So yeah...

These few days, a lot has been going on my mind. Some of them are regretful, some has shone some light into my life. So this post would possibly be a start and stop kind of post. So prepare for a fragmented story.

I learnt that retirement is not for a person to sit back and relax. That is way far too meaningless. I have a feeling that the age of retirement is meant for the senior citizens to take a rest from work, and also share their knowledge. Far too many senior citizens stay at home rotting away when they can be the guiding light for so many youngsters out there. There is a vicious cycle out there. Youngsters think that senior citizens are out of date, obsolete, and thus, throw them into the nether regions of their focus. They go on making their mistakes, bumping into walls that has already been dealt with generations ago. How much would they have learned and avoided if they had spent some time listening to the oldies. And the senior citizens, being out-paced by the youngsters, feel that they are useless, and they live a useless existence. Far be it from me that I will creep into retirement and exist as a who's use-by date has passed. Being retired means that you have time on your hands to improve your surroundings. Being retired means that you have the mandate of looking into things that the youngsters are doing, and teach them some valuable experience-gained knowledge!

My life has been lived with more purpose as I see what lies ahead of me. Some quarters are sad that I have made up my mind on my next step in life. I was in a situation whereby I could go anywhere, and I could do anything. I just needed to find some purpose in what I was going to do. But now, I see the light. Some who are closest to me feel that it's a waste that I won't be around, some feel that life would be more difficult, but all I can say is that I have found purpose. I am the person who cannot live without purpose. If I had no purpose in doing the thing that I was doing, then I would rather not do it at all. I could have found a job here and worked for the money, but that would be meaningless. I could've continued in what I was doing, but I'd be redundant in time. I could've gone some place else, but that too would be meaningless. I think I have now found my purpose. That is to change this nation from its roots.

My boss told me about an observation from a Bishop's wife that he met a while ago. She said that in today's education system, kids are treated equally, which we feel that there is nothing wrong. But subliminally, we find that there is something that is not so right. Girls are taught together with boys in every aspect. This has actually made girls more like boys and boys more like girls. Imagine the shock of their lives after they leave secondary school and find out that as girls, they have to deal with childbirth and motherhood! And boys, they are not taught how to be real men, how to be the decision maker, how to be the protector and lover of his wife! I am starting to get fed-up with boys who cannot even deal with the slightest problem in the house like changing a light bulb!

That's all...

Not so Hakka this time...

It's been some time since my mind have churned up any form of mental diahorrea (however that's spelt) now.

But I've been thinking and I've been some sort of enlightened; that a kernel must first die to itself and fall to the ground in order for God to cause it to grow. Imagine if you have a faith a big as a mustard seed, and all you've got to do is to dare to die to yourself, and you will see that God will indeed make you grow into a marvelous tree where birds of the air make their nests.

I've been challenged to do a few things now before the end of my time. It's been beckoning now. But let's not talk about it.

One of the things is to build a totally new team from a handful of people who are committed, but lacked a bit of direction.

The other is to learn how to delegate. I understand that not everyone can do everyone else's job. But some really can take it and even take it up a notch from where his predecessor left off. Some will take the ship, and steer it in a totally different direction, causing some of the ship's men to abandon ship, or even worse, mutiny. Whereas some totally cannot take the ship's steering at all. Such is the weird gifting of God, that not everyone is made the same, and there's no such thing as a perfect substitute.

I am struggling within my heart in this because maybe I refuse to believe that there is no perfect substitute. I believe that God can change lives. I believe in the God of miracles; that He will not let His church suffer even though some seeds must fall to the ground and die and some seeds will be carried off to other places by the birds who eat of the tree's fruit.

Then, you might ask, what about the tree? I say that the tree will still be there until God uproots it. It will continue to grow at the rate that God has willed for it to grow, and it will continue to do God's will for as long as God wants it to.

Sovereignty of God vs Free Will? There's no such thing as free will. God is the creator of all things; do you think He wouldn't know how the mafia operates? hehehe... just a joke... no lightning please... God truly does not force you to do things out of your will. You can always choose to run away from God's will. But beware of the consequences. Take Jonah for example, he ran when God called him to preach to some barbarians. He feared for his life. But God then showed him that God is much more greater than death or life. And by that episode, he saw the miracles of God, and after knowing that God will see him through, not by his own power, he at last willingly goes and does God's will. God did not force him like a slave driver, but He shows Jonah His power to assure him that He will take care of him as long as he does His will. Kapish?

So, unto you I shall then ask, what did I just say?

That the time will come when all things will fall to the ground and die. And a new sprout will shoot forth from the death, thus creating new life. And I am the seed, you are the sprout.

For all things must come to an end,
Not that we can't be friends,
Although we might not be together,
It doesn't mean we can't be forever.

Let's be a bit spiritual today...

Gam Chia Shong Di...

Ngo mun choi ten shong did fu, nga diu man sim gam chia Ngi che been nga diu choi toi song did seet vut. Kiu Ngi ya che been nga diu hoi seem gai loi hiong siu Ngia gai enn den. Gan yong kee kiu hae foong Nga seen zhu Ya Su Gee Duk gai miang yee kiu. A-men.

Muahahahaha.... Have fun...

For the Benefitment of the Gloriousness of Hakkaness Nations

Hi, and welcome to the latest installment of the wonderful and glorious world of Hakka-ness.

Today we will, as promised, look into the more flowery words in the Hakka Language, which we love so much. As Victor has suggested 'Da Ngong Siong', I shall go back to the roots of a few words so that you may understand Hakka-ness better.

