Sunday, October 19, 2008

17 Sep 2008: The interesting evening

Life becomes more enriching thanks to good friends.

After enjoying beautiful sights at Watsons Bay, my friend and I were back on the roads again. I was more than satisfied with the lovely views at Watsons Bay that I did not see a need to travel to Bondi Beach as planned.

My friend was very kind to continue to lend her company despite a pretty long day. As she tried to introduce me to some of the major districts in Sydney, she made a special drive along one of the streets so that I could take a look at it while riding on the car.




Eventually, we ended up in Chinatown, Sydney. Which part of Chinatown did we go?

We went to one of the local supermarkets which looked more like a family-owned grocery shop selling fresh produce and various food products. Here's what's interesting, there's a Chinese sinseh (Chinese physician) who was practising in the premises of that local supermarket.

I probably had an unusual experience as a tourist: I walked into a local supermarket in Chinatown Sydney, and found myself in the room of a Chinese sinseh consulting him about some health issues. My friend came along with me. During the consultation, the Chinese sinseh interestingly shared with us his Chinese calligraphy works. We started talking briefly about Li Shi-zhen's Ben Cao Gang Mu Herbal Systematics. The sinseh was so generous that he gave my friend a copy of his Chinese calligraphy as a gift. I suppose it was the process of conversing with the Chinese sinseh and ending up at a divergent topic that has made the visit to the Chinese sinseh not only functional, but also entertaining?

Before the dinner, prompted by my friend's suggestions, I bought a copy of a locally-published Chinese newspapers from one of the bookstores in Market City, which was located nearby Sydney's Chinatown. It was quite interesting to read how the Chinese newspapers published in Sydney were written with a different perspective from those that I read in Singapore.





The stop for dinner that evening was a Japanese restaurant at Market City. There is no photo of the dinner here because I was told that photography in the restaurant is not allowed. The variety of food served on the conveyor belt of the Japanese restaurant was different from those I had in Singapore. Wasabi, one of my favourite condiments at Japanese restaurants, was served in small packets. One has to open each packet to squeeze out the fresh wasabi. I was pretty full from having three servings of breakfast earlier the day, and did not eat as much as I would normally do. The pleasing part was that my friend said that she enjoyed the dinner.

It was at the Japanese restaurant that my friend shared about happiness being a conscious choice, and about choosing happiness consciously, every moment. It's a profound remark that I am now taking steps to practise. I'm sharing what my friend had shared with me on this blog because I believe good things are meant to be shared with as many people as possible. May you find happiness, simply by choosing it every moment.

Meantime, I wish that the goals that my friend has would be fulfilled. I believe in her.

2 comments:

mistipurple said...

yes, happiness starts with a conscious effort and a choice.
sometimes it takes a longer time and a longer process, depending on circumstances. but generally speaking, it is a choice.

oceanskies79 said...

Misti: Thanks for taking time to read my posts so thoughtfully. I appreciate your support.

Wishing you happiness every moment. :)