The game "spirit of the coin" is very famous among convent girls because our schools are usually located next to a graveyard. I have personally seen the coin moving very rapidly when other friends played that game.
One day, a particular friend (who is a non believer) and I decided to prove that these "things" do not exist. We played the game and called out to the spirit but the coin did not move at all. After a few attempts, we decided that we were right and we just left it at that without asking the spirit to return to the coin. That night, whether imagined or not, both of us felt uncomfortable and felt a tingling sensation. Next day, we were warned by a friend that we should have asked the spirit to return. In any case, since we did not, we just let the matter go and after a day or two things went back to normal. In any case, we did not put anything to the test after that.
In the last few years, I have become an ardent jungle trekker and do a fair bit of jungle trekking and camping. And you know what they say about jungles and spirits in these places. Personally I have not encountered any but I hear a lot from friends who have. I must admit though, at certain campsites and shelters, I have felt very uncomfortable and once or twice I have a sensation which the Chinese called "pei kwai chak". Whether these things exist or not, I'd rather not put it to the test. As long as "they" don't disturb me, I won't venture to find out more.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Things that go bump in the night
Since I moved into to my new condo, I have been hearing funny noises at night (eh, not the grunting sounds la!) such as people moving furniture after midnight, people throwing marbles/ pebbles, etc. Strange? I think so too. Maybe I have a hearing problem. The moving furniture bits can be explained away easily. It could be some crackpot neighbour who decided to rearrange his/ her furniture at night. But the other sound is really strange. It's like someone is tossing the guli methodically i.e. counting something .... 1 little indian, 2 little indian, 3 little indian ........ (fades away)
The first time I heard that, it gave me the spooks. I stood by the sliding door for sooo long, listening intently. When I went into my bedroom, I opened the window to listen again. Sure enough the sound was still there ... and it was 2+ am! Later, I checked with neighbours and was I glad to know that I am not the only one hearing things. But the mystery deepens. A neighbour also heard a similar noise and when he asked a guard to check on it the next day, he found out that the unit above him is vacant … The plot thickens …
“There’s something strange in the neighbourhood, who are you going to call? Ghost busters!”
The first time I heard that, it gave me the spooks. I stood by the sliding door for sooo long, listening intently. When I went into my bedroom, I opened the window to listen again. Sure enough the sound was still there ... and it was 2+ am! Later, I checked with neighbours and was I glad to know that I am not the only one hearing things. But the mystery deepens. A neighbour also heard a similar noise and when he asked a guard to check on it the next day, he found out that the unit above him is vacant … The plot thickens …
“There’s something strange in the neighbourhood, who are you going to call? Ghost busters!”
Sunrise, Sunset
I am unaware as to when my fascination with sunrise and sunset began. All I know is that it has slowly crept up on me. And over the years, I had chance to witness and “shoot” some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets around the world. The funny thing is, no matter how many shots I take, I remain absolutely fascinated and tremendously impressed.
At those moments when I capture it through my naked eye or through the solid lens of my digital camera, I feel peace. I feel so blessed to be alive and breathing; to be at that place, at that moment to capture that image in my mind. It is then that once again, I realise my unimportance in the bigger scheme of things. I am a mere speck of dust in this vast universe. It is then that I can remind myself that the world does NOT spin on my axis alone. And once again, I learn to appreciate how blessed I am to be truly alive and aware!
To quote Michael J. Fox, “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; Perfection is God’s business.”
Here is Perfection…
Tales of a non shop-a-holic in Bangkok
Now, if you think I am going to go all judgemental on the darker side of Bangkok, you are dead wrong. To put things into context, I am personally referring to the question of whether it’s a good idea for companies in general and my company in particular, to hold meetings in Bangkok. (He he he … what were you thinking of? ;p) Every night after the meeting ended, a group of us ladies practically rushed out to the nearest shopping mall or night market and shopped till we drop.
I am a die-hard non shop-a-holic! But even I succumbed to the attractions of the beautiful designs and goods in Bangkok and the crazy prices as well! (Although the merchants are getting smarter these days and refuse to bargain much. Darn!) In the 4 days since I have landed in this country, I have already gone shopping three times and look set to repeat the experience this Saturday at Chatuchak market. The 4000 baht I changed just for shopping is depleting fast and I have resorted to using credit cards at merchants that accept cards! I think I need to change more money tomorrow. Oh boy!
The first night, we went to Central Shopping Mall where I fell in love with this absolutely gorgeous bedsheet that fits my room just right. Yeah yeah! I know they sell bedsheet in Malaysia too but not like this one la. The colour matches my duvet too. :D Then I saw a nice jacket and blouse and couldn’t resist. Eh … I haven’t shopped in a long time la; so high time to improve my wardrobe. (And that’s not an excuse. It’s truly a reason. :P) Then last night and tonight, we went to Suan Lum night bazaar. And gosh! It was paradise. The home appliances i.e. cutlery and plates, the lightings, the cushion covers, table runners, etc. are all so beautiful. I was spoiled for choice. Unfortunately (or should I say fortunately for my pocket), I can’t cart all of them home. In any case, I shall not list down what I bought. I think I would have mucked up the inventory.
Talk about shopping madness! Oh well … two more days to go and counting! :p
I am a die-hard non shop-a-holic! But even I succumbed to the attractions of the beautiful designs and goods in Bangkok and the crazy prices as well! (Although the merchants are getting smarter these days and refuse to bargain much. Darn!) In the 4 days since I have landed in this country, I have already gone shopping three times and look set to repeat the experience this Saturday at Chatuchak market. The 4000 baht I changed just for shopping is depleting fast and I have resorted to using credit cards at merchants that accept cards! I think I need to change more money tomorrow. Oh boy!
