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Friday, August 31, 2007

Behavioural Finance

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Source : My paper (31st Aug 2007)

Behavioural finance is a science that studies how people’s psyches and behaviours affect the way they invest. In this article, Professor Frank Ashe mentioned that investors tend to panic and over-react when they see market slows down. This result to sell-offs and markets tumble further.

Medulla Oblongata which is linked to our emotional and basic instincts is used to make these impulse decisions. Prof Ashe advised that investors should use the Neocortex layer of the brain as it controls our complex, rational thinking. This will enable investors to make long term decisions.

Prof Ashe listed the 3 major mistakes investors commonly committed:
1. Over-confidence
This is correlated to age and gender. Based on statistics, single females investing tend to make 1.1% more than males and the risk faced is much lower. (Expected but such phenomenon is not really true for all as nowadays females like fast cars too i.e. risks, and I know of males who are low risk takers.)

He advised investors to listen to the different ponts of views and be ready to make changes all the time. He also has an interesting solution for the single guy - to get married and ask their wife to invest for them. Haha I doubt it will work though because most females would not even invest much haha.

2. Following herding instincts
“Monkey see, monkey do”. So you just keep following what people say and buy. This is risky because the actual performance of the stock is not accurately reflected due to the high buy volume.

Prof Ashe advised that different people have different pockets and different needs. Thus do not discuss too much with your counterparts on what stocks to buy. Most importantly, exercise self-control and think rationally.

3. Limited Rationality
If you keep thinking only one direction, you might accidentally turn on your auto pilot mode. An auto pilot mode example is when you head home but realise you have no memory of what has happened on the road because of your fatigue.

A test was done on this auto pilot syndrome. A group of people who are trying to lose weight were split into 2 teams. Team A needs to remember 5 numbers while Team B needs to remember 10 numbers. Both teams had to pass through a long corridor to give the list of numbers to the person at the other end. Along the corridor is a box of sweets. The results show that the Team B is more likely to take the sweets than Team A because they have used more memory to remember the extra 5 numbers, and ended up taking the sweets on their auto-pilot mode.

This is also the reason why supermarkets like to put sweets and chocolates and cigarettes near the cashiers because shoppers tend to be tired by then and might pick up these items out of natural instinct. Gosh, and I always thought it is because these were sellable items or items identified based on Market Basket Analysis.

Prof Ashe advised that one should plan investments in the mornings on weekends as the mind is rested and fresh. And do not make short term investments.

Lastly, he said there are two types of bias:
1. Confirmation bias
Keeps believing in certain trend e.g. a bullish market and refuse to do anything until it is clear that it is not a bullish market.
2. Representative/availability bias
The stocks you trust most is most probably the stock you last saw because you only believed the latest things you seen are the most accurate.

Rejuvenating Run

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By a stroke of luck, I was able to drive to work the last 4 days. Exactly what I need because I plan to OT to finish up a system. The only thing, I wish to run too. So I decided on the fourth day, “die-die” also must run. The side effect: I ended up coming earlier and earlier to office and leaving later and later. Thank goodness this phenomenon only lasted 3 days and I had not hit 8pm yet (no where close also la)…

It is not that I don’t like to OT. But it is not my department’s culture (luckily) and staying late in the office alone in the lunar seventh month where you have been warned that the place is not exactly clean… my mind will just want me to hurry up and finish the last line of code.

And driving at night is not very safe because the visibility is bad. And my area tends to have cyclists who cannot even be seen. But then I drive early in the morning too so I guess I have nothing much to complain about that. Except that I don’t get to see the sun haha.

Anyway I had my run on Thursday and it was refreshing. I haven’t seen low tide for quite some time. The sea was so calm and peaceful, the breeze refreshing that it makes running pretty enjoyable. Then there are times you get whiffs of barbequed food smell that makes you hungry. Haha so I kept hurrying myself to complete my run and head home. I ended up with a one hour walkathon because I ran pretty far actually.

By the time I reach home, I ended up the same routine I had the past 3 days. Ate dinner, shower, sleep. Actually this routine is pretty beneficial for health as I get to sleep sufficiently. The only problem is I did not do my school work haha. Wanted to do a teeny bit but ended up uninstalling stuff in my lappie because I’m going to take her out for a walk tomorrow. Gosh she too has not seen sunlight for… 3 years I think haha. The last time is most probably during school.

Hmm I wonder when I will get to run such long run again. Even my cycling “practice” has to be put on hold for next month already. But I’m not complaining, because I’m going to learn something new… and hopefully gain more insights…

Social Computing

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Source: Digital Life (July 24 2007)
Author: Grace Chng

Tomorrow’s workers will not just work, they expect to chat, watch videos and listen to music – during office hours.

Indeed the author cannot be so right about this phenomenon. Lately I was discussing with my colleague about work efficiency. He said nobody can work 90% efficiently, not even a new guy with bursting enthusiasm or one who is subjected to probation.

At first I thought it impossible as it is a known fact that most forty-something managers would expects nothing but 100%. Ok that is exaggerating but I am definitely sure they do not tolerate any of those multi-tasks that had just been mentioned.

As I pondered, I finally realised why a colleague of mine used to be unable to fathom why we could not spend 100% of our time working. That is until we “convert” her and showed her why sometimes chatting is a necessary evil. It allows one to take a break without being too obvious.

And no wonder why people used to “envy” me listening to music. I never knew it is an act of multi-task that would render me as “not working 100%”. I just knew I had to listen to music. Because I belong to the era where I watch TV, chat over the internet and do my homework. Don’t ask me how I multi-task, I just do it. Haha. (Talking about that, lately a colleague was telling me that she can watch 4 different animes at one shot due to some equipment.. I forgot what though. And I was like so amazed because if there is anything I cannot multi-task, it is watching more than 1 animes or movies at one go. If only I can master that skill…)

The author had also mentioned that the 2 undergraduates (Tay Kang Xun and Ma Weiyi) while researching had collated a thick pile of information and put it up in wiki before seeking permission. Haha so typical teenagers! But it shows that we have now reach an era where we blog, we post in forums and most importantly, we READ these stuff. Thus what we post can and will influence consumers or business partners.

Well companies can try to block such sites but this is not going to make us work only. We will always find something else to do when we get bored. Trust me!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Lunar Eclipse

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Link : Lunar Eclipse

Nice pictures... too bad I did not get to catch it. When I knew about it (from my bro's blog)... I think it was over already haha.

Google Phone

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Source : Reuters


It is rumoured that Google is trying to launch something early next year. And that something is a Google Phone. Their focus is on the OS and layering Google applications like Maps and Gmail.

And Google is not the only one at it; Yahoo has been working on its Yahoo phone long before Google had.

Hmm, first the iPhone, then a Google Phone… and a Yahoo Phone….

Undesirable Desire

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Source : Eugene Loh, A Slice of Life, 938LIVE, a station of MediaCorp Radio

Desire is impossible to pigeonhole. It's a tricky topic to pin down because desire need not be a bad thing.

Without desire, we wouldn't be enjoying a lot of the modern conveniences today. Without desire, we would not have the pleasure of experiencing positive actions. Desire is important because it motivates us towards becoming something better than what we are now. It drives us also to make things better for the people we care about.

But like most things in life, desire has a dark side. Desire can lead to feelings of covetousness and envy. It can blind us to the pain and suffering of others because we are so focused on our goal. Desire can lead us to see people as objects and make objects seem more important than people.

I'm sure you can think of plenty of examples where desire has led to tragedy or suffering; literature and the media are littered with them - the father who refuses to let his children fulfill their dreams because he has his own plans for them, the lover who relentlessly pursues the object of his desire even though no genuine love exists between them, the power-hungry politician, the man who covets a married woman, and so on.

Desire can also be a problem when it makes us want things which are unattainable or inaccessible. The person who desires say, a BMW, but only makes less than $2,000 a month may find the quality of his life somewhat diminished due to the lack of that particular car. The problem is compounded when the person actually goes ahead and buys the car, and ends up either exhausting his life savings or struggling every month to pay the installments.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with desire. Desire can inspire us to greater love and selflessness. It can motivate us to improve ourselves. But if the things we want are unattainable, we must be able to accept it. We all can get what we want, if we can just want what we get.

As Donald Horban once said, "We don't need to increase our goods nearly as much as we need to scale down our wants. Not wanting something is as good as possessing it."

Bflygal's comments:
I really wonder does Slice of Life reads my mind? I was "arguing" with my friend just yesterday that dreams do not change you. If it changes you, it is not your path; it is not your dream. However I couldn't find the right word to replace what he was referring to. About a person who has been dreaming for a certain career path and that after attaining it, she changed to become more realistic (in a not so warm way). Then I read this article and found the word – Desire.

It is a fine line between dreams and desires. But I firmly believe that a dream is a calling from something deep inside you. It personifies you. It does not change you. Desire, on the other hand, is something you wish to emulate. Thus you will be changed to satisfy your desire.

Some says changes have good or bad. To me, I believe it is just the side effects aka there is no good change or bad change. A person turning more soft-hearted (after being callous for so long) might be good news, might also be bad news. He gains some, he loses some. It all boils down to what you really desire, what you really want, what you really dream of. That’s life!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Pikachu Plane

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Pika Pika!!

My friend who just came back from Hokkaido sent me this pics. So kawaii. I wanna take Ana THIS plane too... Oh and he complaint about the heat in Hokkaido. Hmm guess the weather lady is fuming lately...

