Beautiful Moments

I am grateful for being able to still breathe the air.

I looked back to the past with a heart swelling with gratitude and I look forward to the coming days in 2017 with great anticipation of what the future holds. Anything is possible.

Looking back, the pain is all worth it, without the down, there will be no up.
Without darkness, we won't appreciate the light.

Without children, and the state of childlessness, there will not be a fight to be parents, and the struggle make parenthood all the more precious when our baby finally came.. a boy and then a girl.

Life has been good. Even then, good won't be good unless we knew what is bad before that.

So whatever it is, it is all in the mind, it is all good, it is all bad, it is all beyond our control, what we can control is our attitude and reaction to all the 'labelled' happenings.

Take a deep breath and give thanks for this life here and now.
Live in the moment. Life is made up of little moments anyway. May we all have beautiful moments and cherish each and every one of these moments no matter how short.

Namaste.

BANGLASIA BY Namewee: where to donate

There are barely 7 more days left to the fundraising for the Internet Free Release of the movie BANGLASIA by the talented Namewee provided USD 500,000 is collected through Kickstarter.

The link is here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1416624528/banglasia-movie-by-namewee/description

So far less than half of the funds needed have been pledged by backers. Do take a look at the plight of this movie which could not survive the censorship of the country where it was referring to and decide if USD5 is too much for you to support this project.

Unless a miracle donor buys up all the bigger spots in the next one week... Chances are this project may be buried forever.... Imagine it as a kitten that is shivering in the rain and may die of cold if no one help soon.. Won't you help to relieve the suffering just a little by providing shelter? In the name of art and entertainment and regardless of how we may hate or love Namewee he has made an impact to Malaysia's colourful landscape to be even more vibrant. ONE THING IS FOR SURE, Namewee is surely truly passionate about whatever he does and he has lost a lot of weight in his latest video. Regardless of what happens please don't bury the movie Namewee. Don't ever stop being yourself. 

The link again: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1416624528/banglasia-movie-by-namewee/description

Year End Post

It is year end again.
Lots have happened this year. 2015 had been an eventful year with lots of tears, grief, disappointment and frustration but we have learned to rise from all that and manage a smile, laugh about it and holds a hope that 2016 will be an even better year.

Lots have been accomplished and lots have given way for other priorities.

May 2016 be kinder to all of us and the world. Peace

UPDATE ON ABBY

JULY 4, 2015 (continuation from earlier blog post http://suesanctuary.blogspot.com/2015/06/mid-year-crisis.html)

Today (July 3) is a glorious day ... after 10 nights in ICU (and the earlier 2 nights in a private hospital) our sister Abby is finally transferred out from ICU to a normal ward.

As she had fasciotomy performed to save her limb (left arm), her entire arm is of no use at the moment.. the doctor has not ascertained the exact extent of the dead muscles but we are told she still has enough muscles left to regain most use of her left arm, if not 100%... the road ahead will be a slow and painful one for her as she struggle with relearning how to move and use her left arm. She can barely clench her fingers now and she cannot unflex her grasp without the help of her right hand.

She still needs to be hospitalised as the doctor needed to perform further operations on her and they are leaving the wound open, mostly unstitched as that is usually what fasciotomy is and it shall be a few more weeks for her at the hospital and then some more weeks of medical leave until she is fit enough to go back to work.. driving will be a problem.. but she shall have us by her side at every juncture of the journey.

We are thankful for all prayers and well wishes from all. We truly are grateful and glad we still have Abby with us and most importantly she is going to live to celebrate her 30th birthday in August.

Her internal organs are out of danger (hence the transfer out from ICU) and her blood levels are back to normal, well, almost normal.

And yes.. her initial diagnosis was dengue fever which she has contracted the second time in 6 years and neither of the remedies worked... not papaya leaf juice.. young papaya fruit sap.. crabs soup and flesh... not frog with bitter gourd.. not this not that.. we have literally tried everything up till her platlets dropped to below critical to dangerously low below 15.