The first night, we went to Central Shopping Mall where I fell in love with this absolutely gorgeous bedsheet that fits my room just right. Yeah yeah! I know they sell bedsheet in Malaysia too but not like this one la. The colour matches my duvet too. :D Then I saw a nice jacket and blouse and couldn’t resist. Eh … I haven’t shopped in a long time la; so high time to improve my wardrobe. (And that’s not an excuse. It’s truly a reason. :P) Then last night and tonight, we went to Suan Lum night bazaar. And gosh! It was paradise. The home appliances i.e. cutlery and plates, the lightings, the cushion covers, table runners, etc. are all so beautiful. I was spoiled for choice. Unfortunately (or should I say fortunately for my pocket), I can’t cart all of them home. In any case, I shall not list down what I bought. I think I would have mucked up the inventory.
Talk about shopping madness! Oh well … two more days to go and counting! :p
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Different drums for different drummers
Enough have been said about my unconventional life and lifestyle. Mom used to lament about my extremely independent nature and highly unconventional interests and lifestyle.
Right up to the middle of this year, I was still living the life of a minimalist, which means that my humble abode was truly a humble dump. Ha ha ha … For years I have been living like a varsity student with the barest necessities i.e. a small fridge and a very basic stove (courtesy from my eldest sister who left it to me when she moved to her own condo), a 14 inch TV (on loan from my Aunt), no washing machine and second hand furniture which was bought from my ex-roommate (when she moved out a couple of years back).
It’s not that I was “kiam siap” (cheap) but I really couldn’t be bothered with the comforts of life then. That was partly due to one of my previous jobs; which I lived almost out of a suitcase in those days. The other reason was that I didn’t want to be tied down by mortgages and loans. Nor do I want to have a lot of stuff with me to carry around when or if I move. Of course the real reason for all these is that I want to be financially independent. I want to be able to move jobs without worrying if I need to feed my house or my car or so on and so forth. I also need to save money to feed my one great passion in life ~ TRAVELLING.
Now, when it comes to travelling, I am equally unconventional. Not only do I not travel in comfort or go by tours, I also do not travel to normal destinations. My friends could not quite fathom why I insist on staying at backpackers while we could now afford hotels. They could not understand my fascination with countries like Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mongolia, Nepal, etc. They could not understand why I would seek to suffer by trekking in jungles and mountains; and living in shelters or tents. What could I say? How could I explain it? It’s in my blood I suppose. Or perhaps this is a way for me to “suck the marrow out of life”! Ultimately, it’s a combination of the challenges these travels post and the people I meet while I am backpacking. There is so much to be thankful for in life when you see how much these people live without. Yet, they live a simple and happy life.
In the last few years, I have finally succumbed to a life of dependency. I have finally bought myself a condo. My memory of how that happened is still pretty vague. I am not quite sure what transpired! All I know is the pain I feel when it comes to paying my monthly instalment. Bear in mind it’s not an asset to me as yet but a liability. I don’t own it, it belongs to the bank. Mom and Dad could not be more ecstatic. It was such a relieved for them to see me finally grounded. To them, I am finally spending my money wisely i.e. buying an asset instead of frittering my money away on intangible travels. There is hope yet for me! Ha ha ha … As for myself, lately I find that I wanted someplace permanent to return to. Perhaps I am finally ready to grow roots. Or perhaps my wanderlust has been tempered somewhat with age. In any case, I am still as keen on travelling and backpacking as before. In fact, these days, I seek more exotic places. It’s just that I want to come back to a home base.
Whatever it is, all I ask of the people I know and love could be summed up in the following poem/ quote entitled Different Drums and Different Drummers; which is an excerpt from a book entitled Please Understand Me.
------------------------------------------------
Different Drums and Different Drummers
Excerpted from Please Understand Me
•If I do not want what you want, please try not to tell me that my want is wrong.
•Or if I believe other than you, at least pause before you correct my view.
•Or if my emotions are less than yours or more given the same circumstances, try not to ask me to feel more strongly or weakly.
•Or yet if I act, or fail to act in the manner of your design for action, let me be.
•I do not, for the moment at least, ask you to understand me. That will only come when you are willing to give up changing me into a copy of you.
•I may be your spouse, your parent, your offspring, your friend, or your colleague.
•If you will allow me any of my own wants, or emotions, or beliefs, or actions, then you open yourself to me, so that some day these ways of mine might not seem so wrong, and might finally appear to you as right for me.
•To put up with me is the first step to understanding me. Not that you embrace my ways as right for you, but that you are no longer irritated or disappointed with me for my seeming waywardness.
•And in understanding me you might come to prize my differences from you, and far from seeking to change me, preserve and even nurture those differences.
--------------------------------------------
Right up to the middle of this year, I was still living the life of a minimalist, which means that my humble abode was truly a humble dump. Ha ha ha … For years I have been living like a varsity student with the barest necessities i.e. a small fridge and a very basic stove (courtesy from my eldest sister who left it to me when she moved to her own condo), a 14 inch TV (on loan from my Aunt), no washing machine and second hand furniture which was bought from my ex-roommate (when she moved out a couple of years back).
It’s not that I was “kiam siap” (cheap) but I really couldn’t be bothered with the comforts of life then. That was partly due to one of my previous jobs; which I lived almost out of a suitcase in those days. The other reason was that I didn’t want to be tied down by mortgages and loans. Nor do I want to have a lot of stuff with me to carry around when or if I move. Of course the real reason for all these is that I want to be financially independent. I want to be able to move jobs without worrying if I need to feed my house or my car or so on and so forth. I also need to save money to feed my one great passion in life ~ TRAVELLING.
