• Ramblings

    Chinese New Year

    January 23, 2012

    When I was much younger, I love Chinese New Year. New clothes, food, soft drinks, red packets, which kid does not like these? It was only during wedding dinners and Chinese New Year that I was allowed to drink soft drinks, and soft drinks served at that time were usually F&N Orange. This is why I still have a soft spot for this drink.

    As I grow older, I begin to dread Chinese New Year. After the food, the soft drinks and the red packets, there wasn’t really much for me to do at my relatives place. My father would spend the entire day playing the customary mahjong, while the rest of us will be bored stiff. We usually end up watching TV. And we always stay till late at night, sometimes reaching home only after 3am. I will usually end up sleeping in my cousin room’s floor. I was tired, smelly and bored.

    And to add on to all these, my relatives have a tendency to throw tantrums, even to their own brothers and sisters. People will come late, and when they arrived, their face was as black as charcoal. People will quarrel with each other, yes, on Chinese New Year. There was hardly any laughter, nor joy.

    As I grew older, I was allowed some freedom. I was allowed to join my friends at the movies, or some fast food outlet after staying at my relatives place for a while. I remember I can’t wait to leave the place.

    So when I stopped contact with my relatives (another story for another time), Chinese New Year became much better. Sure, there was hardly any visiting, nor any red packets, but I get to spend it with people I love, my family which really mean a lot to me, and people I really care about. The laugher, the joy that are associated with the Chinese New Year, were all coming back to me.

    I think once you start to remove all the negative and toxic people from your life, then you will start to feel lighter, happier and living the life that it was meant to be.

    Happy Chinese New Year everyone, and may you have no more negative and toxic people in your life.

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  • Ramblings

    Changing The World

    January 15, 2012

    There are two types of people in this world, those who want to change the world and themselves, and those who wait for the world to change to suit them. This year’s new year resolutions is all about changing myself so that I can change the world, one baby step at a time. Next month will see me taking the first baby step in one of my new year’s resolution.

    Thanks to you Steve. I may not change the world in the scale like you do, but I will do it, albeit on a much smaller scale.

     because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.

     

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  • Ramblings

    Sex Sells

    January 14, 2012

    During a dinner conversation, we somehow talked about writing a book and publishing it, and how people’s ego will be severely damaged if the book did not sell well. So I suggested writing a soft porn book instead, as sex always sells.

    Back in the late 1960’s, a newspaper journalist wanted to prove that standards of literary and artistic taste were decreasing rapidly in the US. In order to prove his point, he had others writing a chapter each for a book, there will be no plot, no character development, no verbal skill. Instead there will be lots of kinky sex scenes. The book was named ‘Naked Came the Stranger‘. It was a bestseller.

    You can read more about it here.

    Which just proves my point, sex sells.

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  • Ramblings

    The Word “Culled”

    January 12, 2012

    I am always quite amazed at the word ‘cull‘. The word has two meanings that are totally different and unrelated:

          • Select from a large quantity; obtain from a variety of sources
            • – anecdotes culled from Greek and Roman history
          • Reduce the population of (a wild animal) by selective slaughter
            • – he sees culling deer as a necessity
            • – kangaroo culling

     

    Somehow when I read a passage like this,

      Culled from the diaries of some of the most famous…

    My brain automatically registers the ‘cull’ word with slaughtering of animals. I wonder why. Do our brain always have one meaning of a word that is always registered first every time we read? And only after reading the whole sentence, our brain then search for the other more appropriate meanings?

    Or maybe it is just my brain only.

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  • Ramblings

    Orwell’s Six Rules on English Language

    January 2, 2012

    George Orwell’s six rules on English Language:

    1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
    2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
    3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
    4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
    5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
    6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

    I shall try to remember.

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  • Ramblings

    Reflections 2011

    December 31, 2011

    I did something similar for the year 2010, which I remembered I was then on a trip to New Zealand. This year the reflections for year 2011 is done at home.

    2011 was not a good year to me. There were some improvements in some areas compared to 2010, but in other areas, not only did things not improved, it got worse.

