Dad's new toy.

I just helped my dad buy his very first Laptop/Computer.

Teaching him how to use it is going to be interesting :)

Its easy, take the difficult path.

Its not about how easy life can be...



Its about the joy of working hard to overcome its difficulties.

tell me why..

Can someone tell me why I woke up abruptly at 6am on a public holiday morning... blogging..?

Somehow, this seems to always happen after I have a prata pig-out.

Flu again...

Caught a cold again. Getting the flu virus twice in a month. What a bummer...

Quote

" For me, small gestures mean ALOT precisely because they are small.
They do not shout " LOOK AT ME" - they simply offer love quietly."
~Unknown

Troy

I've finally found time to watch the vcds I bought years ago...literally.
Troy! Is an amazing show! And Brad Pitt is an amazingly charismatic actor.
To me, he has been immortalized in this movie, and this is what he has to share about immortality...



"My brothers of the sword.
I'd rather fight beside you than an army of thousands."

"Let no man forget how menacing we are.
We are Lions!"

"Do you know whats there?
Waiting... beyond that beach.

Immortality!

Take it!

Its yours!"

Achilles~Troy

I MUST get the DVD!

Finish line

Is life all about reaching the finish line?

Randoms

"Dont you feel so judged sometimes.."

"Strings attached"

Everyone is Unique

There is no point trying to fit a cube into a round hole.
The cube is not inadequate as compared to a sphere.
Each has its own merits.
Wont it look ridiculous to see a cube trying to roll?

Everyone is unique.

Know your strength and your weaknesses.
Know them, and understand them. Then, use them to serve you well.

Confidence

Thoughts from a few friends' discussion about what they think confidence is. Communication, the exchange of ideas is really a wonderful thing.

To be able to:

-Observe the situation
-Analyze,
-Consider,
-Decide,
-Stick to your decision.
Then accept and handle the consequences of your actions.

This makes a confident person.

Even if you are in a bad situation, be confident, and know that you can in a bad situation.

Be patient, and observe, analyze and learn.

Sick again.

Sore throat to full blown flu.

2 days MC but worked from home.

Surprise extraction of Molar with excessive loss of blood.

Flu got worse, feel like crap.

A quote from a friend..

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way
to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.
And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle.
As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it."
~ Steve Jobs

The day I fell sick over the weekend.

1. Deprived from sleep
2. Lack of rest
3. Extreme temperature variations
4. Karaoke session
5. Caught in the rain.

All the fantastic makings of a sore throat, which mutates into a cough, blocked nose, and a full blown flu.

Weekend, burnt!

When we are angry.

There is something important that I have been reminded of tonight. And I would hope to say it in a humble attempt of a poem:

When we are angry,
when words of anger flies like the wind,
we feel a moment's pleasure.
For this "brings justice to those who did us wrong", we think.

However we are sometimes blind to see,
For these blades and spears of anger,
which we feel will bring us "justice",
sadly but surely,
will only hurt those who care for us the most.
~Lionzmane~

Such is the irony of life.


As such, to all those who have been hurt by the wrath of my blades of carelessness and my spears of ignorance...

I'm Sorry.

I've fixed a flat.

My first attempt to fix a flat tyre.

Not all that bad, nor difficult. Just bloody hot!

The culprit!

How did THIS get into my tyre?!

Cool furniture

This looks real cool.

A glass panel suspended above as a table top, and magazines and newspaper displayed below. Something i'd like to have in my appartment.

Sunday Chilling

A cool drink with a view on a Sunday evening....

And a Waffle with Chocolate overload ice cream..!
Yumm!

A Tooth called Molar

A tooth chipped at one corner with fracture at another.
An unskilled dentist ripped that corner and extended the fracture to the gums.
I bled, I cursed.

A crown is needed, but the wait is a month.
I hope it comes soon, if the tooth can be salvaged.

Chinese History teaches many lessons

Red Cliff

Integrity, Righteousness and Honour. Values long lost with the sands of time.

The difference between the Mediocre and Greatness, might just be whether or not you have the Courage...

And the Brave are "Simply those with the clearest vision of what is before them. Glory and Danger alike not withstanding, go out and meet it."

