Thursday, May 31, 2007


Check this out!
This is a lungfish. It lives in Jakarta. It's about the length of my arm. It's formative years was spent in a bathroom in an office. The type of bathroom that has a tiled "kong" to store water where one bathes by scooping water out of it. According to the owner, nobody bathed with it but it had many visitors who used the bowl next to the "kong". Yes, the t bowl. This is a a really weird but wonderful looking fellow. One of the few fish that hasn't changed much from.....a billion years ago.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

An email story you've probably read before.....but good to read again!
When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.


A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Saturday, May 12, 2007

An Honest Mistake....and a Very Generous Act of Kindness
The petrol kiosk fellow, after topping up my engine oil (actually unnecessary but I was silly enough to believe him) did not put the cap back on. So I drove around a day and the engine oil was going all over the place. Everywhere I parked I left a puddle of engine oil. Figured something was amiss but didn't have the foggiest idea what. Quickly brought the car into Kah Motors. Desmond cleaned up my engine, topped up my engine oil (2 small bottles) and.........did not charge me for it. God Bless the kind man....really....this is the most generous act of kindness I've experienced in a while.