My Way

I just realized there are lots to learn from Hins Cheung's My Way.

一直在酝酿
一直在盼望
爸爸和妈妈唯一的理想
二月第一天
一九八一年
我第一次对他们眨了眨眼
等待快点过去多少个明天
希望这个宝贝快快长大一点一点
身体要健康所有的事情都如所愿
baby长大以后就是小轩
i will find my way
i want a different way
i'll change the wind and rain
there be a brand new day
小时候受伤有人心痛失落有人安慰
现在遇到困难自己就要学会面对
i will find my way
i want a different way
nothing will stop me now
no matter what they say
困难要用我的坚强和努力勇敢面对
现在用心去追
感觉就对
i'll find my way
i will find my way
i find my way

一直就这样
找我的方向
不理会别人奇怪的眼光
直到有一天
我忽然发现
梦想已经在实现
等待快点过去多少个明天
看着自己已经慢慢长大一点一点
我的生活应该让我自己学会掌握
想信自己
不怕风雨再多

Merry Christmas

With two more hours until Christmas and a week before the new year arrives, what are you thinking about? It's during this time of the year where we all tend to count our blessings. It's been quite a crazy year full of ups and downs and without those around me to support me, I don't know how I would've survived it. Thank you everyone for lending an ear and reaching out whenever I was upset or confused. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year full of happiness. If there's one thing I need to put on my New Year's resolution list for 2009, it would be to learn to grow up and to be a more positive, happy person to lessen the burden on those around me.

人生的冤枉路

Life is full of detours. This may be hard to accept for someone as type A as myself, who cannot stand to waste a minute. However, this is something we must all learn to accept.

Someone once told me something that's really true. I choose not to use profanity, so I will censor this, but she said "**** (crap) happens." Indeed it does. And it happens to everyone, so if we could be positive and stop thinking of ourselves as the most miserable and unfortunate person in the world, then maybe we can be that much happier.

I made two mistakes today:
In one case, I did too much.
In another case, I didn't do enough.

This just shows that you never know at the moment what is the right thing to do or not to do. You may not be where you want to be right now. You may be full of regrets and have considered giving up. You may have to turn back to get to where you want to be. But in the end, you will get there.

未來

每天起床，都不是平靜的。每次都是因為在想什麼而不能再睡。我說我是 a morning person, 或許我只是 a worried person. 我發現人不只是被過去的遺憾纏繞著，也會為未來的事而擔心。做人真的不容易。我要加油！

Regrets

Do you always find yourself saying: "Oh shoot, I shouldn't have said that!" or "Oh no! Why did I do that?" Is your life always full of shoulda, coulda, woulda's? If we all could turn back time, we would. We would want to undo all our mistakes and the detours we've made in life. We would have practiced that much harder for a performance, studied that much harder for an exam, loved that person that much more. In that case, we would all become very successful and happy people. But we can't turn back time. We cannot undo the past. We can only move forward and we will always only have control of the present and the future. Of course self-reflection is important to learn from what we've done wrong so we don't repeat the same mistakes, but drowning ourselves in negative experiences will not help. Why waste time dwelling on the unchangeable by wasting precious time we can spend doing something more productive now?

Time

You know how I always say that time seems to fly by and how I seem to be wasting my life away? Sometimes being so results-oriented makes us forget about the small accomplishments in life. Is spending time with friends, catching up with former teachers/coworkers etc., helping out with little things at home, thinking about and working towards what lies ahead, and staying active really considered "not doing anything"? I don't think so. Even time spent in front of the computer doing not-so-productive things can be considered "smelling the roses" time. And time commuting from place to place on the bus can be considered "being aware of world events" time with a 24 in your hands or "appreciating the art of music" time with an earphone in your ears. It all depends on how you look at it. So why be so harsh on yourself and enhance the aging process by worrying so much? If you don't believe me, make a mental list of what you've done today. Did you really accomplish "nothing"?

人比人，比死人

Some people are self-motivated and always keep on going despite the circumstances, while others constantly have self-doubt and easily fall down.
Some people are hard working and always try their very best, while others are just happy with getting by.

Don't compare yourself to others for you will always be disappointed. People are always going to be different.