Original link at here

Google Bookmarks

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As Quoted
Google Bookmarks is an online service that lets you save your favorite sites and attach labels and annotations. Unlike the bookmark feature from your browser, bookmarks are stored securely online, so they are accessible even if you're using other computers.
I have always been thinking about making bookmarks "mobile". So by a chance encounter, while accidentally installing Google Toolbar, I found out this feature. Other than saving your bookmarks for you to access in any computer (based on your login), it also allows you to export all your current saved bookmarks in IE and Firefox. And as usual you can SEARCH your bookmarks.

I quite like this idea except one thing, I need to install Google Toolbar to use it. Something I didn't agree to (considering I uninstall the toolbar the moment I realised I had installed it). Hmm there should be a better way to work it out? As for now, I shall continue to use my gmail to store my links haha...

Monday, August 27, 2007

InvestFair 2007

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Links:
Tradingsuccess
SIStation
Tmtdimension
T3bsystem
Trackthetrend

That day was a lazy Sunday where I couldn’t decide if I should go back to work half-day or not (for fun haha). In the end the weather decided for me as it drizzle in the morning. When I finally moved my butt out of the house, I was late for the talk “Year-End Outlook and Perspective Beyond”. Hmm I think it would have been a good talk especially since it is super crowded in that room. Actually out of the 3.5 talks I went, 3 were super crowded. And the crowd composites of youngsters (err maybe younger than me or my age?) to elderly who I believed are long time players. Then there were people whom might not understand English but came to see still. Some reminds me of my mum haha... Actually a lot of trading information, I learnt from my mum too. Just that I am a low risk taker so I prefer to be more careful before I really venture into this area.

The first talk was on “So You Want To Get Rich? The Path To Consistent Profitability” by Ray Barros. He is a fund manager and an educator and his public speaking is excellent. Haha. I may not like public speaking and may have forgotten most of the pointers I learnt but I still like to observe people giving speeches. He has all the elements of trying to engage the audience and keeping them awake. Maybe I was standing that’s why I’m awake bah.

He mentioned that to succeed you need 60% of winning psychology and 30% of effective money management and 10% of a plan with the edge. And all 3 elements must exist for the formula to work.

He has an interesting formula:
Expected Return Per Trade
(AVG$Win x WinRate)–(AVG$Loss x Loss Rate)
where
AVG$WIN = $won/Total # Winning Trades
Win Rate = # Winning Trades/Total # Trades
AVG$Loss = $lost/Total # Losing Trades
Loss Rate = # Losing Trades/Total # Trades

Based on the formula, I think the win rate and loss rate is quite crucial. Did not really get the idea but I remember he said that even if someone gives you a money making formula that is 99% efficient, you might still lose a lot because of the 1% if the formula is negative. Sighz I think I need to digest further.

He asked us to think about some sports professional e.g. Tiger Wood and an amount of money where we will feel heart pain if we lose it. Using that amount as a bet to try to beat Tiger Wood in a game of golf, he asked how many of us will take on that bet. Then he asked why we hesitated when we have already done that while speculating stocks. We were playing a game with those big players already. The market is a profitability game and that in this one game/trade, you have as much chance to win the big players. However if you prolong the game further, then your probability of winning will start to diminish. Thought provoking!

He mention something about RSI trend identification which I am totally lost about although by the end of the day, I realised he and Keane Lee both focus a lot on trend
• UPTREND: If the RSI fluctuates between 80 (75) and 40 (35)
• DOWNTREND: If the RSI fluctuates between 60 (65) and (25) 20 we have a downtrend.
• SW: If the RSI fluctuates between 80 (75) & 20 (25)

By the way, his slides can be obtained here.

The second talk I went was on “Trade Smarter with CFDs” by Geoffrey Sawyer from CMC Markets Singapore P/L. Halfway through, I thought maybe CFD is not for me as it is on short-term investments and left. Hmm kinda regret now because I might change my mind and learn more about CFD. Still thinking..

The third talk was given by Lorraine Tan regarding “Regional Market Outlook”. She mentioned that 4th quarter should be better than the 3rd quarter. However they are still waiting for news like Taiwan banks and Japan banks which have not disclose what their impact is with regards to the USA event.

The last talk was also an engaging talk titled “How To Create A Consistent Money-Making System in the Singapore Stock Market” by Keane Lee. What I like in this talk is his belief that Technology should be harnessed for this area too. He has a system called T3B where he has his own formula to help him track the trend. There are many ways to speculate stocks
1. Fundamental Traders who trade stocks even before they are released
2. Indicators
3. Trend followers

He had also mentioned that contra players never have a good ending in the long run. Haha. He is actually quite a humorous speaker especially his intonation. Anyway he said that Singapore stocks are not meant for long term investment generally and one should hold it for at most 4++ months only. Gosh, I wonder how many people will react to that statement. Imagine my colleagues, SIA employees, Keppel etc. They will say they keep their shares till now and are finally seeing the huge profit. But he believed that with that long wait, he would have earn more by compounding.

He had also advised that one must always try to lock profit by cutting loss or taking profit. Most people are quick to buy but not quick to sell. And by using online trading, one would actually save a lot of time. What I like about his idea is that if (a big IF in my case) you predict the trend correctly, you can actually plan to buy/sell the night before. Then in the daytime, you do not need to monitor the stocks at all which is exactly what he does. He never checks stocks in the daytime because he feels that will disrupt his emotions and one should never speculate the market with emotion as it would react too violently.

Oh ya he use Metastock but he pluck in his own formulas to do the trend forecasting for him. When he ran that program, it reminds me of my Neural Network doing its classification. Interesting!

Anyway I took this picture for fun... I was bored and wanted to make my blog more "colourful" instead of being too wordy...

Courage in Life

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Source : Eugene Loh, A Slice of Life, 938LIVE, a station of MediaCorp Radio

An old saying goes "Courage is the most important virtue of all."

Everything that involves making a decision, no matter how tiny or taken for granted needs courage. Even a thing as simple as waking up and facing each day requires courage. The act of standing up to a corrupt government requires courage. Moving into a new career requires courage. Attending the first day of school requires courage. Every single act is a victory in itself and should be acknowledged and appreciated.

Many people sleep all the time, even when they are awake. They fantasize of the unattainable and neglect what they already have. These people don't have the courage to wake up in the morning and face the days ahead. Instead, they snuggle inside the deepest part of their soul and feel sorry for themselves.

It is normal, however, to temporarily lose that sense of courage. Every time we encounter unfamiliar territory, we might feel depressed. The only difference, however, that distinguishes a courageous person from the rest of his or her peers is "how long" the depressed period lasts.

Fortunately, cultivating courage doesn't require any special lesson. It simply starts with a choice to be and to start it mindfully.

Here are some tips to develop the courage to take over control of your life.

Don't make any assumptions about anything. Usually, worry comes when you assume something bad is going to happen.

Forgive yourself. Many of us can easily forgive others, but can never forgive ourselves. Forgiving our past mistakes is the key to bounce back with renewed strength.

Now here's a trick - Pretend to be brave, and you are courageous instantly! If you can convince your mind that it's just play-acting, a game with no real consequences, you'll find it easier to be courageous.

Remember, happiness comes when you choose to start living and stop worrying. Worrying too much won't do any good, mostly because it can swallow up your courage and leave you with nothing else than an empty soul and shaky hands.

Once you have the courage within, you will be ready to perform the other virtues of life. It would be impossible to be compassionate to others if you don't have the courage. It would be impossible to be grateful to others if you don't have the courage. It would be impossible to do thousands of other virtues if you don't have the courage to simply be true to yourself.

Bflygal's comments:
I got this on 24th Aug and had wanted to blog it... Courage is something I am lacking. And it is something that I BADLY need. To contribute, to go out to the world, to realised my dreams. I need a lot of courage but I'm easily afraid. Sigh.

Anyway my first display of courage came when I decided to attend InvestFair 2007 (discussed later). I finally decided it is time to figure out this area which I had no interest initially but which I know is an area I need to tap into.

My next display of courage will come soon I hope. I know the reason why I need to embark on it. Hmm suddenly a phrase pops into my mind, "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going".

Anyway I had an interesting chat with my ex-colleague today and I finally realised why my classmate wanted to hear opinions from his colleagues. Indeed what my colleague shared with me is something very revolutionary, very shocking. I guess colleagues really are a better judge but then who am I kidding. I see these people 5 days a week, 8 hours a day. Of course they know me better than my classmates. Plus he had seen me in action since I stepped into office day 1 which was almost 3 years ago already. Besides my study attitude has been pretty consistent (aka I'm always a slacker.. never really believe in studying too hard because somehow ECAs are always more fun... just that masters has no ECA sighz).

When he told me he seen the change in my attitude too, I know it is REALLY a serious problem. I know I have been submitting sub-standard work which I hated too. I don't like my sloppy attitude I'm displaying and he asked me what the reason is. While others were consistent in their actions, I was totally haphazard. That was something I never realised, that I veer off at both extremes. I know I'm easily affected that is why I usually try to delay my reaction to allow my logic control me. But being inconsistent... gosh!

Anyway I told him why I desperately want to find back my spark. I owe it to my DM to go this far and learnt this much. If I have been seen as comparing with my counterparts, then I have to say maybe I once did compare out of my own competitive nature. But I always know how my DM and ISM felt about me and thus I never really blame them for my sudden deterioration in work attitude. It is something else that causes it and while he told me something shocking that I never knew, I shall blame it on my own youth's recklessness. Maybe if I am 5 years older than now, I might react differently. But because I'm still young and 意气用事, I can't swallow certain things. And thus I might have offended some people accidentally.

