Glory of Family (家门的荣光)

I used to hate the tear-inducing, heart-wrenching Korean dramas. Yet, recently, I have learnt to appreciate these Korean dramas more, especially those more subtle and family oriented. The Glory of Family is the show which keeps me hooked and causes me to stay on home on all weekend nights.

Glory of Family relates the tales of the family members of a traditional patriachical Korean family helmed by a wise grandfather. In preserving the Korean traditions and the company that these family has established and managed, they have gone through various conflicts especially with the modern rich family who were more focused on pursuing material gains and was aiming to take over the company.

Both families started to change when they interact more with one another. This was more so when the father of the traditional family marry a modern woman who implemented a series of changes to equalise the status of the men and women in the family, from getting the men to participate in household chores to allowing both men and women to eat together during meals. Being open minded, she was also instrumental in getting the family to accept a younger woman as wife for the eldest grandson.

Some of the storyline etched in my memory and also served as a reminder / suggestion on how I should carry myself and what sort of values I should uphold. We do not live in no man's land. Whatever decisions we make will definitely have an impact on another person. Singapore, being still pretty conventional and family oriented in nature, we sometimes end up making decisions for our family members and loved ones.

In one scene, the grandfather made a decision for his younger sister many years back. Upon noticing the dodgy character of his sister's boyfriend, the grandfather gave a sum of money to get the then young man to leave his sister. Driven by money, this young man broke the promise the younger sister and abandoned her. Being kept in the dark, the younger sister thought her life was ruined by her elder brother who drove the loved one out of her life. She led a desolate life and submerged herself in days of intoxication with alcohol. When her long-time beau appeared again to siphon more money out of her, she naively wanted to pass her wealth to him, thinking it was a form of atonement for the sins of her family. It was through chance that she realised how downright slimey her ex boyfriend was. She broke down in front of her brother and chided him for not showing her the true side of her ex-beau many years ago. If she had known, she would have suffered in pain only for the short-term, instead of ruining her whole life.

This was certainly a wake-up call. Sometimes, we make decisions and take actions on behalf of our loved ones, hoping to protect them from hurt. Yet, by concealing the truth from them, we may actually be hurting them more. Regardless of how they will react with the tragic news, they deserve to know and determine how they want to react. By selfishly thinking we are protecting them, we may end up hurting them more.

For those who love a dash of the Korean romance, you will also not be disappointed. The romance in this drama is not your very in-your-face love story. Some of the interactions between the lovers are very subtle, almost like plain water. From the quirky interaction between the second grandson and his policewoman girlfriend to the sweet but shy friendship of the first grandson and his young wife, their conversations always provide food for thought and bring a smile to your face.

The first grandson, being touted to take over the family someday, has always lived a very regimented and serious life. He hid his desires for anything and often put on his best behaviour at all times. His personality was a stark contrast to his more impertinent and outrageous twin brother. It was only after befriending the young cleaner did he slowly open up. He started to learn how to do things which he always imagined but never tried before.

Of course, just like all dramas, there had to be a pair of star-crossed lovers who would keep you hooked on whether they would eventually have a fairy-tale ending. Danya and Kangshi, both brought with them baggages from the past, decided to act as lovers to help Danya's student and Kangshi's sister. Danya slowly walked out of her past tragic marriage while Kangshi began to lose his callousness towards others.

The philosophy in each conversation also served as a guide to me on my perspectives in life. If you do have time on weekends, please watch this drama and I think you will too benefit immensely from it.

Good Movie vs Bad Movie

I watched both a good movie and a bad movie over the weekend. One was supposed to be a blockbuster but I was nearly bored to tears despite all the CG (computer graphics). One was a local telemovie but had touched me with its heartwarming plots and detailed character development.

Bad movie - 2 Fast 2 Furious
Despite the good looking cast involving Eva Mendes, the plot was unoriginal with a team of 2 undercovers using speeding cars to help the police gather evidence for a drug syndicate. Being not a car person, the special street racing scenes failed to excite me. in fact, they appeared superfluous.