If you think you're smart, there will always be someone smarter.
If you think you're pretty, there will always be someone prettier.
If you think you're great at what you do, there will always be someone better.

Learn what you can from interacting with others but don't expect yourself to be exactly like others.

Greedy

Oh lilbluetiger, sometimes u just hope for too much and then you disappoint yourself.

茅盾

I am very 茅盾, which makes me very frustrated. No matter how many times I face a situation, I can never seem to handle it properly. Oh, when will I learn? When will I be able to be who I am? When will this 茅盾 finally relieve itself?

Can you do me a favour?

Am I the only one who feels horrible for asking someone else for a favour? This is especially the case when I have to ask someone who I haven't kept in touch with for a while. It's like hey it's been so long... can you do this for me? I don't know. It just seems so unnatural to me but then again, sometimes it's inevitable. I apologize for ever having to ask you for a favour. If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know.

Upset?

I will not let myself be upset about something for more than 24 hours (even if that means having to lose sleep in order to make up that 24).

Loser

I officially hate the month of August. Why do I always lose to the same type of people? Maybe I should change? But I know I can't because this is who I am. Heh, I'm such a silly girl.

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines!

Life will always be full of deadlines. They're something we don't look forward to. Even something that we might dread. In school, we have due dates for assignments and projects. Don't forget about exam dates, which are in a way studying deadlines we have to meet. When applying to a professional program or for a job, we have application deadlines with transcripts we have to order, resumes we have to update and personal essays we might have to write. In work, we have project, task and report deadlines which might cost millions if we fail to meet them. When we want to earn designation we have licensing tests and deadlines. Then we have the most dreaded and the final deadline of life - death.

Life would be miserable if we over-occupy our minds thinking about upcoming deadlines. We would just be constantly dreading and would not be able to live and enjoy life. That would be such a waste.

Enjoy life, explore life, LIVE life. Don't lose focus of your goals but don't only focus on the end, you need to enjoy the journey getting there.

K.I.T.

As said by the late 黃霑, 朋友之間，要無事常相見. (Friends should get together once in a while, and there doesn't need to be a reason.) And may I add, this should not only include friends but teachers, co-workers, and/or relatives etc. And even if you can't afford to see them, perhaps a phone call? email? or wall message now that facebook is proliferating?

It feels horrible to realize that you're only contacting certain people because they are currently "of some use" to you or if you become close to them only because you need a favour from them. I've been told that that's the premise of a friendship. "I use you and in return you can/will use me in the future." It can be true in some sense but I really hope that isn't what a friendship is all about. Let me correct myself. I do not only hope but I believe that there can be more to a friendship or any relationship, but I digress.

人與人之間的關係，是一種學問. I agree that most of the time it is very difficult to keep in touch. Where do you start? What do you say? Sometimes a simple hello is sufficient. For someone who isn't very thick skinned, even this would require too much from them, but don't give up. If both parties decide to give up and if no one puts in the effort to remain connected then that's the end of that relationship. I usually completely lose touch with my co-workers after one of us leaves the company. And I confess I'm usually not very good with keeping in contact with people, but I know a co-worker who would continue to check up on me despite the fact that I might not reply to her emails after 1, 2 or even 3 months. I thank her for her persistence for without this persistence, it will become more difficult to re-establish a friendship in the future.

Give yourself a break.

There are winners and there are losers. Sometimes, we just have to face the fact that we can't always get what we want. It's a humbling experience which allows us to get to know ourselves better. Know your strengths and weaknesses. You can't be good at everything but you can always try. Just don't be too hard on yourself. You're still young. You've still got a long way to go. Give yourself a break.

Control

There are just so many things in our lives that are outside of our control.

We can spend all the time in the world rehearsing a speech, but if we were to lose our voice the night before the big presentation, nothing can save us.

We can spend weeks working on the project, but if a system crashes the day before the deadline, there isn't much we can do.

We can spend months and months studying for an exam, but in the end, we might not perform at our best because of some external factor.

We can love someone from our heart, but we cannot force them or expect them to love us back in the same way.

It's unfair but what can we do right? C'est la vie.

