Dedication to our beloved grandpa who passed away recently. We Love You.

     Something that I hope me and my sister nor family wouldn't forget. For the past month, we dealt with hardships of losing our grandpa. His leave wasn't a sad one, but indeed a happy one. He lived a long life, endured pain, and now we're glad he's having a nice, long rest. 

     Every Saturday or anytime during weekends, we'd visit him from his home even to the day when he was sent to the the nursing homes. We remembered how he complained about the milk tasting like pee or coffee and calling chicken drumsticks "SEY GAI BAY" meaning like stupid dead chicken. He would fling and flop the drumstick around. Instead, we'd cook him a meal ourselves and saw how happy he was when those little round cheeks of his jiggle. How I miss those cheeks already....




     September 19, 2011. 8:05 PM emergency room, the announcement was made. I couldn't hold it in, being in the resuscitation room seeing the white bag. Everyone else started coming.
     We had our moments during that time and lots of flashbacks. Grandpa LOVED playing Majong. Sister remembers she promised grandpa to let him wear her graduation cap after college and I hope she will. I promised grandpa I'll get him a Majong set and put it beside him, and I'm glad I did. 
     
     Remember how grandpa used to visit us all the time when we were little and shove $2 in each of our pockets? Well, we shoved the money back down his pocket! =]

Grandpa lookin' gangster! 

    
     Burial day: before we left the funeral home to the mountains, we both stood by grandpa...to give him our one last smiles, saying our last memories and one more "Hi Grandpa!!" ='] We won't forget how handsome he was. Isn't he handsome? We had many friends who sent us flowers and came to give us their sympathies. Thank you all too. Our family is HUGE, therefore not everyone was present for the services. It hasn't stopped raining the past week, and it's still pouring.

     The rented funeral cars drove us and as a dedication to grandpa, a last tour around Chinatown, where he lived most of his life. "Spirit of the Dragon" is what we named the drivers. We admired how they signal and block rushing cars to not break the chain. This is where I admit, I was getting emotional in the car. I just kept silent.
    We gave our last bows during burial, and this is something I would never forget. It immediately stopped raining.....For a moment there, the first thought in my mind was, "Grandpa's happy now!" And the sun came out throughout the day.
    
He IS a jolly man now! He can finally reunite with grandma after 40 years! 

WE LOVE YOU GRANDPA! <33333

Love from ALL of us,

~Catherine and Jennifer

The Joy of Making Others Happy

"Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself."


     There is a reason we do volunteer work, bring flowers to a friend in the hospital, or buy a special gift for someone we love when we're out shopping: It makes us happy. Sometimes, in fact, being kind and considerate to others actually benefits us more than the people we're helping.
     Even if our activity starts out as a chore or an obligation, rather than something from the heart, it can become a joy to us, as well as to those who benefit from our efforts. Even if things are really vague and unfathomable to you, take that chance! You might miss out on a great opportunity!  


 
     Your objective for today is...Is there something you can do to delight another person today? It doesn't have to be big or spectacular. A simple message expressing how much you appreciate someone's friendship can be very powerful.
 
     Sooooo.....what are you going to do? =]

Keeping Perspective

"When I hear somebody sigh that life is hard, I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'" 


     We like to compare our lives to those of people we think are richer, smarter, happier, better looking, more famous. Why don't we have a house like the couple's down the street? Why aren't we doing better at work? Why can't we find the love of our life?
     We forget that there are plenty of people who look on us with envy. They would really like to have our job, live on our block, or enjoy our personal freedom. When we hear them talk about the things we take for granted, we remember that we have it pretty good after all. 

