Bird Tongchai McIntyre

I am not a Thai song fanatic but my recent exposure to a thai song by a friend lead me to being very interested... especially to one particular singer famously known as "Bird Tongchai McIntyre".

Geez, one song I heard on "You Tube" got me hooked for hours searching all his songs. I am just amazed not only at the number of fans he has but also the fact that young and old alike are simply crazy about him. To add to the fact that he is quite charming on stage. My search on his biodata revealed that he is actually 50 years old and yet he looks so young and good.

Even though you have never heard thai song in your life and do not understand a single thai word, you should still check out the following link:

Bird - 2007

Bird - Medley

Beautiful creature

Beautiful creatures live amongst us. I was praying the other day, in my house and I chanced upon this grasshopper right on top of my Buddha statue, as if silently meditating.

You Raise Me Up

This is a beautiful song dedicated to papa and mama...

You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

The Wooden Bowl

I received this beautiful piece through email and thought it would be nice to share and remember. Message from the sender - "I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now...

The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered.

The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.
When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. 'We must do something about father,' said the son. 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded, 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up'. The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

On a positive note, I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things: a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I've learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.

I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life..'

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back .

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you but, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.

People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

Accident and the after that

If you ever are involved in an accident, the last thing you want to do is to go to the police station. Yes, you would hope that you can settled the matter with the parties involved without having to report police. However, two days ago, hubby met with an accident and as the damage was quite bad, we had to make insurance claim and make a police report.

It was a motorbike accident and hubby was knocked down by two cars. Yes, horrible. Imagine my shock when I got a call from him. But thank God, he is fine and the injury was just minor. The night itself after the accident, we head our way to the police station. In case you are not familiar with the procedure of making an accident report, here is how it works.

1st step - you fill up a form listing your name, vehicle number etc.

2nd step - you pass the form to an officer and wait to be called.

3rd step - when you are being called, you will have to enter your details in the computer system. The details involved would be your name, address, ic, vehicle number, driving license number etc.

4th step - you will proceed to type your own report on how the accident happened. A sample report is paste on the side panel of desk and provides you a guide on how to use it. After finished typing the report, you are to save it and print it out.

5th step - the officer will take your report and assigned you to meet a sergeant in charge. He will tell you to go to a particular so and so floor at so and so counter.

6th step - the sergeant will ask you questions and interrogate you on how the accident happened. They will proceed to write their own report to deduce who is wrong and who is not.

7th step - the sergeant will then follow you to your vehicle to take a photograph of your vehicle.

8th step - you go back home and will have to come back the next day to buy the report.

Now, that is the last step. Not too hard really. Except that a few questions popped into my mind. Now, what happens if I am illiterate and what if I do not know how to type? Would the officer helped me? Why the impression? Cos, I do not find the officers to be friendly. I saw a poor guy slowly typing, struggling to find the letters on the keyboard.

When we were assigned to the sergeant, we have to wait more than 1 hour as he was away for his late supper break. Question - why would we be assigned to someone who is on a break? Unless he is not suppose to go for the break? or they don't really care do they?

During the meet up with the sergeant, we realised that we did not mentioned a certain details in the report. So after meeting up with the sergeant, we went back to the counter to make changes to the report. Well, what you need to know is - changes to the report can only be made within 1 hour after filing the report! We waited for the sergeant for more than 1 hour and we were not able to make any changes after that!

Well, the ordeal of an accident is bad enough and it does not get better when you have to go through such lengthy procedure at the police station. Sigh..