working a job called "life"

　
人間という仕事をクビになってどれくらいだ
とりあえず汗流して努力をしたつもりでいただけ

Thanks Shungyeon for the previous posts' comments, I loved reading them and I miss you too~♥ So it's finally Sunday, my only day off, and it went by just like that as I fixed problems in the new system, groomed Bonbon, visited my grannie, and now just came back from a wedding reception at the hippest new party hall here. The president/candidate SB Yudhoyono is in town, maybe till tomorrow; Kupang's streets saw a major traffic jam for the first time.

For the past month and a half, I practically learnt more than I did from any campus grounds. About how to cut dog hair and nails, manage an administration and accounting system, cure sick infants, and drive manual in crazy conditions. I learnt that eucalyptus oil should never go in your ears. I also learnt about entrepreneurship, the power of facebook, and about the price of living.

I recall my father's conversation with his friend one day. He had just read a volume of Chicken soup for the soul, and was dramatically retelling one story of an Anglican priest's will which was found at the side of his dying bed. The priest wrote of how he wanted to conquer and change the world when he was young, make it a better place. Upon reaching adulthood, he realised the plan was too idealistic, so he aimed to just fixing up problems within his country. Turning middle aged, he finally saw the many problems inside his own family, and sought to solve those first. Now, bedridden and suffering from diseases - only then he knew that he should have first taken better care of himself instead before it was too late. Then my dad's friend commented on the story modestly: "Why tell such a long, complicated story; when there is the four-character Chinese idiom xiu-qi-zhi-ping (which I later looked up in my faithful Canon Wordtank G90) 修齐治平?"

It stands for 修身、齐家、治国、平天下. This Confucian idea instructs people to (forgive my poor translation skill) first cultivate oneself, manage their family well, go on to govern a country, then bring peace to all things under heaven.

The above story and phrase is so tightly related to many things that happened around me lately. I came to realise that death comes to visit more often than I imagined, the film Okuribito seems to continuously play itself right between my daily routine. What would you do if you discovered that you would die before your time? What if you got cancer? Or heart disease? Or diabetes? Or AIDS? Or hypertension? Or, okay, let's just go back to cancer - the modern lifestyle and foodstyle disease. We suddenly received a package via post, inside it was a file folder of copies of handscribbled notes and articles, from newspapers, magazines, books, and elsewhere. It was sent from a middle-aged distant uncle. Dying from cancer, considered 'untreatable' by most doctors in Australia, he waits for his time to come at the end of each passing day, his letter says. But before that time comes, he warns as many people as he can by sending out the results of his years of research while he fights this disease.

I won't post up this guy's multilingual collection of cancer knowledge, but I want to pass on his message here. Google up "cancer" and read the wiki. Its major factor basically comes down to how we manage our daily consumption. So whether you are a herbivore, carnivore, fungivore, omnivore, or insectivore, be a better person - and start by eating healthier!

My thoughts go out to those who are fighting cancer, those who faced and defeated it, and those who have gone to rest forever..

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