Letter from President - What I want for You and Every Child in America

I read the letter of Barack Hussein Obama from our local magazine. Easy way to copy paste, I found it the MSN

I used to recieve letter from mom before she went to work too, the breakfast is ready on the table together with other lists in the fridge :)

‘What I Want for You–and Every Child in America’

By President-Elect Barack Obama PARADE Magazine This Tuesday, Barack Obama will be sworn in as our 44th President. On this historic occasion, PARADE asked the President-elect, who is also a devoted family man, to get personal and tell us what he wants for his children. Here, he shares his letter to them.

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you’ve both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn’t have let you have. But I also know that it hasn’t always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn’t make up for all the time we’ve been apart. I know how much I’ve missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me - about how I’d make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn’t seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfilment in yours. In the end, girls, that’s why I ran for president: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren’t rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you’ll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.

Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country - but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free—that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.

That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better - and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It’s a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you’ve had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much - although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you - to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That’s why I’ve taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humour as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

Love, Dad

expat~ observes from expat magazine malaysia

An Article from Expat Magazine Malaysia

and also visit Ocean Girl on Warna Warna


Lance arrived in KL just a few months ago.
He brings a fresh perspective to understanding the
local scene that some of us ‘old-timers’ might have
forgotten. Lance hails from Perth.

I fell in love today. I was down at my local bank working myself up into a right old state over some ludicrous banking procedure that was taking over an hour to sort out, when out of the corner of my eye I saw an angel.

The angel was in the form of a beautiful young Malaysian girl. She was dressed in a stunning pink colored kebaya, which is a traditional style of dress I’d never really paid that much attention to before. But somehow this young woman made it seem glamorous, dare I say ‘sexy’ even. At a guess, I’d say she was about twenty two, twenty three (hey come
on, I can dream!!!).

Anyway, what struck me next was how petite she was, maybe five four, and yet she carried herself with such poise and confidence. She looked graceful,serene and completely at ease with who she was. She stood with a straight back, shoulders high and parallel, and she had long black hair that had the sort of shine and lustre that you see in those silly shampoo commercials, only hers was real.

I don’t know how long I was gazing at her,maybe half a minute, and then all of a sudden, for no apparent reason, she turned towards me and caught me looking at her through several slow moving lines of customers. Her first reaction was to smile at me, and as she did her face lit up like a christmas tree. She had sparkling doe-like eyes, and a broad natural
smile that can turn a sure-footed man into a wobbly mess. For a brief moment, perhaps three seconds, my world was perfect , apart from my legs which were a wobbly mess.

Then her boyfriend (I assume), some guy of about the same age came over, grabbed her by the elbow, and whisked her away. And that was the last I saw of her.Hey, it’s OK. I’m over it. I think I’ve fallen in love another fifty times since then.Not surprisingly, the beauty and mystery of Asian women is one of the most common topics of conversation amongst expat guys, especially after they’ve had a few. Yet it’s seldom spoken about in public. It’s like some kind of secret that we dare not share with our partner for fear of them developing a
complex (if they don’t have one already) about these angelic creatures who walk around in slinky, figure hugging size eight dresses, or tight fitting jeans (or kebayas even), with perfect skin and an infectious smile. But the fact is there are so many women up here who are just like that girl in the bank - they are absolutely gobsmackingly gorgeous. What’s surprising is that most of these girls seem to have no idea of their striking beauty. Maybe it’s
because you can see a Miss World Finalist just about everywhere: shopping malls, supermarkets, wet markets, clothing stores(especially clothing stores), music stores, book stores, shoe stores(another big favourite), hawker stalls, cafes, restaurants,small companies, large multi-national companies, advertising agencies, airport terminals, airplanes, fivestar
hotels, four-star hotels, three-star hotels, hostels, buses, trains, cars, taxis, motorcycles, plus the obvious places like nightclubs and bars.

