The Best of You :)
It was all because Felicia invited me to Terence's storytelling event at Times Square on Saturday. I checked the date on my calendar two weeks before the event and looked forward to seeing them both.
During the meantime, an old friend from the American Degree Program (ADP) during my A Levels years in Taylors College 7 years ago asked me for a meet up session before he started work. I invited Ben to the event as well.
While scrolling through old posts on Facebook, I left a comment on another old A Levels friend's post asking her when we could meet up again. In a matter of days, Maryam happily agreed to attend the event as well.
I set a lunch date of 1.30pm for the three of us at Times Square before the event started but true to our citizenship all of us turned up late for the appointment LOLs XD
As Maryam and I reached first, we happily browsed for special stamps at a small little stall manned by an old Chinese uncle. (Well at least I did as I am still quite an amateur stamp collector, but I would like to believe that Maryam and I had a nice catch up as we talked about our current work while we selectively picked stamps for those really special ones which caught our eyes due to their uniqueness or personal meaning.)
Not too long after, Ben finally turned up and I introduced him and Maryam to each other as they had not met before and soon enough we were all chatting happily over a decent lunch at Absolute Thai :)
After lunch, we leisurely walked to "The Best of You" Exhibition at the main concourse at Times Square on the Ground floor. There we finally met up with Terence and Felicia, exchanged pleasantries and settled down to listen to Terence's story.
The story revolved around a little boy who was jeered at by his peers saying that he wasn't clever enough to be a storyteller. The little boy went on to meet a middle aged foreign worker from India who taught the boy an important lesson: that no matter what place in society one is, whether a construction sweeper or a young schoolboy, every single person has his purpose in life and one's obligation is to then do one's best, no matter how, and what better way to do so with a smile on one's face and a song on his lips, or in his heart? The important thing is to be #thebestofyou
I liked the story very much and it resonated within me a story I read before, written and curated by a young, talented Singaporean journalist, my friend Yeo Kai Wen.
His article describes the sacrifices one foreign worker, A.Pon Prabhakaran made by leaving his two-year-old son in his native land, India to search for a brighter future as a a nursing worker for the elderly in Singapore. The full article can be found here.
But I digress.
Terence ended the story by inviting the audience to write about their "best of you" stories on postcards which might inspire more people to be the best that they can be. This part I particularly liked as with the stamps, I am also an avid postcard collector and have amassed more than 100 from countries all over the world :) I resolved to send one of these postcards to one of my friends who resides in the UK at the current moment completing her Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC).
No matter where she travels, she will always remember to send me a postcard to share her stories knowing that I love collecting the postcards as well. I probably have to attribute at least a third of my collection to come from her :) Thank you Fong for keeping me in your thoughts always :) You're the best, which is why you deserve a mention in my post and that postcard which I hope will reach you soon!
We continued exploring the gallery, reading the stories and marveling at the creativity of some of the people who submitted their artwork.
I particularly liked this piece where the artist painted three individual stones of such incredible shape so as to look exactly like a frog sitting on a lotus leaf with a ladybug friend.
After we had had our fill of inspiring stories, I "belanjaed" Ben and Maryam a cup of "llao llao" yogurt which I think they actually really liked as Maryam finished the dragonfruit pieces, Ben finished the chocolate crispies and I polished off the yogurt XD Hahahaha
We then said our goodbyes and parted ways as I dropped Ben off at Ampang Point before heading back to my grandma's to pick up my parents and head off to PJ to attend my grandaunt's wake.
Looking around the people who attended the wake, I think my grandaunt would have been pleased to know that all of us came to pay our last respects and comfort the immediate family members in their time of grief. Even her son who is a citizen of the UK flew in a few days prior and was at her bedside at the time she left this world.
The Buddhist ceremony was simple and was carried out smoothly and efficiently, with the help of a few foreign workers who were present to explain to the family members the various rituals and what they had to do. I found it incredible that the foreign workers should know more about death rites as compared to us, but it is so due to their profession. Once again I thought about "The Best of You" movement and what sacrifices these workers must have made to travel to a foreign country and work to support a family back in their native country. It was a truly humbling experience.
At the same time, it was a good moment to acknowledge the mortality of mankind and to appreciate the little things around me: a family whom I love and who loves me very much, a healthy body to a certain extent, my current pupillage in a decent firm in Seremban with good colleagues and working environment, and friends I know I can count on if I need help.
One group of which is a bunch of Cheras people that I've come to know through a "Famine 30" camp at Taylors College and friends of my cousin. It is moments like these when I realize that it's a small world indeed and I'm so so thankful to have these people who are willing to take out some time out of their respective busy schedules to meet up for a meal and catch up :)
And especially to Yanyan for inviting me along for the lunch today as I've really not seen Jolynn in two years and having a person to talk with you about your "old home" (the UK holds some special memories for me having lived there for a year) is a wonderful feeling :)
Then we would have to bring in my cousin as well, for not for her, I would not have met Yanyan in the first place and all these might not have happened but for my cousin, Gabriel Woon :) who, along with my brother, gifted me with this:
This post is to give thanks to all the people mentioned above for being part of my life, no matter how big or small, you have all added to the variants of colors I am still painting on this canvas we call life.
