ON BEING A LIONS CLUB HONORARY MEMBER

Yours truly was just bestowed the privilege of being an honorary member of a Lion's Club in town.

This is a happy result of continuous collaboration between the Lions Club and the Foreign Student Club that yours truly founded ten years ago...

I always marveled at the way the Japanese folks hold their meetings...

They almost always start on the dot of time, as was this one...

The chairman hits the gong... they sing the national anthem, all eyes set high on the flag with the rising sun... and almost immediately, the Lions song...

Followed by a series of speeches... yawn...

Then, the award ceremony... was presented with this bulky, framed A3 sized certificate, plus a heavy box of something (have yet to open it), thanking me for all that I have done for the Lions Club and the Japanese community at large...

Hmmm... actually, I should be thanking them...

Don't recall much of my 'thank-you' speech... think I mumbled something like... in my early years as a graduate student, I found Japanese society a hard nut to crack...

Then, the closing gong and it is party time...

The food is always exquisite... fresh squid, tuna, and yellow tail sashimi... ummm, my favorite... steaks that somewhat melt in your mouth... delicate seafood cocktails... mouth-watering soya-sauce stewed chicken... yummy... eel sushi... woooh... may I just say, it is just food, wine, women, yes women members, songs, comedy skits... and as always, the closing song 'mata au hi made' (till we meet again...) as everyone, yes everyone, forming a large circle, rhythmically raising and lowering the hands of the person next...

Now that I am back in my office, I begin to wonder what the heck an honorary Lions member is...

This is what I found from the Lions Club constitution...

HONORARY: An individual, not a member of this Lions Club, having performed outstanding service for the community or this Lions Club, upon whom this club desires to confer special distinction. This club shall pay entrance fees and International and District dues on such a member, who may attend meetings, but shall not be entitled to any privileges of Active Membership.
Hmm... sounds good to me...

By the way, am due to shoot off to Perth and Melbourne tomorrow for a few days of 'fact-finding'...

Shall be poking my face into three universities there...

Of course, am also looking forward to catching up with friends and sinking my fangs into that tender fillet mignon...

Woooaaah...

TIME FOR ARIGATO-ING AND SAYONARA-ING

March is the time to bid farewell to students in Japan...

Before the bidding, there's the thanking...

Graduating students traditionally hold a Thank-You-Very-Much & We-Are-Indebted-To-You-Forever Party to thank the mentors...

Was invited to one such Sha-on-kai last night...

The hosts are eleven seniors who belong to the club whereby yours truly is the Advisor...

The food was ummmp and the company, exquisite...

And to learn that upon graduation, one is joining the police force, another the Ministry of Finance, a bank, and a newspaper company... etcetera while several plan on entering the graduate school in other parts of Japan...

These kids are more or less my kids...

It feels sabishii to see these boys and girls whom I have grown fond of, leave...

But then, the heart feels so warm to see them stretch their wings... gearing up to roll off the runway...

A PRINCESS'S LIFE

Don't know much about geography...
Don't know much about trigonometry...
So croons the suave Paul Simon... or was it Art Garfunkel?

This book on Japanese Crown Princess Masako is cooking up quite a storm here...

Factual errors! Protests the Japanese government...

Freedom of speech!! Yells the Australian author...

An apology demanded, but oh no, the Japanese government is not getting it...

The Japanese translation of the book is then cancelled...

Well, don't know much the life of a princess but sometimes I do sympathize with her, and with other royals for that matter...

They do not seem to have a life of their own...

They can’t go cycling anytime they wish… and fishing in the neighborhood pond is a no-no…

Am just wondering when that same author is going to turn his critical thoughts on the Thai royal family...

Heeeaaaa...

DIFFERENT SHOES, DIFFERENT DREAMS...

As surely as I hit the sh*t-pot every morning, 'wonderful' news from our lovely country Malaysia continues to hit the headlines...

An average of 85.37% of projects given to bumiputra contractors had "flowed" to those of other communities, a Works Ministry survey done last year showed.
Interpret it the way you like, folks...

A goondoo buddy of mine who had stayed in Manila for an extended period of time, once commented...

The Filipinos start celebrating Christmas from the first 'ber' month... and continue jollying till the last of the 'ber' month...
Received on 30th January 2007 an email from a stranger, a fellow bolehlander no doubt, inviting me to join him to celebrate bolehland's 50th year of independence...