Good movie - Angels
I am not a fan of Nat Ho as I always thought he sounded funny in the Chinese dramas with his ang-moh-speaking-chinese accent. In this telemovie, he was a delinquent on the edge of going back to crime to solve money problem. He met a senile old man who through his finding of a make-belief doctor helped him steered back from illegal trades.

Despite having no expensive CG, no good looking cast (except for maybe Nat Ho), the movie was gripping and touching.

The Alternate

I think I am weird. Recently, When I watch dramas involving 2 guys falling in love with the same girl, I ended up rooting for the second male lead instead.

In My Queen, I was rooting for Yunhao rather than Lucas. I felt that Yunhao was a more suitable partner for Wushuang given their same background and his maturity. Lucas was too rash and too young to really understand what Wushuang was going through sometimes.

In Flowers Over Boys, I was rooting for Zhihou rather than Ju Junbiao. Again I felt for Zhihou with his silent but unwavering love for Jin Sicao rather than the huge actions from Junbiao whose stubborn love could harm Sicao more than what he foresaw.

Strange, but I actually wanted a different endings from what the producers of the show intended.

Confession of a Spinster

Spinster may sound derogatory. Bacholorette is too much of a euphemism and connotes too ideal or a rosy situation. My Queen depicted the life a single woman who has since passed her marriageable age, ie 30-year old and her attempt to fend off social pressure while seeking her ideals.

She was mistakenly preceived as an obnoxious workaholic by her colleagues. Her well-intentions often took an unforeseeable twist which resulted in some dire consequences. To survive and to excel, she had to disregard the preceptions of others so as to get her goals. After being so committed in her career pursuits for several years, she had built an armour of an aloof and even unscrupulous facade.

You may think this is sad. You may shake your head at her behaviour. I certainly can relate to her.

No matter how advanced we are in our society, we still steadfastly hold on to the ideals that all women should get married, have children and devote their lives to the caring of their family. Do not get me wrong, I agree to these ideals strongly. Yet, we never know what life has in store for us. Not everyone can realised this ideals or live out their lives in accordance to these ideals, by the drop of the hat.

Meanwhile, for those of us who have yet to attain this ideal, life still goes on. Without the comfort backing of a husband or the convenient excuse of juggling family and work, we can only strive to excel in work. It is both for survival and finding meaning in life. We need to ensure that we do well in work so that we can support ourselves financially because we do not have someone to share the financial load. We have to commit ourselves to work because success in work is the only yardstick for our meaning in life. We can never turn to having to tend to young babies as reasons for getting a bad appraisals. If we ever get bad appraisal, it is simply because we are lousy.

We have to be aggressive and independent. This is our weapons. No one will tend to us when we need help, so learning to help ourselves is the only choice. Do not suggest friends. Friends who have started their own families become distant faces that you only see during major celebrations or festivities. We have to be aggressive because there is not knights to fight of the dragons. Wake up. The best way to fight off dragons is to scare them away.

Work-life-balance? We have aplenty. Our routine involves going to work, work, and going home. Social calendar? More blanks than marks. Our battle at work to ensure we emerge as victors have left us drained. Moreover, our shrinking social circle only serves to exacerbate the situation.

Do not misunderstand. This is not self-pitying. Neither am I lamenting at my own circumstances. Granted this may sound more depressing than my original intent, but I am still a happy spinsters. Let's face it, I would rather enjoy my mundane life than to learn to live with an unsuitable spouse. Meanwhile, while I hold on to the hope that my soul mate is certainly somewhere out there, I will continue to luxuriate in my freedom.

- Confessions of a fellow Spinster

Lies - Difference between a Man and a Woman

The night before Yunhao was to marry Wushuang, he was left alone as Wushuang was rushing the report to clarify that Lucas was not a murderer. He met a marriage consultant whom Wushuang had gone to previously to find a suitable match. During the conversation, his troubles were perceived by the astute marriage consultant. She shared with him that men lied to protect themselves while women lied to protect the ones they loved. The morale of the story was that Wushuang might have lied about her love to Yunhao in order to protect Yunhao given what he had gone through for the past 6 years.

