Three Wishes

It was a warm sunny day. You were enjoying a quiet walk by the beach. Sounds of waves gently rolling on the shore and breeze blowing against your face... The beach was relatively deserted. You sat on a rock and looked out towards the sea, experiencing the vast openness, tranquility and calmness. It was peaceful..



Just then you caught sight of what seems to be a tiny colourful bottle, tugged at the corner, in between the rocks. Out of curiosity, you dug into the sand, pulling it out. You gently brushed away the sand and examined the bottle. It was old, painted in several colours, red, orange, green, yellow, blue, indigo, purple, colours of the rainbow. You unscrewed the cap of the bottle, wondering what did it contain..

To your disappointment, there seems to be nothing within, except for a piece of paper. The paper was wet, dirty and almost torn. You can hardly see what was written on it, faintly it read "If you are granted three wishes, what do you want to have?"

So what is your response to this question..? Wealth, health, love, career, etc? Did your answers come to you easily? Did you hesitate in answering the question? Why? Lost as in what exactly matters to you now? Everyday is the same, you are basically drifting day by day, lost in a rat race, going round and round in circle. Imagine how it will help if you have clarity in what you want for yourself and the people you love. How will your life be?


Or were you very clear exactly what is important to you and what you want in your life? Climbing the corporate ladder. You enjoyed the adrenalin of accepting challenges at work, meeting targets and objectives set, recognition and monetary rewards that comes with it. Or was it that you would want someone to love, trust and treasure and whom love and cherish you as well? Then what is stopping you? Why aren't you moving..?

If life is as simple as meeting a genie and have wishes being granted, it would be perfect. Let’s get back to reality. It is our lives, your life. Get started and moving. Every single moment is precious. You will never go back in time again. Create what you want for yourself and the people you love now.. Right this moment. If at first you don’t’ succeed work, use other methods. There will be rainbows in our live, beautiful and memorizing, before that you need to encounter sun and rain.

Dearest Dad

Today is a special day. It is Father's day. A day where we express our love, gratitude and appreciation to the most important man of our lives, our Father, our Daddy, Dad.. There will be celebrations, with  dinner and activities to keep our Dad happy. While I do enjoy making Dad happy on this day, at times I felt that Father's Day and even Mother's Day, are creative "ideas", developed by "shrew" businessmen, to increase sales or revenue! (Ok, you might not agree..) Expression of love, gratitude and apprecation for Dad and Mum, should be for each and every moment that we are with them, not limiting to this day. Spending time with them regularly, listening to them, genuinely loving and caring for them, most importantly keeping them informed of what I am doing and including them in my plans, are integral parts of expressing my love for them..

Being a father or a daddy is tough work. Traditionally kids are closer to Mum, who usually takes the nuturing role in the family. Dad is generally the bread winner, the authority in the family, who keeps discipline, and protects the family. He has to be strong, capable and competent, "fearless" and courageous, solid as a "rock" and "solve all techinical issues" man in the house, who can practically fix anything..! There..! Mission impossible? Keke, at least that was the impression that I have of my Dad when I was young. A strict, capable and very fierce man, who has extremely high expectations of me, his elder daugther. I respected him and feared him then, prefering to stay away in case I made him angry. Those times were behind us, I am happy that we are very close now. It could be that he has mellowed down with age, though I prefer to think that I am the daughter that he is proud of.. Hee. He dote on both my sister and me. Thank you Dad..

The role of Dad has changes with time. Though we can still see "traditionally" dad in some families, the role of Dad has evolved. Many of them are "hands-on" Dads, who play active role in bringing up, educating and caring for their kids. They feed, carry and change diapers for their babies, rushed home to play with the kdis after work, teach them their homework and ferry them around to where ever the kids want, etc..  Dads nowadays  demostrate love, patience, and care, a softer side of them, not only to the kids and also to their wife. It is a very important role and challenging one too, to balance both work and family needs. Being just a breadwinner no longer suffices. Along with it involves taking an active role in bringing up the kids and also supporting and loving the wife. A quote: "The best gift that a Dad can give his child is to love the Mum".

For being the above, to all Dads:

Happy Father's Day... thank you for being the torch of our lives, showing us the way. Protecting and sheltering us when we were young from the rain and storm..

A special note to a few Dads that I knew:

To Chris, Bryan, Sasi and Conway, enjoy this day and every waking moment you have with your kid(s). Before you know it, they will be grown-ups!! Hee.

My sister is..

For a longest period of time, I wanted to go on a trip alone with my sister.  The idea was formed way back when we were in our early teens. We never get around to doing it. Leave schedules "clashed", too busy with work, spending time with partner, etc. We do have family trips, including our parents, brother-in-law or with our friends. Still it was different.. as in the kind of feeling where it is me and hey, with my "little" sister. .

In case you are wondering, my "little" sister, Emily is quite different from me, in terms of personality and habits. From young, she is the more "assertive" individual that will "protect" her elder sister when anyone bully or take advantage of  her. A more vocal kid by nature, she would "stand" up and pushed the person away, when she thought that person was being overbearing.. This happened when she was at a tender age of two or three, me being four years her seniors.. (Hm.. can you imagine how it looked like?) Er, on occasions though, she might be the one "bullying" me, "cough", "cough", when she wanted something her way.

We were sharing room when we were young. Being the active one, Em would be going out with friends after classes, enjoying outdoor activities or exploring whatever there were going on. I was usually the "bookworm" who preferred to stay at home, read, sleep, etc..  Em lived comfortably in her state of organised "mess". She has her way of finding her stuff amidst the books and clothes that were placed "strategically" all over the room. I was the fussy one, that not a single book on the common desk can be out of place. During exams, I preferred to woke up at 5am to read and be in bed by 10pm cause my eyes wouldn't keep open despite how many toothpicks I used. Em was a "night-owl".  She would usually start late afternoon, then studying till late at 2am, 3am. Imagine, the quarrels we had when we were young over nitty-gritty issues.  Then again, we also had lots of fun where we played imaginary games, went swimming and cycling during school holidays. That was the most interesting and carefree period of our lives.

Yes, nothing in this world can replace, who my sister is to me or the experiences that we have shared. Em is my support,  one that I turn to when I was feeling down, tired, sad, frustrated. She is also the first person whom I share my joy and laughter.  Trust was present, that she will not judged me for what I have done and truly cared.

I have told her once "Mey, sibling is only person that we can be with for the longest period of our life, cause not even parents or partner can do that".  She is now married, to a devoted man, who is kind and patient, doted on her. We are still very close, even though we are not staying in the same house.

In fact, the physical distance apart (she lives across the street only!) has brought us closer since we are no longer bothered by the nitty-gritty differences. Being someone's wife, Em has acquired a renewed level of maturity and understanding, more able to see things from other perspectives. She is also  more financially independent and capable.

I am very grateful for having a sister and with Em as my sister. I thanked my parents for this gift.
She is one treasure whom I love and cherish.

Dear Mey,

Sharing a quote. "Believe me. I have no idea how I got so lucky to get a sister like you. I only know that I glad I did" - Linda Lee Eirod

My Sis favourite photo - two cheeky monkeys sitting together (sisterly love!)