Post 129 Auntie Ivy's favourite quote
Auntie Ivy was a distant lady relative whose elegance, extensive experience and exemplary language skills are much to be admired. She was a seasoned traveller having stayed in the UK, Greece and Cyprus from the 1950s to 1980s. When I met her in Malaysia in the late 1990s, she was already 85 years old.
In one of our conversations, she mentioned the phrase’ flotsam and jetsam’ which means a collection of broken unwanted things lying about in an untidy way. It can also mean people who are without homes or work, and who move helplessly through life. It is also used figuratively in non-nautical contexts to means odds and ends, bits and pieces. She said that it was good riddance that miscellaneous things or someone unpleasant was out of our life.
My family members loved to talk to her because there was so much to learn from her.Besides she was also very witty and affable. She was old yet very wise in many ways. Shakespeare wrote in King Lear that “As you are old and reverend, you should be wise." She qualified for both. Indeed it is great to grow old gracefully.
Our burden will be lightened when trivial things are jettisoned. – Quote by Ho Nee Yong
31 January 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Neither a borrower nor a lender be
Post 128 Financial management
I was having a chat with my friend on financial management when he told me a quote from Shakespeare on borrowing and lending, He said he would rather give whatever he could afford to his friends than to lend. He would also not borrow but to learn to cut down his wants.
The quote was part of Lord Polonius' speech to Laertes from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.”
When one lends money to a friend, one will lose both the money and the friend when the latter disappears for not wanting to pay back; and if one borrows one will not learn how to be thrifty.
Many credit card defaulters have been blacklisted by banks for not paying their credit card dues. This has become common especially among the young working class. They are bad borrowers and are miles away from being a lender. It is best that they learn how to budget their finance and spend sensibly to “neither a borrower nor a lender be”.
He who borrows has much sorrow.- Ho Nee Yong
24 January 2012
I was having a chat with my friend on financial management when he told me a quote from Shakespeare on borrowing and lending, He said he would rather give whatever he could afford to his friends than to lend. He would also not borrow but to learn to cut down his wants.
The quote was part of Lord Polonius' speech to Laertes from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.”
When one lends money to a friend, one will lose both the money and the friend when the latter disappears for not wanting to pay back; and if one borrows one will not learn how to be thrifty.
Many credit card defaulters have been blacklisted by banks for not paying their credit card dues. This has become common especially among the young working class. They are bad borrowers and are miles away from being a lender. It is best that they learn how to budget their finance and spend sensibly to “neither a borrower nor a lender be”.
He who borrows has much sorrow.- Ho Nee Yong
24 January 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Money
Post 127 Money is not the chaser but the chased
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, or better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humourist. Mark Twain became my favourite writer when his novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” was used as reader for our English literature class in Form One in 1959. I like Tom Sawyer for his imagination and mischievous character. This quote on money was a gem and hilarious when he said, “I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.”
It is interesting to note that the word ‘money’ can be associated with words like ‘chase’ and ’run’. “Good money chasing bad money”, “Run out of money”, and “Banks on the run” are a few examples. Money is the main motivator behind one's economic actions. No one will work for free. The reverse is true. One would demand more for the work done. The strikes by government servants, executives and workers in the private sector for more pay show that they want to be reasonably remunerated in exchange for their efforts and contributions put in.
No one is opposed to millionaires or billionaires, with Mark Twain taking no exception. Millionaires or billionaires deserve to be what they are if they earn them legally and honestly. Those who chase after ill-gotten gains will have shame running after them. Their gains will be pyrrhic.
Money is not the chaser but the chased. – Ho Nee Yong
17 January 2012
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, or better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humourist. Mark Twain became my favourite writer when his novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” was used as reader for our English literature class in Form One in 1959. I like Tom Sawyer for his imagination and mischievous character. This quote on money was a gem and hilarious when he said, “I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.”
It is interesting to note that the word ‘money’ can be associated with words like ‘chase’ and ’run’. “Good money chasing bad money”, “Run out of money”, and “Banks on the run” are a few examples. Money is the main motivator behind one's economic actions. No one will work for free. The reverse is true. One would demand more for the work done. The strikes by government servants, executives and workers in the private sector for more pay show that they want to be reasonably remunerated in exchange for their efforts and contributions put in.
No one is opposed to millionaires or billionaires, with Mark Twain taking no exception. Millionaires or billionaires deserve to be what they are if they earn them legally and honestly. Those who chase after ill-gotten gains will have shame running after them. Their gains will be pyrrhic.
