Siu Kai's Tummy, Xavier and other stories

Hi. I'm back. My apologies for the lack of posting; my dar dar came back from her holiday and I was busy making up for 10 days of lost time! Ha.

Yup, 10 days of not seeing dar dar, it's like not bathing for 10 days. Oh, wait a second, that didn't seemed such an appropriate comparison. Ha. Let's give it another try. 10 days of not seeing dar dar is like... how about it's like having no heart for 10 days.

Since I gave my heart to dar dar and she took it to Taiwan with her, so in her absence I had no heart. Ha.

Wow siukai, that is unbelievably crappy and kinda gross too. Ha.

Anyway, today's posting will be somewhat random because I don't really have a main topic in mind, I will just blog whatever that comes to my mind. And also, this might well be my last post for a while because I'll be starting my part-time job on Friday lasting a period of 10 days.

After that, I will be heading for my reservist. So, don't miss me when I'm gone. I'll try my best to update too so you guys who are bored (read no life) can be entertained by siukai's crap. Ha.

Talking about reservist, it's my first in 4 years! Yup. Actually I really dread anything that has to do with the men in green. Holding arms and drills have never been part of my forte. Make love not wars. Ha.

That is of course not meant to be taken seriously because if a need arises, you can bet your ass that I'm be defending my country, my loves ones and my fellow people! (That was just meant to make me sound more patriotic so people won't think I'm a selfish slob and coward. Ha.)

But seriously, if we really need to go to war, I guess we must do our part. A man has got to do what a man's got to do.

Eat less that is. Ha. That is strictly for my case. You can throw in exercise more also. :) I was trying out my army pants in anticipation of the reservist in 2 weeks time. (Anticipation seems too positive, change it to in response. Ha) and I was kinda shocked when I had to stop breathing for a full 15 seconds before I could button the pants together.

Actually, that's a bit exaggerating. I was not shocked. Ha. I kinda expected it since I had been gorging myself silly for the past few weeks. But still, it was not a pretty truth to take.

Looking at the bulge from my tummy, I was tempted to ask it where the hell it came from. I resisted asking it because I was sure 1) My mum would think I was crazy talking to my tummy. 2) I'm sure my tummy would reply(if he could) that it was all my fault. You greedy man. Ha.

What could I do? I had to secretly get rid of it. (I made sure my tummy was not looking at this when I typed. Ha.)

The master plan is rather straightforward. I will continue to feed my tummy normally so that it won't raise alarm bells. Then I will go jogging while slowly and gently stroking it, like how a mum will stroke his baby's back to facilitate the baby to burp. This is to reassure my tummy that everything is okay.

Then when it starts to complain that it feels hot due to the burning of fats, I will assure him that it's because of the weather. Darn the hot weather. Nothing to worry about.

Slowly but steadily, my tummy will become smaller and weaker until one fine day, it will simply cease to exist. Ha. He wouldn't even knew what hit him. I'm such an evil genius ain't I? Ha.

Okay, got to stop this topic now. I think he's waking up. Ha.

Moving on, I had a close encounter with the third kind while I was at the library a few days back. There I was sitting on this black couch minding my own business when suddenly he came along.

This strange guy with a laptop slung over his right shoulder and holding a thick comic book in another. I say he's strange not because he looks like ET or something since I thought you might relate "third kind" with aliens or supernatural stuffs. Ha.

He is strange because of his not normal behaviour.

Ha. If you are sharp enough, you will realise that the statement obvious is flawed. It's like saying A is stupid because he is not smart. Ha. Get it?

Anyway, when this guy strolled past me, he happened to catch my attention. So my eyes followed him to see what he was up to.

The strange guy walked a few steps towards the tables then glanced around, looking for an empty seat. To his disappointment, he did not find any. But then he did something rather amazing. He walked towards this lady at the last table and proceeded to ask her whether she could give up her seat so that he could use his laptop.

I was shocked. He simply just went up and requested the lady to move away. Maybe he thought he was professor Xavier of the XMen who could control minds. The lady did not budge of course. She kindly pointed out that she was doing some work and could not give up her seat.

Seeing Xavier's disappointed look, another lady who was sitting on the floor using her laptop kindly invited him to join her since there was an additional power plug.

To which Xavier replied, "May the force be with you."

Oh wait, that's from the Star Wars series. What the hell does Xavier say anyway? "I can read your mind?" Duh! Ha.

Xavier's reply was, "No thanks. There's a lot of germs on the floor." Gosh. There are germs everywhere prof! Maybe he was afraid that additional contact with germs would hasten his mutation. Ha.

So, Xavier started to pace up and down looking for a seat but found nothing after like a few minutes. Then he went over to the other side to try his luck. I thought to myself, "What a strange man!" and continued to listen to my audio book on my mp3 player.

There was this auntie beside me who was reading a book too. The couch was a two seater. This is a very important fact as I will explain next.

I was engrossed in my audiobook, (I was listening to Duma Key by Stephen King, my favorite author) when suddenly a shadow hung over me. I looked up, it was Xavier. No rather it was Xavier's butt. He had his back to me. And you know what he did?

No, he did not tell me that he could read my mind. Ha. He did not even say a word but just sat down between the auntie and me, on a two seater couch!

I was like, what the?! The auntie was rather annoyed because Xavier's butt bumped into her leg while he sat down and proceeded to make himself comfortable. Despite the auntie's and my annoyance, Xavier felt nothing wrong and started to read his comic.

I was really in disbelief. Could he really read my mind? Ha. I guess not because if he could, he would have asked me about some of the profanities I directed at him. Ha.

I looked around, wanting to confirm that the couch was indeed a two seater and I did not wrongly accuse this man. Yup, it was a two seater because the couch was in fact two separate ones joined together. So, what the heck was this guy doing sitting in between of us?!

Anyway, since I was a magnanimous man and I suspect the auntie was not too picky herself, we decided to not make a big deal of it and let Xavier stay. Partly because I was afraid that he was indeed the REAL Xavier and he would call upon Cyclopes to shoot laser at me. Ha.

About an hour later, Xavier stood up and walked away to see whether the tables were now available. Immediately, the auntie and I kicked into action. The aunties shifted herself slightly to her left so that she occupied more of her seat while I crossed my leg to my right. Our combined efforts effectively blocked out any empty space in the middle. I started to wonder whether the auntie could read my mind. Ha.

Satisfied with our ingenuity, I continued with my audiobook. But guess what happened next?

Xavier came back a few minutes later and he approached our couch! I was thinking to myself, if he really comes here and asked to sit down, I will tell him, "Sorry prof. Can't you see that this couch is clearly meant for 2 person only? If you can read my mind, read it now and you will know what I'm telling ya. It's two words" Ha. :p

His distance from the couch shortened and his pace started to gather. Soon, we were face to face again. I braced myself.

"Excuse me, do you mind?" Xavier asked POLITELY.

This is it. I thought to myself.

I spoke.

"Sorry. You. This. Couch."

"Huh? Do you mind?" Xavier repeated glancing at the "middle space" of the couch.

"You. Couch."

"Err.. yah, I want to sit in this couch." Xavier smiled.

What could I do? I conceded and uncrossed my legs.

"Thank you." Xavier said.

I tell you, I'm sure he controlled my mind during our brief interaction. How else can you explain why I went down without a fight? Ha.

No lah, I did not talk to him but he really did ask me whether I mind. I stared at him but could not bring myself to say those nasty words. I was after all, a good guy. So I just reluctantly let him sit loh.

Anyway, the auntie left after a while and Xavier shifted to her seat. So, all was well. Until Cyclopes came along and demanded that everybody else gave up their seats to Xavier. Oops. I think that happened when I fell asleep. Ha.