For a bloke who has now lived and worked on four continents, Kuala Lumpur has turned out to be a wonderful surprise. It is blessed with more beautiful looking women per square metre than any other city on the planet. And when you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

The geographic location and political stability of Malaysia provides the perfect melting pot for Malay, Indian, Indonesian, Thai, Burmese, Vietnamese,Phillipino, Singaporean and Chinese cultures to move, mix, marry and multiply, which is what has been happening in towns and kampongs around the country for generations. So you end up with this extraodinary array of exotic looking women, and you see all these subtle genetic influences in skin
colour, facial features, hair colouring, body shapes and accents. It’s mesmerising.


Of course, looks aren’t everything - it’s what’s inside that counts right? Well again, Asian women are different. As a general observation, material possessions, status, and wealth do not seem to mean as much. Asian women tend to be family orientated, they usually have a strong faith, they look after themselves,they can cook up a storm, they’re charming and
intelligent and they go to great efforts to please, if not worship, their partners.
Clearly, for expat men who have grappled back home with the multiple roles of boyfriend or husband, soul mate, breadwinner, sensitive lover, responsible father, financial guru, astute real estate investor, wine and travel expert, witty raconteur, motor mechanic,
plumber, electrician, general handyman, and general all-round nice guy to everyone and everything,working up here, and enjoying the company of gorgeous Asian women makes a damn good change.

Even if it is only for a year or two. Anyway, I’m climbing down from my soap box now. I much prefer my high and mighty pedestal. Besides which, I think I’ve just fallen in love again.

Gotta go.
Lance

Give Me Five ( Words)

I'm game to play along with Ocean Girl. The five words given it is easy to describe me me me, I need more than five, more revealing is appealing :) Ocean Girl, it's a trapped high five.

The first word is TodaY

Today I woke up, I continue my thinking of the name of my studio "Balanced Ancient Workout". I had breakfast, two toasts then yorgurt with muesli. I continue thinking of blogging about balanced ancient workout as my studio's name. My husband thought I started blogging about my baby in my tummy. I'm carrying a baby now,I'm grateful to God, Alhamdulillah, I supposed to break the news here. The latest news is I can't wait to meet her next year. While having breakfast, my mind speeds up in thinking what to do when a friend of mine come to visit. She told she's missing the sea, and she's coming with her son anyway if her husband is on sailing or working. I thought of renting a boat with her for the ride along the island, the island is too big to go around, I guess. Along, a short ride will do to snap pictures of the city from the water. I will check it out and also whether my condition with a baby in the tummy suitable for boating. I listen to the quranic citings, didn't get to read as yet today. Some say Mozart music is good for the baby too as tested mozart was played at a tree, the trees grew healthy instead of rock music, the trees died. I glanced a little of the Ashtanga book to get ideas of the name of the studio. That's about today, half of today, in the morning after I got the message from Ocean Girl for five words to move forward in blogging's journey. Today's afternoon yet to approach.

2.glamouR

What has glamour got to do with me, look like celebrity ? Why Ocean Girl gave me Glamour, I was once a head turns beauty eh? This is the experience of the feeling glamour, last month, I stopped at my relative spa booth and acted buying something then came another visitor was really interested in purchasing aroma candles, then more buyers. The relatives realised that and asked me to stay acting like a interested buyer, I was not acting after I saw the product closely, I was really interested in the natural products. I stood there and listened to what the relative's staff had to say, she said I was like a publicity to their booth, I was proud and couldn't bother much as that's sale's way of saying to make me stay when they saw buying signal from me. Before I left, I bought aroma eye care products and they gave me aroma candles for free and few packets of different kind of scrubs. Then I went to my hubby and said I bought the eyecare for half priced RM14.00 for the sake of supporting them and also to relax my eyes. While talking to hubby, someone from local TV channel RTM invited me for an interview for the Merdeka/National on TV1. I was excited but nervous, he persuaded that I could come along with my hubby who was also hesitated, then he said with the whole family, kids or with the relatives who are the vendors there. I just could not make my way to the camera ahh...but felt like a celebrity hehe...

