by | Mar 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
Not since the former Dragonscage days have I woke earlier than 9am on a Sunday morning.
Heck, I don’t even wake earlier than 9am on weekdays when I go to work, but last Sunday morning, I woke extra early to prepare myself for a unique soccer game.
I woke at 7.30am, and that is indeed newsworthy, for me.
It was my maiden game with Andi’s health sciences lab friends, and no they’re not mice, but they’re rather nice.
They’re a bunch of professors, staff workers, and lab assistants of NUS, and Andi roped me in for the day to help out with the numbers.
It was a really good game, imho, but we lost 12-0! Oh well, it happens some times.
Despite the damning loss, the waking up early thingy and morning exercise seemed to have riled me up for the rest of the day, as I furiously scribbled and doodled on my notebook, the paper and pen kind, and tried to put my thoughts into ink.
Pretty soon, ink turned into punching my keyboards for almost half a day and though the idea have been lingering with me for a few weeks now, I’ve very much procrastinated in taking actions all these while.
Playing Zynga Poker on facebook took much of my time, in previous weeks, and so did distractions like updating of blogs here, here and here.
But that afternoon, that lovely Sunday afternoon, somehow I managed to finish in a day, what I’ve been delaying for weeks.
MAR.sg is reborn, and reconstructed after countless massive surgical operations, and I’m actually quite happy with it.
Not so much of trying to promote the site, but more of hustling on the point that whenever you feel like you’re not going anywhere or not producing anything..
JUST DO SOMETHING!
Go ahead, take that first step of writing something down, or drawing something up, and who knows what it might lead to.
In fact, I didn’t even plan to finish the website, but merely to conjure more ideas and directions that it can go.
It clicked for me, and I know it’ll click for you too.
So if you feel like you’re stuck, as if there’s nothing going on for you, take action.
Do something, instead of grumbling or whining, and simply challenge yourself to make a difference.
Writing things down on paper, that won’t hurt.
Brainstorming for solutions, that won’t hurt.
Taking little actions, bit by bit and one step at a time, that certainly won’t hurt.
Do you know, if you gave a mouse a really big piece of juicy cheese, how it will finish eating that really big piece of juicy cheese?
One bite at a time.
Sometimes you just have to take little actions and things will click in place.
So, despite losing by a huge margin in that soccer game, I’m sure I gained invaluable new friends and possibly regular Sunday morning games.
Hmmm.. I wonder if they’ll ever need a website.
by | Mar 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
A forum commenter posted this in one of his/her reply and I thought it’s quite cute, the way the equation goes:
The Great Donkey Theorem #1
Human = eat + sleep + work + enjoy
Donkey = eat + sleep
Therefore:
Human = Donkey + Work + enjoy
Therefore:
Human – enjoy = Donkey + Work
Conclusion:
A Human that doesn’t know how to enjoy = working Donkey.
The Great Donkey Theorem #2
Man = eat + sleep + earn money
Donkey = eat + sleep
Therefore:
Man = Donkey + earn money
Therefore:
Man – earn money = Donkey
Conclusion:
A Man who doesn’t earn money = Donkey!!!
So…
Moral of the story, don’t be a Donkey!
Gee, I’ve never realised that I’m that close to being a Donkey, but then again one can easily substitute Donkey with Llama, Ox, Lemurs, Ducks, and still have a balanced equation~
Aren’t you glad that you know your algebra?
by | Mar 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
The transformation is finally complete.
Where I mentioned previously of my shock in finding my Aspire One’s keypads covered with Kitty Stickers, well nothing can surprise me anymore right?
Certainly not this fully kittyfied netbook, which my young, now turning 14 in a few days, sister, Diana, have unleashed her sticky fury upon.
Almost the whole set of keypads have been plastered with shiny, glittery, cartoony images of animals, of which mostly are kitties.
It’s sute, yes indeed, but quite a distraction.
I know, first question that comes to mind: How tedious and painstakingly difficult is it to work with the netbook?
Very, at least for me it is, but for Diana it’s just fun and like any other day at the office — not that she’s in any office though, still too young to be part of the nation’s workforce.
