"Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant." - Socrates -

FOR A BOWL OF WATER, GIVE A GOOD MEAL;
FOR A KINDLY GREETING, BOW THOU DOWN WITH ZEAL;
FOR A SIMPLE PENNY PAY, THOU PAY BACK WITH GOLD;
IF THY LIFE BE RESCUED, LIFE DO NOT WITHHOLD.
THUS THE WORDS AND ACTIONS OF THE WISE REGARD;
EVERY SERVICE TEN FOLD THEY REWARD.
BUT THE TRULY NOBLE KNOW ALL MEN AS ONE
AND RETURN WITH GLADNESS GOOD FOR EVIL DONE.

Bhagavad Gita

On my desk, there are pictures of my children, all smiling and beautiful. My oldest will finish high school in May and will go on to college in August. My second one has three more years, and my youngest – well he hasn’t even started school yet.

Their pictures are reminding me everyday that this is what life is all about: you get married, have children, and watch them grow. As I said, my oldest will go to college soon, and soon she will get her wings. She will fly. Dare I let her fly? I guess I… Continue

What I have been fearing all along is that the riches and glamors of the latest booms in Khmer real estate market benefit not the ordinary Khmers, but the few Khmer elites and their foreign partners or investors who came and went to do business in Kampuchea as if they are visiting a brothel.

I am certain that, yes, somewhere in between some ordinary Khmers will benefit from all of this frenzy: the construction people, etc. However, looking at a bigger picture I cannot help but wondering how can… Continue

A young friend of mine was talking to me the other day about having a baby. He is 25 year old and his wife of one year is 24. She is a teacher while he…well, under-employed. He was not sure if they (his wife and he) are ready to start a family. Our conversation went something like this:

ME: Are both of you ready?
MATTHEW: Sort of.
ME: Why “sort of”?
MATTHEW: Well, because we do not have money.
ME: Do you need to have money to raise a family?
MATTHEW: No, not really.
ME: Do you want to have a ba… Continue

A friend of mine complained to me recently of how his business is slowing down because of the construction project that is going on near his business. He said his revenue is down about twenty percent. He said he never thought that this could happen. He is worried by it for he does not know how long this project may last.

… Continue