In a Town A, there were five bakers. Each employed five apprentices. So there were twenty five apprentices in employment.
Two bakers were not happy with the town mayor’s new rules and taxation policy. They decided to go to another town B to set up their business. So there was less opportunity for employment in town A.
Now in town B, there are eight bakers, creating more job opportunities there! So the youths from town A moved to town B to seek employment.
This is a simple analogy of businesses, job opportunities for the youths, and supplies meeting demands economically.
Don’t kill the geese that lay the golden eggs, then there will always be enough pies to go around for everyone!
Silent supporters (Photo by RF._.studio on Pexels.com)
I put a lot of effort into drawing cartoon for this video post. Then…
“Hmm, so many are viewing my video on “Fitting mental chips…” The traffic seems to be increasing of late!” Then I stumbled upon a few bloggers who had been sharing my posts on other social media, no wonder!
Blood transfusion (Photo by Charlie-Helen Robinson on Pexels.com)
This is an interesting question!
A handful of patients had requested blood from unvaccinated donors. But more than 90% of current donors have either been infected with covid or vaccinated against it. Dr. Michael Busch explained.
People requiring transfusions may donate their own blood in advance (Autologous blood transfusion). They can also request donations from designated friends and family members. But according to Red Cross, there is no evidence that the latter’s blood is safer.
please put up your hands! ( Fish sculpture on lid cover by ChenSP)
Those absent- please put up your hands!
… if you are present, would you agree on behalf of those who have left [past]? or for those who have yet to arrive [future]?
In presentism, present-day rules. Not the past, not the future.
Many names of roads during colonial times have been renamed to VIPs of today. That part of history and story about those locations is, therefore, lost.
‘Pa, you always say that during your time, you used to have ten cents daily pocket money! What can ten cents buy today?’
‘We used to manage these workloads with half the workforce! You don’t need extra staff!’ proposed a senior nurse manager. Yea, but today, we manage patients, machines, and lots and lots of defensive documentation! However, the future may be changed when we start to get more robots instead of nurses!
Don’t compare why things were done then, cannot be done now, and vice versa. Each period has its own weaknesses and strengths, and its own challenges. Yet the true challenge is when a veteran or baby boomer, used to chalk and blackboard, now has to meld into current technology and computer age!
One can’t help but to compare and contrast differences!
“92nd story” First published: May.23.2019 Once upon a time in a kingdom, the king suffered pain in his eyes. Many different doctors visited him but none of them were able to cure the king’s pain. The King’s right-hand minister suggested: “There is a wise man in the Kingdom who knows everything, let him […]
A courier counter service experience for a disabled…
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Last week, a man went to post three A4 brown envelopes with 3 different addresses at a courier service centre.
He came back to the car where his elderly mother was waiting. He showed one invoice (proof of receipt).
The mother went to the counter… and asked.. Why 3 envelopes but only one invoice.
The counter lady raised her voice.. ” I asked him many times if he wants to put them together. And he said yes.
She went on repeating..as if to justify her actions to the other three customers in front of the counter.
The mother intercepted her, “hello, hello,… he is disabled!)
“Saya mahu dia belajar berkomunikasi … nampaknyI want him to learn to communicate… look like he has failed! But I am proud that he entered here just now.)
The lady soften her voice, “ya la…ini maksudnya dia berani mahu masuk sini. Saya pun tak tahu dia OKU.” (Yes, indeed, it means he was brave enough to enter here. I didn’t know he was disabled.)
“Nanti saya akan terangkan kepada anak saya.” ( Later, I will explain to my son.)
The counter lady put the 3 envelopes into 3 separate plastic envelopes…and gave the mother 3 invoices ( proof of receipt).
It was a learning experience for the mother.. and hopefully the courier service counter lady learned something, too.
Beautiful nature (Photo by Arnie Chou on Pexels.com)
Noble silence at a meditation retreat!
Noble silence! That was the essence of the meditation retreat.
The newbies were rather excited and chatty. However, the seniors seemed to know the rules of the ten-day noble silence sanctuary. The centre is like an oasis in the middle of a forest. They kept our mobiles, notebooks and pens. It was absolutely solitude!
“Where is your room? Let us go to the dining hall together after unpacking.” The twelve-day vegetarian menu was so simple, yet, delicious. I should come back as a helper in the kitchen next time! (Which I did, cooking for hundred-over people!)
At the dining table, we learned that silence means no talking verbally, as well as non-verbally! No eye contact nor gesture is allowed. Everybody was in a mind your own business mode! On the way back to our individual rooms, [low voice], “oh, in case I don’t hear the gong at four am, please knock at my door!” The course manager glanced disapprovingly at us.
Soon, the orchestra of croaky frogs and tadpoles began. It became part of the otherwise tranquil nights. I hid an insect repellant, a few packs of biscuits, and some masking tapes. The latter was to cover any holes on the window nettings, which I read about online.
The classes started at four o’clock in the morning and ended at about ten at night. The assistant teacher of S.N. Goenka gave some instructions and teachings on the Vipassana technique. During meditation, the huge hall was in pin-drop silence.
We had to listen to our breaths as the air entered and left our nostrils as in normal respiration. Fleeting memories of the past and worrying concerns of the future flitted in and out of my mind. Very often, I had to recall myself to the present moments.
This task of breathing in and out was hard work, indeed! The meditation’s goal is to purify the mind completely of emotions like anger, hatred, sadness or fear with the help of natural respiration. There were, in fact, a lot of reflections going on in our minds the next few days. By the third to fifth day, several ladies were releasing their emotional ‘taps’ silently. A few men on the other side of the hall were seen sniffing too.
One day, after a lunch break, I saw a lady sitting under a huge tree, all alone, crying. So I told the course manager about my concern for her. She took that lady to see the assistant teacher.
In this practice of noble silence, there was no one to listen to, as everybody was not talking. We were actually listening to our own little self-talks; self-reflection during our mindful meditation.
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Quote: 1. “In solitude, I find my answers.” Kristen Butler 2. “Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.” Pablo Picasso
Chen Song Ping 