And she’s very very happy to use the netbook too, one of the few things that has unofficially been handed-me-downs by yours truly.
She loves gadgets, plays plenty of games, blogs too, draws and doodles, likes watching movies, loves reading and gets her feet wet with sports too.
Hmmm, sounds familiar to someone I know. Me!
But not familiar enough for me to guess what she hopes to get for her birthday present, which is coming much sooner than I’d like, and one which I still haven’t an idea for a present still.
I’ve asked this question, one too many times before, but just what present do you get for a 14year old missy?
For now, I’m stumped for an answer. Do you have a 14year old sister?
by | Mar 25, 2010 | Uncategorized
I am 28 years old. I have been for a good few months now.
Is it normal that everyday one thinks of ways to make money, online and offline, if only to be able to reach out to more people and be of value to more people.
Sure, striking it rich may sound really good, but that choice words make it sound as if one is seriously hoping for a miracle lottery ticket, just so one can visit the far off countries and not work for years and live off the lottery ticket.
I hope that I can strike it rich, but no I don’t go out and buy lottery tickets or toto or 4D, but no not those means, because having played poker lately, I learned that luck evens out, and in the long run, you’re going to lose more money simply by punting — unless you’re skillfully lucky, but there’s not a lot of people who are like that.
I hope that I can strike it rich so that I can make life better, not just for me but for my family, my friends, my community, for being rich and enjoying the riches alone, well you’re really just alone aren’t ya?
What’s good, or fun in being filthy rich and you fear in sharing the wealth?
No, I’m not saying that one should work hard and be an instant philanthropist unconditionally, because believe it or not, there are people out there who will not think twice in living off your riches.
There are people out there who simply will not fend for themselves becauase they know there are saints looking after them, and not because they are disabled or anything.
These leeches are the ones that I truly, madly, deeply, have zero affinity with.
And then there are people who you know that have been working so hard for almost all their lives, and yet with little too show for either: 1) they’re education level were limited thus opportunities weren’t realised, 2) they’re leeched of their hard work and earnings, 3) they have yet to meet that one opportunity that could transform their lives.
Living with them, I know for myself how hard they work, and how much they have had to sacrifice just so that they can provide a decent level of living for their families.
In my own eyes, husbands and wives spent more time at work, than at home, all in the name of feeding a family.
In my own eyes, I could see what working hard and hard work really meant.
And now that I am at a level where I can assist in bits and pieces, I feel that they are deserving of my assistance, even though others who’ve been glancing through the window may cut a doubtful figure.
You see, I took the liberty of doing up an excel sheet of my income and expenses and it astonished me that without my realising, I’ve been giving away quite a chunk of my paycheck — and no, I certainly don’t regret sharing any of it away.
I read somewhere about how one should really be thrifty with their money, by saving 10% of their salary in a special ‘Don’t touch me’ account, donate 10% towards charity, and then having the liberty of the 80% at your own mercy.
I realised that I’ve been sharing nearly 35-40% of my paycheck towards my family, and now that I’m finding myself in a tight situation (no thanks to a slow pick-up in business this year).
Sometimes I wonder if I’m vandalising my own ticket to a higher level by not having the extra loose change to invest elsewhere, and by investing I don’t mean trust funds or stocks but rather in areas pertaining to self development, maintenance, savings, career, family and such~
It’s a double edged sword, but one that I carry with great pride and satisfaction nevertheless.
Once in a while I do tell myself that I could have gotten that PS3 or PSP, or receive a bike upgrade, but in the long run, and truly, madly, deeply deep down inside, I know that nothing, yes nothing can buy what a loving family is able to give.
But I do aim to be rich (oh everyone does), but not just in the currency of dollars and signs, and certainly not via a punter’s ticket.
In the movie ‘The Pursuit Of Happiness’, Christopher Anderson, played by Will Smith, quoted “I met my father for the first time when I was 28 years old. I made up my mind that when I had children, my children were going to know who their father was.”
Tonight, I wonder, what will my children think of me when they turn 28?