What helped were constant blood transfusion alternating with platelet transfusions and lots of prayer and positive thoughts sent her way. She was drifting in and out of consciousness as her organs were under attack, especially her liver, which caused her blood to not be like us normal people hence causing compartment syndrome.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/2058838-overview

If you see the link above.. it must be performed within 6 hours of it happening yet Abby only had it done after 2 days as her blood works were not good enough for surgery or else she will risk excessive bleeding to death. Hence the death of her muscles. She is very lucky in the sense that they didn't have to sacrifice her arm in order to save her life, i.e. amputation after allowing the arm to die. She saw the scar this morning when they were doing dressing and it was depressing  but she quickly forced herself to accept the scar and the still open wound as part of her now. We are so proud of how brave she is.

Doctors said her condition was very critical where mortality rate is high especially with an almost definite mortality for the very young or very old... and we were right to fear her death. She fought and won and for that we are truly thankful.

If she is to get dengue the third time it will be even more dangerous. She is renting with her husband at a landed property, single storey terrace house now. My parents are persuading them to move to higher floors, i.e. condominiums when she is discharged but we shall cross the bridge when we come there.

Her husband also contracted dengue at the same time and recovered quickly within a week with lots of 100Plus and rest at home. No need for the remedies, etc. We were quite taken aback by some well wishes who vehemently preached certain remedies and implied that our mother had not tried hard enough to save her. God knows how much we tried and to what extent our dear mother has tried for her youngest daughter to the extent of begging for the ingredients from the gardens of strangers.

At our most worrying and trying times, it got too much for our parents to even answer phone calls or reply to messages on whatsapp or even meet and talk with another person... each time they relate to an individual about our sister's condition, they will be sad and tears tend to fall.. imagine you have 100 enquiries and you need to cry 100 times... it was really emotionally taxing.. if your queries went unanswered during that period, we are truly sorry but for our sanity and to keep things together... we needed to shut out the world for awhile.

With Abby's life out of danger now, our family can now sleep soundly for the first time in nearly 2 weeks.

AGAIN, THANK YOU for your support and we believe every prayer counts in her recovery. With every worst scenario that was presented to us, many u-turns were provided that somehow our sister managed to scrap through with the slightest margin.. and we were met with much kindness, many sympathetic nurses and doctors, much support from every one, most who have never known Abby personally and many who donated blood to replenish the hospital's blood bank for the general good, and the many prayers and well wishes from everyone whom we may not be able to name one by one... from the bottom of our hearts.. thank you. We saw the true human spirit and have not lost hope with humanity. We are truly blessed. Thank you for the help and prayers rendered from people from multiracial and multireligious backgrounds or denominations. We saw religious tolerance at its best when it is a matter of life and death.

THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR HUMANITY.

THANK YOU.

p/s- Aedes mosquito breeding grounds must be eliminated... Dengue is very real and it really can kill.

I would not wish this upon anyone or for any family to go through the grief or heartache of this illness.. And there is still no medicine for this. Forget the traditional remedies.. seek treatment from the government hospital immediately and get your blood tests done. My sister was initially rejected a blood test from a 24 hour clinic near our are in Setapak, we are still contemplating if we should pursue further action with that clinic with two very sarcastic locum doctors (visited twice in two consecutive evenings). Go straight to a hospital if you display the symptoms of dengue which may include high or low grade fever with extreme pain on your bones and joints and a terrible splitting headache and lethargy.

May all beings be well and happy.

Sabbe Satta Bhavantu Sukhitatha.

MID YEAR CRISIS

Our family is currently (June 2015) in the midst of a crisis.. our youngest sister is critically ill and has been admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and her condition has worsened since her first admission only days before.

There is no medicines for her condition and the only thing the medical team can do is to take her blood for testing to monitor the level of her blood and as of now her liver is at high risk for liver failure (worst case scenario) or other complications to her internal organs.. you don't get admitted into ICU if it is not critical so that is the gravity of the situation.

If you are reading this... I humbly plea for a short prayer for my sister Abby so that she may be granted with the strength to be able to fight and get well soon.

She has just gotten married 6 months ago and has only started out in life. And the prospect of losing my baby sister is a daunting one.

Watching my parents emotionally collapse when her condition deteriorated yesterday, I steeled myself up inside. I had to be strong. I will be no use if I falter now.

The first day she was transferred from a private hospital into the ambulance to the emergency of the government hospital where they are better equipped and better trained to deal with severe critical cases like hers, we did not think she would be so... we were very optimistic that she will get well soon.