Is this true? It may again a sweeping statement. Yet, we often cannot deny it being more often right than wrong.

When you go shopping with your husband or boyfriend, how often do they lie so that you will quickly grab and go and they can go back to their soccer? When you go shopping with your girlfriends, how often do they lie so as to make you feel more confident and less self-conscious?

It is certainly food for thought.

Hooked on My Queen (敗犬女王)

(http://www.mysoju.com/)

My Queen is about a 33-year old career woman - Shan Wushuang who was long past her marriageable age. Despite her successful career, she was often teased for being an old spinster. She encountered a man who was eight years her junior. Although they fell in love with each other, it was not without the trials and tribulations typical of any Taiwanese drama, However, their challenges were more real and less dramatic as they had to deal with their eight years' gap as well as the society's stigma for such a relationship.

Jen and SM were strongly recommending me this series the last time we met. I never knew what they were talking about until I started watching. Then I realised I was hooked. I just wanted to know what happened next. It has been ages since I tried to watch a drama so tirelessly. In fact, I was reduced to a couch potato for the whole of the long weekend.

Shan Wushuang was so endearing that I felt like watching again even after I completed the series. I could relate to the show so much probably because I could fully comprehend the dilemma and could empathise with her plight very well, albeit minus the successful career part.

It is not just a show for single women and men. It is a show for everyone.

Beauty of Lotus – a Compliment or an Insult?

Ever since Ah Peng introduced me to Flowers Over Boys, I have been hooked. Watching this drama serial becomes the highlight of the week. Even if I am out on a Saturday evening, I will rush back to catch the latest episode of Flowers Over Boys faithfully.

In the last episode last night, Jin Sicao was complimented by a monk in the temple to have the look of a lotus. A lotus thrives in a hostile environment. It grows out of mud but can purify the water it grows out of and still brings pristine beauty to its environment. It is often a compliment given to ladies who overcomes their hostile environment.

Or so it seems.

Many years ago, someone has made that comment to me. He was my uni ECA (now known as CCA, I believe) junior. We were having tuition for our students. I could not remember the details but we were talking about our alma mater. When he heard where I had graduated from, he was incredulous. He told me I was like a lotus untainted by the mud.

My first response was surprised as I had never expected this and so openly. It kept me happy for the whole session. It was only later that I felt that it was an insult. I felt guilty for being charmed into believing it was compliment and disloyalty towards my alma mater. Drawing an analogy of my alma mater to mud was definitely an insult, not only to the school but all the sisters.

I have always been proud of my school, its culture, the sisterhood, the creative and free environment to develop individual personality and interest. It is in no way hostile. In fact, the friendship forged during those years becomes my strongest social support. The values inculcated were those that I often strived to constantly practise in life. It is one of the best schools to be educated in. It is an honour to be immersed in such a good school. If I ever have daughters, there is no question asked which school I will encourage her to enroll in as long as she can make it through the high cut-off point.

With hindsight, if I were faced with this compliment, I would certainly give the guy a piece of my mind for his insult to my alma mater.

Wastage

Oprah invited two families for a challenge. Both families were known to be wasting alot of money and resources from their daily habits. To cultivate a more environmentally and monetary friendly practice, Oprah issued a challenge to them to cut back on their wasteful attitude for a week.
- They are not allowed to drink from plastic cups and eat from plastic plates and cutlery.
- They are only allowed a one-hour TV break daily.
- They can only use the computer for homework.
- They cannot go shopping except to buy food for one week.
- There is no wastage of food allowed.

For those of you who think that the above are hardly challenging at all, kudos to you. For those of you who find the above a tall order, you should start examining your lifestyle from today.

