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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

迪克牛仔 - 有多少爱可以重来

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迪克牛仔 - 有多少爱可以重来

常常责怪自己当初不应该,
常常后悔没有把你留下来,
为什么明明相爱,
到最后还是要分开,
是否我们总是徘徊在西门之外。

谁知道又和你相遇在人海,
命运如此安排又叫人无奈,
这些年过的不好不坏,
只是好象少了一个人存在,
而我渐渐明白你任然是我不变的关怀。

有多少爱可以从来,
有多少人愿意等待,
当懂得珍惜以后回来,
却不知那份爱会不会还在。

有多少爱可以从来,
有多少人值得等待,
当爱情已经苍天沧海,
是否还有勇气去爱。

Bflygal's comments :
这首歌,是小南 一直在唱。
他第一次唱的时候,是和小米。
是这首歌,让他们的爱萌芽。
他最后一次唱的时候,是在小米家,洗碗碟的时候。
是这首歌,让小米以为他们终于会永远在一起。

是这首歌,让我一直辗转难眠。
是这首歌,让我找遍整个OST,也找不到它的影子。
终于凭记忆,把它挖出来。

只能说人做的每一个决定,
一定要清楚知道后果,
也要勇敢面对一切,
好对自己和对别人负责任。

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

30 Books that can make you a better leader

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1. Adler : How to Read a Book
2. Boyatzis & McKee : Resonant Leadership : Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others through Mindfulness, Hope and Compassion
3. Kotter : Heart of Change
4. Bridges : Managing Transition
5. Buckingham : First Break all the Rules
6. Dotlich, Noel and Walker : Ladership Passages
7. Conger : Winning ‘Em Over
8. DePree : Leadership is an Art
9. Frankl : Man’s Search for Meaning
10. Friedman : The World is Flat
11. George : Authentic Leadership
12. Ghandi: the video
13. Goleman : Working with Emotional Intelligence
14. Hammerschlag : The Theft of the Spirit
15. Jamison : Nibble Theory
16. Katzenback : The Wisdom of Teams
17. Lencioni : Death by Meeting : A Ladership Problem about Solving the most Painful Problem in Business
18. Machiavelli : The Prince
19. Mackenzie : Orbiting the Giant Hairball
20. Marquardt : Leading with Questions : How Leaders Find the Right Solutions by Knowing What to Ask
21. O’Toole : Creating the Good Life
22. Patterson : Crucial Conversations
23. Rousseau & Cranston : The Social Contact
24. Shafir : The Zen of Listening
25. Jaworski : Synchronicity
26. Useem : Leadership Moment
27. Wallis : Two Old Women
28. Whyte : The Heart Aroused
29. Ishiguro : Never Let Me Go
30. Michalko : Thinkertoys

Source : CIO (December 2006 issue) www.cio-asia.com

Monday, January 29, 2007

Windows Vista Tools

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While clearing the Microsoft bag that I got last year, I found my notes... and decided to imprint on my blog.

Microsoft Expression
http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression/en/default.mspx

ZAM 3D
http://www.erain.com/products/zam3d/DefaultPDC.asp

Stanley Tan's Blog
http://blogs.msdn.com/stanley/default.aspx

Microsoft Office 2007
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/office/default.aspx


* Extension .docx is a document in open XML
* Just rename the file docx.zip, you will get a zip file immediately

刘若英 - 一次幸福的机会

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刘若英 - 一次幸福的机会

在那么有限的生命中 能被所爱的人深深爱过
或许不该再奢求再怨什么 世上的遗憾本来就很多

* 在艰难的说了再见后 你真的不该再紧紧抱我
刚才还能体谅的放开你的手 不代表我就够坚强洒脱
我们曾有过一次幸福的机会 当玫瑰和诺言还没枯萎
别说抱歉 我不后悔 曾经逆风和你一起飞
我们曾有过一次幸福的机会 似乎就要拥有 爱的完美
你说别哭 我说不哭 然后我们都流下了眼泪 *

Repeat *

你说别哭 我说不哭 然后我们都流下了眼泪

Sunday, January 28, 2007

生日快乐(2007)

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(taken from www.happybirthdaymovie.hk, drew by Tina Ko)

There are things I care about every day but can only say it once a year. Sorry about the delay


选择不做情人,只做朋友,因为情人会分手,但朋友是永远。
小米是这么天真的认为。
因为她缺乏安全感,因为小南是位很有魅力的男朋友。
因为越是在乎,越是害怕。
所以她要求彼此做比好朋友还要好的朋友。
小南说她一定会后悔的。

“好端端的分手”
有些人会觉得荒缪。
有些人会觉得费时。
但对这小两口,他们只是在等待。
等她多一点自信,等他多一点稳定。

岁月不饶人,
生老病死,
是每个人都必须经过的。
在每个生日,有他的祝福,
她会勇敢地面对老一岁,
也会乘机尽量的回味过去。

我理解她所做的一切,
也明白她所怕的一切。
只能说 :
不在乎天长地久,
只在乎曾经拥有。
因为永远也有个终点。


《生日快乐》

刘若英

词∶林夕 曲∶陈辉阳

彷佛你就在我身边
等待了一年 又一年
对你的思念
三百六十五天
我只等 这一天
勇敢地把从前
情人节快乐
变成
祝你生日快乐

I LOVE YOU
说不出口的倾诉
I MISS YOU
让挂念 代替了 相处
瞬间是永远 谈情变祝福
可惜 甜言也带苦

I LOVE YOU
是最完美的结束
I MISS YOU
一辈子 靠今天 接触
瞬间是永远 谈情变祝福
可惜 都於事无补

今夜 有人陪你庆祝
不枉 我一年的孤独
请你 原谅我 不多写一个字
像 普通人糢糊
多一字 多份痛
今夜 我不想哭
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday To You

File Extension : OGG

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First time I caught this extension, I thought the person was joking by sharing OGG files. And I decided to go with the common mp3 extension instead.

The second time I saw this file extension, I got curious. Because it was in wiki as a sound file to help pronounce a word that I was interested in. (Btw the word is Bruschetta.) I value wiki a lot because it is a terrific and extensive encyclopaedia. So I went to search for the extension details of OGG and wonder why did wiki used OGG instead of the normal wav file to aid pronunciation.

OGG file extension is used pretty extensively. Thankfully, all I need is to install the DirectShow filter and I can play OGG files in the windows media player too. Simple =D

Oh while searching for the details of OGG file extension, I came across this What File Extension Are You? Quiz and tried it for fun, peace and laughter.


You are .cgi Your life seems a bit too scripted, and sometimes you are exploited.  Still a workhorse though.
Which File Extension are You?

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The Little Prince

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Quotes from Little Prince, a book that I used to like but have avoided re-reading it due to some reasons. After so many years, I decided to find the quotes back because I think it is time to face it.

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All grown-ups were children first. (But few remember it).
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Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again.
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That's the way they are. You must not hold it against them. Children should be very understanding of grown-ups.
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... I have had, in the course of my life, lots of encounters and lots of serious people. I have spent lots of time with grown-ups. I have seen them at close range... which haven't much improved my opinion of them.
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I have serious reasons to believe that the planet the little prince came from is Asteroid B-612. This asteroid has been sighted only once by telescope, in 1909 by a Turkish astronomer, who had then made a formal demonstration of his discovery at an International Astronomonical Congress. But no one believed him on account of the way he was dressed. Grown-ups are like that.
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Grown-ups like numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask questions about what really matters. They never ask: "What does his voice sound like?" "What games does he like best?" "Does he collect butterflies?". They ask: "How old is he?" "How many brothers does he have?" "How much does he weigh?" "How much money does his father make?" Only then do they think they know him.
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If you tell grown-ups, "I saw a beautiful red brick house, with geraniums at the windows and doves on the roof...," they won't be able to imagine such a house. You have to tell them, "I saw a house worth a hundred thousand francs." Then they exclaim, "What a pretty house!"
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"For millions of years flowers have been producing thorns. For millions of years sheep have been eating them all the same. And it's not serious, trying to understand why flowers go to such trouble produce thorns that are good for nothing? It's not important, the war between the sheep and the flowers?... Suppose I happen to know a unique flower, one that exists nowhere in the world except on my planet, one that a little sheep can wipe out in a single bite one morning, just like that, even without realizing what he's doing - that isn't important? If someone loves a flower of which just one example exists among all the millions and millions of stars, that's enough to make him happy when he looks at the stars. He tells himself, 'My flower's up there somewhere...' But if the sheep eats the flower, then for him it's as if, suddenly, all the stars went out. And that isn't important?'"
***********************

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"If I were to command a general to turn into a seagull, and if the general did not obey, that would not be the general's fault. It would be mine."
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"I'd like to see a sunset... Do me a favour your majesty... Command the sun to set."

