ThatWasThenThisIsNow

Reality is here

2009-01-23T16:13:00.002+08:00

My first post for the first month of Y2009.

My company will be eliminating up to 5,000 positions in R&D, marketing, sales, finance, LCA, HR, and IT over the next 18 months, of which 1,400 will occur today (Jan 23rd). Our net headcount in these functions will decline by 2,000 to 3,000 over the next 18 months. In addition, our workforce in support, consulting, operations, billing, manufacturing, and data center operations will continue to change in direct response to customer needs.

A depressing news - nevertheless, it's reality we are now looking at in the current bleak economy situation.

Just keep fingers crossed on this.

3900 Saturdays and counting

2008-11-14T12:08:00.003+08:00

That is why I LUVVVVVVVVVVVV Saturdays!!
-----------------------------------------

3900 Saturdays

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the
quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's
the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first
few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup
of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as
a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life
seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:

I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio
in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I
came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a
golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the
broadcasting business. He was telling whom-ever he was talking with
something about 'a thousand marbles.' I was intrigued and stopped to
listen to what he had to say

'Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they
pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your
family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work
sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you
missed your daughter's 'dance recital' he continued. ;'Let me tell you
something that has helped me keep my own priorities.' And that's when he
began to explain his theory of a 'thousand marbles.'

'You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average
person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some
live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.

'Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is
the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire
lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part.

It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in
any detail', he went on, 'and by that time I had lived through over
twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.' 'I got to thinking that if I lived to
be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So
I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended
up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles I took them
home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in
the shack next to my gear.'

'Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it
away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on
the really important things in life.

There's nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to
help get your priorities straight.'

'Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take
my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last
marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next
Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing
we can all use is a little more time.'

'It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your
family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75
Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!'

You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off
I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on
the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few
hams to work on the next club newsletter.

Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. 'C'mon honey,
I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast.' 'What brought this on?' she
asked with a smile. 'Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time
since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop
at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles.

Now we know why Man's Life is Tough!

2008-10-30T20:01:00.003+08:00

We asked for it and God give to those who asked. So be careful what U ask from God and be happy with what U'd already hv from God.

When God created the donkey, he said to him.
"You will be a donkey. You will work un-tiringly from sunrise to sunset carrying burdens on your back. You will eat grass, you will have no intelligence and you will live 50 years."
The donkey answered:
"I will be a donkey, but to live 50 years is much. Give me only 20 years"
God granted his wish.
.....................................................................

When God created the dog, he said to him:
"You will guard the house of man. You will be his best Friend.
You will eat the scraps that he gives you and you will live 30 years.
You will be a dog. "
The dog answered:
"Sir, to live 30 years is too much,give me only 15 years.
" God granted his wish.
.........................................................................

Then God created the monkey
and said to him:
"You will be a monkey. You will swing from branch to branch doing tricks.
You will be amusing and you will live 20 years. "
The monkey answered:
"To live 20 years is too much, give me only 10 years."
God granted his wish.
.....................................................................

Finally God created man...
and said to him:
"You will be man, the only rational creature on the face of the earth.
You will use your intelligence to become master over all the animals. You will dominate the world and you will live 20 years."

Man responded:
"Sir, I will be a man but to live only 20 years is very little,
give me the 30 years that the donkey refused, the 15 years that the dog did not want and the 10 years the monkey refused.
" God granted man's wish
.................................................................

And since then, man lives 20Â years as a man , marries and spends 30 years like a donkey, working and carrying all the burdens on his back.
Then when his children are grown,Â he lives 15 years like aÂ dog taking care of the house and eating whatever is given to him by his kids.
When he is old, he can retire and live 10 years like a monkey, going from house to house and from one son or daughter to another doing tricks to amuse his grandchildren.

That's Life.

Neck Exercise

2008-10-20T23:36:00.001+08:00

This would make a good neck exercise for anyone who is glued to their computers!

My Management Lesson 101

2008-10-15T16:47:00.003+08:00

For months, I have been trying to convince myself that perhaps I'm meant to be a worker (the execute and do kind), not a manager.

For those who are in a management role, I'm sure we will all agree that managing people is one of the most tedious jobs out there (at least where I'm concerned). No doubt, there are people who love it and would kill to climb up the corporate ladder to be in that management position. Guess it's just not in me (at least not yet and not for the time being). Plus the fact that I'm really getting extremely tired having to vet other people's work. (trust me, it can't be more tiring than doing nothing at all). For my own sanity purpose, I think I got to put a stop to it before it gets out of hand.

I guess it's all a learning process in the end, the take-aways that you want to see at the end of the day and the kind of manager relationship you have forged with your staff. It's not an easy job (goodness, no one said it was easy to start with).

However, I've some philosophies when it comes to work and which is very straightforward to me:
1. If your best is deemed UNACCEPTABLE all the time, you are in the wrong job or it's a total misfit.
2. If what you're doing is UNACCEPTABLE and you have said you tried your best, well,you just got to try harder.
3. It's the attitude that I'm looking at the end of the day. If you have given up on yourself, that's the end of the story. Full-stop.

The hard fact is that people who actually have a real need for supervision are doomed to menial tasks, which shouldn't be the case in the first place. For goodness' sake, all are tertiary educated and everyone is intelligent. But again, no one ever said that there are also the black sheeps among them.

Terrible F1 Accident

2008-09-25T20:13:00.003+08:00

I'm into cars, sports car to be specific. But I guess when it comes to racing competitively, I'm definitely not a true blue fan of the F1 race that will be kicking off in Singapore on Sep 28. Good luck to the racers this weekend!

By the way, heard there was a terrible F1 accident......check this out.

Aubrey

2008-09-24T15:43:00.004+08:00

One of my all time favorite songs. It kind of reminded me of my college days whereby one of my college mate sang it at the school's talentime contest which I guess swept the girls away.

Aubrey

Brillant Mature lady driver

2008-09-24T11:09:00.002+08:00

A mature (over 40) lady gets pulled over for speeding...
Older Woman: Is there a problem, Officer?
Officer: Ma'am, you were speeding.

Older Woman: Oh, I see.
Officer: Can I see your license please?

Older Woman: I'd give it to you but I don't have one.
Officer: Don't have one?

Older Woman: Lost it, 4 years ago for drunk driving.
Officer: I see...Can I see your vehicle registration papers please.

Older Woman: I can't do that.
Officer: Why not?

Older Woman: I stole this car.
Officer: Stole it?

Older Woman: Yes, and I killed and hacked up the owner.
Officer: You what?

Older Woman: His body parts are in plastic bags in the trunk if you want to see The Officer looks at the woman and slowly backs away to his car and calls for back up. Within minutes 5 police cars circle the car. A senior officer slowly approaches the car, clasping his half drawn gun.

Officer 2: Ma'am, could you step out of your vehicle please! The woman steps out of her vehicle.
Older woman: Is there a problem sir?

Officer 2: One of my officers told me that you have stolen this car and murdered the owner.
Older Woman: Murdered the owner?

Officer 2: Yes, could you please open the trunk of your car, please. The woman opens the trunk, revealing nothing but an empty trunk.
Officer 2: Is this your car, ma'am?
Older Woman: Yes, here are the registration papers. The officer is quite stunned.

Officer 2: One of my officers claims that you do not have a driving license. The woman digs into her handbag and pulls out a clutch purse and hands it to the officer. The officer examines the license. He looks quite puzzled.
Officer 2: Thank you ma'am, one of my officers told me you didn't have a license, that you stole this car, and that you murdered and hacked up the owner.

Older Woman: Bet the liar told you I was speeding, too.

Don't Mess With Mature Ladies!

Beautiful Day

2008-09-18T20:43:00.004+08:00

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: 'I am blind, please help.' There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, 'Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?'

The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way..' What he had written was: 'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.'

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

Invite others towards good with wisdom. Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.

Great men say, 'Life has to be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness…. In the journey of life, if you want to travel without fear, you must have the ticket of a good conscience.'

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling…
And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!

Another personal best...

2008-08-25T09:39:00.003+08:00

I took part in the annual Singapore Bay Run - re-branded as the SAFRA Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon on Aug 24th for some mass run fun and to tour around the Bay area.

Another personal achievement of mine this year as I clocked 1 hour and 6 mins under the 10km non-competitive.

Recovering from jello legs now.

I was swept off my feet

2008-08-21T20:37:00.002+08:00

Last evening, my gf and I were waiting for the train back home after our gym session when she raised a question out of the blue, 'Lilian, have you ever experienced love at first sight?' And it kept me pondering for the whole night.

I guess if one haven’t experienced it personally, he/she probably won't believe that Love at First Sight is real. Can one really fall in love with someone the first moment you see them or was it purely just lust or infatuation? How do we tell it is Love @ first sight?

I remembered a few years back, I met someone who literally swept me off my feet. There I was sitting in the room, waiting for the person (let's call him X) whom I was supposed to meet. I was flippng through some brochures in that tiny room and adjusting my jacket and making sure my hair was in order and not flustered when there came a knock on the door. This was followed by X walking in.

The moment X walked into the room, I was memerised by him. Everything about him from his blue neatly pressed long sleeved shirt (I'm surprised I still remember the colour of his shirt until now) which was a perfect match with the tie he wore, his tanned complexion coupled with that bright smile on his face and yes, that broad shoulders of his totally charmed me away. Or should I said, 'Swept me off my feet'.

Throughout the whole conversation, I tried to stay focus on my objective of my visit, but I guess X could sense that there was something there in the air about my uneasiness. Nevertheless, X made me felt comfortable and at ease with our chat, cracking up some jokes along the way to help ease out the tension in me. Yeah, at that moment, I was clearly enjoying every second and minute of my conversation with X and tried to catch a glimpse of his smile every few seconds. I was certain that there was something there - instant chemistry between the both of us.

Although after that meeting, X and I did manage to keep in contact, however, that feeling was very different from the first time we've met. I guess to me, it's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. As human beings, we make a prediction about what kind of relationship we could have with a person and that helps determine how much effort we are willing to put into developing a relationship. And I guess neither of us made the extra effort to develop this relationship and after sometime, the chemical reaction dissolved and we remained as friends till today with the occassionally SMS.

