Welcome to the Quarter's Life Club!

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

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

Lousy...

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..

Happy New Year 2006!

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

Post-trip blues and Love

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

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

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

DeepaRaya Holidays

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.

Fun Facts on Snakes

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.

White Tiger and the Fishes

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!

The First Step

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. :)