I felt glamour when I made my way to Tazkirah with VVVIP at a state place, was about Marhaban ya Ramadhan. I was truly honoured to pray there and thank god for the given chance and break the fast there too.

3.happinesS

Is the feeling every minute that you need to feel happy :) I was born with happiness or I say, I'm a happy person. I have full of happiness in me. Actually I'd like to describe "what I am" not "what I do". When I was a little girl I was the centre of attention because I was adorable :) That's happiness. Spark between husband and wife. You know better. To live balance in life, thinking, teaching, blogging, working out with breath-synchronized movements systems, loving, feeling loved by loved ones. Just can't wait to lift-up working out in yogilattes class.

4.secretS

That's the 4th word, secrets are secrets, can't tell anyone :) be transparent, be yourself whether your status had changed to mother, wife, sister, you were born a baby, you are still you. Like a friend of mine, bestfriend, she asked me how I was going to get married, what if my husband know that I am so stubborn, what will happened? The moment she said that, I know she is my very bestfriend. She had revealed my secret. I like that she knows me til that spot. I highly appreciate her concern. Like my mother also, we were at tea time, my mother in law offered my mother "dodol", the sticky jelly almost like gummy but can swallow- sweet things, my mom said no and thanked her because she's wearing a denture, there is no secret for her, but I saw others smiled but the conversations become more livelier because it became more opened to everyone to reveal their secrets .Then someone said my mom is still had a nice body for her age, and my mother in law added that because my mom was a matron in a hospital, then my dad counter honest phrased, she was not physical matron but she was a dental matron. She was good in teeth only not body. The crowd laughed and continued talking about their secrets.

4.motherhooD

Motherhood is nice, people respect me, hehe being a little sister, I respect the elder now the kids respect me. Motherhood is a complete woman's cycle, but not really whether you are an aunt or mak cik/auntie, you are in the mother level, that's the cycle. You are the source of love, you get by giving more.

Success (Steven Spielberg), Untitled ?

I can't think of a better title. Oh...Hope the title leads you to more understanding of my entry :) First off, I had a very good Eid-ul Fitr. I was hybernating for awhile :) can't help, like trees for months in a year just to escape the brutally cold winter. Especially during ramadhan hybernating conserves energy that's how I'm laying back as I'm sharing energy with someone in me.

During festive days, my eyes are so heavy, in the car, I snoozed fast like a screen saver but at least screen saver wakes easy when the mouse is moved.

Now I'm back, awaken, eyes wide opened. Ready to hook to the keyboard, would like to be hooked at the piano keys though with Richard Clayderman's melodies, so soothing leads to relaxation. What goes around, comes around back to hybernating lol.

Back to the success of my brother who I am proud of. He is in the newspaper cutting. He made the right decision to learn foriegn (Japanese) language to further his study. His English was average after 11 years like all of us learnt in school. He knew his weakness and yet wanted to further study in overseas, he chose Japanese. He made history in a big Japanese organisation in Tokyo after had studied in Hiroshima. Now his daughter continues to master Arabic language.

My younger brother's ambition was to be Steven Spielberg, after saw the movies ET, Goonies, Raiders of the Lost Ark. When he came up to be a films producer, first time I heard that in the circles of family members. Til now,I have never heard among youngsters I've hanged around with, wanted to be films Producer, that means, he was genuine in his thinking but he had ended up an Engineer.

In Asian culture atleast in my family as I see, success is not what you are today but the children continues to be success that counts. If not so,they made their success that lead the generations, they make their name famous in a way, having a book eg : Herbs Dictionary leads to a new coming book, conducting class or being an owner to well known Restaurant or Merchant's place for the generations to continue. Or having a genuine classic way of living.