Exam results will be released tomorrow. A bit nervous. Not too sure how I will do this sem. Will I aced it like back in the poly days? (Unlikely) or worse will I get relegated?! Ha. Most probably I think it will be another mid-table effort. The fight for the champions league spot continues. Ha.

Till then people, see you guys again! :)

Ha. I just saw this quote from our dear Kok's MSN. He's always full of crappy quotes. But I find them rather interesting. So this time round we have, "Why do human fall asleep, only to get up after that? Simple. Get your ass up after every fall in life!!" Ha. Nice. :)

Kings of Mahjong

Went to Alan's house yesterday to have a mahjong session with the gang. I think it was only the 2nd time I played with them. My Mahjong virginity was lost a couple of years back when Alan and I was introduced to this amazing/wonderful game during the CNY period.

I was not really into Mahjong after that first time cos the game seemed so complicated. So many rules to remember and the various confusing combinations to score points made the game more difficult to pick up.

It was only recently that I started to pick up Mahjong again, after Gys introduced me to this online multi player mahjong game, viwawa, which incidentally was introduced to him by Alan.

Dar dar loves to play viwawa too that's why after a few games of online mahjong with her, I got hooked. Ha.

Besides "training" online, I also started playing the hand phone version on my Nokia Mobile. Heck, I did not even know such an incredible game existed in my hand phone all along! I had to make up for lost time as I dutifully play whenever I had free time on the train, while waiting for lectures or even when having big conferences in the loo. Ha.

So, armed with my new found confidence after about 2 months of intensive training, I took up the challenge when Alan suggested heading over to his house for a game of Mahjong. I think they were all happy that they had found a new "victim" to "slaughter" Ha.

I was determined to prove them wrong.

However, let's just say that Mahjong online or the mobile version is way different from the real life one. Ha. Had no idea how to stack up the tiles and it was only after some rather patient guidance from the guys that I slowly picked it up. :)

Incredibly, the first real "noob" mistake of the game did not come from me, rather the honor fell to our one and only Figo. Ha.

For non-believers of Mahjong, there is this rule in the game which specifys that whoever fasely declares a win (Zha Hu) will have to pay for the whole game. The guys were kind enough to grant me a one time "Get out of Jail" card should I declare a false win since I was afterall a Noob.

Figo however, let's just call him the Zha Hu King, was way too experienced for that. Ha. He won the first game but it was only after some sweat inducing moments.

"Hu!" Figo declared triumphantly. But when Kok asked him, "Are you sure or not? You got any Tai?" (Tai is the Mahjong way of keeping score. To win you need at least one tai.)

Instantly, Figo tried to covered his tiles rather desperately with his hands and succeeded partly. Ha. Peeking at his tiles, he heaved a sign of relief after what seemed like mahjong eternity.

"Heng ah, got one tai." he exclaimed.

Ha. It was then that Alan and Kok told me that it was normal that Figo will Zha Hu and we just have to wait for that one chance to win all his money. Ha.

My first noob mistake came after a few games when I forgot to discard one tile after a "Pung" (In Mahjong, Pung is when you have 3 identical tiles") but instead drew another tile. I ended up with 14 tiles and therefore could not win the game anymore. Ha.

This mistake came about because in online mahjong, once I "Pung" I will AUTOMATICALLY be directed to discard one tile whereas in real-life mahjong, I was on my own! Ha.

Overall, I think I won about 3 games, including one Big one with 4 Tais. Figo was the ultimate winner despite his infamous Zha Hu reputation. Incredibly, he had a near perfect game that whole afternoon with no Zha Hu to his name. Ha.

The guys were telling me stories of how Gys used to play Mahjong with them and it made me feel regretful. Regretful that I never had a chance to play mahjong with Gys. Haiz.

Apparently, Gys was darn good at Mahjong and he will normally win everybody's money. Kok said that there was one time that Figo threw his wallet at Gys in frustration because he really lost badly.

"Take lah! Take everything in my wallet!" Figo screamed.

And you know what was the best part? There was not enough money in the wallet to cover his losses! Ha.

Well, things will never be the same again now that Gys has left us... It's almost 4 months now... Sometimes, I think that maybe deep down inside there's still a part of me that has not fully accepted that he is gone forever. When I think of him, it seemed so surreal.

I think I've blocked parts of my emotions because if I don't, the flood gates will open. I guess this is for the best.

No doubt that time will heal the pain and there's little purpose in lamenting what could have been. Just have to appreciate the gang I still have more and remember Gys in my heart.

Next time man, when our journey on this place ends we'll seek you out and we'll have endless sessions of Mahjong. Ha. Don't worry about losing though, there's always Figo the Zha Hu King. :)

Missing you.

Dar dar and other stories

Dar dar will be coming back in 3 days time! Yeah! Really miss my dar dar. :) Though she likes to nag at times, I'm starting to find my new-found peace a bit too much for my liking. Ha.

siu kai ah siu kai, talk crap when dar dar is not around ah, wait till she comes back then u noe. Ha.

Kok was fooling around on msn a couple of nights back and he commented that I was a "free" man this week and asked me how I was going to "enjoy" the sudden freedom.

My reply was simple.

"I'm 100% committed."

That earned me a "wah power" comment from Kok and a virtual pat on my back. Ha. Yah, I'm not getting any younger and dar dar meets my requirements. She's smart, independent, can cook. Good enough for me. :)

Ha. Yah, siukai is a simple man.

I always feel that ppl who can do maths are smart. How they can come up with instant solutions just by glancing at the problems really fascinates me. Dar dar told me it comes with hours and hours of practice. I beg to differ. I'm sure it must be some kind of sixth sense or something.

Maths sense maybe. Dar dar is particularly sensitive to numbers. She can smell a prime number miles away from her. Whereas I wouldn't even know if a complex number sneaked up from behind me and attacked!

Dar dar's maths standard is God-like compared to mine. Ha. However, I have not always been that poor in Maths; I aced it when I was in primary school. Then something happened during sec school.

And I never looked back when I was introduced to A-Maths. Additional Maths. I really have no idea why we needed Additional Maths. Can't we have subtractional Maths. Ha. Less maths? Get it? Ha.

Just for the record though, I aced my E-Maths, passed my A-Maths and got a distinction for my poly maths. Ha. So it seems that my maths actually not that bad what. Well... back then maybe not that bad but now... bad would be an understatement. Ha.

Dar dar is independent too but she also leaves some problems for me to solve. Ha. You see, we guys are problem solvers so we like to solve problems. If a girl becomes too overly independent, the guy will feel that he has no problems to solve, then it will result in a problem. Ha.

Yah, seriously, girls CANNOT be too independent. Leave something for us guys. Like most girls are clueless when it comes to electrical appliances or DIY stuff like drilling holes etc. That's when the guy can come in and fix the light bulb or nail the picture to the wall or choose the latest HD TV.

That is the realm of the man, if the girls enter and worse dominate that realm, the guy will feel that he is no longer "important" because the girls can do EVERYTHING by themselves. Since our cavemen times, it has always been the men who went out to hunt and bring back food. So I guess it's built into our system. That's why most men are "head of the household." Though most of the times, it's just in name lah. Ha.

I'm not crapping you! I read that from a book! Ha. Yah, if a guy feels that he can no longer contribute to the girl, he will go to someone else's place to drink soup.

Third important point I like about dar dar is that she can cook. Not gourmet standard but at least she tries. Mind you, I'm not expecting dar dar to cook like a maid when we get married. In fact, I don't mind cooking myself. :) I love to cook.

It's just that if a girl learns to cook for a guy, it's shows her commitment, determination and that she don't mind getting oily and dirty so that she can feed her family. That is good enough for me even if it means I have to eat the same dish for everyday for the rest of my life. Ha.