Interestingly, towards the end, the movie also quoted “That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what.”
*Wishful Thoughts*
by | Mar 24, 2010 | Uncategorized
After visiting her blog for a while, I didn’t realise that Dils (does anyone calls her by that???) blog has comments disabled, and nothing is cuter than her disclaimer, which is boldly stated on the front page as “If you don’t like what I write, don’t read.”
I love it, that it’s a succinct and beautifully written disclaimer.
Wait, don’t you think I’m pulling any legs cos I do sincerely think that it’s a great, firm, strong move there.
I mean how many times in life do we encounter moments where we’re stuck with people who are simply trying to pull us down or get to us, and where we wish at that point and time that if only there’s a “Disable Speech” button on that person.
I mean blogs are ways and means for anyone, yes anyone to express themselves online, and sadly there are souls who troll around the net, looking for ways to share their acid, as if it’s on overdue.
Well to Dils, kudos on shutting out their voices (um, and mine at the same time, but hey I’ve a blog to express myself anyway. so =p ), that’s a bold one.
I wish I could have a disclaimer like that written on my forehead (there’s ample space anyway..) to warn people of my stand — at work.
Yep, but too bad I can’t do that, unless I think that chasing customers away is a good thing for business.
But sometimes you just have to put a close sign to yourself.
You can’t always accept all customers, because some are simply not worth your time and efforts, and by that I mean in terms of ROI and the value that it brings to you and the company.
Like why support a needy customer, who barely knows what he/she wants and ignore your regular customers at your own peril?
Like just show these needy, uninitiated customers the directions to another place, and they’ll perhaps be better served there.
And in Dils case, of which I certainly digested only the tip of the iceberg, she’s probably better off with less negative energy comments.
Yeah, it works wonders when people are forced to just listen, and unable to talk back — it makes them listen more.
If you’re reading this, hope all’s good. Go get your wings now. = )
by | Mar 24, 2010 | Uncategorized
..you find traces of ‘you’ online.
(Click image to open bigger. Open what? Dunno.. dunno..)
Was browsing http://maps.google.com and I thought, why not check out where I work?
Kkthnxbai.
by | Mar 23, 2010 | Uncategorized
I don’t know about the IEs, Operas, Firefoxes, Safaris and other browsers but Chrome’s bookmark sync feature has definitely been a huge welcome and tilting point in deciding which browser to use.
Opera wowed me back before Chrome appeared, and back then she was simply adorable, with her gestures and sleek movements, but mainly due to gestures.
But mainly it was because of her gestures. You know, tiny little things do mean a lot.
And then Google Chrome walked into the room and joined the party, and I’ve never looked back since.
Fans of Firefox tout it’s security and speed but I’ve never personally experienced them as being better than IE, so FF to me is like that hot gal at the counter, whom everyone talks about and admires, but just not my type I guess.
And IE, well it’s beyond imagination why she’s still at the cocktail party — does anyone really uses IE these days?
When Chrome first arrived, she was an enigma, an unknown entity and it intrigued me in wanting to know her better.
She’s that good.
Everytime I set up a new computer or after a reformat, instinctively I’ll dial her number and ensure that she stays around for good, at the same time showing IE the door.
Earlier this year Chrome wasn’t even available for systems utilising OS X, and then slowly but surely she gained traction.
As each day passes, Chrome brings about tiny packets of joy as she reveals bits and pieces of herself.
Bits of pieces that you’ve been told that you’d probably not enjoy when she first came around to OS X, simply because the guys up there hasn’t implemented such features.
It’s the thing that I enjoy most being in the company of a low-profile entity and discovering little treats along the way, but most importantly it’s the manner of how these treats come about that’s encapsulating.
Silently without much fanfare, inevitably without much expectations and wholesomely good without much glitches and bugs.
Google Chrome has come a long way since she first arrived and I’m glad to have shared the experiences of her development, the way that modern softwares should be.
So finally, there’s bookmarks syncing for OS X with Chrome, and now I can stay sane without trying to build up my bookmarks list from all the different comps that I work with.
And that’s a timesaver.
