Just checking out some facts about Taiwan

Check out these facts about Taiwan courtesy from www.lonelyplanet.com.

Population (and land area in brackets):

Taiwan: 22.5 mil (35,563 sq km)

Australia : 19.5 mil (7,680,000 sq km)

Malaysia: 23 mil (329,750 sq km)

Woww...Taiwan really has a lot of people, huh?

My friend told me something about Taiwanese toilets which I found pretty disgusting. You can't throw the toilet paper you've used into the toilet bowl. Instead there's a bin next to the toilet bowl where you can. Reason? Something to do with the inability of the toilet system to flush the toilet paper down. Could clog the system.

*eww* Let's see if this is true.

Almost 2 weeks since I started the lab job..

It's been a week filled with a mixture of emotions. And I feel pretty tired and a little sick. I woke up early one morning just to throw up and I had a bit of diarrhoea later on. It was weird. I have no idea why because I didn't even bother losing my sleep over the World Cup.

JX, little brother in our bible study group...had to fly home to Malaysia all of a sudden and defer 6 exams. He even deferred an exam he was going to sit for in 45 minutes. His mum has been admitted into the ICU and is semi-conscious. She had to undergo chemo last year but it seems now, her condition has become worse. I was feeling kinda down that day but after reading JX's email, I can't compare at all to what JX must be going through.

On a happier note.....guess what? I am going to Taiwan this Saturday!! for 3 weeks. It's a study tour kinda thing. To study intensive Mandarin. Actually, I haven't mentally prepared myself to the fact that I am even going. Just made my mind up recently, that's why.

wooo hooo!! a little excited though to be getting out of normalcy for awhile.

Just an update on my job progress

Dear friends,

I'm going to be starting work as a laboratory technician at this flavour and ingredients company. It's a casual job, which means no benefits and not having to come in every weekday. But i'll be working every weekday for 2 weeks to start off commencing next Tuesday. It's actually a simple job, not requiring the academic qualifications I have....and I'll actually be assisting the food technologists in preparing the product samples they need (If you didn't know, I did a bachelor degree in Food Technology, so actually, i prefer their job). In the interview, he was telling me he's looking for someone who would be staying for awhile and not leave after a few months, all the hassles of conducting interviews and training....and I'm like uh huh...okay..... but honestly, of course I don't want to stay like that for too long. Anyway, it's going to be a good opportunity and experience to just learn from the people around me for sure. Being able to learn from my food technologist colleagues without the responsibilities they have.

When people ask me what I'm doing now, I've got a pretty standard answer. Ask me if you want to know what it is.

So saying that, I guess I'm pretty happy at the moment to be finally getting a job in the food industry! (And I don't mean retail or restaurants). Finally.....! something related to my degree. And I can modify my standard answer now :D

Many thanks to a friend of mine who's working there.

Book Review

Title: A Spectator's Guide to World Religions

Author: John Dickson

Publisher: Blue Bottle Books

In this book, John Dickson presents the current big 5 religions in the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He provides a fair and comprehensive account of the history, belief systems and spiritual practices of each religion from their own perspective in very clear and simple English.

I have actually just finished reading this book which belongs to my Korean friend, Hyunju Kim. She actually thinks it's a very good book and so do I!! This book gives a very good foundational understanding of what each religion is about as believed by the believers of each religion.

I was captured by the way the story of each religion unfolded in the course of history. Take for example, when I was reading about Islam. If you've been schooled in the Malaysian Education System, you would know that we had to learn a lot about Islamic history in Form 4. I seriously didn't understand Islam and I still don't understand what it's all about even though I've been brought up in M'sia. Whenever prayers are recited on TV or through the loud PA system from the nearby mosque, I just tuned off.

And about Judaism, the first time I had a deeper understanding about the Jews was when I read a book by Stan Telchin called Betrayed! (This is another really good book but guess it'll have to be saved for another blog entry). I mean, I knew that Jews were brutally prosecuted during the Holocaust and that there's some war going on between Israel and Palestine but those were just... distant facts. Or when I actually visited the Sydney Jewish Museum 1 1/2 years ago. It was interesting history but I was mostly enamoured after meeting these 2 old ladies who are actually survivors of the Holocaust. The other factual stuff displayed just slipped out of my mind even though I tried to read and learn more about Jewish history and customs.

What I'm trying to say is that the clear explanation of how each religion originated and how it progressed and what it's all about provided in this book gave me a richer and clearer understanding. It would be now so much easier to understand where my grandmother is coming from with her Buddhist beliefs for example. And I guess it also helps us when we try to converse with other people with other religions because each religion is so different.

As the book concludes, to remain with the pluralistic idea that all religions are the same but are just different cultural perceptions of the ultimate reality is just an unwillingness to explore each path more deeply. Isn't it easier to just accept 2 different accounts as just being 2 different ways because it's just the path of least effort on our part?

Anyway, this is a really gooooooood booook!!! Need I say more? :)

Random thoughts

Bosses, leaders among us, be it at work, church, uni or wherever...

Sometimes I think they have this level of authority that makes me think they have it all made. They have more knowledge than me, able to handle things better....how can I explain it? They'll be okay in what they do. I just have to listen to them, respect them and that's that. They're somewhat "untouchable".

But sometimes I realise that they're human too and they can go so down and depressed. They may also experience the same stupid relationship or other personal and professional problems. They need support too.

shocked, shocked, shocked...

I just found out today after having a conversation with a friend that our current Prime Minister's wife (Malaysian PM), Datin Seri Endon Mahmood died of breast cancer.

And when did she die? October 2005.

I was so shocked.....

shocked, shocked, shocked.

I can't even remember if my dad mentioned it to me or my mum. If they did, it didn't stick in my head...but something like this would have, so i guess they didn't tell me.

I'm not going to tell my dad this coz he'll ask me why i don't read the newspaper.

Note: read the Malaysian papers online.