THE NEXT ACT

What is a coin artist?” asked the Chinese who is trying to learn English for the first time. “I never heard of it”, I replied somewhat puzzled by the question. “What I’ve heard of is a con artist?” “Yeah. That’s the one.” “It is someone who plays tricks on you so that he gets money or anything he wants from you.” “O, Those people on the street.” “Yeah. Yeah” “Street performers” “Noih! They are like robbers who play tricks in order to lure you.” Come to think of it!! Hmmm. They’re not just on the streets. People use people all the time in order to get what they want. They are being extra nice to you in order to win their trust and then “Bammm!” they got something that you’ve lost. There were number of occasions that people have stolen credits from me especially in the past when I was just a bit naive. Posters that I painted, songs that I composed, dances that I choreographed, plays that I have written which I wouldn’t careless if I wouldn’t be recognised because I w...

I first saw the video of Casey fighting back against a bully in school when someone posted it on FB. My first impression would likely that I am more on clinging on the Hero Material of Casey. And then there was the interview with Casey which added up to the image of the boy hero. I have been hesitating on making comments on what I perceived so far till I saw the interview of the bully and his family which is but fair to them who has been demonized a bit from the whole commercialized stories. The network was so descent enough to lay all the cards on the table and let people decide what to pick. The footage shows 12-year-old Richard approaching 16-year-old Casey and then punching him in the face and then 3 or 4 times in the stomach. On the next swing, Casey snapped, grabbed and slammed Richard to the ground like a rag doll. In the interview Casey told that he has been bullied over the past three years. He had once been duct-taped across the eyes and taped to a pole and what have yo...

Bragging is the one that will steal away your greatness. No matter how great you are in a certain field if you rub it in to someone who does not exceed or amount to your capability, your credit begins to be unrecognizable. No matter how excellent you are, if you laugh at others who don’t meet your standard, you won’t receive the praises that are due to you. You may have the prettiest garden in the whole neighbourhood but if you always make foul comments on anybody else’s garden, do not be puzzled if your garden is not well visited or admired. You may be well experienced in building houses or painting a house, but if you mock someone who has no knowledge whatsoever in this field, don’t be puzzled when you don’t receive any recognition on the job well done. You may be expert in computer, but if you ridicule someone who does not even know how to burn a CD, do not wonder why you are still branded as an ordinary geek. You may be the best singer in town but you always ridicule how terr...

I learned when being true will get me to a much more simple way of dealing with things. Being who I am at the moment is just sufficient for me to make it for the day. Being who I am not will just add to a more complex situation. Wanting to be somebody can be a dream and can be achieved by humbly accepting that I am not there yet but I am making the most of the current me to make the step toward it. It’s good to dream to be somebody someday. If it’s gonna mean going through stages, get on with those stages one at a time. No shortcut or else I’ll end up going back to the drawing board once I fall short and fail. Don’t ever claim you are that somebody now when you are still not. That’s not living the dream. That’s faking. You may never know that an expert in the field is laughing at you doing stuff that you are not expert about in which you are claiming you are. Truth will get in you into trouble when you are living with a lie. When you wanna be fraud of something, look at wha...

Before I became an engineer I worked as a layout artist/illustrator of a children’s’ magazine. I was illustrating famous children stories of well respected children story writers. My job then has gone beyond being an artist. I got to spend time visiting the houses of the writers to pick up the manuscripts and on the side having cookies and tea with them. We also discussed on how I should illustrate the stories. Even though I was not well compensated then, I enjoyed the work so much that I did not consider it as work. Why I enjoyed it? I guess that was my childhood passion. I used to collect comics in grade school years which inspired me to make my own comics. I remember letting my cousins to read my comics for a fee of 10 centavos. They needed to keep reading everyday because I made sure that every comic book that I made is to be continued. I explored more on charcoals and painting when I was in High School. I remember attending courses on weekends. Father Ben, the school c...

BEING UNDERESTIMATED The advantage of being underestimated is that there is an assurance that I will have my last laugh when the truth says I am more than what they envisaged or most the time I am more than what is mischievously circulated. There was one time when I have finished a job; someone commented that the end result was too good to be true. Excuse me? SHOW OFF I don’t need to prove anything and yet sometimes I pity those people who do not know how to give the benefit of the doubt. Morrie said in his book: “Mitch, if you're trying to show off for people at the top, forget it. They will look down at you anyhow. And if you're trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone.” FABRICATED TRUTH Someone says something not true to another. A fabricated truth is still not true. Whenever there is a chance that the truth will emerge, you fabricate a...