"If I commanded a general to fly from one flower to the next like a butterfly, or to write a tragedy, or to turn into a seagull, and if the general did not carry out my command, which of us would be in the wrong, the general or me?"

"You would be," said the little prince quite firmly.

"Exactly. One must command from each what each can perform," the king went on. "Authority is based first of all upon reason. If you command your subjects to jump in the ocean, there will be a revolution. I am entitled to command obedience because my orders are reasonable."

"Then my sunset?" insisted the little prince, who never let go of a question once he had asked it.

"You shall have your sunset. I shall command it. But I shall wait, according to my science of government, until conditions are favourable."

"And when will that be?" inquired the little prince.

"Well, well!" replied the king, first consulting a large calendar. "Well, well! That would be around... around... that would be tonight around seven-forty! And you'll see how well I'm obeyed."
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"That is the hardest thing of all. It is much harder to judge yourself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself, it's because you're truly a wise man."
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"What are you doing here," he asked the drunkard...

"Drinking," replied the drunkard, with a gloomy expression.

"Why are you drinking?" the little prince asked.

"To forget," replied the drunkard.

"To forget what?" inquired the little prince, who was already feeling sorry for him.

"To forget that I'm ashamed," confessed the drunkard, hanging his head.

"What are you ashamed of?" inquired the little prince, who wanted to help.

"Of drinking!" concluded the drunkard...
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The earth is not just another planet! It contains one hundred and eleven kings (including, of course, the African kings), seven thousand geographers, nine hundred thousand businessmen, seven-and-a-half million drunkards, three-hundred-eleven million vain men; in other words, about two billion grownups.
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To give you a notion of Earth's dimensions, I can tell you that before the invention of electricity, it was necessary to maintain, over the whole of six continents, a veritable army of four-hundred-sixty-two thousand, five hundred and eleven lamplighters.
Seen from some distance, this made a splendid effect. The movements of this army were ordered like those of a ballet. First came the turn of the lamplighters of new Zealand and Australia; then these, having lit their streetlamps, would go home to sleep. Next it would be the turn of the lamplighters of China and Siberia to perform their steps in the lamplighters' ballet, and then they too would vanish into the wings. Then came the turn of the lamplighters of Russia and India. Then those of Africa and Europe. Then those of South America and North America. And they never miss their cues for their appearances onstage. It was awe-inspiring.

Only the lamplighter of the single street lamp at the North Pole and his colleague of the single street lamp at the South Pole led carefree, idle lives: they work twice a year.
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Men occupy very little space on Earth. If the two billion inhabitants of the globe were to stand close together, as they might for some public event, they would easily fit into a city block that was twenty miles long and twenty miles wide. You could crowd all humanity onto the smallest Pacific islet.

Grown-ups, of course, won't believe you.
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"Good morning," said the little prince.

"Good morning," said the flower.

"Where are the people?" the little prince inquired politely.

The flower had one day seen a caravan passing.

"People? there are six or seven of them, I believe, in existence. I caught sight of them years ago. But you never know where to find them. The wind blows them away. They have no roots, which hampers them a good deal."

"Goodbye," said the little prince.

"Goodbye," said the flower.
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"Nothing's perfect," sighed the fox. "My life is monotonous. I hunt chickens; people hunt me. All chickens are just alike, and all men are just alike. So I'm rather bored. But if you tame me, my life will be filled with sunshine. I'll know the sound of footsteps that will be different from all the rest. Other footsteps send me back underground. Yours will call me out of my burrow like music. And then, look! You see the wheat fields over there? I don't eat bread. For me, wheat is no use whatever. Wheat fields say nothing to me. Which is sad. But you have hair the colour of gold. So it will be wonderful, once you've tamed me! The wheat, which is golden, will remind me of you. And I'll love the sound of the wind in the wheat..."
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"Language is the source of misunderstandings."
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"You're lovely, but you're empty," he went on. "One couldn't die for you. Of course an ordinary passer-by would think my rose looked just like you. But my rose, all on her own, is more important than you altogether, since she's the one I've watered. Since she's the one I put under glass. Since she's the one I sheltered behind a screen. Since she's the one for whom I killed the caterpillars (except for two or three for butterflies). Since she’s the one I listened to when she complained, or when she boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing at all. Since she's my rose."
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"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."
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"Only the children know what they're look for," said the little prince. "They spend their lives on a rag doll and it becomes very important, and if it's taken away from them, they cry..."

"They're lucky," the switchman said.
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What makes the desert beautiful," said the little prince, "is that it hides a well somewhere..."

I was surprised by suddenly understanding that mysterious radiance of the sands. When I was a little boy I lived in an old house, and there was a legend that a treasure was buried in it somewhere. Of course, no one was ever able to find the treasure, perhaps no one even searched. But it cast a spell over the whole house. My house hid a secret in the depths of its heart...
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"People where you live," the little prince said, "grow five thousand roses in one garden... yet they don't find what they're looking for..."

"They don't find it," I answered.

"And yet what they're looking for could be found in a single rose, or a little water..."

"Of course," I answered.

And the little prince added, "But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart."
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... when someone blushes, doesn't that mean "yes"?
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You risk tears if you let yourself be tamed.
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"People have stars, but they aren't the same. For travellers, the stars are guides. For other people, they're nothing but tiny lights. And for still others, for scholars, they're problems. For my businessman, they were gold. But all those stars are silent stars. You, though, you'll have stars like nobody else."

"What do you mean?"

"When you look up at the sky at night, since I'll be living on one of them, since I'll be laughing on one of them, for you, it'll be as if all the stars are laughing. You'll have stars that can laugh!"

And he laughed again.

"And when you're consoled (everyone is eventually consoled), you'll be glad you've known me. You'll always be my friend. You'll feel like laughing with me. And you'll open your windows sometimes just for the fun of it... And your friends will be amazed to see you laughing while you're looking up at the sky. Then you'll tell them, 'Yes, it's the stars. They always make me laugh!"
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For me, this is the loveliest and the saddest landscape in the world. It's the same landscape as the one on the preceding page, but I've drawn it one more time to be sure you see it clearly. It's here that the little prince appeared on Earth, then disappeared.

Look at this landscape carefully to be sure of recognizing it, if you should travel to Africa someday, in the desert. And if you happen to pass by here, I beg you not to hurry past. Wait a little while, just under the star! Then if a child comes to you, and if he laughs, if he has golden hair, if he doesn't answer your questions, you'll know who he is. If this should happen, be kind! Don't let me go on being so sad: Send word immediately that he's come back...
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Thot of the Day

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"I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer."
- Jim Carrey (taken from Reader Digest)

Foreign Words

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Was looking through Norlene Doris (a multiply user) blog where she defined some words and the genre of manga. Seems to be an avid anime viewer. Hmm reminds me, I wonder should I watch bleach or naruto or neither? Hmm should be neither bah.. sighz, 1 yr has passed and I still cant start on naruto.. never mind, get the manga from my friend first hee hee.

Comics has a few variations namely
1. Manhua (Chinese)
Traditional Chinese: 漫畫
Simplified Chinese: 漫画
pinyin: Mànhuà

2. truyện tranh (Vietnamese)

3. Manhwa (Korean)
Hangul: 만화
Hanja: 漫畵

4. Manga (Japanese)
漫画

Some other Japanese words that I like to remember :
- Shōjo or shoujo : 少女, Shōjo, Young girl
- Bishōjo : 美少女, Bishōjo? ; びしょうじょ; Beautiful young girl
- Shōnen : 少年, Shōnen, Young boy
- Bishōnen : 美少年, Bishōnen, Beautiful boy
- Seinen : 青年, Seinen, Teenager
- Seinen : 成年, Seinen, Adult

A Rose as a Gift

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I'm helping my brother to sell the following 2 items. So if you are interested, please contact me either by leaving a comment or email me if you know me. Thanks =D

Rose 1
Rose 2

HINOKIO

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I saw the trailer for this movie and am tempted to watch this show. It reminds me a bit like AI, which is another movie that I wanted to catch but never had the chance. Hopefully when I have some free time, I can rent the 2 movies to watch them. I believe it is beneficial for me as a KE student hee hee!

Anyway from the trailer, I guess the story is about a boy and his remote controlled robot which allows him learn how to interact with people again. Sounds like a very heart-wrenching type of story.

