Story: Good Reason

A woman announces to her friend that she is getting married for the fourth time.

"How wonderful! But I hope you don't mind me asking what happened to your first husband?"

"He ate poisonous mushrooms and died."

"Oh, how tragic! What about your second husband?"

"He ate poisonous mushrooms too and died."

"Oh, how terrible! I'm almost afraid to ask you about your third husband."

"He died of a broken neck."

"A broken neck?"

"Yeah, he wouldn't eat the damn mushrooms."

-----------------------------

STORY BY BAYISINGH

***

A Surprise Birthday Gift from My Son

My son, William gave me a surprise this morning:

A Golden Egg

RISES GOLDEN EGG

The egg is traditionally a symbol of life and new beginnings.
The shape of the egg which has no beginning or end, stands for the cycle of life perpetuating itself endlessly.

Made from natural ostrich, goose, hen or quail eggs, the eggs are plated in 24K gold using a unique process developed by RISIS and handcrafted to perfection.

Each RISES Egg conveys the golden wish of good luck and fortune.

A Chinese Belief

Ancient China has always been full of exotic legends and the egg has always had a unique place in this glorious mystique.

For many centuries, it was believed that if an egg was placed on its end exactly at noon on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival (the 5th day of 5th Lunar month), and the egg could stand upright on its own, the person would be blessed with good luck and fortune.

***

Thank you, William and I am sure this signifies a blessed period.

***

Happy Birthday to Myself

Today is my birthday.

It is my 55 birthday, a day where most of us ponder retirement.

I will like to spent today to thoroughly review & remap my journey in life; the time remaining hereof!

Poem for Today

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

Bob, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Angel, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How did all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.

'And why is everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'

'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all shock...
No one thought they'd be seeing you.'

LOOK IN THE MIRROR!!

Remember...Just going to shrines or temple and giving alms and reciting prayers doesn't make you any holier any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Every saint has a PAST...
Every sinner has a FUTURE!

Wedding of Henry & Karen

My son Henry finally tied the knot with his sweetheart Karen.

Congratulations to Henry & Karen.

Both families have a nice time together at the reception dinner.

***

Today's Thought to Ponder

Are we aware that if anyone of us died tomorrow,
the company that we are working for could easily replace us
in a matter of days;
But our family and loving friends we left behind will feel the loss
for the rest of their lives?


And come to think of it, we would pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family and close friends,
an unwise investment indeed,
don't you think?

***

"Do you feel proud hurting the person who loves you?"

***
When you are angry, you have every reason to be mad,
but you have no reason to be cruel.

***

There are some 6.9 billion people in this world.
Only a very very small percentage of them loves us.
These people who love us thus become very rare and precious.

***

Every year we go back Sibu for Ching Ming.
We pay respect to the dead and we hurriedly come back to Kuching.
I realized that, in our rush, we often neglected visiting our 90+ year-old grandpa.
We respect the dead but forget the living!

***

CONTRIBUTED BY:
STANLEY NGU & CH TAN

***

Story: Why Women Lie

One day, when a seamstress was sewing while sitting close to a river, her thimble fell into the river. When she cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, 'My dear child, why are you crying?' The seamstress replied that her thimble had fallen into the water and that she needed it to help her husband in making a living for their family. The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up a golden thimble set with sapphires.

'Is this your thimble?' the Lord asked The seamstress replied, 'No.'

The Lord again dipped into the river. He held out a golden thimble studded with rubies.

'Is this your thimble?' the Lord asked. Again, the seamstress replied, 'No.'

The Lord reached down again and came up with a leather thimble.

'Is this your thimble ?' the Lord asked. The seamstress replied, 'Yes' The Lord was pleased with the woman's honesty and gave her all three thimbles to keep, and the seamstress went home happy.

Some years later, the seamstress was walking with her husband along the riverbank, and her husband fell into the river and disappeared under the water. When she cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked her, 'Why are you crying?' 'Oh Lord, my husband has fallen into the river!'

The Lord went down into the water and came up with George Clooney. 'Is this your husband?' the Lord asked.

'Yes,' cried the seamstress. The Lord was furious. 'You lied! That is an untruth!'