Now, when it comes to travelling, I am equally unconventional. Not only do I not travel in comfort or go by tours, I also do not travel to normal destinations. My friends could not quite fathom why I insist on staying at backpackers while we could now afford hotels. They could not understand my fascination with countries like Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mongolia, Nepal, etc. They could not understand why I would seek to suffer by trekking in jungles and mountains; and living in shelters or tents. What could I say? How could I explain it? It’s in my blood I suppose. Or perhaps this is a way for me to “suck the marrow out of life”! Ultimately, it’s a combination of the challenges these travels post and the people I meet while I am backpacking. There is so much to be thankful for in life when you see how much these people live without. Yet, they live a simple and happy life.
In the last few years, I have finally succumbed to a life of dependency. I have finally bought myself a condo. My memory of how that happened is still pretty vague. I am not quite sure what transpired! All I know is the pain I feel when it comes to paying my monthly instalment. Bear in mind it’s not an asset to me as yet but a liability. I don’t own it, it belongs to the bank. Mom and Dad could not be more ecstatic. It was such a relieved for them to see me finally grounded. To them, I am finally spending my money wisely i.e. buying an asset instead of frittering my money away on intangible travels. There is hope yet for me! Ha ha ha … As for myself, lately I find that I wanted someplace permanent to return to. Perhaps I am finally ready to grow roots. Or perhaps my wanderlust has been tempered somewhat with age. In any case, I am still as keen on travelling and backpacking as before. In fact, these days, I seek more exotic places. It’s just that I want to come back to a home base.
Whatever it is, all I ask of the people I know and love could be summed up in the following poem/ quote entitled Different Drums and Different Drummers; which is an excerpt from a book entitled Please Understand Me.
------------------------------------------------
Different Drums and Different Drummers
Excerpted from Please Understand Me
•If I do not want what you want, please try not to tell me that my want is wrong.
•Or if I believe other than you, at least pause before you correct my view.
•Or if my emotions are less than yours or more given the same circumstances, try not to ask me to feel more strongly or weakly.
•Or yet if I act, or fail to act in the manner of your design for action, let me be.
•I do not, for the moment at least, ask you to understand me. That will only come when you are willing to give up changing me into a copy of you.
•I may be your spouse, your parent, your offspring, your friend, or your colleague.
•If you will allow me any of my own wants, or emotions, or beliefs, or actions, then you open yourself to me, so that some day these ways of mine might not seem so wrong, and might finally appear to you as right for me.
•To put up with me is the first step to understanding me. Not that you embrace my ways as right for you, but that you are no longer irritated or disappointed with me for my seeming waywardness.
•And in understanding me you might come to prize my differences from you, and far from seeking to change me, preserve and even nurture those differences.
--------------------------------------------
Of airports, airplanes and distant lands ...
I have never thought that airports, airplanes and distant lands are meeting places for long lost friends and acquaintances. But, it has occurred enough times for me to think that, people are travelling more for vacations or more jobs involve travelling or life is just full of coincidences.
Just this Monday, I met a varsity friend at KLIA who happened to be catching the same flight as me to Bangkok. I have not seen him since CNY this year and just over last weekend; we were supposed to contact him for a reunion dinner but somehow missed him out in the end. A couple of months back, while waiting for my flight from Penang Airport, I bumped into my junior from varsity who was also flying back from a job in Penang. I have not seen her since graduation, which is quite a few years ago. We did have a good chat at the airport café and managed to catch up with each other’s life while waiting for our return flight.
Sometime early this year, I was getting on a flight to Singapore. As I was about to take a seat in the plane, I noticed this lady sitting behind me and guess what?! She was my ex-colleague whom I last met a few years back. Then there was this time, I was in transit in Bangkok Airport. And who did I bump into? None other than a long lost cousin whom I last met in 1990. My goodness …
Going further back, I was backpacking with a friend in South Africa in 2002. One night, while we were having dinner at a restaurant in V&A Wharf in Capetown, one guy walked up to me and asked, “Are you from Batu Gajah?” I looked up in shock ~ I mean, he didn’t ask if I was from Malaysia; he did not ask if I came from Kuala Lumpur; but he could pin down my hometown! Finally, I discovered that he is a good friend of my classmate and the last we met was in high school!!! Now, the fact that he could still recognise me pleased me no end. Ha ha ha … I must still look that young. :p
And one other incident was in 1996. I was backpacking in UK then and visiting Cambridge where my cousin was studying. As my aunt drove past King’s College, I suddenly saw a familiar figure walking on the college grounds. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. To satisfy my curiousity, we gave chase and I called out his name. True enough, it was my junior from varsity. Turned out he was also backpacking with a group of friends but everyone had left by then and he just wanted to stay on for a last visit to Cambridge. Now, how’s that for coincidences?
Just this Monday, I met a varsity friend at KLIA who happened to be catching the same flight as me to Bangkok. I have not seen him since CNY this year and just over last weekend; we were supposed to contact him for a reunion dinner but somehow missed him out in the end. A couple of months back, while waiting for my flight from Penang Airport, I bumped into my junior from varsity who was also flying back from a job in Penang. I have not seen her since graduation, which is quite a few years ago. We did have a good chat at the airport café and managed to catch up with each other’s life while waiting for our return flight.