One thing for sure, I am definitely making sure that I have sufficient courage to do what I should do when the time is ripe. To have the courage to face the true ME!

Healing Co-Dependent Relationships

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Source : Eugene Loh, A Slice of Life, 938LIVE, a station of MediaCorp Radio

Relationship counsellors will tell you that the most common relationship dynamic they encounter is that of the co-dependent taker/caretaker.

Takers are people who tend to be self-centred, with an excessive need for attention and admiration. The taker attempts to control getting love, attention, approval or sex from others with anger, blame, violence, criticism, irritation, righteousness, neediness, invasive touch, invasive energy, incessant talking and/or emotional drama. In a relationship, takers operate from the belief that "you are responsible for my feelings of pain and joy. It is your job to make sure that I am okay".

Caretakers, conversely, operate from the belief that "I am responsible for your feelings. When I do it right, you will be happy and then I will receive the approval I need".Caretakers sacrifice their own needs and wants to take care of the needs and wants of others, even when others are capable of doing it themselves. Caretakers give to others from fear rather than love; in other words, they give to get.

Neither takers nor caretakers take responsibility for their own feelings and wellbeing. They often end up feeling angry, resentful, trapped, unappreciated, unseen, unloved, misunderstood, and/or unacknowledged. The problem is that takers and caretakers naturally find each other because of their need to feed on each others' weaknesses.

So if you're in a taker/caretaker relationship, what can you do to heal it?

Well, relationships heal when individuals heal. When each partner works on reducing their own selfish needs, their relationship system heals. When each person learns to take full personal responsibility for his or her own feelings of pain and joy, they stop pulling on each other and blaming each other. When each person learns to fill themselves with love and share that love with each other, instead of always trying to get love, the relationship heals.

Learning how to take responsibility for your own feelings is one of the essential ingredients in creating a healthy relationship. This means learning to be conscious of what you are feeling and being open to learning about what you are doing to create your own feelings, instead of being a victim and believing that others are causing your feelings. Your feelings come from how you treat yourself and others, from what you tell yourself and what you believe about yourself and others, rather than from others behaviour. Blaming others for your feelings will always lead to major relationship problems.

Why not start today by taking your eyes off your partner and putting them squarely on yourself? In reality, you are the only one you actually have control over. You are the only one you can change. Only when you change will the relationship get better.

Bflygal's comments :
This post is posted for some friends in mind. It's weird that these are the people that told me to be open, that only by being open will they live their life truly. They wish to be honest with their life, with the people around them. But lately, they seem so hurt. Anyway I say weird in a sense it is so coincidental that I have been thinking of closure lately. And they seem to tell me that being open is definitely a no-no. Ok I think it sounds too depressing. So this article came at a right time because it has an optimistic tone. Sometimes one just have to balance between selfish and openess. And I know they know it well too especially when they do not lose focus on their dreams still. As for myself, I think I should do what I want to do. Don't relent.

R. Walt Vincent - Someplace Good

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Hope you’re finally feeling better
Hope you’re in a prouder space
Hope it wasn’t hard to get there
You found peace and you feel safe
Good to know you finally made it
Out of thee your neighborhood

I know you love to travel
I know you love the stars
But did you just unravel
Half the way to Mars
I hope they’re coming to your rescue
Like they said they always would
When they left, I let them take you
I hope they take you someplace good
Someplace good

Did you see this morning’s paper?
Did you catch an early train?
Did you finally meet the maker?
Did you finally find loving?
Or did you simply end up
Exactly where you should
You hope this was your last stop
On the way to someplace good
Someplace good
Someplace good
Someplace good
Someplace good

Author’s comments:
The last 2 days I decided to watch “To Catch the Uncatchable”. Something about Vivi, Officer Mo and Zhan Zhan made me watch it to find some answers. When Vivi had flinched because Zhan Zhan brushed contact with her while picking her towel, she mentioned that it was a subconscious action. She said that if she doesn’t like a person, this is a natural reaction. Yet when she was talking to Officer Mo, they were standing side by side and she did not even feel disgusted or anything. Nonverbally, she had shown signs that she likes him.

I guess love is weird. If she feels at ease, whether the guy always make her pay for meals, make her drives him home, is a lazy (in some sort of way) and isn’t good looking (as compared to Zhan Zhan), she will still like him. That is because she feels at ease when she is with him.

When Vivi and Officer Mo was playing the hide and seek game, I wondered if all females like to play such game haha. The Fate game is a very challenging game. Any wrong move and you might miss the chance forever. But to ask a woman like Vivi to find him first and cut short the game is tough. Vivi is a career minded woman who is very strong and yet at times, she still has her own weakness. Thus she rather walks slowly than to find him first. Of course guessing is a big part for this game. So when she saw him looking for her, she was definitely elated. Maybe is because females want to feel such elation thus they like to play the Fate game haha. I have no idea…

But this show did not have a happy ending. That is why the ending song “haunted” me. Something in it makes me feel attuned.. and I was reminded of a phrase from My Girl

逃到很远的地方前
先逃到很高的地方

I remember how the female protagonist fell for the guy first and how much Fate games, guessing games they play with each other. That is why I said don’t bother second guessing. This show showed how terrible it is to keep guessing and keep getting wrong. Not that it is really wrong, but when the other party cannot make up his mind, how right can it be haha.

Actually I do wonder if males emit non verbal signs too. My friend said that some males play tactics in the love games.. makes me think of war tactics only haha. Sighz I pity the girl then. It isn’t nice to be close to her for a while, and then disappear. It isn’t nice to arrange meetings then back out last minute even if there is a valid reason tagged (haha context issue). And it is definitely not nice to keep blowing hot and cold at her.

Oh ya as I was thinking how to 逃到很高的地方, a friend mentioned to me about the vertical marathon. I think it could be the answer? Let me think about it before 21 Sept 2007.

Non verbal communication

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Source: Wo Bao (22nd Aug 2007)

I was reading an article in My Paper on Professor Geoff Beattie, University of Manchester lecturer discussing about Non verbal communication. He is a well known psychologist.

He first mentions that if a couple is in love, they will emulate each other. This behaviour is called "Interactional synchrony". The stronger the relationship, the greater is the degree of emulation. Thus that is why you feel at ease. So if you see a guy and a girl eating from the same stall in a canteen, is that emulation? Just wondering…

In a chasing game, the females are the more obvious one. Their non verbal communication is much stronger than males. They interpret better. Males on the other hand are pretty slow in catching actions. Because of that, females decided to give more obvious sign e.g. tossing hair instead of giving a shy smile. Haha so last time’s 三笑姻缘 will become today’s 三拔弄发姻缘. That is amusing. Anyway I am not sure if males are really that dense or they pretend to be dense? I mean if you don’t like a girl and you don’t know how to reject her, maybe you prefer to just act blur right? But generally I have to admit female prefer to use more non verbal communication while male prefer to use more direct communication.

So how can we know if that other person likes us? Prof Beattie mention the following signs:
* eye contact
* an open, comfrotable posture, instead of crossed hands before the chest
* special gestures such as tossing hair, licking lips and eyes that open wider

Is that simple? I guess so. Just that environmental reason might complicate things. Lately I asked a friend what is woman made of. He replied water. I actually agreed to that analogy. Water has 3 states, at different temperature she will turn into ice, liquid and solid form. The temperature is the environmental factors that will change her and make her exhibit different properties e.g. denser etc.

He was wondering if doing certain things will make a girl felt touched by his sincerity. I wondered why we are sitting down discussing her reaction. Why second guess? Why not just do it and tell me what is her reaction? Haha! Maybe I no longer like to second guess people because male and female alike, they tend to give me unexpected reactions. Actually I think towards the end of the conversation, I had mentioned men are unfathomable too. It is quite a fair game. Men can’t decipher women, but neither can women understand men.

So I’m wondering if the girl had exhibited all the signs, and showed she has interest in you, does that mean the two of you will still have a happy ending. Human complicates a lot of things, including love.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Reflecting Moi Work Attitude

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I had taken a week's leave... to attend my last summer class. I still remember on Monday, my colleague had asked me how am I.. and I said good because I'm not at work. This whole week has indeed been relaxing, but I wonder why every time I take leave, when the leave ends, I end up becoming more stressed than before.

In fact, towards the middle of my break, I wasn't happy. I hated myself, I hated my working attitude, I hated everything that I am doing. That is the problem when your mind likes to do a marathon I guess. There are a lot of issues that my brain kept pondering, kept digesting, kept getting indigestion till the extent that I only had a good night's sleep on Monday and Friday. The rest of the days, my eyes were heavy but my mind were running.

Work attitude is one of the thing that I kept thinking. The other issues will be dealt in other posts. (I have quite a lot of draft posts haha.. not sure when it gets published.)

Anyway I thought long and hard about it. Coincidentally that day someone was asking feedback for his own project attitude and I had replied him with questions. Unsure if it exasperated him though.. I know is my bad habit. Whenever I sensed the person already knows the answer, I will just reply with questions. Because I don't like to affect people with my own opinions.. not when I know they know the answer already. Anyway out of sheer curiosity, I posed the same question back and got some answers. Stuff that I know is true, that I already know.. that I need to be reminded again… Maybe that is why advices are the hardest to swallow, because you yourself know it too but refuse to do anything about it. Not that I am not doing anything about it, but it takes time I guess.