Told you I was a simple man. :)

You see, sometimes it's the actions and thoughts that matters. Not really the end result. As long as you remain committed to your cause, one fine day, you will get the result you desire.

That's why I'm working hard for the past few weeks because I want to buy dar dar a nice present for our 3 years anniversary in July. :) Ha. 3 years lei, that's really quite a milestone for us, considering it's my first relationship. :)

Love you dar dar. Muacks!

Had an "impulse moment" on Wednesday and I decided to discover the Southern Ridges as NParks put it. From the NParks website, "The Southern Ridges comprise a 9-kilometre chain of green, open spaces spanning the rolling hills of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park before ending at West Coast Park."

So, they recently completed the development and opened up the place to the public. The trails link Mount Faber to Telok Blangah Hill Park and Alexandra road.

I suddenly felt like going for a short trek after my interview at Boon Keng. So I boarded the train to Harbor Front. Armed with a 1.5 liters bottle mineral water which I bought from Vivo and an Curry O from Old Chang Kee I started my "adventure" in smart casual attire.

I must have looked a bit strange, in my G2000 long sleeves shirt and jeans. Nobody treks in a long sleeve shirt! Ha. I tried hard to ignore the stares I was getting. Ha.

The impromptu trek was still quite okay, not really THAT tiring. The terrain was relatively "friendly" except the stairs at the beginning that nearly took my life. Ha.

My best record so far is still the crazy long walk I had with Gys a few years back when we trekked from Commonwealth to Tampines that spanned 12 hours! Ha. It was inhumane.

Saw some interesting animals and there was this beautiful bird in particular that really took my breath away. (I'm not sure whether it was really the bird or due to the climbing of the stairs.) Alas! I had no camera with me! But wanting to share this beautiful sight, I decided to give my best artist impression of the bird.

It's really a beautiful bird!

Of course I forget to mention that I was not exactly the model student when it came to art. Ha.

I'm also currently trying out an experiment to determine the effects of mind power. I'm planning to use my mind power to get rid of the distracting looking tummy that has popped out without my authorization.

Of course I'm not going to just sit there and use my mind power solely. That might work but I fancy it would take maybe like one or two eternities. Ha. I'm going for regular jogging sessions and I visualise the fats burning in my tummy while jogging. The results seem favorable so far. Will update you guys of the progress. Ha.

I've got other stories to tell but it's almost afternoon now, got other stuffs to do. So I'll cya guys next time!

Remember, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." "You can do it!"

The Dream Team Alliance

GOOD MORNING!

Went jogging yesterday evening. It was the same route that I used to jog with Gys on Saturday mornings. This is the second time I went back since he left us.

Well, it's not the same when you are jogging alone. I still remember the crap we used to talk about while jogging on Saturday mornings. We will talk about our dreams and how we are going to succeed in the future. And sometimes he will talk about the girls he is currently chasing, those usual crap. Ha.

There was once i think he slept at about 4am because he was chatting online with this girl. But he still came jogging with me at 8.30am. Though he was mostly walking lah cos he said that he was very sleepy. Ha.

But at least he came. That showed his commitment. Of course there was also one time he overslept and did not turn up at all. Ha. Then he messaged me in the late morning and apologised. I ignored him. He called me later that night and apologised again, thinking I was angry with him. Ha. I wasn't at all lah. :)

When Gys and me decided to work together on the game project, he told me that we were a team now. A Dream Team Alliance as he called it. The purpose of a Dream Team Alliance was to motivate one another in the team. He told me that if ever I were to feel down or dis motivated, he will shout at me, ask me to get my ass up and never give up.

Likewise, if he were ever feeling the same, I will have permission to kick his ass too. Ha.

Yes, sometimes in life you really need such an alliance. Because there will definitely be downs in life. Sometimes you just wake up feeling like shit for no apparent reason. For the girls, maybe it's the monthly thingy. For guys though, maybe your favorite soccer team just lost the league to the Red Devils. Ha.

But sometimes, you just wake up and feel lousy. Then u start asking yourself questions and feel sorry for yourself. It is at this point that your dream team alliance comes in and shouts at you to WAKE UP YOUR IDEA! and that YOU CAN DO IT! and NEVER GIVE UP! or HANG IN THERE MAN! Ha.

It's not a silly idea. It does work, really. When gys and me were working on the game project, we made it a point to schedule our daily meetings at 8am in the morning. I live quite near Gys so it was okay, but I still have to wake up at about 7am because I walked over to his house.

Gys would also wake up at 7am and then bring his parents for breakfast. There were times when I woke up and felt darn tired. But when I thought that Gys will also be waking up at this time, I "forced" myself to wake up too. Because I could not let him and myself down.

There was one time when I was really veri tired and I wanted to postpone the meeting to 9am. But Gys wouldn't let me. He told me, "Come on! So fast already want to slack liao ah! 8am means 8am!"

That message gave me a sudden burst of energy. Ha. And we started our meeting promptly at 8am that day.

Now that Gys is gone, I'm really missing my Dream Team Alliance. Nowadays I wake up at 8.30am because I want to make full use of the day. The earliest bird catches the worm right? But the earliest worm get eaten up by the earliest bird? Ha.

Gys feels that Sleep is a waste of time and it's all in the mind. I only agree with him partly on that. Sleep is NOT a waste of time because we need it to recharge ourselves. But too much sleep is a waste of time. Sleeping is actually a habit. Most of us really just need about 6 hours of sleep, not 8 as widely known.

Furthermore, it's the quality rather than the quantity of the sleep that is important.

I have started my new habit of waking up at 8.30am for about 2 weeks liao. So far so good but these few days, I'm starting to wake up at 8.45am instead. Starting to feel my will power decreasing! This is the time I need someone to shout at me and ask me to get my lazy bum off the bed!

Any takers to sign up as siukai's dream team alliance? Ha.

Gys and me really shared a lot in common, our way of thinking towards life and our strict standards towards achieving success and perfection. Yah, both of us are staunch perfectionist. Now it's only me left and sometimes it's quite difficult to keep the mood up when there's no one beside you to give you a push and shout motivating words into your ear.

The temptation is really there to just give up the dreams and follow the "stable" and conventional route to life. I mean it's really so easy right. Why bother to purse your dreams? You can't feed yourself on your dreams right? Especially in Singapore. Come on Siu Kai! Join the crowd! Run the race with us. Put on your jogging shoes. Ha.

I can't. A gecko died there. (see previous post)

I think Gys will come and find me in my dreams if I really just give up like tat. I can't let him down and most importantly i can't let the people who still (I hope) believe in me down.

When I think of dar dar, siukai Junior and our dreams together, I tell myself that I MUST SUCCEED! Oh wait a minute, that sentence might be a bit misleading. siukai JR does not exist yet. It's part of our 10 years plan. But no, he's still not physical. Ha. Don't think otherwise. :P

And dar dar has been so nice and patient with me. :) I CANNOT LET HER DOWN!

Here's an experiment you can try now. It will prove something veri interesting. Close your eyes for a moment and think of a color. Say Yellow. Concentrate on that color and then open your eyes. Scan the place you are at now and you will suddenly see that all things that are yellow seems to be more obvious to you.

Close your eyes again and think of another color. Then open your eyes and repeat. Did the objects of the color of your choice seem more prominent now? Amazing right?

This experiment actually proves that whatever the mind concentrates on, the things will become obvious. So we can use this effect to our advantage. If we concentrate on say business opportunities, our brain will become more sensitive if one comes along. Or we concentrate on how to make money, then suddenly all those opportunities will suddenly seem to pop up from nowhere.

Similarly, if we think of negative stuffs, our brain will concentrate on those too. That's why it's so important to think positive. One very interesting stuff I read about professional F1 drivers is that because they know about this function of the brain, whenever their cars skid off the track, they DO NOT look at the wall but rather concentrate on the track.