Sometime early this year, I was getting on a flight to Singapore. As I was about to take a seat in the plane, I noticed this lady sitting behind me and guess what?! She was my ex-colleague whom I last met a few years back. Then there was this time, I was in transit in Bangkok Airport. And who did I bump into? None other than a long lost cousin whom I last met in 1990. My goodness …
Going further back, I was backpacking with a friend in South Africa in 2002. One night, while we were having dinner at a restaurant in V&A Wharf in Capetown, one guy walked up to me and asked, “Are you from Batu Gajah?” I looked up in shock ~ I mean, he didn’t ask if I was from Malaysia; he did not ask if I came from Kuala Lumpur; but he could pin down my hometown! Finally, I discovered that he is a good friend of my classmate and the last we met was in high school!!! Now, the fact that he could still recognise me pleased me no end. Ha ha ha … I must still look that young. :p
And one other incident was in 1996. I was backpacking in UK then and visiting Cambridge where my cousin was studying. As my aunt drove past King’s College, I suddenly saw a familiar figure walking on the college grounds. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. To satisfy my curiousity, we gave chase and I called out his name. True enough, it was my junior from varsity. Turned out he was also backpacking with a group of friends but everyone had left by then and he just wanted to stay on for a last visit to Cambridge. Now, how’s that for coincidences?
Monday, September 26, 2005
Washing machine
With each passing moment, I am more and more convinced that washing machine IS the greatest invention of mankind! : ) You must pardon me my glee with this new “toy” that I finally owned after all these years of using the traditional method of hand washing my clothes! :p
Please allow me this few moments in cyberspace to rhapsodise over my new found love. What has the washing machine done for me? In the last hour plus, the washing machine has helped me wash two loads of laundry while allowing me time to spend on my other love ~ blogging! In the last few weeks, I have no fear of going to the gym more frequently as THE washing machine once again came to my rescue. Recently, I went on another trekking expedition and came back with another load of absolutely soiled laundry. But never fear. My trusty washing machine is here! In a matter of minutes, my dirty smelly laundry became clean and fragrant clothes. And all I need do is load the machine and hang the clothes!
Thus, I stand by my statement; “washing machine IS the greatest invention of mankind!” Now, if only mankind can invent a house cleaning machine where all I need do is push a button and let it run on its own. A robot like R2D2 or CP3O would be a great help! : )
Please allow me this few moments in cyberspace to rhapsodise over my new found love. What has the washing machine done for me? In the last hour plus, the washing machine has helped me wash two loads of laundry while allowing me time to spend on my other love ~ blogging! In the last few weeks, I have no fear of going to the gym more frequently as THE washing machine once again came to my rescue. Recently, I went on another trekking expedition and came back with another load of absolutely soiled laundry. But never fear. My trusty washing machine is here! In a matter of minutes, my dirty smelly laundry became clean and fragrant clothes. And all I need do is load the machine and hang the clothes!
Thus, I stand by my statement; “washing machine IS the greatest invention of mankind!” Now, if only mankind can invent a house cleaning machine where all I need do is push a button and let it run on its own. A robot like R2D2 or CP3O would be a great help! : )
Addiction!
ad•dic•tion n. (source: www.dictionary.com)
The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.
It is coming to the 7th day since I started this blog. And the verdict is I am terribly addicted to blogging. I can deny it no longer since I was happily typing away on my keyboard at 2+ am earlier yesterday and I am at it again today. I think about topics for my blog at every waking moment i.e. when I eat, when I drive and just before I drop off to sleep. Oh dear me!
This brings to mind my previous addictions. My ultimate all time addiction is coffee. I am a self confessed coffee addict. I used to drink 5 huge mugs of coffee a day until a couple of years back, when my doctor detected a high level of cholesterol in my blood and coffee was identified as one of the main contributor. I went cold turkey for one whole week … yes, one whole week mind you … but the withdrawal symptoms were terrible. (Now, I can empathise a little with smokers going cold turkey! :p ) Suddenly my mornings became lack lustre and it really got difficult for me to start the day. Luckily I found a loophole to the cholesterol issue ~ it was not the coffee, but the coffeemate! Since then, I started drinking coffee either black or with low fat milk. I also reduced my intake to 3 smaller mugs a day. My cholesterol level went down subsequently. And yee har, I can now still enjoy my mug of coffee without much guilt. : )
Earlier this year, during Chinese New Year, I was hopelessly addicted to The Da Vinci Code. It all started when I decided to find out what was the entire furore over Dan Brown’s The Da Vinvi Code. Much to my surprise and delight, it was such a page turner that I refused to sleep and had to practically lift my eyelids with toothpicks to finish the book. Then I spent subsequent hours on the net reading reviews and arguments on the book, and I even tried my hand at breaking codes on some online Da Vinci Code games. Yeah! Talk about addiction. Some things I don’t do half measures! Crazy some would call me … :P
Then there was the time a few months back when I discovered that the new condo I am moving into has an online community and an online forum. Weee … another round of addiction. For weeks, I would just check out the forum at every single free moment I have. A little confession here, I was late for a few appointments with friends because I forgot the time as I was busy reading or posting on the online forum. Thank god, I had a week holiday away from civilization which left me totally unconnected to the WWW and subsequently helped reduce my addiction to the forum. But just when I thought a cure was in sight …
Wait a minute, a cure is in sight! Blogging has cured my addiction to the forum! But sadly it has created yet another addiction. Will this ever end ???
Oh woe is me. : (
The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.
It is coming to the 7th day since I started this blog. And the verdict is I am terribly addicted to blogging. I can deny it no longer since I was happily typing away on my keyboard at 2+ am earlier yesterday and I am at it again today. I think about topics for my blog at every waking moment i.e. when I eat, when I drive and just before I drop off to sleep. Oh dear me!
