Poetry in Passing Motion

February 3, 2008 | 12 Comments

Pardon me for being crude to share on a topic like 'Passing Motion'. Please bear with me for it is absolutely funny and brilliant how creativity comes to some people while doing that and in such a place is definitely wonder of wonders! Heard that song before 'Poetry in Motion'? Well not the title of a song but just a line from an old old pop song. I am sure many have experienced or the need to use a public toilet and discover a myriad of scribblings on the walls! Most are just filth but occasionally you find some rather interesting works there! I guess you are forced to read them since there is nothing much better to do inside there! Here are some very creative scribblings collected by anonymous! Here I lie in stinky vapor, Because some bastard stole the toilet paper, Shall I lie, or shall I linger, Or shall I be forced to use my finger. Before he graduated to be a poet, he wrote this... Here I sit Broken hearted Tried to shit But only farted Someone who had a different experience wrote, You're lucky You had your chance I tried to fart, And shit my pants! Perhaps it's true that people find inspiration in toilets. I came here To shit and stink, But all I do Is sit and think. There are also people who come in for a different purpose... Some come here to sit and think, Some come here to shit and stink, But I come here to scratch my balls , And read the bullshit on the walls... Toilets walls also double as job advertisement space....... (written high upon the wall) If you can piss above this line, the Singapore Fire Department wants you. Ministry of Environment advertisement. We aim to please! You aim too! Please On the inside of a toilet door: Patrons are requested to remain seated throughout the entire performance. And finally, this should teach some a lesson... Sign seen at a restaurant: The hands that clean these toilets also make your food...please aim properly. And one from my own collection....found on a urinal in Japan! If it still leaks turn cock to the left!!!!!!!

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Posted by User Image bokjae | Filed Under Humour

Finding my Roots

February 1, 2008 | 23 Comments

Relocating is not a fun thing, especially for a sixty year old! The packing of personal belongings into carton boxes itself is tiring and time consuming. However I came across two boxes of old photos and can’t resist the temptation but spent a few hours browsing throw them which inspired this post.

My mom and dad came from Guangzhou China. Dad emigrated to Malaya then to find his fortune while mom stayed home in Canton. Eventually after the Second World War, my dad sent for mom and two siblings. Heard so much about the family house from dad and mom that in 1988, I made a trip to Guanzhou to look for my last remaining uncle, my dad’s eldest brother who lived up to the ripe old age of 94 then but he passed away a couple of years back. It was a business trip but I took a day off to locate the family house. all the time within my heart I was rather doubtful that I could find it. Apparantly my Great Grand Father was a land owner back in the early 1900's and when China came under Communist rule, all our family land was confiscated and became State owned except for the family house.

It took me tremendous effort to locate the family house in a corner of Guangzhou. On top of that, I do not read and write Chinese although I speak the lingo i.e. Cantonese, which really helped a lot. I managed to hire a kind taxi driver for the whole day to bring me to the district of Shun Tak and helped me locate Peng Onn Gate, just that for address which was passed on through word of mouth from dad! Well to cut the story short, after a lot of leg work and enquiries from the locals there, I managed to locate the house and to my amusement Peng Onn Gate is not a street but the name of the family house! The small entrance betrayed a huge compound inside! I was also amused that the street where the house stands bears the family surname! Wow! My forefathers must be some landlord then! My uncle was over joyed to see me in person and he recognized who I am! He said I looked very much like my dad. The strange thing was that although we had never meet each other till that very moment, there was a sense of 'family' and we chatted as though we knew each other our whole life! He knew all the details about me and my very own family, perhaps from the many letters between him and my dad and this was embarrassing because I know nothing of his! He could even name my children! Wow! I guess this is something we modern people lack, this 'sense of family' and the interest in each and every detail about the next generation or his nephews and nieces! He could even tell me when my mom and dad passed away! I could hardly recall the date now! Admiration and respect just flowed from my heart for this senior citizen.

Peng Onn Gate or Gate of Peace

It was an education coming to the place of your origins. I was so amazed that 8 generations of the family were all buried inside the compound of the family house! Took a picture of that ‘sacred place’ with my uncle and he tried to persuade me to bring my mom and dad’s ashes back there to be buried! Finding your own roots proved to be a great learning experience and I heard him talked for hours on the family history! Very interesting, bitter sweet, and learning of their struggles through unimaginable hardships brought tears to my eyes. Hearing from this old man relating the family’s story through nearly 100 over years was a lesson about life itself. Saying good-bye to him was emotional! He cried and I cried and we promised each other to meet again but alas it was not to be so! I believe he must be buried in the same place ending 8 generations! I don't think I'll be buried there when its my time to say good-bye and it sort of putting a closure to the family's story in China, to be continued in Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, UK and Canada.

Family Scared Place

It was rather sad to learned that most of my cousins had migrated to Australia, Canada and UK! I guess life was tough living under the Communist Regime in China. Many still live in Hong Kong but from there many migrated elsewhere! I don't think that I will ever meet them! We are like strangers knowing the name just like reading about a character in a novel. I am glad that I found my roots and I intend to tell my children where their forefathers came from and the family history through time. Being buried in a family burial plot or land sounded so historical. Like in the Bible where it said 'so and so slept with his fathers' giving the story such a deep sense of richness!