Daily Discoveries

Whitney Houston - One Moment In Time (Grammy Awards Live)

2007-12-16T02:50:00.001+08:00

When I'm more than I thought I could be...
When all my dreams are a heartbeat away...
And the answers are all up to me...
When I'm racing with DESTINY~
I will be free....

Hero

2007-12-16T01:10:00.001+08:00

A song by Mariah Carey that has accompanied me through these few years, giving me strength to carry on...

Blog Migration

2007-09-14T01:35:00.000+08:00

If you have been dropping by once in a while in anticipation of new posts, my big apologies to you. A big thank you to you too for your continuing interest and support.

I've migrated this site over to a new address. I've upgraded from blogspot to wordpress and am loving the new blogging platform. So, would prefer to focus on one.

So, head down to my new blog address now :

www.MyHomeMalaysia.com/hungyin

and discover the new posts I've posted there.

And find out more about the main site too,

www.MyHomeMalaysia.com

Maybe you would find a few gems there. Happy surfing and discovering! :D

The Secret: 1st 20 minutes

2007-08-05T13:43:00.001+08:00

Many famous successful people shares their philosophies in life. Worth watching.

The Secret Works!

2007-06-28T01:16:00.000+08:00

I had some interesting observations today. I've been monitoring the events that happened in the recent happenings in my life. And I am blown away by how the secret works!

It was a series of happenings - an event that leads to another. And they all seemed inter-related.

I've been wanting to do reporting, it was on my mind all the time. And then comes along this conference which I'm also interested in. So I requested to go, and my request was granted. And on the day itself, I when I took a cab, the taxi driver was rather negative by saying that there will be traffic jams, and he will t . r . y. - the word I avoid the most.

In my head and heart, I told myself that I will reach at 8.45am and indeed, despite the earlier pessimism, I reached there at 8.45am, almost right on the dot. The taxi driver was rather surprised; he said that the traffic was rather smooth.

Then as the day progressed, I had another vision - to write a report with my byline. And sure enough, it became a reality. My colleague who was supposed to be there also couldn't make it there as she needs to cover another event. So ended up only me and another guy from money was there. And he didn't file any story, so the story was all mine.

Then, the series of events that happened after that saw me taking action and the small action led to the final outcome - a report with my byline.

I was so ama-ed. And I began reflecting on the previous thoughts I've had which had led to the current happenings in my life. And boy, wasn't I shocked!

To list some, my current room, the best I've ever stayed before, was found with this thought in my mind that I want to get a place cheaper, nearer to work place, bigger and with good housemates. And it materialised.

Another instance was as I was chatting with a friend whom I've not kept in touch for some time, led me to declare what I wanted to do after the 'duration'. And sure enough, the next day, I received an unexpected call from someone who wanted to find me for the plan I told my friend earlier.

I almost freaked out. But it was really a pleasant surprised. The experiment has been successful so far! I'm going to experiment with the secret further by slowly progressing to envisioning even more challenging outcomes that I want to achieve.

I know, I will achieve it, because in my mind, it is already happening.

Get A Piece of The Internet Action

2007-05-14T00:46:00.000+08:00

I was surfing the web as usual, reading other people's blogs and learning about new things, when I stumbled upon this.

I read the write-up on Wei Ping's blog and was attracted to the novel idea, which I like a lot. I find it rather interesting too and so went to the website to find out more.

From what I've read, it sounds like a great and interesting concept, not to say powerful. The idea shows the power of networks, and also the power of compounding. Instead of using it for savings or investment, in this case, it is applied to people.

Here I reproduce the write-up by Wei Ping here (with his permission of course), which I find is quite comprehensive.

What is Agloco?

Agloco simply means A GLObal COmmunity which is a system that connects online advertiser with the potential customer which is of course, us, as a internet user. It is the only way you can earn money online by doing what you are already doing - simply surfing the web.

Agloco is completely owned by its users where the shares will be sold in London later and is led by a group of professional people including experienced entrepreneurs and managers.

How do I earn money from it?

Join as a a member and the good thing is, it’s FREE. Download the Viewbar (due to be ready in a few weeks time) and just surf as you normally do. You will be paid in various channels:-

1. Members will be paid on a per hour basis based on your monthly usage of the Viewbar up to a maximum of 5 hours per month. Advertisement will be displayed on the Viewbar and the advertiser will pay Agloco and Agloco will reward its member for using the Viewbar.

2. Members who used the referral system to build the community will be rewarded.

3. Members will get a share of commission on what Agloco received from the advertiser when its member purchase a product or services from the advertiser.

However, do note that member will not be paid for recruiting new members into the community or clicking the advertisement on the viewbar.

Is Agloco a scam? Can I trust this company?

It can’t be a scam as it is completely FREE to join Agloco. Agloco is founded by a few successful people, including 8 Stanford graduates, who also founded AllAdvantage, which created some controversy by paying $100m cash money to its user before it crashed to the Dot Com burst in year 2001. The good thing is none of the member complained about being not paid when it went out of business.

How does Agloco makes money for its member?

Agloco generates money for its member through a few channel. Major one are:-

1. Searching - When you use the Viewbar to do a search like how you normally do using Google or Yahoo, Agloco will get paid from the search engine providers.

2. Commission and advertisement - The Viewbar will display targeted advertisement based upon the websites you are visiting and Agloco will get paid a certain amount of commission if members buy something online as a result of viewing the advertisement, which the commission will be passed on to its members.

Step by step guide in joining Agloco

1. Click on the Agloco image above to join and it will prompt you to the following page:

2. Fill in your particular and click the “Click Here To Join” button.

3. Check your email account and click on the link to complete the registration.

4. And that’s it, you should see your referral code and welcome to the family.

Think Different

2007-05-07T12:45:00.000+08:00

The crazy ones. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in square holes. Ones who see things differently. They have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, you can glorify them or you can vilify them. What you cannot do, is to ignore them. Because...

Here's to the crazy ones out there, think different!

A True Hero Indeed

2007-05-07T11:35:00.000+08:00

A truly inspiring and moving real-life story. More than just a true hero, Dick Hoyt showed us the power of love.

Rick Hoyt said: "I am disabled, but I lead a fulfilling life."

"I have shown to disabled people that they don't have to sit back and watch the world go by. They too can go to school, get a job and be included in everyday life."

If the Team Hoyt can do it, so can you!

Intuition Proved Accurate...

2007-04-17T01:50:00.000+08:00

Finally, the mystery is solved. I've found the answer I've been looking for, for the past 2 years. What my sixth sense has been telling me all along has been right. Can't deny the power of our intuition...

Now that I've known the answer, it is a reality that I have to face. Can't deny that I've been living in denial for too long. When the truth presents itself right smack in your face, you have choices: accept it or deny it or heck care and remain status quo.

I've chosen to accept the reality... I have to. I just have to do something about it. something inside me just went 'click', just as if you could see a light bulb lighted up in your head. Probably some neuron connections broke and reconnected at another site... all in a fraction of a second...

After I've chosen to accept it, surprisingly, I felt no resentment, no discouragement, no envy. In fact, I felt relieved, even though the truth is rather hard to swallow. At least now, I know where exactly to focus on. Previously, without such feedback, it has been like a lost boat heading nowhere, drifting along with the stream...

Two choices: one to choose your destiny of heading upstream and do something about it. Another is to let the stream decide your fate of ending up downstream... and probably get washed into the vast ocean of even more uncertainties... by then, you would become just like the masses....

Which one would you choose?

Someone said this today: "You have to fight for what you want. No one will fight for you. Others would be happy if you didn't make any noise, because if you make noises, they will have headache."

How true. This is my life, who cares how you live your life, other than yourself. Nobody would take responsibility on how you live your life, other than yourself. It's my life, no one decides how I live it. I have the power to decide how I want my life to be.

Enough of just living for others. Have to start thinking about myself... There's so many dreams that I've yet to achieve. I wouldn't want to look back when I'm 60 and realise that I've wasted my precious youth doing nothing... I know, I will definitely regret it terribly...

Another quotable quote today: "There are vast opportunities. Opportunities are abound."

Yah, so true. Opportunities are everywhere, just waiting for us to hold out our hands and grab them. The first effort would have to come from us - in opening up our palms and arms to embrace them...

A Month of Milestones

2007-04-06T17:23:00.000+08:00

How many milestones can you get in a year? And how does it feels like having almost all of them happening on the same month or the same week to be exact? Is there a shift in the moon and the stars which caused this enormous change?

Well, firstly, it was on Mar 31, 2007. A special day, and the number is 5. Go figure. ;)

Secondly, a few days ago, I had my first wisdom tooth extraction. And my cheek swelled to almost twice its size.

Thirdly, which also involves the number 5 - Apr 5, 2007 - when I put down over 100 signatures on four sets of paper to own a house....

I could go on with more milestones to come in this month alone, but since they are not executed yet, I shall just leave it like this.

Another major milestone is also in the pipeline, and would have to be executed in next few weeks. Meanwhile, another planned minor change didn't seem to take off....

Has all these got to do with a sudden change in the universe which affects the feng shui of a person? Or have I grown too speculative and too superstitious? :P hahaha

Whatever it is, the third milestone is the biggest so far this year. Is hitting quarter life the ticket to many major changes and milestones in life?

Wet duck in the storm

2007-03-29T00:49:00.000+08:00

The rain just poured and poured. And it came without much warning. Luckily I had my umbrella with me. But still, water still splashed in when I was walking. I could have just taken the easy way out - flag a cab and get to the office in no time and still dry.

But I chose to weather the storm, the rain. I was half-drenched when I finally got to the MRT station. Been attempting to prevent my shoes from getting wet, but alas, I stepped into a puddle in my haste to get to a sheltered area, and my whole shoe was wet.

From the knee down, my pants were wet too. And behind my shirt, was thoroughly wet. I didn't realise that water had been dripping onto my shirt from my half-broken fragile umbrella. The warm weather made the rain water warm and thus I could not feel the coldness of water on my shirt despite it being almost thoroughly drenched.

I must have looked like a wet duck - not entirely drenched, but wet enough to have my shirt clung to me like a piece of sticky pad.

And which got me thinking.

In life, when we face storms and pouring rain, do we weather the storm, or do we take the easy way out?

And, how would we know which is the correct decision?

Sometimes, life is like reading a game book. At the end of the page, you have two choices - choose A and you turn to page 20. Choose B and you turn to page 52. And the story goes on. With each decision, it brings us to a different path in life and you will keep wondering where will you end up at, if you have chosen the other option...

Life's so ambivalent, isn't it?

If only we know the answers in life...

2007-03-28T00:24:00.000+08:00

When we were in school, we have ten-year series with model answers to follow. But what about after we graduate to the working world and time to live our own lives?

Sad to say, there's no right or wrong answers. And nobody can make the decision for you too. Everything depends. Depends on your beliefs, your perceptions, your values, your goals, your priorities in life and others.