This brings to mind my previous addictions. My ultimate all time addiction is coffee. I am a self confessed coffee addict. I used to drink 5 huge mugs of coffee a day until a couple of years back, when my doctor detected a high level of cholesterol in my blood and coffee was identified as one of the main contributor. I went cold turkey for one whole week … yes, one whole week mind you … but the withdrawal symptoms were terrible. (Now, I can empathise a little with smokers going cold turkey! :p ) Suddenly my mornings became lack lustre and it really got difficult for me to start the day. Luckily I found a loophole to the cholesterol issue ~ it was not the coffee, but the coffeemate! Since then, I started drinking coffee either black or with low fat milk. I also reduced my intake to 3 smaller mugs a day. My cholesterol level went down subsequently. And yee har, I can now still enjoy my mug of coffee without much guilt. : )
Earlier this year, during Chinese New Year, I was hopelessly addicted to The Da Vinci Code. It all started when I decided to find out what was the entire furore over Dan Brown’s The Da Vinvi Code. Much to my surprise and delight, it was such a page turner that I refused to sleep and had to practically lift my eyelids with toothpicks to finish the book. Then I spent subsequent hours on the net reading reviews and arguments on the book, and I even tried my hand at breaking codes on some online Da Vinci Code games. Yeah! Talk about addiction. Some things I don’t do half measures! Crazy some would call me … :P
Then there was the time a few months back when I discovered that the new condo I am moving into has an online community and an online forum. Weee … another round of addiction. For weeks, I would just check out the forum at every single free moment I have. A little confession here, I was late for a few appointments with friends because I forgot the time as I was busy reading or posting on the online forum. Thank god, I had a week holiday away from civilization which left me totally unconnected to the WWW and subsequently helped reduce my addiction to the forum. But just when I thought a cure was in sight …
Wait a minute, a cure is in sight! Blogging has cured my addiction to the forum! But sadly it has created yet another addiction. Will this ever end ???
Oh woe is me. : (
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Rites of passage
I have had a total of 4 reunions this month. One was with my school mates, second was with my ex-colleagues, third with my fellow trekking mate (who moved to Thailand after he got married) and finally with my varsity mates. As we reminisced over our past, caught up with each other regarding our present and discussed about the future, I realised that our ideals and attitudes have changed through the years. And as I met these people who have come into different stages of my life and in some way influenced it, I realised that even my priorities have changed. It was time I reflected on my rites of passage.
The eager high school student went to varsity with a lot of idealism and hope of changing the world and seeking equality for mankind. In the four years of varsity, she realised that altruism didn’t pay much and thus was seduced to realise a career in the fast paced world of corporate life. Upon graduation, still with her integrity and principles intact but with her altruistic plans placed on the back burner, she was dragged into the rat race.
Hungry to prove herself and to find new challenges, she flit from job to job, never quite satisfied with what she had and always seeking for the next challenge. Routine jobs were never her cup of tea but which job does not become routine after some time? She hated office politics but even the academic world has politics. As time passed, her principles and ideals became less clear. Answers that seemed to be black and white suddenly had shades of grey. Her goals in life, which seemed so clear after graduation, became blurry. All of a sudden, she was totally lost ~ lost because she couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
Through those dark moments, an event occurred that made her realised that she had been looking at things the wrong way. It was not just the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that’s important, but the journey towards finding that pot of gold!
And as I looked at the faces of my fellow varsity mates during our reunion tonight, I read contentment there. Each of them probably has a similar story to mine but with different peaks and troughs in life. But through the years, we have finally found our own peace. However, just today, another friend warned me about not letting contentment lead to complacency. Hmmm … now that’s food for thought.
The way I look at it, life is like an economic equation. Contentment is like achieving equilibrium. And as we do not live isolated from the world i.e. we live in an open economy, market forces may change and changes in market forces will throw us out of the equilibrium state. But this state will not last long as, either through market forces or personal intervention; we will reach a new equilibrium. The important thing to note is that we realised there will always be a state of equilibrium after an in equilibrium. And sometimes we could intervene to speed up the next equilibrium.
Now, have I totally confused everyone? Am I the only one following this theory? Or perhaps there’s too much symbolism in this piece. In that case, I shall stop here and not throw in another friend’s theory about life; which he equates to Einstein’s theory of relativity. I’ll blog that another day … or maybe not. :)
Good night folks. Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.
ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz …
The eager high school student went to varsity with a lot of idealism and hope of changing the world and seeking equality for mankind. In the four years of varsity, she realised that altruism didn’t pay much and thus was seduced to realise a career in the fast paced world of corporate life. Upon graduation, still with her integrity and principles intact but with her altruistic plans placed on the back burner, she was dragged into the rat race.
Hungry to prove herself and to find new challenges, she flit from job to job, never quite satisfied with what she had and always seeking for the next challenge. Routine jobs were never her cup of tea but which job does not become routine after some time? She hated office politics but even the academic world has politics. As time passed, her principles and ideals became less clear. Answers that seemed to be black and white suddenly had shades of grey. Her goals in life, which seemed so clear after graduation, became blurry. All of a sudden, she was totally lost ~ lost because she couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
Through those dark moments, an event occurred that made her realised that she had been looking at things the wrong way. It was not just the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that’s important, but the journey towards finding that pot of gold!
And as I looked at the faces of my fellow varsity mates during our reunion tonight, I read contentment there. Each of them probably has a similar story to mine but with different peaks and troughs in life. But through the years, we have finally found our own peace. However, just today, another friend warned me about not letting contentment lead to complacency. Hmmm … now that’s food for thought.
The way I look at it, life is like an economic equation. Contentment is like achieving equilibrium. And as we do not live isolated from the world i.e. we live in an open economy, market forces may change and changes in market forces will throw us out of the equilibrium state. But this state will not last long as, either through market forces or personal intervention; we will reach a new equilibrium. The important thing to note is that we realised there will always be a state of equilibrium after an in equilibrium. And sometimes we could intervene to speed up the next equilibrium.