Recalling back my experience of 'being swept off my feet', I wonder does that equate to love @ first sight too?

Life and How to Survive It

2008-08-21T15:42:00.001+08:00

An inspiring speech by Adrian Tan , a writer and a lawyer. Some of you may remember his book Teenage Textbook. I was told that this was a speech he gave to the students of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communications.

陳奕迅

2008-07-23T17:13:00.005+08:00

I'm now a fan of Eason Chan after listening to his songs over and over again while on the 7 hours flight from Dubai back to Singapore.

Here are 2 of my favourite tunes
1. 陳奕迅你的背包
2. 陳奕迅十年
3. 陳奕迅 - 好久不見MV
4. 愛情轉移

It's good to be back

2008-07-23T16:50:00.004+08:00

It's been a long while since I sat down seriously and whip out a lengthy tabloid version of my life....or was it just a last couple of months? :)

Amazing trip: I got back last week after a 3.5 days team offsite meeting in the scorching hot Dubai. Apart from the day to day intensive meetings and technical information drilling which my spongy head was trying very hard to absorb, I've managed to squeeze in some time to play a game of beach volleyball at the Jumeriah beach resort, rode on a camel (YES!!!); got a temporary tattoo (don't let my mum see that and you got to see the tattoo Howard did - it was hilarious! Get him to tell you what 'design' he got); took a shopping stroll at Dubai's souk market (not Zouk- no spelling mistake here), sat in a boat which took me to see the night lights of Souk, had some pictures taken with the lovely 7 star hotel as the background (visitors not allowed to enter) and yes, visited the Dubai museum and basking in the sunny weather everyday.

I ate like a whale too when I came back from Dubai. I was stuffed with my nasi lemak, char kway teow, horfun, mee rebus....yummy and smacking my lips. Sinful, yet great food for the whole week, tonnes of calories and high cholesterol which I horrendously loved and yes, who cares!

It feels good to be back in my motherland again. Brillant!

It's All in the Food!

2008-07-23T09:13:00.002+08:00

Interesting article - I've personally experienced this PLS (post lunch syndrome) before. So, think twice before you consume your next plate of chicken rice or pasta.

Work Gives Life Meaning?

2008-07-23T09:10:00.001+08:00

Interesting read from a June 29 Sunday's Straits Times. I don't think I feel the same way as Sumiko for now...but who knows..one day, I might find the meaning to work too.

=============

June 29, 2008
Work gives life meaning
Life would be awful if I didn't have to work. Yes, I
live to work rather than work to live

By Sumiko Tan
A friend recently shocked everyone by quitting his
high-flying job to embark on a fresh start in another
industry.

Another friend is thinking of a career switch. He puts
in very high-tempo 15-hour days in the office and
still has to take documents home to read. He's sick of
the frenetic pace.

Next month, a colleague will be giving up her job to
work just three days a week. Her son has turned one
and she wants to be there to see him grow.

Yet another colleague is planning for the day his son
enters Primary 1. Either he or his wife would want to
retire then, to be around to guide the boy. As she
earns more than he does, he might be the one to call
it quits.

Unless you are a student, retiree or housewife, so
much of a person's life centres on that concept called
work - where to work, what sort of work, are you happy
at work, should you work?

The workplace has long become more than just a place
you check into five days a week to fulfil some form of
labour for which you are paid at the end of the month.

A colleague put it aptly: Work is a creche for adults,
providing structure, stimulation and sustenance.

Here is also where you find friendship, companionship
and love even, and you can be guaranteed it's among
like-minded people. After all, you are similar enough
to seek a job in the same area of interest.

So many of my friends found their mates either at the
office or through work.

Who needs dating agencies when you can lock eyes and
check the other person out across the conference
table? Who needs speed dating when there are as many
potential dates to consider as there are cubicles (of
single people, of course) in the office?

When I was on leave recently, the first week stretched
gloriously ahead. I felt free from the endless e-mail,
irritating phone calls and petty politics that are, of
course, also a part of the modern workplace.

Time was mine to fritter away as I hung out with my
family and friends, went shopping and had long lunches
without having to check my watch to see if my lunch
hour was over.

There were no schedules to follow, no bosses to avoid
or report to, and no subordinates to nanny.

Then, as always happens when I'm on long leave, the
longing set in.

I started to miss my colleagues; I missed dressing up
each morning and setting off for work looking and
feeling 'professional'; I missed being needed; I
missed the sense of having a purpose in my life; I
missed the bustle of the office; I missed the lunches,
the shared food, the jokes and the gossip, the
community of the workplace; I actually missed my
cubicle life.

People are investing such long hours at work that we
can't help but measure our self-worth by what happens
there. So much of how good we feel about ourselves
hinges on how well our careers are going.

It is the reason promotion and bonus season in the
office is so dreaded. It has the ability to make us
giddy with happiness or downright depressed. Rightly
or wrongly, we define ourselves by the promotional
increments and bonuses we get, or don't.

I've a friend who knows this only too well. Six months
ago, he decided to quit his job because he felt he
wasn't being recognised for the long hours and hard
work he was putting in.

It felt good, the first two months. He slept in,
played computer games and did some serious clubbing.
He deserved a break.

But when he finally decided it was time to get another
job, it wasn't easy. The economy had gone south by
then. Month after month went by without a job offer,
and desperation has since set in.

The inability to find a job takes a toll on a person's
mental and physical health, and it is a far worse toll
than the one you suffer when you have a job and are
overworked.

Besides self-esteem, much of the pain one has to bear
when jobless has to do with the more mundane issue of
money.

The colleague who is planning to work part-time has
this cautionary tale.

She recently withdrew $1,000 before setting off for a
designer sale. As $1,000 is the daily withdrawal limit
for ATMs, she asked her husband if he would need to
take out cash that day too.

'When he found out what I was planning to use the
money for, his eyes popped and I quickly reassured
him: 'Of course I'm not going to spend everything.
It's just in case,' ' she said.

After he recovered, he told her, half-jokingly: 'It's
okay. Anyway, you're still working now.'

While she knows he wasn't really serious, it hit her
then that she'd have to start watching her spending
very carefully after she loses her full-time benefits.
'No more impulse buys accompanied by the comforting
thought that I darn well deserve this treat after
slogging so hard,' she said wistfully.

'I think it's the financial independence that I'm
going to miss the most.'

I've been in the workforce since I graduated in 1985,
working in the same company doing the same job. That's
23 years.

Save for annual three-week vacation stretches and the
occasional long weekend holiday, I have never not
worked.

I'm not complaining. In fact I think I'm lucky.

Even before I started work and, in those days when it
was not usual for teenagers to take on internships or
part-time jobs, I really wanted to work. I did
modelling jobs which made me a princely sum of $3,500.

I love working, and I especially love the freedom that
comes with earning my own keep.

I was thrilled to pay my first income tax because it
was proof of my independence and proof that I had the
ability to look after myself. While I no longer look
at my tax assessment letter with any fondness, I still
regard it with some pride.

And I love working within an office structure. I like
the hierarchy and I like the predictability of a
regular work day. The dependable income, paid health
care, vacations and training don't hurt either.

I know I will never get rich being an office drone but
it doesn't matter.

Perhaps it has to do with how my father had his own
business which he operated from home, occasionally
with the help of a secretary.

I always felt being a one-man show was a dreadfully
hard and lonely way to make a living. The cyclical ups
and downs of entrepreneurship are not for me, even if
chances of striking it big are bigger than if you were
a mere employee.

I'm not a workaholic but I veer towards the view that
one should live to work rather than work to live.

Maybe it's because I have no family of my own and few
interests outside of work. I do also realise that it
can be a problem if work forms the entire ecosystem of
my happiness.

But what I've also learnt is that while people - both
inside the office and outside - can let you down and
will do so, solid hard work can't and won't.

There's nothing more satisfying than rolling up your
sleeves, putting in an honest day's work and seeing
the results.

There are those who point out that no one in his right
mind would say on his death bed that he wished he had
spent more time at the office.

I disagree for, to me, the office is where so much of
what matters in life emanates.

Call me a fool, perhaps. But at least I'm a fool who
likes hard work.

sumiko@sph.com.sg

MVP Summit 2008

2008-06-26T16:00:00.001+08:00

MVP Summit 2008 Opening

The video tells all!

Return of the 70's Weirdo

2008-06-24T16:12:00.002+08:00

Interesting to see how the original Microsoft team, snapped Dec. 7, 1978, on the eve of the company's move from Albuquerque, N.M., to Seattle and 30 years later, we see the team coming together again just before BG departure from Microsoft.

Full Article http://www.newsweek.com/id/142636

The Red Heroes....

2008-05-26T16:06:00.001+08:00

The {Heroes} taking a photo after the successful launch! Awesome!!!

Some great snapshots at the Summit...I'm missing it

2008-05-21T14:02:00.001+08:00

Isn't it amazing to see how pictures can capture those beautiful and memorable moments for everyone? Yes...the picture tells all..

Oops, the community did it again!

2008-05-21T13:58:00.003+08:00

Driven by a swell of passion and commitment for the community, the Singapore MVPs and User Group helpers have rendered tireless support to make the Heroes Community Launch a huge success. Their passion, motivation and spirit to stay closely connected to the communities and to bring to the attendees interesting topics of the products were not undermined as this noteworthy endeavor garnered the participation of more than 190 attendees who eagerly thronged into the Microsoft Singapore office on a Saturday morning.

Kudos to all the Heroes behind the scenes! This community launch wouldn't be a success without you folks.

Heroes Community Launch coming to town!

2008-04-23T15:16:00.004+08:00

The Heroes are coming to town! Yes, this coming 17th May, the Fantastic Four (not the superheroes), but the 4 User groups in Singapore are joining forces to bring to all the most awaited and exciting topics you have been waiting to see, feel and hear!

Check out the Heroes Community Launch site for more interesting details. Don't wait, make a date with us now!

Right and Left

2008-03-22T14:42:00.002+08:00

This is funny. Thanks Philip for sharing!