For the two families, that one week proved to be a long and arduous week. Firstly, many parents had relied on TV and computer as part-time baby-sitters. As a result, many children were addicted to TV and computer. By depriving them of both, they suddenly were at a loss of what to do. If any parent was guilty of this, please stop immediately.

Many children these days were also very picky over food. To ensure that their children still got the necessary nutrition, many parents would prepare different food for different children in the same meal. This led to wastage as sometimes it was hard to prepare only a single portion.

In terms of wasting electricity, both children and adults alike were guilty of charge. Multitasking was literally in our blood. Hence, it was not uncommon for us to be talking to our friends on MSN while watching TV and listening to our iPod. Some might even use the TV as a lullaby to lure you to sleep. These meant wastage of electricity which would further aggravate the destruction of Planet Earth. These also meant wastage of money when electricity tarriffs were increasing especially in such gloomy economic climate.

When such tough measures were imposed on the families, severe side effects were observed. The children became listless when they had no TV or computer. One of the younger boys even suffered from withdrawal syndrome when he threw into tantrum and foul mood when he was denied his Xbox. The teenage girls refused to get out of bed because the heater was not turned up as high as they would like. To them, the whole week was a torture.

However, towards the end of the week, the families also discovered improvements to the quality of life. When the children were no longer hooked to the computer games, the whole families had more interaction time through board games. The families could also save financially from the cut-down in food wastages, shopping and electrical bills. The improvements were gradual and small but encouraging.

The children were also inculcated the value of cutting down on waste for the benefits of their families, the earth and for their progeny through sustainability. The show was a reminder to those who had been working hard to conserve energy to continue to do so. It was a reminder to those who currently were more laxed in their habits to start cutting down waste.

Songs from Chun Hyang

I cannot possibly keep watching the repeats of Chun Hyang, can I? What is the best way to remember this drama? That is to keep listening to the songs that will remind me of the romantic moments. Moreover, most of the songs are in jazz which are soothing for winding down after a long day of work. Do listen to the sound tracks if you have the time.

In Love with "Sassy Girl Chun Hyang"

Well, I have not liked a series so much for a long time. I was simply addicted to "Sassy Girl Chun Hyang" - a Korean drama about two teenagers who were nemesese were made to marry each other due to some misunderstanding. From loggerheads, they soon fell in love with each other. Yet, they could not be together until years later because of love rivals and misfortune.

Simple plot but it was humourous. Their love for each other transcended all times and was showed in the little trivialities that they did for each other. It made one wishful for such true and noble love.

My sister got the DVDs and I kept repeating the series tirelessly. I spent the past weekend repeating the episodes that I liked. I felt a sense of loss when I finished the series the first time.

I simply love Chun Hyang!

The Craze of Little Nyonya.

The Little Nyonya is the talk of the town – from the costumes, the plot to even the actors and actresses. The climax will occur tonight with the broadcasting of the last two episodes. Many viewers hope that Yueniang will end up with Chen Xi.

The timing can never be worse. The business lines are supposed to submit their revised numbers by today. I press my line to submit by 5.30 pm so that I can leave office by 6.30 pm latest. The last 2 episodes will start airing at 7 pm. No time. I must double up my speed to make it back home with my dinner packed in time.

Fortunately, my line's business analyst is prompt for the first time. The number are in by 6pm, slightly later than the 5.30 pm deadline given but still a good improvement over his usual grossly late submission. I can still make it out of the office by 6.30 pm. When I wait at the junction between my office tower and the MRT station, my line's business analyst is also beside me. Hey, he too wants to go back in time to watch Little Nyonya. No wonder he can submit his revised budget so early.

All in the office, many are going home on time despite it being a Monday evening. Many are rushing home to watch the last episode of Little Nyonya. This craze is likely to continue for a while when one of my colleagues mentioned about tailor-making a kerbaya. Hmm... ...

P.S. The finale is a a sad one as Chen Xi and Yue Niang, though find their own happiness, do not end up together.

The Lives of the Hoarders

Who are hoarders?