I just know that, I do not want to regret my decisions, and I do hope I won't. If in any case I do, I believe everything happens for a reason. I can only be responsible for the decisions I make today, which could affect where my life leads to in the future. Whether I do regret or I don't, I still need to keep on living and take actions to improve it.

Have you ever wondered how would it be if only we know the answers in life? Probably there would be less frustrations, uncertainties, apprehension, trepidation, insecurity, problems and others.

To think again, probably, would it also means, a less meaningful and boring life too?

Be Stern To Be Good

2007-03-24T01:46:00.000+08:00

Until now, I still could not forget that look that a little boy had on his face. This boy, which is about 8 years old, wanted something very much which comes up to about $20. But then, the little boy only had $1. He was very persistent that he only want that thing, and not others, even though the others were cheaper and his $1 would be able to have bought them.

However, despite asking the boy to consider other things, he was still persistent. And refused to budge. At first I ignored him. But then, as time goes on, he was still standing at the same spot and I noticed that his eyes and nose were getting redder. And after some time, the tears started to tumble down. I didn't know what to do; my heart pains to see him like that. I almost wanted to take my own money out to buy it for him. But something was holding me back.

I told a mother of three about it. Initially, she also felt that it's no big deal, probably just some kids trying to use tears as their weapon to get what they want.

But after a while - I think she has been observing the little boy too - she went up to the boy and told the boy sternly that if he wanted the thing badly enough, to go back to save up and come back and buy. She asked the boy to speak up, say what he wanted. But the boy just looked insistently at the thing and pointed, without saying a single word. But she was stern with him and insisted that he speak up. However, he still didn't. By now, the boy was already crying. Then she talked to him in a softer way and sent him back.

There's one thing I learnt from her. It was how to be stern with children, even when your heart almost break by being so. I could almost feel the pain that the little boy was feeling - you wanted something so badly and yet you can't get it. I almost succumbed to my soft heart and give it to him as a gift. But luckily I didn't.

As I reflected back on the incident, I was glad that I didn't submit to his pleading eyes, for his own good. If he were to be able to get it easily by crying, what would happen next time? Will he be using the same way to get what he wants and in the end end up a useless and spoilt person? At least now, I'm comforted to know that he will have an even stronger desire to save up, and along the way, learn the importance of prudence. I believe, this little boy will grow up as a successful person, because I can see from the determination and focus he had, and with this hunger in him, he will definitely strive to be successful one day.

Heartfelt Sentiments

2007-03-21T11:28:00.000+08:00

I woke up groggy and bolted out of the house for an appointment in a jiffy. But all that came to naught. The other person canceled the appointment and didn't inform me. My immediate response in my head was "Great! Let's go back to sleep.." hahaha :P

The other person was so surprised at my reaction. I guess she might have thought I would get all worked up and angry at her for flying me aeroplane (fong fei kei). I was somehow glad too, despite the effort to drag myself out of bed in the morning.

So I decided to write something instead, on a post I read on Malaysia's opposition party DAP president, Lim Kit Siang's blog. It is an email written by a Malaysian who is abroad and was voicing his heartfelt sentiments to Mr Lim, which was then posted on Mr Lim's blog.

Interesting read, just don't get too worked up.

ps: link has been removed :)

Buying Spree

2007-03-13T02:13:00.000+08:00

On the front page of The Straits Times Singapore today (March 12), there's a picture of people lining up dragging boxes, queuing up for payment I guess, with the headline screaming "Crowds snapped up S$48 million of tech toys".

I chuckled. I thought to myself, I'm also going for a shopping spree but in Malaysia.

The headline should be yelling: "Malaysians snapped up RM 1.8 billion of government trust fund units in less than 6 hours".

I have a plan for the 'shopping'.

I set the alarm at 6am, but didn't hear the alarm go off. By the time I woke up with a shock, it was already 7.50am. My first reaction : I'm late!

I closed my eyes for a while to shake off the heavy head feeling and dragged myself out of bed to get ready. I thought to myself: this better be worth it. Ah, there's a limit of RM 50,000 for each person, so there's still hope for me. I jumped into the shower and was out of the house by 8.15am.

Along the journey, I could not shake off the nagging truth of how RM 1 billion of additional units of Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 (ASW2020) priced at RM 1 each were snapped up within 27 minutes during the previous round of units sale in Sept 2006.

By 9.15am, I've crossed the Causeway and walked to the Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB) office in Johor Bahru, taking queue number from the guard. My number: 040. Uhuh.. how long is this going to take? I thought.

By then, the ASNB office was already full to the brim. (actually the office is quite small). The transaction will only start at 9.30am. But the officers had already started calling numbers for people who want to open new accounts by preparing the documents such as thumb prints and filling of forms, to facilitate processing later on.

As the time ticked nearer to 9.30am, the people inside the suffocating room got more restless. When the first two numbers were called, the buzz grew even louder and you could just feel the excitement in the air. Alas, after a few minutes past 9.30am, the computer system hanged.

You could almost feel as if the excitement had been snuffed out suddenly. The people waited and waited. After some time, people started walking away, to grab something to eat or to try their luck at other branches.

For me, I shuttled between the ASNB office and the Maybank next door. I walked pass the information counter so many times that even the maybank officer could recognise me and smiled everytime I passed by. At once, he even asked me how's the situation. I said, "Still checking both sides, not moving yet."

After that bout of exercise climbing stairs and pushing heavy set of glass doors, the buzz is back at 11.30am. The numbers finally started moving. I got even more excited, because the pile of passbooks at the Maybank branch is also getting lower as the minutes ticked by, while my queue number is creeping nearer at the ASNB office.

By forming a 'partnership' with another girl who was also shuttling between two branches (hers was even better exercise - she shuttled between two Maybank branches which are a few blocks away from each other; at least mine was just next door) we both managed to get Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM) units after the Maybank officer suggested we apply for ASM instead of ASW2020 as it was easier for ASM transactions to go through.

Only children below 17 years old can open new accounts for ASW2020 while existing account holders could top up the units. It gives out slightly better returns compared to ASM.

At about 12.40pm, the system for ASW 2020 was finally back. And I managed to get mine too! Yippee! What a relief!

That was the best ever shopping spree I've been on. It had all the ingredients of a great super sale - the adrenaline rush, the exhilaration, the strategy planning, the waiting, the jostling and the relief of finally owning it.

And the best thing is, the money spent still belongs to you, cool isn't it?

Where to find such a 'financially healthy' sport?

No doubt, this will be the main item in my 'shopping list' and my 'shopping calendar'. Exercise for the mind, the heart and the pocket.

I'll be waiting to reap the fruits of my labour, effort and sacrifices for many years to come.

Open Up Your Mind

2007-01-29T01:42:00.000+08:00

"Incredible things happen when you are open to new possibilities"

A photographer for National Geographic said this in a video titled "Celebrate what's right with the World". Uhh.. need to find out his name..

I was fascinated when I saw the video. From a boring looking piece of landscape, he could think of impossible possibilities, turning that mundane-looking piece of soil into the most awesome picture of colours, hues and vibrancy. Impressive.

A picture speaks a thousand words. Let me see if I can get my hands on his photographs.

Life has been pretty good recently. I realised how incredible it is, with a slight shift of your attitude and mindset towards the positive and empowering side, things start happening. Great things are finally happening and there has been some new changes in my life. Finally I feel more alive!

There's additional responsibilities at work and there has been new work additions to my schedule too. Actually quite happy with it. Hmm.. am I a workaholic? Hahaha.. :P Well, at least I know I'm putting my time to productive use.

Going to be pretty busy for the next few weeks, and maybe going to be having less sleep too. Better zoom out to bed now while I still can enjoy late mornings.

Talking is Therapeutic!

2007-01-23T01:36:00.000+08:00

In the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, the author John Gray said that women loves to talk when they face problems while men, prefer to hide in their caves.

And yeah, how true. Chatting with my mum for hours has indeed been therapeutic. Worries just dissipated into thin air and things doesn't seem so bad anymore. How wonderful. It is really amazing, what talking does to women. Even though there are no concrete solutions, (actually we didn't even talked about what made me unhappy) but then, everything just seems alright again. Life is beautiful again.

So... to the guys out there. Be a good listener and a good person to talk to, to your girl friends, mum, sisters.. etc. You might feel it is boring listening to someone, but it does wonders to the other party. By just being there... and respond properly to the other person.. it is actually something liberating to the other person. Even though guys prefer to offer solutions, they could do it in the concerned way.

I felt so much better now.. after I've thrashed what I've been keeping inside and which I've attempted to forget earlier by going shopping but didn't work.

I was having quite a bad day, after someone spoilt it... uhmm okay, should stop blaming others right... haiz... but when you have to swallow something bitter and you have to control yourself from fighting or arguing back.. it is indeed not something nice.. and sometimes the situation doesn't permit, or.. it just doesn't benefit anyone even if I argued back.. so I just swallowed it.. .despite I felt so wrongfully accused... Indeed, what have I done wrong? It is the other party being prejudiced, calculative and petty...

Well anyway, let's not talk about that anymore, it shall be thrashed and forgotten. I shall have a trash bin soon, to thrash and throw away energy-zapping negative emotions which is so unproductive. Waste my memory space and make my heart cells suffer.

I can choose how I want to respond to it. And I choose to be happy, rather than get all upset and pissed off. Probably that's the person's intention, who knows. Rather than let the person achieve his/her aim and make him/her happy, might as well I love myself more, and make myself happy.

Yeah, I just bought a new pair of shoes. Like it very much! And I even travelled to another branch to get one, cos the branch that I went to, didn't have my size. Hopefully this doesn't give me blisters. If it doesn't, I would wear it everyday to work! Finally I have shoes to go along with my skirts. Yippie! :D

Revolutionary iPhone!

2007-01-11T02:27:00.000+08:00

You have to check this out! iPhone from Apple!

An ipod, a phone and an internet communicator. All in one! Watch the introduction, and you will be struck how user-friendly it is. Nokia... here comes your biggest competitor!

Fell in love with it straight away. Set, gonna be my next phone. It will only come to Asia in 2008, middle of 2007 for the United States.

I have a feeling this iPhone is going to revolutionise the whole IT world.. from the phone, to the internet world and hopefully governments too - in making the whole country wireless-enabled.

Singapore government has started to implement its wireless blueprint, so I guess Singapore would be the biggest market for Apple in the Asean region.

I guess, not too long in the future, my desire of being able to be online during long bus rides will be a reality.

So brace yourself for an internet revolution. Wonder what would the future generation grow up with? iTV? iCar? iFridge? iBed?! *faint*

There's possibility... iBed with songs to lullaby you to sleep, built with body massager customized to individuals... the list goes on...

What the mind can conceive, it can be a reality!

Oh no.. I'm slowly being converted into an Apple's fan.. just like Adam Khoo who would not use anything other than Apple computers.

Target: After iPod, MacBook is next. Then comes along iPhone. What's next? :P

Free Flight Tickets to Regional Destinations!

2007-01-10T01:44:00.000+08:00

Great news for budget travellers!