The seamstress replied, 'Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said 'no' to George Clooney, you would have come up with Brad Pitt. Then if I said 'no' to him, you would have come up with my husband. Had I then said 'yes,' you would have given me all three. Lord, I'm not in the best of health and would not be able to take care of all three husbands, so THAT'S why I said 'yes' to George Clooney.

And so the Lord let her keep him.

The moral of this story is:

Whenever a woman tell lies, it's for a good reason and she believed it to be an honorable reason, and in the best interest of others.

***

SOURCE: BAYISINGH

***

Malaysia Secures Projects Worth RM10 Billion In Bangladesh

October 19, 2011 10:04 AM
Bernama Business Report
From E. Sivabalan

DHAKA, Oct 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has secured infrastructure projects worth a whopping RM10 billion in Bangladesh to be implemented beginning early next year over a period of between two and five years, says Malaysia's Special Envoy, Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu here Wednesday.

Signing of MOU Ceremony at Pan Pacific Hotel, Dhaka on 18 October, 2011

Kuala Lumpur and Bangladesh inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate the implementation of the projects here last night.

The document would be handed over to the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by Samy Vellu here on Thursday.

Bangladesh Minister for Housing and Public Works Abdul Mannan Khan & Malaysia's Special Envoy to India & South Asia (Ministerial Rank) Dato' Seri S. Samy Vellu.

Bangladesh State Minister for Local Government, Rural Government and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanok & Malaysia's Special Envoy to India & South Asia (Ministerial Rank) Dato' Seri S. Samy Vellu.

Describing the deal as a "win-win", the former Malaysian works minister who is on a four-day working visit to Bangladesh, said the projects include housing; satellite townships; a flyover and water treatment, and sewerage treatment plants.

He said the first project involving the construction of 161 blocks of 16-storey apartments, worth almost RM3 billion, in Uttara near here would commence early next year.

"Both governments (Malaysia and Bangladesh) sealed the MOU after more than six months of negotiations. It is indeed a proud achievement for Malaysia," Samy Vellu told reporters after signing the MOU on behalf of the Malaysian government.

The signatories from the Bangladesh government were State Minister for Housing and Public Works Abdul Mannan Khan; and the State Minister for Local Government, Rural Government and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanok.

Samy Vellu, who was appointed the Special Envoy with Ministerial rank for Infrastructure to India and South Asia last January, said work on the RM3 billion apartment project was expected to start in a few months after the signing of the agreement.

Another project that would take off next year would be the 10.8km four-lane Poltan-Mawa Road flyover project worth RM1 billion, he said.

Samy Vellu said other projects include the construction of affordable housing for squatters and a new satellite township on a 400 hectare land at Kamrangichar and another similar development in Mohammadpur here.

"Malaysia will also construct the Dhalla-Jamirta well field to supply clean water to Dhaka," he said, adding that several Malaysian companies have shown interest to participate in the RM10 billion project.

Samy Vellu said the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) would monitor and act as the executing agency for the projects to be jointly undertaken with the respective departments in Bangladesh.

"I am happy that after months of discussions and negotiations, we (Malaysia and Bangladesh) have finally agreed to implement the projects," he said.

Samy Vellu also said the next step would be to finalise the costing and other aspects of the projects and then seal agreements between CIDB and the respective departments in Bangladesh.

He added several Malaysian companies have been identified to undertake the projects, some through joint ventures, with interested parties.

"I will brief Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak upon my return to Malaysia (on Friday) and then hold a media conference to explain about the projects in detail," he said.

-- BERNAMA

SOURCE: BERNAMA

Joint Press Conference at Sheraton Hotel, Dhaka (now called Ruposhi Bangla Hotel) on 19 October, 2011

This is the daily traffic situation in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

Poem for Today

poem by Rabindranath Tagore

Vanshaj’s
Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God,
First fill your own house with the Fragrance of Love …

Go not to the temple to light candles before the altar of God,
First remove the darkness of sin from your heart …

Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer,
First learn to bow in humility before your fellowmen …

Go not to the temple to pray on bended knees,
First bend down to lift someone who is down-trodden …

Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins,
First forgive from your heart those who have sinned against you.

***

Today's Thought

Everybody sees how you seem, however,
only some know who you are

The most difficult lesson to learn is:
Which bridge in life to use or which one to break off

He who would like to have something he never had,

will have to do something well, that he hasn’t done yet

***
I will never live to betray,
But I had to live with betrayal.

I can be wrong to blow my head,
But it was letting out of inner feelings.