Only 2 months ago when my parents were out of town and her husband was outstation for work training, she called me for help as she was terribly unwell and I handled her hospitalisation and visited her daily, lunch and dinner and finally her husband returned and took over and she got over it. This time round... instead of showing signs of recovery... she has consistently deteriorated.. with each 6 hourly blood test we are beside ourselves.. nervously waiting for the latest results.

TRADITIONAL REMEDIES
Friends have shown concerned and asked for updates. For that we are thankful.
Some are helpful and offered advices and remedies which our dear mother religiously gathered the ingredients to the extent of begging from the gardens of strangers.. our mother, bless her heart, got them all and each meal.. breakfast.. lunch.. dinner...she brings over to my sister with the boiled remedies with hope she can take a few sips and keep them down and not vomit them all out... my sister can hardly keep her liquid or food down and for her not to vomit anything ingested is a small victory each time.

ALONE TIME
Since my sister is in good hands in ICU and her husband is at her side, I dragged myself to the gym at which we are both enrolled in. The picture is her hairband which I carried with me when she needed us to keep her stuff for her as there are no spaces to store your belongings at the ICU. I wore her band as if it was like the old times when we work out at the gym. The concerned ladies coaches asked about Abby.. and all of them sent their best regards to her and wish her speedy recovery... one initiated the process of holding her membership for a month so she would not be charged. Bless their heart.

HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP?
I always find it easier to write out my thoughts to sort them out and put things in perspective.

Friends have been asking how am I holding up. My husband has been asking if I am okay.

Honestly I feel numb... it all felt so surreal.
A routine visit to my sister's ward at a normal ward turned out to be critical and the ambulance rush.. the siren... the emergency department.. staying at emergency department for some 7 hours waited another 2 hours before I was truly sure that her condition is well taken care of by the nurses at ICU... sleeping at 3am and waking up hours later to play with my son cos I felt guilty for not kissing him goodnight... and more hospital visits.. and finally today where I have yet to visit my sister.

It is sort of like 2012 when a routine visit to the hospital with my late mother in law saw her being detained in emergency department for hours while a bed is being cleared for her... it is like a similar roller coaster ride only at a different time and with different fellow riders.

Tears have not come yet. Fears that crop up are being brushed aside and suppressed each time they surface. I guess my defence mechanism is kicking in full gear.. denial stage.. I cannot cry, I gotta be strong, I need to harden up myself. I find myself doing it all over again... with my mother in law...and now with my sister.

Let there be healing for my sister... and also all who may be critically ill now
I only have one sister and I really hope she can fight and get through this....
Who cares about the details when you are lying down in ICU and critically ill with the numbers deteriorating with each test...
may what should be up is up and what should be down is down in all her results.

WE SHALL UPDATE AS AND WHEN WE SEE FIT AS IT IS AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER FOR US AS A FAMILY. WE APPRECIATE YOUR CONCERN BUT PRAYERS AND POSITIVE VIBES SENT TO OUR SISTER ABBY is more apt in situation like this than questions about the details. The numbers are changing as we are speaking so the general aim now is for her to get well. I believe in the power of prayer and collective positive mental energy channeled to the sick.

There is no meds and it is up to her to fight it.

Year End Post

It is the last month of 2014.

As usual, a nostalgic post.

Or maybe a reflective one.

Or maybe just another rambling post as usual.

Now, I have got many 'usuals' that is rather confusing isn't it?

ONE THING which hasn't been 'usual' lately is posting on this blog.

I would like to say I have been busy. But then again, like exercise, busy isn't a good excuse and not blogging isn't really excusable if I wanna call myself a blogger isn't it?

2015 is dawning.

Made a resolution to start a book on my late Mother-In-Law (MIL) when she passed in 2013, yes I started on that. It is still a work in progress... the emotions are still raw when the pages are flying... when I typed. Tears and chuckles as I relived those moments and putting them into words.

Made a resolution in 2013 when I had my son to quit putting so much emphasis on my career and focus more on my family, yes, I did... for awhile, and now I am guilty of putting more emphasis on my career now that he is nearly 2.

Made a resolution early 2014 to work out more... that is a failure. However, I have been walking a lot and usually walk minimum 5000-10,000 steps a day depending on the day.

In my mid-30s now, and life has been kind so far. Perhaps I am more mellow and less demanding, all in the mind, I guess.

