My mom and granny will be flying to Bangkok today to visit my aunt and family there, as well as my another uncle and his family there. Primarily, mom and granny were invited by aunt to attend a wedding of a relative on board a ship this coming weekend. So it was a pretty last minute arrangement, booking tickets which cost double the usual price. Anyway I am happy both mom and granny can visit my aunt whom we have not seen for more than a year. Another uncle and his family have just flew off for a vacation in Vietnam. In a way, I am glad the economy is picking up, and hopefully we can be back to the good old days of enjoying long holiday trips.
Also, later this week, my sis and her family will be flying to Hong Kong. They won a trip to HK from a contest and it is fully sponsored by the media and HK Tourist Promotion Board. So lucky. Although we have already been to Hong Kong 3 years ago, as well as visited Disneyland, we went as a big group then. This time will be just sis and hubby and the kids. So happy for them. It was totally unexpected but good that they can have a break. My gosh, even their babysitter is going on a Caribbean cruise too!
So I am going to be very free(dom) at home! It will be like having my own holiday in my own 'hotel', hehehe. Hmm.... come to think of it, I have many past overseas holiday trips which I have not blogged about. One of these days, I will probably consolidate the photos and write about those trips, if I am not lazy. I am still wishing to visit Japan or the States or those places I have not been before in the near future, as well as revisit Europe. But my mind is almost fixed on going for at least a spiritual retreat hopefully next year, which will probably be India or Tibet or Bhutan. Time to visit my gurus!!! Shall see what kind of retreats are being planned next year by different organisers and.... the affinity.
Heaven knows what you've been through
So much pain
Even though you can't see me
I'm not far away
We always say if one of us
Somehow went away
We'd light a candle and say a prayer
Know that love still remains
Close your eyes, go to sleep
Know my love is all around you
Dream in peace, when you wake
You will know I'm still with you
Live your life from this day on
And love again
I know you'd do the same for me
That's the way that love is supposed to be
Close your eyes, go to sleep
Know my love is all around you
Dream in peace, when you wake
You will know I'm still with you
When you feel those lonely teardrops
Rolling down your face
Just know my love watches over you
Always, always
Close your eyes, go to sleep
Know my love is all around you
Dream in peace, when you wake
You will know I'm still with you
I'm still with you
I am trying to recall dreams again, they were kind of blurry the past 2 nights. The dream on Friday night I could not remember now, I only know I saw Lama Dorje again and he was leading me to some place.
The dream on Saturday night I dreamt of a friend P. We were in a certain place with a few rooms and I was busy running about doing stuff. Someone told me that P was sick and that she wanted to talk to me but my expression was stony and nonchalant. I claimed I was busy. However, I did peek at her from outside her room but did not want her to see me. P looked really sick, she looked darker than usual and weak. In the dream, I think I was concerned but just could not bring myself to talk to her nor let her see me. My face was expressionless. I was rushing about trying to get something for her but I just did not want to let her see me. I was quite sad actually.
Was passing by this block of flats and I saw clothes and undies and bras were all being hanged right outside the occupant's living room's and bedroom's windows. Although the private stuff was "inside" the house, but they were in full frontal view of many from outside the windows. Would you flaunt your undies and bras so explicitly, just to catch some sunlight?
I must mention about my brief stopover in Kuala Lumpur. The deal was there would be about 6 hours (2pm to 8pm) of shopping at a mall of your choice and they would arrange a coach for us, each plying different malls. I thought, "Great, 6 hours...".
By about 1pm plus the second day, we had already reached Port Klang. Everyone was getting busy to disembark. When I got out of the ship, I finally managed to snap the Virgo from the outside in broad daylight. The smaller ship was Libra, which had arrived earlier.
By the time we got on the coach, it was already 2.30pm. I was going to Mid Valley Shopping Mall because I was familiar with the place. The other places the other coaches were going were KLCC, Petronas, 1 Utama, AEON, Bukit Bintang etc... Hey, I could not help noticing the distinctive dragon up the blue sky. Can you see it? A dragon welcome to Kuala Lumpur, haha!