Everyone needs each other. That’s the essence of community. Not so much on Give-and-take kinda relationship. Interdependency is most likely how I describe it. You can be effective in giving when you have so much to give. Some people are sometimes hesitant to give in the belief there is not much to give or they are not that equipped to give. Some people have devoted too much in equipping themselves and never have given. They are still constructing the right moment. The moment is now. There is a reason for whoever you are now. Much has been given and much has to be given. You see, giving is an important part of equipping. Church service or any service to God should be considered a calling and it requires total conviction. Some people forget in midst of dealing with the service whom is it for. They should be reminded that they are doing this not for him, not for her and not for them. That is just a lower calling. In this case, every time you begin to get irritated with him ...

Have I been true to the title of the blog Random Thought? Although my recent blogs came out from my random thoughts, they do not look like they are random but rather well coordinated and most of the time deeper thoughts. Believe me, they came out random in the first draft and some of which have been picked out and organised to put in the blog in a coordinated way with good title. I believe in random thoughts because in writing in unguarded and unsupervised moment is where I know myself more. Again, have I been true? First draft, yes. Second and third draft, not quite. Maybe in order to stay living the title, the final draft should be a collection of variety of random thoughts in which I should not bother too much in how I connect them. Here goes. SUBCONSCIOUS The subconscious plays an important role in our lives even when we don’t know it. it is proven. Why are my fingers coordinated with what I think? What is the matter? Type. Type. Type. I know almost the keys in the keyb...

When someone would ask what the all-time favourite song of mine is, the first thing that comes to my mind is the song originally sung by Steve Green which was taken from the passage Philippians 1:6. “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to fulfil it.” What is my favourite passage? And my answer is obviously that passage. Why? Every time I get to read the passage or hear that song especially in the times that I’ve been tested, my eyes get to dazzle from a wee bit of moisture. It speaks of God of being so faithful that he will never live you till the end. Once you know through your gifts that God has started something for you to fulfil and you obediently do it, He assures you He will make way for you to fulfil it. You just need to be faithful and steadfast no matter what. Never give in. Never sway even in the midst of being tested. Don’t stoop down to the level of the wicked that make your undertaking a wee bit harder. You know what is true. And it is God-given truth. Hold on...

Babies get to consume milk for their sustenance. And then a stage comes when those baby foods which are a wee bit solid are introduced. And then the meat. There are stages in human life where the sustenance gets to be developed according to the ability to digest. Some people even though they are not babies anymore still drink milk. I drink milk. I love milk. I consume almost everyday. New Zealand has heaps of cows which produce milk. I learned from reading that humans are the only mammals who still drink milk in their adult life. Pets are exceptions because people feed them but if they have their choice, they naturally don’t. Once milk weaned, mammals stop drinking milk. Once Mummy (that’s how kiwis spell it) does not produce milk anymore, we got Formula. And then sometimes it becomes a habit forming for some children. Bottled milk becomes a comfort zone to some children. And then some children are a little bit picky with what they eat and parents got to be skilful and creative on how ...

I did a bit of sending off to my old Pentium 4 Desktop Comp and donated it to EDay. EDay is an event where people will just junk their old computers for a good cause. Being sentimental to all sorts of things which have been attached to me, it is kinda hard for me to send them away. There are so many reasons why we need to get rid of old stuff and one of them is just to clear space. And that is why my old HP had to go. There were other potential amiable items I keep for slushy reasons which I need to get rid off for all sorts of sensible reasons. I guess recalling the time spent with something which has provided good service for so many years makes me cringed a bit when thinking about turning them over. The Lazy Boy which was my first appliance and one of my inanimate companions in an empty living room of a house when I was just starting to settle in NZ is now wondering like an unlawful tenant in the middle of our guest room of our current house. The charger dependent ACER lapto...

I have mentioned a number of times that I have reached the point wherein competition is not part of my agenda anymore. Whatever endeavour I dwell at the moment is for the uplifting of self and for whoever will receive it. I do choir just for the enjoyment and service and not for proving that my choir can excel better than the other. I paint because it is relaxing and it is self revealing and not to let anybody eat my dirt. I shoot photos to let other see the colourful and bright side of life and that there is something good in anything once you put it in a frame thus proclaiming that the world is not that bad. I sing and dance for self expression and gratification. To put it simply, everything that I do now, I try to make sure that it is in a form of worship to the one who allows me to move my brush, to catch a tune that harmonise with other tunes, to move my dancing feet, to capture images and to love my wife and kid. I am sorry for those who are still trying to compete with oth...

While I was reading an online article, I came across an English word that was rather new to me. Cabal. The word might not be that highfalutin to an average person. I must admit that sometimes I find myself being below average when it comes to word power. I live my life with simple words, words that can be understood even by grade school kids. Sometimes anxiety attacks me over this word deficiency. But most of the time I laugh about it. Simple words. Simple life. Why should I make it harder? And here is another flaw: I am a bad speller. Probably you would have caught my spelling booboos in my blog before I get to edit words such as rich instead of reach, to instead of too, plane instead plain or price instead prise. Mr Forrester was a prominent creative writer who advised his protégée that one must write from the heart and edit from the mind. And I completely believe it. Write first before you edit. But there were instances that I was just reckless and did not give too mu...

