masterwordsmith-unplugged

According to BBC HERE:

A massive earthquake has hit the northeast of Japan triggering a tsunami that has caused extensive damage.

Japan's TV showed cars, ships and even buildings being swept away the Fukushima prefecture, after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake.

Officials said a wave as high as 6m (20ft) could strike the coast.

The quake struck about 250 miles (400km) from Tokyo at a depth of 20 miles, shaking building in the capital for several minutes.

The tremor at 1446 local time (0546 GMT) was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks. CLICK HERE for the rest of the entry.

You can also read more about it at The New York Times HERE.



When I posted the NYT link in my FB, my former student Pat and my cousin's son promptly responded. Pat worried about our mutual friend Asako while Hanson worried about his Japanese counterpart with whom he was talking to on the phone when the earthquake hit Japan. He cannot reach her now. :-( I just pray that there will not be many casualties. I hope my other student Tiffany is safe in Tokyo. I just called my aunt in US to see if my cousin and hubby are back in US or in Japan. Thankfully, they just got back to San Francisco this morning.

Life is really precious.

Often times, I wish I had been born 15 years earlier and be an old grandmother by now without having to worry about my children's education and career. Life was MUCH easier in the past (albeit without the Internet).

In the past, we did not have to worry when taking a flight. We did not have to worry about pesticides and chemicals in our vegetables or if our rice was made of plastic. Kids played real games and knew each other not because of a click of the mouse but because they grew up together as playmates, classmates, neighbours or because of their parents' connection. Genetically modified food was not as issue. Cycling along the road posed little danger and even walking in the park was safe for women and children alike.

Today, we face all kinds of threats - real and imagined. The structure of inter-personal relationships have been reduced to FB, Twitter, text messages or forwarded stuff. Students in the past could think unlike many today who do not even know the meaning or process of critical thinking.

In terms of nation-building efforts, I believe unity, harmony was something that was quite natural in the past. I grew up in my grandmother's house along Malacca Street. A Malay family lived on our left and an Indian family lived opposite us. We would go over to each other's homes to play and to just 'lepak' in the evening. Sometimes, we would climb up the jambu tree in the garden to see if the others had come out to play. Of course, yours truly had MUCH difficulty climbing that tree and by the time I reached the top, my cousins had already left the house and were running out of the house to play with the others.

Ten years ago, my older boy had friends in the neighbourhood who were also his classmates. They would come over to my home and have sleepover parties or WWF sessions on the PlayStation. Weekends would be football or cycling escapades. Of course, my older boy had so many football, futsal and cycling accidents that I am thankful he is alive today, albeit with spine injuries etc. It is heartwarming to know that he still keeps in touch with his kindergarten mates and primary schoolmates who were with him right till Form 5.

My younger boy is not so lucky. He had one close friend in primary school who would stay over on weekends. Only one other boy in our neighbourhood went to the same school as by now, most would send their children to Chinese medium schools, except for yours truly who did not because I feared I might be worrying away about his academic development since I am illiterate in Mandarin (but I can converse reasonably well).

When I look at all these factors, I wonder if mankind has really progressed. I doubt it.

Yet, we cannot forget that we are but human and that life is precious. I have not heard from Beng since he last wrote to me on February 24th. Another friend just phoned me and told me he is having breathing difficulties as he is overweight. Yet another friend has been recently diagnosed with a heart condition.

Of late, I have been been exercising regularly at home. Initially, I did not do much cardio but was diligent in my floor exercises. The results were pretty slow. Then I called my former classmate who is an Associate Professor in Harvard University, specializing in Women's Health issues. I asked her for her frank opinion and the painful truth is that at my age, it is very difficult to blast the bulge, especially tummy fats! Most sincerely, she encouraged me to step up my cardio exercises without which, those sit-ups/crunches and tummy tuck exercises will not show results but instead, may even push the belly fat outwards!

From then, on alternate mornings, I work out fr 15 minutes on the orbitrek machine, 10 minutes on the bicycle and then cool down on the treadmill. Then I do my resistance training and floor exercises. It is not as easy as it used to be because age has really caught up with me :-(. Regardless, I will plod on because I know life is precious and that the only way I can stay mentally, physically and emotionally healthy is via exercise.

I cannot help but think how lucky we are in Malaysia. It is such a gloriously wonderful country as we are not in earthquake zones and not in the line of typhoons or hurricanes. Our citizens can live in harmony sans provocation from various sources and enjoy the resources of this country if the powers that be continue to govern in a stable, fair and wise manner.

Let's be thankful for what we have and pray that those who can make a difference will really do their job and think of the bigger picture of things, remember us the rakyat who put them there and treasure life!

Take care and have a good evening. next post will be up before dinner.