Now, have I totally confused everyone? Am I the only one following this theory? Or perhaps there’s too much symbolism in this piece. In that case, I shall stop here and not throw in another friend’s theory about life; which he equates to Einstein’s theory of relativity. I’ll blog that another day … or maybe not. :)
Good night folks. Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.
ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz …
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Body Combat
My favourite gym class is Body Combat. I really enjoy all that jumping, kicking, punching and shouting! "Hah hah hah hah!" :) Sometimes I feel like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Jet Li. Take your pick. Hehehe ... It helps that the eyes can also feast on beautiful muscles during the class while you are working out your flabs. :p A few of the instructors do look really yummy when they do the body combat.
For the uninitiated, body combat is a martial arts-based class. It combines moves and stances developed from a range of self-defence disciplines including, karate, kickboxing, tai chi and tae kwondo into an adrenaline-pumping routine. And it is served on the platter with a huge range of upbeat music. Thus, for 45 minutes to an hour, you can sweat it out in the gym and have great fun throwing punches, jabs, hooks and kicks.
For first timers, it could be a bit strenous and confusing with all the different movements at first. But after a few classes, you will get the hang of it. Just do not take the martial arts bits so seriously coz most of the time, many instructors do not pay that much attention to the precision and accuracy of the martial arts. It's just a great way to do some cardio exercise. Among my favourite moves are the round house kick and the jumping kick. Not that I do it with great precision, style and accuracy but one could dream eh. ;) In any case, it is a lot easier for me to do body combat than body jam or aerobics as my coordination level is not too great. Besides, I swear I am born with 2 left feet! :p
So, the next time you get to the gym, you might want to check out body combat. You won't regret it! :)
"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."
~ Bruce Lee
For the uninitiated, body combat is a martial arts-based class. It combines moves and stances developed from a range of self-defence disciplines including, karate, kickboxing, tai chi and tae kwondo into an adrenaline-pumping routine. And it is served on the platter with a huge range of upbeat music. Thus, for 45 minutes to an hour, you can sweat it out in the gym and have great fun throwing punches, jabs, hooks and kicks.
For first timers, it could be a bit strenous and confusing with all the different movements at first. But after a few classes, you will get the hang of it. Just do not take the martial arts bits so seriously coz most of the time, many instructors do not pay that much attention to the precision and accuracy of the martial arts. It's just a great way to do some cardio exercise. Among my favourite moves are the round house kick and the jumping kick. Not that I do it with great precision, style and accuracy but one could dream eh. ;) In any case, it is a lot easier for me to do body combat than body jam or aerobics as my coordination level is not too great. Besides, I swear I am born with 2 left feet! :p
So, the next time you get to the gym, you might want to check out body combat. You won't regret it! :)
"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."
~ Bruce Lee
Friday, September 23, 2005
TGIF
It has been a long week! Was it me or did the week seem to drag? 2006 planning season has kicked in and it can be highly stressful at times. In the span of a week, I had three different conversations with three regional executives regarding my plans for next year. With escalating costs and a slowdown in economy, the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow seems further away than ever in 2006. But management still expects a higher target and a lower spend next year. (That’s nothing new anyway.) Meanwhile, we are chasing sales like crazy; trying to meet this year’s targets. Sometimes when I think about it, I feel like we are: “in a circle, in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel … never ending nor beginning, like an endless spinning wheel.” It’s a vicious cycle.
Oh well, enough whining. The weekend is finally here. Yippee! TGIF …
Leanne signing out … yippee do daa …
* doing the happy dance*
Oh well, enough whining. The weekend is finally here. Yippee! TGIF …
Leanne signing out … yippee do daa …
* doing the happy dance*
Sucking the marrow out of life ...
Sometimes, an event occurs and changes your entire perspecitve of life. This happened to me about 5 years ago. And I would like to share with you my musings then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All of us are guilty of being so wrapped up with our own lives and trials that we mostly forget the world do not centre upon us alone.
It was a rude awakening for me when I received an email from a good friend saying that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is only 34! I have known Jen for a couple of years now. She is my cinema-going and books-exchange friend. One of those friends whom I might not meet for ages, but when we do, we are never lacked of things to say!!! How to describe Jen? Well, she is a strong and healthy woman, in more ways than one. She is hardworking and has this enormous capacity to absorb facts. She is the sort of woman who is a little unconventional – after all she spent six months bumming around Europe!
The news about Jen came as a shock to all of us. There was neither rhyme nor reason for it. But such is life! The good and especially the bad come with no warning! I have no idea exactly what ensued for weeks after that email. Jen was always busy and hardly had the time to talk to us. When we finally met, she was in the hospital after surgery. My worry of not knowing what to say turned into awe for her. For Jen asked for no pity! The determination in her eyes and the unflagging spirit in her voice said it all. Whilst she is not laughing at the face of adversity, there was definitely a smile there!
Jen has made peace with her lot in life in a way that I wish I could with my little problems. She is mastering her fear by voraciously seeking and absorbing every detail about her illness. Her determination to gain that self-control and deal with life has earned my respect. How she dealt with her own demons, that I have no idea. I know for sure though that the darkest hour has beset her but she managed to triumph over it. Jen’s philosophy seems simple. She has lived her life with few regrets. Fate has dealt her a harsh hand, but it is not deathly as yet. She knows not what the future might bring, but she will live for the present and she is getting on with life.
From Jen I learned a simple but valuable lesson. Life is too short to bemoan it. Make the best of what we have and move on. Jen is going to start her chemotherapy soon. I know that she is worried and a little confused over the differences of opinions from her doctors. I just want her to know that there are a lot of people rooting for her. She has come so far and with such courage.