Asian Entertainment Review: Jason Chan's Change

Here are my long delayed reviews of the two new albums to my collection. Well, or shall I say not so new anymore since I waited so long to comment on them.

Jason Chan's Change
In terms of aesthetics: the packaging is so pretty! The colour theme is very cool and calming with blues and greys. Jason has a pretty face but I'm disappointed in his cover picture. Actually, most of his pictures in this album involves him doing some weird pose. Can't we just have a normal picture of him? But at the end of the day, we shouldn't judge a cd by its cover.

In terms of the music, I'm quite happy with the songs in this album. The genres of the songs are actually quite varied. My favourite track would have to be 我來自哪顆星 - very nice beat. He should definitely do more RnB songs like this one and like 不等於 in his previous album. 理智與感情 is a nice ballad, in collaboration with Rainie Yang. There's this one part in the song where Jason got to show off the beautiful higher range of his voice. It lasted only 3 seconds but loved it! "I miss you" has a cute melody but it wore off on me after a while since the album has 3 different versions of the same song!! Along the same lines, an alternative version of 車匙 was bleh. Like I've mentioned before, I'm not a big fan of artists doing another cover of their own song and sticking it into their new cd in an attempt to pull it off as a new song. On a different note, "Moonlight Express" allows listeners to appreciate Jason's fluent English as a result of his upbringing in Canada! Canadian pride! Well even his acknowledgments and shout outs were written entirely in English (well online abbreviated English.) They let you do that for a professional cd? I couldn't even do that for my high school yearbook shout outs.

In terms of goodies, the DVD was so awesome! The making of the "I Miss You" MV was very cute. Plus, I was very impressed with Jason's singing abilities when I watched his First Christmas Live concert. He can definitely sing live unlike some other HK artists.

Ok this post was longer than I expected. I'll comment on JJ's album next time :)

Self-reflection

I was sick for a week and a half. Nope, not the common flu or cold. Well, sort of. I had I believe what's called the "stomach flu". People around me tell me it's cuz I sit around all day in the office and hardly exercise. Another factor maybe because when I get home I sit around again, watching TV or on the computer. An unhealthy lifestyle. I eat well generally, except now that it's the summer, the weather is hot and I don't move around, so I don't need to eat a lot. Eating little food make my stomach bloated.

So finally, today, after work, I went for a walk and jogged a little. It lasted for 15-20 minutes and it felt good. I don't know if I'll do that again tomorrow, but it's definitely well worth it. At least I feel refreshed for today.

The stomach flu made me reflect on how I lead my life. When I was lying in bed, holding my stomach ever so gently, I thought of plans to make myself better. Hopefully, I can follow my plan. I have never been big on sports, but whenever I do it, I feel good. It is what I'd consider a necessity in life. Come on! Take advantage of the long summer days. Get out and breathe some fresh air. That itself is a good enough reason to go outside.

Awareness

I met Clare Oliver 8 years ago when I went to Australia. We haven't kept in touch ever since. It was only recently that I found out the full story of her death at the age of 26. She was diagnosed with melanoma (the most deadly form of skin cancer) at the age of 22. She had it removed surgically but it returned, with tumours found in other parts of her body. One possible cause for her getting skin cancer is because she, like many other young women, went to tanning salons in hope of acheiving a nice bronzed skin tone. When she realized the full risks of this treatment, it was already too late. During her last few weeks, she was able to gain much media attention in Australia and was able to warn the public of the dangers she was not fully made aware of when she was young. This is not about blaming the solarium industry. It is about making informed decisions. Whenever you are on the verge of doing something which makes you think "It's ok. Everyone's doing it. I'll be fine. It won't happen to me." Think again. It might not be worth it. I'm not saying everyone should now be a cancer-phobe. Just think twice before doing something you know might harm you, whether it be excessive tanning, smoking, excessive drinking, or having an unhealthy diet.

And here I was, about to write a post about regrets and how my life is so full of them, especially recently. As I read more and more about Clare's story, I was able to put things into perspective. None of my regrets were as great as Clare's.

At the same time, there appears to be another way of thinking where fairness is considered beautiful. I used to complain about my naturally tanned complexion. After hearing this story. I will no longer complain. We should all be happy with what mother nature gave us.

http://www.clareolivermelanomafund.org/

Limitations

It's a basic economical principle: resources are scarce.

