So Quoth I, On Men and Women...

Was helping a friend out, finding quotes for her presentation when I came across this.

"A man who will not lie to a woman has very little consideration for her feelings” - Olin Miller

“A man is given the choice between loving women and understanding them” - Ninon de Lenclos

So true... So true. But this one from Henry Kissinger takes the cake.

“Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There's too much fraternizing with the enemy.”

Maybe the only reason why men and women fight is so that they can make out *ahem* up.

Curing Pain With Light

Never liked any kind of painkillers, and so I have always been looking at alternative kinds of pain-relieving agents, or other methods of pain relief.

This might help those of you who are suffering from chronic pain, or don't want to be reliant on pain medicine. AND give you more reason to go down to the beach. Heh!

Relieving Pain with Sunlight.

The 100 Million-Year Old Virgin

There's probably a reason why they're so bad-tempered and ugly.

But what's the point of living so long? What they should REALLY evolve, is a set of genitals and get on the bandwagon.

To Whoever It Concerns

I remember hearing this once.

"I reject your reality and replace it with my own!"

Thank you, whoever you are, for gifting me with this battle-cry.

And now, I Present To you...

Love it when songs make the crossover from one isntrument to the next. Last time, it was Paganini's 5th.

Today, I have the pleasure of bringing you... Vivaldi's Summer.



And if you haven't noticed, the GUY, is using a pick. Not for everything, but still...

Be Nice. Why?

Now I got this from something I was reading, "The Power of Ethical Obligation", by Robert Ringer.

"In one study, researcher Dennis Regan had two individuals try to sell raffle tickets to unsuspecting workers. One individual made a conscientious effort to befriend the workers before attempting to sell any tickets.

The other individual made a point of being rude and obnoxious around the workers. While on a break, the individual who had previously been rude to his prospects bought them drinks before trying to get them to buy tickets.

The results of the study showed that the rude individual actually sold twice as many raffle tickets, even though the other had been so much nicer and more likable. "

Now WHY is this the case? Aren't we always taught to be nice to people? So WHY does the asshole perform better?

Remember the commercial where the hubby is really nice to his wife? The one where he said he puts his TV on record and lets her watch Anthony Bourdain, dances with her, and as a last straw, offer to do the dishes.

What happens?

Wife runs off to the mother and goes "Mommy, he's cheating on me!" One wonders why that's the case.

I mean, sure, us modern boys have always been taught to be nice to girls. The fairer sex, protect the women, we're told. But seriously, do women REALLY want good boys? Sure, many of my female friends say. But we all know that women rarely mean what they say, and they almost never say what they mean.

I seriously doubt they are about to start now.

Just You Try and Stop Me

Taking the words of the President's Address in the movie "Independence Day",

We will not go quietly into the night!
We will not vanish without a fight!
We're going to live on!
We're going to survive!

Faith and hope is easy when there is nothing standing in your way, and life's just plain sailing. Actually in those times, you don't really need faith and hope, do you? About as much use as a solar-powered torch.

Nope, it's only it times of trial, in times where everyone around you gives you shit, and tell you it cannot be done, that you're just not good enough, or not smart enough, or why bother. When the people you love try to "protect" you from being hurt, or disappointed, or feel uncomfortable. Times like this, keep the hope burning, keep the faith alive, and hold your dream close to your heart.

Don't expect the people around you to understand, because after all, this is your life, your hope, your dream, your faith. Maybe you'd end up not reaching your dream. Maybe. Maybe you will.

I read somewhere that in a fight, you're going to get hurt.

That is a given.

So instead of cringing, and being afraid of when you're going to get hurt, accept it. When you are relieved of that fear of getting hurt, can you actually advance. Tuck your chin in, take the shot, and then use the pain to drive you onward and forward, and then to win. Chances are, you are gonna get hurt a lot less than when you are cringing in the first place.

On the flip side, it could be that you're just too stupid to know when to give up. Hey, that's not bad too. Ever wondered why the people who actually change the world aren't the really smart ones?

PS. I realized the fun in table-banging in negotiations. I might be back in Singapore now, but if those FOOLS are going to screw up my deals with their dirty lil money grubbing paws and short-sighted greed, I will personally go up north, with all my tact and gentle bed-side manner, ream them ALL a new arsehole. Or 2.

Observations

Back in Singapore and swamped with work. Strangely, I feel good, to be busy again. Damn right, 3 hour sleeps and hardly any free time. Shiok.

It is official, I am masochistic.

A frivolous post.

