Ode To Japan

I came home tonight to the news of a massive earthquake and tsunami in the Sendai area of Japan. Japan is not new to earthquakes, but this seemed to be a very major one judging from the size of the tsunami that wiped out almost the entire city in just one day.

All over the television, there were news of water, water, water, everywhere, people clinging onto the roofs of their house, houses being "uprooted", boats and trees being floated all around. In short, it was a sight!

My first thought was on the friends and former colleagues I have in Japan. I wonder if they are safe? But they are in Tokyo and Yokohama, so I would presume they should be okay, since these two places were not badly hit.

It is really bad for Japan these past few years. First, they have not really recovered from the financial downturn of 2008 yet, then their own government and politics are in disarray due to the high turnover of Prime Ministers ever since "Richard Gere of Japan" stepped down, and now, they are struck by massive natural disasters.

How can one country suffer so much in so short a time? And it is so wasted because Japan has one of the best sceneries and natural landscapes in the world. It will be a great pity indeed if such a beautiful country is ruined.

Let us pray for Japan and hope that in this time of crisis, there will be good people around to help them out and that even though they have lost their homes, their spirits will never be broken!

[Note : After this post was drafted, my friend called me, crying that her parents are in Japan, in Sendai itself. Let us pray for everyone who is there, trapped there and whose family members are worried for them. May they be home soon.]

Uncovering Pompeii ...

I have wanted to go to the Pompeii Exhibition ever since I heard my colleague mentioning it. However since I started my new job, I have not had the time to do lots of things.

Today, being Sunday, we decided to go since it was the last day of the exhibition. And just as well we did because today happened to be the museum open house, so anyone can walk in and go to any exhibition for free! How lucky!

It was quite an experience seeing the exhibition and watching a small clip on how the volcano erupted and the whole town got buried. I also got to learn more about the Roman empire and the history behind it.

The best way to describe the whole thing is through pictures, so here they are! The ash-covered people, animals and household items evacuated from the soil, throwing light that Pompeii did ever once exist!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Appeal For Prayers ....

My prayers never really come true. Nevertheless, I would still like to pray and appeal for prayers for all the disaster-prone areas of the region : Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand.

There have been volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, typhoons, forest fires. The elements that work for you can work against you too. There have been many people dead, dying and left homeless. We come from such a priviledged society, perhaps it is time to give back to the community what we have.

So please pray for a miracle and that these victims of disasters will be able to see the light and move on in their lives again!

Haitian Victims Need Our Help!

It had been more than a week since the earthquake hit Haiti. I am not familiar with this island, except for hearsay that it is a place where voodooism is rampant. Initially, I thought it was the place where James Bond went to in "Live Or Let Die" until I realised it was another place.

In any case, the Caribbean islands do not hold much appeal to me, except Trinidad and Tobago, although Cuba holds a lot of appeal to my dear, as he always said he would like to go there and check out the Cuba cigars (what else?) and dance salsa! (Just in case you are wondering, no, he does not smoke. Not now at least. He used to be a social smoker, but when he knew I abhor smokers, he automatically stops smoking.)

Anyway it is always terrible the way disasters strike. It can happen any where, any time. No one knew that a tsunami would sweep over our neighbouring countries so easily and massively, and all the historical structures that took years to build, were all wiped out within minutes.

No one knew a hurricane would blow across a country, rendering hundreds homeless. Or that an earthquake would occur and made many more injured. In times like these, I wish I can do more to help, but time and finance is not on my side.

I am not saying I should not help, but only the rich can afford to drop everything, go to the disaster sites and render real assistance. People like me need to eke out a living, and if I go away for months on end, who is going to feed me if I have no job left?

But I do feel for the disaster victims. The innocent lives taken away just because of the massive shaking and opening up of the ground. I am lucky to be in a place away from natural disasters (even the tsunami bypassed us and went further north, despite all our immediate neighbours being quite badly hit). So I keep telling myself I should not take for granted.

Hence, for those of you who would like to help in anyway, please contact the International Medical Corps. Hopefully a few would heed the call and help the disaster victims!

Count Our Blessings

What a way to start the day! The radio news this morning was on nothing but natural disasters! Earthquake in West Sumatra, earthquake at the Samoa islands, hurrican in Philippines. Is there no good news lately?