A doctor took a scan of George W. Bush's brain and came to thefollowing conclusion :

1) His brain has two parts, RIGHT and LEFT.
2) In the LEFT part, there is nothing RIGHT.
3) And in the RIGHT part, there is nothing LEFT.

Addicted to Technology?

2008-03-20T15:37:00.000+08:00

When Grandma goes to Court.

2008-03-17T15:40:00.000+08:00

Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer.

In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know me? '

She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.'

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?' She again replied, ' Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.' The defense attorney nearly died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, 'If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair.'

Creating my own Universe

2008-02-29T14:17:00.003+08:00

Great invention!Check out Microsoft Worldwide telescope.

Just listening to the presenter's voice and you can sense his excitment and how strongly he believes that this invention will allow indiviudals to create their own universe. Bring it on!

The Mood came late

2008-02-11T13:16:00.000+08:00

Just when I am enjoying it, it's back to work again.

Yes, I am talking about the Chinese New Year mood. For the past few years, it normally takes 1-2 days for me to get into the CNY festive mood. Like running a marathon, you start slow, pace yourself and when the ending line is in sight, you make a dash for it. This time round, the mood came a way too late. I guess I have outgrown the age of waiting anxiously for the morning to break, getting all dressed up in my new clothes and eagerly collecting ang baos from my parent/relatives and stashing it up in my little red pouch like an Ah Long going round to collect his debts. (Hah! What a way to describe it)

Most of the time, I sleep late during the CNY period. Although this year round, I still make it a point to go for my normal morning run before any visitation begins (I guess I needed that 'extra caffeine' to kick start the morning). I must admit I've gone through the stoning-at-home phase (when all the shops are closed and there is no place for me to 'hide' from relatives), the art of digressing to a different topic whenever relatives asked 'Why not married?' (status has changed so far as they are asking 'When going to give birth?'), getting use to the sunny weather (did anybody notice that during the CNY period, the weather is usually hot??!!) and blar blar blar.

It doesn't help that there's my favourite tin of pineapple tarts at all the places I visit and the irresistable bak-kwa staring right in my face tempting me to devour it. And right now, just when I am slowly getting into the momentum of enjoying it, it's back to school for the kids and yes, work for the adults. Although CNY last for 15 days, it is still the first 2 days that it's the most 'HAPPENING' (based on my previous observations).Hiya!

The runner is hoping that she does not see the ending line too soon as she is looking forward to 'LOU HEI' this weekend.

Tao2 Hua1 Duo3 Duo3 Kai1

2008-02-06T12:14:00.000+08:00

This is hilarious. A good way to kick off the Chinese New Celebration.

Dong Dong Mao - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z2X44iSyUE

Thanks Sin Min for sharing!!

Passing of Heath

2008-02-01T16:29:00.000+08:00

Shocking news though it's an old news recently. One of the brokeback mountain lead actor Heath Ledger has died and he is only 28 years old!!!

It's so sad...I liked him and thought he was a great actor in the show. What a waste!

Why no blogging?

2008-02-01T16:18:00.000+08:00

Why no blogging? Well, simple and most straight forward answer is plain tiredness.

December and January was my least productive blogging month since I began blogging almost 1 year back. Don't worry though I'm not giving up the blogging, I've spent a fair part of December travelling and January, just say many things are changing now (I think it should be for the better) and yes, work has pretty much taken up my time (only for this period I pray).

With February being the Chinese Lunar New Year, I guess it will be house-cleaning, stocking up goodies and basically, enjoying every moment basking in the festive season. So, yeah, blog count will drop too. Also, there hasn't been that much to write about lately although I think that will change soon...so all I can say is...keep watching.

And I want to share my favourite Korean movie 'Coffee Prince' with all. It's so touching!!! I wish I was the lead actress inside the show..:)Still have to say I'm loving it and can't wait for the Serial 2 to be out soon!

Heal the World, Make it a Better Place?

2007-12-14T13:14:00.000+08:00

Yesterday BlogTv.sg episode was on the theme 'Does the World Sucks?' and I was thnking, what an interesting General Paper question this would be for Singapore students. Hah!

I had a sudden urge to pen this post on why the World sucks purely because:

1. From a reglious point of view - When Adam and Eve sucummb to tempatation in the Garden of Eden, they were already in for deep S***. That explains why women have to go through the monthly menstrual cramps and endure hours of labour pain while the men have to work their ass to put bread on the table for the family.

2. From a general point of view - In general, human beings are by nature INDIVIDUALISTIC. We live in a world of our own, paying more attention to our love ones rather than strangers on the street. (Tell me honestly, has anyone taken a second look at people who are not close to us??!!) Look at all the environmental and Save-the-World/Earth campaigns that have been established throughout the world. What is the percentage of the population that actually took a interest in all these communities and campaigns whose noble missions and objectives have fell on deaf ears to many?

3. From my point of view - Nobody is perfect in this world. And since nobody's perfect and it is purely because of this imperfection - the world has to suck big time for sure.

Of course, taking a light hearted view on this topic. I guess when one is feeling good and all the good things are on the right track, the world looks good to them. For those who are feeling down and feel that the world owns them a living every minute, the world sucks no matter how hard they try to change the fact.

Taken off from Michael Jackson's song 'Heal the World'
Heal the world,
make it a better place.
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
So if you care enough for the living
(And the man himself was accused of child molestation many years back - DUH. Hey, no offence to his supporters. I love the man too, but what an irony - no wonder the world sucks. (haha)).

I rest my case.

Modern story of the birds and bees

2007-12-10T13:57:00.000+08:00

A little boy goes to his father and asks "Daddy, how was I born?" The father answers: "Well son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway!

Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little Pop-Up appeared that said:

"You've got MALE".

Kawaii Nihon!

2007-11-29T14:24:00.000+08:00

Kawaii (かわいい) Nihon!! Japan is a fantastic place to go to if you love the food and culture. My first trip to Japan and to Tokyo Disneyland and Osaka Universal studio was awesome. It seems to have brought back the child in me as I grabbed the opportunity to take a photo with one of my favourite character Popeye. Also, did anybody mentioned that the food and clothes in Japan were way too EXPENSIVE-NEH!!!

Another thing I love about food in Japan is that their Macdonald serves the one and only Ebi-fillet burger. This burger is only found in Japan's Macdonald and no where else.I had my fill of Ebi-fillet burger for 2 days in a row and it was so OISHII. Hmm...I can still feel the ebi sauce lingering in my mouth....

FeiMao and I went to the Toyota car show room and we were blown away by all their latest car concepts. It was truly an eye opener for him being a car lover.

Some photos for memories:

I remembered you, do you?

2007-11-16T17:01:00.000+08:00

I salute Facebook and the guys who invented it! I really think they deserved a place in the history of geniuses who invented this great piece of work.

I happened to bump into the profiles of primary school buddies, secondary school friends, college mates, pubbing kakis, bus mates (yes, bus mates!) and friends whom I have not seen for ages. I am talking about friends whom we have lost touch since the age of 12??!! Yes, it's really amazing to see how everybody has grown. I could hardly recognize their pictures, but somehow, you can sense it's that person all right.

Some people might disagree that Facebook is just a flash in the pan and very soon the fickle minded 17-25 year old market will jump on the next thing that comes along. Just a novelty?? Well, I don't really care if this were to happen. I am just glad to have found the friends whom I have lost touch with and I really hope to meet up with them again.

Important Memo - Must Read!

2007-11-09T17:13:00.001+08:00

Today, I received an IMPORTANT memo from a colleague and decided to share with all. Thanks Kristy for sharing this IMPORTANT memo with us. It sure brightens up my day.

-----------------------------------
An important Memo to all employees

In order to assure the highest levels of quality work and productivity from our employees, it will be our policy to keep all employees well trained through our program of SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING? (S.H.I.T.)

We are trying to give our employees more S.H.I.T. than anyone else. If you feel that you do not receive your share of S.H.I.T., please see your supervisor. You will be immediately placed at the top of the S.H.I.T. list , and our supervisors are especially skilled at seeing you get all the S.H.I.T. you can handle.
Employees who don't take their S.H.I.T. seriously will be placed in DEPARTMENTAL EMPLOYEE EVALUATION PROGRAMS (D.E.E.P.S.H.I.T.) Those who fail to take D.E.E.P. S.H.I.T seriously will have to go to EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE TRAINING (E.A.T.S.H.I.T .)

Since our supervisors took S.H.I.T before they were promoted, they don't have to take S.H.I.T anymore, and are all full of S.H.I.T already.
If you are full of S.H.I.T, you may be interested in a job teaching others. We can add your name to our BASIC UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP LIST (B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T).
Thank you,

BOSS IN GENERAL, SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING
(B.I.G.S.H.I.T)

P.S. Now send this S.H.I.T to 5 people who need S.H.I.T in their life, just not the same person who sent you this S.H.I.T They have already had their fill of S.H.I.T

Two Nuns

2007-11-09T13:14:00.000+08:00

There were two nuns..

One of them was known as Sister Mathematical (SM),and the other one was known as Sister Logical (SL).

It is getting dark and they are still far away from the convent.

SM: Have you noticed that a man has been following us for
the past thirty-eight and a half minutes? I wonder what he wants.

SL: It's logical. He wants to rape us.

SM: Oh, no! At this rate he will reach us in 15 minutes
at the most! What can we do?

SL: The only logical thing to do of course is to walk faster.

SM: It's not working.

SL: Of course it's not working. The man did the only
logical thing. He started to walk faster, too.

SM : So, what shall we do? At this rate he will reach us in one minute.

SL: The only logical thing we can do is split. You go that way and I'll
go this way. He cannot follow us both.

So the man decided to follow Sister Logical.

Sister Mathematical arrives at the convent and is worried about what has happened to Sister Logical.

Then Sister Logical arrives.

SM: Sister Logical! Thank God you are here! Tell me what happened!

SL: The only logical thing happened. The man couldn't follow us both, so he followed me

SM : Yes, yes! But what happened then?

SL: The only logical thing happened. I started to run as fast as I could and he started to run as fast as he could.

SM : And?

SL : The only logical thing happened. He reached me.