Hoarders are people who keep storing things and refusing to get rid of them. These things grow to the extend that they start infringing on the people's living space.

Hoarding arises from psychological problems. The hoarder featured in the Oprah Winfrey show started filling her house with things when her children moved out. She kept buying things without clearing them away. As the years went by, the things in her house occupied every corner and stacked up so high that she could no longer find a space on her bed or watch her TV.

A team was put in place to help clear the things in the hoarder's house. Her children were also recruited to provide the necessary support. To help the hoarders, it could not be done without the hoarder's own effort. The hoarder broke down when she found out that the things accumulated in her home had resulted in the growth of bacteria and mould that made her space no longer safe for living. The things cleared were about 75 tonnes. When a garage sale was held, the things could fill a 10,000 sqft warehouse. Some of these things included 3,000 pairs of pants and 3,000 pairs of shoes.

To help the hoarders and to prevent ourselves being one, we should ensure that we take 10 minutes a day to walk around the house. We take 2 bags with us - one to contain things of goodwill and one for trash. As long as we put one thing into each bag, we will end up with 14 things at the end of the week. More importantly, we should stop the inflow. Things can never fill the void left by people.

Life and Death

Life is often viewed as the anathema of death. As mortals, we are fully aware that death will be our eventual outcome. Regardless of how successful, wealthy, or famous we are, we will finally disintegrate into ashes. Despite knowing that we have finite time and energy, we often ignore the enormity of this until death is but a breath away. Many of us live our lives in limbo and while our time pursuing seemingly inconsequential things. When we realise our folly, many may no longer able to make up for lost time.

The Oprah Show invited 2 guests who are valiantly fighting cancer to share their experiences and their outlook of life. Contrary to our impression that it will be a tear-jerking anecdote after another, the sharing was full of positivism.

The first guest was a young lady in her twenties who suffered from stage 4 lung and liver cancer. She would not be able to get rid of her tumours completely but had to learn how to live with them. Her life changed after she was diagnosed, not for the worse but for the better. She went through self-denials, threw tantrums and plunged into despondency initially. She confessed that it was tough being confronted with death at such a young age when there was so much more to do. She too went through a 'why-me' phase. She was demoralised when therapy and treatment became her full-time job. It took her some time to change her perspective and embrace life. Her positivism buoyed her spirits.

On the other hand, a Carnegie Mellon University lecturer was informed that he had terminal pancreatic cancer and only had a few more months to live. He was saddened to leave his wife and his three young children. The video of his last lecture was downloaded thousands of times. He repeated his last lecture on the show. The topic of his last lecture was "To Chase After Your Childhood Dream". The lecture was injected with humour and personal experiences. I might not have done justice indescribing his speech here, but I wuld attempt to highlight some of his salient points.

He started by stressing that his lecture was not about death but about life. Then he shared a few approaches to live.

1) Don't worry about brick walls that you ramp into while chasing your dreams.
The walls are there to tell you how badly you are doing things. In fact, he had kept his rejection letters from his job applications to continously motivate him.

2) Show gratitude.
When he got his doctorate, he treated the students who had worked with him to a vacation. Many praised him for his generosity but he dismissed this and commentd that the students worked a few years so that he could work a life-time on his ideal job.

3) Be humble and keep things in perspective.
When he complained to his mum that PhD tests were difficult, his mum told him that when his dad was his age, his dad was fighting the Germans in World War II. When he finally got his PhD, his mum told friends that her son was a doctor but not one who could make you well.

4) Differentiate between things and people.
His parents allowed him to paint on his walls so as to give him a free rein to express his creativity rather than maintaining a pristine wall. When he got his convertible and was ferrying his nephews and nieces, his sister warned them not to dirty their uncle's new car. At the same time, he poured soda onto his leather seats himself. He was glad he had done it. One week later, his nephew threw up all over the back seat because of flu. Due to his soda pouring episode, his nephew did not feel guilty because of his flu.