Who knew the trip from Port Klang to Mid Valley took about one hour. By the time we reached the mall, it was almost 4pm! Knew I won't have time to shop, as we were instructed to be back to wait for the coach by 6.30pm! The first thing I headed for was WOFS to get my magazine (it was cheaper because of the exchange rate). Then I went straight to the stall inside JUSCO department store selling Assam Laksa. I usually have this when I visit Mid Valley.
To show I really like this Assam Laksa, here is another close up. The soup was tangy appetising and the noodles were smoother than those of Mee Tai Mak. They used tuna fish, pineapple, green chilli, lots of onions, cucumber and other spices. This was the only bright spot of this visit to the mall. Yummy!
By the time I was chased to gather at the South Gate for our coach, it was about 6pm. Caught the sunset. I only managed to buy 2 long sleeve tops for niece and nephew (70% discount) from Jusco and 2 spray lollipops for them back home. We boarded the coach about 6.45pm, and we got stuck in the traffic jam for one hour just to get out of Mid Valley! Gosh! And another one more hour back to the ship! A total of 2 hours to reach the ship at 8.30pm, and the ship was supposed to set sail by 9pm. If I had known, I would have just stayed back in the ship to do other stuff. Spending more than 3 hours on the coach to and fro was simply not worth it with the hassle of jams.
This was what I saw on the way back to Port Klang, a car with a car plate starting with "WTF". Haha!! Yeah, it was really a WTF day trip.
It was great to be back on the ship. You know, during the journey onboard, when those times I could be alone, I was on the deck facing the sea. I played the numerous mantras of different Buddhas and songs from my handphone, not for myself, but rather for the unseen creatures in the underwater world and skies and environment. I said a silent prayer to the Buddhas for protection as well as to supplicate to the Nagas that there be no more harm to humans, in the form of diseases and physical dangers caused by natural causes like tsunamis, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. (Pardon me, if non-Buddhist readers may not understand all these).
In a way, I think I was greatly blessed during this short trip. Throughout the cruise, there was no thunder storm or heavy downpour or choppy waters, even though year end is rainy season and it had been raining heavily almost everyday in Singapore. But on the ship, it was all peace and calm. It was out of my expectation. Incredible. It was only when we were about to reach Singapore land, then I saw dark skies and clouds hovering above us. Still it did not rain.
Despite a good trip (I saw some good and bad things, and equally learnt some precious lessons), I was glad to be going home. It was when I reached home, that rain started to pour real heavily. Wah, truly thankful and amazed.
Will I go on a cruise again? The answer is definitely yes! When the time is right and when there is right companion to go with.
Hope you enjoy the sounds of waves and winds as much as I did! Ahoy!!!
Today, 11 Dec, is Lama Tsongkhapa Day. It is probably the last of a very auspicious day for this year. Any merits today will multiply by 100,000 times. So who is Buddha Tsongkhapa, the guy wearing a yellow pointed hat?
Je Tsongkhapa is a great 14th century Tibetan Buddhist Master who founded the Gelug tradition. He was a very accomplished enlightened master and great inspiration during his time, he was referred to as the second King of Dharma, after Buddha Shakyamuni. His heart disciples include the 1st Gaden Tripa and the 1st Panchen Lama. Buddha Tsongkhapa is an emanation of Chenrezig, Manjushri and Vajrapani (in mandarin, 观音菩萨, 文殊菩萨, 金剛手菩薩 respectively). You can read more of Tsongkhapa here.
I had a dream at dawn this morning. All I could remember was, I was in a temple, but did not really looked like a temple. There were many flower offerings in vases on tables and even hanging on the walls. There were many people walking about, like in a procession, with cars even. I was searching for a vase to offer flowers, but I could not recall what happened next. Then I was in some place with my mom, supposed to be having lunch or dinner. Not sure what mom ordered. When the food came, to my horror, I saw on a huge plate, there were 2 giant Japanese crabs (with long orange claws) and 2 fishes which looked like this pix, a little comical looking. The crabs and fishes were still alive. Inside the plate, the 2 cartoon looking fishes were moving about and smiling at me! And the crabs were moving about with their long claws, staring at me intently. I was shocked at the sight in the dream, yet wondered why they were so comical looking. I was told that we were supposed to eat them with congee and that once they touched the congee, they would automatically turned into a lump of mash mixed with the congee. I was real horrified and woke up. Wah, this type of dream on this day, I think Tsongkhapa's message for me is to swear off seafood for good. Hmmm...