By the way, YUI sang the theme song for this movie, entitled "Tomorrow's Way". Such a coincident that lately everything I watch has connection to Taiyo no Uta. While searching for this movie name, I chanced upon this paragraph

"Taiyou no Uta" is being described by the Japanese media as the final chapter what is being dubbed, the "Pure Love Trilogy". The first chapter was Isao Yukisada's "Sekai no chuushin de, ai wo sakebu" (2004), the second chapter was Nobuhiro Doi's "Ima, ai ni yukimasu" (2004), and the third and last chapter will be Norihiro Koizumi's "Taiyou no Uta" (2006).

Even though all three films are being compiled together as a "trilogy", none of the films are connected in anyway (in regards to story, actors, directors, producers, or production company). The only apparent bond connecting all films together is in regards to the presence of telling a story about the innocence and beauty of pure love.


Coincidentally, I had actually watched all 3 movies at the same week. Gosh I think that week, I must have immersed too much in innocent pure love. No wonder I keep reminiscing about my secondary school days and keep missing it.

Note this is more of a reminder post to remind myself of this movie.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Shinobi

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Shinobi means Ninja.

This is a 2005 production. The female lead, Yukie Nakama, is very beautiful that I got smitten the first time I saw her on the cover. The male lead, Jô Odagiri, is not bad looking too. But I still prefer to see pretty lady hee hee.

Oboro (the female lead) and Kouga Gen-no-suke (the male lead) are star-crossed lovers. Both of them came from 2 different clans, and these 2 ninja clans have been enemies for histories. Both clans are very powerful in their ninja skills and posed a threat to the nefarious lord of the lords, Nankobo Tenkai thus he plot to intensify the rivalry between the two clans. Nankobo created a contest for each clan to hand pick 5 of their best warriors to participate in this battle, a duel to death.

Gen-no-suke did not want to battle, but his clan mates have lived their life just to duel. And they refuse to let Gen-no-suke remove this duel from them. To them, having battled and died in the battle makes life fulfilling.

On Oboro’s side, like what Hotarubi (acted by Erika Sawajiri) says, she fights because she has to defend those she loves. Initially she had asked Oboro why they had to battle and Oboro felt sad to have to bring her along too. As both of them were orphans, they bond easily. I like Hotarubi too. She has the power to entice butterflies and make butterflies attack the enemies. And the effect is beautiful. While searching, I saw that she acted as Kaoru Amane in Taiyo no Uta. I’m curious to watch the TV series now.

As for Oboro, her talent lies in her eyes. She can kill a person just by staring at him with her eyes of destruction. Neat artwork! Actually she is a gentle girl turn harsh because of circumstances. The moment she saw Hotarubi died while saving her, she turn bitter.

10 of the Shinobis battled. Only one came out alive. And the surviving Shinobi is none other than Oboro. Actually it came as no surprise. When a lady turns bitter and harsh, she can really become heartless. When Gen-no-suke and her met in the plains, he told her to kill him. But she couldn’t do it with her eyes. So she lunged forward with her knife. Maybe she expected him to retaliate. Maybe she did not mean to stab him with her knife. But the fact is he allowed her to kill him. So she ended being the last one standing.

At the end, to save her village and his village, she went to begged Nankobo. But he told her that she cannot lead a normal life because she is not a normal person. In response to that, she blinded herself in exchange for her normal life and he acceded.

I wonder do we always hanker for something we cannot have. A special girl hoping for a normal life in which she could fall in love and marry the man of her life. A special girl who only wants peace and does not understand why she must battle.

Most importantly, I wonder if she is bent on killing the guy actually. And does she regret killing him? Or the both of them know that only one can stay alive. And the guy is willing to be killed by her. I can only conclude when a girl is heartless, she can actually be more heartless than a guy.

Big dreams, Small island

1 comments
I rarely buy VCDs and DVDs. But usually when I'm in a mood to buy a film, I tend to pick a Made in Singapore movie. That means my choices are pretty limited as I tend to buy Jack Neo's productions. So this time, I bought Colin & Yen Yen's production - Singapore Dreaming.

It is a film that will strike a chord with Singaporeans especially those born in last century, like me! It used a lot of vernacular language, and incorporated a strong sense of local flavour. Most importantly, the movie speaks aloud what Singaporeans want, Condo, Car, Cash. An average typical father trying to work towards his elite life, and the only way he knows how to do it is by buying lottery. Indeed buying 4D and Toto is a common sight in Singapore. The only problem is he is heavily in debt because he borrowed money to send his son to USA to study. And he is very proud of this overseas graduate son.
Sometimes I wonder why Singaporeans views graduates as something to be proud of. In the past, there are not many graduates but from my generation onwards, the number of graduates has increased. Sometimes I feel that my degree is nothing special because if you go out on the streets and pick a handful of people, most probably you will find the majority are graduates.
Just as if you go out on the streets and pick a handful of people, most probably you will also find the majority has a maid in their house. Hiring a maid is a way to elevate your status, in this world. To have someone to serve you, to take care of you and to let you feel you are in power. But is a maid really for that reason?

I feel that Singaporeans keep hankering for something, keep trying to upgrade themselves, keep trying to elevate their status. But in the process, are they happy? Or are we like hamster in the wheel that keeps running non-stop for self-amusement? Most importantly, are we running for our sake or because we were told to do so?

This movie makes me reflect a lot on what the impact the system has on me. And times like this, I will start asking myself does having what everybody has leads to happiness?

Friday, January 19, 2007

Chains of Restrictions

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Human are restrained by many things
- laws of nature
- the flow of time
- the vessel known as your body
- existence known as your mind

These are the chains that restrict all living things.
But the most ferocious is WORDS.

- from xxxHolic

Bottle Tree Village

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Travel Details:
Town: Sembawang


In 2004, my colleagues and I came here for dinner. That time, I did not bring a camera so missed the chance to take photo. Besides, this place is near my workplace, so I always thought that I will have a chance to visit it again.

Then in 2006, due to Goong, I remember about Bottle Tree again. And realise The Little Prince mention about it before. In addition, local variety show did mention about it

In 2007, I finally re-visited this place again to take picture of the Bottle Tree. So Happy!



Thursday, January 18, 2007

Innovation Carnival

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For the past few days, I have been concentrating on this event only. Somehow it squeezed dry my creativity juice.

10 days before the actual event, I was delivered the bombshell. The project to be in competition will be displayed by another department. Thus my project, which was supposed to be just a tag-a-long feature, became the competition piece and another project will be included as a create awareness feature.

After that, I have been fully concentrating on this event. First and foremost, I had to design the banner. Tough! When I finally completed the banner and submit it, I felt a bit relieved. But my relief is short-lived. Because my presentation slides had to redo as the initial focus is no longer the same. Then I had to do screen captures of my system and turn it into a motion picture. I chose flash in the end because it is easier to display a webpage than a video which might run into codec problem.

The final task is to decorate the booth. This means pinning up my slides and part of the 2nd project slides to the notice board provided. I had to cut my slides up and paste on coloured paper. I completed pasting on the coloured paper yesterday. But I had problem trying to pin them on the board.

In the end, I only started pinning the stuff this morning using the double side tape that my DM passed to me. Unfortunately, double side tape doesn’t hold the papers well. So between that and my limited amount of thumb tacks and help from my colleagues, I managed to finish the board at 1pm. In between, had to move the computers, set the tables and decorate the booth. And my colleagues were lovely; they helped me borrow table cloth, flower, ribbon, balloons. I remember 2 years ago, we did the same thing for this carnival. I did not attend last year thus am not sure how was the preparation.

Then the event starts at 2pm, though my colleague and I went to collect our freebies instead haha. Initially I did not really man the booth because not many people milling around yet. I went around to see what other innovative projects are being showcased. After that, is time to garner votes? Pantry aunties had been very supportive, each passing me 3 of her white ping pong balls. Then there are times I had to earn the ping pong balls where I explained the portal to them. But when they came back to vote after viewing all the projects, I feel that all the hard work had been worth it.

End of the day, did win the first prize for the business category. And with it, I felt all my efforts were not wasted. Phew!

Monday, January 15, 2007

Post Boxes

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A long overdue post... I remember that was in sept/oct 2006 where I went to the Singapore Philatelic Museum because I was given a free admission to attend one of the museum in Singapore and I chose Singapore Philatelic Museum. I was pretty excited to see what stamps are being exhibited. Took quiet alot of pictures. Anyway I decided to post pictures of the post boxes because my friend's dad is collecting post boxes. Remember seeing a documentary on this hobby too, the featured guy had many beautiful miniature post boxes.





Sunday, January 14, 2007

Villa & Vivo

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Travel Details:
Take Bus No 10



For the whole of last year, every School Days, I will pass by Haw Par Villa. And everytime I pass by Haw Par Villa, I will wonder, how much has Haw Par Villa changed?