Let the lesson begin;

Ngong ~ to depict a person of low mental capacity, whether at the particular moment or permenantly. For example; 'Tai Ngong' would mean you are no less than a big fool. Other forms of usage includes a certain L word inserted in between Tai and Ngong.

Ngiok ~ literally means weak. The word carries no other subliminal meaning, just weak.

Ngiet ~ that is to refer to something being temperately hot.

Ngiak ~ to depict boredom. For example; Ngia jak party NGIAK dau see gai, tee bai mm loi loh.

So to cap off this lesson we will try to put all the words into 1 string of words;

Ai tiau tai ngong jeen hae mm hiau gai woh. Ngiok dau see gan yoong ngee gai dung see du mm hiau. Ngiak see ngai loh ngia hang ga ngiet.

I'm back...

After about a week back in my hometown of Sandakan, I come back feeling even more confused and even more tired. All I did back there was to eat, eat and eat. The pros and cons of having two mums now is that you need to be political and be diplomatic with both. Tell me, what would you do when both of them wants you at their house for dinner? The filial son would inadvertently eat both dinners!

So now, since I'm back and as I have experienced a whole new refreshing experience in my hometown, I would now proceed to talk about a few things that I have learnt from my relatives whilst I was back there. And talking about relatives, my wife's grandma passed away on the day we were due to go back... Saddening in a sense that we didn't get to meet her before she moved on, but relieved that she has indeed moved on because she's been struggling with sickness for some time now...

Back to Hakka-ness;

Today's lesson would have to be 'Ngia Tiu!'

Ngia Tiu ~ An expression to depict impossibility; literally translated as 'Your Head Lah!'

So when someone tells you that Celkom is giving out 30% discounts, your prescribed reaction to that before you lose your bet would be 'Ngia tiu! Seet Long Mi ah ngee, ngai yoong hoi gan giu ten wa du mau kon goh an yong gai dung see.'

Until then, it's getting late...

And oh, I've gotten myself a new phone... Got it for cheap... I'm a happy guy so far...

5th Installment of the Benefitment of the gloriousness of the Hakka-ness...

Dear All,

Jin hae mm hau yi suu, I said that the previous post was the 3rd installment, but it was in fact the 4th... Anyhow, at your level, you do not need to know all that stuff anyway, so...

This lesson shall be about the term 'Ngai Sat' as suggested by IsaacGrass.

It is a totally meaningless expression whereby you can use it as much as you like, as frequent as you like, for as many times in your sentence as you like.

Take for example, Ka Seng was walking through a street where he meets with a rabbid dog (bot zi giu) and he is at his own liberty to utter the words 'Ngai Sat' followed by anything else he likes to describe the incident. "Ngai Sat, ngia tiau ngai sat kai bot zi giu zhin hae bin gii hak xxx dau, ngai sat kee hau gong! Ngai Sat!

If you would really want to know how it's spelt, Ngai would be the term used to refer to ones self, and Sat would (i think) mean kill. So Ngai Sat would (I feel) be translated as 'I kill' or the more English equivalent, 'Blimey!'

As you can see, Ngai Sat can be tonnes more vulgar than the English term of Blimey!

So there you have it, one more point for the vulgarity of Hakka and Hakka-ness.

Glorious be to the Benefit of Hakka-ness!

From now until when I say so, I shall be taking a break from teaching you guys the wide and vulgar world of Hakka-ness. So the female terms shall have to wait a while...

Since I'm in a good mood...

Bot Ngia Tai Lang, Zhoong Ngia Fan Su!

Now this is a term that is used to express a lot of things. Very difficult to translate, very difficult to explain. But since I'm in a good mood...

Normally, when you meet with utter frustration, like when you asked someone to do something very simple for you, and the fella fails, you are accorded the license to utter this phrase. It is not something pleasant to say, nor is it something that you should be proud of. Especially if you're on the receiving end of it.

Bot Ngia Tai Lang, literally translated means to go get a shivering cold. As to why this phrase came about, I'd have to dig up my great-grandparents from the grave and ask them. Even that too might not result in having the truth. But at your level of proficiency in this 3rd installment, you do not need to know that much. What can I say, we're Hakka, we're vulgar, and we're proud of it... well, sometimes not so proud, but still...

Zhoong Ngia Fan Su is easier to translate. Literally, it means to go plant yourself a sweet potato. Some have even suggested that the words 'Fan Su' is an extrapolated implication of your father.

So, as it goes, Bot Ngia Tai Lang, Zhoong Ngia Fan Su would come together and mean this; You are so useless that you might as well go bury your father.

Packs a punch innit?

It calls you stupid at the beginning, and curses death upon your father at the end.

So, yeah.. I hope you've learnt something more about Hakka-ness and you would have benefited by this entry. But if I hear you quote me on this, I'm leaving the conversation.

Maybe next week, I'll talk about the female forms of the Hakka language, and all its flowery flowing phrases that can be accompanied by it.

Seet Long Mi

Ngiu diu ban kiu jin hae seet long mi ai lah!

Who told you guys that the expression is Seet Loh Mi?

Seet Long Mi is an expression that you have just wasted whatever rice that has been put into your stomach. In other words, you have failed to live up to your expectations as a human being.

And how true is that that you guys have commented on my previous post asking me to give you the low down on Seet LOH Mi; Loh mi is glutinous rice and there's nothing wrong with eating glutinous rice if all you want is a hard piece of crap bulging out of your anus. The correct term of expression is Seet LONG Mi, which means you have wasted (Long Fui) the rice that have been used to feed you until today.

This expression is normally used by parent to scold the child when the child did something wrong, or something exceptionally stupid. Like what I am doing here;

Ngia dui ban kiu jin hae SEET LONG MI gai loh, gan yeong gai dung si du hiau gong cho!