When I came back to work on Saturday, I decided maybe I should propose something to get back my initial working attitude. I guess it is true when one works too long, one tends to become complacent. I really don’t like my current attitude and wished to get out of it. Besides I wish to avoid some things. I must get back my spark for my hidden agenda sake…

I shall have my good night’s sleep TODAY.. before I processed the other stuff…

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Speeding. No one thinks big of you

3 comments



It is an advert in Sydney to target the male ego because the previous ads (on those blood and gore) do not scare the young men into driving slowly...
And guess what, this ad really caught the people's attention with its weird sense of humour. It is said that the ad drawn more than half-a-million views on YouTube. In fact the English and Irish road safety authorities are interested in such style too.
It is indeed a weird sense of humour... I guess for the males, blood and violence don't scare them as much as doubting their...

USB Powered Mini Greenhouse

0 comments




Quoted from the website:

This USB Powered Mini Greenhouse features an adjustable growth light and an easy view window that offers maximum plant protection! It comes with a computer interface that monitors growth rate, and includes calendar, wallpaper and bookmark settings so you can take care and grow your own desktop plants!



This greenhouse includes a starter pack with Marigold seeds and artificial soil to get you started! Simply plant the seeds, add water and plug the Greenhouse to any USB port!



Bflygal's comments:

Got this from my brother's blog.. hmm he has been blogging for CS1105 and reading his blog can be quite refreshing because he writes in a very different style, very boyish.. kinda like a man of few words haha (and I bet he is reading this)



Anyway this greenhouse costs $19.90 but is currently out of stock. Seriously I have no idea if this product is for real but one thing for sure, I prefer authentic Mother Nature. Sighz why are human embracing everything instant.. everything artificial... I'm tired.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Doodles

0 comments
Source : Reader's Digest July 2006

Doodling is a creative outlet that reflects a person's state of mind. Drawing can unlock mental blocks and help you think more creatively.
>> Hmm I have not been drawing for some times, no wonder I lost my creativity haha.

Drawing to the left of the paper suggests reserve and a focus on the past.
Drawing to the right shows sociability and a focus on the future.
Doodling in the middle shows a need for attention.

Symbols:
* Boats, planes and cars - A longing to get away from it all; a need to go away on holidays
* Arrows - Upward arrows show ambition and horizontal ones show perceptiveness. Arrows pointing in all directions reveal an open mind.
* Noughts and crosses - If you play games with yourself, it may reveal a competitive personality.
* Stars - People who draw stars tend to be idealists. A five-pointed star indicates ambition while six points represent a capacity for concentration.
* Squares and triangles - Geometric shapes reflect an organised brain and clear thinking processes.
* Pretty faces - You have a sociable and sunny disposition.
* Animals - You like to protect others.
* Hearts - You're a sentimentalist
* No doodles - Non-doodlers tend to be precise, direct and to the point.

Angina

0 comments
Source : Reader's Digest July 2006

Angina means chest pains. Interesting word!

Chest pains is the heart's way of saying that it's not getting enough oxygen. So how to prevent it?

1. Change your lifestyle. Minimise your work hours and lower your workload.
2. Stop smoking.
3. Exercise regularly. Recommendation is to exercise 30 minutes to an hour at least 3 to 5 times a week. Light exercise like a leisurely walk can also be helpful.
4. Eat right. Stay away from eggs, red meat, fried foods, lard, butter and excessive dairy products.
5. Relax.

Simpson and Saving Gaia

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For someone who doesn’t like Homer Simpson or Bart Simpson, I watch this entirely for Lisa’s sake. I saw the part where she went around every door to create awareness to save the environment and decided it should be an interesting movie.

Lisa had successfully managed to make the residents in Springfield clean up their Lake Springfield. Unfortunately (as usual), Homer had to create a disaster by throwing waste into the lake and causing their government to create a reason to eliminate Springfield. Anyway end of the day; it will definitely be a happy ending.

Interestingly the movie had dealt with the weird father-son relationship between Homer and Bart and for once I see Bart in a different light. At least he is not so irritating. However I still like Lisa best. She is someone who goes out her way to achieve her goal which is to make everybody aware of the measures they can take to save the environment. I like her courage, her persistence and her determination. And is this movie, she is lucky to find another person who shares her belief. When they first met, each was completing each other’s half finished facts. It is actually quite amusing haha.

Then 2 days ago, I was watching an episode of Saving Gaia and started pondering about some stuff. Shows like Simpson showed that an inconsiderate and careless single act can cause a disaster. Maybe it is a movie thus it got exaggerated. Maybe it is true that sometimes, in real life, a single act could really cause a disastrous effect?

In that episode of Saving Gaia, they were talking about solar power and how much electricity they saved. The weird part about me is I was seeing how much water they were wasting when the lady was watering her plants at the start of the episode. And then there is another part where the guy was washing his face and he had left the tap running throughout the whole process. In the end I did not complete the episode (because I needed to return the TV to my mum haha) but I kept thinking, am I too extreme at times?

I have been chided many times on report formatting by my project mate. I realized to make a report more readable, more spaces must be allocated. I had even went to research if 2 spacing is really compulsory for proper report formatting but decided to just rest the case because sometimes, I’m also unsure where my limits should be. It hurts when papers have to be shredded even before they can be recycled because they were confidential papers but I know it is better to shred them immediately when discarded. And there are times I know I waste paper too by printing them out because it makes reading easier. Where my limit should goes? I don’t really like my reaction whenever I hear people print 60 or 120 pages. I don’t like my reaction when I see people not printing double sided due to certain reasons, certain valid reasons which I will just override based on my initial reaction. I still remember once a friend wanted me to print quite a thick bulk of document and I vehemently refused and question how much will he read. Reflecting that incident, I really wonder, do I react too much to the extreme at times?

I was re-watching Spirited Away and remember this scene where Xiao Qian had to remove some object from this wealthy river spirit and what she pulled out in the end is a whole chunk of discarded rubbish. When he is cleaned, he was so relieved. If we manage to save Gaia, will she feel relieved too?

Sometimes everybody just needs to do one careless act to pollute the environment. And sometimes, I am just over-reacting.. Sighz I really don’t know, I really don’t know how to save this earth. Ok maybe I do know everybody is putting some effort.. guess it is just my problem once again…

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

10 letters words

0 comments
The most selfish one letter word....... "I"
Avoid it.

The most satisfying two-letter word......"WE"
Use it.

The most poisonous three-letter word."EGO"
Kill it.

The most used four-letter word........ "LOVE"
Value it.

The most pleasing five-letter word..."SMILE"
Keep it.

The fastest spreading six-letter word... "RUMOUR"
Ignore it.

The hardest working seven-letter word...... "SUCCESS"
Achieve it.

The most enviable eight-letter word......... "JEALOUSY"
Distance it.

The most powerful nine-letter word.... "KNOWLEDGE"
Acquire it.

The most essential ten-letter word.... "CONFIDENCE"
Trust it.

Bflygal's comment: Got it from an email source and like it very much, especially the last 2 words...

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Annuity

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Source: Wo Bao 21st Aug 2007
Author: Mr. Tan Kin Lian

Other Link: Insurance Supermart

After the National Day Rally, I think this might be one of the most talked topics, maybe most searched topic? (Not sure)

The day before, my dad had mentioned that our PM wants to buying annuities compulsory for all. Suddenly I have an image of a parental figure forcing me to start saving since young for the rainy days. Sometimes I really wonder are Singaporeans a spendthrift lot that do not think much about their future or is our government worrying excessively. Until today, I have no answer for it. I guess it is good that our government will help us think and help protect us. But being too over-protective is not giving us a chance to take responsibility of our own life. I fear the day where Singaporeans when meet any adversity will say, it is ok, the Government has already planned for me.

Anyway back to the main topic – annuity. Annuities are products where beneficiaries pay a premium and get monthly payouts for the rest of their lives. It is not a very well known product and only a few will buy it because its payout is lesser than what CPF can give. The stark difference is it will pay you until you are deceased whereas CPF is only for a stated period.

What if the annuitant dies young? It depends on the capital protection and the type of protection entitled. In some cases, the annuity payment continues to be paid to the annuitant’s beneficiary for a number of years. In other cases, the balance of the capital is refunded.

Whether it is capital protected or not, the interest is definitely kept in the fund. In a way, this is a fair arrangement because this money is used to finance the monthly incomes of the annuitant who had live longer.

The most important question is how much do I get from my capital sum? It depends on your age and gender, commencement date and the type of annuity. Woman generally receives a lower monthly payment compared to the male counterparts and the older you are, the higher the monthly payment will be.

Overall, I think it is quite an okay product to consider. But currently, it seems like only NTUC and Great Eastern offers annuity packages. Hmm..

10 Ways to Motivate Yourself

0 comments
Source : Positive Articles

Sometimes I wonder why I like to take long bus rides. It is no joke that my bus ride can lasts 2 hours on weekdays with parents sending children to school and people rushing to the city area which is long because here is a small city.

But thanks to such rides, I managed to take time to read my books and listen to the radio. And today, while watching children rushing to school assembly and wondering about my own childhood… I heard the deejay talking about an article entitled “10 Ways to Motivate Yourself” and decided to search the article.