Because they know that if they concentrate on how to avoid hitting the wall by looking at the wall, they will HIT the wall. That's the power of the brain.

Ha. siu kai likes to talk a lot of crap right? Ha. Actually siu kai just wants to inspire people who read his blog and brighten up their day. Because I know how sometimes the stress of life gets to you. So I hope that when you are unhappy or feeling down, reading some siukai crap will cheer you up.

Yah, because sometimes when I feel down I also hope that someone can cheer me up too. :)

I'll close with another "heartless quotes" Yah. Kok always like to give me his nonsensical but most of them time meaningful quotes. Ha. How can something be nonsensical and meaningful at the same time? Can. At siukai world loh. Ha.

"If there's something tat you wanna do tat makes u happy, go ahead and do it." The next line I added myself. "Life is too short to be sad. Don't worry. Be happy. Make Babies:) Live life to the max!" Ha.

GOOD AFTERNOON! and HAVE A NICE REST OF THE DAY! :)

Night of the Gecko II

I think my house has a serious case of Gecko Infestation. Something so horrible, so disgusting happened to me last night that I was having second thoughts whether I should even blog about it.

The terrible images, the flashbacks in my mind whenever I think of the incident still give me the creeps. Even as I am typing this, my fingers are trembling. Oh, maybe that's because my fan is at the maximum setting now. Ha. Curse the darn hot weather.

So, what the heck happened last night? NO, a gecko did not drop down from the ceiling into my soup while I was having dinner. YUCKS, that would really be one heck of an experience. And no, I did not find a gecko sharing my delicious bowl of mee siam. I don't think geckos like spicy stuff anyway. Ha.

Rather, the incident happened while I was in the bathroom, in my birthday suit and scrubbing my sports shoe. You want to ask me why I was in my birthday suit with my sports shoe? No, not because I enjoy scrubbing things while naked. Ha. Because I was about to take a shower and my sports shoes needed to be cleaned.

Aha! Siu kai, you must be scrubbing the sports shoe halfway when suddenly a gecko dropped down from the ceiling and onto... you know...

Ha. No way man. That would really freak me out. And maybe the gecko. Ha. Shall not go there, or else the MDA will have to slap a R21 rating on this blog entry. Ha.

Anyway, don't keep thinking that Geckos fall from the ceiling. Accordingly to what I learnt from Discovering Channel, they have rather "sucky" feet's that enable them to stick onto the walls rather securely. Thank GOD for that!

The only time I saw a gecko fall was when I was about to open the door grill and heard a tumbling sound. To my horror and disbelief, I saw one large gecko on the floor, desperately trying to get back up. I'm sure it was a drunk gecko because I swear I could smell alcohol. Oh, maybe it was my own breath. Ha. No lah, everybody knows that siukai can't and don't drink. :)

Kk, shall stop the suspense and get back to our main story. So, there I was happily err.. maybe not that happy lah. I don't really like to scrub dirty sports shoes. Ha. Okie, so I was scrubbing the shoes and I decided to soak them in soap water so as to remove the dirt quicker.

I filled up a shallow bucket with water then proceeded to add Dynamo washing powder, Dettol, Pantene Shampoo, Follow Me Conditioner and some Lux Beauty soap. Ha. You must be asking me why the heck did I add all those stuffs? Well, I figured anything that smells nice will help to clean my dirty and stinky shoes mah. Ha.

So, once I got a rather nice lather from my "secret" potion, I proceeded to dump my shoes into the bucket and let it absorb the cleaning agents for a few minutes. Then I took one shoe out and started scrubbing it.

Well, being the impatient guy I was, I scrubbed the first shoe for a good one minute before I went for the next one. I picked it up and was about to scrub the interior of the shoe when I saw the little baby gecko at the center of the insole. It was a bit pinkish and rather thin.

I was so stunned that I threw the shoe back into the bucket. The shoe made a splash in the water before sinking to the bottom of the bucket. Luckily I did not scream. That would be embarrassing!

It was a while before I regained my composure. And my first thought was, "Was that guy already dead before I started scrubbing? It seemed so because it looked a bit dried up."

I took a quick peek at the bucket. The baby gecko was floating. It was not moving. "Thank the Gecko Gods!" I thought. Then it started to twitch. WHAT THE HECK!!!

Have you seen a dying gecko swim? I assure you that it's not a pretty sight. Think those Japanese horror movies where the ghost moves awkwardly. It looked something like that.

Before I could react though, it stopped just as sudden as it had moved. I think the lethal combination of the Dettol, Pantene, Follow Me, Lux and Dynamo took their effects.

Gosh, I couldn't believed I actually took a life on Vesak Day! I said a silent prayer, hoping that the baby gecko will go to Gecko heaven and then flushed it down the hole. As for my sports shoes, another one or two scrub and I was done. No way I was going to continue scrubbing after what just happened.

You know what, I think I actually saw the baby gecko before. Yah, it was living under the basin, where my sports shoes were located. Now, I'm sad. :(

Yes, there's a whole generation of geckos living in my home. There's Daddy Gecko and a few mummy Geckos I think. Because I keep seeing Daddy Gecko with another mummy Gecko every few nights. They will normally come in through the window and Daddy Gecko will make some gecko sounds to indicate that he's home.

Then there's Grandpa Gecko who moves rather slowly and he's rather big-sized. I think it was him who felled from the door grill a couple of weeks back. Grandma Gecko I have not seen for a few days... Maybe she went to Gecko heaven too...

There's Boy Gecko who's rather daring because when I wake up to go to the toilet at night I will see him on the kitchen floor searching for food. There was one time when I was watching soccer and eating my usual potato chips when he actually dashed towards my packet of chips and tried to grab a bite.

Luckily I reacted quicker and managed to save my chips. But I still took pity on him and threw him one large chip. Surprisingly, he took a whiff and ignored it. It was then I realised that geckos don't like spicy stuffs. The chip was hot and spicy from Jack and Jills. Ha.

Finally, there's Uncle Gecko who I believe is a Man U fan like me. Most of the time, he will accompany me to watch late night soccer. And whenever man U scores, Uncle Gecko will make a strange sound; It sounds something like that, "Grooook" I think that's how Geckos say "Goal!" Ha.

You see, with such a close knit family of Gecko living in my house, I'm quite devastated that I actually took the life of one of their dearest. Accidentally of course. I hope Grandpa Gecko will start telling his grandson geckos to stop treating my sports shoes as a playground, not matter how tempting it is. Or else another accident is bound to happen.

And finally of course, please take everything you have just read with a pinch of salt. Not literally pls. Ha. The drowning really did took place but NO DAR, I DID NOT throw a potato chip to a gecko. :)

Let's get this party started!

As i am typing this entry, dar dar is like 2000 miles away from me. Yah, she flew to Taiwan with her mum and friends 2 days ago for a well-deserved holiday.

So what does this mean?

Simple.

FREEDOM!!!!

Ha. Just kiddin lah, dar dar will kill me if I do anything funny. Her instructions before she left were quite clear and straightforward: 1) No fooling around. 2) No monkey business 3) No heaty food 4) Don't be clumsy.

Ha. Of course, I made up the first two. I'm not a monkey. Brrrrr. That was quite a cold one isn't it? Ha. Okie, hw about this, No monkey business for me because I'm afraid of being fined by the NEA for feeding the monkeys at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

Wow. I can't believed I actually typed that. It's like so god damn lame. Ha. Talking about the monkeys, I actually took this module last semester about the Natural Heritage of Singapore. Quite an interesting module to take. Well, just want to reiterate NEA's stance on not feeding the monkeys.