Then towards the 3rd quarter of 2006, other than being curious about Villa, I got curious about another building. Vivocity, built in Harbourfront. That causes the HarbourFront station to become crowded suddenly. That causes alot of hoo-huh when it officially opened with layout design problem and communication problem.

Finally on 14th Jan 2007, I satisfied my curiosity. I got to see what lies behind the walls of Haw Par Villa.

Villa was same as per my childhood memory. The only difference is the lack of noise. I remember in my childhood memory, this place was bustling with activity. Every few hours, there will be street performances. Today I only kept seeing the sweepers sweeping the floor. And the ride to the 18 stages of hell is priced because the admission to Villa is free now. Funny thing is I always know Hell has 18 stages. But today, I realised that it is called 10 courts of Hell. And that there are 10 judges in each courts. Never knew this description of Hell before. Did the description got westernised? I certainly hope not. Oh! And there is a museum inside too, Hua Song. It is a restaurant cum museum and we did not step in because we don't feel like having a meal there and it seems that one needs to dine there to be allowed to view the exhibits.

Took about an hour to walk to complete the place and concluded that this place has indeed quietened down. Even the number of tourists that came were only a handful.

Travel Details:
Nearest MRT: Harbour Front MRT Station



Then we headed down to Vivo. Can you imagine it was before 11 and stores have not opened but there were quite a crowd already? Everybody was just milling around. We were hungry and were scouting for a place to eat. And between wooden baked pizzas (Modestone) and Brazilian food (Carnivore), we chose Brazilian food because it opened at 11.30 and the buffet price is cheap haha. Imagine 19++ for buffet lunch. Rare deal!


We can choose food from the salad bar where they had baked potatoes, potato salad, pasta, rice, cheese bread, beetroot, salad variety and soup. Oh ya, I forgot to try the soup. Argh. I certainly must remember to try that the next time.

We can also wait for the guy to serve you the meat e.g. chicken breastmeat, pork sausage, fish, beef and pineapple which they roast too. I always like to try everything, thus at the end of the day, I was pretty much filled up.

<-- The middle picture is the food served. <-- Green and you still wish to be served. Red means you are full already After lunch, we shopped around because Vivo is a mega shopping mall. And I guess I really have to acknowledge that Vivio is magnificently large because my legs got tired half way. I'm surprised that Pet Safari opened a branch in Vivo too. Hopefully they still have their branch in Simei because I kinda like this place. Oh ya and that Daiso opened a branch here too after opening one in Plaza Singapore. Guess it is trying to reach out to the public fast.
The day ended well as I got to buy a top and a dress to add onto my Chinese New Year collection. On the way back, it was raining though. Luckily the weather was good in the morning at Villa.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Thot of the Day

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"The butterfly is a symbol of departure and metamorphosis."
- xxxHolic

Ayaka - 三日月 Mikazuki

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ずっと一緒にいた 二人で歩いた一本道
二つに分かれて 別々の方歩いてく

寂しさで溢れたこの胸かかえて
今にも泣き出しそうな空見上げて
あなたを想った…

* 君がいない夜だって
そうno more cry もう泣かないよ
がんばっているからねって
強くなるからねってoh
君も見ているだろう
この消えそうな三日月
つながっているからねって
愛してるからねってoh

冷えきった手を一人で暖める日々
君の温もり 恋しくて恋しくて

どれだけ電話で「好き」と言われたって
君によりかかる事はできない
涙をぬぐった… Ah Ah...

君がいない夜だって
そうno more cry もう泣かないよ
がんばっているからねって
強くなるからねって

今度いつ会えるんだろう
それまでの電池は
抱きしめながら言った
あなたの愛してるの一言

* repeat

三日月に手をのばした
君に届けの想い

zutto issho ni ita futari de aruita ipponmichi
futatsu ni wakarete betsubetsu no hou aruiteku

samishisa de afureta kono mune kakaete
ima ni mo nakidashisou na sora miagete
anata wo omotta Ah Ah...

* kimi ga inai yoru datte
so no more cry mou nakanai yo
ganbatte iru kara ne tte
tsuyoku naru kara ne tte Oh
kimi mo mite iru darou
kono kiesou na mikazuki
tsunagatte iru kara ne tte
ai shiteru kara ne tte Oh

hiekitta te wo hitori de atatameru hibi
kimi no nukumori koishikute koishikute

dore dake denwa de suki to iwareta tte
kimi ni orikakaru koto wa dekinai
namida wo nugutte... Ah Ah...

kimi ga inai yoru datte
so no more cry mou nakanai yo
ganbatte iru kara ne tte
tsuyoku naru kara ne tte

kondo itsu aeru n' darou
sore made no denchi wa
dakishimenagara itta
anata no ai shiteru no hitokoto

* repeat

mikazuki ni te wo nobashita
kimi ni todoke kono omoi

一直在一起 两人走过的一条大道
第二次分开 从此分道扬镳

抱紧满是寂寞的胸膛
如今眼泪好像要夺眶而出 仰望天空
想念着你…

※即使没有你的夜晚
是啊 no more cry 也已经不再哭泣了
因为我说过我会努力 会变得坚强
你也在看着我吧
这个即将逝去的新月
会将你我紧紧相连 爱至永远※

一个人温暖着冷冷双手的日子
你给的温存 眷恋着眷恋着

多少次在电话里你说「喜欢」
与你相关的事情都无从着手
只好抹去泪水…

即使没有你的夜晚
是啊 no more cry 也已经不再哭泣了
因为我说过我会努力 会变得坚强

下次的某时还能再相见吧 在生命的电池停止以前,
紧紧相拥的时候说 爱着你这一句话

(※重复)

向着新月伸出双手 传递给你我的思念

Friday, January 12, 2007

Driving in the Rain

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I used to love rain. Not that I don't love rain anymore, I still do. But recently, rain gives me a new emotion, a feeling of fear.

This new feeling was first evoked last Wednesday. That was the first time I drove home late because I had aerobics. By the time I completed, it was after 7. And it was raining. Heavily.

The sky was dark, the roads were wet, and the rain patters intermittently. Sometimes the rain lightens, and I will be relieved because vision becomes clearer. Then I will hit upon another part of the road where it starts raining cats and dogs and I immediately switch to mindful state. Because I really just want to reach home safe and sound to pass the car back to my dad.

Before I reached my exit, an accident had happened. Sighz. I never knew that road accidents were so common till I started to drive too. Maybe I was never conscious of the road conditions in the past. As usual, drive slowly; try to get out of the accident lane. And finally I reach home safe and sound. Almost. While changing lane, I had almost miscalculated. Luckily all of us were driving slowly. That is when this new feeling came in. This feeling of fear.

2 days ago, while driving to work, I had once again encountered an accident. This time it happens on a curved road. Every time I reach such a road and where I can't really see what is in front, I will not step the accelerator. Because my dad told me there might be something in front that blocks me and if I speed, I will not have sufficient time to react. And that day, 2 vehicles had indeed collided, blocking one of the lane. While I pass by them, I was thinking thank goodness I was not speeding. I guess it had been raining a while ago thus maybe the vehicle skidded or something.

Today, the rain was in its scary state again. At first it started small and I thought I should be able to drive safely to work. Halfway down the journey, it became a torrential state. And once again vision was hazy for me. I guess I must be the type of person who wants perfect vision. And driving in hazy vision can really freak me out. This feeling of blindness, where you are just lead on by your gut feeling. And one must drive super slowly because of the unsure state of the vehicles in front of you. In fact sometimes I feel the car is driving, not me. Haha!

Thinking back, I guess the fear feeling aroused because I’m driving alone. For so many years, I drove with my dad besides me. I kind of got used to asking him for advices on how to react in certain road conditions. The first time I drove myself to work, I felt fear too. And I sms my parents to tell them I reach work already. Haha. That was half a year ago already. Now with the rainy season, it is a new set of road condition that I never encountered before, thus I once again became unsure of myself.

Anyway rain might bring me fear recently, but I still love rain. Because of rain, I have new driving experiences. I wouldn’t say I learn something new but seriously; driving with low visibility is something refreshing (albeit scary).

Friday, January 05, 2007

许哲佩 - 一个人浪漫

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歌手:许哲佩
专辑:气球
词 曲:许哲佩

我关灯
点蜡烛
穿礼服
一个人喝咖啡跳舞

我觉得
很满足
不需要
配合谁的舞步

我试着
学着领悟
把独处
当作一时兴起

很幸福

oh
一个人浪漫
一个人光彩
没味的甜点
不用和谁分一半

一个人浪漫
一个人不孤单
紫色的床单
不用为了
谁而漂泊

我关灯
点蜡烛
一本书

我觉得
很满足
不需要
配合谁的进度

The Tree

1 comments
In response to my post on Carousel Horse, my friend had written the following stanza because he felt that a tree would be more apt than a carousel horse. He actually wrote it last year but I got busy and lost the stanza. Today, I ask him about it again and he re-wrote it. So happy!