Shattered

Clumsy elbow meets butter finger.

BBalls

My love for Basketball has not died...
It just took a very long nap.

A mean pair of AND1 Primetime sneakers.

At long last, my very first leather ball.

Down..

The roads are long and hard,
and there will be many a times when we feel down.
We know we shouldnt...
...but sometimes, we just do.

Signs

They say a picture speaks a thousand words.
A sign... does the same.

Rainy monday

Gloom...
rain...
dark clouds...
mondays.

The Knight is Dark indeed

Unlike most iconic hero movie which leaves those impressionables inspired to be a hero, this doesn't. It shows the many dark and difficult decisions he would have to make. I wont want to be him.


The joker...
likes to use a knife to end one's life. He feels that its slower, allowing the last few moments of a person's life to reveal their true self. Or rather, the ugly side of mankind.

But I feel everyone has a good and an ugly side. Which side we choose to live by, makes us who we really are. By focusing or trying to bring out that ugly side will not make the world a better place.

However...
I might be able to see how the joker came to be. When a person is pushed beyond despair, they snap. As Hope and Dreams are crushed, Despair and Chaos emerges. Hope is what keeps us alive. Despair, Chaos and eventually Darkness, is easier, because it is surrender. And the need for him to show to others, that madness, chaos and darkness is mankind's true nature, is the need for justification.

This is not a movie about heros, it is about mankind.

Who brought the house down?

Durian Party

Some flinch with terror,
Some salivate at the sight of it.
Its either love or hate,
there is no other.

Its a number game:
32 pieces of KFC chicken,
2 ultra large pizza,
and 3 tons of durian.
74 trillion calories to burn.

From Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies

Beautifully worded:

"....though she was not yet ready to let go of the hope that her perfect guy's perfect happiness, might lie with her."

Ned:"We wake up everyday with a list of wishes a mile long. And maybe we spend our lives trying to make those wishes come true, but just because we want them doesn't mean we need them to be happy."

Chuck:"What do you need to be happy?"

Ned:"You."

Galler

A present for me? And its not even christmas! Thanks Girlie ;)

Nothing like Chocolate to drive away the dark clouds :)

Cutie art

Just so happens that Marina Square centrestage has this Australia festival. Cute paintings for sale. Maybe be a nice center piece for your little ones?

Holy

I met an angel,
creamy white.
She threw me a cheeky smile and a wink,

and they cheered me up as bright as light.

Holes

Dont Panic, these arent Krispy Kreme.
But they are gooooood.
Diet? What diet?

ElizabethTown

All the makings of a good movie, but unfortunately it isnt.

Enjoyable nevertheless.

Upon failure and depression.
Strangers meet.
Fall in love.
Road Trip.
Lessons of life, failure, courage and greatness.

"Success, not greatness, was the only god the entire world served"

"Sadness is easier, because it is surrender."

Home Sweet Home.. and work

Home Sweet Home, and back to work

Scary Singaporeans being away

Shopping, Bargaining and drunken salesman.

Being Sick while Away

Oh great. Being sick while overseas is just so not economical. It drives down my efficiency per dollar spend on the trip by 1 day less....

Stomach Flu is the word.. any cures anyone can suggest?

Currently, I am sticking to strictly liquid diet, and charcoal pills. Plenty of rest, and cross my fingers to wish I recover tomorrow.

Wish List:
- Ginger ( for getting rid of the wind )
- Yakult ( for friendly germs to cure my tummy)
- Pocari Sweat ( for salt )

Being Away

Being away really helps you to reflect and relook at your life. It allows you to stone to your heart's content. Listening to your favorate tunes while looking at the mountains, rivers and padi fields zoom by leaves you nothing better to do than to think. A rare activity I seldom have the luxury of, ever since I leaped into the rat-race.

It also allows you to experience new things and see different people and come up with totally irrelevant epiphanies while doing so... Heres one to share;

"With The Unknown, comes Hope."
~Maneless~

Thus, Fear Not the unknown, but embrace it with enthusiasum.

Away

The time has finally come. Months of waiting for this very day. So long folks! Off to a land far far away...