AirAsia is giving away 1 million free tickets for regional destinations for travel from April 1, 2007 to Oct 27, 2007. Online booking starts today Jan 10, 2007 to Jan 19, 2007. Regional destinations includes Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Macau.

For people hoping to be able to book tickets for the recently announced super low fares of RM 9.99 for long-haul flights by AirAsia X, they might be in for a disappointment.

Last check with AirAsia website showed only its regional destinations. Currently, at posting time, all destinations are still green - meaning seats are still available. I've booked mine too! :D

Oh but of course there's a catch. You need to pay for airport taxes, fuel surcharges and administrative costs, which comes up to RM 40 for flights within Peninsular Malaysia.

For regional flights, the airport taxes varies, according to the countries' currencies. You need to check the site for a complete table of breakdown on the charges.

Another catch is that you need to be extra sure of your plans - you are definite that you will be catching the flight to the specified destination on the date you choose.

If your plan changes in the future, you would incur extra costs to change the name of the traveller or the flight date.

Anyway, I purchased a return ticket to Penang for less than the price of a one-way bus ticket from Singapore. Worth it! :D

Secrets of Free Long Distance Calls

2007-01-09T23:08:00.000+08:00

One of my favourite discovery today is how to make free long distance calls, without incurring a single cent, with superb quality, as though you are making a normal call using your phone. The whole experience is just like making a normal phone call, mind you!

Oh what's the big deal, you might say, since you are able to make video calls using msn messenger, skype and yahoo messenger. Oh well, the difference is that you do not have to be confined to the laptop or pc if you uses an earphone with microphone, or have the whole world listening to your conversation if you uses the speaker.

The trick? Get a Wi-Fi enabled phone!

The catch? You need to have wireless internet connection.

The benefit? Talk for hours, limitless, "cook porridge" (oh just the cantonese expression for hanging on the phone) on the phone with just anyone in the world with internet connection, microphone and messengers such as skype.

But, some things to note is that the phone tends to get hot if you are on it for a long time (long as in, at least 1 hour or more)

Also better be prepared with extra batteries if you are away from electricity sources or be prepared to charge your phone more often, because it would use up battery life pretty fast!

For a conversation which lasted between 1.5 hours to 2 hours, about 40 per cent to 50 per cent of battery life was used up, judging by O2 Xda Stealth standards.

Good news for people who needs and wants to be connected with people or loved ones who are miles away and who, at the same time, wants to save on telephone bills, eh? Certainly! *wink* ;)

Mystery Solved!

2007-01-08T04:30:00.000+08:00

I was encountering this problem of the MyHomeMalaysia website not appearing properly using Internet Explorer browser, where the sidebar would appear on the bottom instead of the side of the page. MEanwhile, the MyHomeMalaysia appears perfectly when using firefox browser.

There are others also experiencing the same problem, so I'm not alone.

An idea then struck me.

In order to prove what I thought could be the problem, this was what I did.

Previously, I did copy some articles from other websites to paste on my site, of course with credits. So I cut the whole article out into the notepad, and recopy the whole article back to my blog. I did this for all the copied articles.

The result: Perfectly normal again using Internet Explorer browser!

The trick: Use notepad as your coding 'neutraliser'. It is very good at cleaning up unwanted codings, esp those that makes your eyes go round and round after staring at it for some time.

Attempt this the next time you encounter some minor coding problems. I'm a newbie with html too, so it would be simple enough to do. Good luck!

Reformat Your Brain

2007-01-08T04:01:00.000+08:00

uhmm.. just some updates. My laptop now feels like new! My dearest friend gave it a new lease of life by reformatting it - wiped off its entire memory of its old self and installed new software into it. Plugged in a new hard disk with bigger space and now it runs like a newborn laptop. Love it to bits!

Probably we should apply reformatting to our own brain too. Wipe off all the software which is slowing down the processor, which is preventing us from performing at our peak. Wipe off all the limiting beliefs we have, the negative thoughts we have and the restrictive outlook we have.

And then install in new beliefs, new positive thoughts and new borderless outlook of life! And also plug in a broader mindset and memory, to contain the new things that we will learn in the coming days!

I believe our processor will run smoothly and we will be able to perform at our peak, irregardless of how old we are! Just like my beloved laptop, which has been with me for more than 5 years! (in the IT world, 5 years' is pretty old technology)

So, let's all do this in ushering in the new year, and may many great things happen! Looking forward to a better and more wonderful year ahead!

Happy New Year 2007 to one and all! :D

No Posts = No Learnings?

2007-01-08T03:41:00.000+08:00

I was chatting with a friend just now and I found out that there's actually people reading this blog! I thought it is just sitting in cyber space gathering cyber dust. Also my friend also remarked that I seldom update this blog too. Uhmm good observation.
I told my friend that I only update when I have inspiration.

Come to think of it, why have I not updated it as often as I would like it to be? This blog was initially set up to record down all the discoveries that I've made, things that I have learnt.

Could this mean I've not been learning? Oh no.. this is not a good sign. Maybe my mind has began it's slow decay with comfort. I thrive on challenges remember?!

So what have I learnt today? shall be the question to ask myself everyday at the end of the day.. at night, when I'm hiding in my own cocoon of comfort...

So, what have I learnt today?

hmm through my conversation with my friend, I've learnt that SIA does not only represents Singapore Airlines, it is also Singapore Institute of Architects.

And for an architect graduate, you have to have two years' of experience in any firm before you take exam with the board of architects to get the qualified persons (QP) licence, before you can start designing buildings.

For more information, can go to www.sia.org.sg to learn more about licensing and architecture.

Hhmm probably one day I can get to see the building my friend designs. What an honour! ;)

Lack of Trust Among Races?

2006-12-08T03:12:00.000+08:00

I can't agree more with this article from NSTP (see below), after a flurry of reports in the mainstream media and blogs about race relations in Malaysia, fueled by strong-language speeches by Umno delegates during the party's recent general assembly in Nov.

I'm saddened everyday when I read reports of Malay and Chinese leaders bickering over race issues, be it from the ruling party or from the opposition party.

Meanwhile, the Indian leaders yelp out once in a while to attract attention to the plight of the Indians, who equally need attention.

With deeper analysis of the situation, the race relation issue boils down to one thing - lack of trust.

This lack of trust among races, where in this case, Dr Chandra Muzaffar, said different races should start helping each other, such as the Chinese Chamber of Commerce could help the Malays and Indians in the retail sector.

Meanwhile, Malays should understand the need for the Chinese and Indians to get an equal footing in the country they have come to recognise as their own.

If, the Chinese could be big-hearted and help out the Malays and Indians, will the Malays and Indians appreciate this kindness, or will it be like this Malay idiom, "Melepaskan anjing tersepit?"

I personally felt that there's fear among a certain race - fear of change, fear of competition, fear of everything, which stops them from starting to believe that they can also grow together with the other races, rather than trying to survive by just guarding their special privileges jealously.

In the end, it is only going to be a lose-lose situation for all races.

The certain race will never realise they can be as developed as other race or compete on a level ground with other races. And the other race will continue to mind their own business.

In the end, the one to lose out, is Malaysia.

The race relation issue is never going to end, if the certain race do not change their mindset, as what Tun Dr Mahathir has always nagged about.

And instead of fighting against each other, Malaysians should instead unite to fight the looming globalisation that will swallow Malaysia if Malaysians still do not wake up from their narrow-mindedness.

In this borderless world, for a race to survive, it is no longer just me and my race. It is to look at the big picture - if you want to survive, your country have to survive. When the country can survive, and not only that, are able to bring in bigger pieces of pie, then only we can happily distribute the pie equally to satisfy all races.

However, what's saddening is, Malaysians are not growing this pie, and there's not enough to go around, and races start to fight among each other to get a bigger piece or, just to defend whatever that's left.

Rather than stealing from each other, why not all unite together to get bigger pieces of pie from outside the country? No Malaysians would like to see such bickerings in the country - unless of course, those who are using race as their pawn to get political support. And such people, are a disgrace to the country.

______________

‘Bridge-builders’ to span races needed
08 Dec 2006, New Straits Times
Minderjeet Kaur

KUALA LUMPUR: We need genuine "bridge builders" to improve ethnic relations in the country. People who can span the racial divide and encourage integration.

Most Malaysians were still very much Malay, Chinese or Indian at heart, said International Movement for Just World president Dr Chandra Muzaffar.

"To improve racial integration we have to be Malaysians first," he said.

He was speaking during a dialogue on The Role of Media and Human Rights organised by The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) yesterday.

He said that instead of reaching out, each community was looking to its own interests.

"There is a huge psychological gap between the Malays and non-Malays.

"Everyone is asking for their own rights, but no one is really coming forward to assist other races," Chandra said.

If each community helped the others with their own strengths, he said, the gap between them would be narrowed.

"For instance, the Chinese Chambers of Commerce could establish a nationwide programme to help the Malays and Indians in the retail industry," he said.

The Malay community must also understand the concerns of the non-Malays. Non-Malay families have been here for generations. They feel they are Malaysian, and that they should be on an equal footing, he said.

Anyone, he said, who criticises others should recognise his own weaknesses.

"If each of us can look at our own weakness, we can then understand the other race better. But if one feels that one is right and the weakness lies in the other race, then no one is going to go forward," he said.

"Politicians should understand that the Malay, Chinese and Indians do not have similarities that bind us together. Each have their own culture, religion and traditions.

"And by blowing up racial sentiments, they are making things difficult for Malaysians," he said. Politicians should rather find ways to unite the three races by promoting integration, he added.

Universiti Malaya History Department head Professor Datuk Khoo Kay Khim agreed that Malaysians tend to identify themselves with their race.

"They prefer to think of themselves as a Malay, Chinese or Indian, because those who fight for the cause of another race are seen as not being faithful to their own," he said.

Revolving Doors of Vengeance MV - Yi Sheng Bu Bian

2006-12-02T03:35:00.001+08:00

My favourite song in the Hong Kong serial. Also Hoi Sum's (the main female cast) favourite song in the serial. Brings back many memories... :)
Definitely the best serial I've watched this year.
Talk about soft power, I miss Hong Kong so much. The scenery shown many times in the serial, taken from Victoria Peak, reminds me of the time I was there. Wonder how will it be like, to stay there for a year.. how would the experience be like? One thing is certain, I miss the time when I was there. :)

Revolving Doors of Vengeance MV - another theme song

2006-12-02T03:28:00.001+08:00

Another theme song for the serial, sung by Ron Ng, who acts as Kai Kit in the serial. My favourite cast! hahaha :P

Revolving Doors of Vengeance MV Theme Song by Hacken Lee

2006-12-02T03:25:00.001+08:00

The theme song sung by Hacken Lee. Anyone knows where to get this as well?

The video clip gives a glimpse into what is going to unfold in this intriguing and gripping story, keeping you guessing and seeking the truth. Shocking, and an eye-opener too...