And that is why we cannot be exposed to everything. We cannot retain a memory of everything we are exposed to. We can gain knowledge but we also lose some of it because there is just so much to learn everyday. It is also why we cannot do everything that we please. And we cannot be good at everything we do. We cannot get everything we want. At the same time we cannot fully appreciate everything we have.

This is one of the things in life which we must learn to accept.

Asian Entertainment Review: 泳兒

泳兒 appeared as the guest for the New Talent Singing Contest in Toronto today. I just noticed that this girl has a very nice voice. It's not necessarily strong or loud but it's very beautiful. Apparently she entered showbiz via an EEG singing competition. I saw her performances and they weren't necessarily spectacular, which shows that song choice is so important. The songs she sings now are totally perfect for her voice and allows her to show off her talent.

Here's her newest song: 喜歡一個人好累.
The melody's not bad but I love the song for the lyrics.



作曲：小涼 填詞：姜憶萱
編曲：舒文 監製：舒文

昨天　你送我一個笑臉
今天　你經過了我身邊
每天　你這樣一舉一動
都影響我的悲傷喜悅

昨天　你多看了我一眼
今天　我有些心不在焉
那天　我才會有勇氣
勇敢面對

暗戀　喜歡一個人好美
想像　你輕輕摟我的肩
走在　人擠人的街抓緊你的手
甜蜜無限
暗戀　喜歡一個人好累
流淚　在數不盡的黑夜
想念　變成了習慣想你一遍遍
你卻好遠

複水難收

Words which have escaped one's mouth is like water which has been poured out of a bucket - very difficult to retrieve.

一個人

就算只有一個聽眾，我都會繼續演奏。
就算只有一個觀眾，我都會繼續表演。
就算我的話只能影響一個人，我都會感到欣慰。
就算只有一個人懂得欣賞我，我都會覺得幸福。

時候尚早

Nan Pong's new song - very meaningful lyrics.

(I can only find a clip of it of not so good quality.. sorry)

作曲：藍奕邦
填詞：藍奕邦
編曲：Adam Lee
監製：陳德健．李漢金．藍奕邦

何解我未曾問　已跟我講你懂
何解你所有口吻　極其像個老頑童
而你不過廿來歲　無法可將一切看通

對所有事情漸忘掉衝動
談起你未來亦滿臉愁容
越去估計前途　偏偏越會幻想起暗湧

但秒針仍在跳　光陰也未窮
凡事也自有它答案　這刻不要碰

＊可知道　時候尚早
前面尚有幾多的起伏　佈滿你一生旅途　很多個未知數
行前兩步你便看到　一切總會有分數
時候尚早　讓老天替你一一安排　並未願知得太早
誰預先打小報告　快掩耳　當聽不到

人生裡總有幾對手去等你拖
人生裡問題逐條逐條地一一探索
活到七老八十歲　還有很多未曾尋獲

考究深奧的存在意義
何不試一試逐一的去試
亂去偷看結局　多糟蹋揭曉的真意思

若你心仍在跳　不需當先知
就趁有幸去生存時　你即管放肆

REPEAT＊

可知道　時候尚早
前面尚有幾多的起伏　佈滿你一生旅途　很多個未知數
行前兩步你便看到　一切總會有分數
時候尚早　學會將冀盼拋出窗外　便是最好的法寶
誰預先打小報　答一句　我不知道

Lyrics from: www.crimsonrain.com

江山易改，本性难移

It's amazing how much of what you learnt in your childhood you retain. The way you were raised, the way you were conditioned stays with you for a long time, until you take drastic measures to act otherwise. Some things just stay for a lifetime and other people and even you yourself cannot expect these things to be changed. It makes you who you are. Other things such as bad experiences and bad memories should be forgotten and left behind, yet they stick to you like a leech, sucking out every ounce of blood inside of you, causing you immense pain for the rest of your life, until of course you can step out of this status quo and allow yourself to be stronger and better than what this past has restricted you to be.

