Wednesday, May 30, 2007

This is Good night and not goodbye

Goodbye old house.

Well, I am just 11 hours plus away from the big move. Most of our things are in boxes (tons and tons of boxes) and there are boxes waiting to be filled when we finally leave. We had spent a wonderful almost 6 months in this house (not counting the time back in year 2004 when we first moved in here). This is the house that has brought back some good memories (my close friends are just one block down the street, my favourite fried rice is just a 10mins walk from my house, my favourite stadium where I do my morning jog, the swimming pool which kept me swimming like a fish always over the weekends...I could go on and on, but sadly...I know it's time to leave).

We have put lots of love into this house with our decorations and improving this and that. It feels weird leaving some place that you have gotten so used to for something new and unfamiliar. But I guess, changes are inevitable and so is the moving. Tomorrow (May 31), around this time, we will be moving into a new place, to make new memories in.

Nobody seems to be sad except me and I am sure on moving day when it comes to closing the door for the last time I will be more sad then I am at this moment. Living in this house, I was only about a mile away from where I grew up when i was young. It was actually within walking distance. Now I keep telling my mom that we should come back more often to eat the fried rice...

Hmm..this reminds me of a song which my squadmates used to sing during my NPCC (National Police Cadet Corps) days. It's called 'Linger' and it goes like this..

Hm hm, I want to linger here,
hm hm, a little longer here,
hmhm, a little longer here with you.

Hm hm, it's such a perfect night,
hm hm, it doesn't seems quite right,
hm hm, this is my last night here with you.

Hm hm, and as the years goes by,
hm hm, I think of you and cry,
hm hm, this is good night and not good bye.'

Monday, May 21, 2007

I'm Moving Again

Yes, I am moving again. Not suprising to those who knew me. I would think I have shifted house many times as compared to anyone in Singapore (unless you are talking about someone on the run from bad debts..haha). The first time I shifted house was from my 4 room apartment at Jalan Rajah (Balastier Road) which I had grown up since young to a 5 room HDB flat in Toa Payoh. (My parents got the house through balloting and you can say they were lucky at the first shot!) A few years later, after my brother got married and I thought I could have his bigger room all to myself, my parents decided to downgrade to a 4 room flat in Sengkang. After staying there for less than 2 years, we are back again at Toa Payoh temporarily and this time round, we are moving further away. Yes, my next home will be in Sembawang. A nice little cosy 4 room HDB (very much like a condo-style design minus the swimming pool...shucks!) with a good bird eye's view facing the Straits of Johor. See,I am so close to our neighbours!!!

And yes, it's finally happening again. That time of the year to lug boxes of my belongings from one end of Singapore to another via a lorry. The thing is I have radically reduced the number of my belongings (to throw or not to throw dilemma has once again surfaced). All my clothes will fit into my 3 large suitcases. The only huge items are my computer, my toy-car collection and yes, all my soft toys (I have hundreds of this furry stuff which after much deliberation, I have decided to keep it and not throw away. Bring back those good old memories).

Moi will be shifting on Vesak day - May 31. Yup..moving to a new home with new curtains, new sofa, new bed, new LCD TV...well, practically, everything is new for me. A new start in good old Sembawang!

On fifty-percent recovery path...

I can't imagine I have downed about 14 cups of herbal tea since morning...cups after cups of black and bitter herbal tea which I am still forcing myself to drink at this moment. (wonder if anybody has got this recorded down in the World Guiness Book of Record..hehe). Yes, the throat is feeling much better than it was last night. Last night, I felt as though I was literally in 'HELL' and my body was like burning.

I really hate it when my body starts to feel lifeless and limp, not to mention I have to avoid eating solid food for the next few days. Poor me,I tend to feel sorry for myself whenever I fall sick. It's as though as I have deprived myself of food, fun and exercise. I guess my body is screaming for a 'detox'. Yes, I need to do that!

Back at work, luckily, there isn't much things ongoing on Monday and I could take a breather every now and then. Hope Howard is doing fine too, he's got a sore throat too. My brain ain't functioning that well today.. (could be the side-effects of drinking too much herbal stuff..haha..whatever it is). I can't remember when was the last time I was sick. It must be the weather or the food I have ate recently that has caused the heat to build up in me.

Still, I am happy that I am 50% on the path to recovery....