SM : Oh, dear! What did you do?

SL : The only logical thing to do. I lifted my dress up.

SM : Oh, Sister! What did the man do?

SL: The only logical thing to do. He pulled down his pants.

SM: Oh, no! What happened then?

SL : Isn't it logical, Sister? A nun with her dress up can run faster
than a man with his pants down.

And for those of you (us) who thought it would be dirty, well ...

An encounter with 3 Ah Peks...

2007-11-07T14:39:00.000+08:00

Yesterday night, I was dining at Vino Vino wine bar with fatcat at Mohammed Sultan Road and happened to overhear a conversation coming from 3 middle aged men.

Okay, I sweared that I was not eavesdropping because going by the volume of their conversation, they were practically the loudest table in the restuarant.

What made me interested in their conversation was that these 3 Ah Peks were literally trying to fake an accent, telling their Bangkok adventures and requesting that the chef of the restaurant (there was a new chef by the name of Sonia) served their table. Some interesting and disturbing remarks made by one particular Ah Pek caught my attention and i directly quote what he has said:

Ah Pek 1 said to the waiter:
- 'We are not Singaporeans. We are International. Tell Sonia (the chef) that she is cooking for Internationals like us.We don't want to be served by Singaporeans.'

Ah Pek 1 telling the waitress:
- 'My wife told me I am looking old. So you won't be seeing me here for the next few months as I will be in Bangkok. I am going for plastic surgery.'

and

- 'You know in Thailand, the 'girls' look so pretty that you can't tell if they are boys at all. The moment you touched their hands, you can feel the muscles and you know they are boys.'

Ah Pek 1 raising his voice at the waiter:
- 'Bring the food that we have ordered out.' (when the waiter did not hear what he said, he raised his voice again and repeated).

All this while, i was listening and enjoying my food and was totally digusted by these 3 Ah Peks sitting just one table away from me. I;m not saying that they are bad, but just based on their conversation, I can roughly seized them up and make out the kind of people they are. I would like to say to Ah Pek 1, if you are not proud to be a Singaporean, then don't stay in Singapore and you don't deserve to be serve by Singaporeans at all.

Bad experience with Tour Agency

2007-11-07T14:12:00.000+08:00

I had a bad experience with one of the tour agencies in town - ASAHolidays. I had initially booked my tour package to Europe with fatcat somewhere in early October this year. The tour staff who made our bookings verbally confirmed that the tour was set to go on Nov 19 (the date of our tour) and informed that he will update us on the status nearer the date.

We waited till this week (Nov 5) and yet receive no calls from ASA. So, I called their mainline and what was horrendous was that I was put through a chain of call-waiting, silence, phone cutting off and impatient staff who ultimately broke the bad news that there was not enough people to go on this particular date and we had the choice of either (a) pushing it to a further date (29 Nov) or (b) request for a full refund. All this time, I was wondering don't they even have the slightest courtesy to call us and update us on the status instead of having us to call them and being put on call-waiting and all kinds of nonsense?

So, in the end, I decided why should we be throwing our money to ASAholidays when their customer service sucks bad time. Honestly for me, I have never experienced such bad services with other travel services and this was the first and last time I will be using ASAHolidays for any travel plans.

The hilarious part was when I requested for a full refund on my booking, the guy who was supposed to send us the authorization form for filling up left out the attachment in his email and all we got what his email (without attachement and directly quoted from his email) 'Please kindly FEEL up the form and send it back asap please.'

Oh my god!!! I was really in stitches when I read the email and was tempted to reply 'How do you expect me to FEEL up the form when I can't even see the form?'Well, at least...something to laugh it off despite not being able to get on my desired tour.

Witness the undying spirit of Community Power.

2007-11-05T20:11:00.001+08:00

Community Technology Update 2007 kicked off to an awesome start on Nov 3. A combined user group efforts with an army of internal and external Microsoft experts brought the house down on that Saturday. Wohoo! The impact that the community has created was vavavooom - People came down precisely because they were thirsty for knowledge and eager to absorb the latest information and Microsoft technologies. I was glad to be part of this event and to witness the passion and spirit of the community!

Somber day for the running community

2007-11-05T19:58:00.000+08:00

Another sad day in the running community as Elite distance runner Ryan Shay collapsed and died on Saturday (Nov 3) during the U.S. men's marathon Olympic trials. He was only 28 years old and at his running peak.

Although he was born with an enlarged heart at age 14, doctors gave him the clear and he has since ran his way to fame.

It's kind of disturbing to read such stories of elite long distance runners collapsing and kicking the bucket after finishing a marathorn. Pushing the body beyond endurance or is it just pure coincidence? The vulnerability in human beings is definitely something worth pondering over.

The search for my Hokkien Mee

2007-11-02T17:51:00.001+08:00

Eversince I cut down on my carbo (yes, abstain from loading up too much of rice, noodles and fatty stuff) to train for the Singapore Run and Realrun, I had a sudden craving for Hokkien Mee lately. Just for dinner last night, I had a hard time finding a smacking licking good Hokkien Mee stall in Sun Plaza. Sniffing out a good plate of Hokkien mee seems fruitless as I am quite a fussy eater when it comes to my plate of Hokkien mee.

I prefer my Hokkien mee to be cooked in my ways:
a) A mixture of the thin beehoon with the thick beehoon gives more bite
b) The sauce has to be gooey, wet and slurpy (yum yum)
c) Best not to have pork lard although I know that is the ingredient that gives the whole dish it's own characteristics

A dash of lime sauce and some red hot chili and I am all set to gooble down my hokkien mee. I guess I will go in search for my Hokkien Mee tonight again...

Want to hear how you RUN?

2007-11-02T17:26:00.000+08:00

Want to hear how you RUN? You must be scratching your head and asking 'How do I hear how I run?' Hmm....well, NIKE is brillant to come up with a Nike+ ready shoes that has been built to cater to this need. All one needs to do is to insert the virtually indestrucible (so they claimed) sensor to your insole and connect the receiver to your iPod Nano (yes, this means you need to go and buy an iPod) and Wala! You can just program it to select the kind of workout you want. It can even store your most recent workout data for future reference! AMAZING!!!

Check out their amazing invention here.

I am really very curious over this Nike+ tool. Do I really want to see how close I am to my target mileage for today or do I want to know how much calories I've burned while I am running? Maybe not - I guess sometimes, running for me is more of a leisure activitiy, just to take my mind off and to enjoy the people and greenery around me. Calories burned, mileage clocked - I think I will pass for now.

Love at first sight......

2007-10-18T17:07:00.000+08:00

Moi was in Sri Lanka on Oct 15-17 for DevDay 2007. This time round, DevDay 2007 was held in Mt Lavinia. It's really a gorgeous place with the intoxicating beaches. I fell in love with Mt Lavinia at first sight - a great place for a romantic getaway for anyone who loves the beach. For the finale, it was a beach party with the drinks, food and company..who needs anything else!!!

Garbage Truck

2007-10-09T15:50:00.000+08:00

This is an interesting article on Garbage Truck which I personally finds that we as human beings tend to act like one all the time, if not most of the time. Hope it makes your day better.

-----------------------
Beware of Garbage Trucks By David J. Pollay

How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood? Do you let abad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive colleague ruin yourday? Unless you're a robot, you are bound to blow your top off. However,the mark of a sucessful person is how quickly he or she can get back his orher focus on what's important.

Sixteen years ago, I learned this lesson. I learn it in the back of a NewYork City taxi cab. Here's what happen. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We weredriving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out ofa parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes,skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident,whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly. So, I said, 'Why did you do that? This guy almost ruined your carand sent us to the hospital!' And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now called, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'.

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of fustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. If they happen to dump it on you,don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and moved on. You'll be happier if you did that rather than fight them. So this was it: 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'.

I started thinking, how often do I let garbage trucks run right over me?And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the street? It was that day I said, 'I'm not going to do it anymore.' I see garbage trucks everywhere and everyday. I see the load they're carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my taxidriver, I don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know they have to welcome their kids home from school with hugs andkisses. Teachers and parents know that they have to be fully present and attheir best for the people they care about. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks takeover their day. What about you? What would happen in your life, startingtoday, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? Here's my bet. You'll be happier. So...love the people who treat you right.Forget about the ones who don't.Believe that every thing happens for a reason.If you get a chance, TAKE IT!If it changes your life, LET IT! Nobody said it would be easy...They just promised it would be WORTH IT

Cheers!"Life is short. Enjoy the journey
-----------------------------------------

Of Spideyboy, Poodle and Attack of the Octopus

2007-10-04T17:31:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, all it takes is for spideyboy, weird poodle and attack of the Octopus to spice up the day and end a long and tiring working day.

The untold magic

2007-10-04T17:23:00.000+08:00

This is really interesting and was sent to me by a MVP. I tried MAGIC #1 and #3 and it worked. Unfortunately for MAGIC #2, I couldn't detect any bug...(still scratching my head). Try it out for yourself.

MAGIC #1
An Indian discovered that nobody can create a FOLDER anywhere on the computer which can be named as "CON". This is something pretty cool...and unbelievable. TRY IT NOW ,IT WILL NOT CREATE " CON " FOLDER

MAGIC #2
For those of you using Windows, do the following:
1.) Open an empty notepad file
2.) Type "Bush hid the facts" (without the quotes)
3.) Save it as whatever you want.
4.) Close it, and re-open it.
Is it just a really weird bug? :-??

MAGIC #3
Microsoft crazy facts
This is something pretty cool and neat and unbelievable. It was discovered by a Brazilian. Try it out yourself...

Open Microsoft Word and type
=rand (200, 99)

And then press ENTER

I want to play a game with you

2007-10-04T12:27:00.000+08:00

It's coming back on Oct 26 and I heard it's the finale of all finale. Woohoo! Yes, I am talking about Saw Part IV!! (Thanks 'YanDao' for sharing this with me).

For those who have caught the series of Saw Part I-III, you wouldn't want to miss this for sure. Challenge yourself to enter the mind of a madman's harrowing game and try to get yourself free from a series of interconnected trap or bear the deadly consequences on your own!