Khalil Fong's new song

Love in this world. (press play if it didn't autoplay already)

Love it! This talented Hawaiian never fails to impress me :)

Elastic band theory

An elastic band that has been pulled too tightly is doomed to snap. Don't try to be this elastic band. Relax. It's not about what you do. It's about your state of mind.

人生得意須盡歡

In 李白's 將進酒, he mentioned: 人生得意須盡歡. When one feels happy, one should enjoy it to its greatest extent. What a great attitude to have. Asian ancestry and upbringing tend to teach one to hold back emotions, especially happiness. Maybe it's to be modest or maybe it's to not jinx the situation and bring bad luck. I know people who are ecstatic about the smallest things in life. Their lives must be so full of happiness. They treat the present as such - a present or gift. No obsession over past regrets. No worry about the future because no one ever knows what will happen tomorrow. One should just take life one day at a time and enjoy every moment of it. That, my friend, is the best attitude one can have towards life.

Street Smart

In this day and age, having street smarts seems to be increasing in importance compared to having book smarts. Catch phrases we see everyday include having "interpersonal skills" and having "high EQ" in addition to having high IQ. Research has shown that employers value "soft skills" over "hard skills" since hard skills can be taught while soft skills accumulate over many years of experience and conditioning, or perhaps are inherent in a person. In most contexts, academic excellence trail behind other qualities of a person in terms of desirability. Of course, there are always exceptions to general statements. In the case of book smarts, it definitely overrides street smarts in the academic arena which includes getting into the post-secondary institute of your choice, the courses of your choice or certain financial awards during the course of your studies; however, once you enter the less forgiving and more realistic society, will you soon discover that street smarts are what will get you further in life?

China Earthquake

Hearing the devastating news from the earthquake that took many lives in Sichuan, China, I once again got reminded of how lucky I am to be here. Sure, I may have many responsibilities and expectations to fulfill, but I am alive and well.

I think I need to step back and perform a self-reflective exercise on my perspective in life and how I treat people everyday. How about you?

閒談莫論人非

When I was a little girl, I used to feel very privileged when people shared their thoughts about other people with me. It's like wow, they trust me with all their thoughts about other people? As I grew up, I became more skeptical or perhaps more realistic. I realized if someone is talking to me behind someone's back at this moment, they are probably saying things about me behind my back at some other point in time. Gossiping can be enjoyable or even inevitable but it would surely not be fun to be at the centre of conversation. Words spread quickly, what you say today might come back to bite you in the rear end in the future. A friend once told me he never wants to bash someone behind their back, unless he thinks you seriously need to be warned of that person's behaviour. Not only that, now that I think back, he does walk the talk because I've never heard him say anything bad about someone. Another friend once told me he wasn't willing to tell me something because he didn't want to whistleblow. Haha. I just realized that all my examples involve males and not females. It once again suggests that girls like to gossip more than guys. But I once heard a chinese saying that goes: 閒談莫論人非 (Never gossip in casual conversations).

善意的大話

Are there ever circumstances which would warrant a white lie? I used to naively frown upon all lies despite the context. I now realize that sometimes white lies are necessary to prevent the harm of someone else. I, for one, would be devastated if everyone I talked to were to be completely honest with me. Occasionally, it's nice to hear the truth so one can reflect and change for the better, but for things one can't change, it might be better to not hear the truth since it is kinda true that the truth hurts.

Having a completely blunt and straightforward manner of speech can bring forth admiration and also repulsion. Sometimes people require the truth to wake up or to be warned but at other times, it might be better to think before we speak. Like how the old Chinese saying goes: 三思而後行.

Insights from cruise

Oh! How I miss my trip; all I can do now is reminisce and reflect...

1. It's a small world. Who would've thought I would've bumped into so many familiar faces on the ship? How likely is it to bump into someone on a ship that holds 2000+ people? VERY LIKELY!

2. It takes two to tango... and chacha.. and rumba.. haha and a lot of things in life. It is sometimes unnecessary to blame oneself because some things are not under your own control.

3. Life is not a show. You don't need to care so much about what others around you think about you. Just be and have no regrets.

4. 江山易改，本性难移. Personalities are too hard to change.

