GO FOR WHAT YOU ENJOY, THE REWARDS WILL FOLLOW

Ok folks; let us take a break from whining...

Well, many of us have heard of the above phrase in one form or another...

Yeap... do what you love and the honor, reward, money, etcetera will fall into place...

I am finding out that it is true...

I love what I am doing now, but this is not to say that I have had my plans all laid out well ahead in time...

A reader, shaffiq ahmad, said, 'i must say that u're having a very interesting career'...

I responded that 'it just happened... I see myself as a coconut floating on the ocean, and wherever the waves bring me, I sail along and try to have a good time'.

So, this post is a little about rewards that follow from doing what I love to do...

Last week, the local Lions Club which I had been collaborating with regards to 'international' events, invited me for dinner at a wonderful Korean restaurant...

Hmmm, the thought of the delicious kimchi and the spicy soups is making my mouth water...

Anyway, the function was to congratulate me for my promotion...

And woaaah... they are recommending me to be an honorary member of their club...

They acknowledge that I have the expertise they need for their club...

My name will be registered in the official Lions Club registrar...

Poooh...

And two days ago, the President of my university called me up personally to request me to interpret for the Ambassador of a certain nation who shall be making a little keynote speech here in January...

Although I am not sure if I can do a good job at this, I see it as an honor...

However when I conveyed this news to my missus, she didn't seem happy...

Reason is, she says, the President does not know how lousy my Japanese is...

And I am afraid she might just be right on... especially if the interpretation is from English to Japanese...

Got up at past 2 am that night to pee...

And my mind somehow wandered to what transpired a few hours ago...

I laid open-eyed for the rest of the night, thinking about what to do...

Next morning, weary eyed from lack of sleep, I found the answer...

I am going to scream for help with this interpretation thingy!!

THE GREEN PADI FIELDS OF HOME

Am back in my home town, Alor Star, for the past two days...

Feels really great to be around this territory...

The skies are so blue and every where I gaze, green padi fields seem to greet me...

I am back here for some family business, something personal that I may decide to blog about later...

Meantime, I shall try my best to be a good son and leave things to fate...

Anyway, on another front, the local food is as irresistable as ever...

* Now we are talking... *

My Penangite buddies like to brag about their char koew teow and laksa while the Ipohan fellas, hor fun...

Kedahans may be lousy at PR-ing their local delights....

Nonetheless, we are certainly not short of equally deliciously local fare...

Was even lucky enough to come across a durian seller last night...

The season has yet to kick off, but the taste was not too bad either...

KANSAI INTERNATIONAL AT MIDNIGHT

Am presently at the Kansai International Airport...

It is just past midnight and my body feels like tofu...

'Normal' bedtime for me is about 9:30 to 10:00 pm...

So, what am I doing at this ungodly hour...

Anyway, the airport is so quiet and devoid of people...

And I am traveling with just one carry-on bag...

Nice...

Departure time is 1:25 am...

Oh god... I need to snore...

Right away!

BANGKOK BOUND

Am shooting off to Bangkok late tonight...

Flying Thai International after so may years...

Main intention is to present a conference paper at Bangkok...

Side-intention is not to crawl the pubs nor hunt for massage parlours...

But to return to the kampong to attend to family matters...

So, flying from Bangkok to Penang, then hop over to Alor Star, and then the reverse return route...

Shall be back in my cave here in Japan on 10th December...

Have a lot to blog about but, oh god, so little time...

Porgib me, my dear friends...

UNIVERSITY FESTIVAL & CLASS REUNION

Yeap, it is that time of the year when we are celebrating our University Festival...

I like it... mainly because we get a few days off without having to do anything...

But still, here I am at my office... tapping away at the keys and listening to horrid 'music' by the students...

The male singers are a little tolerable...

But when the girls take over the stage, oooh... their screams make them sound like they are being strangled alive or something... real yakky...

On another front, just received notice of a huge reunion being planned for our Class of 1976...

As they say, every doggo has its day... we were young and clueless...

Now, 30 years down the road, who in their right sense of mind would want to miss such a promising event?

I for one, would love to compare my remaining precious few strands of 'hair' with the guys'...

And of course, to see whose belly is the most bulging of them all...

Would also certainly be prowling around to see what damage father time has done to those lovely, petite girls who hypnotized us into tripping over ourselves silly...

Yeap, thirty years ago... when we were but open-jawed and wide-eyed...

Man... life is fun...