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.