Don't FEED THEM because if we do, we are actually disturbing mother nature's delicate way of working and when the monkeys become dependent on us for food, all hell or in this case monkeys will break loose! Ha.

Enough about monkey though, so where was I? Or yah, dar dar's 10 commandments. Ha. No lah, not actually that much, dar dar just wanted me to be careful and take care of myself because I'm like kinda clumsy. Ha. I'm already missing her nagging though.

Talking about dar dar, she likes to give me nicknames. I have nicks such as "Chipmunk" (she said I look like one), "Dugong", "T-Rex" (she said my hands were like a T-Rex while I was trying to pick some food at dinner) and the latest ones are "Currypuff" and "Pancake" (Because dar dar said my hair look like currypuff and pancake.) Ha.

Naughty Dar. :)

Went to watch the latest Thai flick, "Chocolate" with dar dar on Friday night. The movie, from the director of Ong-Bak's is about this autistic girl who is darn good at Muay Thai. I won't reveal too much of the plot here. Oh wait, I don't think the movie has got much of a plot anyway! Ha. Yah, it's just fight fight and more fight.

But the fight scenes are really quite spectacular at times. So I guess it's still quite a good movie to catch. As to why the movie is called Chocolate, I shall not spoil that for you.

After watching the movie, I was suddenly inspired. The Muay Thai was like really so impressive and cool. So I went back, put on my gears and headed to the nearest Thai Express. Ha. Nothing beats having a hot sumptuous Tom-Yam soup meal after watching a Thai movie. Ha.

Dar dar said that I should go learn Muay Thai too or maybe Taekwondo. It will help to get rid of my tummy which seems to have taken a life on its own these few weeks. Ha. Talking about Taekwondo suddenly makes me yearn for Korean food. I think my tummy has taken over my brain. Ha.

As for the weekend without dar dar, I was actually working at a roadshow promoting membership cards as I mentioned in my earlier post. It was quite fun, met some nice fellow promoters. :) But it was tiring too. Age must have caught up with me because I swear that I could not move the moment I laid on the couch after a hot bath when I reached home.

I tried to move my legs but they did not seem to response to my commands. It was only when I thought of eating some potato chips that I suddenly found godly strength in my legs again. I think I almost ran to the nearest Cheers outlet to purchase a large packet of potato chip. More evidence that my tummy has taken control of my cerebrum. Ha.

At the roadshows, there were some not that pleasant times too like the hot sun and some rather rude customers; people who think that you are invisible or they are just too important to talk to you.

Come on lah! At least have to courtesy to smile and say no or politely wave me off. Don't pretend you didn't hear me mah. These people I will just smile back but curse them silently. I curse that they will regret their decisions and then come back to subscribe 10 membership cards from me. Ha. I'm such an evil genius.

Dar dar will be coming back next Monday. That means 7 more days to go. So what am I waiting for? Let's get this party started!!! Ha.

Winners Make Sacrifices, Losers Make Excuses

I went for a briefing/training for my part-time job this afternoon. My main duty for this assignment will be to promote this membership card to potential members, more or less like a sales/recruiter job lah.

Anyway, I realised how much I have changed and learnt throughout the years. A few years back, I would never even in my wildest dream have thought that I will one day be taking on a sales position. You see, from young I was always the quiet and obedient boy sitting in a corner minding his own business. Ha.

I still remember the first time I actually went into sales; it was in 2004, the year when Gys, Kok and me decide to bravely and perhaps a bit foolishly invest money to purchase an automated doughnut machine and happily started to pursue our doughnuts empire dream at the pasar malams.

Before we could open for business though, we had to locate the Pasar Malam organiser in order to rent a stall at the Pasar Malam. I can still remember that I did not even dare to approach anyone. It was mainly Gys and Kok who did all the talking. Ha.

Yah, my skin then was extremely "thin" and I was not called "shy boy" for nothing. I had a reputation to maintain lei! Ha.

It was when we actually started selling the doughnuts that I began to open up. I had to because the sales figure was disastrous! I think we made our first sales of $2 after about an hour, far off our projected sales!

As the days went by, I began to enjoy myself more. We were actually singing crap and shouting crazy doughnuts slogan so as to attract the crowd to our stall. It was then that I realised that nobody actually give a damn about you, as in you make a fool out of yourself, people might laugh at you but after a while, they will leave. They will get on with their life and forget all about this group of crazy clowns. Ha.

Furthermore, if you are shy and you are afraid of this and that, you lose out. I think it was around that time that my skin started to thicken. :) Side track for a bit, I suddenly remember this particular episode where we sold a doughnut to an Eurasian.

He was quite a strange man as in he did not talk but just smiled at us and indicated that he wanted one stick of doughnuts. So we conjured up our masterpiece through this wonderful doughnut machine and handed it to him.

It was then that Gys decided to follow the man and see what was his reaction after eating the doughnut. (Because we did not have much confidence in our doughnuts). Ha. Gys followed the guy for a while and then he suddenly ran back to our stall, almost breathless. "He's coming back!!!" Gys exclaimed.

For that moment, we all thought that maybe our doughnuts really sucked so much that he was coming back to demand a refund. But guess what happened?

He actually came back, gave up a thumbs up, smiled and then left! Ha. That really made our day sia. Customer satisfaction to the max.

I think the doughnut venture though not successful really pushed me towards the path of entrepreneurship. After that I went on to sell muffins (a few years later without Gys and kok) while Gys actually went on to join 2 other partners to set up a company and eventually went solo to set up his own company.

Talking about Gys, there's really so much I wanted and could learn from him. Among us in the gang, I believe he's the only one who walked the walk. He wanted to pursue his dreams of making games. He told himself that he wanted to be his own boss and he really went for it.

He cut all the bridges and burnt the ships, he never looked back. One thing I really admire about him is that despite all the stress and hectic schedule that comes from being an entrepreneurship, his number one priority in life is still his family and friends. :)

Haiz... really missed that crappy guy.

About a few months back, I was complaining to Kok about how difficult my programming module was and how I was finding it difficult to cope because I was from the poly and this module was particularly theoretical and mathematical intensive.

Kok said something that really made me think hard for a while. He said, "My bro told me this, Winners make sacrifices, losers make excuses."

That statement is very very true. And I think this mentality is what differentiate the winners from the losers. Deep down inside, I know that if I really put in effort and more hours to study for this module, I will be able to do well, after all I'm not THAT stupid. Ha.

But was I willing to do it? No? That's why I was coming up with all these excuses so as to make myself feel better. Losers = Excuses. Winners = Sacrifices. Which are you?

A lot of people say they want to be their own boss, start their own business. But I realised that most of them are all talk no action. I witness for myself the serious extent of Loserisum.

The 2 years I was working before I started my studies at Uni last year, I had the opportunity to work at various places, some were quite an enriching experience while some really cannot make it.

The last place I worked at, the mood there was really so demoralising that you cannot help but be dragged down by them. People go back on the dot, have no pride in their work and are just counting the days to payday. That is really darn sad!

There was this guy who was scared of this, scared of that, scared of offending the users (we were doing desktop support) yet back at his desk, he will complain about this and that. Really a typical loser.

He says that he has no control. In fact, a lot of people I meet say that they hated their jobs but they cannot leave because they got commitments. And when I tell them I want to start a business, they will like admire me. (Maybe deep down inside they are thinking that this guy is talking crap. Ha. But little do these people know that they DO have a choice.

Before I continue further, let me tell you about one experiment I read in a book.

There was this hospital that housed terminally ill patients who had only a few months left to live. So, the doctors there decided to do an experiment. For the patients living on the first level, they did nothing. But for the second level patients, they actually gave them a plant to take care of.

The purpose of the plants was so that these patients had a sense of control of something. A few months later, most of the level one patients passed away while the second level patients who had plants were still alive. Some even showed improvement.