Anyway while re-visiting my Carousel Horse post, it brought back some memories for me. Sadness at the events, shock at what people had thought about the post, and thankfulness for knowing what this post had meant to some people.

A tree loves its family and neighbours
A tree loves the person watering it and grooming it
A tree loves the regular people taking shade under it and walking past
A tree loves its surroundings and the things it sees
A tree loves its circle of comfort

Someone wants the tree to move to another plantation
Someone is willing to groom the tree to grow stronger and healthier
Someone is willing to introduce the tree to better prospects
Someone is willing to let the tree see further
Someone is tempting the tree to leave its circle of comfort

Midnight Sun

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• Title: タイヨウのうた
• Title (romaji): Taiyou no Uta
• Title (english): A Song to the Sun

Story is based on the Hong Kong film Endless Love (A.K.A. C'est La Vie Mon Cheri, Xin Bu Liao Qing, New Endless Love, 新不了情)

Before I delve on 新不了情, let me first talk about Taiyou no Uta. The English title in Singapore is “Midnight Sun”. When I first heard the name, I actually fell in love with the name. It has the same effect as when I first heard “Night Rainbow”. That was in 2005.

Maybe I love paradoxical things. Maybe they are paradoxical in nature that is why they are beautiful to me. When I saw the opening of “Midnight Sun” in youtube, I actually love her life. Of course I am not asking myself to have her disease. I just like to lead a life out of ordinary. I love to travel at times where the buses are empty. I love to walk on streets that are empty. Thus I love my journey to work and school.

Of course I know saying is easy. I’m not ill so I do not know how sad it can be to avoid the sun. And I know in the female lead’s mind, all she wants is to lead an ordinary life. Human being forever feels the grass on the other side is greener. What I like about her is her strength. She secretly loves a guy and goes out to make friend with him. She does things without much consideration. Maybe she is young thus she can afford to be impulsive. But at least she leads a life which I believe she has no regret. She plays her guitar and sing to her heart’s content. YUI, who plays the female lead, has a similar characteristic too. Since young, she loves music and goes all out to fulfils her dreams. She writes songs, she releases singles. I believe she will go far because what she does, she does it for love.

While researching Taiyou no Uta. I found out that Taiyou means Sun. And that this movie was based on 新不了情. I can’t remember this movie already. It was made in 1994. The guy was a musician, the girl was a bubbly girl but she has leukemia if I’m not wrong. What I remember most vividly is the song.

新不了情 萬芳

作曲: 鮑比達
作詞: 黃鬱
編曲: 鮑比達

*心若倦了 淚也乾了
這份深情 難捨難了
曾經擁有 天荒地老
已不見你 暮暮與朝朝

這一份情 永遠難了
願來生還能 再度擁抱
愛一個人 如何廝守到老
怎樣面對一切 我不知道 *

#回憶過去 痛苦的相思忘不了
為何你還來 撥動我心跳
愛你怎麼能了 今夜的你應該明暸
緣難了 情難了 #

重唱 *##

Such beautiful lyrics.

By the way, while searching 新不了情, I found something interesting. There is a book of the same name by the author 伊人 . Those who read Chinese novels will recognise this name. I kind of like the introduction on her on www.joyo.com.

作者简介
伊人,原名鲁嫚,9月12日生,处女座。 读她的小说,你会以为她曾为爱百转千回。看她写的程序,你会惊慌她的严谨逻辑与创新思维。听她说话,又不得不为她的思想所折服。当你见到她,会发现,原来 她笑的时候,像个小女孩。 她曾说,故事也许是旧故事,用我的笔写出来,就是新的了。 她最大的希望,就是你们能喜欢她的小说,并且让她知道。

Guess I need to go library again.

Colorgenics

0 comments
You are longing for some love and affection at this time - not that you have been deprived of tender loving care - but there are times when everyone needs to try something new or to go 'somewhere' else to perhaps experience that little extra 'understanding'.

You are working extremely hard - perhaps even above and beyond the call of duty. You are preparing for the future and therefore trying to build a firm trouble-free foundation upon which you may base all of your dreams and aspirations.

Compromise is the name of the game at this time and it is the only way you can avoid being deprived of the love and affection you so rightly deserve -so soften up a little, be flexible.

All of the stress and strains resulting from disappointment have led to agitation and anxiety. You have been going out of your way to make a good impression, but you have reservations as to the likelihood of succeeding. You feel that you have a right to accomplish all that you set your mind on but you have become helpless and distressed when circumstances have gone against you. The idea of failure is most upsetting and this can even mean utter dejection. You see yourself as a scapegoat and you feel everyone in your sphere of influence has tried to take undue advantage of you. You are trying to convince yourself that your failure to achieve standing and recognition is not of your making but indeed of those around you.

Sometimes one fears that its not worth formulating new ideas and projects because whatever you seem to have done in the past has never worked out and you are tired of, as they say, banging your head against a brick wall. No one seems to care. So now you are trying to get away from it all by withdrawing into a 'fantasy land' but unfortunately 'fantasy land' is just that and sooner or later you will have to return to reality so why delay the inevitable? When you do return, you will find that the situation is not as tough as perhaps you thought it was.

Bflygal's comment : I remember visiting this site before. The re-visit seems interesting. Some are words of truth, some are not. Maybe the reason is I was indecisive which colours are really most harmonious to me. Because choosing colours in harmony with you and colours that are your favourite are actually 2 different matters.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

蔡依林 - 你怎麼連話都說不清楚

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你怎麼連話都說不清楚

作詞:毛毛 作曲:周杰倫 編曲:Martin Tang

(Rap)
123 I'm another 有誰願意 當這一個 多出來的 trouble maker
but look that's my luv seal my lips…don't let it drop off
try let go 不想多想 where we'll go
話說到這裡 放手 不要你難過

想別的 可是在你眼中察覺什麼一閃而過
怎麼像是寂寞 於是我會更沉默

*沒說的 全世界差點都弄懂了那是什麼
而我尷尬笑著走開 只能夠裝做不懂 怎麼能拆穿你的不同
(Oh偏偏) 這地球這麼小這麼擠這麼瘦 太陽刻意曬得那麼兇
為什麼你出現在他出現以後

#你怎麼連話都說不清楚 那溫柔的tone我聽得清楚
我站在他的身邊 你站在我的面前 怎麼這樣心裡會難過
你怎麼連話都說不清楚 那溫柔的痛我記得清楚
他站在我的面前 你經過我的身邊 忽然之間心裡又難過 為什麼

Repeat *,#,#,#

Desu nôto 2

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Desu nôto 2 or Death Note 2

A movie that I had wanted to watch to complete the series since I watched Death Note already.

A movie that I cannot decide if I should watch because my brother told me it deviated from the manga. And that after reading the manga, the movie ending is not that fantastic. And that friend say that even the anime is better than the movie.

But I did not read the manga nor watch the anime. So I should be entitled the chance to watch it right? I guess I really do want to watch it. So when I finally did watch it, I actually felt it is the best thing to end 2006.

But the chance encounter to let me watch this movie seems sad. Because a car had blocked the path to the intended carpark, thus we parked at Orchard Cineleisure. And I decided to ask to watch the movie. My first time watching in Orchard Cineleisure if I am not wrong as I rarely stepped into cinemas.

The tickets were selling fast since we were buying the show that will start in 45 minutes time. And the cinema does seem packed that we had to sit in the front few rows. But this movie really make me think.

Everything that Light does, I had to ponder twice, thrice. He seems so deep, so careful, and so scary. Towards the end, I really thought that Light won. Because he actually did something so devious that L will never do. In the movie I really saw L as the good angel and Light as the evil devil. Where L sacrifice his life, Light sacrifice everybody but his own life.

But it seems that Misa and Takada seems abit brainless in this movie. Especially Misa who had been portrayed to be forgetful, careless and childish in the way she did her killing just to lure Light out. Takada originally had the talented woman feel (except at the part where she thought Kira chose her and she was so happy over it). However when she realised that her house had been bugged, she started to show signs of panic. And the talented demeanor of hers disappeared. I'm not sure if the original manga has that intention or not. Because the movie does seems pretty packed and has elements of rushed since alot of things are implicitly told to the audience.

Lastly, one learns never to trust a death god. Ryuk, the original Shinigami, did something Light will never expect at the end. But maybe is because Light still think he has the upper hand. This is a case where one uses the brains for evil intentions.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Resentment

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A story tells of a merchant in a small town who had identical twin sons.

