The good old days

Gosh this is really good.., share with you all...
Especially for those of us born and raised in Malaysia (esp. fond of the memory of the Milo truck coming to school once in a blue moon to give away free packet-chocolate-milk at school!).

For your reading pleasure...some might be true. Hope you will all enjoy reading it. This might bring you back the old memory especially during those school days.... Signs that you are a 70s' or 80s' baby:

You grew up watching G-Force, He-man, Transformers, Thundercats, Silver Hawk, Woody Woodpecker, Chipmunks and Mickey Mouse. Not to forget Ninja Turtles, Mask, Smurfs and Voltron too.

Girls watched Japanese cartoon like My Little Pony, "Xiao Tian Tian", "Hua Xian Zi"
etc.

You grew up brushing your teeth with a mug in primary school after recess time.

You squatted by a drain with all your classmates beside you, and brushed your teeth with a colourful mug.

Remember the days when the school nurse, comes with a list for the dentist appointment, the sound of the drilling when your friend has a fill in his tooth.

You remember the packets of milk we get in primary school to encourage us to drink more milk. (It cost only 30 cent per pack)

In secondary school, girls go to the library to borrow their favourite romance storybook.

In secondary school, girls altered their school skirt to shorten it and guys will go to the school appointed school uniform tailor shop to tailor make their school trousers to the then fashionable "baggy pants"!

During primary school days, the teacher will punish you using a ruler to hit your palm.

A bowl of noodles soup cost only 30cent in primary school days.

When you were in primary school, girls like to go to the bookshop to buy cute stuff such as animal erasers, various shape sharpeners, colourful notebook etc.

Hankyu Jaya, Yaohan departmental stores used to be a favourite hangout for families during weekends.

In secondary school days, you buy the Bata BM Turbo or Pallas Jazz school shoes.

Some guys like to wear those china made ankle high shoes. Some even like to wear those very thick socks with their school shoes.

Internet? E-mail? What the hell is that?

So you thought a decade or more ago, your friends don't have pagers or handphones in school.

CDs? What's that? Cassette tapes were the norm.
Movie tickets used to cost less than $5 last time.

The goodies from Mama shop used to be Chickerdis, Mamee , Kum Kum, UFO, O-Ya, Ding Dang chocolate balls with toys in the box, colourful hard "egg", "cigerette" bubble gum, KIKI Bubble Gum, pink bottle of bubbles c/w a small tubes with yellow sticks to blow "more lasting" bubbles that you can pop more air in or slam it on. You will laugh at the tv advertisement advertising on those toys...

You never forget 'Ti Kam'.

When exams are over, the board games (e.g Monopoly, Donkey, Transportation Comparison Card) and held video games will be all over the class room.

Your favourite sound is the bell for it's the homemade ice cream man. The cream that tops Haagan Dazs!

And the other peddler you love is the old lady who sells juicy Muah Chee and thick olden syrup rolled in a balloon the tip of a chopstick

Another bell is the recess bell, a time to get away from school work and to eat. Another time when there is no bell but all guys will anxiously wait for it...The PJ (Pendidikan Jasmani), PE time (time for football)!!

Your favourite childhood games were playing "guli"(marbles), five stones, five bottle cover, zero-point, catching, "Pepsi-Cola one two three" and/or "Police & Sentry"!

The best thirst quencher of all times is the yummy colourful ice tubes you can buy from provision shops for only 10 cent. To eat them, break the tab and suck while holding the freezing tube!

All gals have a girl doll/strawberry shortcake/my little pony/pound puppy, while all boys have a soldiers figurine (combat) or a rubber band catapult that shoots folded paper!

Once was the era whereby ice-cream sticks were valuable items, then came the paper aircrafts, chalk fights.

Some boys made their own guns from wood, and used 'Bacali' as the bullets.

Some even used matches to shoot and burn kids'lanterns during MoonCake Festival.

And your favourite holiday was Lunar New Year! New clothes, Ang Pows, shopping, junk food and family outings!

Let's see, the majority of students in universities today were born in 1987/88... They are called "youth".

For them, they have never heard of the song "We are the World, we are the Children..." And the "Uptown Girl" they know is by 'West Life' but not 'Billy Joel'.

For them, there have always been only one Germany and only one Vietnam. AIDS exists since they were born.

