All in the name of love.

On the evening of the 3rd of May,2010, I telephoned my elder son and was told that he was at a police-station to make a police report on an assault on a friend who was with him at the time of the attack. He said he was some distance away when the incident took place. According to my son, it all started because of a girl. That was the bad news.

The good news was that my son was alright. No harm had come to him. Thank God for that. To top it all, was I delighted to hear that he has passed his final veterinarian examination. I thanked God for that too. But, this son of mine do deserve to pass as he was not only diligent; he was really interested in the subject. If you have read my previous postings, you would have read how he was interested in animals and fish since the age of nine. Since then we have had fish and animals in the compound of our house. Today, we still have birds, discus fish, guppies, flower-horn, platty, chillen, corydoras, plecos, fresh-water crayfish, half-beaks, red Cherry Shrimps, Golden shrimps and green shrimps, pig-nosed turtles and star tortoises.

It has been five years of hard work with working holidays through which he worked at various places to gain experience. He was in a pig farm in Kedah, another farm in mainland Penang, Langkawi Underwater World, Indonesia and an animal hospital in Bangkok to gain as much experience as possible. And he was so happy to forfeit his own holidays to work at all those places. Even now, just after his examination results, he was wondering where he could work and gain further knowledge and experience. Not only that, he has already ordered some rare shrimps and would be bringing home exotic fish to study and breed.

He requested for space for additional aquariums. Fortunately, we have a big compound in our corner house, something I insisted on looking for when I bought the house for I realised that a small house will be sufficient but a big outdoor area for fun and joy is essential. Yes, I bought it with myself, my wife and my children in mind. You see, I am one of those who could never get used to being cooped up in a place enclosed by four walls. That is one reason I could not resist the call to wander up the hills, into forests and the winding rivers and the fabulous waterfalls.

When we have the things we love in and around us, the world is a paradise; a joy to be in and life is nothing but happiness. With love for a subject, no matter how tough are the five years of study, it passes quickly and steadily. Work becomes a joy even during holidays and holidays bring fulfillment as it gives opportunities to experience more of what is loved.

Of course, as seen from the beating someone had as a result of love gone wrong, there is possibly some sadness and pain. However, if there is love, love will find the way to the heart and there is no need for a struggle to attain it.

On Friday, the 7th of May, I traveled with my two sons to meet a young guy who, despite being very young at twenty-three years of age, knew so much about aquarium fish, shrimps and crayfish, the breeding of some rare ones and the sourcing of such delightful beauties.

Meeting him at Penanti, Penang, he took us to his house where one portion of the compound of his house was built four big cement tanks and a number of aquariums for guppies of the less common types, most of them albinos.

Then he took us into his bedroom where his shrimps were kept in three long aquariums occupying one whole stretch of a wall. There was a book shelf filled with books on fish. It was an air-conditioned room, the sir-conditioning necessary for keeping the shrimps in a temperature cold enough for them to survive and breed. Imagine the measures enthusiasts would take to ensure success in their breeding programme.
The back portion of the house contained some aquariums with certain rare fish species. This young man has certainly spent a lot of time with his fish.

It is not just time but also money that has gone into his interests. According to him, he had ordered rare fish from importers and sometimes all would die within two weeks. One a friend managed to get a pair of beautiful fish to lose them just after getting some ten fries from the pair. And from the ten, only one is a male. Fortunately, the male was of a good attractive colours. Of course, he is looking after them carefully so as to have sufficient numbers to breed them successfully.
He has put in a lot of work but then it is never tiring as it is a work of love. In fact, his dreams are very much alive and he is planning to start a shop and concentrate more on rare, small, exotic fish.

He is so enthusiastic about his hobby that time passed so quickly as he told us after his many breeding attempts, his successes and failures. Well, when something interests us, time is not a factor. The interchange of knowledge and understanding is of utmost importance.