1. Stop worrying about making mistakes.

Making mistakes is one way we can learn and improve in our life. There is no one that has never made any mistake. The most important thing here is you realize that you have made mistakes and do not repeat the same mistakes again. You learn more from mistakes you have made than any other way.

2. Feel happy about your life.

Happiness generates more positive energy within you. This energy is important to keep you more optimistic and enthusiastic about your life. Happy people are always motivated to accomplish something in their life.

3. Get out of your comfort zone.

You need to learn to get into unfamiliar surroundings to explore better opportunities. Do not just stick around with the same people, same known places, skills or work. Explore new things that will enhance your ability to achieve your goals and keep you stay motivated.

4. Think the unthinkable.

Nothing will stop you from thinking of goals you want to achieve. You have to dream high in order to set high goals. Everything starts with a dream. Do not limit yourself in your goals and dreams.

5. Read and listen to inspirational materials.

You need to allocate your time to acquire knowledge through reading motivational books and listening to inspirational tapes. But, you must also implement what you learn from your reading and listening. New things you learn from these exercises will give you excitement and energy to work harder toward achieving your goals.

6. Resolve problems instead of running away.

Your ride to success destination will not be smooth all the time. You will face difficulties. Do not quit when you experience predicaments in your quest to achieve your dreams. Frustrations and setbacks naturally form as parts of your success venture.

7. Appreciate every moment of your life.

Think of what your life really is as of now. Appreciate every moment you have currently. Thinking about the past or day dreaming about the future will not bring you anywhere. Appreciating your current conditions makes you feel much better and realize the need to move forward to achieve your goals.

8. Finish what you start.

Once you have started something, finish it. Never leave what you do halfway regardless of the end result. This will make you accustomed to finishing any task you initiate, which is important if you really want to achieve your goals in life.

9. Face challenges one at a time.

Challenges come to us almost all the time. Take up one challenge at a time. Do not try to accumulate and face them at one go. As the challenges accumulate, you will only feel less motivated to face them and finally unable to complete anything.

10. Care less about what people say.

You may hear a lot of bad things people say about you. Sometimes those bad comments may come from somebody close to you. As long as you thoroughly understand and believe in what you are doing, you can just ignore bad comments people say about you. Thinking too much about what people say will only make you weaker and loose focus on your effort.

I guess this article comes timely since yesterday I was thinking about why do people wallow in depression and inflict self-wounds?

How to be single and happy without a mate

0 comments
Source : essortment

When you’re single, everyone asks you the same question. When are you getting married? When you are in your thirty’s, the question becomes, why aren’t you married? Whatever the reason is you’re probably tired of hearing it.

It can sometimes be even worse if you’re single, in your thirty’s and you don’t even have a steady mate. People sometimes wonder what’s wrong with you. The answer to that question is obviously nothing. You can be happy and single without a mate.

The first step to being single and happy is to be happy with yourself. If you are happy with who you are then it won’t matter what other people say or think. Because there will be many times as a single person that you will want to go out and do something but don’t have any one to do anything with. For example, if all of your closest friends are married or have a significant other you may feel like a third wheel hanging out with them. Or the only free time these couples may have they want to spend it alone with each other or other couples. This is no time to feel sorry for yourself. Get out of the house and do something. Don’t be afraid to do your favorite activities by yourself.

Volunteer your time to a favorite charity. Go in there intent on doing what you can to help them reach there goals.

Join a church and become active there. Find a ministry to serve in and volunteer your time there. In both of your volunteer activities you’ll be around other like-minded individuals and may even make some lasting friendships.

Just because you don’t have a mate doesn’t mean you can’t go out. If you want to go out and can’t get together with any of your friends, go out by yourself. If you like going to the movies, go alone. No one will look at you funny if you’re sitting there by yourself. Everybody is there for the same reason you are, to enjoy the movie and to be entertained. The first time it may seem strange reacting loudly by yourself at the screen but you will get used to it.

Don’t be afraid to go to a restaurant by yourself either. Instead of having someone to talk to before, during and after your meal, bring a book or magazine to read. It will pass up the time. You’ll also notice that your meal is brought to you faster when you are by yourself than when you are with a date or a few people. I don’t know if it is because cooking one plate of food is quicker than cooking two or more and having them ready at the same time, or if the waiter is trying to get rid of you sooner by having you eat quickly so that they can get you out of their so a couple can have your table.

You can even go to concerts or sporting events alone. You can certainly enjoy these events without having someone with you. Sometimes you may end up talking to the person next to you, especially at a ball game.

Just because you are single and without a mate, doesn’t mean you should sit around the house and mope. If you want to go someplace and have no one to go with, go out by yourself. You can still have a wonderful time.

Bflygal's comment : I was searching for an article when I came across this article and thought it... interesting.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Utada Hikaru - Keep Tryin'

0 comments
Source :
Wiki
lyrics Wiki

Singer: Utada Hikaru (宇多田ヒカル)
Title : Keep Tryin'

I don't care about anything

どうでもいいって顔しながら
dō demo iitte kao shinagara
ずっとずっと祈っていた
zutto zutto inotteita
無い物ねだり
nai mono nedari
ちょっとやそっとで満足できない
chotto ya sotto de manzoku dekinai
だからkeep trying
dakara keep trying

十時のお笑い番組
jū ji no owarai bangumi
仕事の疲れ癒しても
shigoto no tsukare iyashitemo
一人が少しイヤになるよ
hitori ga sukoshi IYA ni naru yo
そういうのも大事と思うけど
sō iu no mo daiji to omou kedo

去年より 面倒くさがりになってるぞ
kyonen yori mendokusagari ni natteru zo
挑戦者のみ もらえるご褒美
chōsensha no mi moraeru gohōbi
欲しいの
hoshii no

I don't care about anything

ちょっと遅刻した朝もここから
chotto chikoku shita asa mo koko kara
がんばろうよ
ganbarō yo
何度でも期待するの
nando demo kitai suru no
バカみたいなんかじゃない
baka mitai nanka janai
だからkeep trying
dakara keep trying

ほんとは誰よりハングリー
honto wa dare yori hangurī
気持ちの乱れ隠しても
kimochi no midare kakushitemo
毎朝弱気めな素顔映す鏡
maiasa yowakime na sugao utsusu kagami
退治したいよ
taiji shitai yo

月夜の願い 美しいものだけれど
tsukiyo no negai utsukushii mono dakeredo
標的になって 泥に飛び込んで
hyōteki ni natte doro ni tobikonde
Lady,レッツゴー
Lady, rettsu gō

I don't care about anything

クールなポーズ決めながら
kūru na pōzu kimenagara
実を言うと戦ってた
jitsu o iu to tatakatteta
大切な命
taisetsu na inochi
とっても気にしぃなあなたは少し
tottemo ki ni shii na anata wa sukoshi
休みなさい
yasuminasai

「タイムイズマネー」
"taimu izu manē"
将来、国家公務員だなんて言うな
shōrai, kokka kōmuin da nante iu na
夢がないなあ
yume ga nai naa
「愛情よりmoney?」
"aijō yori money"
ダーリンがサラリーマンだっていいじゃん
dārin ga sararīman datte ii jan
愛があれば
ai ga areba

I don't care about anything

どうでもいいって顔しながら
dō demo iitte kao shinagara
ずっとずっと祈っていた
zutto zutto inotteita
無い物ねだり
nai mono nedari
もっとだもっとだ満足できない
motto da motto da manzoku dekinai
だからkeep trying
dakara keep trying

どんぶらこっこ
donburakokko
世の中浮き沈みが激しいなあ
yo no naka ukishizumi ga hageshii naa
どんな時でも
donna toki demo
価値が変わらないのはただあなた
kachi ga kawaranai no wa tada anata

少年はいつまでも いつまでも片思い
shōnen wa itsumademo itsumademo kataomoi
情熱に情熱にお値段つけられない
jōnetsu ni jōnetsu ni onedan tsukerarenai
お父さんkeep trying, trying
otōsan keep trying, trying
お母さんkeep trying, trying
okaasan keep trying, trying
お兄ちゃん、車掌さん、お嫁さんkeep trying, trying
oniichan, shashōsan, oyomesan keep trying, trying

English:
I don't care about anything
While making a face like, "OK, Whatever"
I've always, always been praying
I want what I don't have
I can't be satisfied that easily
So I keep trying

Watching a 10 o'clock comedy show
Working off my stress from work
I don't like being alone
I think that kinda stuff is important

This year everything seems like a real drag
I want the reward that only
Challengers receive

I don't care about anything
Even if I'm running a little late in the morning
I'm gonna try my best
How many times have I stupidly
Got my hopes up? There are no barriers
That's why I keep trying

The truth is, I'm hungrier than anybody else
Even though I try and hide my messed up feelings
Every morning, I want to destroy this mirror
Which reflects my weak natural face

A wish on a moonlight night; it's a beautiful thing
But become the target, jump in the mud
Lady, let's go

I don't care about anything
While deciding on a cool pose
To tell you the truth
I've been fighting
It's such a precious life; You'll have to
Reach for each and every bit of rest.

"Time is money"; Don't you dare say,
"My dream is to be a politician"
Don't you have any dreams?
"Money rather than love?"
My darling is a businessman
But that's alright, but only if there's love

I don't care about anything
While making a face like, "OK, Whatever"
I've always, always been praying
I want what I don't have
I can't be satisfied that easily
So I keep trying

Bobbing up and down in this
World of ours can be so fierce
No matter the time, the value doesn't change
That's 'cause you just...