Up up and away!!!

All in a night...

It was Friday night, and all I wanted to do is to enjoy the weekend. So we rounded up some buddies and had dinner..... Heres the menu of my Full Course dinner for the evening:

Entree

Golden brown French Fries
+
Coke on the rocks
+
6 pieces of crispy tender Chicken Nuggets with Curry Sauce
(a.k.a Mcdonals Chicken McNugget Meal)


Main

Coffee Club Ceasar Salad
+
Garlic Pasta with Sauteed Prawns
(a.k.a. Coffee Club Garlic Prawn Pasta)


Dessert
Two towering THICK slices of Sing Wang's Honey coated French Toast with a slice of butter on top
+
Hong Kong Milk Tea.

Some would say this meal can feed an army.. I think not. It was only 7 course.....

A basketball team perhaps. Burp!

Zombie Land

.... its 304am on a friday morning.. and i cannot fall asleep.

Caffeine 1 : Maneless 0

Exercise Sunday

At the peak of my insanity..... I dragged myself out of my comfy bed and air-conditioned room this morning... to sweat under the hot sun.

I believe I deserve some sort of medal for this level of determination. Maybe an award of some sort?

I just love the feeling of wind in my face. And as I cruise down ECP, I stare up, into the deep blue sky. With the sun's smile peering through the leaves.

A view with a smile

Fort road is the best area to blade
Minimal traffic, amazing canopy and smooth terrain

Deep Blue Sky

Costumes

It is indeed interesting to try out new things. Today, with anxiety, curiosity and suspicion, I stepped into my first Costume shop. I was initially expecting the place to be nothing more than a classroom in size. No. It turned out to be about the size of a basketball court. If not bigger! Shelves stuffed with customs of different country, culture, themes, genres, movies, you name it, they will probably have it.

I got ahead of myself. My trip to the custom shop is all in preparation for my friend's wedding in June. They are having their wedding dinner in The Grand Shanghai. And as the name suggests, we are going to have a themed dinner, "Oriental" style!!

So, after 2 hours of digging, trying, laughing our heads off, I finally found (with the help of the friendly staff) the complete costume. Silk Ma-Gua, jacket, hat, pants, cloth shoes, everything! all I need now is a bird cage and a paper fan! They say I look like some 19 Century Chinese "Ah1 Xia4 Kia4". Those that frequent tea-houses. For those who don't understand this, go look up www.hokkien-ho-dictionary.com for answers... NO! this is not an actual website! Well, but it didnt come cheap. 60bucks for the whole set. Ouch!

Photos??? Hmm... maybe not yet. Might post a few of them during the wedding. It will be a smash! An eventful weekend if I do say so myself :)

White is the new black.

They say good things comes in pairs. I say, the more the merrier.

27inch luggage from Lojel-Japan. White.
(You must be crazy if you think I got the one in pink)

Some say it looks like something spiddy would carry. But I say, it looks cool. Cool factor 8/10!!!

Cuffs and Clip

Check out my new bling blings! The Great Sale has just begun! And being the patriotic citizen as I am, I have done my part in boosting our proud nation's GDP by spending!! Spend! Spend! Spend!!!

Heres $140bucks for the country!!!!

I've been eyeing this pair of cuffs and tie clip from Giorgio Mandelli since Jan!

A touch of class.... and loads of Vanity!

Ok! Now I just need a decent cuff-link shirt...

Oh! Vanity! Vanity!!! Shame on me! Shame!!

Vesak must mean Work in greek

I must be mistaken.

I was under the impression that Vesak day is a public holiday. Apparently, it just means another day at work.

Same mistake I made with Labor day. I thought it was a public holiday. It turned out to be another day that you are required to WORK.

Silly me.

Crisis, Fire fighting, server-down, orders blocked, operation folks complains, clients nag. Stomach ulcers, hair-loss, over-eating, sleepless nights, chest-pains and breathlessness. Am I really paid enough to handle all this?

Biology vs Destiny - Infidelity

Interesting quotes from a newspaper's Sunday column.