Just by looking at the trailers has got me all hype up.Ooooooo...I can't wait.

Prayers of the 2 Sexes

2007-09-25T08:24:00.000+08:00

WOMAN'S POEM
Before I lay me down to sleep,
I pray for a man, who's not a creep,
One who's handsome, smart and strong.
One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks,
One who'll call, not wait for weeks.
I pray he's gainfully employed,
When I spend his cash, won't be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door,
Massages my back and begs to do more.
Oh! Send me a man who'll make love to my mind,
Knows what to answer to 'how big is my behind?'
I pray that this man will love me to no end,
And always be my very best friend.

MAN'S POEM
I pray for a deaf-mute nymphomaniac with huge boobs
who owns a liquor store and a golf course.
This doesn't rhyme and I don't give a shit.

Being forced to grow up too fast

2007-08-30T15:45:00.000+08:00

Lately, one of my girlfriend's father was hospitalised and awarded in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). Despite several blood tests, doctors could not diagnose what was wrong with him. He is now back at home recuperating and has to go back to the hospital for regular check ups and physiotherapy.

My girlfriend recently told me she felt as though as she has suddenly grown up (too fast as a matter of fact) as the burden of the family (her brother is studying overseas) has fallen on her shoulders. Apart from having to deal with stress in her daily work and having to take care of her mother, and now her ailing father has added to her shoulders, she is totally drained both mentally and emotionally, not to mention financially too.

When I told her to stay positive and to look on the bright side of things (I really don't know what to say to her at that point of time). she said to me 'If you are experiencing what I am facing now, it would be a different story.' Yes, I was at a loss of words and who am I to advise her when I am not even in her shoes. I should have put myself in her shoes before I said those words to her.

I guess Life sometimes throws challenges at you that do not have a quick-fix formula and it can drag you down into depths of desperation. But, it is also under such kinds of situations that one needs to prepare developing their emotional fitness. Just as you need to be physically fit to run a marathorn, you need to have emotional fitness when you are forced into a challenging situation that confronts and confounds you. I know it's easier said than done, however, if you are able to ride this turbulent wave of uncertainty, you will definitely emerge as the champion.

The saying that 'Life is never a bed of roses' - how true this is. This is also what makes life challenging as through each experience, we develop certain character that makes us bigger than what we are and the setbacks, griefts and disappointment which we have endured and overcome help us to march forward and onwards. This is the only way to survive if we want to continue to survive.

So, to my friend and if you are reading my blog, don't forget that we are always there supporting you both emotionally and physically. I am sure even if you need any financial support, the volleyball team will be most willing to chip in too. We are just a call away.

E-mail Consequences

2007-08-28T11:14:00.000+08:00

This is so funneeee - you must see it and thanks Mag for sharing it with me.

For those of you who are 'sick to death' of getting messages that tell you to forward an e-mail to at least X number of people in the next 15 minutes so that wonderful and miraculous things will happen if you do, and consequences if you don't, so here's is a piece (below) which I think youw will enjoy.

Check out this video.

Mind over body

2007-08-27T10:47:00.000+08:00

One hour and twenty minutes. Yes, this was the time I took to complete the 12Km Singapore Bay Run a.k.a Safra Sheares Bridge Run & Army Half Marathon yesterday. I clocked a better ten minutes timing as compared to Y2005. Despite my knee injury which kept me away from running long distance in the past one year, I think I was quite happy with my personal timing this time round.

It was really a mind over the body thingy as after passing the 8Km route, the knees started to get abit cranky and threatened to give way. However,seeing contingent of OCS(officer cadet school) and Commandos running pass me in high spirits, that psyched me on to push myself on...afterall I was thinking just another 4Km and I will be done with. Some people stop at a little pain thinking Okay, that's all for me. Most will stop when they find it really too hard to take it anymore. For the amazing one, they take it beyond their mental threshold. I guess I am somehow smacked in between the 'most' and 'amazing' people category, although most of the time I tried to persevere on and push myself to the limits.

Thankfully, I made it back safe and sound. Unfortunately, it was not the case for the 25 year old captain from OCS (an Office cadet instructor). From what I've heard, he collapsed just after completing the 21km marathon and die. It was really tragic.

My advise? Mind over body, yes, use it well and train wisely. If you are not feeling well, it would be advisable to just train less intensively or take a good break before resuming any intense exercises. It's your life you are betting on for every long distance race you run...so don't play with it.

It still warms my heart till today

2007-08-23T20:38:00.000+08:00

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I guess it's just one of those rather old-fashioned (or 'obiang') things that stills warms my heart till today.

I was going through my boxes of letters and greeting cards today which i have received many years back (yes, since the age of 15 and so you can imagine the stacks of cards/letters I have and don't ask me why I still bother to keep those letters/greeting cards and why I am reading it). As I go through each card and letter, reading the wordings on it, the thought of the sender being so sweet about certain things, the words of encouragment etc really made me felt very special and thankful.

Every little post meant a lot to me and it still means alot to me now. I do still get them often from some ever faithful friends - Penny, Mfng, KY.

I still remembered I hand-wrote a letter to a guy friend while he was serving his National service in 1996 to update him on how I was 'surviving' in the University. Back then, everybody has started using the email as the main form of communication. While, guess I was kind of anti-email then and I felt nothing would be better than to hand-write a letter to him. I was absolutely right when he wrote back to say it has been ages since he last received a hand-written letter and he was glad that I was so thoughtful on this. (See what I mean about warming someone's heart).

I hope I'm not being too emotional when I say that sometimes tears do well up in my eyes when I read the letters/greeting cards from all my friends/cadets/ma'ams/, especially when the day is long or it's just one of those nights when I am deep in my own thoughts.

Hostel Part II - Watch it if you dare!

2007-08-23T14:02:00.000+08:00

There has been quite a number of horror and gore shows lately in the cinemas. And yes, being a horror fan, I wouldn't want to miss it for sure especially those movies produced by Lion Gates. (Lion Gates are well-known for producing horror/terrifiying and anything to do with scaring people movies.) And to top that up, director Eli Roth even proclaims himself as the 'Horror Borat'. Woohoo!

I caught the recent 'Hostel Part II' last week and it definitely blow my guts and mind out! For those who have watched 'Hostel Part I', you must catch it's Part II sequel and I guarantee you that it will be more intense, suspense and violent than ever. Not that I am a psycho or torture freak, but this movie sure does takes you to a whole new terrifiying level. For the faint hearted, save your bucks for this especially since now it's the seventh month (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee)

I think I am going to catch 'SkinWalker' this weekend...oooooo...just by the title of the show, my imagination is going wild!

Another horrible finding

2007-08-23T13:52:00.000+08:00

Another horrible finding! Reported in the Forum section of the Straits Time today, a lady ordered a plate of 'Sliced sambal Fried Fish' from a stall @ Banquet and was savouring her coleslaw when she realised there was something 'CHEWY' about it. She took it out from her mouth and found a plaster with dried blood on it. GROSS! YIKES! PUKES!

It seems that the chain of Banquetfood stalls are experiencing some kind of 'hygiene' issues here. First, I discovered a 'dead cockroach' in my noodles at AMK Banquet and now, someone has chewed on a bloody plaster @ Jurong Banquet. What else could be next??!! I shall leave that to your imagination.

The funny thing is the woman sent a compliant email to customercare@banquet.com.sg, only to receive a return email saying 'The address had permanent fatal errors'. It's so ridiculous.

Yikes! A UFO in my macaroni

2007-08-10T15:26:00.000+08:00

Yep, I was 100% confirmed that it was not garlic, onions or any garnishes of that sort. Last evening, I ordered a bowl of chicken macaroni soup from the Chicken rice stall at Banquet at AMK. (Hah!! Blacklist that stall now that I have said out the name). I was stirring the soup and taking my first bite of the chicken slices when I noticed a UFO in my soup (Unidentified Floating Object). I’m sure you’ve guessed what it was. Yep, there was this cockroach with it's hairy legs floating at the corner and in my soup. HORRENDOUS! I thought it was garlic cos the colour was so similar to crispy garlic and to make sure I was not seeing wrongly, I got my partner to confirm it. Even though the waiter apologized and offered to replace a new bowl for me, I had lost my appetite and requested for a re-fund instead.

It's really digusting and kinda nauseating. I am never patronising that stall again no matter how tasty their chicken rice is. Yikes! I should have taken a photo of it and sent it to STOMP....wahahaha

The day the weather went wrong

2007-08-08T16:26:00.000+08:00

Boohoo! The weather is getting from bad to worse lately! Tons of people are falling sick. Right now in my office, i can hear sneezes and coughs within the next cubicle.
Even people whom I’ve known to be “invincible” have fallen prey to the “Virus-Monster”. Moi has been falling sick easily these days too (should I blame it on the weather or it's just me). I hate it! Its ok to have the occasional fever or flu bug, but not when it comes in a combination of 3 in 1. What I meant by 3 in 1 is the cough, the running nose and the sore throat. How bad can that be? Not to mention my Sheares Bridge run is taking place on Aug 26, I don't want to miss any training because of this 'monster'. Argh....

Truesay in Wisteria Lane

2007-08-07T10:23:00.000+08:00

I was really touched by the Desperate Housewives show yesterday. In case some of you have not heard or watch Desperate Housewives, it's basically a series of darkly comedic look at the secret lives of housewives which ain't always what they seem in Wisteria Lane.

Yesterday's show was the most touching for me and I have given it some rating based on how it has melted me. Starting with:

1. Rick tells Lynette of Tom's suspicions and she breaks down, saying that she loved having these evenings to look forward to where she could feel sexy again, even though she never meant for it to go any farther. She tells him that's all ruined now and that he simply has to go.

Melting effect: Lynette's crush for Rick was revealed in this episode as she sobs to herself in the bathroom after telling Tom that Rick has quit. Sometimes, it's hard to cross the line and once you have crossed it, it's even harder to break away from that line. (9.5/10 melting effect)

2.Travers' two-week visit with Edie is up and his father, Charles, has come to take him home. Carlos lets it be known to Edie that he's not going to be around as much without Travers there, so she tells Charles she's filing for joint custody. Realizing that she's doing this because of him, Carlos points out that Travers' needs should come first and being split between two different schools and sets of friends will be rough. He promises to be there for Edie, even when Travers isn't around.