CD exists since they were born. Michael Jackson is already whitened. John Travolta is always round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance. They believe that Spiderman and Incredible Hulk are just new films. They can never imagine a black and white screen for a computer.They never know what is Atari or 'Game & Watch'. They can't believe a black and white television ever existed and they don't even know how to switch on a TV without a remote control. And they never understand how we can go out without a mobile phone when we were in university...

Let's check if we're getting old...
1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
2. Most of your secondary school friends are getting married.
3. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computer.
4. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
5. You spend less and less time talking on phone with your friends daily.
6. When you meet your old friends from time to time, talking about the good old days, repeating again and again all funny stories you experienced together.

Hahaha...! Yes! We are getting old too...........
Brings back old memories huh? Cheers to the 70s n 80s babies!!!

Indian Superman and Spiderwoman

To realise

To realise the value of a sister:
Ask someone who doesn't have one

To realise the value of ten years:
Ask a newly divorced couple

To realise the value of four years:
Ask a graduate

To realise the value of one year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam

To realise the value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.

To realise the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby

To realise the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper

To realise the value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet

To realise the value of one minute:
Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane

To realise the value of one-second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident

To realise the value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics

Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special.

To realise the value of a friend:
Lose one.

Happiness is Voyage

We convince ourselves that life will be better once we are married, have a baby, then another.
Then we get frustrated because our children are not old enough, and that all will be well when they are older.
Then we are frustrated because they reach adolescence and we must deal with them.
Surely we'll be happier when they grow out of the teen years. We tell ourselves our life will be better when our spouse gets his/her act together, when we have a nicer car, when we can take a vacation, when we finally retire.
The truth is that there is no better time to be happy than right now. If not, then when?

Your life will always be full of challenges. It is better to admit as much and to decide to be happy in spite of it all.
For the longest time, it seemed that life was about to start.
Real life.
But there was always some obstacle along the way, an ordeal to get through, some work to be finished, some time to be given, a bill to be paid.
Then life would start.
I finally came to understand that those obstacles were life.
That point of view helped me see that there isn't any road to happiness.

Happiness IS the road.

So, enjoy every moment.
Stop waiting for school to end, for a return to school, to lose ten pounds, to gain ten pounds, for work to begin, to get married, for Friday evening, for Sunday morning, waiting for a new car, for your mortgage to be paid off, for spring, for summer, for fall, for winter, for the first or the fifteenth of the month, for your song to be played on the radio, to die, to be reborn... before deciding to be happy.

Happiness is a voyage, not a destination.

There is no better time to be happy than... NOW!
Live and enjoy the moment.

-Author unknown-


Now, think and try to answer these questions:
1 – Name the 5 richest people in the world.
2 – Name the last 5 Miss Universe winners.
3 – Name the last 10 Nobel Prize winners.
4 – Name the last 10 winners of the Best Actor Oscar.

Can't do it? Rather difficult, isn't it?
Don't worry, nobody remembers that.
Applause dies away!
Trophies gather dust!
Winners are soon forgotten.

Now answer these questions:
1 – Name 3 teachers who contributed to your education.
2 – Name 3 friends who helped you in your hour of need.
3 – Think of a few people who made you feel special.
4 – Name 5 people that you like to spend time with.

More manageable?
It's easier, isn't it?
The people who mean something to your life are not rated "the best", don't have the most money, haven't won the greatest prizes...
They are the ones who care about you, take care of you, those who, no matter what, stay close by.
Think about it for a moment.
Life is very short!
And you, in which list are you? Don't know?

Let me give you a hand.
You are not among the most "famous", but among those to whom I remember to send this message...


Some time ago, at the Seattle Olympics, nine athletes, all mentally or physically challenged, were standing on the start line for the 100 m race. The gun fired and the race began. Not everyone was running, but everyone wanted to participate and win. They ran in threes, a boy tripped and fell, did a few somersaults and started crying. The other eight heard him crying. They slowed down and looked behind them. They stopped and came back. All of them.
A girl with Down's Syndrome sat down next to him, hugged him and asked, "Feeling better now?"
Then, all nine walked shoulder to shoulder to the finish line.
The whole crowd stood up and applauded. And the applause lasted a very long time... People who witnessed this still talk about it. Why?

Because deep down inside us, we all know that the most important thing in life is much more than winning for ourselves.
The most important thing in this life is to help others to win. Even if that means slowing down and changing our own race.

If you spread this out by forwarding, perhaps we will succeed in changing our heart, perhaps someone else's heart, as well...

A candle loses nothing if it is used to light another one.