Best of all, there’s more to come from her, but not that I’m expecting anything of course.
You know, you should get to know her too. You’ll like her. ; )
by | Mar 23, 2010 | Uncategorized
Updates from Temasek Musings, just because there’s no updates within these pages.
So cheers:
Shocking lack of talent and depth – YOG.
Solving the economic crisis with kids.
Rubiks Cube 30th Anniversary @ Orchard Central.
Pssst: I’m looking for co-bloggers for Temasek Musings, and if you’re interested, holler!
Don’t shy, shy lah~
by | Mar 22, 2010 | Uncategorized
There hasn’t been much posts about football within these pages lately (but check out A Red Thing if you’re a Reds fan) and it’s no secret that age is certainly catching up.
1 or 2 years back and I’d be restless for not playing enough football (or soccer) as I’d be slugging it on the field or courts in the mornings, afternoons and nights.
At times it’d even be back to back, on Saturdays and Sundays.
Thankfully these days there aren’t such sessions or I’ll probably not be able to get up on a Monday morning, due to injuries and sore muscles — but mainly due to sore muscles.
Only 28years old and aches are taking longer to go away, cramps will lead to sore muscles after a few days and the endurance level just ain’t at the levels that they used to.
Or maybe I’ve not been working and training out the way I used to.
No, I’m not about to throw any towels and retire from football, or any sports, but I do feel like there’s a need for me to either recondition myself or cut down on the amount of sports that I’m getting.
It’s just tiring, and and that’s why I pity Mr Steven Gerrard, who’s has had to suffer the agony of unwarranted criticisms in recent months.
But I suppose losing to Manchester United (earlier in a 2-1 loss), and possibly that coveted 4th position in the league is more agony than all criticisms combined.
He’s 29 and after many years of dedicated service, he’s feelng ‘it’.
I don’t know if his ‘it’ is any similar to my ‘it’ but if there’s anything to describe ‘it’ then I suppose ‘burnout’ describes ‘it’ sufficiently.
Burnout from years of working above optimal performances and not reaping the rewards.
Burnout from constant interaction with average players.
There’s a saying that you are only as good as the crowd that you frequently hang out and mix with.
Is this possible burnout of mine psychological, or even work-induced?
I look around me, and though I see friends who are engineers, lawyers, designers, researchers, animators, managers and teachers, and though they are all commendable careers, I don’t quite fit into that group.
High flyers by all means, and academically respectable and they are all aiming to climb or please the corporate ladder as much as they can.
And in my line of work, and whatever little bits and pieces of knowledge that I’ve managed to sponge along the way, that line of thoughts and processes is simply out of alignment with me.
For the records, I’ll still work hard and attempt to climb any ladder, corporate or not, as fast as I can if it means to put food onto my table, because that is the right thing to do, but right now, It somehow don’t feel right to be setting my goal as being a [insert one of the afore-mentioned jobs] and working to climb the ladder.
It’s really hard to keep up with written inspiration, and sometimes you just wish that there’s someone who will hold your hands and lead you.
But everyone knows all too well that this happens only in children’s storybooks — this handholding thingy.
One has to walk by himself, and attempt to rise, bruised and battered, or fall and wallow in self pity into the abyss.
Steven Gerrard, he don’t play for the sake of playing and will probably never settle for anything less than a win, but external forces and teammates don’t seem to align with him as fondly as he’d like to.
Steven Gerrard has been a colossal figure for the past few years, but I wonder if he’d left his club for greener pastures, would he be lifting trophies already, instead of lifting his jersey to cover his face in disappointment, and partly shame as well?
Sure Liverpool Football Club might have stuttered and even be a little crippled without his presence, but he’d be playing alongside world class players, so who really knows if his situation would be as stupefying as his current’s.
But Stevie G, I hope you don’t abandon ship and leave, even if this season ends on a sour note, because you represent everything that I believed in.
Hard work, gritty performance, sublime skills and most of all, endurance.
Perserverance pays off, eventually right?
I guess that’s a big reason why I won’t be throwing any towels, anytime soon either.
After all, it’s a red thing.
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