Mingalabar

Wassup folks, just realized that Myanmar hasn't blocked Blogger. Yet.

Anyways, it's roasting here. and I'm probably gonna be back on Tuesday afternoon. Down one for me over the weekend, and your favourite alcoholic will be back real soon. Provided I don't get put in front of the firing squad for showing the people here how to access porn.

Later, y'all.

More Notes to Life

Waxing is addictive. Regrowth might be a bitch, but there's something to be said about baby smooth.

Unless of course you're hairy by nature. Then it's a clearing in the middle of a forest. Come to think of it, in a case like that, where does the wax start or end? Hmmm... things to ponder over a lunch of Char Kway Teow or a breakfast of Bee Hoon.

"God is with you. But just in case, have your pistol ready."
- Rgue Warrior: Holy Terror. Richard Marcinko

The Date Rape Song

And you wonder why they say that folks in the past have more meaning to their songs.

Cut to Real Life

Been feeling a tad emo for the week past.

Damn you, A.I! It's a bloody depressing movie.

Damn you Haley Joel Osmond! Don't look so cute, now that you're grown up eh? HAH!

Right, the rant is over. The moment of emo-ness has past.

An Environmental Note

Every little bit counts.

And for every plastic bag you do not use, it's one less that'll go into the landfill.

Just like straws.

Love? A Disease??

I don't know who does this kind of research, but for those of you who are considering the meaning of love.

Take a look at this.

Hums Huang Shu Jun's The Epedemic of Love

The Burden of Money

How many of y'all have said, "If only I had a million bucks, I would be so happy." at least ONCE in your lives?

How many of you have said, I wish I can do what I want to do, when I want to.

Remember the old axiom, "Be careful what you wish for, cos you just might get it". And when you DO get it, you might end up realizing you don't want it.

So what ARE you going to do, when it's all said and done? Travel? Charity? And then what?

Loads of us want to get out of the rat race. Make enough money, retire young. Don't bother with the grind of every day life any more.

But retiring is a scary thought, because you are left with a void. After you retire, you are going to be faced with the BIG QUESTION.

What are you suppose to do with your life? What is your purpose, your calling?

WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSE TO DO?

When faced with a question like that, let's see what happens.

Go to any old folks' home, and you'll see folks who have money, and the time, but don't know what to do with either. They are waiting to die.

Look at the spoilt rich kids who don't have to work for money. They get into sex, drugs and depression, even though they have nothing to be depressed about.

What about the people who strike lottery? Most of them self-destruct.

That is the burden that money gives to a person.

Money gives freedom. and freedom, comes at a price. The price is self-awareness, and purpose. Don't pay the price, and YOU will chain yourself down without anyone else going at it.

What would you do if someone gave you a million dollars, my friend? Would you take it, and face up to the really big questions?

Of the Past

Thanks Kamil for this quote, and for letting me get a new appreciation of this country that I live in.

Our past has a tendency to haunt us. Our choices can trap us or enable us to move on in life. Time plays tricks with our memories, sometimes making them better than they actually were. Ultimately, the only path is forward. Change is the only constant.

- Jeffrey Tan. Ballet Under the Stars

Sometimes it takes another from outside to tell you how blessed you are, and how much there is to give thanks for.

Another Song I Love

This is one from Beyond. 海阔天空.

Thanks baby, for getting me the lyrics and the pronunciation in Cantonese. No I haven't memorized EVERYTHING yet.

Where are the Damn Pink Elephants?

Don't think of pink elephants. In fact, do NOT imagine them dancing on a high rope, holding onto an umbrella, doing death-defying pirouettes on their tippy-tip toes.

Nearly impossible now, isn't it?

A moment ago, the thought didn't even occur to you, but now, it's sitting on your mind, as unshakable as about 2 tons of elephant.

This interesting little short circuit in the human mind is apparent in many aspects of life, and first introduced to me, when I was learning how to bike in the army.

The more I focused on NOT crashing and NOT hitting a particular orange traffic cone, the more I did it. I would stare at the pylon I'm trying not to hit, and tell myself move, move, move, and then the next thing I knew, I was flying through the air. Again. In fact, I did it so many times, I was nicknamed Jackie Chan.

It was those times, I truly appreciated six years of being a sandbag in Judo class.

Draw a parallel to other aspects of life. The more we try not to do something it seems, the more we end up getting tempted. You start your day stubbing your toe, knocking your head, and your whole day goes from bad to worse because you're trying to avoid things happening to you. Don't miss the bus... Missed it. Don't get scolded, got it. Don't rain... you guessed it.

The only time I finally managed to do SOMETHING right, was when I got distracted from trying not to do the wrong thing. I wrenched my attention from NOT doing something wrong, to doing something right. Over and over again.

Worked a lot better, and the army mechanics breathed a sigh of relief on not having to keep replacing banged-up rear-view mirrors, and busted fuel lines.

Now, I have realized that there is a seriously thin line between the world of reality and thought. If you try NOT to think of pink elephants often enough, you'll probably realize that a lot of 4-legged Proboscidea (ie. big-assed animels with huge teeth) have taken a rather delicate rose hue.

Instead, focus on other things. Green fairies, singing mice on the talented wildlife front. And on the every day life aspect, think about the things that you want happen, and be as clear defining those things as you would defining the things you don't want.

This little shift might just cause rather interesting things to happen.

Unlimited Bubble Wrap

Hands up all those who love popping bubble wrap.

Here is unlimited supply of the stuff. Courtesy of modern Technology.

Be grateful. Be very grateful.

A Footnote

"Because nothing makes love and life matter more than the knowledge that some day it must end"

- Drinking Midnight Wine, Simon R. Green

And they say that deadlines don't make people work better. Heh.

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.