Lost many good souls this year including my godfather... and a dear friend, and accompanied the last journey of a friend's dad... and the impending death of a dear family friend... and news of death of little ones as well, one known to a personal friend of mine.. life is just so so short... too brief, too fleeting. This year has seen me trying to make my mark, trying to make a difference knowing just how limited the years we have on Earth, some called me bold because I made some rash but necessary decisions, but so far no regrets. I don't mull over my own decisions.

But I am still learning how to let go of some past wrongs done to me, I am only human, it may take years to forgive and more years to forget.. my heart is still hurting and the memories still fresh, so pardon my being weak in the flesh in my human form as I still bear some serious grudges. May take some time for me to be Enlightened to truly let go of these human traits.

At the end of the day, no amount of money is ever going to be enough without one precious thing = Contentment. No life is going to be complete without one thing = Love.  No one is ever going to be truly happy without joy of giving and being truly happy for others without feeling bitter or jealous. Saintly words? Saints were humans like you and me too. Enough of wars and conflict and also ridiculous politics campaigning for the trivial issues while neglecting the real issues in this world. We need more WORLD PEACE and ditch the feeling of superiority over another living being.
 
So another year has gone. We shall see how next year will be. As long as we are still breathing, life is good, the best has yet to come. If I don't post till next year, have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year 2015.

p/s - Heck I just realised I have a tag/label called year end registered.. so this is really a yearly blog post come every year end. Enjoy the rest of 2014 everyone. *Peace*

AFTER AWHILE

After awhile,
Time heals,
Hearts may soften,
But some harden,
Minds are fixed,
Memories distorted,
All seen through rosy lenses,
Or perhaps still buried in bitterness,
Seeing things through a tinted blurry window pane.

After awhile,
Why peace still eludes the world?
Senseless destruction
of humankind and nature
Warped thinking
Bent on twisted mindset
Still...


After awhile,
Does it matter?
Yes, then do something about it.
No, then say nothing about it.
Enough negativity in the world...

After awhile,
Some lose
Some win
Some gain
Some let go
Others indifferent
Some care till the end.

After awhile,
Children grow,
People age,
Some pass on,
Life goes on.

~ Been awhile... Sue Sept 11, 2014

Life and how things don't really turn out the way you wish/hope/planned, only better.

I have always dreamed of having a little girl. Heck, I even have two goddaughters, starting from 2011 when I was in my 20s, I love my little girls to bits, they are now in their early teen years and just so fate would have it, this year, 2014 my youngest goddaughter Zahraa is born in June, sharing this precious little pink bundle of sweetness with her parents is truly a blessing. So now I have 3 goddaughters.

So I guess life thinks I have got enough little girls to add colour to my life. And so we got a little boy of our own, our precious little boy born earlier last year, 2013... a complete surprise but a wonderful addition to our life.

When we were told we were having a boy, I will be lying if I say I was not a little bit disappointed. I have always wanted a little girl before I became a mother. SORRY SON, if you are reading this when you could read a few years down the line, please continue reading, come on. I love you son.

Gone were my dreams to wear my little girl in pretty nice dresses and with laces and frills and tie up her hair in cute ponytails or braid them, and wear matching outfit with my girl when we go out and feel so proud I have a mini me. Okay, now that I put it this way, it seems like my dream of having a little girl is purely for self-gratification to doll her up and to stroke my ego/pride, hahaha.

However, now that I don't have a little girl, I have found that having a little boy is a totally different wonderful experience that I have never even given a thought in most of my life up till 2013.

Sure, there is one extra stuff to take care of when you change the diaper, and the diaper rash can or cannot be worse than a little girl's, babies stuff aside... now that our little boy is a toddler and hitting his milestones... it is the little stuff that makes me smile and chuckle everyday.

Our son has this thing for wheels since he could sit up steadily by 6 months and would point at moving blades like fans and would use his finger pointer to move any wheels, be it luggage wheels stroller wheels, his miniature car/toy wheels, any wheel, he will be fascinated.

The moment he could master some vocals, he started making boom boom, ggggnggg ggnnggg sound from his throat. And now at 16 and a half months, he finally learns the proper raspberry pout with his lips and makes the brrrrrrrrrrr, engine revving sounds and it doesn't stop there, he will take anything and pretend it is steering wheel and turn, and when there is nothing for him to get hold off, he will clasp his fingers together and started turning his hands like they are wheels and 'pretend drive'. 16 freaking months old... and he cannot converse yet with his limited vocabulary but gggggnggg ggggng has been in his vocab since like he could respond to us, lol. He loves that word more than mama or papa!