    In terms of work, there was definitely some improvements. There was a change in management, and comparing it with the previous, things are definitely better. However, it is still not where I want it to be. There was a chance to finally jump ship, but as it is the norm for me, things somehow just fail to come off at the crucial moment. It has been a characteristic of my life so far.

    Another major chapter ended in the year 2011, and at that time, I was hopeful of a new beginning. Alas, the start of the new chapter is still no where in sight. It was definitely not due to the lack of effort. There may be one of two times when a new chapter was about to be written and then something came along that was totally unexpected.

    I did learn some work lessons from the previous year. Learning from my mistakes, I managed  to at least pull something off successfully, though there were some hiccups along the way, I guess people will only remember if you managed to pull it off finally, and not the various problems encountered along the way.  This is something that I need to continue to improve, and not make the same mistakes in the new year. I am not too sure if there were will be better opportunities next year, since I predict the economy will be totally shot to be bits, or whether I have another chance to finally jump ship altogether, but I am determined to also get myself certified next year. I want to grow professionally, and with qualifications to boost my career.

    Personally, I should learn to control my feelings better, which was something that I also wanted in 2010. I do think that I have shown improvement in this area in 2011, but there is definitely room for improvement. I should try not to take things too personally, and maintain a Zen-like perspective when it comes to people around me, and the complex and sometimes frustrating relationships between humans.

    I should also continue to break out of this boundary, zone that I have subconsciously created around my life. I want to continue to travel to new places, and strive for new experiences. I want to continue on my food journey, to taste the incredible range of gourmet choices that this small island has to offer.

    I believe my life is like Newton’s third law, for every action, there is an equal and an opposite reaction. For every action that I do, my life will definitely provide a reaction. It may not go the way that I want, nor will it be smooth sailing, but there is definitely a reaction. A reaction, no matter in which direction, is still better than a state of inertial. As such, there are a couple of things that I want to do in 2011, and while I know it may not end up where I want to go, I will still try.

    Of course, the first thing that I really want to do, is to find ways to change this ‘things never seem to go smoothly’ characteristic of my life. Perhaps fengshui?

    As with 2010, the proudest achievement of year 2011 is the fact that I survived. Hope 2012 will be much, much better.

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  • Ramblings

    Courage

    December 27, 2011

    “Without courage all virtues lose their meaning.” – Sir Winston Churchill

    Time to look fear in the eyes and move forward, to start all my plans rolling, else nothing will get done. If I fail, so be it, but at least I can say to myself, “I tried!”

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  • Ramblings

    8 Gifts That Do Not Cost A Cent

    December 26, 2011

    Since this is Christmas and all, I thought I will post this that I read from somewhere:

    8 Gifts That Do Not Cost A Cent

    • The Gift Of Listening… But you must REALLY listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening.
    • The Gift Of Affection… Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.
    • The Gift Of Laughter… Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you.”
    • The Gift Of A Written Note… It can be a simple “Thanks for your help” note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.
    • The Gift Of A Compliment… A simple and sincere, “You look great in red,” “You did a super job” or “That was a wonderful meal” can make someone’s day.
    • The Gift Of A Favour… Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.
    • The Gift Of Solitude… There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.
    • The Gift Of A Cheerful Disposition… The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone, really it’s not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You.
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  • Ramblings

    New Zealand 2010

    December 24, 2011

    Finally got off my ass to upload all the photos from my road trip in south island, New Zealand last year. All the photos can be found here.

    New Zealand is a beautiful place. It was one of the best road trips I had. Thoroughly enjoy this lovely country. 3 months after the trip, an earthquake devastated Christchurch. Stay strong people of Christchurch!

    IMG_0873

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  • Ramblings

    Today

    December 23, 2011

    What I did today in 2008 and 2010. Forgot to note down for 2009.

    1. On leave today.

    2. Spent the day packing and sleeping.

    3. Heavy rain the whole day, flash floods in many areas. Perhaps it means that I have much wealth next year?

    4. Had dinner with 2 close friends, having Japanese BBQ.

    5. Started personal project, Wenjie365.

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