gloom or opportunity

If you flip the papers these days, whats the buzz word? "Crisis", "Recession". No doubt the governments are stepping in to provide the assurances, we know there's gonna be more job loss, cut in hiring and reduced bonuses. After 15 years of economic growth the party is over.

Went for a morning walk at Botanic this morning, and hehe, bought a Sudoku Puzzle book. Addictive!! & very fun! This evening, I am attending a prayer session which focuses on the female zambala (wealth buddha), especially good for people in business. I am not exactly a businesswoman - but in challenging times like this, why not? ;)

Hot Pot To Warm You

You don't travel to ChongQing without trying the magic of ChongQing hot pot. In fact we enjoyed it so much we went back twice to the same resturant. The broth includes chilli - which you can avoid; Ma La spice - which you can't avoid and it numbs your tongue if you happen to bite into it; and lots of oil. We love it especially when the weather was cool in the night. The heavily oiled and spiced soup boils releasing hazy steam (into my face?!); and we were perspiring a little in the coolness. We had the Yuanyang hotpot on both occasions as I couldnt quite take extreme spiciness.


This the the carnage after the meal.

This was our first meal as we entered the village area in ChongQing. Home-cooked. Although we were surprised that KJ has invited quite a bunch of relatives to welcome us - oh well what can be a better way to understand the locals better? ;)


Back to reality @ work, I felt hurt - I admit it. She has decided to change. The angel who used to say words of encouragement has decided to be proactive at attacking so as to secure her new found position. I don't blame her - she had it tough for one year already. But I am disappointed. I hope she wont lose herself, her own values. I know I have to let it go.

In a state of chaos and inequality, I feel a stronger need to go into spiritual practice.

My Yidam: Vajrasattva. By relying on Vajrasattva practice, gross and subtle negative imprints can be purified from our mind stream and we can thus break the chains of negativity that hold us down. Then we can start anew - crystal clear.

Manjushri: The Bodhisattva of Wisdom brandishes a sword above his head to cut away ignorance and the negative states of mind which form the basis of all suffering.

Green Tara: Buddha Tara tilts towards us in her great compassion to listen to our prayers, grant us our virtuous wishes and protect us as a mother would for her child.

Dzambala: He is most well known for being a Buddha of wealth with the rich gold colouring of his skin representing great increase and growth.

My One Week Flashback

First foot into China - Oct 11 2008. Landed in Beijing airport, and took a domestic flight to ChongQing. KJ met us at the ChongQing airport, and basically performed all the bargaining and negotiating with her native locals in her ChongQing language!

Okay, so here's just a small recap of my action packed one-week vacation. First half was spent in ChongQing - a city having the largest municipal area and population in China; whereas second half in Beijing - one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.

We spent Sunday exploring the Chongqing village. This is the pathway to KJ's Grandparents' home. This was by far my favourite experience in this China vacation. KJ and her mum accompanied us throughout the scenic walk which took about 30 mins.

Aha, this is the village home. We spent half a day both in the house and exploring the farm. Can you imagine the inside of the village home in your head? I couldn't. I bascially went Whoo Whoa when I saw the Grandparents' bedrooms, and kitchen, arggh and of course the toilet (if we can call it the toilet)....


The next picture is part of our walk during the weekly Monday market. Basically you see the entire economy of the village taking place on one street. We were lucky to catch the market scene during our stay. The villagers were rather amused with my SLR camera, some were kind enough to smile into it!

Smile~ even if you are working!

Furong Cave

Up the mountain village. This is KJ uncle's family. Large family - don't know who belongs to which family tree.

China's natural beauty, Wulong Karst - another amazing highlight!


Back to City life - This is the Forbidden City - The Chinese Imperial Place of the Ming and Qing Dynasty. The crowd was a little nasty for better appreciation though.

Aha, our non-stop walking and climbing trip was well-balanced in the end. We had dinner at Shang-ri Hotel in Beijing. Had tea at the serene garden before dinner. The buffet selection was also superb with fresh oysters, Beijing duck, and sashimi. After many meals of Chinese food, it was indeed good to have an international selection.

We were so tired out we had to cancel our Great Wall plan. We decided to head back to Great Wall probably in winter - where there would be less people and tourists.

Well, it was a great experience truely. China is huuuggee, and really it has a lot of natural beauty to offer. We have covered three World Heritage sites this round. The village experience was wonderful and enchanting.

More details to follow!

Try Again

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Senate plans to vote on the $700 billion bank rescue plan Wednesday evening - two days after the House failed to pass it.

The economy no longer seems self-sustainable. Following a failed vote on a bailout the Dow Jones, posted a record slip of 7% on Monday. I remember watching the news on Tuesday morning in bed and my heart basically sank a little. More than $1 trillion in equity was wiped out by the market fall.

This wasn't the only reason my heart sank. On Tuesday, I experienced one of the greatest sabotage at work. I think I was made the scapegoat - not the first time. Thats how this team operates. They call it "team" but there will be attacks on their own team-member. I wonder how other teams will think of us when they see this self-sabotage? But hey, thats life/ reality in the workplace right? ;) I actually learned to smile despite these undue human inflicted pressure - quite a tough girl isn't it? ;) Not at all pleasant, but I am learning to handle....

Today is public holiday so I am home. Errh unbelivable but I kinda slept my day away. Besides chanting in the morning, writing this blog entry could be my only other productive thing. At 6:30pm, I have not even picked up the Straits Times - argggh forget it...