Anyway, since today was a very special day, I had already planned to spend some time with Tsongkhapa. It is like your father's birthday. And Tsongkhapa is a very special 'father' to me, connected to me in many ways (as advised by Tsem Tulku Rinpoche). In the afternoon I was at ABC to recite the Sanghata Sutra, as encouraged by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The Buddha himself said,
"Who wishes to see a Buddha,
Sangháta is equivalent to a Buddha.
Wherever the Sangháta is,
always there the Buddha is."
Sanghata Sutra was more than 100 pages of text, and it took us 3.5 hours to complete it. It was the 2nd or 3rd time I am reciting this sutra in a group. The merits gained are inconceivable. I remember the previous times I recited it, I was just reading the words. This time, at least I read and understand the story better.
Above photo was taken in ABC gompa where Tsongkhapa was, accompanied by his 2 disciples, and the photos of our gurus, His Holiness Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, as well as the relics (in red box) of Lama Geshe Konchog (who became an Enlightened One).
In the evening, I was at DPL for a special guru puja conducted to commemorate Tsongkhapa Day. Did food, light and flower offerings. I was really happy. Recently, I had already memorised Tsongkhapa's heart mantra.
I actually set my alarm to wake me at 5.30am, but I could not drag myself out of bed, as I only went to sleep at 3am!
This was what I wanted to catch - sunrise - but mission failed. This photo of sunrise was captured in my previous cruise trip long ago. It was always an exhilarating experience watching sunrise. Too bad I did not do so this time.
Went to Bella Vista for my breakfast. It was a huge posh restaurant. They gave you a choice of Asian or Western ala-carte breakfast. The asian set was Nasi Lemak that morning. I chose the Western set instead. In addition, there was also a buffet spread of bread, fruits, cereals and salad. Beautiful food.
I got the window seat with a view of the blue waters and skies. Such a nice feeling, chomping food and sipping coffee with a great view. This is the ultimate enjoyment of life.
Another morning, for breakfast, I decided to try the Asian set at Bella Vista again. This time, it was dim sum - century egg congee, siew mai, char siew bao, an assortment of fried popiah, nuggets and char siew soo, and chinese tea!
I went to the check out the upper decks again in the morning. It was totally a different feel between night and day. Hehe.... look at the shy maiden guarding the swimming pool.
There were 4 jacuzzi surrounding the pool with plenty of chairs and tables all around the deck.
There was a full-blown slide too at the pool. Oh, the kids would love it if they were there.
There was also a cafe which served beverages and alcoholic drinks. I love the upper deck where you are totally exposed to the wind and view.
For such a huge ship, it was really well-maintained. Everything and everywhere was neat and clean, and the team work of the service staff was well coordinated and timely. How I wish I could lie down on the deck with a book and drink, with the ocean in front of me everyday. I really love to see and hear the waves.
I snapped plenty of photos for this short trip. I just wish I had a better camera for next time.
Oh then it was lunch time again. This time we tried the Mediterranean Buffet for the first and last time. I think it was so-so, not that impressive a spread. I actually ate very little for a buffet. Didn't even take the desserts. Was reserving my tummy for something in Mid Valley.
This was lunch on another day, in the Pavilion chinese restaurant again. The dishes were ok, I liked the fried ngo hiang rolls the best, so I ordered another plate. There were sauteed prawns, nai pak, stir-fry trotters, dumpling soup and fried bee hoon.
Next, I visited the Galaxy of the Stars. It was a big entertainment area where it is a pub at night, but open to the public during the day. It was a great place for viewing the sea because it was surrounded by windows. I suddenly remembered I had been to this place before. I was there for an afternoon event once with colleagues and we were only ushered into this place. This time, they were having some games. Check out the big angel on the ceiling.