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Yes, I caved in

The weather has been scorching hot for the past few weeks with the occassional rain in the afternoon. And yes, I caved in to the weather today....it was as though as I have fallen into a pot of hot cooking oil and despite soaking myself in the pool the whole morning, I caved in to what was about to follow aftermath. A bad sorethroat (hard to swallow any food) and a sudden rise in body temperature...I could feel my head getting heavier with each moment...Argh....I think I am about to hit the sack and hopefully I will be back in top condition tomorrow.

I hate falling asick, can't eat, can't do much thing except sleep and worst of all, can't do any workout. Sigh....I keep telling myself it's all in the mind. Just tell yourself you will be well soon and you will be! I must be like AtomAnt (hehe..my cartoon hero)...

Ok...my eyelids are getting heavy now and the throat is feeling funny again....so with this, I am signing out till the next time. I will be back for sure.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

My new LOVE!


Lately, I have been thinking of getting the HP IPAQ -

Looks cute, cool and I think I badly need a PDA to keep track of my calendar and appointments (I guess my memory gets fried on some days...haha). Hmm......I am still looking and asking around for advise, so far, I have not had any bad reviews on this phone yet. Well, see how it goes. Gadgets - either you love it or you just hate it!

LOVE 2007!



The rain came, yet it did not dampened the mood of those who have been waiting for this biggest community event of the year. Yes, the LOVE Launch 2007 kicked off on
April 28 and we saw 140+ participants flocking in on that wet Saturday. Thanks to all community experts, MVPs (you know who you guys are) and also MS folks for adding the 'magic' to this event and making it a reality and success.

Warrior of The Light

A friend shared this with me... thought it can be quite useful. If you are interested to read more of the author's work, the link is
http://www.warriorofthelight.com/engl/index.html

Manual for climbing mountains
A)Choose the mountain you want to climb: Don't pay attention to what other people say, such as that one is more beautiful or this one is easier. You'll be spending lots of energy and enthusiasm to reach your objective, so you're the only one responsible and you should be sure of what you are doing.

B) Know how to get close to it: mountains are often seen from far off are beautiful, interesting, full of challenges. But what happens when we try to draw closer? Roads run all around them, flowers grow between you and your objective, what seemed so clear on the map is tough in real life. So try all the paths and all the tracks until eventually one day you are standing in front of the top that you yearn to reach.

C) Learn from someone who has already been up there: no matter how unique you feel, there is always someone who has had the same dream before you and ended up leaving marks that can make your journey easier; places to hang the rope, trails, broken branches to make the walking easier. The climb is yours, so is the responsibility, but don't forget that the experience of others can help a lot.

D) When seen up close, dangers are controllable: when you begin to climb the mountain of your dreams, pay attention to the surroundings. There are cliffs, of course. There are almost imperceptible cracks in the mountain rock. There are stones so polished by storms that they have become as slippery as ice. But if you know where you are placing each footstep, you will notice the traps and how to get around them.

E) The landscape changes, so enjoy it: of course, you have to have an objective in mind to reach the top. But as you are going up, more things can be seen, and it's no bother to stop now and again and enjoy the panorama around you. At every meter conquered, you can see a little further, so use this to discover things that you still had not noticed.

F) Respect your body: you can only climb a mountain if you give your body the attention it deserves. You have all the time that life grants you, as long as you walk without demanding what cannot be granted. If you go too fast you will grow tired and give up half way there. If you go too slow, night will fall and you will be lost. Enjoy the scenery, take delight in the cool spring water and the fruit that nature generously offers you, but keep on walking.

G) Respect your soul: Don't keep repeating I'm going to make it. Your soul already knows that, what it needs is to use the long journey to be able to grow, stretch along the horizon, touch the sky. An obsession does not help you at all to reach your objective, and even ends up taking the pleasure out of the climb. But pay attention: also, don't keep saying it's harder than I thought, because that will make you lose your inner strength.

H)Be prepared to climb one kilometer more: the way up to the top of the mountain is always longer than you think. Don't fool yourself, the moment will arrive when what seemed so near is still very far. But since you were prepared to go beyond, this is not really a problem.

I) Be happy when you reach the top: cry, clap your hands, shout to the four winds that you did it, let the wind - the wind is always blowing up there - purify your mind, refresh your tired and sweaty feet, open your eyes, clean the dust from your heart. It feels so good, what was just a dream before, a distant vision, is now part of your life, you did it!

J) Make a promise: now that you have discovered a force that you were not even aware of, tell yourself that from now on you will use this force for the rest of your days. Preferably, also promise to discover another mountain, and set off on another adventure.

K) Tell your story: yes, tell your story! Give your example. Tell everyone that it is possible, and other people will then have the courage to face their own mountains.