some statues in gold. It was full of mystique. It looked deserted because there was nobody there.

In the garden was a deep walled in well. Some one rumored that some one had drowned in the well. The water was murky. We climbed to steal the sour lime like calamansi which we ate there and then. Then there were the gardenia flowers and buds. We stole them. The plants were high up and so we had to climb. Someone screams ghost and we went screaming home.

You see. Mum had warned us not to wander there.
For nostalgia sake, I went three years ago. The temple was gone, and the modern building replaced it.
My friend said it was the smallest temple in Malaysia.

Friday, May 19, 2017

grandma's slave


There is on internet a story on "My family's slave" by an Filipino American.

Here's an abstract of my grandma's slave from my book, From China to Borneo to Beyond.

The pronunciation of my Quang Ning dialect MUI ZUI, for a slave sounds like the sour plum, and MUI ZAI as a girl is different. I don't know what it is in other dialects.

It must have been 1900s when my grandmother brought her over to be her slave. The girl was very young. It is not sure if she grew up with Grandma, or given to her when she was married.

My father, John remembered fondly of Grandmother’s mui zai (slave) whom he called Ah Jia, (big sister.) In fact he saw her more than he saw Grandmother. Grandmother worked in the rubber garden, the mui zai took care of him and his siblings. She did all the housework. She kindly separated the rough green husk of the sweet mung bean soup, so he would have it as a smooth watery thick soup.

There was talk that the British government in Malaya and Singapore was going to pass an emancipation of slaves, and those not releasing the slaves would be punished.

To preempt this, when this mui zai was 16, a marriageable age, Grandfather Kee Seng arranged for a suitable mate and married her off. This was much to the aghast of Grandmother. Grandmother whinged that this mui zai was paid for by her parents; therefore she was her property. This mui zai was her slave for life. Grandfather Chan had no right to sell her property. But Grandfather would not have any part of this old feudal slavery system. They married her off to someone up the Rejang River.
The emancipation law was never passed and Grandfather never heard the end of Grandmother harping on and on about it.

Some of those mui zais maintained a good relationship, coming back to the family as though they were part of the family. In many cases where they had suffered abuse from their owner and hated them; they never came back to visit. Grandmother’s mui zai never came back. Some, their new family forbidden them to.

Father did meet the mui zai many years later. Father was on official duty in a school near where she was married off to. She came and was hesitant to talk to Father, now an official of the government. She wanted Father to help her grand children to get into teachers’ college. She said quietly that it wasn’t that she didn’t want to visit the Chans, it was because she was not allowed to. She had been emancipated from one family into the slavery of another. She mentioned what a good family she had grown up in, and she would rather be old and single and be a mui zai in the Chan’s home. She loved Father very much.

I wrote about my grandma's Mui Zai in my book. I also remembered my mum almost got a Mui Zai too. It was after the World War Two. My great Grand Mother didn't want my mother to work too hard. So she bought a girl slightly older than my oldest sister. My father declined and packed the girl away. My Father's rationale was at this day and age, him being a Christian should not have a Mui Zai aka slave. How could he have the conscience of having a Mui Zai who slaves away while his own daughters went to school. Ah Tai aka Great Grand Mother argued we we just pay for her in the beginning and don't have to pay her anymore. Mother said we were feeding her. We knew about this returned Mui Zai when we had to do house work. We complained and wish we still had the Mui Zai.

The prounciation of my Quang Ning dialect MUI Zai, for a slave sounds like the sour plum, and MUI ZAI as a girl is different.


My parents had 6 girls, MOI ZAI SEE (bloody useless girls) as my Bodai (maternal grandma) would call us. She said, if we were in China, I would be sold off as a slave. I was the third girl. So would all subsequent girls. She also said my Dad had a Father-in-law look. When Father paid for me to study in Canada, Bodai said my fate was very good. I could have been a slave, instead I went to university.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Earth Day 2017

Image may contain: sky, cloud, outdoor and naturehttp://www.earthday.org/earthday/

Earth Day 2017’s Campaign is Environmental & Climate Literacy
Education is the foundation for progress. We need to build a global citizenry fluent in the concepts of climate change and aware of its unprecedented threat to our planet. We need to empower everyone with the knowledge to inspire action in defense of environmental protection.
Environmental and climate literacy is the engine not only for creating green voters and advancing environmental and climate laws and policies but also for accelerating green technologies and jobs.


Awareness of climate means not chopping down trees when they are still very small.

Monday, April 17, 2017

Thursday Challeng, Shadow


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

The current theme is "Shadow (week 2 of 2)" (Any photo with shadows or a silhouette,...

Thursday, April 13, 2017

a pilot's wife

April 11, 2017 AngeliaJGriffin (Thoughts from a Pilot Wife About Flight 3411)

“I’m not saying it’s pretty, but the only one who actually broke a law was the passenger.

The pilot's wife wrote because she knew about the laws, of aviation. She can stuff her knowledge and stop being condescending. Instead of pouring oil on troubled waters, she writes it is all the passenger's fault. If it is, why are millions of people wrong, and why did the CEO eventually apologizing.