"Over lunch with a businessman in his 50's, who travels extensively and has a wide network of friends and associates, men and women, I asked how realistic it was for a woman to expect her husband to be faithful. Pause, and then :"Unrealistic"

Smart young man, in his 20's: "Monogamy is a social construct. Men are biologically made to stray. But the restraints of society and religion may make some faithful."

..................

A candid comment from a bachelor: "Men have millions of sperms, and women have only one egg at a time., So nature intended men to be polygamous."

Evolutionary biologist in fact support this view and make a case for a biological difference that explains why men stray more.

They say men are prone to sexual straying because men can father offspring with multiple sex partners. This way, they spread their genes far and wide, without having the responsibility to care for their offspring.

In contrast, a woman who gets pregnant, can carry only one child at a time. She also needs the mate to provide for the child. Thus biological make-up, and the pressure to keep the mate, act as constraints on female infidelity.

.....................

Many women are brought up to think that marriage means happily ever after. They may think, in the abstract, that other men may stray, but not their own darling who loves them so much.

They under-estimate the discipline and commitment required to remain monogamous in today's modern society, when sexual attraction is the undercurrent in many a relationship, the sec act has been denuded of love and commitment, and religious and moral strictures are cast adrift.

.......................

My retort to this is simple: Biology need not be destiny.

My own views is that both sexes have the capacity to be faithful - or unfaithful.

Perhaps men are biologically more primed to do so. It is certainly socially more acceptable for men to stay than for women. The male philanderer is viewed with tolerance, even respect, as a stud; the female philanderer is viewed with contempt as a slut.

Whether from biological or social imperatives, the result is that more women try harder to be faithful to their mates, and more succeed. Men try less hard, and more fail.

This should not be an excuse for either sex to give up. human beings are volitional creatures: We have the power of choice. We can choose to surrender to impulse and instinct and live at that primordial level - or we can choose to honour the tenets of a humane society and the marital vow.

In the end, the biggest constraints on infidelity have to be love and commitment and the desire to protect the sanctity of an exclusive, committed relationship.

Mature love requires self-restraint and sacrifice - values so out of vogue in today's society, yet so central to maintaining a loving relationship.

A man who strays, knowingly hurts his wife - and vice versa."

For the full article, check out page 10 : Reflect, of the Sunday's paper.

I agree to most of what the article says. Does a man, or a woman really want their marriage to fail? No, I don't think so. Ironically, instead of helping each other out, they put them to the test. Some women expect the men to please and pamper them while they do nothing, and expect the men not to stray (Note: Men not equals to dogs). Whereas some men just don't treasure what they have until they have lost them (Note: Women not equals accessories).

She: "How dare he not pamper me and treat me like a princess and do what I want him to do? And now he cheats on me?! How dare he?!!"

He: "Why cant she be less demanding and more fun to be with, like when we were dating?"

Well, it takes 2 hands to clap. Many of us forget.

Be passionate! Be Inspirated!

Go with your passion.

Learning about people and how to be a great leader, can happen outside of the traditional business sphere. Some people get business ideas from philosophy or studying religion. It all depends on what you're passionate about.

Inspiration can come from the most unusual of sources.

Tom Glocer, the CEO of Reuters, said that the philosophical writings of Honoré de Balzac served as a guide for him in the business world:

"With Balzac, ideas don't necessarily only come from a very direct path. Often the bigger lessons in life get learned in slightly indirect or abstract ways. If you're thinking of a problem in a narrow space, often the solution lies in reorienting in the way you approach the problem, and you end up solving a general set of problems."

If you can find something that motivates you and hones your potential, that is what is most likely to help you succeed.

25.5% Fats

Yes, thats what i am. I am made up of 25.5% fats! My birthday gift told me.

State of the art weighing machines can now not only tell you your weight, it can also tell you your fats content, Water%, Metabolic rate, Heart rate, Rate of hair loss, hours of sleep needed, whether you need to cut your nails, when to pick your nose, and cut your hair. It can do almost anything, including the washing of the kitchen sink! Nah.. but it CAn tell you your weight and fats content.