During the meantime, an old friend from the American Degree Program (ADP) during my A Levels years in Taylors College 7 years ago asked me for a meet up session before he started work. I invited Ben to the event as well.
While scrolling through old posts on Facebook, I left a comment on another old A Levels friend's post asking her when we could meet up again. In a matter of days, Maryam happily agreed to attend the event as well.
I set a lunch date of 1.30pm for the three of us at Times Square before the event started but true to our citizenship all of us turned up late for the appointment LOLs XD
As Maryam and I reached first, we happily browsed for special stamps at a small little stall manned by an old Chinese uncle. (Well at least I did as I am still quite an amateur stamp collector, but I would like to believe that Maryam and I had a nice catch up as we talked about our current work while we selectively picked stamps for those really special ones which caught our eyes due to their uniqueness or personal meaning.)Not too long after, Ben finally turned up and I introduced him and Maryam to each other as they had not met before and soon enough we were all chatting happily over a decent lunch at Absolute Thai :)
 |
| From left: Felicia, Terence, myself, Maryam and Ben |
After lunch, we leisurely walked to "The Best of You" Exhibition at the main concourse at Times Square on the Ground floor. There we finally met up with Terence and Felicia, exchanged pleasantries and settled down to listen to Terence's story.
The story revolved around a little boy who was jeered at by his peers saying that he wasn't clever enough to be a storyteller. The little boy went on to meet a middle aged foreign worker from India who taught the boy an important lesson: that no matter what place in society one is, whether a construction sweeper or a young schoolboy, every single person has his purpose in life and one's obligation is to then do one's best, no matter how, and what better way to do so with a smile on one's face and a song on his lips, or in his heart? The important thing is to be #thebestofyou
I liked the story very much and it resonated within me a story I read before, written and curated by a young, talented Singaporean journalist, my friend Yeo Kai Wen.
His article describes the sacrifices one foreign worker, A.Pon Prabhakaran made by leaving his two-year-old son in his native land, India to search for a brighter future as a a nursing worker for the elderly in Singapore. The full article can be found here.
But I digress.
 |
| I like Ben's Snake Ring :) |
No matter where she travels, she will always remember to send me a postcard to share her stories knowing that I love collecting the postcards as well. I probably have to attribute at least a third of my collection to come from her :) Thank you Fong for keeping me in your thoughts always :) You're the best, which is why you deserve a mention in my post and that postcard which I hope will reach you soon!
I particularly liked this piece where the artist painted three individual stones of such incredible shape so as to look exactly like a frog sitting on a lotus leaf with a ladybug friend.
After we had had our fill of inspiring stories, I "belanjaed" Ben and Maryam a cup of "llao llao" yogurt which I think they actually really liked as Maryam finished the dragonfruit pieces, Ben finished the chocolate crispies and I polished off the yogurt XD Hahahaha
We then said our goodbyes and parted ways as I dropped Ben off at Ampang Point before heading back to my grandma's to pick up my parents and head off to PJ to attend my grandaunt's wake.
Looking around the people who attended the wake, I think my grandaunt would have been pleased to know that all of us came to pay our last respects and comfort the immediate family members in their time of grief. Even her son who is a citizen of the UK flew in a few days prior and was at her bedside at the time she left this world.
The Buddhist ceremony was simple and was carried out smoothly and efficiently, with the help of a few foreign workers who were present to explain to the family members the various rituals and what they had to do. I found it incredible that the foreign workers should know more about death rites as compared to us, but it is so due to their profession. Once again I thought about "The Best of You" movement and what sacrifices these workers must have made to travel to a foreign country and work to support a family back in their native country. It was a truly humbling experience.
At the same time, it was a good moment to acknowledge the mortality of mankind and to appreciate the little things around me: a family whom I love and who loves me very much, a healthy body to a certain extent, my current pupillage in a decent firm in Seremban with good colleagues and working environment, and friends I know I can count on if I need help.
 |
| Clockwise from top left: Yanyan, XiaoJin, myself and Jolynn |
And especially to Yanyan for inviting me along for the lunch today as I've really not seen Jolynn in two years and having a person to talk with you about your "old home" (the UK holds some special memories for me having lived there for a year) is a wonderful feeling :)
Then we would have to bring in my cousin as well, for not for her, I would not have met Yanyan in the first place and all these might not have happened but for my cousin, Gabriel Woon :) who, along with my brother, gifted me with this:
which I happily redecorated myself to become the one as you see below:
- From the original
- Postcard from Sheryn Ding, my old Brickfields classmate who sent it to me when she was traveling in China. I nearly thought it was lost in the post but several months later, it still came back to me :')
- From the original
- Elephant postcard from dad and mum on their umpteenth time to Chiangmai, Thailand XD
- Am Instax photo of the 5 of us at "The Best of You" Exhibition :)
- A beautiful 3D postcard from my beloved cousin, Gabriel Woon, while she was doing a two month student exchange in Taiwan :)
This post is to give thanks to all the people mentioned above for being part of my life, no matter how big or small, you have all added to the variants of colors I am still painting on this canvas we call life.
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