Revolving Doors of Vengeance MV - Ron Ng and Ella Koon

2006-12-02T03:15:00.001+08:00

This video clip features Ron Ng and Ella Koon, the main casts in the serial singing duet. Both of them are my favourite casts in the serial. Ron Ng acts the character of Kai Kit, a character who grows from an aggressive person to a thoughtful and determined person towards the end. Admire the focused determination shown by him. As for Ella Koon, who acts the character of Hoi Sum, a carefree and cheerful girl, who is willing to sacrifice for the sake of love.

Anyone out there has any idea how to get the songs sung by them in the video clip?

Fry Your Own Meal in a Restaurant?

2006-11-28T01:03:00.000+08:00

Recently I discovered an interesting dining out concept, by a restaurant franchise called Pepper Lunch. Heard it has been around in Singapore for about a year, but this rather ignorant person here just found out a few days ago.

Ever toyed with the idea of frying your own meal in a posh restaurant? Food or ingredients for your meal is served raw and you just need to mix it up together. This will give you a better idea.

Sounds pretty fun isn't it? It kind of injected the fun element into it, and customers are in control of their salt intake, as customers get to add in their own soy sauce and the like. Besides, the hot plate keeps the food hot, which means, food will taste better. And pricing wise is quite ok as well.

Some might argue that the concept is pretty similar to Seoul Garden or even steamboat. The difference is that, you don't get oily all over and smell of your dinner after the meal is over.

Kudos to whoever thought of this concept. Hmm however, one thing which I'm still wondering is how the hot plate manage to keep the heat to ensure the ingredients are cooked and then slowly cool off after the frying to allow the customers to enjoy their meal in peace? Anyone out there knows how they did it?

Another World

2006-11-27T23:58:00.000+08:00

For the past few days, I've been transported to another world, a world of truth and lies, gratefulness and revenge. Out of curiosity and to give myself a treat, I started watching this Hong Kong serial Revolving Doors of Vengeance.

I was hooked from the first episode, and I felt I've just been taken on a roller-coaster ride of life. Plot wise, I have to really salute the script writer, with the numerous unexpected twists and turns, plunges and highs, leaving me scratching my head figuring between the truth and lies.

Message wise, I would say, it has many messages to convey. To me, watching a serial or a movie, is something more than just pure entertainment. It is a chance for us to reflect back on our life and also serves as a reminder.

Initially, it was rather uneasy and uncomfortable watching the serial, as it focuses too much on the evil side of human. However, about halfway through, the good side of human, started to prevail, bringing back some warmth and consolation. Really admire the fighting spirit shown by one of the main actors and the benevolence of one of the main actresses.

However, I think, the most important message that it wants to convey is still, the good side of human, will always triumph over the evils. Traits like kindness, thankfulness, gratefulness, friendship, family, being filial, sincerity, perseverance, determination... are traits that are very important to us in life. Without them, the world will not be a good place to be.

Would like to share some points with everyone, be it a reminder, a lesson or be it a guide for us when we walk through this uncertain journey of life.

- Forgive and forget. Revenge, will only make both sides lose and hurt even more.
- Be thankful for what you have. Be grateful to kindness shown by others. People will remember kindness for life and it is the same for the bad things we do.
- Having one more friend, is better than having one more enemy.
- Everything happens for a reason...
- Cherish every moment you have...
- Sincerity and true love, moves people...
- Be focused on what you do. Perseverance, determination and persistence always wins.
- What goes around, comes around.

On a lighter note, one of the main actors is good looking! hehe won't tell which one :P and oh how I love the fashionable clothes the actresses wore! Too bad the weather here is too hot, will be sweating like a pig if we were to wear those boots and jackets :P can pick up some fashion tips as well ;)

Ahh.. and finally life can go back to normal.. been living in a different world until it felt surreal hahaha :P Beware of the serials addiction! :D

Welcome to the Quarter's Life Club!

2006-11-22T04:08:00.000+08:00

Things been pretty happening lately, especially right after I joined the quarter life club. Some too privileged, that I do not have the privilege to post here.

From feeling like a celebrity with all the smses during my special day, to a mysterious story I'm working on, to a colleague who committed a very serious offence and was punished, a relative who passed away, to a brave girl who dared to take the challenge to wander off to a foreign land in search of her dreams... All in just a short one or two weeks' time.

Adding to the list, my secondary school classmate is getting married next month! oh so exciting. looking at her wedding pix, I realised, how we have entered a new phase in life, where more and more people around us would be getting hitched too. can't wait to attend her wedding lunch, gonna be a reunion of sorts. Ahh...

There are both ups and downs, both good and bad news, and my life has finally awaken from its deep slumber since about a year and a half ago. And I take that, as a good start to my journey through the next quarter. Cheers! :D

Angel and Devil Fight Over WishList

2006-11-14T00:54:00.000+08:00

On this beautiful day, I felt like listing down the numerous things I want.

1. New handphone, Nokia N73 or Nokia 7390 or Dopod 808 perhaps. Poor 6-months-old O2 Xphone IIm went diving and drowned some time ago, sob sob.

2. New laptop, with DVD writer, generous space and memory. Light enough to bring to anywhere I want. Oh no, I'm so greedy, I want performance and mobility at the same time. Where to find.. hmm.. Dell Inspiron 9400 perhaps.. hehe. Poor old fragile laptop, has been so faithful for more than five years. Now a bit sot sot d.

3. New pair of spectacles. Those cool frameless ones haha. The present one is excellent when I want to pass off as a student.

4. Comfortable shoes. Where to find comfortable and yet stylish shoes that you do not mind wearing to walk one whole day? Ahh.. pretty hard to find I discovered. It is either style or comfort (such as those attention-grabbing croc shoes)

5. Ipod, haha! Can't run away from that. 80GB video and photo Ipod, should be able to keep those precious photos taken with my trigger-happy fingers. And for watching of those Hong Kong, Korean and Taiwanese serials while on the move or on long bus rides. Hmm.. a must-have the next time I go for my overseas holiday or trip.

Shall not be too greedy. Hehe, actually having the first 3 items would make me feel on top of the world already. Three out of five are tech stuffs. ooh, quite becoming a tech geek. NAh, can't help it, especially for this generation which literally grew up with technology.

Procrastinate... procrastinate... Actually, the present laptop can still use lah. (oh so Singlish). Just tolerate a bit lor when it becomes sot sot.

Hmm.. as for the phone, a kind friend lend me his old phone, which another nice and lovable soul traded his with mine until I get a new one. So, still can use lah.

And for the spectacles, what's wrong looking like a student? It is a respectable title, you know! :P

As for the shoes, hmm.. just tolerate a bit lah, put some plaster. Maybe walk less. Or just wear long pants to cover it up haha! :P

Ipod?? Nah.. just a want, not a need. Wait till I really need one. Not at the moment. So that can wait. :)

In the end, hoho, I don't need them at the moment. Maybe in the future, but not now. So that can wait. Ahh.. but I won't mind having it as a present! :D

A Greater Peace of Mind with a Token

2006-11-11T12:16:00.000+08:00

Online banking has just become more interesting, with banks introducing additional security layer to protect customers.

But greater security comes with a price. You need to carry the thing around with you.

I learnt of this security feature which Maybank Singapore just introduced, scheduled to kick off only Jan next year. So I'm among the early white mice that are going to experience this new security feature.

The bank is going to phase out the current Internet Banking Code that the customers need to get through their Dial-Link service, or in other words, phone banking.

I was so curious about what this token is, when the lady at the counter kept saying that the bank is going to issue a security token for online banking purposes.

Initially I thought it was some paper or card or something. To my slightly amused shock, the token actually appeared to be something physical you can hold and press to get the information you need.

Hmm pretty interesting, have to experiment it out. Apparently, it can last for 7 years before you need a replacement. Also, according to the lady at the counter, this feature has been used by other banks too. Yet to find out which are the other banks also using this security feature.

With this additional security feature, I guess regular internet bankers or the more net-savvy generation are going to love it. Save you all the hassle of going to the bank, you can do all your banking needs from the comfort of your home and with the peace of mind that your crucial information is safe, why not?

I guess you will need to head down to one of the bank branches to discover this little token or shall I say this little surprise.

Not going to divulge too much here, in case I spoil all the fun for you.

However, if you are so persistent and want to really know more, head down here. www.maybank2u.com.sg/2fa

Have fun discovering! ;)

Passion and Motivation - What's the link?

2006-11-06T13:04:00.000+08:00

Had a good game of table tennis yesterday, experiencing the same exhilaration when you smash the ball over the net and the opponent couldn't receive it. Which reminds me, how long have I not played it.

It's been at least two years, ever since I graduated. Really miss those days in the hall. You could play table tennnis to your heart's content, pitting your skills against better players and pick up tips and trick here and there.

When it comes to other types of sports, there might be bigger inertia to drag myself up from the bed early morning to go for a game. But when it comes to table tennis, it was natural motivation, which had me awake early morning and making my way to the sports complex.

Just the thought of being able to play my favourite sport, made me excited and I just can't wait for the next time I get to play it again.

Which brought me to this thought. When you have a passion for something, you do not need strong motivation to do it. Why? Because you are already naturally motivated. You already have this desire in you to do it, thus doesn't need a lot of outside factor to get you moving.

If, this principle is applied in our life, if you want to be successful, be passionate about being successful. If you want to be rich, be passionate about being rich. If you want to be slim, be passionate about being slim. If you want to be healthy, be passionate about being healthy. Logical isn't it?

Once you are passionate about what you do, you will naturally do well in it. Even if nobody is paying you anything, you will still do it. Because you like doing it. Simple equation, isn't it?

Moral of the story: Do something you are passionate about. You will find you need less push factor from outside, because you already have a natural pull factor towards your passion. Like what this book said, "Do something you are passionate about, money that comes by, is just a by-product."

Things I'm Grateful For

2006-11-04T03:05:00.000+08:00

I'm grateful that I have a loving family, who cares, understands and loves me very much. My family, my parents, sister and brother, are all healthy and well.

I'm grateful that I have someone special who loves me very much too. Someone who cares and understands me, someone to share my dreams with.

I'm grateful that I have a good career awaiting me, in a good company, with good colleagues and bosses.

I'm grateful that the job I have, enables me to enrich my knowledge of the world.

I'm grateful that I have a cosy little room to call my own, a space I could do whatever I want, a place I love to be in. I'm grateful that, the landlady is a nice lady despite her usual nags and I love the location which is right smack in the central.

I'm grateful that I have some friends whom I truly cherish, friends who accepts me as I am. Friends who takes the effort to keep in touch, friends who sticks by you, no matter what. Friends who takes the trouble to understand you, who believes in you, who doesn't just leave and disappear, when trouble appears.

I realised that, friends who doesn't know you, who doesn't understands you, are the ones who hurt you most, with their words and actions. They doesn't take the trouble to understand you, they doesn't accept you, as who you are. They shy away when they sense trouble. They never take the effort to keep in touch, they never care.

