January 10, 2007

Randomly...

My Chinese name's tan3 xing4. 'tan' as in honest. 'xing' as in almond. According to my dad, the almond plant is a super useful plant. But, since the internet makes information so accessible, I did a search on the properties of almond.

It is, indeed, a very useful and beneficial plant. Used externally, the oil of almonds is good for hydrating the skin, as a form of emollient and has a calming effect on skin burns. Taken orally, it is good for treating inflammations of digestive and urinary tracts, fever and cough, and lightly laxative. Marzipan is made of almond and is commonly made to fight cold during Christmas in the Mediterranean.

But what I found most interesting is that, it can only be taken orally when it's fully riped. Almond contains amygdaline, which turns into hydrocyanic acid when it comes into contact with liquids such as saliva. And hydrocyanic acid, like it sounds, is a very strong poison. And the time that it's well riped is in the middle of September. Like my birthday!

I bet my dad didn't know this last piece of information. haha!

I digressed.

Honesty and the properties of almond were not the primary reason for naming me. My dad took the trouble to consult the almanac before even thinking of the two words 'tan' and 'xing'.

He explained, when I was much younger (and I remember it till now), that out of the five elements that the Chinese believed in for purpose of harmony, my birth time was SERIOUSLY abundant with water. Everything else (fyi, it's metal, wood, fire, earth) was in good order. Just that I had wayyyyy too much water. So! The character 'tan' is actually made up of earth (tu) and dawn or sun rise (dan); and 'dan' actually has 'ri' (sun) in it. The character 'xing' is actually made up of wood (mu) and mouth (kou).

So, you see. Every part in the characters of my Chinese name are there for a good reason - to absorb water, evaporate water, grow by means of water and consume water. The love of a father! He must be damn scared that my life will just end by means of drowning in the abundance of water attributed by my birth time.

Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. But, I'm really no good in water bodies. I've learnt (forced to do so in sec sch n JC) swimming twice. I know all the strokes in theory and I managed to swim a grand length of 3 metres when my coach forced me to. But that's really about all.

Whenever I say 'I went swimming', what I really meant is, I went to the swimming pool and bask in the pool, did some kicking, some arms exercises, some stretching, period.

And I always believe that one day, given the fact that Singapore is merely an island, and natural disasters are quite unpredictable, I might just die the way that my dad tried so hard to save me from.

Then, it would be like... Ahhhh.... what the?!??!

Posted by 杏 cy （Jancy） at 17:52