Ever experienced a sunrise on a plane before? It's kinda strange. Look out the window on one side, and it's a field of pure liquid gold. The other, 3 shades of cool blue. I wonder what the pilot sees, and if there ever is a boundary between the two. It's kinda strange, to be in a plane, balanced between night, and day.

Why is it that we get life vests in a plane? Wouldn't it make more sense to get parachutes instead? When was the last time you actually saw a plane crash into the sea and survive? I read somewhere that hitting water at more than 100 feet, is the same as hitting concrete. Maybe we'll bounce if we all sit on the life raft and jump out with it.

One last thing. Why must the window shades be up? I mean they're just fine down aren't they? Do we really need to stare out at the ground coming at us at 100 meters per minute? Show us our possibly impending doom so that we'll be extra nice to the pilots for doing their jobs?

If the plane doesn't land properly, you'd know it. Not that there's anything you can do about it. OK, maybe an extra minute of prayer time.

If the plane does land properly, then why the FUCK do you have to disturb my sleep and not let me get back to sleep, for the sun glaring into my eyes?

Thank God I didn't pass my SQ interviews.

Interlude

I cannot frigging believe this.

Right now I am in Bangkok, doing another pseudo Amazing Race back to Singapore.

What. The. Fuck.

Flights to fucking everywhere in the world to every part of fucking Asia and the rest of the world, and not one, to Singapore. Not ONE! The last one left at 8 from Tiger Airways, and now I have a lovely 8 hours to perfect my impression of a homeless person.

It is official. The Thais hate us.

That being said, the new airport terminal looks almost exactly like terminal 2. Loads of glass and steel and no concrete. Guess we're not the only ones short of construction material. :P

Pictures when I finally touch down and take a shower.

Goodbye Yangon. Hello Amazing Race Asia 2!

PS. There are some truly good looking women here. Guess Thai curry isn't the only thing that's hot in this country. Let's go see if yours truly can go spread some love around and improve international relations. ;)

Last Words

A quick one, before I head off to Myanmar again. It is unfinished, and when I come back I will polish this further.

I didn't really want to go to church today. Maybe it's cos I am tired from going on Friday and Saturday, or maybe I just wanted some time alone with my thoughts before I headed off. Whatever the case may be, I went anyway.

At the end of the sermon, I was actually glad I went. Nope, no sudden flash of faith, or rapture, or spiritual enlightenment. More an affirmation, a lesson rammed home.

That sometimes, we may have an overwhelming desire for something, or we have a dream we keep close to our hearts. It might be strange, far-out and honestly given the current circumstance, well-nigh impossible.

So?

Take that first step, be brave and don't procrastinate. Others may give you a thousand and one really good reasons why it cannot be done. People around you who care for you, don't want you to be disappointed, or to face the pain of failure. They want you comfortable, protected from all the stress, strain, pain and disappointments that might happen to you.

They are not wrong. But at the same time that you are insulated from life, you end up not living.
It is in the same strain, pain and tribulation, and in the RISK of failure that we do our best work. It's in uncertainty and trials that we truly shine.

Perhaps, the power and value of dreams and hope lie not in the eventual fulfilment, but rather in the way it influences our journey to that goal.

What Would People Say?

This I got from an article by Robert Ringer. It is the self-eulogy of a man called Harry Browne, an author and a TV talkshow host.

Setting Your Sights

As I look back over my life, I can see so many ways in which I could have done things better than I did, and I certainly wish I'd learned a lot of things sooner than I did.

And yet I have enjoyed a wonderful life. I'm married to the ideal woman. I have had the good fortune to be associated in business with highly competent, honest, compatible people. I've had a book that was #1 on the best-seller list, and others that sold well above average. I've had first-class friends in many different areas of my life. I've been able to live in three countries and enjoy the best the world has to offer. I was honored to be the Presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party.

To have made so many mistakes, and yet to have had so much. It proves that you don't have to be perfect to succeed.

When I die (if ever), I'd like the epitaph on my tombstone to read:

"I didn't do everything I wanted to do,I didn't become everything I wanted to be,But because I aimed for the stars,I reached the top of the world."

I don't advise being careless or sloppy. I do advise that you hold fast to your beliefs and act in the best way you know how--but then forgive yourself whenever you fail to measure up to your standards.

You will never be perfect. But you can be free and happy.

I hope you make it.

~Harry Browne

So what's your life gonna be like, and how will it be reflected in your funeral?

New Spin on an Old Story

Talk about consensual sex. I wonder what kinda world it'll be if everything was this clear. Be careful what you wish for when you ask for more clarity eh?



And that, endeth today's class on safe sex.