In life, you only need a few gems, to walk through life together. Others are just there for a reason. They will leave when they have accomplished their mission. Whatever the reason is, whatever the mission is, time will heal wounds. But the scar will always remain.

So the lesson to learn: Never say hurting words or do hurting things to others, which you would not want done to you.

Just like the message that this year's Petronas Deepavali advertisement wants to convey. Those who have not seen it yet, catch it here

Never do unto others what will bring pain when done to you. What goes around, comes around.

A Home Online for My New Home

2006-10-18T02:17:00.000+08:00

I promised to write more about the whole experience of buying a home, so I've finally set up a home online for the journey of buying my first home.

It is no simple task for a beginner with html codes, websites, hosting, domain names and wordpress. But with grit and determination, I've finally see some light in cracking the technicalities.

Upgrading from this user-friendly blogspot to wordpress, is something out of my comfort zone too. There's more technical stuff to learn, especially the computing jargons and more dealing with html codes too.

But if all these earned me a decent website and a vast knowledge, why not?

I just lose some sleep over this but it has been fun so far, especially when you finally see your efforts up, live!

Blogspot is good for novices; once you have familiarised yourself with altering the html codes, you could upgrade to wordpress if you prefer more challenging stuff and having a blog with your own domain name.

Well, for the really novices, wordpress is a free blogging software that you can download for free. Then take the lessons to install it yourself.

As for domain names, it is like your house address. And hosting is the space you rent monthly to put your house on.

So in other words, I've created a virtual home, to tell stories about the real, physical home!

So in future, I would write all things related to the house and maybe more houses to come here, at this website www.myhomemalaysia.com

I'm going to miss the user-friendly features of blogspot, however, I believe, change is always for the better. It might be painful now, but then, there are more space to grow after the change.

I would still keep this blog, to write about other stuff which is not related to the house. Maybe on some insights and thoughts I have.

So for those who are keen to find out more, do head down to www.myhomemalaysia.com. I've posted more photos there. And hopefully more to come. :)

My New Abode!... soon..

2006-10-11T22:24:00.000+08:00

After many sleepless nights, tossing and turning in bed, with hundred and one things flying through my mind, finally the decision is made. I finally bought my first house! :D

A double-storey semi-detached house in Juru, Butterworth, Penang. A good location I would say, if you look at the map.

Here's the pictures from the show house for you to oogle at:

The overall view - the living room, the dining hall and the kitchen.

A very nice kitchen, love to be sitting there eating steam boat or even having drinks with that bar-like top.

A cosy corner, the upstairs hall.

Master bedroom

Kiddy room

The other room

That's the appetizer. More information should be following up after I'm kind of done shopping around for the best home loan in the country! heehehe.. my head is still throbbing from lack of sleep and the excitement but then it's worth all the effort. anyway, shall blog more some other time. Now need to zoom out to settle whatever stuff that I need to do. Enjoy! :)

The Ice Melted...

2006-09-21T23:49:00.000+08:00

HAHa what a title..

What I want to write about was that, there's this observation I made during the window crash drama. Before that, everyone on the bus was very cool. No one talked to anybody, everyone was lost in their own world. There's even this girl sitting on the same row as me, reading some notes, and busy scribbling something during the whole journey. No one smiled much at anybody too. So I joined in the "coolness" and tried to go to sleep.

However, after the shattering drama, suddenly, everyone seems to be talking to everyone, and everybody seems to know everybody. Suddenly, everyone became chatty, friendly, kind, concerned and bothered to smile at each other.

Voila! From total strangers, everyone became acquaintances. This was also also noted by another passenger, who came to Singapore for a business meeting.

And we started chatting. And he apparently knows a colleague of mine. What a small world! :D

Strange isn't it? Sometimes, I do think, everything that happens, happens for a reason. Maybe, fate wanted me to know this person, or the other passengers who were in the same bus as me.

If not for the drama, everyone would have still remained as strangers.

There's another queer observance today. I was walking home after work, taking my own sweet time strolling down the staircase to the MRT. Actually, I don't usually walk like this, there's some certain reason, which I won't divulge here, haha! :P

And then out from the trail of people walking out from the station, there's this girl who was smiling at me and hey, when I looked at her properly, I do know her! She's a friend I've not met for some time. So we chatted and caught up with each other, and even arranged to meet for dinner sometime.

The funny thing was that, I purposedly walked slower for some reason, but instead I met a friend whom I have not met for some time. If I have walked the normal speed I usually do, maybe I would have just missed her. Queer isn't it? :)

Saved by a Bar!

2006-09-14T11:42:00.000+08:00

It was a smooth journey, all the way from Kuala Lumpur to Johor. In fact, it was quite a comfortable ride. I was dozing off most of the time, even thought the tv was on. din know what's going on in the movie too, cos was seated quite far from the tv. so i went to dreamland instead.

After we passed the Johor Checkpoint at the Second Link, as usual, we got onto the bus to be ferried over to the Singapore side for immigration checkpoint.

Most people were packing up, getting ready to bring their luggage down at the other side. As for me, I was on the phone, telling my mum I've safely reach Johor checkpoint. The bus driver started up the engine and slowly pulled out from the parking bay beside a pedestrian walkway. Who knows, that's when the whole drama started.

Out of a sudden, I was jolted out from my conversation with a series of loud bangs which sounded like gunshots from a machine gun. I saw the window next to me cracked and immediately, tiny shards of glass rained on me. I felt as though fireworks are showering on me. Where the tiny shards of glass landed, it hurts. And it's hot. My first instinct was to quickly move away from my seat. I thought someone attacked us, reminding me of those terrorist attacks.

When I looked towards the back of the bus, the windows were all cracked, and the last one was the worst hit. The glass looks as if it is going to crash down any moment. I saw a guy in green, looking dazed, still sitting in his seat, right beside the badly damaged window on the last row.

By now, the bus has stopped moving. Then came along the bus driver, with eyes wide open, looking shocked. He paced up and down the bus aisle, and then went to the back to ask if the guy in green is ok. I saw the guy nodded his head and the bus driver walked back down the aisle, looking at the windows.

He then disappeared down the bus. As for me, I was busy picking out glass pieces from my palm, and a girl sitting at the single seat, same row as me, offered me a tissue. I gladly accepted it and used it to wipe away the glass debris sticking to my jeans and my sweater. The other passengers were all standing up and trying to figure out what happenned. Some went down the bus to find out.

After I've gotten rid of the debris and gotten over the shock, my logical thinking took over. Immediately I took my digital camera from my bag and went down, snapping away at the damages.

As you can see here, this is what happenned to the window which is right beside where I sat. What's worse, there was a piece of metal (you can see the piece of metal on the road in the following pictures) which was sticking through the hole, before the bus driver removed. it.

This was what happenned to the rest of the windows behind my seat. See the cracks on the windows?

Then, this is what caused the whole incident. The walkway roof struck the windows on the right when the bus was turning round the bend. See the piece of metal on the road? That was the piece of metal sticking through the hole in the window right beside where I sat.

The earlier picture could not capture the severity of the last window, so here's another picture. Imagine if you were the guy in green sitting beside this window, would you be shocked?

A passenger exclaimed that she saw the bus driver's hand was shaking when he was making a call after the incident.

After the whole drama, all passengers (about 20) of us) proceeded on to the Singapore immigration before we were transferred to another bus which came about half an hour later.

Thank God, no one was injured. In fact, I felt luckily I managed to escaped unhurt.

Another passenger, sitting behind the girl who offered me tissue paper, analysed that the metal roof first hit the window beside me, and the window bar actually saved my face. If not, the metal piece could have just hit onto my face and hurt me. The bar stopped the metal piece, and it bounced out, before it went on to hit other windows.

What an experience. Waht an adventure. What a close call!

Petronas National Day TVad

2006-08-31T00:00:00.000+08:00

Oh yes! finally I found the video online!

The first time I saw this national day advertisement by Petronas on TV3, I was struck by the message that it wants to convey. The meaning finally dawned on me after my mind went blank for a while. Oh my... What struck me most is the strength of the message that it wants to convey. It will hit people direct at their heart, esp Malaysians. Especially Malaysians with the same condition... well I shall not state too deliberately here what condition is that in case I got sued. haha... Well... siapa yang makan cili, dia yang terasa pedasnya.

My experiement on a Malaysian and a Singaporean colleague proved interesting. After I've pointed out the advertisement to them and explained the meaning of the narration, my colleague, who is a Malaysian went ahh....(got it!) while my Singaporean colleague wasn't so sure what it means.

I'm not trying to see who is smarter here; it is more because we Malaysians shared the same background, the same 'culture' and almost the same kind of 'upbringing', with about the same sentiments, if we are of the same condition. This common understanding enabled us to instantly know the deeper meaning of the advertisement.

I would want to tell the whole story of the commercial here, but it will spoil the suspense for you. So I shall keep the suspense and let you watch it for yourself.

Catch this meaningful commercial here Petronas National Day TVAd and feel free to share your feelings about it.

*Disclaimer: Comments in reply to the post posted here are not the personal opinions of the owner of this blog.

**Oh wow! really have to thank my colleague for pointing out to me where to get this commercial. Been searching for it online but can't find it, not even on YouTube.com. Initially wanted to post the video clip here for all to enjoy.

*** Happy 49th National Day my dear Country Malaysia! :D I will be flying the national flag in my room hehehehe :P Dunno what trouble public display of patriotism for my country in a foreign country would cause me...:)

Anyway, by spreading this little message of patriotism to my fellow countrymen is also a way of showing my love for the country~ :) So, you too can make a difference, spread the message of love to your friends and family. Refer them here! :D

What Would You Do If You Were A Millionaire By 26?

2006-08-24T03:34:00.000+08:00

That's an interesting question, isn't it?

Because how many of us actually get to become millionaires at just age 26.

Almost none!

When we think of someone who is that successful at such a young age, we usually think of some hotshot that had all the right things going and the right path all laid out right in front of him.

And I wouldn't fault you for that because that is how it usually happens.

==> Yah, usually but not this

But have you ever thought of how an ordinary guy can become a millionaire at age 26?

How about a Loser, FAILURE and a juvenile misfit who got kicked out of school becoming a millionaire at age 26?

I know exactly what you're thinking. 'That's IMPOSSIBLE!'

Well, I just met someone who did. And I'm not kidding.

This guy was a COMPLETE juvenile misfit, a total FAILURE in everything he did and an all out LOSER in life and he became a millionaire at age 26.

And he's a MULTI-millionaire today.

==> Verify it for yourself

His name is Adam Khoo and he is a self-made millionaire at age 26, one of the TOP speakers in Asia and a very successful businessman today.

He has spoken to over 245,000 professionals, executives and business owners to tap their personal power and achieve excellence in their various fields of endeavor.

Some of his corporate clients even include Tupperware, American International Assurance, Prudential, Lux Asia, Rolls Royce Marine and many more.

Now my intention is not to impress you with what he has achieved but to show you that if a 'Loser' like him can do it.

