I went to a wedding last weekend. It was hosted by my dear friend for her only child. When I reached her condominium, she was there to usher us in. In her frantic voice, she told me that her caterer had not arrive and there was no food to be served. I told her not to worry and that everything will be alright.
As I entered the wedding venue, I saw that everything was in place. The dais was very well made up, the plates and cutlery and glasses were placed nicely on the tables. The guests have arrived and since it was a ' come and go' event, I guess it would be alright if the food was a little bit late.
The event was to be from 7.30 pm to 11.30 pm. Imagine to my friend's horror, the food only arrive around 9.30 pm. Luckily some of her relatives went out to buy crates of drinking water and nuts to serve the guests. It took the caterer almost 30 minutes to serve the food. By this time the number of guests have swelled , since those who had arrived earlier were still around at this time.
What happened was clearly not my friend's fault. How could the caterer not be there at least 2 hours before the event started? And when they did come finally, why didn't they have the urgency to serve immediately? And why can't they clean the tables promptly after the first round of guests finished their dinners? instead it was the relative who clear the tables?
My friend and her husband kept on apologising to the guests all night long. I feel sad for her. In this case, no matter how hard we, her friends tried to console her, she said she was ashamed of what had happened.It should be a joyious occasion but it was marred by the thoughtlessness of the caterer.I for one will not give any business to this caterer.
The following night, my friend hosted another wedding dinner for her very close friends and families. She told me that she cried the whole night after the wedding at her condominium. Who would blame her for that? We are talking about her only child's wedding. She wanted it to be at least near perfect. But it was not meant to be.
But the wedding dinner that took place the following night was something else. It was near perfect. We enjoyed ourselves very much. And I sincerely hope that my friend will remember only of this evening instead of the disastrous one....
Monday, March 15, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
The Biggest Loser Asia
I watched the Biggest Loser Asia finale with amazement. King David lost a massive amount of weight within 5 or 6 months. As usual money [ in this case US$100,000] is the motivation factor . Yes, he won the prize but at what price? Now, not only he looks years older, but he also looks tired and hagard.
At the media conference, he said he wanted to put back some weight again. Can our body take a sudden weight loss without any detrimental effects? I am no scientist but I wouldn't want to lose my weight in that manner. And I would not allow my children to lose theirs in that fashion too.
I think this program is excellent in motivating people to lose some weight and be healthy again. But at least the participant should not look at the prize as a mean to an end. Being competitive is fine but there must be a limit to it. Even if David lose only 40% instead of 53% of his weight, he
could still win the prize....and look great.
He must show good example to all the people out there. Don't let them starve themselves and worse become anorexics in order to be thin. Among the finalists, I admire Martha the best. Nobody expects her to be in the top four but she did it by gaining an immunity. Her determination to lose weight took her to Thailand to train with Tony. She still has some weight to lose but as she said she will take her time and do it her way.
Congratulations to all the participants of The Biggest Loser Asia. You are all winners.
At the media conference, he said he wanted to put back some weight again. Can our body take a sudden weight loss without any detrimental effects? I am no scientist but I wouldn't want to lose my weight in that manner. And I would not allow my children to lose theirs in that fashion too.
I think this program is excellent in motivating people to lose some weight and be healthy again. But at least the participant should not look at the prize as a mean to an end. Being competitive is fine but there must be a limit to it. Even if David lose only 40% instead of 53% of his weight, he
could still win the prize....and look great.
He must show good example to all the people out there. Don't let them starve themselves and worse become anorexics in order to be thin. Among the finalists, I admire Martha the best. Nobody expects her to be in the top four but she did it by gaining an immunity. Her determination to lose weight took her to Thailand to train with Tony. She still has some weight to lose but as she said she will take her time and do it her way.
Congratulations to all the participants of The Biggest Loser Asia. You are all winners.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Mrs. Chai......my mother when I was thirteen
Last weekend, my friends and I went to Taman Seputeh to visit our former class teacher. It has been 40 long years since the last time I saw her. Yes, 40 long years [ I finally have accepted the fact that I am a veteran].
What a memorable visit it was. She was her typical self, very motherly and as excited as before.
We were still referred as my girls all the time we were there. She aged very well despite being a 70 year old lady. You would have thought that she's in her early sixties.
It was a pleasure to have met with her children and grandchildren. And the old movies of us ..dancing away in our innocence was really something. This lady is the first person we consider as a mother when we first entered this boarding school. She was the person responsible for our wellbeing and English Language.