Melting effect: I am touched by Carlos's TLC for Edie and promise to be by her side even if Travers is not there. It's good that a guy knows what a woman wants and needs especially for a woman like Edie. (7/10 melting effect)

3.Gabrielle is annoyed to get a parking ticket from a meter man even though she told him she was about to leave. After Victor Lang won the mayor position, Gabriell was out celebrating her new status as "First Lady of Fairview," when she spies the same meter man from the day before. She deliberately parks in front of a fire hydrant and tells him there's nothing he can do about it. He writes her a ticket and she tears it up and things escalate from there, with her finally ending up in the back of a police car. Victor's position as mayor-elect means that he is indeed able to spring her from jail and have all the charges dropped, but before she explain her side of the story, he icily informs her that he expects his wife to act like a grown-up and not do things such as jump on him like she did on election night when he won. Shaken, she promises it'll never happen again. But then he catches sight of her bruised wrist and she says that the meter man twisted her arm. Later, as Victor and Gaby dance happily at his victory party, two men accost the meter man and savagely beat him. "Do you know how much I love you?" Victor asks.

Melting effect: Victor Lang shows her love for Gaby indirectly. Gaby must have felt that Victor was cold when he told her to behave herself since now he is a mayor. I think Gaby has found the true love of her life...a man who would do anything for her, even in the dark. (8/10 melting effect)

4.Susan decides to find Mike on her own after knowing Mike has went up to the local forests. Of course she gets hopelessly lost. Before she beds down for the night, she leaves Mike a message on his voicemail saying she's always loved him and how sorry she is. And that she doesn't want any more drama. Mike, having overheard the park rangers hunting for a "missing, klutzy brunette" finds her the next morning. "I sprained my ankle," she tells him and he says, "Good. It gives me a chance to do this." And he takes her in his arms and kisses her.

Melting effect: Drama Queen, Susan finally realises Mike is the love of her life (it sure took her a long time to find out who she really loves) and goes in search of him in the forest, only to get lost but rescued the next morning by Mike, who literally swepts her off her feet. How surreal!! (8.5/10 melting effect)

I am really wondering does all such fairy tales only takes place in Wisteria Lane?

The RealRun

2007-08-07T10:06:00.000+08:00

More adrenalin pumping runs coming up in the next few months! Apart from the Standard Chartered Run on Dec 2, another marathorn which got me excited is the RealRun by New Balance . What is new is that the 15km run includes a 12km road run + 1km sand + 1km trial + 1km runaway. Something unusual from the normal road run.

The Realrun will kick off on 28th October and will take place at Changi Coast Road. Definitely worth checking out for sure!

That time of the year again...

2007-08-03T16:23:00.000+08:00

Another month of hair pulling and seeing stars as I screened through the endless string of candidates in my queue for the award cycle. Yes, the part of the year which I lose sleep over with, wondering if I have done a fair and unbias evaluation on all my candidates and giving them what they deserved. I feel like I am writing a testimonial for my candidates - putting in their strengths, achievements and how I feel about each of them. (not simple hor)

Okay..enough of my ramblings and rants and back to my candidate screening time (and yes, pulling hair time too).

Rainy Run

2007-07-30T13:21:00.000+08:00

The last time I ran in the rain was back in my NPCC days. Yes, we called it the PT(Physical training) time and as we ran round the tracks with our Ma'ams leading the squad and singing and cheering to keep our spirits high up....it was totally effortless and enjoyable.

A sense of deja vu on Saturday 28th July as I ran in the OSIM Singapore International Trialthon relay competition with my partner at East Coast Park in the heavy pouring rain (minus the songs and cheers). I was literally soaked from head to toes and there goes my new and heavily invested pair of asics gel shoes getting all muddy, dirty and wet(my dearest shoes!!!).

It was really cold and definitely not a nice feeling running in the heavy pouring rain. Mind you, it was not just a passing rain or a slight drizzle, but a heavy and continuous downpour which lasted till about 2pm. Each step taken was definitely challenging as I have to leap, jump and cross over puddles of water, not to mention I have to avoid splashing the person next to me (sorry to whoever got splashed by me). I was just glad I crossed the finishing line in one soaking piece (haha). Yeah...it was a good run, but not an excellent one given the weather condition.

I can't wait for the Sheares Bridge run on Aug 26. I just hope that it will be Mr. Sun I am seeing instead of Mr. Rain.

Were-Sheeps

2007-07-22T21:32:00.000+08:00

Sick of werewolves? Then how about sheeps??!! Yes, not just normal sheeps, but sheeps that have gone crazy and goes on a killing rampage?? Black sheep is a horror cum comedy movie. It depicts how a genetic engineering experiment went horribly wrong in a New Zealand farm and turning the sheeps into bloodthirsty killers. Human beings who are bitten by the infected sheeps become 'were-sheeps' (is there such a word for it?). I was basically laughing it off throughout the whole movie. (sigh...another indication that such movies are not watchable...)

I used to think sheeps are docile animals, not like those bloodthirsty beasts in the show that goes attacking human beings and ripping off their guts. Weak plot, bad jokes and yeah, not scary a bit. Doesn't appear to me as either a comedy or horror show. Neh, definitely not worth my $8.50. Bleah.

Kristy was in town.....

2007-07-17T15:25:00.000+08:00

Kristy was in town last week for our APAC/EMEA offsite meeting. So, as the host, we brought her to Glutton bay to have a taste of local food. Thanks to the MVPs for volunteering to take her around Singapore and yes, special thanks to Alvin for being her 'personal' tour guide!!

Unity is Strength

2007-07-06T16:48:00.000+08:00

In the animal kingdom, often it is the survial of the fittest as that is how all living things survie in this food chain. This footage clearly depicts and brings out the message that unity is strength and do not undermine the power of this strength which can either break or save a life.

Check out this battle of the species and you will understand why.

The Run of the Year....

2007-07-06T10:00:00.000+08:00

Goodie. The Safra Sheares bridge run is up for registration. Yes, I am all ready for this run on Aug 26. As per the previous year, the starting point will kick off at the Esplanade bridge. However, the ending point will be at the Marina Promenade. Lovely! Interested runners can sign up at www.safra.sg/sbs

Love Equals Hate

2007-07-04T20:50:00.000+08:00

No wonder people always say LOVE too much and it will becomes HATE. Hmm...how true. Mirror never lies...so does LOVE equates to HATE? You got to see this for yourself......

How my day usually starts.....

2007-07-04T13:51:00.000+08:00

This is how my day starts......

6.30am: Body awakes (mind not awake though)and debating whether to jog or swim
6.45am: Out of the house to get my loads of endorphines
7.45am: Back home and wash up (both body and mind finally awake)
8.00am: Switch on machine to check emails
8.30am: Stared at wardrobe wondering what to wear
8.40am: Pack bag
9.00am: Grab a drink, say goodbye to my Mum and leave house

And yes, I begin another day of exciting (if not, I will try to make it exciting) day. Cut across my apartment to catch bus 859 to Sembawang MRT (it takes about 15 mins waiting time, so I tried not to miss it). Board the train at 9.20am and another 45 mins journey of people-watching (interesting!!!) on the packed-like sardine-train. Reached Raffles Place MRT around 10.15am and again, cut across the underground, up the escalator and finally reached the office.

12.00pm: Grab a quick bite (don't know whether I called it my brunch or my lunch) and a cuppa, do some kaypo-ying and yes...work work and work. (wohoo!!!)

5.00pm: Tired eyes and body and decided to call it a day. Pack my machine and retrace the morning walk back to the train station. Then start to plan the route in my mind where I decide to jog later in the evening and kick start another load of endorphines(always looking forward to it).

Another day in my normal working life.

Lovely Locks

2007-07-03T14:14:00.001+08:00

Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the prettiest of them all? A bad hair day for you, no more as shown by this beast...

Ticket to World Cup?

2007-07-03T14:11:00.001+08:00

Ever wondered what you will sacrifice to get that ticket to World Cup? Here is what one man will do.....thanks MM for sharing this.

A Ghost Story......

2007-06-29T17:46:00.000+08:00

Hmm...I have been thinking lately whether I should or should not write a ghost story for the past few days. Afterall, I am a horror fan and loves anything that has gore and horror in it. Yes, debating with me, myself and Lilian and still debating.

Ok. I was kind of attracted by the Straits Time 'Scariest Ghost Story' competition and was thinking of giving it a shot. I have heard some real life ghost stories in the past. Stories from my army guy friends in Pulau Tekong, my uncle's real encounter with a female ghost, my mum telling me about Pontianak when I was young and yes, watching MTV Utt hosting the 'Incredible Tales' (although I must admit I watched the show more for Utt..hehe). However, it gets a bit tricky as I have not personally encounter any scary stuff for the past 30 years (even the scary shows in cinemas ain't scary abit...). I was thinking of some encounters that will freak readers out, you know, those kind that will make your hair stand and send shivers down one's spine...yes...those kind of experience is what I need to write a real ghost story and walk away with the prize! (grinning)

I have read books by horror writer Goh Sin Tub and always find it unbelieveable. Unbelieveable in a sense that I ain't sure whether it is really true or that man sure has a wonderful imagination. Anyway, the price for the 'Scariest Ghost Story' doesn't look that lucrative to me...hmmm....but if anyone got any paranormal encounters to share, this might help to stimulate some creative juices in me and FREAK me out.

I think I will make use of the weekends to 'interview' some of my friends on this...hehe...FREAKY!!!

Part Science, Part Stunts

2007-06-29T16:14:00.000+08:00

If you are game for some 'fun' experiments with Science and you like to see things getting 'BLOWN' up, Brainiac is the right show for you! Brainiac is definitely a fun and entertaining show for those who just can't help reliving their science experiments back in school (except that now you recalled back, those experiments we done in school are really just chicken feat). It's a crazy yet wonderful show to watch.....who knows, you could be the next Albert Einstein!!!