When he was asked how cancer has changed his life, he replied nothing. He had already lived life to the fullest and was having fun. His shortened life accelerated everything and only affected the logistics issue. He concluded by saying that his lecture was not meant only for his students but also for his three young children when they grew older. His passion for life and to do more with his finite time shamed all of us. Many members of the audience's eyes were wet after his lecture, not from empathy but more from respect.

These two guests did not despair because of life's adversity but their personal experiences reminded them of what remained to be done. We should learn from them and accelerate our pursuits of our dreams. It was really a wake-up call, albeit an inspirational one, on a Sunday morning.

P.S. The lecturer was Randy Pausch. He passed away in July 2008. His last lecture was published into a book known as "The Last Lecture".

Opening Ceremony of 2008 Beijing Olympics

I am truly impressed.

The Beijing's 'Bird Nest' has drawn opposing opinions for its design and architecture. Its prowress is showcased to the entire world during the Opening Ceremony. China, which used to be perceived as backward and traditional, has wowed viewers worldwide for both ceremony and the venue for the ceremony. From the traditional dance and songs to introduce Chinese grand history to the Taiji performance which is the pride of Chinese martial arts, the performances were stunningly beautiful. The beauty was certainly enhanced by the lightings effect.

The fireworks were generous and resplendent - lighting up the Beijing night skies. Well, this is the first time, where audiences are treated to a generous eye-feast.

The rainbow walk by the representatives and athletes as they marched to the centre of the stadium was truly innovative. With 200 over countries participating in the Games, the marach was rather long. I hang on because I was eager to see Singapore's representatives. Unfortunately, they were one of the last few countries to march into the stadium.

Well-done, Beijing. I am sure all people world-wide are proud of your opening ceremony. I am sure we will be continously surprised by the Olympics.

My Shocking Story on Human Spirit

This is a documentary which portrays people who are different. It has featured the world’s smallest kid and the world’s smallest mum. The world’s smallest kid has a hereditary spinal cord problem which prevents her from growing up. Moreover, the curving of the spinal cord will affect her internal organs’ development. The world’s smallest mum has a bone problem such that her height will be limited.

We always erroneously think that being different, they will feel awkward with people who are different from them and would desire to live with people who are similar to them. We can never be more wrong. They feel nervous when they are about to meet people who are like them. They sometimes avoid meeting people who are like them because they feel that they are normal and may not want to be reminded of their difference. Yet, despite their positivism, some of the inherent differences can still cause some inconvenience to their lives. For eg, the world’s smallest kid cannot swim after her operations for prevent the further collapse of her spinal cord. The world’s smallest mum cannot drive because the mass-market car has not catered for her shorter limbs.

The last thing that they want is sympathy from others. In fact, they are more positive than we think. They are happy with what they have. They too have their mood swings, their wilfulness and sentimental side. They understand their difference and take things in stride. For those of us who are relieved of the challenges that they have to face on a daily basis on abashedly more negative and grumbling than them.

I was moved by their fighting spirit against their haplessness of their conditions. I was motivated by their positivism. Week after week during Monday night, I shared their fears, their resilience and their joys. If you have the time, catch the program on Arts Central and be motivated.

Going Back In Time

The 9pm Channel 8 drama serial was finally reaching its ending. Although it is slightly make-belief with the protagonist traveling back in time to reverse certain decisions and change the ultimate outcome, such a wish can be prevalent.

Come on, in every person’s life, regardless of how happy or optimistic a person is, there will still be instances where we wish we can go back in time. We wish to go back in time to relive certain happy memories or to minimise the regrets from a wrong decision or action. Sometimes, the wish can be immediately or shortly after the occurrence of the event. How often do we wish we can go back one-week in time to while we are still vacationing overseas? How often do we wish to go back to the minute before we utter a stupid comment which hurt our loved ones?

If you are given this ability to go back in time, which point in your time will you want to go back to? This may not be a simple question that can be answered at the blink of an eye. Sometimes there can be more than one moment, especially when we are trying to address past mistakes. Where we are today and what we are today are results of our past experiences. Each past experience or event could be a link in a chain and changing any one of these could lead to a domino effect. The outcome on the new projectile could be so different from where we were previously.