Money is not the chaser but the chased. – Ho Nee Yong
17 January 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
My primary school headmaster
Post 126 Behaviour Corrector
My primary school life reminds me of the words my old headmaster had repeatedly told us in each school assembly. Having gone through life for another 55 years since my primary education, I realise that my headmaster,deemed to be old by me then, was not really old; he could be only in his 40s at that time. He might have been remembered for his stereotyped speeches, but I found him a very gentle and kind behaviour corrector in encouraging us to follow rules and regulations, study hard, pay attention in class, not to tell lies, and be a good citizen when we grew up.
Life as educators in the 1950s was impoverished and without exception the life of my headmaster was a simple one. His material possession was literally only the few personal effects that he had had, with bicycle as his prized item. The Chinese saying of ‘eating grass to squeeze the milk’ was very befitting to my headmaster and his contemporary. Indeed having said that, it is without doubt that I am also very thankful to the well-intentioned teachers who taught with dedication. They were excellent behaviour correctors, just like my headmaster.
As the world becomes industrialised and with the emergence of capitalism, a person’s worth eventually is judged by his wealth and not by his character. Nowadays the standard of education suffers because people tend to prefer materialism to idealism. The word ‘character’ has now slowly lost its ethical significance.
Nothing remains when character wanes. – Ho Nee Yong
10 January 2012
My primary school life reminds me of the words my old headmaster had repeatedly told us in each school assembly. Having gone through life for another 55 years since my primary education, I realise that my headmaster,deemed to be old by me then, was not really old; he could be only in his 40s at that time. He might have been remembered for his stereotyped speeches, but I found him a very gentle and kind behaviour corrector in encouraging us to follow rules and regulations, study hard, pay attention in class, not to tell lies, and be a good citizen when we grew up.
Life as educators in the 1950s was impoverished and without exception the life of my headmaster was a simple one. His material possession was literally only the few personal effects that he had had, with bicycle as his prized item. The Chinese saying of ‘eating grass to squeeze the milk’ was very befitting to my headmaster and his contemporary. Indeed having said that, it is without doubt that I am also very thankful to the well-intentioned teachers who taught with dedication. They were excellent behaviour correctors, just like my headmaster.
As the world becomes industrialised and with the emergence of capitalism, a person’s worth eventually is judged by his wealth and not by his character. Nowadays the standard of education suffers because people tend to prefer materialism to idealism. The word ‘character’ has now slowly lost its ethical significance.
Nothing remains when character wanes. – Ho Nee Yong
10 January 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Aging
Post 125 The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune
A witty, knowledgeable and still lively 80-year-old woman was requested to give a short speech at a get-together function which I was glad I attended. She told the crowd roaring with laughter that she did not agree with the previous man speaker who told the audience on how to live long by avoiding all the” Don’ts” like smoking, drinking, and staying up late. She jokingly said that she did just the opposite to enjoy life. She added that she still went dancing! Though her tune sounded sweet and hilarious, the audience just took what she said with a pinch of salt.
While ‘age’ is just a word, ‘aging’ may be is more than that. It is an alarm clock to many who fear growing old. The proverb of “The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune” is for the optimists who are not too concerned about their outward appearance wasting away. Inwardly they are renewed every day. Life is what one thinks it is and so is aging. When one does not mind getting old, aging does not matter anymore. One ought to live happily every day and deem ‘aging’ gracefully as a better alternative to kicking the bucket.
Young people will do well by being pro-active in doing exercises, inculcate good habits in eating, and avoid stress and strain through having optimistic outlook on life. This will help them to have good health even in old age.
The greatest wealth, for both the young and the old, is health.
3 January 2012
A witty, knowledgeable and still lively 80-year-old woman was requested to give a short speech at a get-together function which I was glad I attended. She told the crowd roaring with laughter that she did not agree with the previous man speaker who told the audience on how to live long by avoiding all the” Don’ts” like smoking, drinking, and staying up late. She jokingly said that she did just the opposite to enjoy life. She added that she still went dancing! Though her tune sounded sweet and hilarious, the audience just took what she said with a pinch of salt.
While ‘age’ is just a word, ‘aging’ may be is more than that. It is an alarm clock to many who fear growing old. The proverb of “The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune” is for the optimists who are not too concerned about their outward appearance wasting away. Inwardly they are renewed every day. Life is what one thinks it is and so is aging. When one does not mind getting old, aging does not matter anymore. One ought to live happily every day and deem ‘aging’ gracefully as a better alternative to kicking the bucket.
Young people will do well by being pro-active in doing exercises, inculcate good habits in eating, and avoid stress and strain through having optimistic outlook on life. This will help them to have good health even in old age.
The greatest wealth, for both the young and the old, is health.
3 January 2012
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