She even paid the tuition fees of one of my friends. I remember some of my friends from different class were envious of us from Remove T. Mrs. Chai held some parties for us at her home. Taking pictures and movies of us. It was the time when we needed our mothers most and she was there for us.
Yes, Mrs. Chai...you taught us well. Whatever you taught us, we pass it down to our children. Your family must be very proud of you. I remember very clearly when you comforted me on the 13th of May. You dismissed all the negative reports from the newspaper so that I can concentrate on my studies instead of worrying for my family in Kuala Lumpur. I only realised the harshness of the situation when I went back for holidays. That's what mothers do to protect the children. And you are a mother to all of us.. ...
What a memorable visit it was. She was her typical self, very motherly and as excited as before.
We were still referred as my girls all the time we were there. She aged very well despite being a 70 year old lady. You would have thought that she's in her early sixties.
It was a pleasure to have met with her children and grandchildren. And the old movies of us ..dancing away in our innocence was really something. This lady is the first person we consider as a mother when we first entered this boarding school. She was the person responsible for our wellbeing and English Language.
She even paid the tuition fees of one of my friends. I remember some of my friends from different class were envious of us from Remove T. Mrs. Chai held some parties for us at her home. Taking pictures and movies of us. It was the time when we needed our mothers most and she was there for us.
Yes, Mrs. Chai...you taught us well. Whatever you taught us, we pass it down to our children. Your family must be very proud of you. I remember very clearly when you comforted me on the 13th of May. You dismissed all the negative reports from the newspaper so that I can concentrate on my studies instead of worrying for my family in Kuala Lumpur. I only realised the harshness of the situation when I went back for holidays. That's what mothers do to protect the children. And you are a mother to all of us.. ...
Monday, March 1, 2010
All is Fair in Love and War...Or Is It Really?
We heard it so many times before and never question it. Some of us believe it through and through. All is fair in love and war or is it really? I am not a pessimist by nature but I chose not to believe in this one adage.
Life is never fair. Take love for an example. It takes a small miracle for you to be in love with each other. You have to be in love with each other at the right time and at the right place for this miracle to happen. You cannot say that you are in love with Hugh Jackman when in fact you have never met him [ sob ]. You only dream to be in love with him. And when love fails? It will hurt both of you, no matter whose fault it was. All is fair does not apply here.
What about war? In my adult lifetime I have 'seen' so many wars. The Gulf war, USA vs Iraq, USA vs Afghanistan, Bosnia vs Serb, Palestine vs Israel and so forth. Can we sincerely believe that all is fair in war? What about those Palestinians fighting with stones against the Jews with machines? Or the raping of the Bosnian women in the ethnic cleansing? Is it fair to the victims who were attacked by the phosphorus bombs? Unless you are fighting with each other on the same and equal ground, then it is fair. To quote Radovan Karadzic ,' it is a just and holly war', makes me squeamish in my seat. When 100,000 bosnian were massacred just because they were Muslims...it definitely not a just war!
Otherwise do not give the pre-emptive, weapon of mass destruction and other lame excuses for you to go into war. I won't buy it. Nobody wins in a war. It only brings pain....lots of it.
Life is never fair. Take love for an example. It takes a small miracle for you to be in love with each other. You have to be in love with each other at the right time and at the right place for this miracle to happen. You cannot say that you are in love with Hugh Jackman when in fact you have never met him [ sob ]. You only dream to be in love with him. And when love fails? It will hurt both of you, no matter whose fault it was. All is fair does not apply here.
What about war? In my adult lifetime I have 'seen' so many wars. The Gulf war, USA vs Iraq, USA vs Afghanistan, Bosnia vs Serb, Palestine vs Israel and so forth. Can we sincerely believe that all is fair in war? What about those Palestinians fighting with stones against the Jews with machines? Or the raping of the Bosnian women in the ethnic cleansing? Is it fair to the victims who were attacked by the phosphorus bombs? Unless you are fighting with each other on the same and equal ground, then it is fair. To quote Radovan Karadzic ,' it is a just and holly war', makes me squeamish in my seat. When 100,000 bosnian were massacred just because they were Muslims...it definitely not a just war!
Otherwise do not give the pre-emptive, weapon of mass destruction and other lame excuses for you to go into war. I won't buy it. Nobody wins in a war. It only brings pain....lots of it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)