Come to think of it, living here, where I am, is very fortunate indeed. We do not have any natural disasters like volcanoes or earthquakes. Even tsunamis bypassed us. We have the priviledge to be educated and eke out a good living.

Yet people are always complaining about something or another. Do people even know the good life we have as compared to so many others in the world? Imagine the ground split and your house fell apart, bodies lying strewn. Imagine a strong gust of wind came and blew your house down.

We are so fortunate to live in a country devoid of all these. We should start counting our blessings instead of always thinking of the negative!

A Time For Natural Disasters

The folks are back! And they brought me holy water from the House of Mary at Epheseus, the place in Turkey where apparently three Popes had gone for pilgrimage. What an honour! This is water that is not to be drunk unless in an absolute emergency and I am at my wit's end, as it is supposed to be water that heals the sick. Having said that, I would like to express my intense gratitude and appreciation to all those who have dropped me messages, notes, cheers and encouragement last week when I was fighting the battle. Very belated, but thank you very much!

This period seems to be one for natural disasters. Just when the Myanmar situation has not been cleared, the ground split open in Sichuan. I have stopped keeping track of the number of casualties and stopped looking at the pictures in the newspapers. I will just get more depressed if I see anymore pictures of people being dug up, heavily injured, and number of deaths and missing. Short of praying as hard and as much as I can, there is not much else I can do, besides donating to some mercy relief. If I have the proper connections I may want to go on-site itself, but a pity I am but a normal person, not some kind of big shot.

Which makes me think : the Myanmar situation occurred before the Sichaun quake, both have casualties, yet why do more people willing to give massively to China and not to Myanmar? Is it because many of our ancestors came from there, thus many of us feel more affinity with China? But when a disaster occurs, help is needed, no matter how many casualties there are, is it not? Why favour one over another?

I am not saying that nobody's giving to Myanmar, but as far as I know from the people I know, they rather help China than Myanmar. Yes, I gave to both. It is nothing to speak of, but I just want to make things clear before I get misunderstood again as always. I find that sometimes when I do not say things just because I find there is of no need to say anything, people start to misunderstand my intentions and actions and label me as all kinds of things or jump to their own conclusions without knowing the full background.

Anyway, I was contemplating why those I know prefer to just give to China instead. Most came up with the reason that they do not trust the Myanmar government, and that if they give to Myanmar, they are worried the government will take the money for their own purposes and not truly helping the disaster victims. Hmmmm... interesting analogy. Now, what makes anyone think it is any more transparent in China? How would anyone know their money and supplies will really reach the victims?

Fine, I am being rather cynical, but I just like to make a point that if one wants to give, do it generously and not keep worrying and considering where the money and supplies will be going to. If there is going to be so much consideration and worry, then just keep your belongings and not give any away. On our part we have done a good act. What happens on that end is not within our control. As long as we have done a good act, that is all that matters.

Meanwhile, I shall continue my prayers for the victims, the dead, the lost and the missing. I wish their ordeals will end soon on a positive note.

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Apocalypse Now?

One thing I notice is that lately, major natural disasters have been occurring around this time. No doubt that when volcanoes start spewing, earthquakes start shaking and typhoons start blowing, these can occur at any time. But in recent years, it seems only during this period of time that the major ones start to occur.

Whether it is a coincidence or whether it is a sign, I have no idea. But why is it only during the festive season, just post-Christmas, that major destructions occur due to natural disasters? Some parts of the world are still recovering from the massive tsunamis of Boxing Day two years back, and now there is a big earthquake that disrupts many of the cables bringing wireless access to all over the world.

Of course what is a mere disruption of internet as compared to the many people who lost their lives, homes, families and land due to the big tsunami? By right, we should be grateful for what we have, as compared to those who have been through worse. But being humans, people tend to just take things for granted and lament about any inconvenience in their lives.

Yet when I see what the world is coming to, I cannot help but feel is the end near? Are we fast approaching the end of the world? There is something in the Bible (Revelations I think) that says something about this, if I am not mistaken. Something about how the world will become worse, calamity after calamity will strike, and after that it will be the end of the world.