Having materials showed success in some ways, for having associations with the people like that is some kind of success too :) Let them think we are less, that's a reversed soothing psychology or what. Whatever makes you happy that is a success in life.

My dad didn't succeed in the blogging world, the world out there is much interesting for him. Outing, sipping coffee outside, heading to the city is still is his cup of tea. For those who had been in the blogging era, congratulations as this ways you all had shared the outside world with others here. New things are here to explore together.

by the way...

My husband just started blogging, not many posts posted in his blog but his view complete profile amazed me " He inspired by che-det blog number of visitors, he starts to blog, trying his luck to emulate that ex-numero uno, top banana, big kahuna dude". Good luck to him.

Food for thots during Ramadhan

My taste buds is kind of different kinds. I would go for delicacies of cow brain, cow tongues...I know it didn't sound very delicious but it is delicacies that I'm into more than goose liver or cow liver.

I know I got that kind of taste buds from my dad. We could be Carnivors and Herbivors. He would prepare bone merrow soup for our festival. Grilled cow stomach with chillies juice with lemon or tamarind extract. Supposedly reading about food, you would be drooling but not this time.

We would go miles to find squid eggs cooked in coconut milk. That's was my childhood taste bud that I carried it til now. Off course as I grew older with changes in my taste buds, I mingled with friends, relatives of different background. That's how I picked up various food. I fell in love with fish Cod grilled or broiled. I remembered I went out with my parents and brother, she had Cod, her lips swollen as she is a fish oil alergy. We also had raw oysters was very good then scallops. I could still taste them on my lips.

When travelling with my brother or husband, we usually had Japanese food, sea urching will be ordered first. Then escagort in Tapas ways of setting we would go next. If it is in Europe wild mushrooms was must have either breed salmon or wild salmon, we care only food.

After my gym we stopped for avocado juice and crab salmon meat as we wanted to maintain healthy right after the worked out but later on, back to normal, coconut rice, mee curry were on the lists.

During ramadhan we supposed to be moderation in our food desire but as human being, it went the other way round, more desire not just on eating but feasting.

We family sat at the living were thinking of what to have during breaking the fast. I told dad, how about ox tail soup, dad was excited but going low and said you guys go ahead for it as it is good for those who are not affected in their blood. It means the blood had affected with the unnecessary mineral like too much sodium that caused high blood pressure. Then countered my mom said when it is affected it is too late like you(dad) and she corrected like us. I was kind of feeling pity of my dad when mom said like that to him but he smiled and said it is true. He said his breakfasts every morning in those days were half boiled eggs, french toast bread with egg sugar jam (sri kaya) at Kopitiam. If it's not half cooked eggs, he would take coconut milk rice with spicy anchovies or indian bread with lamb curry.

My dad is a high taste person, he was brought up in an educated family that was not poor or rich. He went to Malay College KK (MCKK) the best state high school consisted with high end students of big shots parents. The problem was according to my grandpa who was a high school Headmister, my dad came back from the school breaks with demands new things everytime, the first time was he wanted a camera then went on with branded sport shoes. Grandpa said that he sent him to the best school to be groomed to be somebody academically as he himself was qualified for it, supposedly to study hard in academic not to learn fancy stuffs from his peers. Sighing late grandpa.

My dad always wanted the best for me, he got me an Alba watch when I was in early primary school. Most of my friends used Mickey Mouse watches or cartoon characters brandings. I wasn't satisfied as friends said I wore my mom's or somebody's watch everytime :(

My mom had an opposite lifestyles where she got the biggest size shoes from 7 years old til 12 years. She was like a cartoon herself, she said with a bigfoot that she had to wear them for 6 years, but that was the vision of my maternal grandpa to buy one pair of shoes per primary school life.