5. Going on vacation is like having an extended dream. In this dream, you might be able to live a different life, even be a different person but sooner or later you will have to wake up and return to reality...

Selfishness

How come my reaction was so slow? How come I didn't think of that? Or maybe I'm just inherently selfish and inconsiderate. Maybe I'm not as good of a person as I thought I was.

Memories

One wonderful thing about human beings is the capacity they have for memory and drawing upon this unfathomable storage. One scenery, one song, one scent, one small touch, one phrase or even one word can bring back a slide show of memories, whether they be good, bad, bitter, sweet, miserable or warm. If this happens, just let it be and enjoy this moment. Enjoy this special ability that you, as a human being, have. There's no point fighting back. It's really quite amazing. A small thing you said or did, or you just being who you are can have such a huge impact on someone else. At this moment, someone can be reviewing memories they've had with you .

Depression

Don't pity yourself, for when you do, no one will pity you.
Don't drown yourself in depression, for you can't expect someone to come along and save you.
YOU need to save yourself.
YOU have the power to gain happiness.

What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger!

Life Profile

Life is full of ups and downs...

and downs...

and downs...

Personality

Personality -> weakness -> failure

How come change is so hard? I'm not gonna even try anymore.

有沒有搞錯

Have you ever met or spoken to people who caused you to think: 有沒有搞錯?

I can't believe there are people out there who can argue for an incorrect statement/action as if there's nothing wrong with what they're saying/doing and that they are right.

I simply don't get it.

I regret. I'm angry at my weakness.

There are certain professions that I used to admire, which I'll now have to hesitate to draw such conclusions.

Music Therapy

For those of you musicians out there, do you find that you perform the best when you're in the worse of moods. It's like, the more stressed out, the more upset you are, the better you will play. It's a crazy phenomenon.

Productiveness

I've spent many of my "free" time watching Chinese shows, specifically 赌场风云 (Dicey Business) and 野蠻奶奶大戰戈師奶 (Wars of In-Laws II). That's the bad thing about sites like YouTube. lol I know it's not their fault; I was indeed addicted. It's really bad for my eyes and health. I hope I won't see others doing the same.

Anyway, today is Friday (actually, Saturday now). But compared to other Fridays, at least I've been somewhat productive. I hope this continues as I'm happy and proud of myself, even though this productiveness thing maybe common for some others.

I hope your weekends are relaxing and maybe productive.

Fairness

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Appearance vs. Reality

The way I truly am might not be the way I appear to be. I empathize with those who have problems expressing themselves.

I have a dream

I have a dream. But do dreams equate to the unattainable? Are dreams called dreams simply because they are just that - dreams, which are illusions and nowhere near reality? At times I think I'm slowly getting closer and closer to realizing my dreams; however, more often I feel that there are more and more obstacles getting in my way of reaching this goal. Give me strength to attain the unattainable. At this point all I can tell myself is: the harder I have to work toward this, the more I would appreciate this and the more this would mean to me.

Impulsiveness

Never do anything you know you'll regret.

損人不利己

I really really don't understand why anyone would do something that is 損人不利己. Recent news and events have told me that people like this do exist. It's very disturbing and disappointing. Sigh. Natural disasters and accidents already ruin a lot of people's lives, why add to that through man-made means? Why ruin someone else's life when it really does you no good? I don't get it. What has this world come to?

Time management

People, well me in particular, seem to always talk about crappy days they've had and bad things that happened to them but hardly never about good days and good things. I've always wanted to change that behaviour. I think it's very unhealthy. But when I talk about happy things I'm scared I'll somehow jinx the situation. Oh the dilemma. Oh well, I've decided to try this out. Here goes. I'm happy and proud to say what an awesome weekend I had! I didn't know that so much can be done in one weekend. I used to think, no I don't have enough time to do this and that. I finally realized that if you can manage your time properly, you can do whatever your heart desires (to a certain degree)! So don't procrastinate, get your work done efficiently and then you can play!

Happiness

To find happiness in life, I think we first need to know who we are and what we want in life. What do we want our careers to be? What type of person are we? Does our personality fit with the careers that we want? Does our values fit in with the company's that we are working for/want to work for?