In my past 28 years, there are phases where I have gone through emotional roller coasters. I have been happy, sad, confident and inferior. I will be lying if I say there is no times where I feel like I can do better during those phases. For instance, I thought I should have made more full use of the my time in the university to more constructively use my time, eg pick up driving then, spend more time with my friends, take up more part-time or temporary jobs to gain more experience. On hindsight, I thought I have wasted time when I was in university.

Yet, if you really grant me this wish, will I really want to go back? On second thoughts, I probably will not want to go back. Would I have changed myself or my destiny in the process? I do not know. No single event or experience is isolated. When one event or experience is changed, there is a chain effect. Moreover, I do not live in a no-man’s land. When I attempt to trifle with my own destiny, I do not know who else I will be affecting in the process.

What about you? Do you want to go back to certain point in your life? If yes, what is your purpose? Do you want to change anything?

Romance

How often do we take a superficial view of romance and associate it with roses, candlelight dinner and seaside view? Yet, true romance should stem from the heart rather than be adorned with these materialistic gestures. I saw this scene in the last episode of the Channel U's 7 pm drama which left a last impression of what romance should be.

The father and mother had spent their entire life taking care of their family and solving problems for their children. When they were young, they were poor and had no spare cash to have any elaborate wedding ceremony. It was only when the father reached 60 years old that they decided to hold a wedding cum birthday celebration.

On the night before their wedding ceremony, they sat side-by-side watching the snow. While the mother was complaining about how young and naive she was when she first married the father, they ended up observing the wrinkles on each other's face. The mother could pin-point when each wrinkle appear on the father's face. The time the wrinkle appeared coincided with each problem that they needed to resolve for their family, eg when their adopted daughter's father passed away, when the youngest daughted got pregnant out of wedlock, when their eldest daughted got divorced, etc.

The father commented that wrinkles were badges of life to signify the honours and achievements from life. He jokingly added that the mother should not ask for face-lift anymore to remove these 'badges'. The mother thanked the father for sacrificing for the family and concluded that she has not regretted marrying him. With this, they continued watching the snow in harmonious silence.

This is what I call true romance. Despite there being disagreements over lifestyles and perspectives, or quarrels and complaints, they still knew they could rely on each other to overcome life challenges. They might not constantly whisper sweet nothings to each other. Nor did they expend elaborate efforts to show-off their affection at every possible occasion, Valentine's Day, anniversary, birthdays, etc. Yet, both of them knew that they had not regretted spending a great part of their lives in each other's companions.


P.S. Although romance stems from the heart, the occasional gift and flower and romantic setting will be equally treasured by the ladies. Such gestures are definitely a welcome reminders of the romance. *Wink*

Repeats

I am watching a couple of repeated programs in TV now. Some of which I have watched before while some I have missed when they were first broadcast.

Sweets for My Sweet
Jade Seah and Michelle Chong enlivened the half-an-hour program with their witty and rather upfront questions on the romances of celebrities over different desserts. Even the more reserved and low-keyed celebrities were drawn into some chatty revelation under the close scrutiny of Jade Seah and Michelle Chong.

Each week, a pair of celebrity couple would be invited on the show to introduce some of the dessert stores that they frequent. Amidst the tantalizing desserts, the hosts quizzed the couple about how they first got to know each other and interesting events surrounding their courtship.

In addition to the gourmet desserts that were constantly featured, the celebrity gossip added spice to the saccharine array cakes, pastries, ice-cream to the traditional Kuehs and Tong Shui (Chinese sweet soups, literal translation). For the “Chocoholic” and those with a sweet tooth, the program offered new suggestions on possible areas to ‘heal’ your cravings.