Boys are always,
Always stuck with unrequited love
With passion, with passion
You can't put a price on it
Father, keep trying, trying
Mother, keep trying, trying
Brother, Mr. Conductor, Ms. Bride
Keep trying, trying

Bflygal's comments : Very upbeat song! Keep trying, never give up. I feel that way too after watching its MV.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Anger management

0 comments
Author: Daniel Theyagu, who runs Lateral Solutions Consultancy, which designs and conducts competency-based training for organizations. He is also an adjunct lecturer with the Management Development Institute of Singapore.

Source: Recruit (March 22 2007 & March 29 2007)

Link: Lateral Solutions

While reading this article, it reminded me of a veteran toastmaster who once touched on this topic many years ago (when I was still a member). Her husband and she were very powerful and inspirational speakers and I wonder how they are now.

“Anybody can become angry, that is easy; But to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way, that is not within everybody’s power – that is not easy”
- Aristotle, Greek philospher
Indeed, it is impossible to get rid or avoid anger totally. You are human bound to encounter situations that will enrage you. And if you control your anger, you are only delaying the outburst. Sooner or later, it will resurface and might even be multiplied and magnified due to your earlier suppression. The objective should be to channel both your emotional feelings and the physiological arousal that anger causes more constructively.

Anger can be positive or negative. Positive anger may prompt you to take action to see what you can do to rectify the situation. It spurs you to express your viewpoints and feelings towards issues that bother you. It is one of the reason people fought for social justice and unfairness.

Negative anger; on the other hand, disrupt your life and relationships with family, friends and working colleagues. It makes you irritated and leaves a bad impression on the person with whom you were angry. It clouds your rationality and judgment and makes you feel physically and emotionally drained.

Like how you manage time and changes, you must learn how to manage anger, to decide to be angry and stay angry or not.
“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”
- late Indira Gandhi
Tips to manage anger:
1. Analyse the situation that makes you angry.
You might be angry over the wrong reasons e.g. getting stuck in a traffic jam and end up acting irrationally.
2. Analyse the people you are dealing with.
If you are always in the company of people who lose their tempers easily, it may rub off on you.
“A wise man associating with the vicious becomes an idiot;
a dog travelling with a good man becomes a rational being.”
- Arab proverb
3. Learn to laugh at mistakes you make.
Instead of always asking “Why me?”, ask yourself “If not me, then who?”
Either laugh at your own stupidity or take it as a learning opportunity (or both!). The more you are able to do this, the more inner peace you will attain, and the better you will become at handling situations or people who make you angry.
4. Develop a sense of self-regard.
Self-regard is defined as the ability to identify who you are and what you are capable of.
“Only a person who has faith in himself is able to be faithful to others.”
- Erich Fromm, writer

Investing

0 comments
Link :
Investfair
rediffNEWS

For someone who usually doesn’t care much about investing, I admit that this week I have learnt quite a few things about what companies does to their shares.

I had to attend a briefing on Friday regarding the company giving out bonus shares. And my colleagues started explaining things like we should exercise all the shares that we can (although I have none to begin with) and that the share prices will drop soon once bonus shares are given out. I ended up doing a research on bonus shares today.

Bonus share is supposedly free share of stock given to current shareholders in a company. Thus people believed that this is a good thing because you are getting more shares at no extra cost and it is taken as a sign of good health of the company.

But is it really a good thing? A bonus issue adds on the total number of shares in the market. This is a dilution in equity. Quoting my company’s example, imagine we are getting 5 lots initially. With a bonus issue of 5:2, we will be getting 7 lots. Based on the formula:
Earnings Per Share (EPS) = Net Profit / Number of Shares

The earnings of the company will have to be divided by a larger number of shares. And since the profit is constant, the EPS can only go down. Thus in theory, the stock price will decrease proportionately to the number of new shares.

However there is still a bright side one can hope for.
1. As the stock is more liquid currently, with an increased amount of shares it is easier to buy and sell shares
2. It is a signal that the company is confident to increase its profits and distribute dividends on all these shares in the future.

Anyway with the implementation of bonus shares, the company plans to adjust those shares that cannot be exercised for the moment. Interestingly, they had mentioned giving us more share allocations and reducing the price. But when I discussed it with my parents, they told me it should be an either/or option because no company will adjust both the share allocations and the pricing. Hearing their logic, I have to admit maybe it really is an either/or option. Guess I will know the answer in one to two month’s time.

Coincidentally, my mum was asking me to check another company on its consolidation of shares. Another term for it is a reverse stock split where it reduces the number of outstanding shares without any modification of the Company’s capital. My mum told me that certain companies will consolidate its shares to reduce the number of shares available in the market. This will help reduce the volatility of the share price. And to most people, consolidation is a bad news. If the company had planned that for every 10 shares registered in the name of each shareholder to be consolidated to constitute 1 consolidated new share, then if I have 30 lots, I will end up having 3 new shares. In other words, the value per share increases although there is no assurance or obligation that the post-consolidation share price will be increased to the same rate as the consolidation ratio. Whether the share price will increase significantly is unknown thus usually people will sell their shares.

Another problem it will cause is the odd lot problem as if you own 3 lots i.e. 3000 shares, you will now end up getting 300 shares which is what people termed as odd lots. Odd lot is problematic to those who do his/her own trading. In addition, the company might round down to the nearest whole consolidated share and any fractions might be disregarded. I guess one cannot blame them from being so “ruthless”.

While surfing, I saw that there is an InvestFair next weekend. Hmm maybe I will pop by to increase my understanding of investing.

潘秀瓊 - 情人的眼淚

0 comments
為什麼要對你掉眼淚
你難道不明白為了愛
只有那有情人眼淚最珍貴
一顆顆眼淚都是愛都是愛

為什麼要對你掉眼淚
你難道不明白為了愛
要不是有情郎跟我要分開
我眼淚不會掉下來掉下來

好春纔來春花正開
你怎捨得說再會
我在深閨望穿秋水
你不要忘了我情深深如海

為什麼要對你掉眼淚
你難道不明白為了愛
要不是有情郎跟我要分開
我眼淚不會掉下來掉下來

Bflygal's comment : Heard this song while checking out Jay Chou's "不能說的秘密" OST. Sighz I first fell in love with this song when I heard Cherie Lim "sing" it in a TV show. I cannot even remember the show anymore and everybody knows Cherie Lim had retired many many years ago already. I am also unsure why I ended up searching it on youtube. But hearing 潘秀瓊 singing the original in a movie 《小云雀》, and then Sandy Lam's remix version with Dick Lee in 1990 makes me in a reminiscent state. Actually it is a song sung by so many other artistes e.g 陳淑樺 that I am not sure who is the original singer too (lazy to research haha). But I loved Sandy since young so I'm quite biased towards her original and remix version.

Anyway I am wondering if 不能說的秘密 is a nice movie still. It is about time travel, my favourite fantasy storyline. I know Jay cannot act and is not handsome, and most of the time I might not be able to catch what he is singing. But his music has an X factor that just tugs my heart towards it. He still manages to intrigue me all these while. Sighz...

So Much To Do, So Little Time

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Author: Article written by Neen James, a productivity expert, motivational speaker and corporate trainer based in the United States.

Source: Recruit – The Sunday Times (February 4 2007)

1. Book in
Mark all your regular meetings and activities in advance so that you will not forget or double book yourself. Try colour coding the appointments to distinguish personal, work and family events.

2. Travel time
Always factor in the travelling time you need to get to the venue. This travelling time can be used to return calls, listen to motivational CDs etc. And before you get on the road, ask if this trip is really necessary.

>> This is something I usually never take into account either. Luckily I always carry a book with me whenever I go though as such I’m never bored while travelling or waiting.

3. Before and after
Another thing people usually overlook. They will just rush from back-to-back meetings only to get caught up in returning calls and responding to e-mails. In the end the work that comes out of the meetings does not get done until long after.

If you schedule, you will turn up prepared to contribute and to take action on minutes and follow up on projects while the information is still fresh in your mind.

>> I totally agree with it. There are times where I tried to typed out my task list for the system and realised I could not remember what I had scribbled that day. That is why I always make sure if I am the minuter, I will definitely typed the minutes straight away. Forgetting what to minute down can be pretty fatal you know.

4. Regular activities
Set aside the first 60 minutes and last 10 minutes of your day for planning, reading weekly reports, writing project updates and scanning monthly newsletters. Schedule the time to meet your regular commitments.

>> No wonder I always get piles of newspapers to read.. like this article haha. But I know I will never be able to adhere to this as I already had a pattern. To read this stuff only when I’m trying to spring clean and I only spring clean when I’m having school holidays. Worst, I only spring clean on the last day of school holidays.. like today heehee.

5. Go for a break
It could mean holidays and short breaks. But it also includes your daily lunch break.

>> Have a break, have a kit-kat! You deserve it!

6. Protect your time
Allow access to people only when necessary.

7. Keep a back-up
Make a copy either by photocopying or synchronising with the computer.

>> Err I prefer to use a paper diary but photocopying it.. hmm. I really need to think twice about it.

