Good Morning, Mr. Simon

Happy Memorial Day!

leafless — Mon, 30 May 2011 07:26:21 +0000

One thing I do know for sure is that military people are the bravest men and women a country has to offer. No one is more willing to sacrifice for his country than a soldier is. No one would put himself in the line of fire to protect his comrades, and to make way for them to move forward like a soldier would. Soldiers are indeed born of a different breed. Simon Nguyen

Filed under: history, society

Bird Bullies

leafless — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:25:18 +0000

I witnessed something quite fascinating last weekend. A crow was harassed and bullied by a band of small birds. The crow was subsequently forced to leave the scene. The story did not end there, however. The vengeful crow later returned with a dozen of his siblings to exact revenge on his bullies. After a brief battle, the small birds were battered and overwhelmed by the larger crows; they were forced to abandon their newly conquered territory.

The crows were obviously in celebratory mood, thinking that they were the invincible conquerors of someone’s beautiful backyard. However, they would soon encounter the biggest bird bully of all – Mr. Simon and his broom. I think you know who won that battle.

Filed under: humor, nature, personal, philosophy

Am I a news commentator now?

leafless — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 18:59:38 +0000

I do some freelance writing in my spare time. The effort seems to pay off as I was recently given an opportunity to write news commentaries for Yahoo News. Since I love to comment on things, this opportunity is pure gold. Below are two of my first commentaries for Yahoo News. Give them a shot if you have time.

1) Intervention in Syria?
2) Privatization for Postal Service

Filed under: blogging, personal

Stories from Japan Disaster – Part 1

leafless — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 05:45:01 +0000

A friend relayed to me this touching story:

By chance, a group of volunteers encountered a young boy whose parents were killed in the tsunami. His father was on his way to pick him up from school when the tsunami hit. The young boy personally witnessed his dad’s car being slowly swept away by the killer wave, but was unable to do anything about it. He had not heard from either of his parents since.

For someone who had probably lost both parents in the tsunami, the young boy appeared incredibly calm though sadness was clearly visible. He was asked by the volunteers if he had anything to eat; he politely answered “no”. Hearing this, a kind person gave him some food to eat. After thanking the person, the young boy immediately went to the nearby shelter and gave the food to the aid workers there. He then went to the back of the line, awaiting his turn to receive a share.

Even in such a dire circumstance, this unfortunate boy demonstrated courage and unselfishness. This is the essence of the Japanese culture, and is something to be admired. More stories in the coming days.

Filed under: blogging, humanity, psychology, society

Japan will rise again!

leafless — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:17:55 +0000

Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami over the weekend. Hearing this news makes me a little sad, as I have always had a special connection with the Japanese culture and people. In fact, I have written extensively about the country here in this blog and elsewhere. Although it may seem gloomy for Japan at the moment, I have no doubt that the country will recover from this. It should be noted that there have not been even a single report of LOOTING or ANARCHY since the incident. This is in total contrast to what occurred following other recent disasters like the Haiti Earthquake and even Katrina. This shows us that the Japanese are strong and proud people who will rise up from the ashes to rebuild their country. Pray for Japan.

Filed under: history, humanity, personal, society

Buy friends, win elections

leafless — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 05:21:43 +0000

I visited my sister’s house the other day and was introduced to a strange little game. My young nieces were playing a virtual board game called Tamagotchi Party On. In this game, the player will try to earn as much money as possible so he or she could BUY friends (literally). The more money one has the more friends he can buy. At the end of the game, the player with the most friends is elected president of the Tamagotchi universe. The idea may sound a little silly; but if you have followed recent elections around the world, this is actually very realistic. I wonder how many friends can I buy with a million dollars.

P.S. I am feeling much better now and will return to blogging soon. Thanks.

Filed under: economics, politics, society

Health Update

leafless — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 07:25:20 +0000

This nasty virus just won’t go away. It is time like this that one realizes the importance of good health. Incidentally, my 12-year old niece was hospitalized two days ago. She woke up on Tuesday, only to find that she could not move her legs and had incoherent speech. (;_;)

Filed under: blogging, personal

A blog update

leafless — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 18:36:58 +0000

Some of you may be wondering why this blog has not been updated for nearly a month. I have been suffering from a serious stomach virus that has limited many of my daily activities. Medications have been excruciatingly slow in putting a stop to this virus. I will return to blogging once my condition is better. Keep me in your prayers. Thanks.

Filed under: blogging, personal

Not Coming Home for the Holidays

leafless — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 08:59:44 +0000

By chance, I recently came across an old friend who is a professional singer. During our brief conversation, I asked her if she had been able to spend time with her family over the long holiday season. Looking visibly sad, she told me that she hadn’t seen her family since the beginning of November and won’t be able to see her loved ones until the middle of January.

By the nature of her profession, holidays like Thanksgiving (U.S.) and Christmas are generally the busiest working time of the year. She revealed to me that she had been on tour nonstop for the last two months. I find it a bit ironic that my friend is bringing joy to people this holiday season, but does not receive any joy herself.

Filed under: philosophy, society

Welcome in 2011

leafless — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 09:06:27 +0000

What will I be doing on New Years Eve? Ideally, I would like to travel to Times Square to watch the glowing ball but old man Winter probably won’t cooperate. Instead, I will be home alone watching some old movies, singing Auld Lang Syne, and eating Christmas leftovers. May be the next New Years Eve will be better.

Happy New Year to all!

Filed under: personal