And the brooooooom broooom doesn't stop there. We take baths together, I will be beside him while he plays with his cup and duckies and he will be making the revving sounds, entertaining himself while the shower sprinkles down. He splashes the water everywhere in bath, so it figures to take bath together because I will be wet anyway. Baths aside, and yes hubby and I both agree there is nothing to be ashamed of by the natural state of our birthsuits, our little boy is growing up fine and he has his preferences and gets all excited when his fav cartoon Rory the racing car is on... wheeels aside, he loves Olive the Ostritch and Fifi and the Flowertops as well, so I guess he is an all-rounder, or at least I hope he will be!

It is a delight to dress him up too!
After much searching, and boys outfit unfortunately are not as extensive as a girl's wardrobe... so it really was a much more gratifying success when I finally found nice outfits for my boy.

And yes, we can dress up in the same colour scheme and pose for pix. Our boy is quite the camera pleaser after 'the training' in front of the camera that he went through - crazy mama (me) snapped thousands of photos in his first months on Earth and yes it has slowed down to maybe a hundred pix or so a month now haha.

It is a delight to watch what new stuff he unleashes each day... he teaches us both to be better parents if we both listen and respond to his needs instead of vice versa. Patience is a virtue, yes, but patience can really save your life and sanity, we cannot rush things with our little ones, all in due time, and they will flourish when it is time, like a flower is supposed to be in bloom.

I guess we are in a comfortable relaxed environment now, just the three of us. I cannot imagine how life will be without our son, the laughter and cackles, how he grins and behaves playfully when he knows he did something funny and we are trying not to laugh. Even when we do get the rare night off for date night, both hubby and I would be talking about him and what he will say or do at the little things we stumble upon and when we finally picked him up, we are missing him more than ever... and he missing us. He knows we are his parents and he is our little boy. Nothing can change that.

A little girl suddenly appearing now as an addition into our family of three? hmm.... I won't say yes right away but I also won't say no. COME WHAT MAY... what will be, will be.

Even if we don't get a baby sister for our son, we are already complete as a family with his birth. Not to say another baby will not be as important or anything, a sibling will be a welcome addition in the family and love knows no bounds, so it will be a nice 'extension' of love and everything nice in life. And I don't support the notion of males being the more 'superior' gender and all, so I am gonna make sure our son never treats a female with anything but respect.

We love you so much baby boy, hugs and kisses. Thank you for coming into our lives and bringing us so much joys in ways we never imagined life would give us.

Love, Mama and Papa
June 30, 2014.

NOTE: *We have our baby son after nearly 6 years of marriage*

Missing Someone Who Will Never Come Back

A breath away is not far to where you are....

I miss my late mother-in-law.

I really miss her now even when I am typing this alone in the living room while hubby is in the bedroom with our son... I miss her a lot.

I haven't really cried after she passed away. I actually have no regrets because I did my best for her and said all that I wanted to say... but I really miss her. I miss her it hurts so much everytime our boy cries and I wonder if it was his tummy hurting or his ear hurting, I wanted to call mommy and ask and I realised she is no longer here. When I saw how our life feels so empty because we are lacking that every two or three days phone call to mommy and say Hello to her in a sing-song manner.

I miss her belly laugh and how cheerful she seems whenever we talk, knowing very well we brought her happiness in her final years... I have no regrets I decided to hold on and started my mission to learn to love her, ... I have since truly loved another mother who isn't my own mother from the bottom of my heart, I deeply miss her.. the screen is blur now due to my tears... gosh, I miss mommy so much....

She will never see our son grow up. She will never see him take his first step, she will never hear him call her po po. If we have more children after our firstborn, she will never know... or maybe she knows from up there in Heaven because that is where she should be. With a heart that big, always selfless, she must be in Heaven now. Maybe she is polishing the Heaven's gates because she always said she will fall asleep if she just sit still doing nothing.

My birthday is coming soon... mommy celebrated my birthday three times with me last year... it was as if she knew she could not spend time with me anymore after last year, 2012.... she made longetivity noodles and cooked two eggs she dyed red for good luck and prosperity for me during my Chinese Lunar Birthday, then we had a great Karaoke dinner in a private room where she kissed me and gamely posed again for my sister to catch the kiss on replay... then on my actual birthday early October we had dinner with Pei in Kuching where we sought treatment for her tumours... three times, not once did we talk about death or dying... it wasn't until November when I was on unpaid leave, all alone with mommy that she asked me if she was really dying.