I am pretty sure bradder Din would not mind me unilaterally reproducing his email, in verbatim of course...

Hi Lim,
I'm kicking off Merdeka celebration early this year.
This year Malaysia will celebrate its 50th year of independence.
As part of this important milestone and in the good spirit of globalisation, I am bringing m50 - an avenue on cyberspace to bring together as many Malaysians abroad to share their wishes, aspiration and love for Malaysia.
Forward it to as many Malaysian from as many countries, and please come again regularly to see the updates. www.serigala-london.net/m50/home.php
Jauh di mata, dekat di hati.Din
London

Meanwhile, at just about the same time, my goondoo buddies and me were having this cute little email conversation... again reproduced (with permission of course!) in verbatim...

Merm: The Merm recently watched the expiration countdown on his Bolehland passport. It was a bittersweet moment. That ended my direct connection with the Bolehland, and in a few months, my last two brothers will migrate to Aussie-land. Since my dad's siblings and their families migrated over twenty years ago, that pretty much wraps up the YYY clan's 300 plus year "pit-stop" in the Bolehland. The shame is that not only is there not a bit of regret, but rather, a collective sigh of relief that we all got out while we could.

Sua: Congratulations Merm and your clan's 300-year soujourn! I was the first CP to cut the umbilical cord with Bolehland in 1994. I've never looked back even as my parents and one sister still live in Malaysia (one sis is in the UK). After 20 years, I still feel the vibe of LA as my home.

Merm: Why, thank you AhSua. Since the day I joined QQ (KmiJ: a major, major company in that little red dot down there...) many moons ago, I have never looked back. My emotional ties with Bolehland ended back in 1978 when I was told "we don't take Chinese..." at my RMAF pilot trainee interview. I knew there and then, that I would rather be a second class citizen in the country of my choice, than be a second class citizen in the country of my birth.

Sua: You're quite a poet and I'll quote you from now on about being a "second class citizen in country of choice versus second class citizen in country of birth" Wow! Dunno how you can consider being second class in US? I think most of us live first class lives in the US!

Hmmm... can't help noticing how contrasting the contents, feelings... are...

Different shoes, different dreams...

Meanwhile I really would like to join the merdeka huha...

but, porgib me, brader Din, for I think I shall celebrate the occasion in my own style... quietly and peacefully, that is... still, it is a bit too far...

anyway, rest assured braddaa, Jauh di mata, dekat di hati forever I shall be...

RACIST MALAYSIA, DISCRIMINATIVE JAPAN...

Malaysian advertisers ordered to drop models with non-Malay faces?

Well, the Japanese do not seem to get enough of blondes...

(This is the shortest post so far... heheheehee... )

HAY FEVER SEASON

Living in a place with four seasons is nice… most of the time…

Most comfortable and pretty is the autumn, and then spring…

But yeap, it is that rather dreadful time of the year... again…

Yesterday, was cycling home after a full day's work at the office...

The winds were really strong...

At one point, I felt like I was almost lifting off the runway as if I was flying a Cessna...

When I got home, teary eyes... running nose... almost sneezed but thank god, I have developed a way to abort the sneeze (success rate, maybe 50-50...)

Heard over the radio some weeks ago that in Tokyo, the authorities are chopping down the cedar trees planted decades ago with a new species that produces very little pollens... ahh, they should do it here too...

Not all hay fever is caused by cedar pollens although it is probably one big factor for many people...

Anyway, this morning, the winds were strong too... the seas, pretty choppy...

Am now in my office... nose and eye condition is not as bad as yesterday evening...

Heheheee... feels good, for now...

PROFESSOR, MALU LAH, LIKE THAT...

Dr. Lim Teck Ghee literally tapped on the shoulders (I am tempted to say 'slapped the cheeks') of high-profile professor AB Shamsul when he said in a letter to Malaysiakini...

I hope I mentored him not only on the craft of scholarship but also on the importance of seeking and disseminating knowledge through fair and objective procedures and methods, and adherence to standards of truth, fairness and respect.

A professor, no less... being reprimanded in public space by his mentor...

Maximum malu lah, prof...

What is there to hide from the public?

BE, EAT, SLEEP, GARDEN, SHOOT, SCUBA

Ooooh... been tagged by UNKALEONG...

He asked... what are the five things that I enjoy doing while I am not out there enjoying cycling and fishing?

Hmmm...

