"Sis, Are You Happy?"

I was pleasantly surprised when my elder brother, Kee Seng, asked me, "Sis, are you happy?" when I visited him at his lovely home in Penang. Just after a tiring 4 hours leisurely drive from Kuala Lumpur with my niece, Tyng. I was caught a little off guard by brother's question.

"Of course I am happy, for I am a simple and contented person, Koko (brother)! Why do you ask?"

"This morning, I heard from the news that Singaporeans are the least happy and contented people in South East Asia. This is from a research done by an independent body."

I told my brother that while I was not happy that so many disasters, earthquakes, and other calamities had hit South East Asia and other parts of the world, nevertheless, I am proud that our small nation had been able to render help and relief to our neighbours during the crisis.

There are so many things to be thankful about. Although life in Singapore is somewhat stressful and fast paced, it is up to us to prioritise our time. Someone used to say, "We cannot earn all the money in the world. Work can never be finished." As a property agent, I do not want to handle just about every case given to me. I have to be selective and prioritise my time. I always believe in working not only hard, but smart as well. I need to balance my work with some time for exercise, for leisure and pleasure such as reading, writing, Toast Master Club and some volunteer activities. I still want to find time to entertain, to bless friends and colleagues with some mouth watering dishes that are cooked with love.

There is no perfect nation in this world. Rather than blaming the government and others for our unhappiness, why don't we count our blessings and name them one by one?

I have visited some 160 cities and stayed in some of them for a good length of time.
Hence it should be quite convincing if I were to say that I enjoy living in Singapore the most! I enjoy the excellent infra structure. Our small island is well linked by buses and MRT. If I were in a hurry, I could hop into a taxi, and know that my rate is not as high as the taxi fare in America or Japan. Best, of all, I can take the last train and feel safe at midnight. I would not dare to take the train in New York and London after 7.00p.m. alone.

Once I visited Wellington in New Zealand. A friend's sister came to the hotel to visit me as I had to pass her some gifts from Singapore. It was 9.00p.m. "Can we go kai kai now" Kai kai is our Hokkien dialect, meaning gallivanting. She burst out laughing. "In New Zealand, we don't go kai kai after 6p.m. Except for Thursday and Friday, most of the shops are closed by 6.00p.m." In contrast, here I can take a bus or taxi at midnight to any 24 hour food joint if I were in the mood of eating out. Or I could still take a stroll along Esplande after a great evening of concert.

Although our weather is warm, it is more bearable than the blistering cold of minus 20 to 40 degree celcius winter in Canada. It is easier to carry an umbrella than to be padded with layers upon layers of clothings to keep warm.

Singapore is a melting pot. Here I can meet people of so many different races and nationalities. I am glad to know that our visitor arrival at Changi Airport has increased considerably. This is one country where I can have the chance to practise some French, German, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Hokkien dialect, Malay, Hindi, Tamil, Russian and Swahili! It is such a nice ice-breaker when we are able to greet visitors in their mother tongue! Being so cosmopolitan, you can find so many types of restaurants. Now, we can even take ethnic food at the Food Court and hawker centres as it is more economical. Singapore is a food paradise!!

Yes, Singapore does not have beautiful Rocky Mountains, geysers, lakes, etc. Yet our government has done a terrific job to make a lovely garden out of the city. I love the greenery around me. My elder sister from Sarawak once commented, "In Singaspore, they plant trees everywhere; here they keep cutting trees. We are so warm here!" I know of some people who are so busy that they have no time to relax by the lovely beach or sight see in Sentosa Island. Yet they complain Singapore is such a boring place to live in. Once or twice a year, we can still take time off to travel around. With advanced technology, our world has "shrunk".

Perhaps I should attribute my optimism to my papa's upbringing. Papa always taught us to find joy in little things, and above all else, to have that sense of gratitude and positiveness. While studying in Canada for 4 years, I tried to enjoy what I could - I learnt French, cooking and baking. Instead of complaining about the cold winter, I might as well enjoy the snow by learning how to ride a snowmobile, downhill and cross country ski. I also enjoyed the golden splendour of Autumn as well as watching little leaves coming out of branches during Spring time.

As National Day is around the corner, it reminds me that the Creator has been blessing Singapore with good weather during every National Day Parade. Since I moved to Singapore some 24 years ago, I have noticed that it never rained during the 2 hours of parade and celebration.! A few times the rain came down on 9th of August, but the rain stopped around 4.30p.m. before the parade propert! Twice it rained heavily just after the parade was over! Since young, I had always been on the look out for good weather because papa often performed in outdoor charity concerts.

However, having said so, even if it were to rain this coming National Day Parade, let us not fret..... let us look upon the rain as showers of blessing!! Behind every cloud is a silver lining! My great aunt, Moh Meng, always said, "If I have potatoes and fish, I thank God. If I have plain porridge I also thank God and be happy". Contentment is found in little things. No wonder great aunt was always so cheerful and peaceful. Everyone loves this sweet, natured lady.

Happiness, contentment, murmuring, dissatisfaction, depression? Your choice.!

Emotionally yours,
Ganchau