I am glad that I started painting again. Sometimes you don’t know what you’re missing until you get to dwell on it again. I guess its fulfilment is beyond explaining and when you get lose it, it’s easy for you to wander away when you have blurry idea of its benefit. There is nothing like getting you hands, arms, shirt and face dirty with paint when you get to create colours that subtly registers your own being or your own soul. No doubt that it’s therapeutic. I have said that it’s beyond explaining and here I am trying to explain what I get from painting as best as I can, hoping that in between lines I can get across from one psyche to another. The simplest way to explain it is that when I paint, I feel good. I know that not everybody can paint and what I am saying here may not apply to all. What I am saying really is that when you do something that you are good at and complete it, you feel good. I remember when I was chairman of a painting competition in my beloved home country, I got...

I am happy. I wanna put smile on my face to show the whole universe that I am happy. It is believed that a smile can infect others. Hmmmm. I am not convinced with this. I may flash that big smile that says “Hey! I am doing great!” but there are people who are just so pathetically uncomfortable with it. They think, “Why is he happy and I am not. I wish that he is miserable like me. I got to do something to make him depressed then.” Who’s the loser here? I believe the one who stay happy wins. Coz it’s our choice really. No matter how people create scheme in making our life difficult, it’s still our choice if we want to get affected with it. You want to be miserable? It’s your call. You want to drag others in to your miserable chamber? Does it make you better? (Chuckle) Gees. What a wasted effort if the end result is just accumulating miseries. Go ahead! Line up and sit on a bench all yoh old folks who wanna stay glum for the rest of your breath. It’s your choice. ...

Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. Helen Keller I remember reading a book about true happiness. Find happiness in giving and STOP THERE! Period! Don’t expect anything out of giving. Finding happiness on your expectations on consequences of your good deed won’t work. It might lead to disappointment. True happiness is really in giving. And I am beginning to believe that again as I come across Miss Keller’s writing. It is hard sometimes because somehow we are selfish beings. Selfish means trouble and does not connote with gaining true happiness. It is more wonderful to say, “ I am happy because I did something good to a friend today” rather than “I am happy because my friend reciprocated what I did to him.” In the latter statement happiness depends on someone’s action. In the first statement, happiness depends on your action which you have all the choices in the world. ...

I visited Special Word website. This is what God said to me: "Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you."-Ephesians 4:29 I am at present moulding a habit that would find something good to say on anyone I would meet aside from saying “Hello”, “Hi”, “Good Morning”, “Gidday”.“Nice jacket you are wearing.”“That is a neat outfit.”“Congratulation with your presentation a while ago. You did a good job.”Those little add-ons to your greetings are just small nice comments but they might be a big positive impact to the receivers. Putting a smile on someone’s face due to praises can be a permanent file stored on someone’s memory that can be most of the time recalled. Praises can never be forgotten. They are always on the top file of the most visited folder of someone’s memory. File of praises are meant to be pulled out and be recalled when someone is down. Files of praises a...

If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can satisfy, also we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another world. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity C. S. Lewis is one of my favourite authors of all time. The best selling book Mere Christianity has been an eye opener to me in terms of what Christians should be like. He wrote Chronicles of Narnia as a Children’s book but catered for adults considering the allegory behind the story: Aslan the Lion is a symbol of Jesus Christ being humiliated, died and rose in glory, the children (Human beings) who were being lured by the white witch (Satan). If you find the Disney Movie version boring or for kids’ stuff, try watching it again having in mind the allegory, you might appreciate it. The quotation is one of favourite lines in the book. It made me realized something. “So that’s why I have no satisfaction in this world.?” Do you ever wonder no one is contented in this world.? We always long for something. We alw...

An ungrateful man is like a hog under a tree eating acorns, but never looking up to see where they come from . Timothy Dexter Sometimes it’s hard to take it when you have been giving much effort and time to help out someone and still he/she is being ungrateful for the trouble. Yes, there is a good virtue in having the attitude of never expecting something in return on the good deeds you’ve done. Yet, I felt sorry for someone who seldom looks back on the one who’s done him/her a favour because he/she is too preoccupied on how he/she indulges his/her selfish motives. This reminds me a scene in a Rocky V, when retired Rocky disappointedly stared at his protégé who has been caught by too much ego which made him wanting to beat Rocky in a match. You never know what comes up with the human minds and intentions. You were exactly sure in a moment that he deserves your attention. Yet the next moment the wind blows and his attitude is tarnished. Nothing is really certain except God’s love. And t...