Okay back to family gathering at my parents' living room...After prepared basic dinner, we went out to look for something which is not easy to prepare at home. We went to the food bazaar at a mall. I saw dad was sitting at the Teppanyaki bar as if he was waiting for the food to take out. I walked around and got myself Char Kuey Teow, chinese fried flat mee. Mom was strolling and searching. Then I saw dad at the Hong Kong Duck rice with shrimp dumplings and asked him what happened to Teppanyaki, he told that they don't prepare take away. I was mumbling upsetting and kind of finding it hard to believe it take out or eat in is our choice. We went round and round then got home.

During dinner, we really enjoyed it, I told dad better skipped this oilly gravy, as it better having the cholestrol in the crab than in an oilly gravy. Dad was just laughed. We were about to finished eating.

Mom with high voice said to my dad, " Here's your "cholestrol", you haven't eaten, just now you insisted me line up in a long queue for it, better finish it. It was sticky rice, coconut filling, mom called it dad's cholestrol. Poor guy :)

While I am typing this, I got a text message from my mom asked me about my plan for our festival. I paused typing and called her, she is at the Mall waiting for my dad shopped for Dockers pants, I said wow dad was really looked forward to our festival Eid ul Fitr, then I asked mom, what has she got there then, she said nothing, I continued get something would be enjoyable than just waiting for dad to shop. She told me earlier on that she did not plan to buy new clothes as she's going to wear the previous clothes she had that she seldom wore and some my sister had bought for her. That was a formal traditional suits, I guess she supposed to get something casual blouse atleast one or two, then she finished the conversation with Cashy none because now try Economoney :) Oh mom sweet mom :)

Celebrity and Washed Hand

This is about double meaning of washing hands for cleanliness or the hygiene for H1N1. As it is vital to wash hands and shower after lingered outside in the public places as prevention is better than cure. As for this post is about wash hands like rubbing two hands as if a relief emotion after a task has been done and also washing hands before eating. I am not sure to demo the exact gestures, the story goes like this as in the picture of my dad with his last kid, my brother.

My dad who is a caring person and also a concerned one towards his children. Being a father of many kids, he could not wait til the last kid to finish university and get a job, so that he could lay back and relax, relief of a so called the tasks were finished. Though that was his intention to wash hands (I've got the idea of wash hands from himself as I observed his gestures when chatting with friends, relatives or peers on us) but he goes on with his caring character waiting for my brother to have his own house as marriage is secondary, well my brother already owned a house now then my dad would be relief and yet he is not.

Time goes by, I have many nephews and two nieces but the two nephews who lived next door that is a new task for my dad by choice. The task gets going and the going gets tasks :). My dad is still can not put his hands together or to express the phew!! finished! and let them hanging relaxed.

He sweats to make sure the two grandkids of next door to grow up and finish school then he will be relieving a retired man! Our conversation during our holiday in an island, his own nephews who are my cousins said to him, Pak Long or Eldest Uncle, "you have nothing to think anymore, all is done by the children", my dad immediately counter that phrase that he has bunch of things to think about my nephews. He wants his hands are full of his grandchildren like sending to school, accompany them, taking them to places etcetera etcetera by choice could made him feel young.

This all make me think of how our life would be with my kid, the task is there and will always be there and loving it. My husband does not dream to have free of task as in the beginning. A task make him multitasker in fact :) We have many plans for the kid and yet the plans come back to us, there is no way to make the task stop rolling, the task will only keep handing hands or changing hands maybe rest when we must, just to never quit. The tasks relate to another are there and will be less and get easy Godwill, insyaAllah, only one choice is to raise two open palms together to pray for it from Him.

And I have another side story of washing hands. We family, together with my parents went out for a movie. We bumped with a country number 1 singer Dato' Siti Nurhaliza with her husband. My dad was so excited that he got a chance to shake hands with them. On the way home, my mom said to my dad that my dad would not want to wash his hands ever as he shook hands with the beautiful celebrity but my dad said he would wash his hands clean as he didn't shake hands with Dato' Siti Nurhaliza (photo above) but he only did with her husband, sighed :)

One question, was my mom being jealous :) Naaah...don't think so :D