25.5%! more than 1/4 of me is made of fats! Urg!!!
Time to exercise. I've been trying to take midnight strolls for now.. considering my old bones.. and the fact that I don't get back from work till past midnight....

I leave you people with a word of wisdom, discovered through years of walking this planet....

"Audits are created to torture employees." ~Anonymous~

Lesson of the day # 984

Working continuously for 16 hours makes you forget which day it is...

Cool Car

This automobile stood out from the rest of the boring cars like a sore thumb, in a nice way. I think it really looks cool, with its vertical headlights.

Any guesses what was the origin of this heavily modified car? I have a guess...

Step 1: Book Ticket ...FAST!!!

In my job, I have learnt that everything should have a system to govern a person's actions to complete a task in the most efficient manner. As such, I shall hereby develop a process that should be followed to make preparation for a vacation.

Step 1: Book your tickets, FAST!!

Choose Country, City, Departure and return dates, Airline and BOOK IT!! (In Singlish)/ Make a reservation (in British)/ Hantam!!! (In Beng-ish)/ Just WHACK! (In Atas-high-klass-Beng-ish)

If the above steps are not followed religiously, closely and promptly, user might experience smoke emitting from his wallet as all the available seats/time-slots are taken up over just 1 weekend.

Life SUCKS!

Hot Hot HOT!!!

31 Degrees my big fat FOOT!!!
It must have been 35 Degrees today.
You could roasted a chicken by just leaving it under the night sky!!

Mayday rocks Singapore

Singapore Indoor Stadium

Ah Shin.

Today is the day!

A platform lowered from the skys and Mayday runs up to right in-front of our noses.

Mayday singing happy birthday for Masa, who was wearing a skirt.

Today has finally came! My first Mayday concert, and also the first time i paid 168bucks for a concert! Disappointed how FAR it actually is from the stage.. fortunately there is a intermediate stage which brings them slightly nearer. Nevertheless, it was an experience to remember. Rock concerts really gets you standing and pounding your foot to the beat. Next, Jay Chou Concert!

Sick a for a week

The only thing worse than falling sick, is to almost fall sick.

Its one of those times when you feel all the symptoms of flu, but not knocked out due to flu yet. Horrible Sore Throat, blocked nose, 97yr old backache.. makes you just want to throw yourself off the cliff. But you cant. You need to go to work. Sucks!

Been taking Vit C and trying to rest early. It works a little, but I think flu viruses has become much stronger than before.

In my teens, I use to recover from full blown flu within 1-2 days. Pop some pills, sleep, next morning, i'm as good as new. But nowadays, it seems to take a whole week to recover from flu. Is it because flu viruses has evolved to be more resistant to our medication? (thinking about it, all those typical flu medications has not changed much over the years, i.e. Decolgen) Or is it just that I am getting old?

Thirty-One

31 is the answer to life's question!

And Chocolate consumed too much, makes you feel bad...

alone again, naturally.

...and climbing to the top,
to throw myself off,
in an effort to,
make it clear to who,
ever wondered what its like when you'r shattered,
left standing in a lurch,
at a church,
where people saying,
"My God thats tough,
she stood him up,
no point in us remaining,
May as well go home",
as I did on my own,
Alone again, naturally.

Is one's life, the price to pay to believe in an ideal?

My FIRST upload

Extract from Bamboo Blade

Oh my GOsh!!!
My first successful upload of an image in blogspot!! for the last 4 years!!!!
Must buy lottery ticket!! must buy!!

Haha, looks familiar to anyone?? ;)

Waiting...

The wait is killing me. I toss around on my bed at night, not being able to sleep. Thinking about it. Seconds seem like minutes, and minutes like hours.. until it is as though time itself, stood still...

When will it arrive!!! Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Episode 23!!!! Bamboo Blade Episode 23!!!

Its been sooo long since I followed any anime. I love it! It makes me come alive :)

“What if”

A young married woman went to the doctor for help. She asked to be sterilized, as her upbringing had been so painful that she didn’t want to have her children experience the same thing.

The doctor asked her: “What would happen if you could make our children’s life better and could protect them?”

She thought about it and was stumped. She changed her mind about the operation and now has 2 beautiful girls that are the joy of her life. The right questions created space in her thinking to look at life in a new way.