As Virgil, the Roman poet, once said and I quote, “ Death plucks my ear and says, ‘Live, I am coming.’”
Jen, you are the living proof.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's 5 years later now and Jen is healthy and alive. And still as passionate about living. It's a beautiful lesson learnt. We can't just be a spectator in life for we do not know when calamity will strike us. We have to participate in it, live it, and suck the marrow out of life!
As it is so aptly put in this poem by Henry David Thoreau (American essayist, poet and philosopher, 1817-1862), "I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep & suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life & not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived."
Go for it! Carpe Diem!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All of us are guilty of being so wrapped up with our own lives and trials that we mostly forget the world do not centre upon us alone.
It was a rude awakening for me when I received an email from a good friend saying that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is only 34! I have known Jen for a couple of years now. She is my cinema-going and books-exchange friend. One of those friends whom I might not meet for ages, but when we do, we are never lacked of things to say!!! How to describe Jen? Well, she is a strong and healthy woman, in more ways than one. She is hardworking and has this enormous capacity to absorb facts. She is the sort of woman who is a little unconventional – after all she spent six months bumming around Europe!
The news about Jen came as a shock to all of us. There was neither rhyme nor reason for it. But such is life! The good and especially the bad come with no warning! I have no idea exactly what ensued for weeks after that email. Jen was always busy and hardly had the time to talk to us. When we finally met, she was in the hospital after surgery. My worry of not knowing what to say turned into awe for her. For Jen asked for no pity! The determination in her eyes and the unflagging spirit in her voice said it all. Whilst she is not laughing at the face of adversity, there was definitely a smile there!
Jen has made peace with her lot in life in a way that I wish I could with my little problems. She is mastering her fear by voraciously seeking and absorbing every detail about her illness. Her determination to gain that self-control and deal with life has earned my respect. How she dealt with her own demons, that I have no idea. I know for sure though that the darkest hour has beset her but she managed to triumph over it. Jen’s philosophy seems simple. She has lived her life with few regrets. Fate has dealt her a harsh hand, but it is not deathly as yet. She knows not what the future might bring, but she will live for the present and she is getting on with life.
From Jen I learned a simple but valuable lesson. Life is too short to bemoan it. Make the best of what we have and move on. Jen is going to start her chemotherapy soon. I know that she is worried and a little confused over the differences of opinions from her doctors. I just want her to know that there are a lot of people rooting for her. She has come so far and with such courage.
As Virgil, the Roman poet, once said and I quote, “ Death plucks my ear and says, ‘Live, I am coming.’”
Jen, you are the living proof.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's 5 years later now and Jen is healthy and alive. And still as passionate about living. It's a beautiful lesson learnt. We can't just be a spectator in life for we do not know when calamity will strike us. We have to participate in it, live it, and suck the marrow out of life!
As it is so aptly put in this poem by Henry David Thoreau (American essayist, poet and philosopher, 1817-1862), "I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep & suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life & not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived."
Go for it! Carpe Diem!
Thursday, September 22, 2005
To Pay or Not To Pay ($$$)
I always face this dilemma when I am out with a guy. Living in this bra-burning (figuratively speaking) and women liberating/ emancipating era, “to pay or not to pay” still remains a question.
There is this male friend I go out with whenever he is in town. From the day I know him, he seldom lets me pay. The first time I tried, he brushed me off saying that he could afford it. Ahem! I wouldn’t dare insult him after that. It was nice at first. Ok, ok, I admit it. Free lunch or dinner always tastes better. :) But after awhile, I began to feel bad. It is not like we are in a “relationship”. (Even if we are, there is no excuse that one party always pays unless he is filthy rich of course! :p) We are just friends who hang out together. It doesn’t seem fair that he pays all the time. In the end, I managed to convince him that sometimes, I should pay too. After all, I am a 21st century woman! The pride demands it, but the pocket suffers because of it. :p
Then, there is the other extreme. I have this other male friend who calculates down to the last sen whenever we go out. Sometimes I wish he is less calculative. I mean, we hang out together, at mamak stalls mostly. It has never ceased to amaze me that he would split the cost of teh tarik and roti canai. My policy is I pay today, you pay tomorrow. Why should we split everything down to half? That makes one look so “kiam siap”.
Last night when I went out with a new friend, I discovered that he has a rule on paying when it comes to women. His rule is if he asks the lady out, he pays. If the lady asks him out, he pays too … unless there has been a prior agreement that the lady wants to pay. Even then, he would go “dutch”. Hmmm … I kind of like his philosophy. Hahaha … He claims that this is a practice he learnt from the British men. Hmmm … chivalry ain’t dead after all. Great! I wouldn’t mind dating British men then. “Hey you strong handsome Brits out there, welcome to my parlour!” Said the spider to the fly. :p
In any case, the question still remains, “To pay or not to pay”. Life sure ain’t easy for the millennium woman! Don’t you think? :)
There is this male friend I go out with whenever he is in town. From the day I know him, he seldom lets me pay. The first time I tried, he brushed me off saying that he could afford it. Ahem! I wouldn’t dare insult him after that. It was nice at first. Ok, ok, I admit it. Free lunch or dinner always tastes better. :) But after awhile, I began to feel bad. It is not like we are in a “relationship”. (Even if we are, there is no excuse that one party always pays unless he is filthy rich of course! :p) We are just friends who hang out together. It doesn’t seem fair that he pays all the time. In the end, I managed to convince him that sometimes, I should pay too. After all, I am a 21st century woman! The pride demands it, but the pocket suffers because of it. :p
Then, there is the other extreme. I have this other male friend who calculates down to the last sen whenever we go out. Sometimes I wish he is less calculative. I mean, we hang out together, at mamak stalls mostly. It has never ceased to amaze me that he would split the cost of teh tarik and roti canai. My policy is I pay today, you pay tomorrow. Why should we split everything down to half? That makes one look so “kiam siap”.
