small is beautiful!

22nd September 2005, Singapore - Dengue cases continue to rise in the island city with 136 cases reported today alone. Todate, 10 lives have been lost to the illness here; the latest victims being an elderly man and a woman who had both already suffered from other exisiting illnesses. I find it ironic how I was on a course of anti-Malaria pills before, during and right after my trip to Kenya, only to return to what was deemed a safe place and find dengue plaguing our people. If only a ready cure had been found to tackle Dengue with pills just the same.

Why the caption? Well for sure, the mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus aren't my point of reference. They're small, but they not only give you the itch and disrupt your sleep, they're now carrying a killer virus and sucking the blood (and life) out of people. So to the lizards, fish and frogs, it's time you stuck out your tongues (ok fishies, just open your mouth wide and take one big gulp) and go into a feeding frenzy to help us homosapiens out.

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL? yes small is beautiful!!!

why my obsession with size in this entry? well, size has always mattered to everyone. how BIG you are or how small you are always matters. size even matters for what you own, where you live and what you drive. size connotes a lot of things to a lot of people. for me, being small-size meant i was always at the front of the class and first when we lined up. yes, right under the teacher's nose. being small meant you were the last to get picked to join either of the teams for sport or physical activity. being small (and short) often meant you were overlooked and literally 'looked down upon'. it meant it would be an issue for girls to date a guy who's shorter than them. but i've learnt to deal with smallness in a BIG way. there are blessings to being 'puny' and i've verbally presented them to some of my friends who pick on small people, albeit jokingly. So here're 10 BIG original reasons why it's great to be small:
1) You're space-saving. With smaller dimensions, you occupy less space and will never be deemed bulky and in the way of things and people. Have you sat at the back of a 2-door sports coupe?!
2) You're environmentally-friendly. The trees work less in the sun because you wouldn't require as much as oxygen to maintain as would bigger people. You also require less water and food to get through life.
3) You're portable. If ever you break a leg or need to be rescued (choi!), you'll be the medic's or fireman's first pick to save from injury and harm.
4) You're lightweight. You'll never be the one to step into a crowded elevator and trigger the alarm. The person after you would!
5) You're always out of reach and out of sight. These blessings are most evident when you play hide-and-seek and one-leg! Even rugby!
6) You're as agile as can be! With lesser weight and shorter limbs to carry around, you're able to move around quicker and get your whole self from point A to point B in a 'shorter' (no pun intended) time.
7) You've got the best centre of gravity. Being closer to the ground, you've got better balance and you'll puke less on ships out at choppy seas.
8) You're energy-saving. You bend less to tie your laces, pluck weeds, vaccuum the carpet and mop the floor. (But don't always 'yes' to housework!)
9) You're friendly to furniture and footwear. The couch, cushions and mattress you put your weight on last longer. So do the soles of your sneakers.
10) You get to be everyone's best friend. The fact that you're small strongly suggests (though not always true) that you're not potentially intimidating or life-threatening. (Yeah, but little do they know we can be like chilli padi! small, potent & fiery!)

There! Ten exceptional reasons why it's great to be small! I'm reminded of a song that has these lines:
"All things bright & beautful, all creatures great and small.
All things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all!"

So size does matter and I hope you're happy with yourself as you ought to be!