For me, doing something that I love that also covers the basics of living (food, shelter, clothes) would be ideal.

How would you be happy?

What is your choice?

Have you come across an obstacle that is very hard to jump over?

What did you do to overcome it? Did you:
1) avoided it
2) faced it
3) left it alone and let it solve itself

What do you do when facing stress and obstacles?

知足

最近的一切一切和我的各種觀察讓我知道做人要懂得知足。想開心要常常懷著感激心。很多人因為有太多慾望，對自己有太多的要求，所以天天都過得不快樂。最 後會發現浪費很多時間，很多光陰。有些人， 天天都在批評自己，批評其他人，常常抱怨。這習慣不只影響自己的自信和健康，還影響別人的心情。最後害了自己，還害了別人。請細心想一想，你真是那麼慘 嗎？其實你已經很幸福了，你身邊有很多很多值得你珍惜的東西。不要要求太多，才能找到快樂。

Asian Entertainment Review: Khalil and Gary

It is yet another snow day, which tends to make me appreciate music even more than I usually do.

I've recently been listening to Khalil Fong (Wonderland) and Gary Cao (格格Blue, Superman, Super Sunshine). They're both very strong singers with quite the talent for song writing.

Khalil's Wonderland
Looks like Khalil decided to change his look with the new blue appearing on his cd cover and on every shirt in his wardrobe now. It's pretty funny since he used to only wear dark/dull colours. Enough about aesthetics, the songs in this cd are wonderful as usual. Must listens: Track 1: Love Song and Track 4: 爱在. I instantly fell in love with both and both are included in the playlist on this blog. The other songs are great too but just doesn't have the umph factor.

Gary's 格格Blue, Superman, Super Sunshine
He's been around for a while but I just recently discovered this talented Malaysian singer. Very strong voice with quite an impressive range. His first two cd's were very well done. Lots of great songs like: 數到五答應我, 燭光晚餐, 情人節快樂, 妳是我的寶貝,天使忌妒的生活, just to name a few. His latest album, Super Sunshine, is not as great. Similar to Jay Chou, he seems to be experimenting with new styles and I'm not really feeling it. For example, Qi Chuang Ge. What is that??? Sorry, but it's too bizarre for me. I don't really have a favourite in this album. Maybe Ai De Hu Du because it's jazzy but still not a must listen.

Bad day 2

Ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go your way?

It sucks...

Especially if you had a whole two week full of those.

Hopefully today's the climax.

Volunteerism

How are people remembered? By how much money they make? By how many parties they've been to? Or by how much good they've done for their society? At the end of the day, you won't be remembered for long for being the richest man in the world. There will always be someone richer. But those who were selfless and helped others will be remembered forever. Those who helped the Chinese refugees during the Second World War didn't do so out of self-interest. They did it for others. It is very important to treat others how you want to be treated. If I were at a position of disadvantage, I would appreciate all the help that I can get. A lot of people do not take the time to contribute to their society and to help others because they are too "busy" with their own lives. What constitutes the meaning of "busy"? Too "busy" partying, gaming, working, or schooling? I have no doubt in my mind that some people are truly busy and face a large financial, academic, and/or personal burden. I'm not trying to be persuasive nor judgmental, although I will not deny the fact that I am trying to be encouraging. I'm not advising you to spend huge chunks of your time volunteering. If you're busy, even random acts of kindness can brighten up someone's day. Some people volunteer because they need to. They need the hours for school, to get a job, to get into their interested field of study. Others volunteer for the sake of volunteering. Despite the motive behind volunteering, they end up helping people and that means a lot. Add meaning to your life: volunteer.

What do I want?

When someone asked me that today, I really didn't know how to answer her. Despite the context in which she asked me the question, it does apply to many things in life. I'm slightly confused right now - or perhaps not just slightly. I sometimes find I think too much about missed opportunities or regrets from the past. At other times, I would think too much about what's not good about now and what I want to strive for in the future. It's quite contradictory. What is the right way of thinking? I know I should learn to love and cherish what I have now or else I would regret once I no longer have it. At the same time, I think it's important to always strive for the better - or else I will no longer have any ambition.

