Monday, 25 October 2004

The key to self-awareness is honest self-observation

"If we do not observe ourselves, we cannot ever hope to be our own master.
We will be like 'puppets' yanked by every impulse tugging on our strings."


- Don Riso, an international Enneagram authority

circumstances in my life threaten to tug me in all directions. lots of both positive and negative events surround me these few weeks.

staying afloat. learning to keep everything in the right perspective and staying perfectly aware of what is happening in and outside of myself, as well as the choices open to me.

will be back to blogging real soon.

Saturday, 16 October 2004

Dreams

I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.

Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine, September 2002
US actress & television talk show host (1954 - )

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain

If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Wednesday, 13 October 2004



from.. you are what you eat
the net principle

the irony of it all...

my new sony ericsson t610 got nicked at my workplace today after i left it on my worktable.. darn sad..yes, if you're wondering, it's the phone i mentioned in my very last post, just before this one.. lost all the contacts i have stored in my sim card over the past couple of years.. anyway, i figured that this is also a good time for me to figure out who my existing or remaining or enduring friends are.. those who have survived years of my nonsense and decide to remain friends with me.. if you got my number and still want to be in my list, please sms me, with your name of cos, and let me add you back, ya?

else i'll try to email you at some point to find out or get it from someone else in our "clique"??

i've realised that life is just like that sometimes.. someone returned me a mobile phone recently, one that i had lent to her for a while, and very promptly, i lost my new one. it is as if there is always this "net effect".. you lose something, you find something else, you drive your old car around for years and nothing happens to it. you buy a new car and you wreck it the next day... you lose a friend and then gain a new acquaintance.. when God closes a door, He opens a window..

bizarrely, this is always something i realise i subconsciously believe about life, despite how positive i appear about things around me and circumstances and events.. sometimes, i suddenly wonder.. in the quiet of the night.. maybe, just maybe.. there is really a "net" amount of happiness in this world... when someone is really happy, someone else in the world becomes sad.. when peace appears somewhere.. war breaks out in another corner..

oh well.. neber mind.. anyway, many thanks to the dearest friend who's about to lend me a camera phone to tide over these difficult times.. :) thanks! muaks! **

Thursday, 7 October 2004

the *new* sony ericsson t610 gallery

went down to sim lim to buy an infrared to usb cable last night and finally managed to download my pics from my recently purchased (albeit no longer in fashion) camera phone.

now announcing the t610 gallery!

hahahah.. very lomo-esque pics.. cool..... i like.. :)

Wednesday, 6 October 2004

sunrise 05 oct 2004

Monday, 4 October 2004

a weekend of varied experiences

sunrise 04 oct 2004
sunrise 04 oct 2004

the weekend that just passed (from friday all thru to sunday) was pretty amazing..

firstly, Friday. i happened to be at raffles city at the right time and caught no less than 5 babelicious models catwalking down the side of Raffles City to pulsating electronic music (see here for the 2004 vertical catwalk asia tour by espirit). i stood alongside heartland aunties with toddlers in tow and young couples in smart office suits, all of us watching in awe the real life Lara Crofts in action. Very surreal.

then hopped over to the opening of a good friend's exhibition at Singapore Art Museum. His team, sciSKEW architecture, is one of 10 artists exhibiting as part of Seni Singapore 2004 (Project Home Fronts). Look out for the cool piece of work – you can’t miss it cos it’s so huge (stretches over two rooms) and white and elevated and rather bright with about 30 flourescent tubes incandescent. Noticed a few somewhat well-known figures in the local arts scene while sipping wine and gulping tea tarik at the reception and caught up with some “long lost” acquaintances and friends. Fun :)

then adjourned to the related art exhibition Insomnia 48 at the Arts House where we stumbled upon a free slow waltz 101 course by a bubbly lady with a broad smile. She was brilliantly friendly and made the moves seem so effortless. Still, it didn’t stop me from tripping over my two left feet. Nonetheless, I’m glad i overcame some of my initial biasness against this dance form and now I think it can actually be quite fun. Ha.

woke up early Sat morning and went to get my already-not-so-long hair chopped further at my favourite HDB dwelling hairdresser, as suggested by my kind colleagues who are going to do likewise, as preparation for the heavy load of marking that will descend on us in a few days’ time, once the exams are done. In their own words, “Have a lighter head”. Imagine the extreme lengths teachers will go for their students! Erhm. *I’m sure you’re weeping in gratitude now??* haha.

Then headed down to Yishun swimming pool for some sun and laps. Trying my best to get the “healthy glow” look that is not typical of teachers.. hahahaha . ok ok, well, actually I was trying to fix my right ankle which is still throbbing a little from a careless sprain after the long run last week. Thought the soft motion of the water current will help. It didn’t after 10 laps, so I just stood around and people watched. Ha.

Ended the evening walking around famous Chong Pang "village" (where every other nasi lemak stall claims to sell the original "Chong Pang nasi lemak", just like in the katong laksa case), stopped by at the handful of pet shops to stare at the gerbils, hamsters and budgerigars, and eventually, ended up at Ma Kuang Chinese Physicians and had my first taste of acupuncture! I think the trauma of really doing it was more than the actual pain, though I did have some six needles poke into my foot and light electrical impulses sent through them, causing this odd numbing sensation for a good 15 minutes.

The random experiences continued into Sunday. A good friend and I caught up over lunch and then watched the Discovery Travel and Adventure channel host contest live at Suntec. At the beginning, we pained over those on stage who put on faked accents and looked enthusiastic but awkward for the cameras and live crowds (too fat? too old? really sweet? too friendly? too fake? whatever..) We cheered those who pleased us intuitively, even if we couldn’t figure out their appeal. In the end, I didn’t finish watching the whole contest and spent the rest of the day with a group of fun friends for cold beer along the river, laughing and bantering. Good clean malty fun. Ha, who can complain!

I think a weekend like this takes a while to recover from… burp…

Friday, 1 October 2004

on a morning a few days ago...





on a beautiful morning like this one, i could easily pretend i was watching the Aurora Borealis itself.. brilliant! :)