Posted on 30 October 2008 @ 10:02 in The Working Life
Lyn: hey chet gotta go finish up some work
me: ok, nice chatting with you
Lyn: planning to leave offce by 530
me: I’m already home 
Lyn: rub it in…
me: no traffic jam
Lyn: 
yah yah
me: well, there are disadvantages, too. tell you another time
Disadvantages??
Some days, I’m the only human I see. Which is not good. And working from home means the comforts of home are nearby, and very tempting sometimes!
But mostly, the advantages out-weigh the disadvantages.
And when I get tired of my own company, I grab my things and go somewhere where there are people, lots of people. Somewhere like the IKEA Cafe, or Starbucks …
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Posted on 22 October 2008 @ 16:17 in Stress Busters
It’s exactly a week since Mei Mei, the adult female giant panda at Adventure World in Japan, passed away. Her death was mourned by panda lovers all over the world; many were shocked by what they felt was an untimely death, as she was only 14 (the equivalent of 56 human years).
Only a month before her death, panda lovers celebrated the birth of her grandcubbies by her daughter, Rauhin, who also lives in Adventure World.
Mei Mei herself had 10 cubs in her short 14 years. Besides Rauhin, there were 2 older cubs born in Chengdu, China before moving to Japan. Rauhin, the eldest of her Japan born cubs, was followed by 7 others, including her last pair born in December 2006.
Many of our cherished images of Mei Mei show her playing with her cubs. Among all panda mothers, she holds a special position for being the only one who could look after both cubs in all her twin births without the help of her keepers.
Birth and death - the circle of life that we humans experience, too. Panda lives may not mean much to most people beyond the “oo’s” and “aa’s” when they see a picture of a cute cubbie, but they mean the world to those of us who have chosen to let these black and white furballs into our hearts. Their circle of life often parallel ours and impact us in the same way. We celebrate their births and mourn their deaths as if they are beloved members of our own families. Which, in a way, they are.
Earlier this year in July, we mourned the death of Shi Shi, a venerable old gentleman bear who’d fathered Hua Mei. Shi Shi was in his 30s and was retired and living out his twilight years in Guangzhou Zoo, China. His time had come and we said goodbye to him.
It was different in Mei Mei’s case. Many of us felt she died too soon. As we were to learn, she had been ill, and although she was thought to have recovered, she had a relapse from which she did not survive.
We mourn Mei Mei, but we also thank her for having left us 10 beautiful cubs.
Mei Mei (giant panda)
31 August 1994 - 15 October 2008 |
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External Link:
Panda Family, Adventure World, Japan
(edited on Friday, 24 October 2008 at 17:07 to add the following)
We’ve also mourned the untimely loss of Mao Mao in the May 12 earthquake, which I completely forgot in my original post.
While Shi Shi died from old age and Mei Mei through ill health, Mao Mao’s death was untimely. Three beloved bears, three different ways they left us.
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Posted on 20 October 2008 @ 01:34 in Personal
I’ve been lazy about updating my blog. It’s not that I haven’t found anything of interest or intrigue to write about. Actually, there’ve been lots, maybe too much going on in my head, that I can’t begin to sort myself out. Also, I still have a nasty habit of thinking and not doing (or writing).
It’s an exciting week ahead, especially next Saturday, when Preeta Samarasan will be appearing in two events - the MPH Breakfast Club in the morning, and Readings @ Seksan’s in the afternoon. It will be exactly a year since she last read at Seksan’s. I’m looking forward to seeing her, and asking her to sign my copy of her book.
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Posted on 4 October 2008 @ 10:40 in Personal
Lemon scented tea from Twinings of London.
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Posted on 2 October 2008 @ 12:01 in Personal
17 was 33 years ago, but it was a significant year, not just because that was the year Janis Ian released what was to become the anthem for 17s all over the world, but because that was the year I promised myself I would never marry.
I don’t remember the actual event (if any) that caused me to make that promise, but I remember a later event that got me to re-affirm the promise.
It was 6 years later, and I was visiting my aunt and family. Her eldest son, his wife and their infant son lived with her (or was it the other way round?). I remember the baby cried and my cousin yelling at his wife cuz the baby was crying. And a while later, they found the baby playing with some AA batteries, and he yelled at his wife again for leaving the batteries where the baby could get hold of them, and maybe put them in his mouth and choke himself.
I looked at this domestic scene and told myself I’d never have it happen to me. And the only way not to have it happen was to remain single.
Which is what I am till this day.
Wow … this is the first time I’m writing about it, and reading it, that sounds like such a silly reason. But I had, and still have, other more valid (to me) reasons for remaining single.
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