Appreciate

Appreciate that someone while you can.

Just assume that you might die tomorrow or you will not be able to see the person that you love anymore..that today would be your last day together.

Only 1 way to go about it:
Treat the one that you love with your whole heart so that there will not be any regrets in the future.

Treasure those moments..

Baby Hatch

Last week, I heard that the Singapore Government is urging Singaporeans to make.. opps..to have more babies (the childbirth rate is at 1.2 on 2009, compared to the expected 2.2). While one country is calling for more babies, another country seems to have a surplus of it.

I have once written a post on unwanted babies some time ago. It seems that this is still happening. Just look at the newspapers. Daily, there will be 1 or 2 articles on babies being left or abandoned at public areas or being flushed down the public toilet. The latest news was that a newborn baby (with its umbilical cord still attached) was found dead inside a rubbish bin which caught fire earlier that morning.

Today, I am happy to hear that an organization called OrphanCARE has set up a baby 'HATCH' service in Malaysia. Basically, these hatches are for single or unwed mothers who felt that they have no other options to leave the banies at the hatch without being asked any questions. This will certainly help to save the unwanted babies' lives and prevent them from being abandoned at dump sites or drains. This will also help to fulfill the dreams of childless couples. Kudos to OrphanCARE!

Alas, all new ideas always have people who are against it.
The Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Department said that the hatches will only encourage more women to abandon their child. Those who approach the Dept, will be provided with counselling and financial assistance. These women are also encouraged to send their unwanted children to the government welfare department.

I was just wondering about something. Please bear with me for a while.
The welfare department has been there for such a long period..any still there is no change in this issue. One of the factors would be because of the 'shariah law' which affected the muslim mothers. If you sent your child to a welfare home, you would need to leave your details to allow the adoption process to take place. And when they do that, if the child is born out of wedlock, the mother would be caned for having sex out of marriage. This might be why there are still babies being dumped everywhere, don't you think so?

I am not saying that we should not follow the shariah law. The law is still law. But what about those babies..? Isn't the prime objective of the baby hatch is to save the babies from gruesome death?

Why don't we give the project a chance. See if it can work out or not. The Govt Dept can take one more step in doing frequent checks on the hatches to ensure no abuse is being done and if they want to, they can take care of the adoption part. The main concern is to save the babies lives first..

Commemorative Days

Commemorative. Such a long word. (smile).
I was going through the newspapers and saw that there was a proposal to have a 'World Bacteria Day' to remind the public about life's unicellular origins.

Well, I am not going to write about the 'World Bacteria Day' but about Commemorative Days instead(hmm..nice word). There seems to be more and more 'special' days to remember than there are days in a year. What you have on your calender is only a few, selected for your own country but worldwide..just go to google and do a search..there seems to be more than you can count.

Let's see..yesterday (4th February) was the World Cancer Day. Upcoming, we have Valentine's Day on 14th February. Talking about love, there are also a Contraceptive Week (13 to 19 February) to remind youngsters not to go overboard during Valentine's Day, cat thinks so. There's also a Condom Week (8-13 May): must be because of the coming Spring time (laughing), Dating Day (Sept 24), Let's Talk About Sex Week (23-29 May) and a day called Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgenders Come Out from The Closet Day (Oct 11 & 12) and Orgasm Day (July 31).

On a more serious note, there's a World Hepatitis Day (May 19), Breast Cancer Awareness Day (Oct 13), World Diabetes Day (Nov 14), Autism Awareness Day (Apr 17), Brain Tumor Day (June 8) and lots more.

These days are made to remember and create an awareness to a cause. But there are just too many to remember. There are days for fathers, mothers, children, animals, pets and cats. Days to remember what we do not want to forget (war, 9/11) and people also that we would want to remember (MJ, Elvis, Diana). So, boss, please do forgive cat if an event slips out of the mind..and Cat has forgotten to google and update her calender yesterday (grins). At times, I do have dates in mind, but can't recall if today is Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

Why don't we just create another day on top of all those days, boss? (smile). We may start a new 'Commemorative Day' and set the trend worldwide. Problem solved. If not, I need a reminder to remind me to remind boss what special occasion falls on this date today. At least, be thankful, boss, that we all remember your birthday (even though we do wish we would forget to remember that).

