Born to run

Went out and blew S$209 on a vibram shoe. I had stopped running for more than two years after I felt I pulled my knee after a particularly exhaustive schedule of running, badminton and more badminton. Just before I stopped, I was running really well and enjoying my weekly exercise with my colleagues.

What changed for me today was reading the book Born to Run, and I identified with the author's notion that ad human beings we were designed to run, which was what our prehistoric ancestors had to do to hunt animals. It was the natural thing to do. What was unnatural and causing all our injuries was actually the heavily cushioned running shoes that modern technology gives us. In fact according to the book, the better the shoe, the more dangerous it is.

Down with viral infection

How the new year has begun does not bode well for me. I have been away almost two days a week; last week because of cough and sorethroat and this week for diarrhoea and viral infection.

Used the opportunity to reflect on how easy one's health can change, and really the meditation masters when they described how they persevered in their meditation when they are seriously sick, I must pay respect to them. I tried to hold on to "buddho" for a while but most of the the I just wanted to sleep or to use my iPad to distract the mind.

So much for 2 weeks of ordination! What Ajahn Keng said is so true, one must really 拼 especially when one is healthy and know the way to samadhi.

Don't miss the chance to be filial.

There are two people you can never repay. What two? Your father and your mother. Even if you were to carry them on your back and live a hundred years, supporting them, anointing them with medicines, bathing and massaging their limbs and wiping up their excrement after them, even this would not repay them. Even if you were to give them absolute rule over the whole world, this would not repay them. And why? Because parents do much for their children - they bring them up, nourish them, they introduce them to the world.

But whoever encourages his unbelieving parents to believe, his immoral parents to be virtuous, his stingy parents to be generous, his foolish parents to be wise, such a one by so doing does repay, does more than repay his parents.

Anguttara Nikaya I.61

Drive up Malaysia for durian

I drove up Malaysia with parents and S last Saturday. One objective was to enjoy durians in the town of Tangkak (near Segamat) but my personal objective was to stretch the legs of my 15 year old W124.
Dad surveying the old-town scene of Kluang, about 2 hours drive from Singapore.

Waiting for food to be served at the 'Lau Pa Sat' coffee shop in Kluang.

Row of W124s parked opposite the durian stall in Tangkak.

The Tangkak durian stall.

Satisfied looks after stuffing ourselves with high quality durians.

Here, we reached the Gunung Ledang Waterfall and Resort, just 6km away from the durian stall.
One of the many pools that locals are enjoying a dip in. We needed around 25 mins to reach this spot but one can actually reach the summit if he wants.

Updates on Brown and White

Brown has been awakened earlier these days now that her daddy is motivated to bring her for early morning walks. She seems to like it though and wakes up without prompting once daddy is up and about. She has also taken to poo-ing during her walks probably because there are less people around and we know how fussy she is that no one should see her doing her business.

Yesterday, blood was observed in White's urine and she was rushed to the vet. Suspecting a urinal tract infection, antibiotics was prescribed. She was still in good spirits though and enjoyed vigorous tummy rubs. Tail was down most of the time after enduring a long 2km dogathon at East Coast Park.

Smiling enough?

I was taking the lift down for lunch today. One person was telling his friend. Do you know that the greatest difference between a human and a animal is that a human have the ability to smile.....and most people are not using this ability enough.

Hmm...quite interesting, I thought, and I do agree that I see many sullen faces around.

Then, as I stepped out of the lift, I realised his statement is not entirely true.

My dog can smile as well!

White dog in brown dog's house

Brown monitoring White.
Group photo.

White enjoying her belly scratched.

Middle child left out?

A couple of weeks ago during lunch, my colleagues (those with children) were debating whether it will be good to have 2 or 3 kids. It is the usual argument, one will be too lonely(for the kid), two seems just nice and three, the middle one will feel left out.

So I was there minding my own chicken (we were eating chicken rice!) because I am seriously not interested in all these talk on children.

Suddenly, one of them asked me, hey, since you were one of three kids, and the middle one, did you ever felt left out. Choking on my piece of chicken, and straining my brain to instantly unlock decades-old memories of childhood, I really cannot think of any incident. So I said no.

But this question was left lingering and the answer actually is yes. There were certain occasions I felt left out.

In my innocent childhood years, I always have this feeling that my mum doted more on my elder brother and my father liked my younger brother more.

But thankfully, my character is quite easy going and I found other avenues to channel my emotions for example in books and sports. I also had very good friends in school.

But on reflection, I have also been a difficult child. I grew extremely argumentative in secondary school and loathed housework so my mum was always scolding me. My dad has always been quiet but he could be very fierce at times. I always resented this and would antagonize him by being sarcastic. He always threatened to slap me but he never did.

Being a Buddhist, I would like to think that I have done something good in the 'past' and despite all my emotional challenges in my early years, I think I grew up rather normal and balanced! haha

I don't know whether it is karma, but as life would have it, my parents visit my place every week nowadays and this week when they are away travelling, I miss their company. It also seemed weird that they were not around for our weekly taiji lessons.

Locked Out

I was locked out of my own house yesterday night for one hour.

Admittedly, I was quite upset because it was almost 10pm, and I was tired and sleepy and I have not had my beer! S had to bear the brunt of my unhappiness.

Whilst waiting for the house keys to be fetched, I spent an irritable hour lying on a slab of concrete 'wall' at the void deck, inviting suspicious stares from nighbours walking to the lift lobby. Thankfully for army training, I can balance myself very well while lying down (face up) on the wall only 30cm wide.

The Guiness foreign extra did its work wonderfully after I got into my house later though. I did not have too much time to enjoy its taste as my bedtime beckoned.

Conclusion? I think I am a little stressed from work.

Enlistment

Cousin JL will be enlisting in a few months time and he is not a whee bit concerned, like I was in my time. Why? Because he has been medically downgraded.

I still remember my enlistment day, the images of climbing up the three-tonner, of glancing at my parents sitted and waving at me, picking up the ali baba bag, waiting for the hair-cut, waiting at the range for shooting practice, of many punishments (especially one change parade I was responsible for for reporting back camp late), a female sergeant screaming obscenities at us, the same female sergeant making me 'knock-it-down' when I offered to give her a hand going down a steep slope, of having an emergency pee session while firing blanks in the midst of tall lalang somewhere in Lim Chun Kang, of being estatically happy when I chanced upon a secondary school friend who was also involved in training in Lim Chu Kang .... the list goes on.

In a way, I am sorry that JL will not be having the FULL NS experience, though I doubt very much he will mind.