Diana Ross - If We Hold On Together

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Don't lose your way
With each passing day
You've come so far
Don't throw it away
Live believing
Dreams are for weaving
Wonders are waiting to start
Live your story
Faith hope and glory
Hold to the truth
In your heart

If we hold on together
I know our dreams
Will never die
Dreams see us through
To forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and I

Souls in the winds
must learn how to mend
Seek out a star
Hold on to the end
Valley, mountain
There is a fountain
Washes our tears
All away
Words are swaying
Someone is praying
Please let us come
Home to stay

If we hold on together
I know our dreams
Will never die
Dreams see us through
To forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and I

When we are out there
In the dark
We'll dream about the sun
In the dark
We'll feel the light
Warm our hearts
Everyone

If we hold on together
I know our dreams
Will never die
Dreams see us through
To forever
As high
As souls can fly
The clouds roll by
For you and I

Bflygal's comments : Saw the music video of "Land Before Time" and remember it is my friend's favourite movie. On an impulse decided to listen to the song again... and think about some things... and wonder how is my friend??

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Budget Shopping

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Hmm shopping is addictive or so claimed by my classmate. How about budget shopping?

It all started last Sunday when I had planned to rummage Metro’s closing down sales only to be informed it had closed down 2 days ago. Gosh, have I not been shopping for very long? Why couldn’t it have waited another 2 days? Sighz..

Anyway I ended up eyeing a t-shirt in Giordano that was going for 50% discount. Unfortunately it did not have my size and the outlet in TM was in a messy state that I gave up fishing for my size. But I went home with a pair of shoes from Bata’s clearance sale which I had glimpsed through that few days ago (but did not shop because I was rushing to meet someone).

A few days later, I visited a few Giordano’s outlets before finding my size in Bugis. Interestingly, I realised Bugis no longer has a shop selling CDs and I ended up back to my hometown to buy Corrinne May’s Beautiful Seed. I guess it is the only item I bought this week that does not have any discount haha.

Then on Friday, I found out that Esprit has an outlet in Yishun. And I ended up with a blouse from there. I thought it would be the last item bought this week and had planned to write this post to conclude… but I delayed it for my project report.

And my budget shopping continued on Saturday haha. At first I saw ebase having sale but I did not really look (even though there were a few pieces that were pretty tempting) as my friend had already arrived. Then after the event ended, I was lazy and just went straight home. But I was once again tempted by Giordano Blu and O.A.M.C sale and went home with a blue skirt haha.

Luckily school is starting, so my shopping should stop. Most importantly, luckily it is only budget shopping and I have yet to spend half the amount my classmate had spent.. Phew!

Oh ya while thinking about budget shopping, I came across an article on Hongkong’s Lantou. It is a place I wanted to visit because they always mentioned it in their TV shows haha. Then the article mentioned their outlet shopping area - Citygate. Oh no, I’m so tempted to go there now! Maybe when it is time to do a wardrobe revamp, I shall get my stuff there. Tempting!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Bourne Ultimatum

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"Look at what they make you give"

The helplessness of an assassin can be felt throughout the entire series. From the day I watched Bourne Identity, Supremacy then Ultimatum.. I can only say one word to describe it: Groggy!

Luckily I watched the first 2 on the small screen and was not as groggy as when I watched the Ultimatum. Almost half of the Ultimatum scenes were about Jason Bourne running, avoiding and fighting away his attackers.

As for the other half of the scenes where the camera is no longer shaking, that is when I appreciate the movie. I like seeing how clever Landy is. It is as if she is the only one with brains among all the CIA officers (other than Jason but he is not considered already). When one see how she clever proved that Jason is not the source and how she found the source, one would be impressed. Imagine checking the number of people whose handphone is off during a certain time interval; confidently believe that such scenarios are rare. I guess next time one wants to betray an organization, he better keep his handphone switched on too. Towards the later part, she and Bourne once again showed their cleverness when they faked a meeting to lure Vosen. It was humorous to hear Bourne and Vosen’s conversation about face to face meeting.

I was wondering about the privacy issue of the people. Practically everybody is traceable, and there are cameras everywhere to monitor you. This is the phenomenon since Identity and it is does send a shiver down my spine knowing how easily the government can track me. The way they traced phone calls and actually picked out the word “Blackbriar” makes me wonder does government actually screen our calls all these time. Of course, it makes me think about what I’m studying too haha.

At the end, Bourne asks the assassin if he knows why he is killing Bourne. Assassin is known to kill without reason. That is why they are so useful. And when they failed, they are known to be killed too. Don’t they feel they are living in a bewildered life forever? No wonder Bourne wants it out…

The Imaginary Cage

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Source : Eugene Loh, A Slice of Life, 938LIVE, a station of MediaCorp Radio

There was once a grown bear that lived in a cage and travelled with a circus ever since he was a small cub. The bear spent everyday of his life pacing back and forth in his cage while countless spectators looked on. When the bear-keepers were not looking, some of the spectators would poke the bear with sharp sticks. Sometimes they would throw pieces of food filled with broken glass into the cage. When the great bear ate what he thought was a wonderful treat, the broken glass would cut the inside of his throat and stomach.

One day a wealthy animal-lover visited the circus and saw the harmful acts committed against the bear. Because he felt great compassion for animals he approached the circus about purchasing the bear. He explained that he would take the bear and place him in a large open area. In this area the bear would have cool pools of water to play in and verdant fields to run. The circus agreed to sell the bear to the man and set up a delivery date.

When the day arrived for the bear to be delivered, everyone was anxious to see what would happen when the door of the cage was opened for the first time. To everyone's amazement, when the cage was opened, the bear did what he spent every day of his life doing. He simply paced back and forth the length of the cage.The bear didn't even seem to care that the cage door was open. Finally, the bear-keepers got the bear outside the cage and rolled it away.

The bear looked around at his beautiful new home. He looked at the cool pools of water and the lush green pastures. Then to everyone's surprise and disappointment, the bear began his pacing. Back and forth he would go, as in an imaginary cage. Eventually he had to be put to sleep because he simply could not function in his beautiful new surroundings.

This is the powerful way we become slaves to our past, to our habits. This is how many of us, not just circus animals, learn to accept that there is nothing better for us. Even when it's staring us in the face.

To a large degree, our history and past experience determine the person we are today. Yes, we are the result of upbringing, of education, of constraining social norms. But that's no excuse for accepting a routine, meaningless lifestyle. That's no excuse for not being the person you want to be.

Many of us have responsibilities towards others - our families and loved ones. Some of us put off with less than desirable conditions because of those obligations. But how many of those obligations are really excuses for not making things better?

In a world of possibilities, are you pacing the length of your imaginary cage?

Bflygal's comments :
I... hate... this... cage...

Talent

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Source : Youtube
An entertaining video of a man with a singing monkey..



p/s : This post is just testing the new feature (Add Video) in blogger draft...
Sighz I can't get the file to display... posted it in my multiply instead.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Cosmopolitan City

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Is it a blessing or a curse to live in a cosmopolitan city? I thought long and hard on Sunday about it. And I’m listening to Corrinne May’s “On the side of me” while typing this entry. So I have to admit this post might sounds depressing (not that her song is depressing.. just that it’s ME!… )

I finally got the answer from my friend. To him, I took this case too hard. He said that when there’s interaction, there are no clear lines. I know he doesn’t side the guy. Actually I had long felt that guy was not at fault. It is a dog-eat-dog world out there. I am just not street-smart. It just hurts because once again, I’m shortchanged; once again I’m treated unfairly. But is it really unfair?

When I had my facial last Sunday, I finally realized how these company works. They make you sign up for some diamond peel treatment together with facial. And you never knew that actually, a diamond peel treatment alone already has facial. You ended up paying for a “replacement” facial. If I had not been so sick of it that I refused to sign up another package with them, I would never know this tactic.

For so many years, I have been through quite a few financial disputes. I only thank my lucky stars that the impact has always been lessened. But so have my trust of the glitzy world out there. That is the only reason I know I will never do business. Because I cannot bring myself to shortchange customers, to make them pay for unnecessary stuff which looks good but tastes bad.

But it is not as if I do not know the good points of it. A cosmopolitan city is a fast paced city. I took less than an hour to get a replacement for my hard disk thanks to my friend’s assistance. The normal operation would have caused me a few days of correspondences like how it had happened when I sent it for evaluation for data recovery. Anyway I remember the day I got a new hard disk, I was pretty elated haha. Guess I miss my hard disk…

This city seems so cold, so unloved, so uncaring. I don’t know if I can survive it… You get what you expect, but if I expect nothing anymore?

Corrinne May - On The Side of Me

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Source : Hellooo goose

On The Side of Me
- Corrinne May

I'm not the easiest person to love
I'm often the one who lets things go unresolved

Yet you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
Yet you choose to be on the side of me
on the side of me

I'm not too proud of some things
I've done in my life
The skeletons in my closet
Are too big for me to hide

Yet you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
Blessed Charity
You're on the side of me
on the side of me

Everyone needs a friend to hold
when it's cold outside
and there's no place to go
Everyone needs a friend to hold
all alone I cried
there was no place to go
I remember when nobody cared
but you

I'm not the easiest person to love
But you, you've opened your heart to show me what I'm worth

'Cause you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
What a mystery
You're on the side of me
on the side of me

Everyone needs a friend to hold
when it's cold outside
and there's no place to go
Everyone needs a friend to hold
all alone I cried
there was no place to go

I remember when nobody cared
Nobody cared
But you...

Yeah you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me

Bflygal's comment:
Corrinne May's comments on this song:
This is a song about the power of love. No matter how unloveable I think I am, there is someone who loves me a lot. Loves me despite all my faults, my failures, despite my bad habits. I think it’s wonderful to be loved for who I am, no matter what.