Last night when I went out with a new friend, I discovered that he has a rule on paying when it comes to women. His rule is if he asks the lady out, he pays. If the lady asks him out, he pays too … unless there has been a prior agreement that the lady wants to pay. Even then, he would go “dutch”. Hmmm … I kind of like his philosophy. Hahaha … He claims that this is a practice he learnt from the British men. Hmmm … chivalry ain’t dead after all. Great! I wouldn’t mind dating British men then. “Hey you strong handsome Brits out there, welcome to my parlour!” Said the spider to the fly. :p
In any case, the question still remains, “To pay or not to pay”. Life sure ain’t easy for the millennium woman! Don’t you think? :)
Beauty and sex sells!
Ever wondered what liquor, cigarette and oil companies have in common? This question was posed to me by my colleague yesterday. If you say “girls”, then you are spot on ~ beautiful, sexy girls to be more precise. What else can I say except that beauty and sex sells … especially in male dominated, male oriented and male targeted industries.
This brings to mind a highly provocative discussion we had with our CRM (Customer Relationship Management) lecturer last year. The topic was on what constitutes a “relationship” in the CRM context. Clearly, the lecturer believes that a “relationship” can only exist between two or more people. According to him, a “relationship” cannot exist between a buyer and the brand because the human element is missing. The lecturer went on further to explain that we have to look at CRM in a broader context i.e. that the human element in delivering or supporting the product would be able to build that crucial “relationship” with the customer.
This got the class going and we started throwing examples of customer relationship. One of the examples quoted is the sexy girls selling cigarettes and beers at pubs and bars. The reasoning is that the girls help build a “relationship” with the customer and they deliver the crucial human element that the lecturer preached earlier. The lecturer disagreed and called that exploitation of women and sex. In any case, a heated debate ensued and we ended the class with the guys trying to rile up the lecturer by saying that after a hard days work, they don’t need intelligent conversation at pubs and therefore, they only need to look at pretty girls with big boobs. Thus, sexy Carlsberg and Marlboro ladies work for them. *rolls eyes* (Boredom had set in by then and the guys just wanted their pound of flesh! Hahaha ...)
In any case, it got me thinking. Let’s forget CRM for a moment and look at Marketing as a whole. The first rule of marketing is to know your consumers/ customers. And then influence them to purchase. Now, that influence may come in different packaging and add on services i.e the window dressing. Geee … I hope I don’t come off sounding like a pimp or a mamasan. That was not my intention. What I am trying to point out is that when we get to the sphere of influence; like it or not, beauty and sex does sell. And is that exploitation of women? That’s a tough question. I would take the stand that yes, to a certain extent it is exploitation of women. But I would have to then add that women use their beauty to exploit in return. Having been in marketing for donkey years, I can attest to the fact that women who work the pubs selling cigarettes and beers earn relatively “big” money for a few hours of work.
Yes, beauty and sex sells. But are women exploited or do they use their beauty to exploit?
The verdict is yours …
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Run-a-muck!
Second day into my blogs. No earth shattering revelation except perhaps that I might just admit to the fact that I am not as young and fit as I thought. My downfall? The Run-a-muck of course!!!
Now, why in the heck did I decide to join the "Run-a-muck!" competition. For the uninitiated, this is an annual, global fitness challenge whereby for one month, employees of this company will "sweat" it out to battle for the title of the best "Run-a-muck!" team. I don't even remember what the prize is ... but the idea of keeping fit on a daily exercise routine seemed extremely attractive and challenging two weeks ago. God forbid why. I tell ya ... someone must have drugged me when they made me agree to join this unholy madness!! :p
Now, going onto the 10th day of the event, I am seriously lack of sleep, frankly out of energy ... and wayyy out of shape. I can't believe it. There are aches in places I never thought existed! But the show must go on ... I can't let my team down. And therefore, I have to sign off now and drag myself to the gym to work out my quota for the day.
Oh well, a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do. Even if it's a crazy thang!
I'll be back tomorrow. Pray for my good health ....
Peace
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Jumping onto the blog wagon!
It is one of those days. You know you have lots to do but you just can't scrape up enough enthusiasm to do much of anything. So, here I am .... browsing through forums and blogs and finally jumping onto the blog wagon. Pity it's not a volkswagen ... now that car is a dream! ... but I digress.
This feels like one of those "dear diary" moments during my misunderstood youth, where I needed to vent my angst at "someone". Dear diary, why did Leonard not write when he promised to write? Dear diary, why could "che che" go for the trip but I am left behind? Dear diary, blah blah blah .... Except that this time, it would be: Dear diary, please get my big big boss off my back ...
How life changes when you grow up eh? My dear diary moments have always been during my teenage years. Every moment seemed like a life defining one i.e. my first slow dance, my first crush, my first heart break .... I can't even remember why I stopped writing. Maybe I grew up and life got too hectic for me or maybe I lost steam as I trudged along life's neverending paths. Or maybe, life lost its edge, I lost my fascination with all things new ... and everything becomes a drudgery.
Yikes! I sound like an old hag with no enthusiasm for life! :p Nay, that was only pure drama ... Or call it poetic license! In any case, I am about to rediscover the joy and pain of every day living through my blogs .. yippee! Come share my angst ....
Watch this space for more ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