And it seems to be fast coming true. More diseases are striking people, animals are getting sick (first the cows, then the pigs, then the birds, and now with the mercury poisoning and virus in fish), vegetables being poisoned by insecticides or fertilisers, water being poisoned by toxic waste, icebergs melting at a fast rate, volcanoes, earthquakes and forest fires occuring more frequently than before. All these seem to be going towards apocalypso.

If the end of the world is coming, then is there a way to prevent? Will it be even worse than the flood during Noah's time? Somehow I cannot seem to live comfortably anymore when I think that the end may be near, anytime soon, within years, months, days even.

Trying To Be Active ....

Earthquake again, in Indonesia, followed by a tsunami. Wonder what the extent of the damage will be this time? I really pity the people there, and having known a few Indonesians, I can understand their concerns too, since I am sure they feel the pain much more intense than me.

I was at my cousin's place earlier on when I saw the news. My cousin-in-law then remarked about a possible volcanic eruption in Indonesia, as there have been reports that one of the active volcanoes is spewing. Apparently, if this volcano really erupts, Singapore itself may be in danger.

I went over to my cousin's place to find out how she is doing now that she is almost four months pregnant, and helped to dog-sit at the same time. I shared with her my photos from my recent trip, as well as the trip we went together in Australia last year.

She showed me her photos from Nepal, where she and her husband went for a second honeymoon early last year. The Himalayas are really beautiful at close range! I am sure it is so much better for real as compared to in the photos! Perhaps Nepal will be the next place I go to, after it is finally politically stable again.

My job search is progressing at a slow rate. I have sent in resumes, but so far no news, except for the interview I am going to on Wednesday, by one of the listed companies, incidentally owned by one of the female Nominated Members of Parliament. The company is in the hotel and resort business, with resorts in Bali, Bintan and Maldives. Perhaps if I do land the job, I can finally get to go relaxing in Maldives!

Actually there are three positions I really wish to land. One is that of an Education Consultant, another is Supervisor for the Children's Aid Society, and the third is an Educational Guidance Officer of the Asian Women's Welfare Association.

I still enjoy it most working with and around kids. It is still more meaningful to make a difference in the lives of the younger generation, than to work in a company and generate more profits for an already-wealthy organisation. But my parents just do not see it this way.

When I first left mainstream teaching, I actually landed a job as a music supervisor in a Catholic kindergarten. The job suits me to a tee, even the Principal of the kindergarten said so, as it has a Catholic background, most of the kids are from Catholic families, and the job is to oversee music pedagogy and developing kids' minds and movements using music. Ad-hoc jobs require playing the piano for mass and religious sessions.

The job is made for me, so to speak. I will have really loved it there. The only catch is the salary. My salary was cut down by half. Childcare teachers do not earn a lot. So my parents made me turn it down, and told me to be practical, get a job elsewhere that could pay me the same or not much difference, and with prospects for growth.

I am not saying they are wrong, but for me, I always prefer a job which I really love doing. To me, money is not everything. I can work for free as long as I like my job. If I hate my job, even if I am paid a six-figure sum per month, I will still not like it.

My cousin told my to cut my hair. So I told her maybe I will get a shave for charity. And she was totally horrified. On the other hand, her husband said to go ahead. She said it does not matter to a guy, but what will a woman look like if she goes bald? She told me perhaps a new hairstyle is the only way to get out of the depression and move on with my life. Meanwhile, get a new hair colour too.

She has a point there. I cut my hair really short the very first time I broke up. And I felt like a new person after that. My hair is due for a trim anyway. I just have to decide which colour I want to use this time. Maybe I will take pink! I can just foresee my parents' faces if I come home with pink hair!

So tomorrow will be the day I change my hair colour. And to snip off my locks at the same time. The rest of the week will see me going down to SPCA to volunteer my services. Plus, I will be helping the contractors repaint the house. My parents decided to use white on the outside, and whisper green (of all colours!) on the inside.

My mum says whisper green is very pale green, almost like white. In that case, why not use white? Now I am at the stage where my parents try to accommodate me in as many ways possible (they actually told my brother to let me watch the television last night even though he was in the middle of a show, something that never happened before!), wonder if they will allow me to paint my room baby pink or peach?