Then the doctors took away some plants from the second level patients and within a short while they passed away too. (I think the experiment was something like that, I can't really remember in details)

What did this experiment showed us? No, not that keeping plants can make us live longer but when one loses a sense of control of his life, he loses his will to live, in fact, when one feels that he is not in control, he finds little motivation to live.

Ask yourself this, on days when you really feel depressed, what was the reason? Was it because you dreaded going to work because you did not feel like it but you still had to go because you had "no choice"?

Most people feel very sad or stress especially when it comes to money and they are afraid of losing their job, that's why they keep working at it even though they really cannot stand it because they have to put the rice on the table.

These people whine, complain about mostly everything. They feel that their lives are out of their control but instead they are controlled by the environment/situation. Like if they get sacked by the company, they will say it's the company's fault. It's their bad luck.

But in truth, Everyone of us HAVE a CHOICE. It is just whether you are willing to bear the consequences if you make that decision. For example, someone who hates his job but cannot leave because he has to pay his house mortgage. He feels that he is trapped.

But no, he actually HAVE a choice. He can quit and find another job. But you must be saying, siu kai then what about the mortgage? Well, he can CHOOSE NOT to pay for it but it will of course not be practical right? So, maybe he can look for another job while he continues with his current job.

Perhaps the new job he finds is paying less than his current job. Well, he can either find another one that pays better or carry on his current job or take on other part-time jobs. You see, this guy has ample choices. Who says he is trapped in his job?

Losers make excuse. Winners make sacrifices.

Of course it is easier said than done, that's why I believe that your destiny is shaped by the decisions you make in every stage of your life. If you cannot afford the mortgage, don't buy a house yet. Wait till you are more stable in your career.

The people I cannot stand most are lazy people. Because these people thinks that the whole world owes them a living. Hello, NO ONE owes you a living. Singapore don't owe you a living just because you were born in Singapore. Your parents don't owe you a living just because they gave birth to you. (Maybe when you were younger they did.)

Sometimes I really don't know why people like to complain so much. Every morning when I read the Straits Times Forum, people complain about this and that. Can't they just shut the hell up and do something about it? Oh, maybe they are doing something about it by complaining. Ha.

I think I was suffering for Loserisum too for the past few years. When things go wrong, I will try to blame the situation, like maybe the task was too difficult, that maybe the client was too demanding. I did not take responsibility for the failure. I did not make enough sacrifices to ensure that I succeed. Instead, I came up with lots of excuses why I failed.

You see, it's never too late to wake up. Loserisum can be cured the moment you stop making excuses, take control of your life and take responsibility for the things that happen to you.

At the place where I'm studying now, I really don't like the competitiveness of the people. Most are self-centered and will go all out to score that all important A. But siukai, you are being naive, when you go out to work, it will also be like that what. People will compete to climb the corporate ladder.

That's what I hate about this. I'm not into climbing, I prefer crawling. Ha. You see, I don't like stress. Not that I can't work under stress, in fact I think I perform well under stress. Just that if I want to be stressed, I want to be stressed from within.

Like stress because I'm thinking of ways to outsell my competitors. Like stress from how to promote my new product I created myself. Not stressed from not being able to meet my bosses deadline for a presentation. Not stressed from not being able to come up with a good proposal for fear of losing that promotion.

You get the difference? Stress that comes from within I call it motivation. Motivation is good stress because you want to succeed for your own sake. Because YOU WANT TO. NOT YOU NEED TO. That's the difference!

Yah! I think I just reached another level of enlightenment. Ha. Need to = no choice. Want to = Got choice. It all boils down to choices again.

Of course there are people out there who have limited choices because maybe they simply do not have enough education to succeed or maybe heaven dealt them a poor card and they were born disabled or met with accidents.

These are the people I liked to help. But I cannot. Not I don't want to. But I cannot yet because I do not have the means. When I am rich enough, I will go all out and help people who really need the help; people who genuinely wants to climb up on their own feet but lack the means. NOT lazy people. People who can work but just stay at home and shake leg waiting for welfare money to come in.

I also want to help people with dreams. Because I know how much it means if someone can come along and give you a helping hand to push you one step closer to achieving that dream.

When I succeed in the future, I want to do a lot of things. I want to help my family, relatives, my friends and other people who really deserves the break.

Good guys deserves a good break. But sometimes the hand we are dealt with are just plain bad. I know how crappy it feels when you keep thinking but cannot fulfill that dream. So, trust me, I'll make things right the moment I succeed. :)

Remember, Winners Make Sacrifices, Losers Make Excuses.

I'll end with this quote from Will Smith's character in the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness. In the movie, Will Smith is a man who is trying very hard to survive and earn money to feed his son.

There was one scene which he told his son this, "Do not let somebody, not even me, tell you you can’t do it. People can’t do it themselves and they try to tell you you can’t do it. If you have a dream, go for it!”

Glory Glory Man United

Ryan Giggs of Man U lifting the Premier League Trophy

Hell yeah! The Red Devils are the Champions of England once again. Ha. :D After 9 months of intense battle, Man U deservedly lifted the trophy once more! Glory Glory Man United!!!

Have been supporting Man U since like for about 12 years now, since 1996 when I first started watching the English Premier League. Then, I was attracted by the likes of Peter Schmeichel (probably the best keeper in the world and at Man U) and Eric Cantona.

Some Great Saves by the Great Schmeichel

I think it was the Red Devil's brand of attacking football,(the way the beautiful game was supposed to be played) and their never-say-die mentality that drew me to them. Their endless "come-back-from-the-death" goals never fail to make my heart work faster. Ha.

Who can forget their treble winning season when they scored 2 goals in the 90 seconds of injury time to come back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 in the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich.

And the goal I will always remember is the one in the 1999 Semi-Final against Arsenal when who else but Ryan Giggs (incidentally, I was known as Ryan Giggs in our former Sunday Soccer League aka the CWL. Ha.)ran almost 3/4 of the pitch to score the winning goal in extra time.

One of the MOST memorable goals scored by Giggs

When Giggs scored that goal, I was loss for words and in deep shock. Yah, I didn't know he has got SUCH a HAIRY CHEST!!! Ha.

One trophy down, another one to go in a week and a half time. 21 May. Man U vs Chelsea for the Champions League Title. Let's hope that the Red Devils will prevail again!!!

Happy 34 Months Anniversary!!!

Today is me and dar dar's 34 months anniversary! That is 2 years and 10 months of togetherness. Ha. :) HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DAR DAR!!!

Declaration of Love

The Beautiful Game - The Girls just don't get it.

So it all boils down to this Sunday. Wigan vs Manchester United. Chelsea vs Bolton. Equal on points, there can only be one winner.

Either Man U or Chelsea will be crowned the EPL Champions of 07/08. And I sure hope that it will be my favorite Man U!!!

My dar asked me, "What's so great about the League? Just let Chelsea win lah. So what? It's not as if it's life and death?"

I'm guessing for those who have partners who aren't soccer fans, the above statement might sound rather familiar. Ha.

Yes, like what Bill Shankly (a famous footballer) said, "Football is not a matter of life and death, it's much more important than that! Ha.

Even the acclaimed Ronaldo, not the current Man U one but the buck-toothed Brazilian Ronaldo who took the world by storm a couple of years back, claimed that Football is far more better than sex! I'm sure his partner then would be quite insulted by that claim. Ha.

So what is it about soccer, also known as the Beautiful Game that fascinates us men? Seriously, what's so beautiful about grown up men running up and down a pitch chasing a ball for the whole of 90 minutes, not including the added time?

Some fans might argue, "Hey, Ronaldo (current Man U one) and Beckham (Former Man U, not with Galaxy) are beautiful what!"

