Be uber spirited and peppy for the new year

Bismillah.

I crafted this greeting card for the management and colleagues at my workplace who celebrate Christmas and posted it on my department's FB page. My department is known as USP (it's a telecommunications jargon). Yes, we have got a dedicated Facebook for our organization, it's called "Workplace". It's refreshing and liberating to be able to connect with more people at work, in new, exciting and creative ways.

Yes, for the new year, let's be uber spirited and peppy. Let's embrace it with courage, energy, enthusiasm, and determination.

Having said that, we should not expect perfect and total blessings all the time and all at once.

I saw this so relevant Keep Calm Tweets: "If God rushed and gave you every blessing all at once, it wouldn't be perfect. Good things take time. Be patient, keep your faith."

Joyous greetings from Penang.

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I talked to a stranger at the Gurney Plaza Mall in Penang yesterday. Yes, I did. He offered me and niece a seat when he saw us standing holding a big cup of loaded yogurt. We chatted.

Imagine the kind of life he lives. Life is naturally diverse. He is 84, healthy, cycles to the mall every day and spends hours at the mall because it's too hot at home which is not too far away from the mall. He lives with his sister's family. He has been yearning to work but people won't hire him because of his age, despite the fact that he is strong and healthy. He thought there must be something useful he could do even though he had no proper education. He became a fisherman when he was 17 and retired when he was in his 60s. He does not know how to use a cell phone. He does not know how to use the ATM machine either. His niece gives him a small monthly allowance so at the end of every month he gets a good trusted friend to help him withdraw cash from the ATM. He was never married, "I wanted to be married but it was too expensive back then." He is originally from Kedah. He is Ah Chee, one Chinese Malaysian who speaks fluent Malay. I found him uber spirited and peppy for his age. But then again age is just a number and after all a highly spirited soul would always rise above life's circumstances, be it plain or flavorful.