So Simple
I was fascinated by the D-I-Y and go-green concept. It is a different concept from the usual spate of programs which revolve around fashion and food. No doubt, food and fashion may be featured in parts of the show, but the theme was more of D-I-Y or living philosophies of the various guests who proclaimed organic food and doing things ‘healthy’ for the mind, soul, environment and body.

We do not need the most expensive gifts to show our sincerity. Making gifts using our own hands to capture the happiest memories may be the best gifts. We do not need to devour food with the most expensive ingredients, but simple vegetables and home-cooked food could be the best for our bodies.

Hanazakarino Kimitachihe (花样少年少女)
I have talked much about this serial when it was first broadcast. Hence, I would not continue my blabber here. I just wanted to reiterate once more. The show was equally good even for repeats. Few serials could compete with it.

2 words: just watch.


For the first 2 programs, there were subsequently a second series but the repeats were for the first series.

Sudden Fascination with Documentaries

Documentaries were certainly not my cup of tea. I have often associated documentaries with boring, serious, complex programs which are not a very interesting way of spending my time. Yet, the documentaries that are featured on CNA and Arts Central and are contrary to my preconception.

Some of the documentaries to-date combine life-style and information so that information is conveyed in a more interesting manner and on topics which are less abstract to us. On Arts Central, 9pm, Mosaic Monday features some of the more extraordinary people in everyday life. On this Monday, Mosaic Monday features “Size Does Matter”. If you think this is about weight issue, you will be surprised. “Size Does Matter” looks into the life of a dwarf who lives on an island and her meeting with other dwarfs. On Friday, it will feature the struggle of a man who has to be on his own with broken legs after his plane crashed in the wild of South Africa. On other days, the programs are more life-style oriented with peeks into coffee, fashion and travels.

CNA too brings about different documentaries – the latest being about professional mourners at funerals. Not only do we get to hear about the life-stories of these professionals, we also understand more about the job itself as well as the funeral proceedings in other countries. Death is no longer a taboo for these people but a form of livelihood. Prior to these, there were a series of food science programs to generate greater awareness of the boons and banes of the different food and eating habits.

The good thing about catching these programs is that they are information conveyed in a more interactive manner than reading. It combines entertainment and learning.

The Truth About Food

Ladies, ladies, hear ye! How often we fret about the food we eat and their effect on the waist line. We follow blindly and faithfully some of the fad diets or myths of food. How effective are these in helping us maintain our BMI is anyone's guess.

For those with a more inquisitive mind (or perhaps cynic attitude) and would like to understand more thoroughly the effect of the fad diets or eating habits, the recent series of documentaries on Channel NewsAsia offer answers to some of our questions. It aims to tell us the truth about food, including how to be slim. "The Truth About Food" is a documentary that airs every Sunday evening on CNA. Each week, the documentary features different topics relating to food.

Colourful food is not only pleasing to sight and whets your appetite; colourful food is also more beneficial to your body. For example, red wine taken in moderation, strengthens your heart. Spinach helps to improve eye-sight. Tomatoes improves our skin's resistance towards sun burnt.
How does food play a part in maintaining our weight or in slimming down? Is how big or small we are determined by our metabolism? Is a high protein diet effective? Well, answers are revealed in the different experiments conducted.

1) Our sizes are not determined by our metabolic rate but our food intake.

2) A person who consumes a high protein diet has a more satiating meal than a person who consumes a high carbohydrate or high fat meal. Hence, this reduces the food intake of the person who consumes a high-protein meal.

3) A person who consumes a high-calcium meal passes out more fats than one who does not because calcium will bind the fat together and prevents it from being absorbed by the body.

4) A detox diet does not result in more toxins being passed out.

5) When water and solid food are taken separately compared to if they were made into soup, the latter can sustain us from hunger for a longer period of time. This is because the soup can expand our gastric for a longer period of time than water and solid food. Hence, this sends signal to our brains that we are full.

6) We tend to overeat by being served a larger portion of the food. In addition, we tend to overeat if we do not see what we have eaten.

Knowing the truth and denouncing the myth surrounding food, we can better manage our diet and work towards greater health.