The Walk of Life

I came across this embarrassingly funny anecdote which I think can really happen to anyone! Imagine you were at a Public Restroom reliving yourself and then suddenly the guy in the next cubicle started something like this:-

"Hi, how are you?"

You're not the type to start a conversation in the men's restrooms at a rest stop but, you don't know what got into you, so you answered, somewhat embarrassingly: "Doing Just Fine!"

And the other guy says: "So what are you up too?"

What kind of question is that? At that point, You're thinking this is too bizarre so you say: "Uhhh I'm like you, just traveling east!"

At this point you are just trying to get out as fast as you can when you hear another question.

Can I come over to your place after while?

Ok, this question is just wacky but you figured you could just be polite and end the conversation.

So you tell him, "Well, I have company over so today is a bad day for me!"

Then you hear the guy say nervously...

"LISTEN!!! I'll have to call you back, there's an idiot in the other stall who keeps answering all my questions, bye!"

A very Blessed and Happy New Year to all you Chinese visitors and friends! Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year of The Ox! The Chinese call this the "Golden Ox" and I hope it brings prosperity and sustainability to everyone in the days ahead!

Have not been blogging lately partly due to this New Year preparation as well as spending time revamping my other websites! Neither will be blogging much in the next few days due to the New Year Celebrations where either we go visiting friends and relatives whom we have not been seeing and receiving guests who call on us too!

Did a Theme change for my blog and personally I like this Theme much better. At least now my visitors will find it easy to leave their comments which many had problems leaving comments with the previous Theme! I love the "V" sign on the header! The 'V' is the international sign for PEACE, a lacking commodity in our world and hope that it serves as a gentle reminder to all to give Peace a chance so to say! It can also mean Victorious too! Hope you like it! See ya soon!

As both of us are now qualified to be considered ‘Senior Citizens’ we are still quite young as compared to some who are in their 80’s or 90’s! Generally speaking and widely accepted is the belief that these ‘Elders’ have lots of Wisdom on life and living. I came across this respectable elder by the name of Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio and below is what she wrote about the 45 Lessons, life taught her.

I read all the 45 Lessons over and over again and really appreciate her wisdom and perhaps you too may draw some Gold Nuggets from what she shared.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion.Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter.
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will.Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Just the other day, we were with a group of our contemporaries and while I was listening to the usual  moms with marriageable daughters talking, I just picked up that for most mothers, they seem to encourage their daughters to go out with guys that have high earning power!

Since then I kept pondering on the question like are women attracted to men for what he really is meaning as a person or what he does for a living, meaning his job/income. Although I have heard arguments from some women who says that although what the man is as a person is important but his capability to provide security is also very important. Point taken.

In reality, gone are the days when men are the sole bread winner in the family. Nowadays with ever rising cost of living, housing, cars and what not, two people with a single income cannot be having much for lifestyles! Furthermore women today are more capable and career minded than women of generations past. At this moment in time, women are still earning at least some 30% less than men, given the same position. So I am not surprise to find women still put a lot of weight on her choice of a life partner’s paycheck.

Well just for fun, if you are female try not to ask your date/potential partner what he does for a living for as long as you can. Inevitably the question of what you do for a living will come up! I know, some of you may say that it’s not a question of how much he earns but more of getting to know him better!

On the other hand, men are not so particular how much his  potential partner earns! Of course until he finds out that she earns so much more than him then perhaps things start to change. You know what I mean. Of course some men do not mind at all but in our Asian culture it is not so common. Call it male ego if you want to. Just my own ranting.

Time flies and especially so when you are busy! Every essential appointment seems to be all clustered within the first week of the New Year! Anyway there were times when I was just waiting at some Coffee Shop while dawn and rock did their shopping for ladies' things. As I  looked around me, I noticed how people  especially the younger ones, seem to be spending lots of time with their hand-phones sending short text messages.

I am sure you too do noticed young people nowadays seem to spend so much time on their phones not talking but doing text messaging! It seems like the in thing now. Even older people seems to be doing that! I was made to understand that many young people are ‘dating’ via text messaging! some girls do get into trouble through this text messaging thing!

Well, I can understand it is easy to say the things through text rather than face to face like for example “ U r so Hot". Psychologists seem to say that too much text messaging can make the transition to real-life relating slightly difficult. I have heard of this being mentioned by many mothers of teenagers.

I prefer the old fashion way of getting to know someone. Nothing compares with a face-to-face conversation. This way you can gauge the other person more accurately. Moreover physical meeting allows the chemistry to work so to say. However such meetings usually put the guys in a difficult position when asked a difficult question! If he takes too long to answer then the girl might think he is not up front with his answer! No time to think!

Face-to-face meeting gives you the advantage of knowing where you stand. Or you get a feel of what is the reality. With text-messaging, the other party can choose not to respond immediately but say half an hour later so that he can find the ‘right’ answer.

Of course I do text-messaging too like “Hey where do we meet” or “come quick, I need some cash”, but to build a relationship via text-messaging, it sounds unreal! Perhaps I am really getting old.