I still remembered what I told her... I answered yes to that but when she asked me how much longer she has, I replied that not even the doctor could predict because if the doctor said a few months but she could live a few years then the doctor is lying, and if the doctor said a few years but then she passed away in a few months, then the doctor is lying as well. I kept telling her to be positive and everything will be okay in the end. From May 2012 of final stage cancer... she only passed away on March 19, 2013, 10 months of surviving final stage cancer. She is one strong fighter, our mommy. Just in time for our son to celebrate his 30th day full moon day... mommy's passing away anniversary will always be our son's age minus 30 days.

Mommy, wherever you are, your spirit lives on in us... I shall tell my son about you and what a great grandmother you are, an ordinary woman with great achievements in human values.

I miss you, and I still love you, my only mother-in-law.

xoxo
Sue

Pix of mommy making her famous yong to fu for one last time before she was too weak to stand up in 2012 *miss her and her cooking and everything about her*

30 DAYS... THE BEGINNING AND THE END

20 Things a Woman Should Tell Her Son

Read this and found it useful, hence I am sharing here on my blog:

TWENTY THINGS A MOTHER SHOULD TELL HER SON

1. Play a sport.
It will teach you how to win honorably,
lose gracefully, respect authority,
work with others, manage your time
and stay out of trouble.
And maybe even throw or catch.

2. You will set the tone
for the sexual relationship,
so don't take something away from her
that you can't give back.

3. Use careful aim when you pee.
Somebody's got to clean that up, you know.

4. Save money when you're young
because you're going to need it someday.

5. Allow me to introduce you
to the dishwasher, oven,
washing machine, iron,
vacuum, mop and broom.
Now please go use them.

6. Pray and be a spiritual leader.

7. Don't ever be a bully
and don't ever start a fight,
but if some idiot clocks you,
please defend yourself.

8. Your knowledge and education is something
that nobody can take away from you.

9. Treat women kindly.
Forever is a long time to live alone
and it's even longer to live with somebody
who hates your guts.

10. Take pride in your appearance.

11. Be strong and tender at the same time.

12. A woman can do everything that you can do.
This includes her having a successful career
and you changing diapers at 3 A.M.
Mutual respect is the key to a good relationship.

13. "Yes ma'am" and "yes sir"
still go a long way.

14. The reason that they're called "private parts"
is because they're "private".
Please do not scratch them in public.

15. Peer pressure is a scary thing.
Be a good leader and others will follow.

16. Bringing her flowers for no reason
is always a good idea.

17. It is better to be kind
than to be right.

18. A sense of humor
goes a long way
in the healing process.

19. Please choose your spouse wisely.
My daughter-in-law will be the gatekeeper for me
spending time with you and my grandchildren.

20. Remember to call your mother
because I might be missing you.

Don't forget to share

(Credit: +Nino Rostomashvili)

You may be interested in: http://suesanctuary.blogspot.com/2013/03/30-days.html

or

A Hand Reaching Out to Touch Her Son

SOMETHING BIG IS HAPPENING

Nov 10, 2012

It is already a third of the month of November and you are still with us. We are truly glad.

Child's Play - Wildflowers and Playing House

Seeing these wildflowers, a sense of déjà vu came over me.

Some 30 years ago, or maybe less, the little Sue used to pick wild flowers and play 'House' or in Malay, 'masak-masak'. Once in awhile, there will be a wedding and sometimes due to a lack of boys playing the game, a girl shall be the groom. The bride always wear the wild flowers in her hair, tucked behind her ears, every little girl wanted to be the bride so we can look pretty with the wild flowers in our hair.

Fast forward 30 years later, half of us have married and quarter of us are mothers. Another half are still single. The game has taken place on a bigger setting called "Life". How far we have come from those bygone days of innocence and child's play.

Life has been quite good to me with many lessons along the way. I look back with no regrets. Hope it is the same for everyone.

Post script: I think I just showed the whole world my palm. It's okay, as long as no random fortune teller/palm reader gives me a similar prediction he gave Arnold the California Governor that he isn't gonna live beyond age 49 and see how old he is now. Random, I know. :)