So, what have you decided? Trash this or forward it?

當我老了(很棒的一篇文章)

謹以此文獻給像我一樣流浪在外的子女們

遊蕩了這麼多年，從東到西，又從北到南，一年又一年，我在長大，知識在增加，世界在變小，家鄉的母親在變老。二十一年前母親把我送上了火車，從那以後，我一刻也沒有停止探索這個世界，二十年裡，從北京到上海，從廣州到香港，從紐約到華盛頓，從南美到南非，從倫敦到雪梨，我遊蕩過五十多個國家，在十幾個城市生活和工作過。每到一個地方，從裡到外，就得改變自己以適應新的環境，而唯一不變的是心中對母親的思念。

IP電話卡出現後，我才有能力常常從國外給母親打電話，電話中母親興奮不已的聲音總能讓我更加輕鬆地面對生活中的艱難和挑戰。然而也有讓我不安的地方，那就是我感覺到母親的聲音一次比一次蒼老。過去兩年裡，母親每次電話中總是反覆叮囑：
好好再外面生活，不要擔心我，一定要照顧好自己，不要想著回來，回來很花錢，又對你的工作和事業不好，不要想著我……說得越來越囉嗦，囉嗦得讓我心疼，我知道，母親想我了。

母親今年七十五歲。

我毅然決定放下手頭的一切工作，擱下心裡的一切計劃，扣下腦袋裡的一切想法，回國回家去陪伴母親一個月。這一個月裡，什麼也不幹，什麼也不想，只是陪伴母親。

從我打電話告訴母親的那一天開始到我回到家，有兩個月零八天，後來我知道，母親放下電話後，就拿出一個小本本，然後給自己擬定了一個計劃，她要為我回家做準備。那兩個月裡母親把我喜歡吃的菜都準備好，把我小時候喜歡蓋的被子「筒」好，還要為我準備在家裡穿的衣服……這一切對於一個行動不方便的，患有輕微老年癡呆症的75歲的母親來說是多麼的不容易，你肯定無法體會。

直到我回去的前一天，母親才自豪地告訴鄰居：總算準備好了。 我回到了家。在飛機上，我很想見到母親的時候擁抱她一下，但見面後我並沒有這樣做。母親站在那裡，像一隻風乾的劈柴，臉上的皺紋讓我怎麼也想不起以前母親的樣子。

母親花了整個整個的小時準備菜，她準備的都是我以前最喜歡的。但是我知道，我早就不再喜歡我以前喜歡的菜。而且母親由於眼睛看不清，味覺的變化，做的菜都是鹹一碗，淡一碗的。母親為我準備的被子是新棉花墊的，厚厚的像席夢思，我一點也不習慣，我早就用空調被子和羊毛被了。但我都沒有說出來。我是回來陪伴母親的。

開始兩天母親忙找張羅來張羅去，沒有時間坐下來，後來有時間坐下來了，母親就開始囉嗦了。母親開始給我講人生的大道理，只是這些大道理是幾十年前母親反覆講過的。後來母親還講，而且開始對照這些道理來檢討我的生活和工作。於是我開始耐心地告訴媽媽，那些道理過時了。於是母親就會癡呆呆地坐在那裡。

情況變得越來越糟糕。我發現母親由於身體特別是眼睛不好，做飯時不講衛生，飯菜裡經常混進蟲子蒼蠅，飯菜掉在灶台上，她又會撿進碗裡，
於是我婉轉地告訴母親，我們到外面吃一點。母親馬上告訴我，外面吃不乾淨，假東西多。我又告訴母親，想為她請一個保姆，母親生氣地一拐一拐在房間裡辟啪辟啪地走，說她自己還可以去給人家當保姆。我無話可說。我要去逛街，母親一定要去，結果我們一個上午都沒有走到商場。

每當我們討論一些事情的時候，母親總以為兒子已經誤入歧途，而我也開始不客氣地告訴母親，時代進步了，不要再用老眼光看東西。 和母親在一起的下半個月，我越來越多地打斷母親的話，越來越多的感到不耐煩，
但我們從來沒有爭吵，因為每當我提高聲音或者打斷母親的話，她都一下子停下來，沉默不語，眼睛裡有迷茫——母親的老年癡呆症越來越嚴重了。