1. Just being with my missus, spending time and 'tokking cock' with her. Without her, I am just another goondoo in town, aimless and hopeless. When I got married twenty years ago, a good pal advised me: 'Lrong, listen to your wife!' That sucker of guy is still single and he will be touching fifty in a while, but I must admit he gave excellent advice. Men, like yours truly, can be real goondoos sometimes, so listen to your wives, guys...

2. Eating. Yes, I love to eat, as opposed to drinking (alcohol, that is). And eat means, eating in, and eating wife's home cooked food. Not to say that she is the best cook in the world although I would like to believe so... it is the warm, comfy 'at-home' atmosphere... just the two of us, toasting on Japanese sake or red wine and chewing on peanuts before the main meal... lovely...

3. Sleeping. Yes, I love to snore in my warm futon. I normally hit the futon at around 10:00 and snooze off while listening to the news on radio... oooh, heavenly... normally get up at between 05:00 to 05:30...

4. Gardening. I can never get enough of this. It feels so marvelous and rewarding to see plants grow, and that you are the grower. What more, you get to eat them. I am into vegetables and fruit trees while my missus is into herbs... of course, failures overwhelm successes... but it is the joy of touching the soil that counts...

5. Photographing. Especially the head and shoulder portraits. Been fooling around with photographing for over two decades. Have tried the guitar. No cigar. Played the Japanese flute. Pooh, gave up after 8 years. Tried singing. Awww, the toads fled. But photographing, I just love it...

6. Bonus point... scuba diving of course... this is one activity that I enjoy tremendously with my buddy a.k.a. missus... just dived the Roach Reefs off Tawau... see here for some pics... am now contemplating on the next dive destination...

IS IT THE GENES OR THE ENVIRONMENT?

This issue of the Chinese man, Zulhaidi Omar, who was raised as a Muslim after being accidentally swapped at birth presents a pretty curious case...

Apparently he was not well treated by his accidental Malay-Muslim family...

He did not feel comfortable, having been teased and poked at his 'Chinese-ness' during his formative years...

At 13, he had enough and decided to move out of the family...

But, he is (or was) a so-called 'bumiputera'...

He could have seek out the 'privileges' accrued to his 'bumiputera' status...

But no, he chose to leave the family and now, the Islam religion...

In other words, at 13, he became independent, and started to work to support himself...

(I am shaking my head just to think of what great things I did at 13... probably zero...)

Now, is it in his Chinese genes that got him to strive and persevere despite the hostile circumstances?

He has been with his real family since his sister accidentally discovered him at a supermarket years ago...

His 'partner-in-victim'... the Malay boy, Teo Tian Fa, who was mistakenly switched the same time...

He of course, has been raised by his equally accidental Teo family as a charsiew-loving Chinese boy...

He apparently has no intentions to return to his 'real' Muslim family...

Hmmm... could it be the Teo family 'environment' that he was brought up in, that leads him to decide so?

Or perhaps, in this case, the 'genes' are not so big a contributive factor as Zulhaidi's case?

I know, I know... I am probably stretching my imagination a bit too far...

Anyway, I hope that the so-called religious authorities will leave them alone to decide for themselves if they want to continue lavishing the lard-laden, cholesterol-packed char koey teow or whatever...

Good luck to both Zulhaidi and Tian Fa...

FEELING MARVELOUS ON A SUNDAY MORNING

As usual, crawled up at a little past 5 this morning...

Outside temperature was a warm 10 degrees...

Quick little breakfast... left the house at 06:19 hours...

Really nice to drive on roads devoid of traffic...

Think I should do this more often...

This morning, we sent off the 19 students from Taiwan plus their good-looking lady chaperon teacher...

This was the 5th undertaking with regards to our intensive two-week Japanese Language Program...

Not too shabby a record in a span of two short years, eh?

Despite the early morning hours, numerous Japanese students and several host families came along (with their children as well) to bade them goodbye...

Was really touched by the host families' gesture...

It probably meant that they had an enjoyable time hosting the students...

So, tears (not mine but that of the students' and the host families') flowed freely as I clicked my camera away...

Man, I am again reminded of how lucky I am to have this job...

It feels wonderful to see people hooking up to one another...

People from different backgrounds, different languages...

And that, ahem... to know that yours truly is part of the team that is responsible for putting them together...

It is 08:42 hours on a really nice Sunday morning...

Now that the students are gone, yours truly is about to resume his real work researching on Japan's international student policy...

I should be going fishing, really...