Notice the "STAR" on every table?
There were also the steering wheel and some navigating instruments on display too.
Again the view was gorgeous. I can sit there the whole day. Oh, I took a photo with this old lady too.
Then it was roaming outside the decks again.
It was relaxing sipping coffee with the sprawling ocean in front of you. Shiok!
Here's a clip on top of the deck, notice the sounds, like a broken record. Haha!
I wasted no time in checking out the Superstar Virgo, even though it was already past midnight.
They had a grand reception area, which was brightly decorated with Christmassy stuff. There were big Roman statues and 3 huge horses and a Christmas tree which took center stage.
I liked the vibrant sofas and chairs which were colourful and inviting. The staff were all wearing Christmas santa and reindeer caps. They were attentive and spoke good English, even though almost all the service staff were foreigners. Tip for snapping photos in popular areas: do it after midnight because you do not need to wait for others to pose at the same spot.
I almost fell asleep lazing at the reception area with the inviting seats. I guess the 3 bubble lifts moving up and down was a visual lullaby, plus the strains of music coming from the floor above could be heard. Think it was already 2am that night. :D
Outside the reception, guarding the left and right entrances were 2 pairs of snow lions on the deck, most likely for fengshui purpose. I wonder what creature was the snow lion stepping on?
Throughout the entire ship, the interior of the different areas and floors had bright themes with colourful carpets, compared to the exterior decks. I guess they had to design it to be bright and cheery, in case people feel oppressed being cooped inside the ship for too long a time and become suicidal. Just joking, hahaha....
I liked the Victorian theme on the outside of the French restaurant, posh, and working antique phones were all over the place. A small cafe/pub with jackpot has an African theme. Even the lifts were elegant in wood finishings. See, even the toilet was in bright green. BTW it was the smallest toilet cubicle I had ever been in. When I sat on the toilet seat, I was almost kissing the door.
I was equally excited checking out the outside decks. Well it was pitch dark when staring out at sea, so I walked around the external decks of the entire ship. That's me snapping myself through the round window pane.
As I strolled along the decks outside, I wondered why there were only a few random people on the deck too, when there were thousands of passengers onboard. I guess nobody was that interested in enjoying the winds and listening to the waves splashing as well as the motors of the ship chugging along. For a few moments, I thought how ironical, we came onboard a cruise, was to actually enjoy the sea and breeze but many people were having their activities indoors instead. If my family and friends were here, I guess they would do the same thing. I am probably the oddball. I know there is only one other friend who would be the same as me too.
The swimming pool area was quiet and windy, the waves and winds blowing were almost very "noisy". I liked the murals on the walls with different themes.
That's the mahjong room, but I did not see anyone playing the entire trip. The spa was one of the places I liked onboard although you had to pay. I did not try the massages as I fancy they were really too expensive and probably not worth it. Oh, I like that painting of the chinese maidens.
The floor above the reception were the shops, a pub and some restaurants, and a theatre where you could catch a movie. The photo of the jackpot area was so blur, because I snapped it sneakily from the deck (not allowed to take pictures inside). My fellow companions were mostly in the casino playing jackpot anyway.
There were really plenty of interesting paintings all over the place, corridors, landings, inside rooms, restaurants, karaoke room, etc....
This was one of my favourite places - the Library - because it was the most quiet room onboard!!! You could read a book or newpapers or take a snooze or just stare out at sea in aircon comfort. It was here that I could finally surf the internet although the service was not that fast speed. Just checked emails and Facebook. Haha, I really cannot do without the internet, confirmed.
I spotted this on one of the display shelf in one of the shops. A 50-year-old limited edition Chivas selling for S$33,888 !!!!!!! Why would anyone want to spend that kind of money??!!!
If you are observant enough, you will notice plenty of STAR murals all over the entire ship, even on the floor. Why? Because it is SuperSTAR Cruise mah.....
See, even the beds have stars! Luckily I did not "see stars" the entire trip onboard. I finally retreated to my cabin to sleep at 3am!!....