Someone once told me "Do what you love and never settle for anything less." I sometimes find I have a high tolerance for things I am not really passionate about but I stay with it because:
1. Everyone feels safe with the status quo (if it's not broken, why fix it?)
2. I feel guilty for upsetting others (whether it be a boss, coworker, friend, family member, teacher). Will they understand it's not that I don't like my current situation, it's because I think there's something more I can do with my life?
3. I feel a sense of commitment to everything I do and am reluctant to move on because of responsibility. If I were selfish and more carefree, I would just be constantly doing things as my heart desires and perhaps I would be happier?

Wise Quotes from a Wise Professor

Lil_blue_tiger and I had the same professor for one of my classes. The professor said many wise words of which some are reminders. They're just as important as the ones I did not realize. Here are some quotes from the prof:

• "business = communicate & collaborate with others"

• "what people say is not what they want"
  "what they want is not what they need"
  
  
• "as a manager, fix systems, not people" (e.g. if many errors are tracked for data input into a system, perhaps employees need more training/system is not user friendly enough) It is an easy solution to fire/blame people
  
  
• "way to get money is to work hard"
  
  
• "nothing happens in business without being recorded somewhere"
  
  
• "which best meet customer needs at lowest price?"
  

In case you're wondering, this is for a Commerce course, but some quotes apply to life as well. :)

Cheers,

Lead a Healthy Life

I recently read an article. Here is its summary:

Instead of spending so much time healing your body, don't harm it in the first place. The author of the article once, for one week, worked long hours and attended school at the same time. One morning, she woke up and found she couldn't move, not even open her eyes. That really freaked her out. Eventually, slowly, she felt her muscles again. That must have been the final warning her body was sending her. In fact, she thought she were dead; to be a soul that has thought and no body.

So, instead of exercising a lot to get rid of the extra calories/fat that you have gained from eating a big, perhaps junk food lunch, eat healthy foods instead. Instead of sitting in front of the TV the whole time, stand up during commercials and jog on the spot. Instead of staying up late to finish off something, sleep before eleven and wake up early/on time to finish the work.

Some people would say "you only live once, so enjoy it". I say, we can enjoy our life while being healthy at the same time! Don't wait till something horrible happens before you get the idea. You only live once and you only get one life indeed!

Regards,

Happiness

"Every sixty seconds that you spend angry, upset, or mad, is a full minute of happiness you'll never get back…so be HAPPY!!!"
~ unknown

Reading this quote has definitely helped me to get through a lot of problems and misery over the past few days. Sometimes a quote can be so powerful.

What is happiness? At one point, I thought to myself, maybe I should just lock myself up in my room and read, watch tv, do anything that doesn't require interaction with the outside world. Maybe then, I would achieve bliss. But on second thought, what a boring life that would be. If I just locked myself up and tried not to think about it, I would just end up thinking about it even more. If I try to think it through by looking at it from a different perspective and aim to be more positive, it actually helps!

If you've made a mistake, don't keep yelling at yourself or feel discouraged. Learn from that mistake, take that experience and try to get something positive out of it.

If you're upset because you want, need or lack something. Think again. We always think about things we don't have but we never think about what we have. We complain and rant about the bad days we have but do we ever share with others what the great days we've had? I know I don't. I don't appreciate things enough. One needs to appreciate the good and the bad, the big and small in order to achieve happiness.

Sorry my post is not that coherent. I'm having some problems stringing together thoughts at the moment. One last note: may you all find happiness in 2008.

Bad Day

Today was a bad day in general. For me and for people around me.

Why do I have to think so much about a situation it drives me crazy? How can I let one little thing amplify into such large issues? What's the point of regretting having done something if I knew it was wrong to begin with? Why do I not realize until after the fact? Why do I care so much about what others think about me?

On a different note, someone I know has just been deceived by someone she truly cares about. I absolutely empathize with her because the same happened to me a few days ago. When someone fully trusts you and you misuse that trust, the effects can be devastating. Please think twice before doing so.

Despite all that, may we all find happiness during this joyful time of the year.

Hopefully this sweet song can cheer us up:

Relativity

A week of staying at home made me anxious about going out. A week of going out makes me cherish my alone time. Oh, the power of relativity!