Sure, but I don't think the beautiful game is called beautiful just because of a few pretty faces. For every "beautiful" footballer, there are at least 10 that don't make the cut. Think Rooney, Luke Chadwick... The list goes on!

I think soccer is much more deeper than that. For the guys, I think it has got more to do with passion, excitement, can't-catch-your-breath action, unpredictability. Seems that you can have that with sex too! Ha. But a full soccer match last at least 90 minutes. Need I go on? Ha.

Seriously, I think guys who like soccer normally inherits this "trait" from the parents or grandparents. For me, I was interested in soccer because my father watched soccer too. Heck, my father was once a soccer player! (Back in Macau lah, not in Singapore.)

When I was younger and we only had one TV in the living room, my father would sometimes interrupt our daily Ch8 drama viewing ritual because there was a soccer match showing at the same time. (Normally it would be the Singapore/Malaysia Cup)

Then, I had no idea what was the big deal about soccer and would grumble why he had to watch the match. Like what my dar like to say, "Can always watch the delay telecast mah." Ha. Of course, now I know better. Watching delayed soccer matches is like eating one week old bee hoon. Ha.

Now, waking up at 2.30am to catch a Champions League match or Euro/World Cup is the norm. Sacrificing sleep just so I can lie on the couch, turn on the TV and sleep some more. Ha. Yah, sometimes I just doze off on the couch while watching matches. (Normally involves Chelsea! Ha.)

I really can't seem to pinpoint what exactly it is about soccer that turn us guys on so much. I guess we are just wired differently from most girls. Just like why we guys just can't seem to get why girls like to buy so many different handbags or shoes?! Surely one or two is enough? Why need to buy a whole cabinet? Ha. That is a topic for discussion some other day.

So this Sunday, it all goes down the wire. Hopefully at midnight, when all is said and done, the fans that are celebrating are the fans donning the reds of Manchester United!

Peter and The Magic Thread

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Peter. Peter was a very lively little boy. Everyone loved him: his family, his teachers and his friends. But he did have one weakness.

Peter could never live in the moment. He had not learned to enjoy the process of life. When he was in school, he dreamed of being outside playing. When he was outside playing he dreamed of his summer vacation.

Peter constantly daydreamed, never taking the time to savor the special moments that filled his days. One morning, Peter was walking in a forest near his home. Feeling tired, he decided to rest on a patch of grass and eventually dozed off.

After only a few minutes of deep sleep, he heard someone calling his name. "Peter! Peter!" came the shrill voice from above. As he slowly opened his eyes, he was startled to see a striking woman standing above him.

She must have been over a hundred years old and her snow-white hair dangled well below her shoulders like a matted blanket of wool. In this woman's wrinkled hand was a magical little ball with a hole in the center and out of the hole dangled a long, golden thread.

"Peter", the old woman said, "This is the thread of your life. If you pull the thread just a bit, an hour will pass in seconds. If you pull a little harder, whole days will pass in minutes. And if you pull with all your might, months - even years -will pass by in days."

Peter grew very excited at this discovery. "I'd like to have it if I may?" he asked. The elderly woman quickly reached down and gave the ball with the magic thread to Peter.

The next day, Peter was sitting in the classroom feeling restless and bored. Suddenly, he remembered his new toy. As he pulled a little bit of the golden thread, he quickly found himself at home, playing in the garden. Realising the power of the magic thread, Peter soon grew tired of being a schoolboy and longed to be a teenager, with all the excitement that phase of life would bring.

So again, he pulled out the ball and pulled hard on the golden thread. Suddenly, he was a teenager with a very pretty young girlfriend named Elise. But Peter still wasn't content. He had never learned to enjoy the moment and to explore the simple wonders of every stage of his life.

Instead, he dreamed of being an adult. So again he pulled on the thread and many years whizzed by in an instant. Now he found that he had been transformed into a middle-age adult. Elise was now his wife and Peter was surrounded with a houseful of kids.

But Peter also noticed something else. His once jet black hair had started to turn grey. And his once youthful mother whom he loved so dearly had grown old and frail. Yet Peter could not live in the moment. He had never learned to "live in the now." So once again, he pulled on the magic thread and waited for the changes to appear.

Peter now found that he was a ninety-year-old man. His thick dark hair had turned white as snow and his beautiful young wife Elise had also grown old and had passed away a few years earlier. His wonderful children had grown up and left home to lead lives of their own.

For the first time in his entire life, Peter realised that he had not taken the time to embrace the wonders of living. He had never gone fishing with his kids or taken a moonlight stroll with Elise. He had never planted a garden or read those wonderful books his mother had loved to read.

Instead, he had hurried through life, never resting to see all that was good along the way. Peter became very sad at this discovery. He decided to go out to the forest where he used to walk as a boy to clear his head and warm his spirit.

As he entered the forest, he noticed that the little saplings of his childhood had grown into mightty oaks. The forest itself had matured into a paradise of nature. He lay down on a small patch of grass and fell into a deep slumber.

After only a minute, he heard someone calling out to him, "Peter! Peter!" cried the voice. He looked up in astonishment to see it was none other than the old woman who had given him the ball with the magic golden thread many years earlier.

"How have you enjoyed my special gift?" she asked.

Peter was direct in his reply.

"At first it was fun but now I hate it. My whole life has passed before my eyes without giving me the chance to enjoy it. Sure, there would have been sad times as well as great times but I haven't had the chance to experience either. I feel empty inside. I have missed the gift of living."

"You are very ungrateful," said the old woman. "But still, I will give you one last wish."

Peter thought for an instant and then answered hastily. "I'd like to go back to begin a schoolboy and live my life over again." He then returned to his deep sleep.

Again he heard someone calling his name and opened his eyes. "Who could it be this time?" he wondered. When he opened his eyes, he was absolutely delighted to see his mother standing over his bedside.

She looked young, healthy and radiant. Peter realised that the strange woman of the forest had indeed granted his wish and he had returned to his former life.

"Hurry up Peter. You sleep too much. You will be late if you don't get up this very minute." his mother nagged. Needless to say, Peter dashed out of his bed on this morning and began to live the way he had hoped.

Peter went on to live a full life, one rich with many delights, joys and triumphs, and it all started when he stopped sacrificing the present for the future and began to live in the moment...

Unfortunately, the story of Peter and the Magic Thread is just that, a story, a fairy tale. We here in the real world will never get a second chance to live life to the fullest.

Today is your chance to awaken to the gift of living - before it is too late. Time really does slip through your fingers like tiny grains of sand. Let this new day be the defining moment of your life, the day that you make the decision once and for all to focus on what is truly important to you...

Adapted from, "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari - A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny" by Robin S. Sharma.

Intermission

Exams are finally over and in the blink of an eye, it's May again. Almost half the year gone liao.

Had a really terrible/catastrophic start to 2008. As most if not all of u might noe already, Gys passed away suddenly. Shock, grief, regret. Yes, he was gone just like that; the unofficial advisor of the gang, he will and is still badly missed by us.

It's not everyday that you attend your best friend funeral, at a tender age of 25/26. It's just not normal. It was difficult to take obviously but life goes on. We have to keep on living, keep on breathing for the people who are still around.

2008 was supposed to be a brand new start for me, well I seem to keep saying that every year. Ha. But the sudden events that unfolded in Jan really turn things around. Life is unpredictable.

Still, all is not lost. There's another half a year ahead and of course much can be done. Slowly and surely, I'm finding myself again and deciding what I really want to do for the rest of my life - Relax.

Ha. Seriously, who wouldn't want to relax? But relax is not for me at the moment, I need to work hard now, to save up for marriage and the future beyond. Wow, suddenly Siu Kai is talking about marriage when a few years back, he was lamenting about the lack of a girlfriend. Yah, told you life was unpredictable.