Where were you when he needed you??!!!

2007-06-26T16:02:00.000+08:00

It was quite depressing to read that young 17 years old triathele Thaddeus Cheong collapsed and died after crossing the finishing line. What was even shocking that NO paramedics were present when he collapsed. Pardon my ignorance, but even in most schools' cross country or marathons, there is always a first-aid team standby just in case something happened to somebody. So, why is this basic requisite of having a paramedic team NOT available in the first place? The young man could have been saved by the milliseconds if the medic team was just around the corner.

And what bothers me most is this statement made by TAS. Quoted in the article, 'The Triathlon Association of Singapore (TAS) said although there were no medical personnel on site, the coaches present were all trained in first-aid.'

So, did the coaches not render first aid to the young man when they saw him collapsed or they were not available at the scene at the point of time when he collapsed? Such tragedy should not be happening in the first place. Someone's life could have been saved if precautions were carefully taken and executed in such events.

The Cheong family has lost a son and Singapore has lost a potential triathelete.

Runner's Dilemma?

2007-06-25T10:31:00.000+08:00

I did not know what got into me but I was up at 5am this morning to do a solid 1 hour run around my neighbourhood. It seems the body was kind of awakened by a call to 'Get up, get out and RUN'. To many people, they would rather catch up on that few extra hours of sleep on a Monday morning rather than hitting the pavement and perspiring at 5am in the morning.

The air was refreshing, no traffic, my body and legs were feeling good and yes, it was an awesome run and definitely a good one. I was reading one of a runner's blog and came across what he called a runner's dilema? What exactly is the runner's dilema? He must run, no matter what shape or situation he is in. The dilemma is finding a resolution despite being older, fatter, slower than when running was graceful. How true this is.

Also ever heard of the Runner's High? For those of you unfamiliar with the runner’s high, I would encourage you to seek it out as part of your training. It’s a mental state of relaxation partnered with a mild pain cessation that occurs after 60-90 minutes of steady exercise. I find it truly euphoric, setting me in a state of eternal optimism that can last hours after a run......

Now for some good breakfast!!! :)

Small Town Girl, Big Time Adventure

2007-06-25T09:56:00.000+08:00

The iconic girl detective is back again, after disappearing from the scene for ages. This time round, Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) is back as a nerdishly yet demure snoop(she sure is pretty cute for a nerd)as she accompanies her father to Los Angeles to investigate a long-unsolved mystery involving the death of a beautiful movie starlet.

Definitely a pleasing and refreshing update of a character who has gone missing in the prints since 1978. And what I like about the show is everything about Nancy is retro especially the blue 1959 roadster driven by the sleuth...slick and retro...yeah baby!! If you have read Nancy Drew's book since young (I grew up reading her books and the Hardy boys too), this movie would have been quite enjoyable although if the plot can be tweaked a bit more to make it more thrilling, that would definitely be more interesting.

Yeah, you go girl!

Getting out there

2007-06-22T15:22:00.000+08:00

This whole week I took a long run around my new neighbourhood - the lovely Sembawang for 4 consecutive days. The run took me about an hour each and for the next 3 days, I took an abbreviated version of the same run again. It was a great run and definitely very exciting as the momentum starts building up, the endorphins start setting in and yes, I feel so much lighter.

Call me a sucker for running, I have been hitting the tracks since 1998. From an alternate day jog to a daily run and it has become a routine of mine since that day. It was quite unfortunate that because of this daily run, my right knee has suffered some bad injury over the past few years and I can see signs of slowing down when the pain sets in after the 3rd lap. Nevertheless, I hope I am recuperating well enough to take part in the Sheares Bridge and Standard Chartered run again this year.

Running is definitely an exercise which I will not be giving up yet, I guess even when I am older, I would still want to continue running - for life!. Also it seems like the more I exercise the hungrier I become....:)

Transformers, Robots in Disguise

2007-06-15T16:06:00.000+08:00

The beast machines are back in action in the cinema! Yes, i remembered watching the Transformers with my brother when I was young and singing to the tune of 'Transformers, robots in disguise....' (if I could still remembered the rest of the lyrics). Back in my younger days, the Transformers was the most-watched television show in my house in line with other popular shows like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Smurfs and Scooby Doo (Scooby Doo was my favourite!). However, at that age, i could never really understand a single thing in the show except for the fact that I go WOW everytime they transformed into a robot. And my brother had to remind me everytime I watched the show 'Decepticons hate Autobots. Optimus Prime, the heroic red Mack truck, led the Autobots and wished one day the Decepticons would cease their evil ways. Megatron, the fancy pistol, was the leader of the Decepticons, and he cursed the goody-goody Autobots and their constructive outlook on life.' (Yeah, as though I can understand what he said at that age...haha)

In Transformers, the rules were clear. According to the Transformers Armada story line, while the Autobots and Decepticons battle for control of their home planet Cybertron, a signal reaches them from a distant planet, revealing the existence of the Mini-Con robots. This lost race of transformers has awakened after centuries of hibernation on Earth. The Autobots and Decepticons race to Earth each hoping to find the Mini-Cons first so they can partner with them and gain powerful new abilities. At my younger age, I would think that it's really amazing and incredible to think that everyone could transform from a vehicle -- or cassette tape or gun or dinosaur, in some cases -- into a robot.

How I wish that one day, we can be transformed into something too whenever we feel like it (Hah! Dream on Lilian!!!)

Catch the trailer here for all Transformers fans!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZp75fWe-ss

Atom Ant, my all time favourite Superhero

2007-06-13T15:56:00.000+08:00

Atom Ant as it's name suggested is a superpowered mutated ant. It can detect distress on its antenna and ever see an ant fly??!! Yes, this ant can fly. It's a bird, it's a plane, nooooooooo....it's ATOM ANT!! (move aside superman) It possess superstrength which it derives from atomic energy and it's powers mostly consisted of the ability to fly, superspeed, and amazing strength.

And do you know Atom Ant was the first four limbed talking superhero/insect to walk on hind legs!!! Sometimes, I feel like I am Atom Ant (minus the ability to fly) working at amazing speed and carrying stuff which are way beyond my imagination and size.

ANTM Cycle 7

2007-06-13T15:21:00.000+08:00

I managed to catch a glimpse of the 'America's Next Top Model Cycle 7' last Sunday night (gasps!!!). I have been an avid fan of Tyra Bank's reality TV show eversince they started broadcasting America's Next top model Cycle 2, but somehow, last Sunday show was a disappointment.

There were very limited choices to choose between the icy queen Melrose and the loose cannon Caridee, who both hated each other obviously (as usual in most reality TV show like ANTM). I guess the standard of each contestant has dropped with every cycle and yes, less bitching in cycle 7 too. Again, I would seriously like Ms Jay to consider pumping more male hormones in 'heshe'.... (hehehe)

Well, at least one thing I do agree with the judges is the winner - Caridee. (this episode is not out yet, but I knew she was the winner). I'm not surprised as I think she deserves it more than Melrose simply because she has a better personality than Melrose. Yay!

And Tyra Banks - she looks younger in every ANTM Cycle. Oh my god!!!

All Good Things

2007-06-01T11:02:00.001+08:00

I came across another nice song by Nelly Furtado lately. It's called 'All Good Things' and again, meaningful lyrics especially the chorus portion. Check out her Video here - ALL GOOD THINGS.

All Good Things lyrics by Nelly Furtado.

Honestly what will become of me
don't like reality
It's way too clear to me
But really life is daily
We are what we don't see
Missed everything daydreaming

[Chorus]
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Traveling I only stop at exits
Wondering if I'll stay
Young and restless
Living this way I stress less
I want to pull away when the dream dies
The pain sets in and I don't cry
I only feel gravity and I wonder why

Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
[ All Good Things lyrics found on http://www.completealbumlyrics.com ]
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Well the dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could
Dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could
Die die die die die

Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Well the dogs were barking at a new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon
And the sun was wondering if it should stay away for a day til the feeling went away
And the sky was falling on the clouds were dropping and
the rain forgot how to bring salvation
the dogs were barking at the new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon so that they could die.

This is Good night and not goodbye

2007-05-30T23:13:00.000+08:00

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.'

I'm Moving Again

2007-05-21T14:22:00.000+08:00

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...

2007-05-21T14:00:00.000+08:00

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....

Yes, I caved in

2007-05-20T17:18:00.000+08:00

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.

My new LOVE!

2007-05-02T15:16:00.000+08:00

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!

2007-05-02T14:56:00.000+08:00

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

2007-05-02T14:49:00.000+08:00

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.

My Fantasy at Night..

2007-04-23T23:41:00.000+08:00

What are fantasies? Have you ever fantasise about something or somebody?? I am pretty sure most of us will have such fantasies everynow and then. Since I am now in the midst of a late conference call, if and only if my favourite model (America Top Model Jon Johnson) is here with me...it will be surreal!!! Sweet dreams....

Tourista = Horror?

2007-04-15T00:25:00.000+08:00

Tourista certaintly caught my eye when I saw the preview for this movie in the cinema.Besides the gore and some horror scenes, I was definitely expecting more than just that. I really love scary and horror movies (don't ask me why, but I just love it), however, this movie was rather disappointing or at least it didn't satisfy me at all or got me freak out.

It was mentioned by critics that Tourista will be better and scarier than Hostel (for those who did not watch Hostel, this is really a good show to freak you out) which was not at all in the case. A very mediocre plot with some good looking actress though. The flaw was that the horror part was too short to actually called it a horror show. However, it was partially compensated by lots of skimply dressed actress (to the delight of my partner), a great and lovely beach and a lovely river with underground caves. This movie does have it's potential, just need a little more fine tuning in making the horror portion longer.

For those who are going to catch Tourista over the weekends, it is basically a horror movie about American tourists in Brazil and some really bad things happened to them when their bus crashed and they were forced to take a detour......and yes, that is when the so-called 'horror' begins... (I won't ruin it further for those who haven't seen it yet)

PS: Now, I am wondering if Brazil should be my next tourist vacation. :P

Not my day....