Being active is a good idea. It keeps my mind occupied, and I can start focusing on other things. Wonder if there will be a donation drive for the poor victims of the latest earthquake? If I could, I would want to go right to the site and do what I can. But right now, the only way I can help is through monetary and material contributions.

Apocalypse Now?

Thank goodness my first brother is alright! Saw him online last night. He told me the damage was not as bad as was reported in the media, but six people did die as they were either crushed by falling trees or swept away by the overflowing rivers. Water and electricity supply was cut off for two days and was only resumed last night. Phone lines were still cut though thus he could not call back.

My dad finally called back but my mum refused to speak to him. He told me what happened - he was in a meeting so gave his phone to his female assistant. When my mum called she was the one who answered but the batterty became flat, hence the disconnection. So the misunderstanding is cleared.

Actually I think my dad should just come back. What my mum probably wants is for him to come back and appease her (speaking from a woman's point of view). It is not the first time my mum has over reacted or threatened divorce. I think she believes my dad will not cheat on her but perhaps all her tantrums are to make my dad stay around more often? After all, which woman can stand for it for her husband to be away most of the time and never around for the family and her? Especially at her age when her career is at a standstill and her children are independant, she probably feels more lonely than before. Like someone said, parents are also humans and they can act childishly too, even more so for someone like my mum who likes to insist on her own way. I feel helpless seeing my mum so upset but there is nothing much I can do as well except pray that everything is well for them.

Just read that the dengue virus has spread to Malaysia and now there is even a horse virus which just spread to dogs. So all the animals are dying one after another and humans are contracting deadly epidemics. Seems like Apocalypse is arriving. Now I have to hope and pray that there will not be another holocaust, be it at home and the world.

Dengue Strikes....

Murphy strikes again. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. First was the Katrina matter, then the typhoon in Japan, then the Medan air crash, now the rapid increase in dengue fever cases here.

There seems to be a rapid increase in dengue fever cases lately. I am starting to fear that what dengue fever is to the population now was what SARS was to us more than two years back. I hope things will not get too serious that people have to be put under quarantine, and schools have to be closed or wholesale markets shut down until further notice.

I know how terrible dengue fever can be. It is worse than chicken pox. Incidentally I had chicken pox in 2001, when I was already an adult, and it was my final semester in the university! My youngest brother got it first, then spread to my other brother, then finally to me. I was so upset when the scabs started coming out as I was more worried about being disfigured and scarred for life than anything else. Luckily (I really should thank God for this) there were hardly any scabs on my exposed areas, like my face, hands and legs. It was more prominent on my back and chest to navel area, so I became a bit more “spotty” at those parts, but who is going to see? As long as my face still looks flawless that is all that matters.

My first brother was hospitalized for three weeks due to dengue fever earlier this year. He got it just a few days before he was due back to his college, and my dad had to call his school to ask for a deferment of a month. He had to be put on drip and stayed under observation in the Intensive Care ward until his fever and vomiting went down, before he was transferred back to a normal ward. I remember my mum taking leave just to stay in the hospital with him. I was asking my mum if it was considered annual leave or childcare leave, so she said it was emergency leave, and she is no longer entitled to childcare leave since my brother is already an adult. But still, he is her child. Oh well….

I worry more for myself now. I have been noticing a few mosquito bites on my arms for the past few days. I cannot afford to get sick now, not with a party I am organizing at my place this Saturday, and the fact that I just started work not long ago. I really do not wish to fall sick and get hospitalized.

The World Is But A Stage

What is the world coming to? Nowadays all I see and hear are disasters. Is the final holocaust as stated in the chapter on Revelations coming true? First comes forest burnings, then diseased animals, then viral infections in humans, then natural disasters, then bombings, and now plane crashes. Is it really getting more and more unsafe to live on Earth? Then perhaps I really shall migrate to Venus, except I may find it too hot, since it is so near the Sun. Maybe I shall go live on the Moon instead.

Ever since the Mad Cow disease in 1996, there has been one disaster after another. The mad cow disease came about due to the intelligence (or stupidity?) of humans, thinking that since the grass the cows were feeding on were getting more scarce, so decided to feed the cows canned food instead. Of course that will upset the entire body systems of the herbivorous cows! Which brought about mass slaugter of the poor cows.