Throughout the years, especially since after poly, I feel that I'm slowly maturing, like a fine cheese or wine, getting better with age. Ha. There were major changes in my thoughts, beliefs and the perspective on life. Besides the events I encountered, I feel that much of the change has got to do with the books I read.

There are a few books which really contributed much to these changes. The first one is "The Luck Factor" which is a book that seeks to prove scientifically that we create our own luck.

I still remember back in the poly days we used to call ourselves the losers because we do not seem to have any luck when it comes to the matters of the heart. Not only that whenever things go wrong we will comfort ourselves by saying it's okay, since we are losers anyway. Ha.

Like whenever we went out, the escalator at some place will breakdown. And we will point our fingers at each other and joked that it was us that cause the escalator to break down. Heck, we even had a slogan that goes something like this: "It's okay to lose. We like to lose. We are losers and we are damn proud of it!"

Ha. Really it was all meant to be a joke but we did not know then unconsciously we were making ourselves losers by thinking we were losers; what we think, we become.

It was not until I read "The Luck Factor" that i realised people who tends to get lucky is not because they were born lucky or because lady luck likes them. It's because of their actions and their beliefs. Simply put, if you think you are lucky, you will be lucky. It's all in the mind.

It's quite a good read, simple to ingest and it will really change your thinking on what is luck.

After reading the book, I was "enlightened" and from that day forth, I don't really believe in bad luck or anything like that. Because as explained, if you wake up in the morning and say you missed the bus or something and you start to think, oh hell it's a bad start to the morning.

And you go to work/school feeling that you are on an unlucky streak, you are sure to meet more "bad luck" for the rest of the day. Because you create the "bad luck" Your mood, your actions by believing that you will have bad luck actually cause "bad luck" to befall you.

Will stop explaining on this concept now or else it will turn into a lecture. Ha. Anyone interested to know more should pick up "The Luck Factor" by Dr Richard Wiseman.

The next book that made a difference in my life is "Rich Dad Poor Dad." I'm sure most of you would have read or heard about this book, it's the purplish covered books that you cannot miss at major bookstores.

The "Rich Dad Poor Dad" series changed my perspective on work and money. It made me realise that time is the most valuable asset and the concept of working for money and making money work for you.

Without a doubt this book kick started my entrepreneurship spirit. Is it a good or bad thing? Because now I cannot be like the "normal" people and work and get paid monthly. Curse or blessing? Only time will tell.

Another book that is equally important in my life is "The Success Principles" by Jack Canfield. The books talk about a lot of concepts but one that stuck out is on the topic of how we are in control of our own destiny.

The main idea is this, we always have a choice. The only thing that we have control over the whole wide world is our mind; how we think and how we react to situations. So whoever you are and wherever you are now all depended on the decisions you made throughout your life because you made the decision, you made the choice.

The book also pointed out that people complained about things which they can change, such as complaining about bad boss or terrible colleagues. But people never complain about things which they cannot change such as gravity. Have you ever heard someone complain about how gravity was preventing them from flying?

Unlikely because there is just no way you can resist gravity, so people live with it. Which brings me to the next point, When a situation occurs, you can either change the situation to what you desire or if it is impossible, you change your thinking towards the situation, you live with it.

It's a rather simple concept that I feel most people still cannot come to terms with. That's why after reading the book, I never or seldom complain anymore because I know that is is just futile. Either I change my thinking or I find an alternative.

Take the case of the rising rice prices. People complain this and that, complain that the government is not doing anything, complain how come rice increase so much. But it's a global phenomenon. Can we change the situation?

Possible but quite difficult unless you are the president of the United States and you hold lots of power. So, since we cannot change the fact that rice will keep on increasing, change our thinking/habits.

We can either work more to earn more money, stop eating rice and find other alternative food source or grow your own rice. Complaining? That doesn't solve the problem!

Note that the complain doesn't mean I don't send complaint emails or letters. I still do that because it's actually part of the solution to solve the problem. (For example complaining about bad customer services) Ha.

Finally, there is this recent audio book I listened to, "Awaken the Giant Within" by Anthony Robbins. It explains on how our brain associate events with either pain or pleasure.

For example, say you had a very good feast at some fancy restaurant and you really enjoyed it very much, therefore you brain will associate the event as pleasurable. Therefore you will want to go back next time. In contrast, when you are in the army you suffer a lot of hardships, pain. Therefore, whenever you see a green uniform now, you shudder.

But sometimes our brain can wrongly associate events. For example, let's say you have a bad day at work and you come home feeling pretty angry. Then you see your wife's face, makeup and all. If you focus on your wife's face, your brain might WRONGLY associate your wife's face with your anger/pain. Therefore an argument results.

And worse, next time when you see your wife's face, you may even feel a bit resentful. That's why when you are feeling angry, be careful of what you focus on because it may create undesirable associations in the brain.

Fortunately, we can make use of how our brain associate to our advantage. For example, let's say we use it to quit smoking. When people smoke, they feel pleasurable. So the brain associate smoking with pleasure and relaxation.

But you can change the association. Think of the cigarette and instead of focusing on the pleasure, focus on how the smoke stink, how much it is costing your wallet and imagine bad coughs and blackened lungs. Think pain.

The more you associate smoking with undesirable effects/pain your brain will slowly reject the cigarette when it sees one. Because we human beings simply don't like pain.

That is just one example. This concept which I just learnt recently taught me how we must be in control of our own feelings and always look out for wrong associations by the brain.

Wow, really write a lot here. Like giving mini lecture like that. Ha.

The school holidays have started but I'm not really looking forward to it because I know that I don't have the luxury of "enjoying" anymore. Really need to get my plans on track and not disappoint the people who have placed the trust in me. :)

There's another topic on the Kaizen method of Taking small steps which I mentioned briefly in my previous posts. Will talk about that next time. Ha.

Till then, remember a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Take action now!

Weekend Feast - Seafood Feast

Hi it's me again! Sorry for the lack of posts, was having exams... but it's finally over! Yeah!!!

Well, even though there were exams , the weekend feast must still go on. Must still feed my ever growing tummy mah. :) This week, Chef dar dar prepared a seafood feast.

Before I go into that though, let me show you this bag which I got for dar dar's mum aka my FUTURE mother-in-law for the upcoming mother's day. Don't you think the bag resembles something? Yes! A Har Gao!!! Ha.

Hao Gao Bag with cat

Found the bag rather cute and interesting so decided to buy it. Glad that Future Mother-in-law liked it.

Har Gao Bag

And here's some real har gao for you to compare. What resemblance! Ha.

Real Har Gao

Now, let's get on to the real food. For the ingredients we have caixin, prawns, sotong, fish, sambal chilli, banana leaves, big yellow onions and small lime. For the rice, dar dar decided to try this Hainanese chicken rice paste.

The prawns and sotong were marinated with seasoning and sambal chilli overnight. They were then pan-fried over banana leaves to add to the fragrance.

Ingredients

Prawns cooking

Sambal Prawns

Sotong Cooking

Sambal Sotong

Fish Cooking

Oh, and dar dar decided to try to roll the rice into the traditional Hainanese chicken rice ball which she saw on TV last week. And I must say that it was perfectly done!

Rice Balls

Seafood Feast

Rating:

Review: Quite a spicy meal that really stimulated the tastebuds. The prawns and sotong were just nicely cooked and was juicy to the bite. The simple vegetables soup also complemented the spicy dishes nicely.

Verdict: Not bad! Can Eat lah! Almost can sell liao!

Missing!

My dar dar says she's looking for someone:

"Can you find someone who is named dugong has a face who looks like a chipmunk, has pancake hair on his head and a big fat tummy!"

Ha Ha. Wanna guess who he is?