我要走前，母親從床底下吃力地拉出一個小紙箱，打開來，取出厚厚的一疊剪報。原來我出國後，母親開始關心國外的事情，為此他還專門訂了份《參考消息》，每當她看到國外發生的一些排華辱華事件，又或者出現嚴重的治安問題，她就會小心地把它們剪下來，放好。她要等我回來，一起交給我。她常常說，出門在外，要小心。幾天前鄰居告訴我，母親在家看一曲日本人欺負中國華人的電視劇，在家哭了起來，第二天到處打聽怎麼樣子才能帶消息到日本。那時我正在日本講學。

母親吃力地把那捆剪報搬出來，好像寶貝一樣交到我手裡，沉甸甸的，我為難了，我不可能帶這些走，何況這些也沒有什麼用處，可是母親剪這些資料下來的艱難也只有我知道，母親看報必須使用放大鏡，她一天可以看完兩個版面就不錯了，要剪這麼大一捆資料，可想而知。我正在為難，這時那一捆剪報裡飄落下一片紙片。我想去撿起來，沒有想到，母親竟然先撿了起來。只是她並沒有放進我手裡的這捆剪報裡，而是小心地收進了自己的口袋。

「媽媽，那一張剪報是什麼？給我看一下。」我問。

母親猶豫了一下，把那張小剪報放在那一疊剪報上面，轉身到廚房準備晚餐去了。

我拿起小剪報，發現是一篇小文章，題目是「當我老了」，旁邊的日期是
《參考消息》 2004年12月6日 （正是我開始越來越多打斷母親的話，對母親不耐煩的時候）。

文章擇選自墨西哥《數字家庭》十一月號。我一口氣讀完這篇短文：

當我老了

當我老了，不再是原來的我。
請理解我，對我有一點耐心。

當我把菜湯灑到自己的衣服上時，當我忘記怎樣繫鞋帶時， 請想一想當初我是如何手把手地教你。

當我一遍又一遍地重複你早已聽膩的話語， 請耐心地聽我說，不要打斷我。
你小的時候，我不得不重複那個講過千百遍的故事，直到你進入夢鄉。

當我需要你幫我洗澡時， 請不要責備我。
還記得小時候我千方百計哄你洗澡的情形嗎？

當我對新科技和新事物不知所措時， 請不要嘲笑我。
想一想當初我怎樣耐心地回答你的每一個「為什麼」。

當我由於雙腿疲勞而無法行走時， 請伸出你年輕有力的手攙扶我。
就像你小時候學習走路時，我扶你那樣。

當我忽然忘記我們談話的主題， 請給我一些時間讓我回想。
其實對我來說，談論什麼並不重要，只要你能在一旁聽我說 ，我就很滿足。

當你看著老去的我，請不要悲傷。
理解我，支持我， 就像你剛才開始學習如何生活時我對你那樣。

當初我引導你走上人生路，如今請陪伴我走完最後的路。
給我你的愛和耐心，我會抱以感激的微笑，這微笑中凝結著我對你無限的愛。

一口氣讀完，我差一點忍不住流下眼淚，這時母親走出來，我假裝什麼也沒有發生，母親原本是要我帶走後回到海外自己再看到這片剪報的。我隨手把那篇文章放在這一捆剪報裡。然後把我的箱子打開，我留下了一套昂貴的西裝，才把剪報塞進去。我看到母親特別高興，彷彿那些剪報是護身符，又彷彿我接受了母親的剪報，就又變成了一個好孩子。

母親一直把我送上出租車。 那捆剪報真的沒有什麼用處，但那篇「當我老了」的小紙片從此以後會伴隨我……

現在這張小紙片就在我的書桌前，我把它鑲在了鏡框裡。現在我把這文章打印出來，與像我一樣的海外遊子共享。在新的一年將要到來的時候，給母親打個電話，告訴她你一直想吃她老人家做的小菜……

Jawapan dalam ujian sejarah

Memang cikgu nak pengsan bila baca jawapan begitu... Hahaha...
Tapi sekurang-kurangnya dia tidak menghantar kertas kosong dan dah cuba sedaya-upaya ketika menjawab soalanlah...

Karangan budak sekolah

One Day I Decided To Quit

Story from internet, share with you all...

One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship, my Spirituality... I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"
His answer surprised me... "Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo" He said.
"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit" He said.
"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant... But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle" He said to me.
"Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have act ually been growing roots?"
"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others..." He said.
"The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."
"Your time will come," God said to me. "You will rise high..."
"How high should I rise?" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned.
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and bring back this story.
I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.

~ It is not the length of life, but the depth of life ~