Why can't you?

He made it because he discovered the RIGHT strategies and principles to create abundant wealth in life. And he made it even though he started out from the BOTTOM rung.

You have to check his story out because you'll be hard-pressed to find a more captivating one than this:
==> Check his story out

The Story of Coca-Cola

2006-08-23T01:33:00.000+08:00

I heard of a story today, about a can of Coca-Cola.

How much does a can of Coke cost in NTUC Fairprice? $0.65 probably.

How much does a can of Coke cost in a restaurant? $2.00-$3.00 probably.

How much does a can of Coke cost in a five-star hotel? $10.00 probably.

Why is it that a can of Coke, a similar can of Coke, can have such different value?

The environment. The environment the can of Coke is in, determines its value.

Do you want to be a can of Coke in NTUC Fairprice or a can of Coke in a restaurant, or a can of Coke in a five-star restaurant?

The PAU Principle

2006-06-22T02:38:00.000+08:00

Pau? Eating pau? What principles can you derive from eating a pau?

Haha you will be surprised. Here goes.

A friend gave me a char siew pau yesterday, saying she bought it from a stall famous for its pau in Tiong Bahru. Oh, good things must try, right. So I gladly accepted the pau and started peeling off the skin. On the first bite, oh, the feeling of dejavu overwhelmed me. Oh my! I've never eaten such delicious pau! Felt so 'xin fu'.... and for the rest of the bites, I fully savour the sweetness, the juiciness and the taste of the delicious pau, bite after bite.

In between the bites, this sudden thought crossed my mind.

The pau,
if left on the table,
is just like any other pau.
Nothing gained.
But once you savour it,
the taste makes you feel on top of the world.
The feeling of 'xin fu' ness...
The expression on your face,
is enough to tempt anyone to also have a bite.
Just like in our life,
when we come across any opportunity,
If left untouched,
Is just a wasted chance,
No matter how good it is.
But once you grab hold of it,
Really appreciate it,
It can be the best thing you can ever find.

Of course, spare the thought of what happens after the pau go through your digestive system... :P

Lousy...

2006-05-12T01:45:00.000+08:00

what do you do when you feel lousy? scream, yell, kick up a fuss? or whisk out the pen and diary and start penning away? or rather, in this new technology era, vent your lousy feelings onto the keyboard and let your fingers do the talking? how bout writing a letter to yourself? can writing be a therapy too?

i guess so, esp if a person doesn't have anyone to talk to... a bottled up volcano is never a very good idea i guess. what do you do when doubt start infecting your heart and mind? how to overcome it? how to make that damn cough go away? challenges, obstacle... pple say they are just a process... a process to make you stronger...

i always tell myself that i will become stronger every time my tears tumble down..

Home on Virtual Land?

2006-01-13T23:28:00.000+08:00

I have been wondering how people set up websites, register for domain names and webhosting for a long time. Internet has fascinated me since its inception and until now, I'm still wondering how people ever got themselves a piece of the virtual world.

No doubt, internet is going to hit us in a bigger wave and when it's here, there's no way of stopping it. Ride the wave or get left behind.

Internet and the computer has become an integral part of our lives, without it, you feel uneasy, well at least for me. I can't live without internet.. my dear computer is the doorway to the whole world out there, linking me to places miles and miles away.

A good broadband connection coupled with a good instant messaging programme and a webcam, someone far away can feel like just next to you. I wonder will anyone in the future still make expensive long distance calls when they can use free P2P call programme like skype.

When long distance relationship once sounds like an impossible feat, nowadays, technology has made it not only possible to maintain, but also quick becoming a trend. This is what I've observed as people around the world get more mobile, global and connected. Proof? I know of at least five close friends/family/relatives of mine doing that and still going strong.

Well, I suppose soon, everyone will have a virtual presence - be it buying virtual real estate aka personal homepage or having a virtual address aka domain names to direct people to your home. Cool isn't it?

Well with that, my curiosity got the better of me and I stumbled upon this place aka real estate agent in real life, who can let you buy a piece of the virtual world (web hosting) or get yourself a virtual address (URL).

Check out THIS WEBSITE and you will be surprised how easy it is to make your online presence felt. Hey, the cool thing is, they even have a website builder, for beginners like myself to play around with.

Haha.. am really considering of getting a 'home' on the virtual land soon. Still toying with the idea though. Hmm.... dare to join me? ;)

Happy New Year 2006!

2006-01-01T22:42:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year 2006 to everyone! Make this new year a year filled with joy, good health and abundance! :D

If You Want Something, EARN It.

2005-12-28T00:49:00.000+08:00

If you want something, earn it. How I wish I could hammer this into teenagers nowadays who just rely on their parents or elder siblings for handouts.

And each person should take responsibility for their own life. Whatever happens is a direct result of actions and decisions in the past. If you want a good life in the future, do something now to make sure you achieve that in the future.

If you now find yourself saddled in huge debts, reflect back on the things and decisions you have made which might have led you to where you are now. Who's fault is it? You might ask. Remember, your life is in your hands.

If in the past you have spent lavishly with impulse shopping, ask yourself, at the point of buying, don't you have the choice of whether to buy or not to buy? Yes, and you made the decision to buy. In the end, do you feel remorseful? Depends.

Do you have the choice of eating in high end restaurants or the common hawker centre? Do you have the option of taking the taxi or the bus? Do you have the choice of taking the plane or the bus? It is entirely up to you.

But after that, you have to shoulder the consequences. Don't complain when you no longer find yourself having the luxuries in life.

I was so heartened by the changes I see in a superior-turned friend recently. She was someone who used to spend money like water. She won't eat at places less than high class restaurants. She always have nice accessories donning her wrists and matching blouse to go with it.

But the last time I saw her, she has stripped off her gold chains and bling-blings. Her reason: Afraid of being robbed. She now budgets $300 a month for food and attempts to spend less than the budgetted amount if she can. Shw would now think twice even if she finds a blouse she really like. And now so proud of the cheapest travel she has been on.

She even advised me to spend within my means and save up for retirement. Even at my age. Yah, drastic change, and I find it a change for the better. Now I see a person who is less conceited and less high-and-mighty. She has become someone more humble.

Probably circumstances has changed and forced her to become like that. Maybe she changed willingly. I couldn't bring myself to ask. No matter what's the reason, there is a lesson to learn here.

Why wait for some disaster to happen before you change for the better? You can still be thrifty and earning all the money in the world. What would you do then with so much excess funds? Realise your dreams, go around brightening up other people's lives. Isn't that more meaningful?

Post-trip blues and Love

2005-12-14T02:31:00.000+08:00

It has been about a week since we came back from a discovery trip to Hong Kong and Southern China. It was so enjoyable and indeed a whole new discovery for me. It was my first trip overseas, (not counting Singapore) and I truly enjoy every single moment of it. Surely I'll want to do it again and again! I want to discover the whole of China, the whole of Asia and the whole of the world! More updates and chronicles of the trip after I'm done with the travelogue. It is indeed worth recording every moment, don't you think so? ;) So keep coming back for news when it's done and up, complete with pictures.

Now, back to the mundane working life again. Was feeling really great the first day back at work, but after a few hours of the usual routine, I'm bored to death. And the adrenaline seemed to have stopped pumping. Everything seemed so dull again. Argh.. what a lousy feeling. Need to shake that off. And my eyes seemed to have some problem adjusting back to the long hours of looking at the computer screen, something which I have the luxury of shirking while on holiday. My head throbs, eyes water and vision blurs. Are these symptoms of some occupational hazard?

On a different topic, I've always been amazed by the power of love. But also intrigued by it. I couldn't comprehend why some people can love so intensely at one time and then forget totally about the feelings after that. And these people could do really hurting things to people whom they have once loved so deeply.

But then again, love is something so complex. There's a saying, you cannot force love, what you get is just a broken heart. How true, because in the end, the person who would hurt the most is the person who loves the deepest and appreciates the relationship more.

After going through such events, how should one let go and move on? Especially when the other party is unsure and afraid of commitments? Isn't it selfish for the other party to ask one to let time be the test of whether it is true love? And, how should one let go, such that one no longer feel hurt by any actions from the other party?

One, would have to dive deep into one's conscious and unconscious mind, make a choice of how one would want to lead one's life in the future. If given a choice between happiness and sadness, which one would one choose? If given a choice between being appreciated and being neglected, which one would one choose? If given a choice of seeing one smiling in a loving environment and seeing one crying in the darkness, which would one choose?

In life, we have a choice. No matter what happens, we have a choice of how we want to feel. We can choose to feel happy or lousy by it. We can choose how we want to respond to it. We can choose whether we want to control our life or let circumstances and environment move us along aimlessly.

How we feel, is entirely up to our own self.

On a related note, when one found a gem, treasure it, cherish it. Appreciate the blessings in one's life. Never take things for granted. Tell your loved ones that you love them. That's the greatest joy one can find. And maybe the only meaning of life.

A New Addition: Digital Camera

2005-11-17T02:14:00.000+08:00

Finally, I got myself a digicam!! Yahooooo! It was so hard to decide between Canon Ixus 55 and Canon Powershot A610/A620. I want the speciality of both in one camera. I would love to play with the functions but I want convenience and style at the same time.

After much deliberation and playing around with both cameras for more than half an hour or even more, I finally decided to get Ixus 55. Why?

Because I guess I value convenience more compared to functionality and quality. The big enough reason I'm getting one at this juncture is also because I'm going for a holiday with my family. Thus, I guess I would want one which can capture the whole travel and be compact enough to be able to bring it everywhere so that I can record every single event.

Meanwhile, Powershot A610/A620 is bulkier. Really. Quite a big drawback actually. Imagine when you are packing for a holiday, you have to pack the battery charger and extra rechargeable batteries. In the end, the whole package just grows and by then you might need to find a big bag to keep all those, which might weigh a ton.

However, it is more ergonomical for long period of shooting. I prefer the feel of it, where when you are holding the camera, you feel that you can take really good pictures. And of course the additional benefits of fun playing with those shutter speeds and aperture wideness. And of course, it has better specifications, such as optical zoom and length of focus.

Well... as life have it, we have to choose, right?

So I finally made up my mind on Ixus 55. Even though Ixus 55 seems somehow less superior compared to powershot A610 in terms of functions, I guess I have to compromise for convenience's sake.

Anyway, the picture quality is good! The only drawback is that there's less experimentation and stuff to play with. Well, I guess I can get one of those higher end digital SLR later after I've mastered the compact digicam. Heheeeee..:D

The Most Important Person

2005-11-14T23:14:00.000+08:00

Today is a special day. And I finally did something to celebrate this day for the most important person in the world.

Just a word to the most important person:

Thank you for being there for me all the time through ups and downs in my life.
When I feel lonely, you are there to keep me company.
When I feel down, you are there to encourage me.
When I feel everything is going against me, you are there to keep me going strong.
When I feel sad, you are there to share my sorrows.
When I feel happy, you are there to share my joy.
When I accomplished something, you are there to share my success.