First the cows, then the pigs, then the chickens, ducks and geese, then the fish and finally the humans. After the mad cow disease, came the pig virus, followed by the bird flu (which incidentally has never subsided), then the mercury poisoning of the fish, and the coronavirus of humans in the form of SARS. Which got me wondering, why were there mass slaughters of animals just because they were down with some form of "disease", yet when humans were down with SARS, they could have the best medical treatments? Are animals' lives really more worthless than humans' lives? A life is a life, no matter what type of animal or being one is.

Which means it has become dangerous to eat beef, pork, chicken, duck, goose and seafood. Then what is there left for us to eat? Plants and vegetables? What with all the forest fires, slash and burn cultivation and insecticides, who knows how many millions of innocent trees, flowers and fruit are dying as a result. Not as if people are already saving a lot of trees in the first place at the rate paper is being used.

Then what about the haze brought about by the forest fires? These smug will rise up into the atmosphere, mingling with the already polluted air, and creating a bigger hole in the ozone layer, resulting in much hotter climates and stronger ultraviolet rays. Sooner or later, all the ice bergs in Antarctica will melt, and the ocean level will rise ten-fold, which means Singapore will cease to exist, ie buried under the ocean. Our island country will then become another lost city of Atlantis.

As if all these are not enough, the environment and Earth is further threatened by natural disasters. First was the underground earthquake in the Indian Ocean last Boxing Day, resulting in such a big tsunami that practically almost destroyed Acheh, Phuket, Penang, Kedah, Sri Lanka and Maldives. The beautiful Maldives are gone! Now there was the big hurricane Katrina that almost destroyed the Lousiana state of New Orleans in the United States, earning it the nickname of "The US Tsunami". And what about reports of typhoons in Japan?

Seems as if all the elements of the Earth are disastrous in one way or the other. Forest fires are fire disasters, tsunamis are water disasters, earthquakes are land ("Earth") disasters. Now come air disasters like the plane crash in Medan, where the latest casualty figures are unknown, but so far there have been seven survivors, albeit in critical conditions. And why are there still no word from my parents since flying off on Friday? I am so worried especially after the plane to China crashed in Taiwan. I will so love to hear from them, wherever they are. I cannot even contact them since I do not even know which part of the world they are in right now and they do not have roaming services without the card. And what about "metal" disasters? The bombings of the New York twin towers on September 11, 2001 ("the 911 incident"), the recent bombings in London and various bomb threats in every part of the world.

It is a more dangerous world we are living in right now. That is why my friend told me to live life to the fullest and live a worthy life. I totally agree. Seeing that I can just die the next moment, it is best to do what I enjoy doing and live life to the fullest, so there will never be any cause for regret. Afterall, Antonio from "Merchant of Venice" said, "The world is but a stage, where everyone plays a part, and mine, a sad one." So it all depends on which part you want to play.

SARS Revisited?

Is the flu virus recurring again? Just last weekend, I was down with the flu, and my fellow opera mate was also sick but still managed to perform. Last two weeks, there were quite a number of my colleagues who had to take at least two days medical leave due to the flu. I went back to the office on Monday with still a bit of the flu virus. Yesterday another friend just came back after two days of dripping from the hospital due to recurrent fever for a week. Now, my boss himself just went off as he came into the office sniffling and with a bad throat. I wonder if I spread my virus to him?

I just heard from the news a few days back that there was another case of SARS in Taiwan (or is it Hong Kong?). After the SARS scare two years back, where Singapore was put on the list of dangerous countries by the WHO, it was really a big relief when as at 31st May 2003, Singapore was taken off the list of countries by WHO, and it was only in late June when China and Hong Kong were taken off the list that the whole world could rejoice again as it was finally SARS-free.

The question is, where did this virus come from in the first place? There are cases of people dying of pneumonia or acute influenza, but that was the first time when people get something so serious just by contact alone. This lady came back from a Hong Kong trip and caught the dreaded virus as she was in the same lift as a China professor (who subsequently died from the illness) in a hotel in Hong Kong. She started to spread the disease to both her parents and her pastor when he came to pray for her recovery. She survived, but her parents and pastor died. One can only wonder how messed up she must have felt. I sincerely hope she will get over this period of grief and depression and go on with her life.