The Chinese have a saying, if you don't open your mouth, no body will know you are stupid.

Finally, it doesn't matter that Dr Dao is a Vietnamese or a Chinese. For all I can conjecture, he could be an ethnic Chinese, just like me, an ethnic Chinese born outside China.

I Know You’re Mad at United but… (Thoughts from a Pilot Wife About Flight 3411)


I Know You’re Mad at United but… (Thoughts from a Pilot Wife About Flight 3411)

If there’s one thing I have learned over the years, it’s that there are always two sides to every story.
On April 9th, a very unfortunate incident played out on United Flight 3411, the video of which has since gone viral causing a mass social media uprising with an ‘off-with-their-heads’ mentality. I mean, across the board. Fire ’em all and let the gods sort it out later.
Look, I get it. When I first saw the video I was appalled too. To say that it was inflammatory would be putting it mildly. But it was also a situation that was escalated far beyond the boundaries of necessity.
If a federal law enforcement officer asks me to exit a plane, no matter how royally pissed off I am, I’m going to do it and then seek other means of legal reimbursement. True story.
Knowing what I know about airport security, I’m certainly not going to run back into a secured, federally restricted area at an airport flailing my arms and screaming like a banshee…because, you know, that just happens to be breaking a major federal Homeland Security law.
But that’s just me. Obviously.
The moment I made that particular ill-advised choice, I would become an immediate and imminent threat to the aircraft’s security. That’s kind of a big deal. I mean, come on, I once actually had to remove my infant son’s socks because they mimicked little baby sneakers. These guys mean business.
I didn’t like it. I thought it was just plain stupid, honestly. But instead of pitching a massive fit, refusing to comply, and bolting through the TSA checkpoint like an out-of-control toddler, I did the big girl thing–sucked it up, removed the offensive socks, and went on with my happy life, sans being tackled and dragged through the airport in handcuffs by a bunch of big men with guns.
Because if you choose to take advantage of the services the airport provides, you play by their rules.
I know you’re all out there screaming that the ‘rules’ are unfair, but I am a pilot wife. I remember 9/11. Do you? I want my husband, the father of my children, to come home. I want you to get homeThat law exists to protect my husband. And your wife. And your grandmother. And your child. And you. I, for one, am glad for the law.
I’m not here to dispute the facts of 3411 with you. I am not interested in getting into an argument of opinion with anyone. We’re all entitled to our own. I’m not arguing that what happened wasn’t completely terrible–it was, on multiple levels. But I am suggesting that the general public take another look at the situation, ask a few more questions, gather a few more facts, and then create a less hostile and more intellectually wrought opinion about what happened.
Because the media is giving you just enough information to keep you enraged–enough to keep their ratings up.
Things to consider:
1) “You can’t just kick a paying customer off the plane!” Psssst! It’s in the fine print. They can, indeed, do just that. And it’s not an airline specific rule, it’s a commercial aviation rule. Every ticket you purchase comes with a plethora of fine print–you know, the stuff we just click ‘next’ on without actually reading what we are agreeing to. Yeah, that. Well, it’s in there, and you checked the ‘I agree’ box when you purchased your ticket. You can read about it and oh-so-much-more here. Kind of makes you want to read all those tiny words on your next phone update before you click ‘I agree’, huh? You should. United did not break any law, and he agreed to the policy and possibility of involuntary bump when he bought his ticket. And so do you.
2) “Kicking a paying customer off an airplane!? I’m taking my business to Southwest!” Ummmm, okay. But just be sure you understand that every major airline, Southwest included, has a similar policy for involuntary bumping in a ‘must ride’ scenario. Don’t believe me? It’s called the contract of carriage. If you’re really bored, you can read Southwest’s here. Or Delta’s here. Believe me, it’s in there.  This could have been any airline. In fact, it happens all the time. Most people just don’t wrestle the feds in the aisle.
3: “So what’s this ‘must ride’ nonsense anyway? They shouldn’t bump a paying customer for a free employee ride!” I’m afraid you’re going to have to take this up with the federal government, not United. And it’s actually pretty important to you as an airline traveler anyway. They were not ‘freeloading home’. That’s called non-rev and they have to wait in line behind your checkbook and often don’t make it home to their families if flights are booked (believe me, I know). No, this was a must fly, a positive space situation. In layman terms, it means that a crew must be flown to an airport to man a flight in order to avoid cancellation of said flight due to crew unavailability. This is a federal DOT regulation, not an airline one. The airlines are required to do so to avoid disruption of air traffic. In other words, if there are no willing volunteers and they need seats to get a crew somewhere to avoid disruption of aviation flow, they can, will, must by federal regulation bump people for the better good of the 1000’s. Why? Because one cancelled flight has a serious domino affect in the delicate, complicated world of connections and aviation law.
4: “It’s the airline’s fault for not planning better!” You obviously have no clue about the complexities of aviation travel and should do some research. There are about a million and one things that can cause a crew shortage including but not limited to weather, maintenance, weather, connecting fight delays, weather, FAA timeout regs, and did I mention weather? I wish I could control Mother Nature because I would be one filthy rich person. But I can’t. And neither can United. So they inconvenience one, or four, to keep hundreds on track. Do the math. And of course, if we were on the other end of this thing, we’d be tirading and blowing up the internet because United didn’t bump a passenger to make sure our flight didn’t get cancelled and left hundreds stranded. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. We’re a fickle crowd, we social media folks.
5: They shouldn’t have picked the minority Chinese doctor! It’s racist.” That’s just silly. Though federal regulation demands they involuntarily bump to prevent interruption of flights when necessary, each airline does have the leniency to determine how they choose the bumped passengers. They did not play spin the bottle or walk down the aisle looking for the Asian guy. Use your heads, people! There is a computerized algorithm that takes into account price of ticket, how long ago it was purchased, whether or not they can get the passenger to their destination in a timely manner, etc. It wasn’t an ‘Asian thing.’ Stop, people. Just stop.
6: “United should go under for assaulting that passenger! Fire the entire crew!” Read the facts. United neeeever touched the passenger. In fact, by all witness accounts, the United flight crew remained calm and pleasant throughout the entire event, never laying hands on the passenger. They followed protocol as required by law. Once law enforcement became involved (also as required by federal protocol), United stepped out of the decision-making process. They had nothing to do with the rest. The passenger was forcibly removed by federal aviation security (the disturbing clip that everyone is talking about) after running back into the secured area after being escorted out once. Once he did that, like it or not, they (law enforcement) were under full discretion of the law to apply necessary force to remove the threat. I’m not saying it’s pretty, but the only one who actually broke a law was the passenger. There’s a reason for these laws–it’s called 9/11. We can’t have it both ways. But by all means, let’s berate and punish an entire flight crew–in fact thousands of pilots, FA’s, gate attendents, ground crew, etc.–because it makes us all feel a little better.
7: “You piece of **it!” I get that the passengers were upset, angry, maybe even confused. I get that you are too. After all, media is tossing you out chunks of bloody meat like you’re a pack of starving wolves. But I’m seriously disgusted that the poor must ride crew that had to take those seats after the unfortunate mess that unraveled were verbally abused and threatened. Can you imagine the very uncomfortable position they were in? Then they were demeaned, belittled, threatened. Along with many others all over the internet and airports today. They were and are men and women doing their jobs to feed their families. Just. Like. You.  They didn’t have a choice. They didn’t ask for this. They didn’t assault anyone. They are not a corporation; they are individuals who need a job. They are my friends and maybe even my husband. There’s a very fine line between what you despise and becoming what you despise. Many of the comments and actions I have seen perpetrated against United employees cross it. Don’t become what you hate.
Like I said, I know you’re mad at United, but there’s much more to the story than hits the media fan.
I truly hope that this gives you something to chew on and gives you a smidgen more insight into the complexities of aviation. I’m not making excuses. I think there were bad decisions made on both sides. However, I am saying there are always two sides to every story. Make sure you consider them both.
Tailwinds.
***A correction to the previous article. Mr. Dao was indeed Vietmanese and not Chinese.  That quote was verbatim from a comment off the internet. I apology profusely for the confusion.
Angelia (A Pilot Wife)
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Monday, April 10, 2017

