Palmtop..... reader

I took a break from my usual routine yesterday by stopping and browsing at a 'Pasar Malam'. That is 'Night Market/Bazaar' in English I guess. I normally pay more attention to the food section of these kind of events, and I noticed that the Malay food section has kind of gained permanence over time. They have this 'Halal' burger setup going, as well as the usual phletora of Malay goodies. These did not really exist about 4-5 years back I think. In this particular Pasar Malam, they even have a new entry: a Vietnamese food stall (the Japanese 'takoyaki' and 'okonomiyaki' was missing. Thank goodness for that. The things they make could not be justified to be even 50% close to what they claim they are making)

Anyway, I got myself a coconut drink and 2 Taiwan sausages, and began enjoying them while walking to the bus interchange to take a bus back home. Midway, I got distracted by this gentleman in white chinese dress who was doing a 'show' on palmistry. I am quite interested in palm reading, so I decided to observe.

I have not watched this kind of 'roadshow' before, and frankly speaking, I was pretty impressed by the skill of the presenter. He was well groomed (even has a small trimmed moustache), and his stories flows well. He switches effortlessly in between Hokkien, Mandarin and Cantonese, of which I can only understand 1. Thankfully, most of them were in Mandarin.

By the time I started listening, he was explaining the meaning of the major lines on the plam. That being the Relationship line, the Life line, the Intelligence line, and the Career line. Unfortunately, my Mandarin is not up to scratch, and I could only get about 80% of what he's saying. And it seems that I do not have a career line on my right hand (or rather there are lots of faint lines, and I do not know which one is which... ; ;). I also have the 'drop money line' which kinda explains why I am always short of cash (don't everybody... ). I was also surprised to learn that there is an addition to the common 'gentleman left palm', 'ladies right plam' way of palm reading. It seems that once you hit 35, both of the palms must be read. (I am not sure if he's referring to the Lunar calendar or Roman one though)

He also said that not everybody can be extremely successful in business. Or, despite being very successful, somehow could not hold on to their earnings. Life in is your own palm, and it is mapped on the lines. Everyone has at least one share of being succesful, but only if they are receptive to opportunity when it comes knocking on their door (and well, some people has more than one share. No one said that life is evenly fair.) But there are ways around it. Forming partnerships is one.

I was actually quite tempted to have my palm read, especially since he kept on emphasising that no money is involved. (Fishy... no?) But when I saw that one of the spectator went to have his palm read, it was not by the speaker, but by some other 'shady looking' characters sitting at the table behind. Maybe if it is this gentleman who performs it, or if those other guys decide to be better groomed, I will give it a try. He did give out some really good advice though, like:

- To lead a happy life, one has to learn to let go. (Na De Qi, Fang De Xia)
- Everybody has talents. It is just that some talents have to be hired out to other people (like Jiang Ziya) to be most effectively utilised.

At least now I know why some guys keep long nails...