     It might sound corny, but it does help to "count my blessings" so I can pay attention to all the good things in my life. "I try to see the good in life, but good things in life are hard to find." -"It's Not Over" by Chris Daughtry. I sighed to everything before and longed to be someone else because it seemed so easy to dream and not take responsibility of life. But after all, this IS... my body, my mind, MY heart. 
     Every person has their own story captivated with drama, waves of emotions, hopes and fears. And therefore, the simple idea of perspective is the most valuable power for ourselves. Why? Because we can get so entangled in our own worlds we often lose sense of what's on the outside. 
     I have my own story, and there will be more stories coming forth. But I will keep in mind, the act of looking ahead at all the challenges that I will be facing will make me reflect on the past, yet look ahead at the same time with a sort of perspective that I forbid to allow fake confidence and encourage fear. Keeping and Changing Perspective! ^^ ~

Self-Talk

"People don't just get upset. They contribute to their upsetness."


     It's not the events in our lives that upsets us. It's how we think about them. If something bad happens, we may complain and fear we'll never feel better again.
     But someone else in the same situation might say, "Gee, that's too bad, but I know I can handle it." The same event, two different perspectives. We can't control many of the things that happen to us, but we can control how we react to them.
     I'd like things to go my way, but, really, there's nothing that says they should. I need to remind myself that I have what it takes to improve my mood...and my life.
     People fall in and out of love in unimaginable ways and in unfortunate events, things fall apart and waves of unbearable emotions sways. The first couple of steps, we collapse. Fatigue drowns and we're being dragged under. We hear our bosses complain and pose threats for our performances. Parents nag about the simplest things such as you taking care of yourself and their most common question, "What are you going to do with your life?"
     We get upset when we're going through events, questions or anything that goes against what we don't want to answer or to do. But how do we react to it? Do you keep thinking about it and let it constantly reminiscence around? Or do you shake it off and keep the track moving in an positive alternative?

I used to let things reminiscence around because it preserves a specific feeling I wanted to continue having. But reality snaps and I have to proceed. If you don't move on, YOUR world will forever be THAT small. And most importantly, you will not know how to really care for "The Self." I'm moving on. Where are you at?

 

Little Things: To Rise Above It.

"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things."
     
     The faucet is leaking, we walk out of the house with mismatching socks, we run out of milk, we're low on gas, the yard needs mowing, we forget to thaw some meat for dinner. These sorts of trivial issues can pile up to ruin a day. But ONLY if we let them.
     We can't think big thoughts all the time, but we can keep the little things in perspective and not let their sheer numbers overwhelm us.
     I'm going to take a deep breath, maybe even two or three deep breaths....and remind myself that as annoying as the minor problems of everyday life are, I'm not going to fret about them.
     I have fretted about family before and even so often friends too. But I keep reminding myself, nothing is more important as to taking care of myself. That is MY job for myself. No one can take that. If the minor problems keep distracting me from my bigger perspectives, then my life would be HELLA tiresome and annoying; a real headache. Keep it simple. It's the way to enjoy life yet catching awareness in the process of learning.

I'm still hanging on. What about you? =]
   

Disappointment

A couple of months ago.....I made myself a bet about this day.
And what disappointed me, was the fact that I stood corrected. It happened without my presence.
Of course, the disappointment gets to me in bits, but I already know how to evade it due to an past experience.

It's time to look forward again.

Bad Luck

"Those that are afraid of bad luck will never know good."

     Life is a gamble. There's no way around it. We can't know good luck unless we're willing to risk having bad luck. And bad luck can come whether we take risks or not. Clearly, we're better off taking an occasional risk......if we want to learn, grow, and become a better person.

     I worry about what might happen to me, but I know I need to extend myself and take some chances if I am going to have a full life. 

     And sometimes when I feel these chances will risk me getting hurt, physically or emotionally.....I have already overcome the fear of flipping the coin, whether the outcome will be good or not. 

Are you taking any risks? O.o


Well today, I thought there was going to be a tornado because I see everything flying into the air and pigeons weren't flying straight. They were actually crashing around the buildings and thunderous rainstorm started. I thought my day was going to be depressing but it turns out I saw a bright side. I saw......a Rainbow. <33 After a bad storm, the beautiful weather will eventually appear. As like after an unfortunate event, greater experiences will be gained. Maybe the bad isn't bad after all.