The boys worked for their father in the department store he owned and,
when he died, they took over the store.

Everything went well until the day a dollar bill disappeared. One of
the brothers had left the bill on the cash register and walked outside with a
customer. When he returned, the money was gone.

He asked his brother, "Did you see that dollar bill on the cash register?"
His brother replied that he had not. But the young man kept probing and
questioning. He would not let it alone. "Dollar bills just don't get up
and walk away! Surely you must have seen it!" There was subtle accusation in
his voice. Tempers began to rise. Resentment set in. Before long, a deep
and bitter chasm divided the young men. They refused to speak. They finally
decided they could no longer work together and a dividing wall was built
down the center of the store. For twenty years hostility and bitterness
grew, spreading to their families and to the community.

Then one day a man in an automobile licensed in another state stopped
in front of the store. He walked in and asked the clerk, "How long have you
been here?"

The clerk replied that he'd been there all his life. The customer said,
"I must share something with you. Twenty years ago I was "riding the
rails" and came into this town in a boxcar. I hadn't eaten for three days. I
came into this store from the back door and saw a dollar bill on the cash
register.

I put it in my pocket and walked out. All these years I haven't been able to
forget that. I know it wasn't much money, but I had to come back and ask
your forgiveness."

The stranger was amazed to see tears well up in the eyes of this
middle-aged man. "Would you please go next door and tell that same story
to the man in the store?" he said. Then the man was even more amazed to
see two middle-aged men, who looked very much alike, embracing each other and
weeping together in the front of the store.

After twenty years, the brokenness was mended. The wall of resentment
that divided them came down.

It is so often the little things that finally divide people- words spoken
in haste; criticisms; accusations; resentments. And once divided, they
may never come together again.

The solution, of course, is to let it go. There is really nothing
particularly profound about learning to let go of little resentments. But
for fulfilling and lasting relationships, letting them go is a must.
Refuse to carry around bitterness and you may be surprised at how much
energy you have left for building bonds with those you love.

Source : Unknown

Love At First Sight / The Road Not Taken

0 comments
Past Memories - Episode 8 (Last episode)

21st Sept 2003

Ok 1 month has past... studies is still swimming swimming.... dun bother about it for the time being "p

Firstly thanks to everybody who in one way or another celebrated my birthday with me.... but somehow I don't feel 21 though....

Secondly, haven't been watching movies other than Home Run by Jack Neo etc... Recently watched another one...coz I used to like its animation... none other than Turn Left, Turn Right. Quite a beautiful story about fate. If you have never seen the animation, click here. Very very nice... in the movie, there is also a very beautiful Polish poem... click on my Poetry section to read the English translation of it. Not really going to comment on the movie though.. coz I always prefer the cartoon version of any stories hee hee...As for the poem, it was linked with late Polish film great Krystof
Kieslowski's Three Colours: Red. Curious to watch that movie.. hmm..

Okies back to studies... from this wk onwards, my tests and project deadlines are sprinting towards me.. sighz


LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
by Wislawa Szymborska's - 1993

(English Translation. Originally in Polish)

They're both convinced
that a sudden passion joined them.
Such certainty is beautiful,
but uncertainty is more beautiful still.

Since they'd never met before, they're sure
that there'd been nothing between them.
But what's the word from the streets, staircases, hallways -
perhaps they've passed by each other a million times?

I want to ask them
if they don't remember -
a moment face to face
in some revolving door?
perhaps a "sorry" muttered in a crowd?
a curt "wrong number" caught in the receiver?
but I know the answer.
No, they don't remember.

They'd be amazed to hear
that Chance has been toying with them
now for years.

Not quite ready yet
to become their Destiny,
it pushed them close, drove them apart,
it barred their path,
stifling a laugh,
and then leaped aside.

There were signs and signals,
even if they couldn't read them yet.
Perhaps three years ago
or just last Tuesday
a certain leaf fluttered
from one shoulder to another?
Something was dropped and then picked up.
Who knows, maybe the ball that vanished
into childhood's thicket?

There were doorknobs and doorbells
where one touch had covered another
beforehand.
Suitcases checked and standing side by side.
One night, perhaps, the same dream,
grown hazy by morning.

Every beginning
is only a sequel, after all,
and the book of events
is always open halfway through.

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
by Robert Frost

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Bflygal's comments : The second poem was another poem that I liked. The first time I read it should be during my secondary school days. Even till now, I always wonder if the path I am taking is the road taken or not. And if it is a correct path. But in life, there never was a correct path. Only a path that you had taken. With these 2 poems, I ended my journey to my past. I have to say it is a rewarding experience to recap what I felt 4 years ago. I wonder what happen after that. My first post starts on 20th July 2004. In between, I had another 1 more semester to go where I took HCI and IS Security which were fun. I did have a regret in that period though. Something I have always wondered. What if that day, I had accepted the interview with Neopets.com. What would my fate be? I guess this question will never be answered.

MAPP Assessment

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Past Memories - Episode 7

7th Aug 2003

Finally confirm my mods...

* GEK1015 - SOCIOLINGUISTICS AND LANGUAGE TEACHING
* CS3223 - DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
* CS3235 - INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SECURITY
* CS3260 - TELECOMMUNICATIONS FOR BUSINESS

Hmm updated my ideal timetable...

Oh and was doing an assessment....

Yawnz... now to wait for the tutorial bidding... hope to get all my slots. Else is not going to be a 3 day week for me liaoz... *prayz*

20th Aug 2003
Sighz lately so many viruses on the loose.... and as September looms to surface, memories of 911 comes back.

Anyway timetable finally confirm after NUS site finally back in service... though there were traces of errors still.

School is going to start, must be in study mood soon.... *concentrate*

New story in kokoro... 'True Love' cannot be replaced... it only lasts in your heart forever. Click here

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

1 comments
Past Memories - Episode 6

6th Aug 2003


Sighz the module registration is giving me headache..... I still only confirm 2 mods nia... =(
Hmm but that is excluding the compulsory SARs mode that we must read. (haha I not so lousy that I couldn't even bid for my CS mods). Anyway I collated all the SARs lessons and put them into a word doc here
(Can't find the document already)... if anybody ever wants to print it?
Really in a sian mood lately.

Oh if you wish to know whether u can be a doctor... or if u are bored, feel free to click here and try a puzzle. It was extracted from Reader Digest Feb 2003 issue. Ha ha that's one of the magazines that I read. And as usual I'm too lazy to read the LOTR ... not even 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!' by Robert T. Kiyosaki, Sharon L. Lechter. You can view this site for more information. Think wait till holidays i.e. December then start reading books again "p

Oh and if you are still bored, try this site (The site has been buried)... its chinese horoscope based on the day of birth. Some of the points seem ok lah... Horoscope is just read... don't go believing everything though.

Anyway decided to make all pages be easily accessible... so now every pages have the navigational bar already... haha luckily is just copy and paste for me sia WHEW!

The Parable of the pipeline

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Past Memories - Episode 5

24th Jul 2003 - part 2
After which I also finish the book 'The Parable of the pipeline' by Burke Hedges. Oh I also completed 'Harry Potter and The Order of Phoenix' by J.K. Rowling. As for books still in the midst of completion, well 'The Lord of The Rings' by J.R.R. Tolkein is in the list plus a couple of magazines. Yupz I'm a magazine reader, will read anything that can be found in my vicinity (unless I'm in a mood to snoop and sniff around). Newspaper though, I hardly touch them except for TODAY because that is the only free newspaper that I can grab whenever I'm in luck. But it is ok, I like TODAY, seems to have more to read.

Oh and talking about TODAY from 21st July to 1st August 2003, there is this special red page in the TODAY newspaper. Hope all of you will not ignore this red page please... click HERE to find out more!!!

Ok I shall go back to ponder over what modules to take. And well the outlook of this website will always stay like this I guess, unless some kind soul wants to help me turn it into a flash site for me... haha or that I turn hard-working. Right now I'm just too busy doing treasury stuff for NUSSU CBLC.


This book started with a story...

In a village, there was 2 young and promising man, Pablo and Bruno. They wanted to grow rich, all they need was an opportunity. One day they struck gold, someone was willing to pay them to carry buckets of water to the village. Being paid by the number of buckets they carried, they could grow richer if they carry more buckets. Bruno was happy, he felt that this is their dream come true. But Pablo beg to differ. His back ached, his hands were bruised. He vowed to think of a better way.

The next day he told Bruno he had an idea to build a pipeline. But Bruno scoffed him. He said if he can carry 100 buckets, he would get a dollar a day. Soon he can buy new shoes, then a hut and a paid vacation every year. He told Pablo to forget his pipeline dream, this bucket-carrying is the real road to success.