An Asian man was forcibly taken off an overbooked United Airlines flight

http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/04/10/congress-just-got-involved-united-airlines-incident/

An Asian man was forcibly taken off an overbooked United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, after refusing to give up his seat to airline employees who needed to be in Louisville on Monday



Washington D.C. Democratic Delegate Eleanor Nortor, a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has officially called for a congressional hearing into United Airlines’ removal of a passenger from a flight.
In a statement, Norton said:
“I deplore the violent removal of a passenger from a United Airlines flight this weekend. Airline passengers must have protections against such abusive treatment. I am asking our committee for a hearing, which will allow us to question airport police, United Airlines personnel, and airport officials, among others, about whether appropriate procedures were in place in Chicago and are in place across the United States when passengers are asked to leave a flight.”
Norton will also be sending a letter to House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) to inquire about the practice of overbooking, over which this incident occurred.
United Airlines was recently in hot water for denying entry onto a flight to two teenage girls because they wore leggings.
United CEO Oscar Munoz released a tone-deaf statement apologizing that the airline had to “re-accommodate” the passenger whom they violently dragged off the flight. If that was “re-accommodating,” I can’t imagine what a “forceful removal” must look like.
Once the congressional hearing date is set, United is going to wish their only PR issue was for leggings.

Brian Tyler Cohen
Brian Tyler Cohen is a political writer, actor, and comedy sketch director. He graduated from Lehigh University with a dual degree in English and Business. He currently lives in Los Angeles.


Sunday, April 9, 2017

Thursday Challenge : Shadow

The current theme is "Shadow (week 1 of 2)" (Any photo with shadows or a silhouette

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