masterwordsmith-unplugged

Sometimes in life, we meet all kinds of people - kind, generous, patient, sincere, forgiving ones and then there are the nasty revengeful characters, narcissistic weirdos, manipulative types who want to control others when they cannot even handle their own lives, not forgetting those with unholy intentions. This applies across the board regardless of age, sex, color or creed. Despite the latter group, what keeps me going is the fact that my greatest treasures are good friends and the lessons learnt in every friendship, some of which can be bitter-sweet, wrought with so much pain, conflict and yet beautiful, unforgettable moments.

I guess to have good friends, one must be a good friend himself or herself. Honestly, I have been blessed indeed by a few people in my life this year and I want to dedicate this post to them.

Before I met her, I had already made a mental picture of this wonderful woman named Angela – grit, power, wisdom, confidence, steadfastness and strength personified and when I met her face to face, I realized that she is exactly what I thought her to be.

It was in mid-November 2008 and I had just got out of my car when I received her phone call asking me where I was. In fact, she was just nearby. When she saw me, like an eagle protecting her eaglets, she swooped down and helped us with the many boxes that we were carrying, stacking them one on top of the other so that she could carry more. I knew in my heart that this is a giant – a woman with a big HEART – to love and to care.

From then, we just clicked like that from the first instance and chatted non-stop all the way to our destination. Her energetic spirit and warmth of character left an unforgettable mark in my soul and our friendship just developed along the way. I believe my affection for her soared the next day after an unfortunate incident and despite our less than 12-hour association, she was there at my home, letting me wet her shoulders. Since then, Angela has been a pillar of strength to me - the mother and sister I never had, the best girlfriend I never had before, everything and everyone rolled into one.

In my deepest moments of grief and sadness, Angela proved to be a real friend. I cannot imagine life without her and I thank God for skype for I chat with her at least once a day. Friendship is not measured by the days or years spent together but by the depth of feelings we feel for another – the capacity to love, to care, to have compassion and believe me, Angela has shown me far beyond words and actions that she is a friend in times of need, in moments of gladness and sadness.

Thanks Angela for everything you have done for me – your advice, your wisdom, your encouragement, your jokes and quips that made me laugh even though there were tears running down my face…Thanks!!! I LOVE YOU LOTS and I MISS YOU!!!


Dr.Murali and I became friends after he started reading my blog. We both enjoyed each other's writing and he was taken aback that I am such a 'cool' mum after reading my post about my decision to let my son study music. This may shock you but I believe that guys make great friends!!! They are less likely to get jealous, gripe, gossip etc. and can be most supportive and caring. I have always longed to have a male buddy - one with whom I can hang out, be crazy, have absolutely no sexual attraction whatsoever - just plain simple good old friendship. Believe me - Dr. Murali is the best thing that has happened to me and my family. He gels with my husband and younger boy and we have had quite a few outings together - the last one was dinner at a Bulgarian restaurant last Saturday when we laughed till our sides and jaws ached.

It is wonderful to know Mumu because I can just be myself and I know he feels the same way. You know - the no airs, this is who I am - take it or leave it kind of ambiance....I can laugh, go crazy, be serious, rant,cry, be upset, be happy, complain, joke...anything and everything where moods are concerned and Mumu always goes with the flow so easily. He does not tell me what to do EXCEPT to cut down on my chocolate consumption and gives wonderful medical advice to my whole family.

When I am down, Mumu knows and shows much concern, patience, love and sensitivity. The best time was when I introduced him to Angela at a forum (when Angela was up in Penang) and the three of us just hit off. Now tell me, isn't it marvellous when two of my best friends became good friends too?

Currently, Angela and I have a shared mission where Murali is concerned and both of us are working very hard to achieve our objective :-).

By now, blog readers would be well aware that I have a wicked sense of humor as can be seen by my postings. Mumu and I share great fun joking together and the laughter is most therapeutic for both of us. We write to each other very often - used to be a few times daily till he started hitting the gym instead of the keyboard and we can just tease each other so much as can be seen in the following pantun (poem)....

This is what I wrote to him:


This was Mumu's response to my pantun above.


Another person who has blessed my life this year is Stephen. Not only is he a legal eagle but he has the might of the pen, the wit of a genius and the cheekiness of a teenager. Stephen imparts wisdom, stability and knowledge into my soul. I regard him as my mentor, 'sifu', adviser and moral compass because he is all I ever wanted to be where his professional standing and writing skills are concerned. His mind is so sharp, memory practically faultless and is almost like a walking wikipedia. All I have to do is to ask one thing and Stephen needs no laptop to google for the answer because the RAM in his brain is always in tip-top condition. Thanks Stephen for the many inspiring tete-a-tetes which truly steered me in the right direction.

And you want to know what's the best part? Angela, Mumu and Stephen know each other, thanks to the forum we attended.

Of course I can go on and on about many people who have blessed me in my life. Just because your name is not mentioned here does not mean you are not loved....I chose to write about these three persons because they mean a lot to me and they have really been a blessing to me this year.

In closing, I just want to say thanks to Angela, Mumu, Stephen and each one of my friends, relatives and blog readers/blogger friends who have been so dear to me. I honestly cannot imagine life without you all. Life is about living, loving and growing....not about fitting into other people's templates, not about changing others to be what we want them to be. (Remember the song "Just the way you are" by Billy Joel?) To be a friend, we have to accept each other - lock, stock and barrel and not judge but love, knowing that in this brief moment on earth, if we try hard enough, we can be a real friend to others and in that process, find real friends.

Thanks everyone for being my friend! Have a great day! The following poem is dedicated to all my loved ones, friends, relatives and to those in blogosphere.