Pablo refuse to give up his pipeline dreams. In part of the day he carry buckets. The other part of the days, he went about building his pipeline. He knew it was hard work and might take a year or two. But Pablo believed in his dream. Pablo was chided the Pipeline man while Bruno was respected as Mr. Bruno having bought a donkey, a new hut and fancy meals at the Inn. While Bruno lay in his hammock during the weekends to rest, Pablo kept digging his pipe.

Tomorrow's dreams are built on today's sacrifices.

Short term pain equals long term gain.

Inch by Inch - it's a cinch.

Keep your eyes on the prize.


These are encouragements Pablo keep muttering to himself. And it paid off. One day, Pablo only had to walk half as far to carry buckets. He used the extra time to build his pipe.

As for Bruno, he became angry and sullen. Doomed to carry buckets day in and day out for the REST OF THE LIFE, he was teased as Bruno - the Bucket man. He no longer buy rounds or tell jokes.

When the pipeline was complete, the village grew and prosper. Pablo didn't have to carry buckets anymore. Water flowed whether he ate, slept or played. Pablo became Pablo the Miracle Maker.

However Pablo had other plans, he wanted to build pipelines all over the world. He had learnt a lot and came up with a system that allows one to build pipeline, and then another and another. He went to ask Bruno for help sincerely. Bruno realising that Pablo was not out to scoff at him, and able to see the vision Pablo has, decided to help him. Together they plan to have a pipeline to every villages in the world. Then they could make a small percentage of every gallon of water they received.

Whenever they tell these young bucket carriers their story, they will hear the same excuses :

Don't have time.

Only the ones who get in early will make money.

I stick to what I know best.

I heard that you will lose money in the pipeline scam.


Only a small percentage of people dared to dream the PIPELINE DREAM.

Ok this is just a summarized of the story. Oh if you are a broadband user or you do not mind downloading, you could hear the audio version of the story here.

After reading the book, there are ideas that I will agree with the author Mr. Burke Hedges, and times that I beg to differ. Sincerely speaking, his way of getting rich is not easy. He believed in investments, in risky ventures (or so as I interpreted). I like the story of the pipe-liner and bucket-carrier. But I'm not sure how feasible the idea is. In this world, there are just too many different type of personality. I guess pipe-liner and bucket-carrier have to exist to balance the world.

In his book, he also talk about 25 years plan or 5 years plan, leverage and compounded interests. It's true that as you make a habit to put aside a certain amount of money to save, you will soon be able to have a sum of cash for you to retire with. That is one thing I definitely believe in. One should always save for rainy days. =)

Anyway I just want to share with everybody this story as it is indeed an interesting story. In this book, the author had even modernized this story from carrying water to writing programs in this IT world and placed it at the end of the book. It goes to show that this dream can take on in many forms, what matters is do you dare to be the pipe-liner?

Acknowledgements :

* The Parable of The Pipeline by Burke Hedges

Shanghai Baby

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Past Memories - Episode 4

24th Jul 2003
Whoa! after 1 semester of school, I actually slack till holidays are going to over before updating my website. *Shaking head* Let's recap what have I done for this whole period of time. Hmm. When school started for last semester, I end up busy studying, celebrating Chinese New Year, marketing for V-Day Bazaar (SOC), busy with NUSSU CBLC, enjoying life in PGP, and doing last minute revisions for my exams. Ha Ha then its holidays which apparently zoom just as quickly as it came.

I completed the 'How to win friends and influence people' by Dale Carnegie and read another very exotic and controversial book 'Shanghai Baby' by Wen Hui which I took less than a week (considering the speed I take to finish the Dale Carnegie's book.

This is just a book I read for easy-reading. And it is really easy to read. I took less than a week to complete, as compared to books like Lord Of the Ring or even The Order of Phoenix and Harry Potter (though at least I did finish the latter because I'm a HP fan =D )

It is quite an interesting book. Now I understand why it created quite an uproar. A semi-autobiography of the author, it can be highly erotic and extremely vulgar to people who are not used to the way SEX is liberalised. But I find it very though-provoking. Like the lead-lady Coco, I'm a daydreamer who can live a life of a hermit. Cooping myself at home is not frightening to me, neither is skipping meals due to plain laziness. My mum used to call my room a pig sty.. and it is easy to fathom why.

Ok I guess I will not two-time but then one can never be too sure. Coco seems to be rather faithful too. Just happen that she love a guy that is impotent because his mind could not open up. It sounds pitiful. Imagine a healthy and virile guy ending up in such a state all because he could not change his mindset. It shows how powerful one's mind is. It can make a healthy person sick, just as it can make a sick person healthy. No wonder people used to say, 'It's all in your mind'.

Anyway, because of that, she had an affair with her married German lover. Initially she thought it was just a game, but everybody knows that if you play with fire, you will definitely get burned. Thus I'm not surprised to read on and realise she love her lover too.

Her ideals, her thoughts are also very unique. Stuff about life, drugs, Shanghai, and about the world in general. Read it if you want liberalisation.

Acknowledgements :

* Shanghai Baby by Wen Hui

Making Friends

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Past Memories - Episode 3

11th Jan 2003
School has started already. Nothing much to add, taking 4 modules this sem because I was not able to get my 5th module. Have been reading some interesting books e.g. 'How to win friends and influence people' by Dale Carnegie and 'Yoga Mind & Body' by Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre. All these books were loaned to me by my friends (thanks so much). Hmm guess I should be starting to study soon... but still don't have the mood.. how how how??

PART ONE - Fundamental Techniques In Handling People

Principle 1 : Don't criticize, condemn or complain.

Principle 2 : Give honest and sincere appreciation.
Don't flatter. Flattery doesn't always get you anywhere.

Principle 3 : Arouse in the other person eagers and wants.

PART TWO - Six Ways To Make People Like You

Principle 1 : Become genuinely interested in other people.

Principle 2 : Smile.

Principle 3 : Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
Oh dear, everybody knows how bad I am in remembering people's name, no matter what methods I tried already. Sighz... =(

Principle 4 : Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

Principle 5 : Talk in terms of the other person's interests.

Principle 6 : Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.
Nobody hates a sincere person =)

PART THREE - HOW TO WIN PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING

Principle 1 : The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
I totally agree. Just as one can never get rid of a temper by losing it. Works the same way. Always wait till you cool down before you reply an angry e-mail, or resume a highly charged conversation.

Principle 2 :Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say 'You're wrong.'
Ha Ha that is really not easy. How many people in this world will not want to take this chance to show he/she is more learned?

Principle 3 : If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

Principle 4 : Being in a friendly way.

Principle 5 : Get the other person saying "yes yes" immediately.
Hmm a bit tough to work on this principle.

Principle 6 : Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
Oh I love this principle. But then of course you must be a sincere listener too. Cannot act that you are listening yet your mind is wandering away.

Principle 7 : Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.

Principle 8 : Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
Put yourself in the other person's shoes?

Principle 9 : Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.

Principle 10 : Appeal to the nobler motives.

Principle 11 : Dramatize your ideas.

Principle 12 : Throw down a challenge.

PART FOUR - BE A LEADER

Principle 1 : Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
'G'd morning, this is a very pretty dress you are wearing.' And while the person is basking in happiness at having been praised, continue 'Ok I was just flattering you. Please do not make so much spelling errors in your document the next time.'
- An example given by the author, Mr. Dale Carnegie. Well I did not copy word for word, just what I remember from my memory. It's an interesting story but I think I do not really want to face such a situation. Because I might end up disbelieving all praises thrown to me... Ok I'm joking "p


Principle 2 : Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.

Principle 3 : Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the others.
Long before your time, there used to be a Ms. XXX who did this mistakes, that mistakes...... Thus she understand why you might commit certain follies..... (One can guess who Ms. XXX is right?)

Principle 4 : Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.

Principle 5 : Let the other person save face.

Principle 6 : Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. "Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."

Principle 7 : Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.

Principle 8 : Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.

Principle 9 : Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

Acknowledgements :

* How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie

In conclusion, this is a very very informative book. Couldn't believer that it was first published in 1936. Woah, that is almost 67 years ago. And yet when I was reading this book, it is still as highly useful as I believed it was in that age. (FYI, I had not even existed when the book was published... hmm)

Very thought-provoking book. Hopefully that I would remember the pointers as time goes by...

Hana Yori Dango

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Past Memories - Episode 2



31st December 2002 - part 2

Hmm interesting within 2-3 days, I actually almost finish watching Meteor Garden II not because I'm F4 fans but because I just happened to have the videos to watch...



Some 'love theories' that I got from Meteor Garden 2 after watching 31 episodes for less than a week....



