Sunday, September 02, 2018

Show a Random Act of Kindness


On the first day of the month, I started a challenge to do something each day that would pave a way for a more meaningful life. Cliché as it may sound, life is short and there’s nothing more meaningful but allowing experiences and actions to transcend positive energy in the core of our being.


Day 2. Show a random act of kindness.

Kindness is free yet it is something that we oftentimes fail to do. It is wrapped with hope and allow others to continue trusting that life’s condition will change for the better. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing others benefit from a sincere act of kindness.

This was inspired by a random act of kindness shown to me one day at the church. I have always struggled being an introvert so I am so grateful when people are kind enough to initiate conversation with me.

It was just an ordinary Sunday, I was seated while waiting for the service to start when an old lady approached me and gave me a hug. She told me that she’s been wanting to meet me. She’s been to Asia before so she was so excited while telling me about her experiences. The warmth of her gentleness touched me so deeply that it just affirmed my belief that the church is indeed the best place to be during Sundays.

There are many ways of showing kindness but for many people, it’s still a battle. I believe that we need to be cognizant of the fact that everybody has different struggles and we have the responsibility to spread kindness by any act that would bring positivity to the world.

Henry James said, “Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.”

Saturday, September 01, 2018

Thirty-Day Challenge for a More Meaningful Life (Day 1: Forgive Someone)


It is easy to get lost in a shuffle. Wake up-work-sleep-repeat the pattern type of thing and miss the basic truth that one day, we are all going to die. Chances are, we are too busy living our life that we are neglecting the groundbreaking message of what we are here for.

The bigger picture of having a consequential journey is sometimes inconceivable to fathom. Since it is the first day of September, I will start with a thirty-day challenge of living a more meaningful life imbued with commitment, meaning, serenity and contentment.

Day 1. Write a letter of forgiveness to the person who hurt you the most.

A known author once said that forgiving is hard because human consciousness has a hard time living at the present. The episodic memories bring us back and forth to the past and present reminding us of the pain that the experience left us. Hence, finding forgiveness in our heart will definitely not be easy.

I am starting at the most difficult challenge because it would be easier to remind myself in the coming days that if I was able to forgive the person who hurt me the most, then everything else is possible.

Bottling the pain inside is not beneficial to us. Sooner or later, it will coat our heart with bitterness and cynicism that’ll affect us to live a healthier life. Forgiving also means releasing us from the pessimism that incarcerate our ability to make humble decisions.

It is more burdensome to carry the weight of resentment to the person who caused us misery. By choosing to forgive, we also choose to heal and to free ourselves from negativities and toxicity associated with pain.

Martin Luther King, Jr. explicated it beautifully, “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”


Today, I choose to forgive and it feels good.

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Monday, August 27, 2018

After the Storm at Lake Michigan


Watched the sunset at the White Lake Channel (Montague Side) 

A storm pummeled Muskegon last night and left behind a trail of colossal destruction. The heavy downpour of rain flooded some areas and caused power outages to thousands of homes. We’re lucky enough to sleep through the night with power. The deafening thunder was so loud that the whole house trembled so many times.

However, just like in every storm, there’s calm after. It was a beautiful sunny day and we watched the sunset at Lake Michigan!

The water was calm and this man was doing the kite sailing. 

Amazing view of the man doing the kite sailing right before the sunset. 

He jumped so high out of the water so many times! 






Saturday, August 25, 2018

Asian Buffet or Red Wok?


Personal favorite?

A typical day cravings for Asian cuisine usually bring us either in Asian Buffet or Red Wok. The cultural contexts that the selection of the two restaurants embody are truly amazing and sometimes it’s hard to make a decision which one to go.


The two offer a wide range of selection that are mostly stir-fried at high temperature gastronomies surefire to suit all kinds of palate. Do not be deceived by the names because both restaurants actually include American food in their choices. Ham, steak, pizza, onion rings, fries and mini beef patties that are described by my husband as ‘scrumpdelicious’.

I personally consider it a luxury to be able to fuel myself with dumplings, egg rolls, chow mein, fried rice, egg foo young, lo mein, and other authentic Asian cuisine thousand miles away from home. They also have sushi ala carte and their shrimp varieties include sweet and sour, hot and spicy Szechuan, and shrimp with lobster sauce.


My husband and I like the wider selection of Asian Buffet but we prefer Red Wok because the owner and the servers are always so friendly. Mary Dillon couldn’t make it any clearer when she said, “I learned from McDonald’s that we can do great things from a marketing and advertising perspective, but if the experience at the restaurant isn’t superior, it might not matter.”

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Crazy Rich Asians Review: Too Asian It Really Made Me Cry


All the media hype of Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel, Crazy Rich Asians did not fail to deliver. The trailblazing romance comedy movie with an all Asian cast was rife with vibrant and free-spirited characters that our jaws hurt from laughing so hard. It was an extravagant display of power and brazen wealth while trying to resolve imperially an all too conflicting familial duty against the desires of the heart.

The opening scene was brief but sufficient to convey a strong message. Old money fixes everything- even a callous case of racism. Perhaps it also gives us a glimpse of the constant struggles that people of other race face even in a simple case of staying in a hotel.

Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and Nick Young (Henry Golding) were effervescent in their characters. There is a hint of biased since I am an Asian but I think they won the movie-goers with their indomitable spirits. The theatre was not full but the whole two hours was filled with laughter and loud reactions.

The gentle tug on my heart came when I saw the familiar Singapore Changi airport. I suddenly missed home so much that seeing a recognizable place almost made me teary-eyed. The sight of so many familiar Asian cuisines as seen in street-stall delicacies like satay, dumplings and curry made my stomach growl at the same time made my eyes a little bit misty. The ‘lah’ at the end of the sentence reminded me of my former Singapore and Malay co-teachers and elicited a bit of a chuckle.


The movie was a treasure trove of cultural display. The rich ethnicity of Chinese people was so distinct and although humor was injected in most of them, the truth is palpable. They favor their own people and Rachel is just too ‘American’ to belong to their family. The movie painted a dazzling picture of Singapore and Marina Bay Sands hotel was majestic and grandeur as expected. 


The underlying issues with Rachel’s plight were brought into what might be cruel but the truth nonetheless- she will never be enough. It is not just the question of wealth and power but also tradition and culture. Eleanor, Nick’s mother, exudes this aura of opulence and it is difficult to dislike a mother who thinks she knows what’s best for her son. Chinese culture goes deeper than the world-defined hierarchies or imperial influence and the movie clearly depicted that.

Crazy Rich Asians brought me into nostalgic reminiscences of my visits to Singapore. I caught myself exclaiming several times, "I've been there!" The places, the food, the people made the movie too ‘Asian’ that my eyes got misty thinking of the other part of the world I call home.

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