Advice to a friend
The Unwoken Dream
Under the stars,the sky allure you with her charm.
The wine would taste so sweet
The darkness so inviting
To take pleasure in the sounds of chirping
And the caress of the wind
And dreaming of a lifetime of lovingIn the embrace of the one
You would long to wake up to
Cheek in her hair
The inviting ,lingering fragrance of rose and jasmine
Abounds with soft whispers
Empty promises
Wicked lies
Nothing more than a cruel thorn in the flesh
The devil's lair and bait.
The unwoken dream
Why remain in it
Why choose to suffer preprosterousity
It remains on and on
Evaporates to sorrow and guilt
Forbidden, lost
Not fulfilled, neither blessed
Unwoken, unfound.

c mun21/02/08

Buying A Bicycle

The auspicious day has arrived for hub to fulfill his promise of an anniversary bequest. This year, Selberans would be last on my wish list. Being besotted by the cyclic spright, a new mountain bike is my pine.

So, lovely morning, hale and hearty, hub packed my old Rockbike, which has served me well into the backseat of our sedan and off we set out to Jalan Ong Kim Wee. I, as vivacious as the dancing clouds in the horizon, as hoity- toity as an American Idol contestant would be, is seeing visions of that perfect two wheeler.

After a brief interview of my cycling habits and needs, Keong the veteran shopowner of Sin Bee Hin recommended two Medinas of which the first , a white aluminium framed, 27 speed Shimano geared was a handsome picture of zest. When he has finished briefing us on 27 speed, he moved forward and presented us with another Medina, which set my heart racing and swirl my eyes to sparkle like a glass of Moet & Chandon.

Its gay silver top notch aluminium frame, 24 speed Shimano powered gear, handsome bar handles and superior hydraulic brake discs whispered me her dynamic potential and brawn. As she beckoned to my frivolous intuition, I conjured my most captivating smile at hub, my sight returning to Invictus, her new name and thereafter to hub again.


Owning Invictus qualify me for bourgeois extravagance, and hub made no qualm in hiding his expression of disapproval, adamant at the price. Keong approved of my choice, declaring that engaging the 24 speeder would be ample for my training on the road. Chances of experimenting off road mountain biking is a 0 % in my paradigm. Hub, convinced by his wise commentary relented to the offer. A sly grin emerged from hub as we locked eyes to probably indicate
" This will be your Mother's Day, Birthday and Christmas present as well."

How To Survive A Bicycle Crash

Waiting for the day after for an opening ceremony seemed almost eternal. In the early morning, children in tow areall at school, peace on earth, goodwill to me. Cumulostratus, accompanied by the crisp blue sky as if cheering my attempt to put my convictions to the test. That my daily 12km ride redeemed me a perpetual, bona fide cyclist. My training was a journey of tranquility on the familiar route, serened by rows and rows of palm oil trees on both side of the road.

Serenades of my Mp3 heightened the pleasures of serendipity. Almost near home, absolutely tempted to flaunt Invictus, I brisked through the coarse terrain; my right foot missing the pedal, losing restrain of the steer. At this strident, defeated moment, I sprawled semi prone in disbelieve.

Dust arising in my face, anguish pain ripping through my senses, I prefered the moment's delusional state to the truth. Reality sank in when crimson trickles ran down my knee and elbow, a concoction of blood and dirt! Trotting to my rescue were two astounded 'Asoh's, of whom one of them bawled " Why did you go so fast? ".



How to recover from a bicycle crash in style?

1) Examine self for signs of fractures, punctured wounds, profuse bleeding.

2) Apply immediate first aid if need to e.g. support a fractured upper limb with the other hand. Compress bleeding wounds with a handkerchief or your own hand.Call for help if in suspicion of fractured lower limbs.

3) Gather enough courage to pick yourself up despite the excruciating pain sustained.

4) To mimic bravery, pretend you are still 'on top of the world' .Smile and say thank you for help offered.

5) Proclaim " I'm fine. Small matter ".Smile!

6) As much as you can, ride or push your bicycle to the destination for medical attention.

An frivolous survival guide, you may say but for all your wisdom, it may be the simplest beacon of knowlege to an Idiot's Manual to Surviving a Bicycle Crash.

Ironic.

A LOVE SONG BY YEATS

Some things will not fail to be in style and that include love poems by William Butler Yeats.Yeats spent much of his life pining (unrequited) for a woman named Maud Gonne. He wrote a lot of poems about her, proposed to her four times, and got to be very, very good at pining:

A Drinking Song

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.



William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1865. He is remembered as an important cultural leader, a major playwright (he was one of the founders of the famous Abbey Theatre in Dublin), and as one of the very greatest poets—in any language—of the century. W. B. Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1923 and died in 1939 at the age of 73.

I'm absolutely thrilled at my new found gem to thrive on my words treasure : Mollycoddle. India Knight whose brilliant write up on pg. 6 of Sunday People, NST seems to indicate the mollycoddled brood are overprivileged wimps with no social skills who are desperately in need of exposure to the real world if they are to become fully rounded adults.

Here's the checklist :
1. Kids who are chauffeurered everywhere for all occasions .
2. Maids waiting hand on foot to feed, bathe, tie the shoe laces of your 5 year old !
3. Outdoor camps,jungle trekkings,mountain climbings is a sin due to the lack of air-conditioning and the risks of Enchephalitis.

No,I dont have a 'kakak' and I'm all for the great outdoors to prevent kids morphing into Shitakes in the air conditioned comfort of their security alarmed, CCTV protected abode. How can we not be cautious in this Stranger Danger age when even allowing your kids to play in the local park under supervision would spark illusion of lurking paedophiles armies, jumping out and snatching them?

Gone with the wind were the luxury days when childhood wasn't considered to be a kind of risk-laden illness and we could have faith in the intrinsic-goodness of other people.Well, to quote the author, Mollycoddling may be farcical, but at least it's safe.

Where do we draw the line then? How do you raise responsible, independant children without having to brood & attend to their every hardships and trials of lives?

For now, my stand is this, although allowing them to take the bus occasionally(just for fun) with my 63 year old mom would precipitate acute cardiac arrythmias in me but it would broaden their horizons of their views on people, not only with their own kind in the church or school or family and not to be dysfuntional as a person once out of their narrow, native perimeters. I dont want them to hang in the ghetto but : I want them to know how to behave with all sorts of different people,not just ones like themselves- how to practise gratitude anywhere, anytime irregardless of social status, age or colour, how to be kind in gestures and words , to maintain their intergrity at all times and care for the dignity by respecting without showing prejudice.

This ,to me, matters as much as academic achievement.