I know I skipped commenting about this song.. because … of some reasons. Yet only one day has passed, and I came back to this song again. I came back to find the lyrics. I came back wishing for something that only GA can hears….

How many more chocolates can you exchange for?

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Yesterday I heard an interesting mathematical question on radio posed by Mdm Teoh Poh Yew, an experienced international trainer.

Her profile as quoted from Class 938 Live website:
Profile: Teoh Poh Yew is a very experienced international trainer in the fields of creativity, Maths education and training of trainers. She is a dynamic and creative Maths educator who firmly believes that everyone can learn and enjoy this “dreaded” subject. She taught Secondary level Mathematics for 11 years and is now an independent teacher trainer. Her major interest is to transform Mathematics into a tool to develop creativity, enhance mathematical thinking and sharpen problem solving abilities.
Back to the problem:
A child has 29 chocolates. For every 5 chocolate wrappers, the child can exchange for another chocolate. How many more chocolates can the child exchange for?

Most students who are used to the rote-based teaching will immediately reply: “Five chocolates.”

Why?

Because 29 divide by 5 will give you the result 5 with a remainder 4.

But if you put this in the real life context, I believed you can get more than 5 more chocolates. In fact you can get a maximum of 7 more chocolates.

Can you figure out? Exchanging the 5 chocolate wrappers (that you had just exchanged) will give you 1 more chocolate. This wrapper can be used together with the 4 remaining wrappers to give you another 1 more chocolate.

Anyway Mdm Teoh make me realise that mathematics can be creative and realistic. And that I think I study too much of Singapore’s rote-based learning. Because I did not think very far when replying. In fact the dumb me was thinking I should go buy 1 more chocolate to exchange for 1 more chocolate.. no wonder I keep getting short-changed.

Nokia BL-5C battery

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Source : Nokia

Nokia has identified that in very rare cases the affected batteries could potentially experience over heating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge. Nokia is working closely with relevant local authorities to investigate this situation.


And because the picture in the article resembles my battery, I had no choice but to open my phone to retrieve a battery that I had not seen for the past one year already. Haha.


Anyway after keying in the 26-character product identification number, my battery was declared free from this situation... Phew!

Cycling

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I had my third cycling lesson on Sunday. Still remember the first time I learnt cycling was 8 years ago when my mum bought the bicycle for my brother. After that lesson, he managed to balance but the same cannot be said for me haha. I then had my second lesson during my JC days I guess. My kind friend had patiently taught me how to balance. And I managed to cycle straight.

After so many years, my mum had once again volunteered to teach me cycling, thinking that I can balance. Unfortunately she was mistaken and I had given her a hard time teaching me. After one morning, I realized how tough cycling is. I ended up with a pair of tired legs, tired hands and aching back which lasted till today … and numerous collisions into grass patches (Please forgive me) as well as 2 embarrassing moments of colliding into a rubbish bin and brushing past an adult. You get what you expect; this adage really lies true for me. My dad said I kept worrying about going into the grass patch (on the left) thus every time I start the bike, I veer to the far right. Sigh I have to be more confident!

However I’m glad that I can start the bike myself finally. Through the process, I suddenly felt learning how to drive is so much easier than cycling. I had a hard time trying to cycle straight as I realised I can only balance well if I speed but I cannot control well if I speed. It was tough figuring if I want to speed or not. I finally understand why some cyclists will cycle zig-zag after really putting myself in their shoes. I guess from now onwards, I must be more forgiving to them. But I think I still cannot stand cyclists trying to overtake each other and affecting the vehicle drivers. To me that is still a reckless behaviour.

Anyway I am glad I chose to concentrate learning driving that time instead else I guess until today, I will never master either driving or cycling haha. But I have to agree when I did manage to cycle; the breeze that follows me is very refreshing. I do hope one day I will be able to cycle around and enjoy the scenery. After all, I learnt cycling for a single motive only.

I wonder when my fourth cycling lesson will be scheduled hmm...

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Minesweeper

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Site : Kotaku

A short clip on minesweeper introduced by my friend a few days ago. At first it did not load well and I couldn't figure out why he sent..

Ended up he explained to me why it was humorous (and I realised I didn't see all these scenes because the movie did not load finish haha.)

Anyway I had found the part where they crowded around the Flag 8 funny too. Because they know all are mines..

And when the guy asked the miner why are you here.. and get an answer "I'm bored".. haha I guess it reflects the mood a person plays minesweeper at times.

I asked my friend if this is a real movie... then thought I had asked a dumb question because it will get boring if the whole movie is just on minesweeper... or will it?

Hong Kong

1 comments
I finally went back to retrieve this site link, and post it for one reason…

DOC! When are you going back Hong Kong? Can bring me along????

Haha, actually it has been more than 10 years since I visited Hong Kong. I was 10 then and the only memories I have of it is a closed Ocean’s Park and the McDonalds. And a bear bear and a Chirstmas hat that my mum’s friend had bought for my brother and me.

Anyway DOC, this post is just to wake you up from your hectic schedule of studying.. and tell you study hard but rest well too!

Corrinne May - Beautiful Seed

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Source:
Corrinne May

I heard her new album while in Cream Bistro last Friday. And I silently told myself I must check Beautiful Seed out.

Unlike her Christmas album, I like the feel this CD gave me. Like it to the extent I think I will buy this album too.. but in that case, I might end up buying her Christmas just to make it complete? Haha I remember 2 years ago, when I bought her "Safe in a Crazy World", I bought her "Fly away" too partly for completeness and partly because I do love "Fly Away".
"Fly Away" is such a beautiful song on Mother's love that I fell in love with the singer from that moment...
That was the reason I gave for liking her. Weirdly till now I cannot remember who introduced her to me.. not a slightest memory.

Anyway I read through her views on her blog and felt curious towards the following songs:

2) Shelter
Her short description of this song did not appeal me at all. But when I heard the short intro of it, I like it immediately. It has her usual style, the style which I like.. especially when she sings "Call my name..." The vibe is there.

5) Beautiful Seed
I think people often forget how the smallest, most seemingly insignificant things can have such beautiful possibilities.
It reminds me of another quote I read in Jimmy's books. (Lately I'm deeply entranced in his books and his world of colourful characters...) In that story, it has been said that your dreams may seem small and insignificant but any dreams when fulfilled sincerely, makes an impact. I agree!

Oh and you should read why Corrinne May name her album and this song "Beautiful Seed". I agree totally too that we are all like a seed that will germinate into different things. Coincidentally my colleague was telling me about seed germination yesterday... about this pungent spring water will make the sprouts seed germinate faster than normal rate. Haha!

6) Leaving
Bad habits are hard to break. But sometimes, the best thing to do is to find a new way of doing things, to leave the things that are not good for us. This song is about making the decision to start anew, to do things right, to leave the bad situations behind.
If you know me, you will know I have an affinity to this word. Because I'm still searching for a way to break free myself.

7) Scars (Stronger For Life)
I remember the story of the "Perfect heart" fondly. This lady thought she is proud to have a perfect heart which was never broken before. Till she met this old lady with bits and pieces of different types of hearts merged to form a beating heart.

I admit over the years I too have my fair share of scars and broken pieces of heart. Times I feel so weary, so jaded. But maybe happiness will come after pain. It sounds like a wistful thinking though? Scars hurt even when healed, but scars strengthened me.. or does it? I wonder sometimes, am I a paradox. I have not written my Cosmopolitan post yet but I think is because I’m still waiting for an answer from a friend… I guess everything happens for a reason, including my lateness in posting the 2 entries (sounds like a pretty good reason heehee).

10) Slow Down
The starting is beautiful… And the topic reminds me of my attempted conversation with my mum this morning regarding work. I was telling my mum that we keep feeling that we do not earn enough and that we keep working. But how much do we want to earn. Unfortunately she did not get what I want to convey and emphasis on the debts we have. Debts.. I hate that word. It makes people keep working blindly. It makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. It is just a tool to make use of people who are ignorant of the repercussions. I guess I wish to live in an ideal world, a world with no debts, where work is pleasure, where people do not worry about making ends meet. Where is that world now?

And the fast pace society, this dog-eat-dog society makes us miss all the precious moments to sing a lullaby … or give gifts or watch the children grow. We just keep working…

11) Green-Eyed Monster
The term ‘Green-Eyed Monster’ is used to describe someone who is jealous about somebody else’s success.
Life is never fair? Are you happy? When you compare too much, will you be happy? I admit I may be quite competitive but I always believed it is to push me to greater heights. And at the end of the day, the real competitor is actually me. I might comment life is never fair. I might whine about why I don’t have someone to protect me from added work. But deep down I know it is a test assigned by GA. These are things I need to go through.

12) On My Way
I feel like giving up, and letting go… But I’m on my way… Don’t give up on me, I’m on my way.

‘On My Way’ is a song of hope and encouragement, that no matter how far the journey is, every little step that we take, brings us closer to our final destination, and as long as we keep on walking that journey, we will get where we need to be eventually.
Yeah I’m on my way too! I don’t know the path. I don’t know where I’m heading. But I know I will reach where I want to reach one day. They say if the more you walk and the happier you are, you must be on the right path. So I must feel happy!

14) Shelter (Cherry Blossom Edition)
I like this version too. Haha maybe it is because I like Chinese oldies too.

I will review it again when I have the CD (and the time). For now I shall just immersed myself in her website's melodies.