And most of the time, I might have taken you for granted. I'm so sorry for that..

I've promised to take good care of you. I will do everything I can to make you happy, to help you achieve your goals in life and to spur you on, just like how you have done to me.

As a token of appreciation, you will receive a gift! Exciting isn;t it? I'm now having a hard time deciding exactly which one you would like, but I'm sure you will like the one I choose for you. ;)

You must be tired by now, have a great rest and wake up refreshed! :D

Salt and Glutamate

2005-11-13T02:23:00.000+08:00

Believe it or not, we do not need any added salt in our food at all. We do not even need any monosodium glutamate (MSG) added. We have heard that salt and MSG are flavour enhancers, in fact I would agree they do. They do have an effect of making the food more flavourful, more palatable and have a better mouthfeel. In short, foods taste better.

However, you must know that we can get both sodium and glutamate in natural foods, such as vegetables, fruits and meat. If we can get them from the food we eat, why do we need to add more of them into our diet? Furthermore we know that salt is one of the culprits that causes hypertension. Meanwhile, there has not been extensive scientific research done on the health effects by MSG.

GLUTAMATE

According to data from the seminar I attended yesterday, glutamate is naturally found in many foods such as foods high in protein, mushrooms and scallops.

We can get 140 mg of glutamate in per 100 g of fish, tomatoes and mushrooms. Surprisingly, walnuts has as high as 658 mg of glutamate per 100 g and Parmesan cheese - 1200 mg per 100g!

SODIUM

As for sodium, the most common is the table salt that we use for cooking. Processed foods has an abundant of it, while fresh foods has much lesser. Sodium is usually found in a bound form, where Na+ attaches itself to other elements or molecules.

Even baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) has sodium, so it means all bakery products already has lots of sodium even though there are no added salt. No wonder cornflakes are no longer really healthy even though we are made to believe so.

The preservative sodium benzoate used for preserving meat products such as sausages also has bound sodium. With more salt added to enhance flavour, you can figure how much sodium you get from just one sausage.

According to the data I get from the talk, one teaspoon of soy sauce has 340 mg of sodium; one teaspoon of MSG has 615 mg of sodium and even one tablespoon of chilli sauce has 200 mg of sodium!

Do you ever think you can escape from salt? No way. Anyway, our body needs salt, but research has shown that we only need 100 mg per day to function.

When we eat more salt, our poor body has to regulate the excess salt and can tolerate up to 2000 mg without adverse effects. But, why put our body through such abuse? We are killing ourselves softly, isn't it?

The Sense of Taste

2005-11-13T00:18:00.000+08:00

Went to a seminar on food senses on saturday with my classmates. I was hoping I could learn something from there. However, the first talk was rather disappointing because it sounded more like an advertisement. The whole talk is just on marketing that product by the company who sponsored the talk, even though the professor did it subtly. Yah, to think that the speaker was a professor. Was feeling rather cheated by the end of the first talk.

So during the second talk, I wasn't really paying attention already. It was a cooking demonstration actually. Though the recipes sounds nice and smelled nice, but was rather put off by another advertising talk by the chef who was demonstrating.

Come to think of it, maybe because the ideas they are presenting is against what I believe in, and it was contrary to what I've learnt before this.

We get to taste the food that was cooked, but then it was cold by the time we get it, so it doesn't taste nice anymore. On my way out to get more fruits, I met another two of my classmates. Was so happy then, because haven't seen them for some time.

We stayed on, despite some other people leaving during the break. Luckily we did, because I felt I learnt far more from the last two talks. Instead of being contrary to my belief, it strengthen my belief of not needing any added salt in our food.

From the answer I get from the questions I asked the professor and one of the nutrition consultant, they further confirmed my belief that we do not need to add salt into our cooking and food.

Will update more on the significant things I've learnt from the seminar in the next post.

Creamy Tom Yam and Thai Green Curry

2005-11-12T23:48:00.000+08:00

My good friends treated me to dinner at Thai Express, savouring super hot tom yam soup and fragrant green curry. The kangkung we had was also very nicely fried.

I was surprised the creamy and milky looking bowl of soup which looked more like a dessert with coconut milk, tasted exactly like tom yam soup, except that it is creamier. At first we even thought the waitress gave us the wrong order. However, it turned out to be really nice.

Never had that before and this was my first time tasting this. Of course it is a new discovery for me.

Some of you may think it is rather stupid, but to me, I am delighted to discover new things everyday. By consciously being aware of the new things that I've discovered everyday, I realised that I become more observant and sharpen my senses.

To my dear friends who treated me to the special dinner, was very touched and thanks so much! :D

DeepaRaya Holidays

2005-11-07T02:13:00.000+08:00

Been missing in action for some time and now I'm back to deposit some thoughts and discoveries into my blog.

I've had a great time the past few days. And had enjoyed myself a lot too, stuffing myself with food which I've never tasted before and discovering new food.

My friend came to visit me and we went on window shopping round the island. Went to Suntec, Plaza Singapura, Bugis, West Mall, IKEA... I wonder how many shopping centres we can conquer in a day. I guess after a while window shopping gets boring too.

Back to the food we tasted:

1. Lamb Shank and Chicken Gordon Bleu

Kind of a bit too salty for my taste buds, but overall, it's a nice change. And to my horror, it is just microwaved frozen meal, from this chain of food restaurant famous for its cheese cake. To think that I've just spent a bomb on a microwaved meal... I guess I shall just stick to my home-cooked food. :P

2. Swedish Meatballs and fried chicky wings

Something novel which we tasted. And was rather impressed by the fact that the chicky wings there in this famous furniture shop at Queensway is so much bigger than the usual chicken wings you can find elsewhere.

The chicken wings were nicely fried and marinated. Even though the skin outside was quite brown, but the meat inside is still tender. To be able to fry to this perfection, the temperature of the oil and the duration of frying must have been researched thoroughly. Just wondering what would be the temperature and time used for frying...

Yum! We stuffed 6 chicky wings between us and had free flow of coffee... Imagine the fullness we felt after the food spree. Wahahaaa :D

Still in holiday mood, even though the public holidays are over. It feels kind of weird that I wasn't joining the crowd this time to head straight back home after work. Take three days of leave for nine days of holidays. Good bargain, right?

In fact I've looked forward to this long holiday and had even booked bus ticket home way in advance. But some changes in plan had flipped the 'balik kampung' plan 180 degrees. Things happen for a purpose I guess. At least I've experience how it is like to be 'left behind' during festive season for once.

Stumbled upon a Gem

2005-10-27T03:56:00.000+08:00

I couldn't believe what I've just stumbled upon. All these while we have just heard of successful infopreneurs from the west.

And now I've just found a living proof at my own country. This guy, Patric Chan, is just a normal guy-next-door, a very typical Malaysian I would say who made it big in the virtual world. If you would observe in his recordings, he actually speaks in the very typical Malaysian Chinese accent.

You know what, this discovery has just smashed my limiting belief all this while that only the "westerners" rule the internet because they started it. It totally blew my mind. I doubt I'll be able to sleep well tonight.

If you are interested to know more about how he did it, click below and receive a free report exclusive from him.

Total Flop

2005-10-22T23:33:00.000+08:00

My experiment with fish curry became a total flop today. It looks nice but doesn't taste a bit like its looks. Looks are deceiving eh? Not only for food, but for human too.

The curry was so bad, I don't think anyone would want eat it. I ended up eating just the fish and the rest went down the rubbish chute. Better preparations next time.

I have this tendency of not following exactly the recipe book. I'll prefer playing around with my own ingredients and experiment with different types of food. So this time round, I know fish curry without tamarind juice is not nice at all! Bleeekk....

Malaysia First Lady lost her battle against cancer

2005-10-20T23:22:00.000+08:00

The news about the passing on of the Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's wife, Datin Seri Endon Mahmood early this morning hit me like a sack of potatoes. It was so sudden. I thought that she would be able to fight it.

News about her receiving Abraxene treatment in Los Angeles has been on the papers for some time, and she has been a cancer awareness advocate herself. Never did I thought that the statement by doctors saying she is recovering albeit slowly and advised PM or fondly known as Pak Lah to spend more time with her, could be a clue that something might not be so right.

During the period she was back from overseas chemotheraphy treatment to celebrate Ramadhan at home, Pak Lah has been missing for about a week and when he was asked about it, he said he has been breaking fast with her, who is also fondly known as Kak Endon.

Her passing on will be a great loss to Pak Lah and the whole nation. As the whole country grieves and mourns the death of a warm, loving, motherly, caring figure in the eyes of the citizens, her contributions and memories of her will remain alive in our memories.

As I watched the tv footage of her funeral and burial ceremony, I saw so many people lining up to pay their last respect. A politician even died on his way to Putrajaya to pay his last respect when his car skidded. When I did a google blog search, I was touched by the hundreds of blog entries paying tribute to her. TV3 aired a special programme after the news bulletin while there's a special pictures tribute on the News Straits Times website.

Even though I do not really know her personally, I can feel the love exuding from her, especially in her relationship with her husband. If you observe closely any television footages of them together, Pak Lah will always be holding her hand, just like love birds who are deeply in love.

One of a close friend of hers said this on one of the most widely watched television station TV3 that she is a model of a perfect wife and mother, someone she would model after when it comes to relationships.

I would agree with her. As Pak Lah loves her very much and been loyal to her, she has been strong and supportive of her husband. Behind every successful man, there's a woman. How true is this saying.

Lessons we can draw from this is that, we too can be a role model in our own lives. We can also touch lives as what Kak Endon has done. What we need, is just a loving heart and a caring nature. And I believe, everyone has that in them by nature.

As for couples, we can model after the strong devotion that Pak Lah and Kak Endon has for each other. Tips I gathered from news are that they tell each other they love each other very often and would unabashedly show affection publicly, like holding hands and hugging each other. Considering that they are a public figure, their public display of affection not only warms the heart of people seeing it; it must have also meant true love.

I find it truly inspiring and heart-warming.

Give and You shall Receive

2005-10-18T02:03:00.000+08:00

I was climbing the overhead bridge when I passed by this rather old lady who was huffing and puffing carrying two plastic bags which obviously looked rather heavy while muttering some words that sounded like "oh so heavy". I was messasging on my handphone then and intuitively I just turned to look at her and asked her "do you need help?". She smiled shyly and gently declined. So I went on with my way over the bridge and head towards the bus stop.

After some time, the lady finally conquered the bridge and came down the stairs looking at me, smiling. I was shocked, because there's this stranger who was smiling at me. So I smiled back and then we started talking, getting to know each other and coincidently, we were both waiting for the same bus.

Along the bus journey, we went on talking and finally exchanged numbers. It was amazing how such a small gesture of altruism could in turn, generate much more random acts of kindness. She pointed out to me the correct bus stop to alight and even offered her help.

