Still, one rises

Still, one rises

Still one rises

*****

Have not,

we known defeat

have not,

we struggled in life

have not,

we experienced the loss of a loved one

still, one rises

*****

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” — Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

True friend stays…

“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” – Oprah Winfrey

Crises like Covid-19 affect livelihood, careers, families and friendship. They filter the latter. – Serena Chen S.P. , 2020

True friend stays.

“Ramai orang ingin menumpang dengan anda di kereta limusin, tetapi apa yang anda mahukan adalah seseorang yang akan menaiki bas dengan anda ketika limusin rosak.” – Oprah Winfrey

Krisis seperti Covid-19 mempengaruhi kehidupan, kerjaya, keluarga dan persahabatan. Mereka menapis yang terakhir. – Serena Chen S.P., 2020

“很多人都想和您一起乘坐豪华轿车，但您想要的是当豪华轿车出现故障时会和您一起乘公交车的人。” – 奥普拉·温弗瑞

像Covid-19这样的危机会影响生计，职业，家庭和友谊。他们过滤后者。 – Serena Chen S.P.，2020年

I am not a man nor a soprano!

I am not a man nor a soprano!

*******

*********

I had a lot of fun learning singing online these four months, indeed!

“I hope you don’t mind. Can I ask you something? Are you a man or a lady?” (Two lady singers asked me this question! )

“Of course, I am a lady!  Can’t you see my picture on every song cover?”

“OK, OK , but your voice sounds like a man! I just want to confirm! “

And I was not surprised at all! I am used to people’s addressing me as Mr Chen on the phone until they met me personally!

******

Listen to me singing “One moment in time” with this lady soprano from Thailand.

A soprano, I am not, too!

Do I sound like a man or a soprano?

*******

AI, my teacher at Wesing

AI, my teacher at Wesing

During a stint of four months learning singing at Wesing, I realise that my teacher was actually an artificial intelligence (AI)!

AI, my teacher in singing

***********

it is interesting to note

from the assessment on how well one

expressed one’s emotion

followed the rhythm

controlled one’s breath,

the skill in singing

and hitting the key notes,

I realised that

my teacher all these while

was actually an AI!

*********

I love singing. I love it, and it doesn’t feel like a chore. It’s an expression.

Rihanna

What is asthma in Hainanese?

What is asthma in Hainanese?

*****

Help,  Chen!
We have a Hainanese patient here!

There are many Cantonese and Hokkien nurses around… but Hainanese is a rare species!

I was the only Hainanese nurse, then.
Even then, I struggled with the translation…

…now, ask him if he has asthma before.

Oh, no…
I was stuck!

Asthma?

er.. er… xiao chuan? (Mandarin)

er..er.. che ha? (Cantonese)
er…er.. hei ku ? ( hokkien)


You mean hu hea?
A neighbouring patient offered..
She was listening nearby.

And the patient nodded in agreement!

Even in Chinese alone,  there are so many dialects!

I believe many countries

have multilingual communities.

This’s where AI may come in handy

in the absence of professional interpreters


to bridge the linguistic gap


for effective communication

in a multilingual community.

****

To bring relevance to people, you have to be able to speak their language effectively.
– Sunday Adelaja –

What is more challenging in blogging?

What is more challenging in blogging?

Challenges in blogging

********

What is more challenging

Writing a post

Or writing a comment?

********

I think it is the latter

cos it requires understanding

what others write

with critical thinking

to comment

*******

  “Blogging is to writing what extreme sports are to athletics: more free-form, more accident-prone, less formal, more alive. It is, in many ways, writing out loud.” – Andrew Sullivan

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein

The day I learnt to speak Tamil

The day I learnt to speak Tamil

*******

Injured after a bus accident

There was a bus accident.

ER was like a mad house. But nothing beat the howlings of a skinny eleven-year Indian boy.

We had to bring in an Indian lady from another department to talk to him.

So I learnt a few necessary words… enough to get me by communicating with him in Tamil.

Tani ? ( Drink water?)

Muterem? (Pass urine?)

Shapede? (Want to eat?)

Vali ke de? (Any pain?)

( Please correct me if I am wrong.🙏🙏🙏)

*****

That is the communication challenge for nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers in a multilingual society!

Kinabatangan ‘treasures’

Kinabatangan ‘treasures’

*****

Courtesy of Steve mariyoh

While visiting the hospitals in Sabah, we passed by Kinabatangan. 

The Kinabatangan river is behind ( picture above).

****

Poem: riding the waves of

uneven road to Kinabaangan.

Excited kids disembarking a plane,
supervised by their teacher
holding onto their passports
on the way to Kinabatangan

In a four-wheeler
we rode and floated on ‘waves’
of an uneven road to
Kinabatangan

Watching ‘orang utan‘, turtles

and small Borneo pygmy elephants
“Will we get to see a crocodile or two
in the yellow river of
Kinabatangan?

Will the ‘Dutchman of Borneo’
be swinging by, .. those proboscis monkeys of Kinabatangan ?

*****

******

Song- Help Me Make It Through the Night

Song- Help Me Make It Through the Night

American country artist Sammi Smith released Help Me Make It Through the Night as a debut studio album. (I am honoured to sing this song with a talented pioneer Wesing singer in this song. Do listen to the song!)

The album was originally produced by Jim Malloy. The album was originally named He’s Everywhere.

It was renamed Help Me Make It Through the Night due to the popularity of that track. The track reached number one on the Billboard country music chart and the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Help me make it through the night

******

Songs are good accompaniments, especially during a long journey!