Many lessons can be learnt from one story. The clear message in this story is how a simple question can change ones life. But I see another lesson in this story. And it is the power of “what if”.

“What if”s can be a form of non-constructive thinking if it is not followed by actions. Many dream of all the “what if”s in the world, but never bother or DARE to do anything about it.

Some, when making a choice, thinks of all the “what if”s. These people either becomes so fixated at finding the perfect choice, or become so fearful of all the negative points of each choice, that they either kill themselves over it, or miss the opportunity.

But in this story, it illustrates the point that “what if” we can make it good. All we need to do is to focus on the positive. Jump into a choice, and MAKE IT HAPPEN. There are negative points to this choice? SURE! Which path in life doesn’t? All it takes is a little faith in yourself, and a whole lot of determination to see it through. Make no mistakes, there are no guarantees that things will go as planned. We, with our own two hands, will just have to make it so.

Life is a journey. Even a journey of a thousand miles, start with a single step.

To Learn

It is estimated that 161 Billion Gigabyte of digital information was generated last year alone. If translated to books, that’s 12 stacks reaching from Earth to the Sun. It is also 3 million times the information in ALL books ever written! Alright alright, they are nothing but bombastic numbers, and most of the information nothing more than rubbish blog like this one. But they are interesting facts nevertheless.

The point is simply, that our minds should not be used as data storage. If that were the case, you and I would have lost our jobs to $25 thumb-drives.

Our job is now to think. To think, to ask, to learn and to manage.

As the saying goes:

“He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.”

“The one real objective of education is to have a man in the condition of continually asking questions.”

The wisest use of our minds is not just to hold data, but learning how to work with the data, which requires the art of enquiry.

To do so, we must relearn how to ask questions. As with all arts, it is not an easy task to learn, and requires discipline and practice with a dose of humility.

Art is Expression

Art = Expression

I recently attended a course on travel photography. It made me realize one thing. That art is not just about painting and sculptures. Art is an expression of oneself. Sounds cheem? I think not.

My view is that Art is very personal. It is ones expression of what they have seen and felt. Data taken in from all their 5 senses, and expressed into one object. Be it a painting, a sculpture, or in this case, a photograph. It tells a story.

I use to dislike the idea that every photograph MUST have a story. I felt as long as it looks nice, that would be good enough. However, now I appreciate that, a picture can be more than just for aesthetic, it can paint a thousand words. It can express a feeling.. even a novel might not be able to bring across.

If art teaches us one thing, it might be to learn to better appreciate the finer details in life.

For example, color (or the lack of it) brings another dimension to a picture and its story. Sometimes, too many colors will distract the viewer from the focus. But if used wisely, one simple color can tell a lot more words than can. Just like the movie HERO by Zhang Yimou. I love it because of the colors. It tells the background and feeling of each character in the story. It was brilliant!

Pick up a paintbrush, take a photo, express a part of yourself into a piece of art, and leave it as your legacy in this world.

Flyer

Was at the flyer yesterday... its a nice view. I always liked huge structures. It partially reminded me of the Eiffel tower when i first saw just one of its "foot". I was absolutely and totally in awe.

the Flyer adds new spice to our lackluster skyline.

I like it.

Close to you

A friend left a CD in the car.
Now its left a song in my head...

Close to youby Olivia Ong

Why do birds suddenly appear,
Everytime you are near?
Just like me, they long to be,
Close to you......

Why do stars fall down from the sky,
Everytime you walk by?
Just like me, they long to be,
close to you.........

On the day that you were born the angels got together,
And decided to create a dream come true,
So they sprinkled moondust in your hair
And golden starlight in your eyes of blue...

That is why, all the boys [or: girls] in town,
Follow you, all around,
Just like me, they long to be,
Close to you.......

On the day that you were born the angels got together,
And decided to create a dream come true,
So they sprinkled moondust in your hair
And golden starlight in your eyes of blue...

That is why, all the boys [or: girls]in town,
Follow you, all around,
Just like me, they long to be,
Close to you.........
Just like me, they long to be,
Close to you.........