I must learn to contain those feelings,
And accept that fate will have it, whatever it shall be.

But life is beautiful because there's a God above,
who cares and who is merciful.

So, Life must go on,
And we had to deal with whatever that comes;
And to uphold to those virtuous principles,
And leave the rest to the Almighty.
Amen!

Religion & Patriotism: What is the Virtue of Life?

CAUGHT-IN-ACTION - ACT 1, SCENE 1:

Girl Holds Umbrella for Disabled Old Beggar in Rainstorm

In the middle of a rainstorm, a thin frail girl was seen holding an umbrella for a handicapped old beggar while she herself was soaked in the rain. This scene was captured by a netizen in Suzhou who happened to witness the precious moment with his camera.

In Malaysia, we, the diverse society, the various races and the two sides of politicians, are busy and working hard to find fault with each other and one another. If we can't find the real faults, we create them so that it looks real. We are still busy with: (1) whether we are Malaysian First or Malay First, (2) whether Nasi Lemak 2.0 is seditious, (3) whether the church is evangelizing the Muslims, (4) whether Rosmah has bought the $24mil diamond ring, (5) whether Anwar was in Thailand prostituting, (6) whether ........... , uh, too long to narate .... but the nation is hardly concern: (1) whether recession is imminent, (2) whether another economic crisis similar to the American sub-prime crisis is imminent, (3) whether & why our universities are not on par with the top 500 universities international, (4) whether & why our graduates are unemployable, (5) whether we will become the next Zimbabwe, (5) whether our banks will collapse with piles of debts unserviced, (6) whether & why ..... uh, too long to narate ....

Love, care, charity and co-existence, we hardly can observe!!! Oh, Malaysia, what had happened to us??? Religion? Religion didn't teach us to find fault with others; Religion didn't teach us to hate others; Religion didn't teach us to be evil? Oh ya, Satan is part of religion too.

---------------------------------
SOURCE: posted by Fengniao “金桥tj” & XiCi netizen “林听海安”

COURTESY: BAYISINGH

---------------------------------

A Story from a Woman

I was walking down the street when I was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple of dollars for dinner.

I took out my wallet, got out ten dollars and asked, 'If I give you this money, will you buy wine with it instead of dinner?'

'No, I had to stop drinking years ago', the homeless woman told me.

'Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?' I asked.

'No, I don't waste time shopping', the homeless woman said. 'I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive.'

'Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?' I asked.

'Are you NUTS!' replied the homeless woman. I haven't had my hair done in 20 years!'

'Well, I said, 'I'm not going to give you the money. Instead, I'm going to take you out for a nice dinner with my husband and me tonight.'

The homeless Woman was shocked. 'Won't your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.'

I said, 'That's okay. It's important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments, and wine.'

------------------------------------------

SOURCE: Stanley from Catland

------------------------------------------

LESSONS LEARNED:

So, please allow women to go shopping, saloon and dining if you don't want a shabby & disgusting wife.

***

Today's Thought

No one can go back and change a bad beginning;
But anyone can start now and create a successful ending.

Contributor: Mmudahlupa Thow SP of Kuching

***

A Trip to the Portugese Colony

CHEGADAS - I think it means "Arrival"

GRAND LISBOA HOTEL & CASINO (owns by Stanley Ho)

Centro de turismo de Negocios de Macau
(Macau Business Tourism Centre)

Senado Square
More than 200,000 tourists arrived in a single day and almost everyone will visit this place in the central of the business district

The Ruins of St. Paul's

The Historic Centrepiece of Macau

The Ruins of St. Paul's refer to the facade of what was originally the Church of Mater Dei built in 1602-1640, destroyed by fire in 1835

All that remains of the greatest of Macau's churches is its magnificent stone facade and grand staircase.

St. Dominic's Church

Standing on the site of a chapel and convent built by the Dominicans in the 1590's St. Dominic's Church dates from the early 17th century.

Venice? Ya, Venetian Hotel

At the Venetian hotel

It's time to find a nice place for dinner. We traveled to Sai Kung, Hong Kong

Fantastic seafood

Giant Garupa fish

Big crowd at Sai Kung Promenade - a fishing village.