P/S: Smile Day is on Oct 3rd and April Fool is of course on April 1st.
Have a happy day, regardless of what commemorative day it is today.

Art vs Art

I was invited to see an art show. :) Sounds nice, doesn't it?

Well.. the problem is: It's modern art. And I am certainly not a fan of modern art, unless I can see what the shape is. Or the description should match what I imagine the painting or sculpture is about.



Or the colors must be something that captures my mind. (looking at the above art, it looks like it has been done by a child. Sorry, Mr Artist.. I am just a simple person who is unable to appreciate your work).



This statue is much easier: a mother and a child..The shape is there.



A flower crushed and glued to another flower? Mmm..nice color.



A kid, a dog and the kid is picking up some flowers/stars? Mmm..ok..


A set of masks!! (smile)

It would be a waste of time to ask me to go to a modern art gallery. I wouldn't understand the pictures. It's like looking at clouds and trying to guess what the shape looks like. Unless it's a photo gallery, then I would love to see it.
A photo speaks a thousand words. :)

A rose by any other name would still smell like a rose.. (ouch..Shakespeare would be mad to hear his quote being rephrased).

Stop and Smell the Coffee

'If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allow himself to relax, he would surely become unstable without realizing it' :)

What to do this weekend? Oh..Where's the list? Let's see. Got to go and buy some groceries, wash the car, finish writing, pay bills, .. Oo it does seems a lot. If you count the hours, Sundays has become as busy as a normal working day.. and sometimes much more. No wonder sometimes you were still tired when it's time to go to the office on Monday.

Well, why don't you do something more important this Sunday? What is it? (Smile) Just do nothing. How? Hehehe.. Why don't we just relax this Sunday. Put your feet up and do nothing. Come on and give yourself permission to take an hour or two off. You deserve it after a week long of toiling at the office.

Go on, brew a cup of coffee.. take your favorite book, a soft pillow, switch on the radio and sit at the sofa. Oo.. and also do bring along the cat that has been looking at you with her big shiny hopeful eyes..(smile) Sit down, relax.. and enjoy the day. Talk or read to cat. Time to bond back with the little creature.

Take control of life by letting all the stress out on an off day. Work is what you have to do to make a living. But living is what you do to help you work :)So, live a little. Take a break. This is another version for those who are allergic to flowers. Take the time, stop and smell the Coffe.. oo.. hated that smell :p

Signing off,
Cat

A Place to Cry..

'Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.' ~Antoine Rivarol-

Where would be the safest place to hide away and cry? Far, far away from questioning eyes and pitiful looks?

Sometimes, when things turns bad and when the heart just couldn't keep up with the sadness and sorrow, cat's favorite place would be in the bathroom while taking a bath. If anyone asks about the red eyes, cat would just say that soap got into them..(that is if anyone does ask). The good part in this is: there wouldn't be any need to search for a tissue. (smile). The bonus is : the water refreshes you and won't leave any traces of tears behind.. unlike what crying on the pillow does.

The best place.., if you are very very lucky, would be on a dear friend's shoulder.

Signing off,
Cat

Learning Life

Dear Memoir,

When the archangel first approached the Prophet Muhammad at a cave in the side of Mount Hiraq, the archangel instructed the prophet to read. The prophet, who was an illiterate said that he did not know how to read. After the 3rdtime the Archangel said,' Read! In the name of your Lord, who has created all that exists, and who has created men from a clot of congealed blood'. (Surah Al-Alaq) And that is the first verse of the Quran.

That put cat in a thoughtful mood tonight. They say curiosity kills the cat. But there are still so many things to see and learn. Even without going too far away, cat is learning something new everyday just by logging in to Facebook and blog walking, ohh.. and also 'google'ing.

Someone was asking, why does cat keep on reading, asking and writing. Well, how else would cat know about things, people and places? Sometimes, just by reading, you would know what is happening elsewhere in the world. You would also have different views and can form your own opinion on an issue without just following what people say. You learn to differentiate facts from myths. You get to know the mistakes done by the elders in the past and see if you can avoid it.

There are still a lot of things out there and a lifetime will not be enough to gather all that knowledge. And the only way to access it is by continuing to read and learn and meet new friends.

Signing off,
Simply Cat