Daily Lessons from Life 06 September 2014 - Nice vs. Bad External Shape?

MH370 Updates - MH370: Australia offers to build memorial to mark tragedy by the PM of Australia.

"He 'took advantage of widow's feelings' - The Straits Times  Sep 06, 2014

SINGAPORE - Before she met a 40-year-old tour guide from China, Madam Chung Khin Chun threw lavish parties, had a large art collection and several employees loyal to her. But after the tour guide moved into Madam Chung's $30 million Gerald Crescent bungalow, he prevented her from seeing her close friends, sold her jewellery and art, emptied her bank accounts and even sacked her long-time maid and driver.

These are the claims against Mr Yang Yin, who has not given his side of the story, in a court case."

AND

"'It's a roller coaster of pain' -  The New Paper  Sep 05, 2014

Each of her 33 tattoos was a mark of rebellion. They are also hard to remove. So while the rebel in Maia Lee faded as time passed, the 33 reminders of her past did not.

Lee, 31, a former Singapore Idol finalist, got her first tattoo at 16 and continued getting them till she was 25.

"It was a rebellious streak. I didn't want to conform to societal norms and at that point of time, I felt that body art was a way to make a statement," she said.

Lee said she decided to remove her tattoos because people tended to judge her by them. Also, removing them signalled a new phase in her life as she had converted to Christianity."

Interesting stories from the press.

Lessons for me are:

1. Mr Yang is allegedly a grass-root leader in Singapore too. If the allegation against him is true (since we have not heard his side of the story in court), he is a 'wolf in sheep skin'. A good external shape but not so good inside? While Maia with her wild lifestyle of the past is turning over a new leaf and have a good intention person inside her bad external shelf?;

2. this case against Mr Yang has some similarity with the famous or infamous 'fengshui' master who made a fortune sticking with Ms Yang of SinoChem's fame in Hongkong after her buddy died. The court in Hongkong found the fengshui master to be at fault. He forged the will and he lost the case. I won't if this case against Mr Yang in Singapore will go the same way or not? It looks like if you are rich and widowed, somebody is on to your fortune! How sad.

In Ms Maia's case, she just want to be respected by society at large and not be judged by her tattoos. Actually her situation is of her own doing. Being young and wild and fathering a few kids with people she met on the spurts are foolish behaviours by any measure. Yet, if she takes care of the kids and be able to live with the parting of their fathers, I respect her for that. Just that it is not a life you wish anyone to have. Being wild has its consequence if you want to take the responsibility;

3. with Mr Yang being a foreigner, not sure if he is a PR or a new citizen now, the story can take a different path. It used to be a concern that good hearted Singaporeans give opened their wallets to contribute to some tragic deaths or incidents of foreigners in Singapore to help them bring the dead back to their home country. Now, Singaporeans have to think about a foreigner sneaking into their home and takeover their inheritance! What a change.

Tongues will be set wagging about how Mr Yang got to be a grass-root leader, if true. Or how we let in someone of such character, if he is found guilty. Alas, whatever Mr Yang is doing, he had shown his entrepreneurial side of things. A quality that our national leaders Singaporeans lacked! Mmmm. Foods for thought?