Last week, I took a short cruise to Kuala Lumpur. The last cruise I went on was more than 10 years ago. Then, it was a company trip and on the Superstar Pisces, which was quite small. Although it was fun then, I was not hyper-excited about cruises from then on, as the impression it left me was basically eat, play and sleep onboard (the epitome of heaven?).
This time, it was on the Superstar Virgo which was way bigger with more facilities. If not for the incredibly great discount I got from a lobang, I actually would not have thought of going on a cruise again. It was rather last minute, book-today-sail-tomorrow.
The ship was set to sail at midnight and I was supposed to check in by about 10pm. The family sent me off at Harbourfront. We had dinner at Han's. I had the good old fish & chips meal, while the rest ordered spaghetti and the famous Hainanese pork chop and stew chicken.
You wonder who would order American breakfast for dinner? Well, that's my niece, who likes her sausages, sandwiches and scrambled eggs anytime of the day. It was a relaxing leisurely dinner with reasonably priced food.
To our horror, by the time I was ready to check in, the queue was so long, probably thousands of people were there. Luckily I met our agent the big boss himself, who helped us queue and managed to get our boarding tickets faster. Caught a glimpse of a model of the Superstar Virgo too. Yes it was huge.
Still we needed to queue to board the ship, look at the snaking queue and it took about more than 30 minutes before I could finally get on the ship. I noticed the lady in front with henna painted on her entire arm and hand. Hehe nice actually.
While on the way up the ship, was greeted by this pretty ala-cabaret lady who was to pose with each individual passenger for photo souvenirs. The deck was brightly painted at certain areas and I caught a glimpse of the dim night sea view. Was also given this "passport" when I surrendered my actual passport. This was the access card for everything onboard - room key, charge card, identification.
Finally found my cabin, after a long walk on the long corridor, with its bright red carpet and seashell theme. This was my door.
Inside, my tiny room was bigger than I expected with 2 small beds. A pity I did not manage to get those rooms with a view of the sea, or even better the bigger ones with a balcony!
It was really quite an ok room, just smaller than a typical hotel room. I was impressed with the bathroom. The previous one I had on Pisces was really damn small, just enough standing space for you to bathe, that's all, meaning the four enclosed walls almost touched your body!.... and I was slimmer then too!
Close up of the portrait above my bed, a painting of the sea, a reminder to me that I did not have a view. :S
By the time we settled down for supper, it was almost 11pm. My companions were famished. We went to the chinese restaurant, Pavilion, which was serving dishes and porridge. There were 3 restaurants on the ship which were "free" you could choose from for your meals. The others like French, Japanese, Indian and another Chinese restaurants, you have to pay. I could not help snapping the beautiful peacock painting and those were our dishes beside it, waiting to be served.
Close up of our supper. Taken with porridge, there were chinese sausages, stir fry cabbage, onion char sew eggs, mapo beancurd, braised pork with bittergourd and century eggs with pork floss and fermented cai sim. It was a nice filling supper. I liked the chinese sausages best.
The night was still young. After supper, we caught a performance, Maestro and Muse, at The Lido auditorium. It was a spectacular production featuring a combination of modern and classical dance as well as incorporating breathtaking acrobatic performances. The cast of performers were from Russia, Ukraine, Brazil and China. A pity we were not allowed to take photos.
We also caught a brief performance from a band by the pool side at the upper deck, singing sentimental songs. Enjoyed the breeze and then continued to explore the ship...... (to be continued....).
I passed by a toy shop the other day, and saw inside the glass showcase, the Playmobil range of toys!
Felt a sense of nostalgia as these were what my sis and I grew up playing! We didn't have so many toys to play with when we were young, compared to the kids nowadays who have EVERYTHING. Playmobil is plastic toy figurines, with bendable moving legs and arms and grasping hands, and also wearing a headgear. The toy is 7.5cm tall. To me, the Playmobil toy is much more interesting than Lego. Playmobil came into the scene after 1974, so I guess my sis and I were the pioneer players of this toy. :D
It is still expensive when I checked the prices now. Imagine they must have been quite pricey too when we were young. I remember my sis and I each had only a small box, which included one toy figurine, and 1-2 accessories. We did not have those complete sets that come with a house or a truck or ship and many accessories. I can't remember how our little figurines looked like, but I think there was a horse, some construction signs, a briefcase (something similar to the above). We played with it for a long time, together with a farmhouse (from another toy brand) that we needed to build with plastic stilts and cardboards, which even have trees and fences too. Nowadays the selection of themes for Playmobil are so varied and wide and so much more interesting.
