Feng Shui Sales Talk

With dire predictions made by seers about the state of the economy in the Year of the Ox, it is interesting to see renowned Feng Shui practitioner, Ms. Lillian Too, making her sales pitch on TV ads.

For those who swear by Feng Shui and believe they need celestial intervention to survive the Year of the Ox, Lillian has offered advice on how to mitigate the "bad forces" that are prevalent in 2009. The answer? Amulets, jade, gold pendants and animal figurines, to name a few, that must be worn or placed in certain directions either at home or the office.

This reminds me of a friend of a friend who sought Feng Shui advice to salvage her faltering marriage. She was advised that there was too much "fire" between them due to their respective zodiac animal and something had to be done to "cool" things somewhat. One would think that a "hot" relationship would certainly be better in a marriage than a "cool" one but no, that is not the case in the realm of Feng Shui.

The recommended cure was a five-tier mini fountain placed in her living room, facing a certain direction. The job came with a heavy price tag (a cool RM6,000) but instead of bringing them together, they were divorced within two years!

The moral of the story? A cool RM6,000 is not enough to cool a hot relationship!

Back To Basics....

It's been two months since my last round of golf and today, I started my journey towards playing a full round again. My shoulder constinues to heal and I am focused on therapy which includes water-based passive movements to strengthen the arm.

To improve my putting, I engaged the services of the Club's resident pro (Bari Beluah) and went back to basics. Just being on the putting green and being able to greet friends who have been wondering about my long absence was exhilarating enough and I plan to practise as regularly as I can.

Since my range of movements are rather limited now, I will concentrate on what I can do and try to do it well...and worry about my swing later...when I can comfortably lift my arm.

The road to full recovery will be a long one but I will get there!

The Year of The Ox

On January 26, we will be ushering the Year of the Ox...the ox being the second animal in the Chinese Zodiac. The Chinese Zodiac consists of a 12-year cycle with each year marked by an animal. The order of the cycle begins with the rat, followed by ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and boar.

The 0rigin of the order is steeped in folklore and one version has it that the animals were invited to a meeting at the emperor's palace and there was plotting and scratching and clawing amongst the animals in their bid to be the first to arrive - ala The Amazing Race!

The kindly ox agreed to carry the scheming rat and the cat on his back to cross a river. However, the rat pushed the cat off the ox's back into a swift current, so the poor cat never made it to the top 12. The rat then jumped off the ox' s back to claim the first spot. The cat and the rat were once good friends but became mortal enemies when the cat did not make it to the top 12 - wonder if the animals learnt from politicians or vice-versa?

Feng Shui masters and soothsayers have predicted that the turbulent Year of the Rat (2008), marked by a global financial crisis, will give way to a more stable Year of the Ox . However, the road to economic recovery is going to be a long one...why are we not surprised?

Feng Shui practitioners maintain the earth is made up of five elements (earth, water, fire, wood and metal) that governs the environment. 2009 will be a "pure earth" year which means that fire will be missing so there will not be a lot of drive to push up the stock market. Markets might rise in the first half but gains could peter out in the second half. The market is predicted to be quite low in the second half - a good time to get ahead of a recovery in 2010!

However, a Japanese research house, the Daiwa Institute, predicted that the Year of the Ox will be disasterous for the stock market as Japan's Nikkei Index saw a drop averaging 11.4% during the last five Years of the Ox.

The saving grace is that US President Obama was born in a "yin earth" year and this, according to soothsayers, should help the global outlook - dare we have the audacity to hope?

It Is Only In Giving That We Receive.......

Some of us born with the five natural senses intact take for granted the gifts we have been bestowed upon creation. Although our senses are "perfect", we still find "imperfections" with our bodies and we desire more - such as higher cheek-bones, fuller lips and more aquiline noses. Some go to great lengths to fix the "imperfections"; resorting to cosmetic surgery and injection of substances that may be harmful to our bodies. Such is the nature of human beings.

For the visually impaired, the basic functions of life that we take for granted are challenges that have to be overcome. But, as resilient human beings, they learn to adapt. Some conditions that lead to blindness are treatable but due to poverty, many have to go through life without being able to see.

The Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) was established to empower the visually impaired by providing services and opportunities for greater participation, involvement and integration into society and to promote prevention of blindness. Among others, MAB provides vocational training to equip visually-impaired people with skills that will prepare them for employment.

To encourage the reading habit and enable the blind to acquire knowledge, MAB also provides library services and it has a good collection of books in Braille, audio, as well as print. I had heard through friends that MAB needed more volunteers for the Library and I visited the Library recently to offer my services. Volunteers are needed to type books into Word document for conversion into Braille as well as to read books for conversion into "talking books".