1. No matter how long you wait, nothing ever changes. Zai Zai told Shan Cai that he has always been waiting for her, but still there is no ending between both of them.



2. If you want changes to happen, you must be like Shan Cai and try your best. Even if you fail, you know you did your best.



3. If you do not know whether that person has feelings for you or not, pondering about it doesn't help. If he/she doesn't like you, doing nothing doesn't help. Seek to find out the answer yourself.



4.If you want to cry, even if you are upside down, tears will still flow out. And if you really can't cry, eating the most sour berries will force tears out of your eyes.



5. Don't look back to the past. Jing went back to find Rui has gave up their relationship. Rui went back to realise Shan Cai no longer dreams of him any more.



6. In this world there are 2 greatest regrets :

a) not being able to be with the one you love

b) seeing the one you love not being able to obtain his/her happiness.



7. What is the use of knowing my preference, knowing my future plans, when you do not know my present feelings.



记事本

by 陈慧琳

曲: 周传雄

词: 周传雄/陈信荣



翻开随身携带的记事本

写着许多事都是关于你

你讨厌被冷落 习惯被守候

寂寞才找我 我看见自己写下的心情

把自己放在卑微的后头

等你等太久 想你泪会流 而幸福快乐是什么

爱的痛了 痛的哭了 哭的累了

日记本里页页执着记载着你的好

像上瘾的毒药 它反覆骗着我

爱的痛了 痛的哭了 哭的累了

矛盾心里总是强求

劝自己要放手 闭上眼让你走

烧掉日记重新来过



Bflygal's comment : I am not sure why did I post 记事本 lyrics together with this html page. But I remember I like this song very much. If I'm forced to sing in KTV, this is one of the song I will sing. Another one is Karen Mok's 盛夏的果实. Haha but usually there are enough people singing (Luckily phew!). Makes one wonder why do I got KTV if I don't sing. Because I wanted to see my friends =D



盛夏的果實 - 莫文蔚

曲︰MEYNA CO

詞︰李焯雄



*也許放棄 才能靠近你

不再見你 你才會把我記起

時間累積 這盛夏的果實

回憶裡寂寞的香氣



我要試著離開你 不要再想你

雖然這並不是我本意



你曾說過 會永遠愛我

也許承諾 不過因為沒把握

別用沉默 再去掩飾甚麼

當結果是那麼赤裸裸

以為你會說甚麼 才會離開我

你只是轉過頭不看我



#不要刻意說 你還愛我

當看盡潮起潮落 只要你記得我



你曾說過 會永遠愛我

也許承諾 不過證明沒把握

不用難過 不用掩飾甚麼

當結果是那麼赤裸裸

其實不用說甚麼 才能離開我

起碼那些經過屬於我



重唱 *



我以為不露痕跡 思念卻滿溢

或許這代表我的心



重唱 #



如果你會夢見我 請你再抱緊我

Yoga

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Past Memories - Episode 1

Short Introduction
From 31st Dec 2002 to 21st Sept 2003, I had maintained a website hosted by my ala mater because SOC students happen to have an account and space to host their own stuff. And for that period, I recorded quotes, poems, book reviews. Basically what I am blogging about nowadays. Haha shows that my interests never change much. After I graduate, I archived these pages hoping to host them on my Geocities site. But I never got around to do it because I got lazy. And the archive folder was lost till recently when I saw it again. I guess it is abit weird to host them into my Geocities site because I rarely maintain that site unless it is for my neopetting purposes. I decided to refurnish abit and blog these memories. Thus begin my journey to my past...

31st December 2002
Seriously I do not know what have I actually been doing this hols... and it is one month i.e. about 40 days I think ... sighz... I'm such a slacker.
Oh well, I did have some progress on something though.... I started exercising this month... Whew.. finally after stopping to exercise since I no longer have PE liaoz, I am starting to do sit ups lately.... and soon progressing to YOGA. Hopefully that will last...


Yoga is not like any physical exercise. It is performed slowly and with a great awareness of your breadth control. You will feel invigorated, not tired. It is not to develop muscles but to promote the well-being of the mind, body and spirit.

Yoga philosophy concentrates on the present. Though there is a need to plan ahead, but not projecting yourself into hypothetical situations. In yoga, people are encouraged to be responsible, dependable and honest, but not futuristic.

Here are some pointers I wish to share with you to minimize stress

* Take criticism
* Have goals
* Be open
* Clarify areas of disagreement
* Live in the present - here and now
* Work and act methodically
* Consider the choices
* Acknowledge your weakness
* Stay neutral and detached
* Have good time management
* Prepare yourself for important tasks
* Do not be intimidated by your boss

FREQUENT YAWNING!!
A signal that your body is striving for more oxygen to enter the bloodstream.
Remedy : Breathing exercises
Comments : Just remember to inhale through your nose. This is fundamental for yoga. Make outward breadth twice as long as the inward breadth.

9 types of yoga :

1. lyengar yoga - uses bench, sand bag etc
2. Ashtanga yoga or Power yoga
3. Vinlyoga
4. Kripalu yoga - 3 steps : a) posture b) mediation c) posture & mediation (if I did not mis-translate this sentence)
5. Integral yoga
6. Bikram yoga - done at 34-5 degree Celcius, quite sweaty
7. Ananda yoga
8. Kundalini yoga
9. Somatic yoga

What is positive thinking?

* Water off lotus leaf - When the raindrops land on the lotus leaf, they roll off genly and fall into the water without wetting the leaf
The leaf is completely unaffected by the rain. So also, the events of this world have no ultimate effect on Brahman, or the Absolute. A cinema screen offers a similar analogy. Despite the play of light and shadow upon it, it remains unchanged and unaffected.
* The pot and space - The space does not change when the pot breaks
The space inside a pot is unaffected by the pot. Although the vessel appears to separate the space 'inside' from the 'outside', this is only an illusion. When the pot is broken, what was 'inside' and what was 'outside' are seen to be the same and they have undergone no change at all. In the same way, the individual self may seem to be limited by the mind and body, but in reality, it is one with the Supreme.
* The sun and reflections - Many reflections but only one truth
Although the Sun may be reflected in an infinite number of vessels, ponds, and lakes, there is still only one Sun. Despite the many reflections of Brahman, there is but one Reality. It is only Maya, the illusory power of the Universe, that causes it to appear as many.
* Gold and ornaments - Try to perceive the essence
Although golden ornaments come in diverse shapes and forms, they are all gold in essence. Likewise, there are various kinds of pots - big, small, round, narrow - but all of them are only clay. Although we see the various forms of he world, all is in essence Brahman. There is one underlying Reality that appears in all shapes and forms.
* The snake and the rope - Illusion may make a rope appear as a snake
When the mind is deluded by Maya (veils of illusion), the world appears to be real. It is only when the light of meditation shines that we truly perceive the reality.

What is happiness?
Happiness, the blissful state, come from within your own self.

Searching for Sweetness
A man went to visit his guru, and when he arrived he found the teacher sitting in the yard in front of a massive pile of hot chilli peppers. The teacher was eating the chillies, one by one. Tears of pain were running down his face and he was sobbing "This is terrible", over and over. When the man asked his guru why he was doing this, the teacher replied, "I am looking for the sweet one". His actions exemplify the way in which most of us spend our lives. We should know from past experience that "the sweet one" does not exist, but we continue to search for our happiness in external objects. However, the sum total of all the pleasures of the physical world are nothing compared to the blissful state of meditation.

Looking in the Wrong Place
Once, an old woman dropped her needle. A passer-by saw her searching in her garden and offered to help. After looking for some time without success, the kind stranger asked the woman exactly where the needle had fallen. He was amazed to learn that she had dropped it inside the house. "Then why are you looking out here?" he asked. "You will never find it." She replied that her house was too dark, so she was looking outside, where there was more light. Most of us are like that woman. We are looking for our lost happiness where the bright lights are, but it isn't there to be found.

FIY

* Yoga and Pilates are 2 different things.
* Yoga has 5000 history and originates from India.
* Yoga only allows breathing through nose i.e. mouth is shut. This is to keep the body warm, thus obtaining peace and calm in mind.
* Yogalates = Yoga + Pilates (makes up a total of 1 hour)
* Chi Ball = Yoga + Pilates + Qi Gong + Taiji theories. Actually is just a special ball which allows you to relaxed... need to do more research on this though. (I WANT THIS!!! SIGHZ WHERE TO GET IT?????)

Acknowledgements :

* YOGA FOR BUSY PEOPLE by Miriam Freedman & Janice Hankes
* Yoga . Pilates by Lee Anne (Bella Fitness - Jan 2003 issue)
* Yoga Mind & Body' by Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre - all those inspirational stories