After alighting, I went to meet my friend and we sat in a McDonalds chatting, catching up with each other. After chatting for a while and sipped about half a glass of iced lemon tea, my bladder was full. When I walked over to the ladies, I had another shock. There is now a counter for collecting fees to enter the toilet and it is priced at $0.20, while previously it was free. So I shelved the shock aside and went in.

To cut the story short, I went to the toilet for the second time and this time as I was walking in, I saw the old man who was taking care of the counter was already starting to close the counter. I took out a 20 cents but the elderly man shook his head and said, no need, and asked me to go in and use. So I asked him, whether he is working for a company or is he working for himself. He answered, he doesn't receive salary, but the 20 cents are his salary. Upon hearing this, I insisted that he take the 20 cents. What I received in return, was a smile so beautiful, it could warm anybody's heart.

It is just so wonderful how such small gestures could have made me receive so much more in return. Warm smiles from strangers and the continuity of kindness. What you give, is what you receive. Give and you shall receive. How true.

Sometimes, when we feel our life is filled with nasty people, stop for a while and reflect, whether you yourself has been a nasty person yourself. You will realise if you change your own self, you can change the people around you.

Keep the random acts of kindness going.~ :D

Fun Facts on Snakes

2005-10-17T02:28:00.000+08:00

For those who are interested in snakes (e.g phyton), here's more interesting fun facts about the slitthery creature without hands and legs.

1. Snakes have an outlet where they pass motion. It's a cut of about 2 cm long, at the point of about two-third length of the snake from the head.

2. Snakes has similar anatomy as human, the huge difference is, everything is in elongated shape to suit the long and slender creature.

3. Snake's skin is not slimy. In fact it feels like your leather wallet.

4. Snakes are blind. They sense the vibrations around them using their forked tongues.

5. A snake can sense if the person holding it, is afraid or confident. A person who is frightened would breath faster and thus have a certain vibration which is different from a confident person who is calmer.

6. Zookeepers will never allow any visitor who is holding a phyton to let the snake coil around the neck or the waist. No matter how humble, good-natured and well-trained the phyton is, as a wild animal, it will still fall back to its natural survival instinct when it feels threatened. When the snake senses threat, the reaction would be to constrict itself tighter around whatever object it is coiling around. It is a precaution which snake trainers and zookeepers take to prevent any unwanted events.

How Snakes shed their Skin

2005-10-17T01:45:00.000+08:00

Somehow during our schooldays, we would have been taught that snakes shed their skin in order to grow. But I've never given it a thought on how snakes actually shed their skin. All along I assumed that the skin somehow peels off, like how sunburnt skin on our body drops off by itself when we bathe or rub on it. Sometimes I've even imagine it splitting down the belly and the skin comes off like a rectangular piece of skin.

It is only recently when I found out the truth. What happens is that a snake will show some symptoms before it actually sheds. The colour of the skin will turn slightly cloudy, the eyes will become opaque and the belly will turn pinkish. It would be really interesting if we are able to watch the whole process of snake shedding its skin.

What I've learnt is that the whole process happens real fast. The skin will start opening up from the mouth. All the snake needs to do is to slide out from the old 'shell' and leave the old unwanted skin behind. So what's left of a good shed is a complete 'cover' of the snake - which looks like an elongated bag.

One thing to note is that the snake sheds the skin of the eyes too. That's why the eyes turn opaque before the shedding time. For this too, I've always imagined that the skin will come off like a mask, where you can see two holes where the eyes are supposed to be.

Once I've learnt of this fact, something inside me went 'ting!'. Just like a light bulb lighted up brightly inside my mind. My assumptions all this time has been wrong and I've believed it all the way, thinking that I should be right and never bothered to seek the truth.

In life, we could also have been in the same situation - where we heard about something and without giving it a much deeper thought, we made some assumptions. These assumptions grew into a believe throughout the years and we never even bother to seek the real answers. This could be one of the reasons where rumours turn into a fact after some time.

This pattern can be seen in almost every aspect of life and the world, be it a mother scolding the child stupid, gossips among friends and even in politics - the leader of a country making certain negative statement about another country and the citizens of the country is made to believe that.

Most of the time, people are not aware that this is happening. It is so natural people just do it unconsciously, without realising that they are actually twisting the facts.

With this realisation, I hope those who reads this post will carry this awareness with them and consciously identify and seek the truth. Assumptions only ends up making an [ ASS U ME ] ass out of you and me. :)

White Tiger and the Fishes

2005-10-15T17:12:00.000+08:00

I've finally stepped into the zoo here after setting foot on this island 6 years ago. Went with my cousin, her husband and her 4-year-old daughter. Throughout the duration there, there's a few things which I observed and got me thinking.

1. My niece just suddenly burst out crying when her father brought her near the walkway leading to the tiger's den. I was shocked because I saw other children in the walkway. What I'm curious about was what made her just burst out crying.

The first thought that leapt into mind was bad spirits. Can she sense certain dangers near there which made her react by bursting out crying? haha maybe I'm too superstitious. It is only later that I spotted a monstrous-looking fake tiger at the entrance to the dim walkway, which I think, scared her. She kept on saying she doesn't want to go there and we almost just pass by the place.

However, curiosity got the better of me and I went nearer to take a loook. The white tigers are separated from the visitors by a moat. I overheard a visitor asking her friend whether the tiger will just jump out. And hey, the same exclamation was also expressed by my cousin. I wondered whether the same thought is also playing in most visitors' mind, because for me, this thought never crept into my mind until my cousin exclaimed it. Is this how a human being influence another, by putting a possible idea into another person's mind through their words?

2. By now, my niece is already inching near to have a look too. Another thing which I noticed was that when one of the tiger walks around in the moat, a school of fishes just follow the tiger around. When the tiger heads right, the school of fishes followed. When the tiger turns around and head left, the school of fishes also turned and head left. Amazing isn't it? Why is it that way? Tigers are carnivors, and carnivors eat meat. Fishes are meat too, but why doesn't tigers eat fishes? If you have answers to these questions, do leave me a comment. :)

3. We managed to catch part of the animal show which started at 1.30pm. I really enjoyed myself throughout the show. What amazed me was how well-trained those animals are. The orang utan who can garner clap supports for himself, the sea lions that can jump like dolphins and the otter that can clean up things. These are animals doing things which are not of their normal behaviour.

Throughout the show, the trainers there did explained briefly how they train the animals, mostly using food reward. If it works for animals, does this strategy work for human beings too? Let's say, we want to train ourself to be good in something or to pick up a new skill. If we reward ourself each time we do something correct and good, and ignore when we don't perform, will it be as effective?

Just some food for thoughts! ;) Happy thinking!

Apple Cider Vinegar Pork Chop

2005-10-14T02:11:00.000+08:00

As the title suggests, yes, you can make yummy pork chop with apple cider vinegar! Do I see some raised eyebrows out there? Oh well, it was one of my discoveries two days ago which I wanted to blog but never got myself to do it.

Well, back to the pork chop. What I had was a weird mixture of everything. Even though it is kind of haphazard, but I'm proud to say that this dish is my own recipe! Wahahaha! :D

It all started with this idea of making my own pork chop. Oh mind you, this was my first attempt at it and it turned out right! I had this block of pork which I sliced into thinner slices.

Then, I wanted to make the meat tender and felt that using lime would be just too troublesome. So this idea of using apple cider vinegar came up. Why specifically this vinegar and not others like rice vinegar or black vinegar you may ask. You can experiment with those vinegars and tell me the result. What I had on my shelf was just the apple cider vinegar.

So in went the vinegar, just enough to cover the meat pieces. Next, I poured in 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and dumped in lots of black pepper powder. Then I mixed them all up evenly and left it to marinate.

I'm sure it will turn charcoal and stick to my normal pan in no time and if not, I'll have to use lots of oil. Being a health freak especially when it comes to food, I opted for the non-stick pan. I scooped in some butter and nice-smelling fragrant filled the kitchen. Next, in went the pork chop pieces and were pan-fried until they were just cooked. Don't overcook, because the meat will get really hard and you will have a hard time fighting with the meat pieces later.

After that, I poured in all the leftover marinating 'sauce' to make the real sauce. I merely heated it for a while and poured it over the meat pieces on a plate. Voila! There you have a simple, quick and mouth-watering dish.

Better test it out before I copyright the recipe haha! Just kidding...:P

The 80/20 Principle

2005-10-12T01:25:00.000+08:00

I have always been telling myself that I have to go exercise one day, be it jogging around my neighbourhood or go swimming. And you know, the usual story comes up with hundreds and thousands of excuses - not enough time, don't feel like it, not in the mood, too tired, too lazy, too busy.. bla bla.. the list goes on. I guess you would have the same experience too.

Until I discovered this 80 / 20 principle in a book I've just read, yesterday. This principle is about a theory that the 20% of the things we do yields 80% of the results, while 80% of the things we do, yields 20% of the results.

So how does this apply in our life?

Everyday, when we plan things to do, we will usually list down a number of things we want to do for the day. And our list could include things like call Mary out for dinner, buy groceries, wash laundry, check out that new store etc etc. Once we have done that, we feel really good and it feels even better ticking away all the things that we have accomplished for the day.

But when we stop and think, hey, how are all these tasks that I've done, bring me nearer to my goals? Most of the time, the answer could be no. We prefer doing things that are simple, fun, easy and requires little effort. And most of the time, these are the 80% of the things we do which only result in 20% of the results.

Now, consider meeting up with that prospect who could be your potential client or go register that business. Would these require more courage, determination and effort? These tasks which demand more effort and requires us to overcome certain fears, are usually the 20% of the things we do which will yield 80% of the results.

So with that in mind, here's a tip:

The next time you draw up a to-do list, make it a power list by categorising the tasks you need to do into the 20% column or the 80% column. When you have a task in hand, ask yourself, which column should it go to? the 20% column which produces 80% of the results? or does it falls under the 80% column which produces only 20% of the results?

After you have done that, head straight to tackle the tasks under the 20% column. Once you have accomplished them, reward yourself. But remember, when u have done those tasks under the 80% column, forget about rewarding yourself. Only reward yourself for something productive which you have accomplished.

And, always do those things udner the 20% column during your more productive time. Some people do things better in the morning while some feels more productive at night. Meanwhile, leave those more trivial items under 80% column to those times when you need a break or during times when you feel lazy.

By applying this principle, I've managed to start this blog, yay! And also finally get my butt and legs moving to jog around the neighbourhood, after being sedentary for more than 7 months! I realised how procrastination has cost me my health and how procrastinating on these more challenging items has cost me a learning opportunity.

So, get your pen and paper, make your power list and off you go! Your goals are waiting for you~

The First Step

2005-10-11T07:02:00.000+08:00

Daily Discoveries.. there it goes. The setting up of this blog will be one of the first steps towards discovering more things in the virtual world. Not only that, as you read my posts in days to come, you will realise that it is also a discovery of oneself, discovery of life and the world we are in. Join me in this discovery journey as we embark on the adventure of life and explore the wonderful world around us. And I hope, along the way, you too would discover something about yourself, your life and your world. :)