2007-04-10T19:35:00.000+08:00

I guess I am suffering from the post Monday blue syndromes. My Tuesday did not turn out as well as I wanted to. Well...pretty down today actually

A bad start to the day:
1. Nope, I did not wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Rather, I couldn't get any sleep at all the whole night till about 5plus am before I managed to catch a few winks. Reason: It was hot and stuffy eventhough the air-con was on in my bedroom.

Dragged myself down to office at around 9pm and looked like a zombie when I arrive at work.

2. Just when I thought my day could not be that bad, my machine went crazy and refuse to grant me access to the internal websites which I needed so badly for my work. In the end, I had to make a trip down to the IT guys in my office to get it checked. Yes, luckily it was repaired, it worked and it saved my day (at least).
Reason: Unknown because I did not ask the guy what happened.

Well, what could be worst than not being able to access the files/folders I needed for my work. Had a good curry chicken lunch with MVP Darren. This young man is sure chatty and full of energy (if only you hear what his plans are for the upcoming months....what was I doing at his age???!!!).

The worst was yet to come....

3. Later that afternoon, I was informed by a colleague that a project that we were both working on for the past 6 months had to stop for FY08. Apparently, instructions came down from the top. Yikes!!!
Reason: Unknown at this point of time until I attend the meeting.

Stared blankly at my machine while still trying to digest the news I just heard. We were almost 3/4 through to pushing that project out and now??!!!!

Well, knock off at 5 plus and decided to go for a good run to relieve my pent up feelings for the day. Alas, it had to rain!!! Rainy days always make one moody and at that instant, I was plunged into a melancholy mood...sigh sigh..

Tomorrow, yes I can;t wait till tomorrow because tomorrow will be a better day. I am very sure of that and I will make sure it will be better than today.

Of course, I still have tonight to cherish. I think I am going to indulge myself in a sinful vanila walls ice-cream and sit myself in front of my TV for the rest of the night. No checking of mails tonight. :)

30th Birthday

2007-03-28T11:10:00.000+08:00

Yikes! I turned 30 years old on Mar 24.

I must say it turned out pretty well with a cute little bitsy ‘Mr Ernie’ birthday cake for making it to 30 and still looking 20 (just leave this statement alone). :)

Anyway, I did received many greetings that day from friends and even ex-colleagues (thanks folks for remembering it). Some has a few words to say like; "Don’t think of it as 30 years old. Think of it as 3 decades", "No more change on the three red dollar bills for you now that you are 30 years old" and "30 is the new 20s. You earned it, so enjoy!!!".

For those not yet 30, know that the pain is temporary. The week leading up to and then the culmination on birthday day is painful but the next morning it's all gone...and sadly so are your 20's.

PS: That is the reason why I choose not to post this blog on my birthday. :P

Farewell Dinner to Yifan

2007-03-23T16:58:00.000+08:00

Yifan, one of my volleyball kaki and college friend is leaving for Doha this saturday. He will be stationed in Doha for one year. Together with the rest of the volleyball kakis, we had a farewell dinner with him at Waraku Jap restaurant. After 13 years of friendship, it's kinda sad to see him go. He is one of the livewire in our volleyball team. Yifan, we are all going to miss your noise and your 'sisterhood' companion and many many more! If you are reading my blog, remember your promise to fly all of us on a private jetplane to Doha. (you can't run away from us). I am proud to present my group of volleyball kakis whom we have known for 13 years and we are all still going strong.

In case you are wondering who is Yifan, he is the second guy from the top right table.

Snow Day

2007-03-22T08:01:00.000+08:00

Some good memories of the few of us who can't wait to kick start the summit festivities properly, with a snow day of skiing, snowboarding, tubing and sledding.
Taken at 'The Summit at Snoqualmie'.

Slow Down Culture - An Interesting reflection

2007-03-21T16:16:00.000+08:00

This is an interesting article as well as a great reflection to many of us who are living evidence in this race against time society.
--------------------------------------------------
It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule.

Globalize processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.

Said in another words:
1. Sweden is about the size of San Pablo, a state in Brazil.
2. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants.
3. Stockholm, has 500,000 people.
4. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, Nokia are some of its renowned companies. Volvo supplies the NASA.

The first time I was in Sweden, one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work). The first day, I didn't say anything, either the second or third. One morning I asked, "Do you have a fixed parking space? I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot." To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, and whoever gets in late will be late and need a place closer to the door. Don't you think?" Imagine my face.

Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe name Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week.

Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fueled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being". French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%. This slow attitude has brought forth the US's attention, pupils of the fast and the "do it now!".

This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means reestablishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global", undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of living.

It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do. It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence of spirit.

In the movie, Scent of a Woman, there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance to a tango.

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

Congratulations for reading till the end of this message. There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this globalized world.

MVPs Galore!

2007-03-20T12:23:00.000+08:00

It has been a great week networking and meeting up with 38 SEA MVPs who have taken the time off their work to fly to Seattle for the yearly 2007 MVP Global Summit. It's great seeing most of you and yes, I am so glad that the Sri Lanka MVPs were able to make it (I got to see my foodiekarma and he is going strong)!! For memories, this is for all of you.

Beautiful Women Month...lovely

2007-03-12T08:53:00.000+08:00

Someone just reminded me that it's Beautiful Women month! Wow...I did not know that at all. Thanks Mag for sharing this. And to all women out there (whether you are a wife to your husband, daughter to your parents, sister to your brother blar blar blar), below is a wonderful poem Audrey Hepburn wrote when asked to share her "beauty tips." It was read at her funeral years later.

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness..
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone...
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older,you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

Blogging from the rainy Seattle.

LOVE STUNT!

2007-03-07T19:38:00.000+08:00

The WOW experience took place on Feb 14 and thanks to MVP Wee Hyong, he managed to get this article featured in the March 2007 NETA APAC newsletter. Also Kudos to the effort from the INETA volunteers in China and Korea, they have managed to publish the newsletter in 3 languages!

LOVE STUNT in English

LOVE STUNT in Chinese

LOVE STUNT in Korea

I am PG-13 Rated.

2007-02-23T15:36:00.001+08:00

This is er hem....interesting. Just thought I tested myself on this to see what are the results.

Your Mind is PG-13 Rated

Your mind is definitely a little dirty. You're naughty, but not trashy.
You don't shy away from a dirty joke, and you're clearly not a prude.

Do You Have a Dirty Mind?

What Mythological creature are you?

2007-02-23T15:21:00.000+08:00

Taken from a friend, try this!

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are.
While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need.
Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational.
You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

Remembering Grandma

2007-02-21T12:59:00.000+08:00

My grandma came to stay with us during the CNY period, as per the previous years. She was sent to a nursing home a few years back due to a stroke as my uncles thought that it would be better for her to remain under the care of nurses rather than getting a maid. We would visit her over the weekends and bring along her favourite chicken rice for her to indulge once a while. This CNY, it was a total different experience as it was the first time, my parents and I were spending CNY with my grandma by staying at her house.

I had very vivid images of my grandma since young. My first memories of my grandma was when I first tasted her pot of mouth-watering chicken curry and that has got me drooling and my eyes lighted up everytime grandma declared, 'Come to my house for chicken curry tonight'. It was one of those special delights which I craved for as a kid. Due to her old age and failing eyesight, my grandma has retired from her 'chicken curry cooking' session and I still missed it until this day.

At that time, my grandma's house was a 3 room flat in Kim Keat. I remember the paint peeling from her wall in the kitchen. I remember her house smelled like her with all the medical plaster and ointment. I remember she never had an unkind thing to say in front of the grandkids. I remember stories of my mother and grandmother picking the hair from the birdnest when my mother was young.

For the past 4 days, grandma stayed with us and we took care of her like she used to take care of us when we were kids. She has difficulties in walking and has to rely on a crutch to move around. Even though, she was just happy to be able to spend the CNY with her children and grandchildren, watching TV and just enjoying each and every moment with all of us. I am sure we too felt the same with her presence.

Today, we sent grandma back to the nursing home. As I held her arm and led her to the crutches, she thanked me and told me that if I am busy, I need not visit her that often. A sudden surge of emotion overwhelmed me. I felt sad that she has to go back to the nursing home and guilty that I have not spent much time visiting her as often as I should. To my grandma, she could not have asked for more than to spend her remaining time with her children and grandchildren. (she is 74 years old this year)

As I held her soft hands and led her to the car, I told her to take care of herself and she nodded. As I see her back fading away, I felt so sad. Just thinking about what she said to me earlier makes me teary eyed. I can still feel her soft hands, I can hear her laughter.

If someone were to ask me what was the best CNY I ever had, besides receiving ang baos and indulging in the goodies, the answer is actually very sinple: spending time with my grandma during the CNY was something special and more than I can ask for. Thanks grandma!

Que Sera Sera

2007-02-15T16:07:00.000+08:00

When I was very young (i think around the age of 8), my mum taught me this song and since then, it has been deeply ingrained in my mind. The tune is catchy and when I sing the song, I always changed it to my own name to make it more realistic. (haha...thinking about that now makes me laugh). Looking back at how far I have come and what the future beholds, I sometimes sing the song to myself before I go to bed. This song will always be a song between my mum and me.

Que Sera Sera

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she said to me.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

When I was young, I fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows, day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I tell them tenderly.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

Fear Factor - Are you Game for it?

2007-02-15T15:27:00.000+08:00

I love watching Fear Factor. I love the show. I watch it whenever I can and I think the contestants must be either money crazy or just simply nuts to be willing to do such stunts! Nevertheless, this is a nerve racking, sick and digusting show which I just love it!

"Imagine a world where your greatest fears become reality. In each pulse-racing "Fear Factor" episode, contestants recruited across the country battle in extreme stunts. These stunts are designed to challenge the contestants both physically and mentally. If a player is too afraid to complete or fails a stunt, the player is eliminated. If they succeed, they are one step closer to the grand prize: $50,000."

And searching, I found a series of Fear Factor special editions which looks er hem, very interesting. And adding to that series of Fear Factor editions, perhaps we could throw in the 'Office Colleagues Fear Factor!' Anyone game for it?