Times have changed to the worst.

The other day, I overheard someone said that she had to work three jobs to live.  While I do not know what this woman's personal circumstances were, holding three jobs at the same time can be a very demanding proposition which is harmful to our health.  This also reminded me of my days attending a State-funded university.

Like many of my school mates, during the summer months of those learning years, by necessities I had also taken on extra work to help defray the tuition and living expenses for the coming semester.  And I did find the experiences of juggling a couple of jobs at the same time stressful and exhausting.  But when comparing with what this person's taxing employment arrangement, my multi-job day for a couple of months was a breeze.

First, in those good old days, finding a summer job was not difficult at all.  Then, tuition fees at State colleges were almost free.  At that time costs of living in general were also more manageable than it is now.  We might have attended a few home-coming football games between semesters.    Most of my fellow-students and myself had neither the time nor pocket money for any other extra curriculum activities on campus.  We neither smoked nor drank.  None of us could afford an apartment by him or herself.  We all had to work extra hours during the summer months.  And yet all of us had managed to graduate as planned without a cent of debts attached to our well-deserved diploma.

Now, let us hope this poor woman will manage to get out her job doldrums soon.  -  Ayee

Food for Thought - Greek Yogurt

A couple of days ago, I got a glimpse of Dr. Oz's show on television.  The subject of that portion of the show was about yogurts.  And its many benefits to our health.   I realized the products promoted on the show are for commercial purposes.    But the simple and straight forward knowledge Dr. Oz dispensed on the show is quite informative. Although I seldom watched Dr. Oz's show in the past,  this is not the first time I wrote about Dr. Oz on my blog.  The previous Dr. Oz show I watched  was about herbal tea. It seems Dr. Oz  has a special interest in relating nutritious foods to good health.  Since I am  a firm believer in proper diet, I shall start to pay more close attention to Dr.Oz's  learned advices from now on. - Ayee

It's time for a siesta!

When the temperature reaches 80-plus Fahrenheit, I can think of nothing but looking for a place to shelter myself from the scorching sun.  During these dog days of summer, air-conditioners and electric fans were yanked up to their maximum capacity in both private and public places.  But relief in air-conditioned rooms is both temporary and limited.  It appears to me the summer days are getting hotter each year.  And we all know how uncomfortable it can be when stepping out of an air-conditioned car on a sweltering day.  Besides the need of immense amounts of energy to power them, the air-cooling appliances we use today also emit extra heat into the  atmosphere.

So instead of using or inventing more "smart" apparatuses to cool us down, we should follow what some Spanish speaking people have done for centuries.  I read in Wikipedia that some people in countries with Spanish influence still observe this old tradition that was practiced many centuries ago under the rules of  the Spanish Empire.  Each day they close their shops at noon for a couple of hours.  So eveyrone can take a breather or two from the hottest hours of the day.

What a aplendid ideal!

Ayee

PS This piece was meant to publish in July after that unbearable heat wave that melt some hard candies that I kept in a glass jar.

"Comforting Thoughts for the Soul" by Stanley P. Ho

These comforting words were from an Internet posting. The original message was written in both English and Chinese. Instead of copying the English version directly from the original to my blog, I decide to see if I can somewhat capture the essences of these profound messages in some of my own words.

1. Like the “steering wheel” of a car, prayer directs us onto the right path.

2. Future is more important than the past. The author said this is why a car’s windshield is much   larger than its rear-view mirror.

3. Friendship is like a book. It will take us years to build but split seconds to destroy.

4. The ups and downs in life do not last forever. So make sure enjoy the good ones and stop worrying the bad ones.

5. Cherish our old friends. They are the gold that holds the diamonds we found in our new friends

6. When we hit the rock bottom, do not despair. It is just one of the bumps that God leaves there along the way.

7 When God answers our prayers, we have trust in God. When God does not answer our prayer, he has faith in us. This explains why bad things happened to good people.

8. St. Anthony told a blind person, the worst thing in life is to lose one’s vision.

9. God listens to our prayers to protect and bless others. God listens to the prayers of others to keep us happy and well.

10. Worrying is a futile and ruinous exercise. It can only exacerbate the pains.


- Ayee

A Dangerous World

By now, we have all heard that last Saturday a freight-train from Maine crashed into a borderingtown in Quebec, Canada. The subsequent explosion of the volatile cargo this American-owned iron horse carried had devastated the lives of the kin folks there forever. The death toll from this disastrous mishap can reach 60 in this picturesque town of 6,000

Then on that same fateful day, there was another crash of a different sort. In a perfect summer afternoon, an airplane carrying more than 300 passengers landed at the San Francisco Airport on her bellies. The outcome of this fatal incident in San Francisco could be worse. But the painful challenge the families of the two deceased teenagers suffered will last forever.

At the moment no one can pin down what had caused these live and death events to occur. It does look to me that our world has become a more hazardous place. Now these days people could get killed while dreaming away in their own home!   Imagining, two disasters in one day! - Ayee

Exotic Pets

Last Sunday during a walk at the park, I saw something that will take me days to forget.

Along the tree-lined path, I saw a young fellow coming toward me on the opposite side of the road. When he was close by, I saw him holding a black and white mouse in the tiny cage he had in his hands. Instantly, I thought it’s so cool that on a sweltering day someone was taking his furry pet for a walk in the park. And said to him: “Wow, you have a rat!” Surprisingly, my friendly comment prompted an equally friendly reply. But I was at the loss in the first few seconds as to what this young person was trying to tell me when he said to me that “this one in the front feeds the one in the back.” Not until we passed by each others on the paved track, I saw something like dried tree branches sticking out from a backpack this young man had on. But this brownish colored deadwood as thick as a man’s wrist was moving. It has a head and was slithering and weaving out from the deep pocket of the backpack behind his owner’s head!

This time I was blessed being ignorant. I did not get panic at what I did not ‘see’. However, this unusual sighting at the park had made me wonder once again why someone would keep an exotic animal like a four-foot python for a pet! And that poor rat! - Ayee

Food for Thought - Licorice of Allsorts

Let me put it this way, because of my love for sweets, desserts and candies have always been my favorite foods. I am one of those unfathomable people who would trade an appetizing entree for a piece of butter-creamed chocolate cake. This is why, particularly in my younger days, I was always on the lookout for something new in the cookies and candy aisles at grocery stores. I did see kids devoured down candy ropes made with licorice extracts. Candy made with licorice is also a very popular treat among the adults. One day, in the mid block of the side walk near where I live, I saw two grownups sharing a bag of licorice allsorts by the handfuls.

But I had never acquired the taste of the licorice candy until recently.

Last year, after the bout of stomach ulcers and many dosages of potent antibiotics, I started to chew slices of licorice root now and then to soothe my scratchy throat and tender tummy. But after a while the mild woody taste of this popular ingredient of cough drops lost its appeals to my taste buds. Now I resort to the sweeter version of the chewy goodies that are made of licorice, sugar, starch, coconuts, chocolates in all sorts of colors. Enjoy! - Ayee