In Hot Soup....

"Let me put away my phone first", I said to my friend who wanted me to check whether the spaghetti in the pot was of the right texture.

I am now extra cautious for a few months ago, I was boiling some soup when the phone rang. I had just brought the pot of soup from the stove and placed it on the marble table. Just then the phone rang. With the phone in my left hand, and a ladle in my right, I scooped up some soup into two bowls. My guest was rushing off for an appointment and I had to serve her the soup first. Suddenly, to my horror, the phone slipped from my left hand and landed into the pot of hot soup!

Gone was the whole mechanism of the phone! My contact numbers had disappeared! And so had all the messages received.

Now, I am extra cautious. I hope I will not land myself in hot soup again....never!

Strange mathematics shown in buses and trains!

I was rushing down the escalator as the train was arriving soon. About 8 people got out of the train. Yet, when I wanted to get in, there was no space for me to get in! Amazing mathematics! If 8 people got out of the train, surely at least 8 people could get in! Even one person could not get in. I had to raise my voice and threw caution to self-consciousness, "Please move in, please move in." Only then was there a little space for me to enter before the doors closed. Deep in my heart, I am grateful to toastmasters' training which has enabled me to be outspoken. Also, I guess the desperation to get into the train has also motivated me to speak out.

Ever so often, during peak hours, I notice how people would just stay put instead of moving to the rear of the bus. The poor bus driver not only has to be attentive when he is driving; he also has the uneviable task of taking care of his passengers. In the past, we always had a driver and a conductor. The conductor would collect money for the tickets as well as to make sure that the bus was not overcrowded or that people would move to the back. Is this the reason why fewer and fewer people are opting to drive buses?

Just not too long ago, I was in bus No. 67. It was around the Hari Raya celebration. The bus was jam packed and at every stop, the driver had to remind the passengers to move to the rear. I decided to give the driver a helping hand, and asked the people to move. I also spoke in Mandarin, Malay and Tamil less there were some passengers who could not understand English.!

I hardly passed my mathematics throughout high school. But I certainly know that when 8 passengers alighted from a bus, surely 8 more could enter. But the innate selfishness of people does not make this logic possible.

When will passengers become more considerate and help make travelling by public transport an easier and more pleasant journey?

Gan Chau

A Story to Live By....

I received this following story from my friend, Melinda. Perhaps some of my readers would have read it already.

Papa had said that we can do nine good deeds for someone; but if we were to fail him in one favour, he could wipe out memories of the nine good deeds and only remember our one failure! Is this probably the reason why some people prefer to have dogs as their friends.? For they can bank on the absolute faithfulness of their four legged pets than on two legged homo sapiens.

A Story to live by

> There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She
> hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always
> there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see
> the world, I will marry you.' > One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her.
When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.
>
> He asked her,'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?'
The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind.
The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her.
She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life
led her to refuse to marry him.

> Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her
> saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear,
for before they were yours, they were mine.'
>
> This is how the human brain often works when our status changes.
> Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who
> was always by their side in the most painful situations.

> Life Is a Gift
>
> Today
> before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak.

> Before
> you complain about the taste of your food -
Think of someone who has nothing to eat.
> Before
> you complain about your husband or wife -
Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.

> Today
> before you complain about life - Think of someone who died
> too early on this earth.

> Before
> you complain about your children - Think of someone who
> desires children but they're barren.
>
> Before
> you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or
> sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets.
> Before
> whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who
> walks the same distance with their feet.
>
> And when
> you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the
> unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
>
> But
> before you think of pointing the finger or condemning
> another - Remember that not one of us is without sin.
>
> And when
> depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on
> your face and think: you're alive and still