I have been having dreams these few days again. Can't remember most of them. The dream at dawn this morning I remember only part of it.
I was in an office which was neat and clean, painted with baby blue and white walls. The ceiling was lower than normal. There were a few rooms. I entered one room and went into my cubicle, presumably my table. My plump ex-colleague was sitting next to me on his laptop. Then a girl with long hair came in, whom I have not seen before. She whispered to my ex-colleague for a few moments. My colleague then spoke "By saying that, I think he meant he is giving you a promotion lah". Then I realised that girl must have been my colleague's staff and he meant our big boss is giving her, a new staff, a promotion.
Then as I was doing some work, an ex-staff of mine came into the room. Behind her was her boyfriend. She was hesitant in approaching me but I was the person she was looking for. She came to my desk, and gave me an envelope which was very very very thick. Usually if you were given an envelope by your staff with a scared look, meant she was tendering her resignation. I was extremely displeased, and even more so because why did the boyfriend needed to accompany her even if she was throwing in the letter. She looked so guilty and fearful, wanted to speak to me but no single word came out. I accepted the letter and shooed them out. I opened the thick envelope, but could not find the resignation letter. Instead it was the resume of my staff's brother! I looked through the resume and wondered what was going on. I was not very happy though.
Then somehow I was in another room looking for something. I met the same Dharma friend I dreamt of 2 weeks ago. She was wearing white again. She was smiling brightly at me and told me something which I cannot recall what, but I was very happy to see her and trying to comfort her. However, she looked radiant, very calm and exuberant. In real life, her father has just passed away. I am very comforted with the fact that her dying father had met His Holiness the Dalai Lama just before he passed on, and had received His Holiness' blessings. May all be auspicious for this friend and her family.
Another random surprising discovery. We know that in life reading, there are 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches.
10 Heavenly Stems 天干
12 Earthly Branches 地支
Each individual has our own unique ba zi, which is made up of 4 heavenly stems and 4 earthly branches, a combination from the above. That's why it's called ba zi (八字). Below is a sample of a ba zi of a person.
The Day Stem represents ourselves, our own personality. Ok here's my surprise. I just discovered that there are a total of 5 persons (FIVE!!!) whom I got to know in 2008 whose Day Stem is 甲 (Jia Wood).
For the fact that in my circle of family and friends, I rarely come across 甲 Day Stem persons, so to actually get to know 5 total strangers with this Day Stem within a few months is a little too coincidental and surprising. Morever, I usually do not get to befriend too many strangers who become acquaintances in such a short span of time.
From what I read from the internet.... "a Jia Wood person appears to be straight forward, stubborn and inflexible like a tree growing slowly and surely straight upward to reach the sunlight while the root is firmly rooted on the ground growing downwards to reach for water and nourishment in the earth. Therefore, Jia Wood people have strong will power. In the face of adversity they will not give up easily. They are also people who will develop and plan their action carefully moving toward their goal".
I do not know the impact of these 甲 persons on my own bazi chart. I am not too sure yet, but I do know that I detest one of them alot. Another 2 made me rather uncomfortable and stressful. I need answers.
Well, this was just a little discovery and observation I had.
Welcome to Life of Lopsided 8. 8 in Chinese is 'to prosper'. Why lopsided? No matter how lopsided we tilt and turn 8, it's still 8. May anyone who reads this blog prosper and be free from obstacles. May we be filled with compassion in all our lifetimes, no matter how lopsided life gets. May we LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH life.
About Me
STUMPBO
Singapore
I am often bemused and stumped by people, situations, stuff happening around me, often to the heights of stupefied stupor. Hence, I am STUMPBO. Join me in the journey of a life quite lopsided yet ordinary.
I can be contacted at stumpbo@gmail.com.
.JPG)
