How do you live your dash?

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears.
But he said what mattered most,
Was the dash between those years (1900-1970).
For that dash represented all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash;
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down long enough
To consider what’s true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a while.

So when your eulogy’s being read
With your life’s actions to rehash,
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

©1999 Linda Ellis

Received this in my inbox today from Wan Cheng. Certainly thought provoking. Well, I don’t know how I’ll spent my dash yet, but I do know of someone who lives with a Dash. My son!!!

I just caught a glimpse of him napping with his Incredible t-shirt! He’s just so crazy about Dash. It’s a love-hate relationship! On one hand, he must have the picture and the T-shirt of Dash near him. Otherwise, he would whine non-stop. He would even bring “Dash” to the toilet to do his business, big or small. On the other hand, he would not want to look at the picture directly, and would try to hide it behind the door, in my pocket, or under his pillow.

His behaviour is really eccentric, and I can’t fathom what goes behind that two and a half year-old mind…..But it’s very endearing and I suppose that’s the joy kids can bring to us – which is really priceless.

Down with flu and I don’t know why. I haven’t been anywhere contagious and the family is fine. Must be the black chicken herbal soup my mum-in-law made me these few days. I’ve downed a few bowls, so I think my nose’s going to bleed soon. Oh dear. Must refrain from kissing Gavin later.

Zuzu said something rather pleasant to me this morning. He said he aim to make more money so that I can spend all my time casseroling. A silly comment, but the thought behind is rather sweet. I don’t suppose it’ll happen, because I really don’t want to spend all my time blogging. What I do want is a life outside this darn computer. For example:

and…

I can’t even make a list of ten items! Shit! Does this mean I am not cut out for high life? NO! CERTAINLY NOT! Must be this stupid flu which is making my brain thicker than usual. Rest assure I can come up with an exhaustive list the next time I re-visit this subject. For now, I need my flu tablets and tissue box please.

Felt compelled to include this after reading the article in The Newpaper yesterday by Esther Auyong “Are you a prude or are these too crude?”

“Our society is a meeting of the liberal-minded and those who are more conservative. Out of respect for the older generation, we should think twice before going nude. Theirs is a generation that’s all about face – having face, giving face, not losing face.” Quote from her article.

Here’s an easy solution to the facial issue. Wear a gorilla mask, just like the Guerrilla Girls who have been reinventing feminism since 1985. They are a bunch of anonymous females who take the name of dead women artists as pseudonyms and appear in public wearing gorilla masks. The mask serves to focus on the issue rather than their personalities and the girls use humor to convey information, provoke discussion, and show that feminists can be funny.

There you go. Go nude. Save face. Promote a good cause. Brilliant and dramatic, all at once.

Three days left and I still have yet to finish what I’ve set out to do! Procrastinate, procrastinate, and procrastinate some more……Someone help me please! Help to instill a sense of urgency in me please. Because I am still here, indulging in my own muses, banging and blogging away…..

“I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle, though infinitesimally small, is not exactly zero. ” Hmmm, definitely makes me feel better now, after reading my procrastinator’s creed. A creed a day, takes the work away. Don’t underestimate the power of the slow side.

Was searching for some images for my profile when I came across a few beautiful illustrations from Tomoko Ishikawa moo’s gallery. Such delicate and reflective illustrations!

Went out with the girls yesterday having a bitching session about whatever at Whatever. A bookstore & cafe serving organic vegan meals. Godma suggested ordering lasagna and stupid me asked “got beef or not?” at a vegan cafe. Then I feigned ignorance at the word vegan. “Ah, vegan means they serve mostly vegetables, but still got some meat right?”

Anyway, the food was tasty and so we were less annoyed at having to wait for our dear San. When she finally turned up, an hour late, she proclaimed that she has had a terrible day. Hey, wait a minute. That was what she said the last time three of us met up, I reminded them. And it was because of something she was wearing. And guess what. The attire she had yesterday was a contributor to her distress too. Aiyo, then why wear? “Because it’s cute.” Women can never ever overcome vanity, can they?

We had fun trading woes of other people over that late lunch. Godma had confirmed that Steven is married, but she couldn’t confirmed with who. She asked me to find out by asking Seok directly, which is not possible since we’re not in touch anymore. So her mission now is to find out more, and I’m to use her information to create a trail. I’m also to find out if my nephew is indeed residing in district 10 or 11, so as to affirm what Godma had missed out by not taking my earlier suggestion of dating him. They were also disgusted with me for suggesting that Seok looks like a fish. I corrected them: “Dory just reminds me of her. It’s the nose bridge.”

Godma later gave us a crash course on “How to recognise a transversite anywhere, everytime”. Must give it to her for being such an expert even though she has never been one. It’s now up to San to determine if the handsome Japanese lad at her fencing club indeed married one.

We finally finished whatevering at Whatever about 6pm and when we walked out, we realised that the cafe had under-billed us. San had initially wanted to go back in to ask for small change but changed her mind for fear of being detained. Haha…..

I had fun and I’m sure San went home feeling a bit better. Bitching itself is sufficiently therapeutic. Save the yoga for other days.

My mum’s neighbour said Gavin looks like a girl. OMG! At two and a half, I thought he looks obviously his gender. He’s got short hair and wears boy’s clothes for goodness sake!

The neighbour innocently asked why Gavin’s hair is so short and when I explained it was because of a bad haircut from his paternal granny, she blurted, “but she’s a girl right?” I was appalled. Gavin looks every inch a boy. “But he’s so fair!” No wonder she didn’t say Gavin looks cute. She must have wondered why I didn’t try to make Gavin pretty.

So when Gavin woke up from his afternoon nap, I tried to visualise him as a girl, with longer hair and a dress. Actually, he can pass off with his sweet looks. Yes, he’s so fair. ALMOST WHITE, my colleague had exclaimed when I showed his picture. And he’s got very long eye lashes that his mommy is obviously envious of.

Who does he resemble in the family? I can’t decide. But that’s not important. What matters is that he should grow up looking like TAKUYA KIMURA! Yesh! That was my secret wish when I was carrying Gavin and I made sure I had my daily dose of TK’s poster then. AND I THINK MY WISH IS COMING TRUE! :grin: Yesh! Yesh! I saw a picture of TK in his younger days and I thought there are some resemblance……..even Zuzu agreed! Wow, this is wonderful news huh?

Okay, to get even closer to my target, I shall now start by trying to make Gavin darker by the days. And if he doesn’t emerge looking like TK by the end of it, at least, he would look more boyish right?