Actually, books can be converted into Braille using a specially-designed typing machine or feeding text into a scanner. However, due to lack of funds, MAB relies on the good, old-fashioned way....typing manuscripts into Word text for conversion into Braille. Typing of books can be done at home or at MAB and recording is done at MAB. Since most volunteers are expatriates and Non-Malays, the Library lacks books in Bahasa Malaysia because there are very few Malays who volunteer.

A Well-Equipped Library

A Volunteer Recording A "Talking Book"

If you have time to spare and would like to volunteer, please contact:

Mr Ramdas Nayar (Asset Executive) at 03 2272 2677 - Ext 129 or ramdas@mab.org.my

Love Happens When You're Not Looking

During a meeting with a long-lost friend recently, I asked her, over coffee, if she is still single. Almost as soon as I asked that question, I regretted ever asking. Linda (not her real name), went on and on about the dearth of eligible men these days! She has tried everything - from introductions through friends and relatives to online personals and even dating agencies. She dreads going home for the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays to visit family in Penang...there would be endless questions about when she would tie the knot, with some well-meaning aunties and other female relatives hinting that her biological clock is running out!

"They think so easy to find a suitable partner meh?...she huffed. " You know ah, nowadays all the men are M&Ms, gays or non-commital bachelors mah!" Seeing my eyes lit up at the mention of M&Ms, Linda immediately shattered my reverie. "M&Ms are not chocolates you know", she said matter-of-factly - "they are acronyms for "Married and Mortgaged"! I certainly know a few of them - some mortgaged to the hilt!

To make her feel better, I told Linda love usually happens when one is not looking. I related to her real-life stories of the most unusual circumstances in which some couples have met and ended up living happily ever after.

Take the case of Ms A. She had accompanied a friend to Alliance Francaise (the French Language School) and while her friend had lessons, Ms A waited at the waiting area. While waiting, she fell asleep on the sofa and a French language tutor passed by and saw her asleep. He was kind enough to offer her a cushion so that she would be more comfortable and from then, the rest is history as they are now married.

Then, there was Ms B who was travelling to Canada for the first time with her sister. Upon arrival, she struggled along with a heavy luggage and was lagging far behind her sister in the queue at the Immigration counter. While in the queue, she suddenly realized that she could not find her passport and she started to frantically rummage through her handbag. She then remembered that she had kept the passport in her carry-on luggage which is a small overnight suitcase stuffed to the brim.

As she opened the suitcase, its contents popped out and were strewn all over the floor. A gentleman in the next queue gallantly came to her aid and helped her to gather clothes, underwear and even a "Dating for Dummies" book and have them repacked into the suitcase. Before they departed, they exchanged email addresses and after a brief long-distance courtship, they were married.

Another too-good-to-be-true story happened to a widow who visited a health center for foot reflexology (massage). Foot reflexology is carried out in open area with rows of reclining chairs lined up next to each other. As she took her seat, she noticed a customer in the next chair enjoying his foot massage, with his eyes closed. Something about his serene, relaxed, look caught her attention and to cut a long story short, he must have felt her gaze for he opened his eyes and introductions followed. They became friends over time and are now married.

As soon as I finished my stories, Linda laughed hilariously. She has a great sense of humor and said to me.... "Aiyah! Knowing my luck ah, if I fall asleep in a public area, I think I will snore. Instead of being given a cushion, I will probably be asked to leave for disturbing the peace mah..ha! ha! ha!"

We had such a good laugh causing some heads to turn so we decided to change subjects and talked about other mundane things. As I made my way to my car at the end of the meeting, I could not help but think that, knowing my luck, if I should decide to have a foot massage, the guy sitting on the next chair at the reflexology center would probably be a toothless Cina apek dressed in singlets and chequered underpants. It would be a bonus indeed if he does not snore while enjoying the massage! Ah well.....you never know!

(Adrenaline Junkie has been single for 20 years and loves nothing more than a good book or a funny movie with a pack of crunchy M&Ms - of the chocolaty kind, of course!).

Farewell for Sandy

Sandy has been on vacation in Malaysia for 2 weeks and during that time, apart from shopping, she had done many things - celebrated X'mas, New Year, tried various food at Food Republic at the Pavillion, had a picnic Malaysian-style, colored her hair, had a massage and reflexology and also managed to have goreng pisang!

Sandy will be leaving for cold, grey, London on January 5 and this week-end, we had a farewell dinner for her. With Chinese New Year just around the corner, we decided that a Chinese dinner would be appropriate and we had a great dinner at Royal Lake Club's Bunga Raya Restaurant.

Yee Sang for a prosperous Year of The Ox!

After dinner, we headed for the Batek Bar where we enjoyed music played by a band. The band played a variety of music including R&B, Pop, Country, and even Malay and Chinese.

Mahani and I could not resist the music and we managed a few dances - this must have been the first time that members had seen someone dancing with an arm in a sling!

"I Will Survive" - Albeit with an arm in a sling!