What a day! Woke up at 5.30 am and got ready to catch the sun rise at Labrador Park with some close pals (hitch a ride in a Merc from a pal staying in the east... arrive in 'style');
At low tide, Labrador Park has some magnificent soft and hard corals and surprise find - nudibranch! (who says you have to dive deep to appreciate God's gifts?) Had a good chat with Jo and then headed for breakfast... Labrador Park brought back nostalgia of my primary school days as well as the 'ghost stories' of ex colleagues who were nurses staying at the nursing hostel during the post World War 2 era... hmm something out of the ordinary routine on a Sunday, beautiful!
Then headed for badminton session at Toa Payoh - verdict - good game after a long while. Headed home and rest before heading to gram's (mostly to discuss about bro's wedding plans). Had a good chat with my aunt over nice hot chng tng, yum! Was excited about my house renovation which is starting real soon. Also had the 'car talk' with an uncle... gonna shelf this car purchase plan till next year... indeed!
Wouldn't it be lovely if I just don't have to go to work the next day...
PS: Congrats uncle Z on the new 'stock' ... 29 cousins and counting...?
Monday, June 27, 2005
Saturday, June 25, 2005
The Family Way
I am almost finished with Tony Parson's "The Family Way", very enlightening! I learnt about pre-eclampsia, premature babies, vasectomy, reversed vasectomy, etc which led me to conclude that if you want to start a family, its better earlier than later (or never!) But most importanly, I learnt that family values are universal. Tony really knows how to pull at your heart strings and reading his book is a blast!
Today is a special day, celebrated V's birthday and did alot of catching up. I am so happy to see her finally getting a hang of motherhood and family life. Its flattering that she thinks I will make a great mother... some day. I hope not to disappoint anyone, especially myself but first I must get me a responsible man to begin with (haha, how's that for a dash of humour?) :P
Ok as usual when women gather, the usual question they ask singletons like myself is, "So are you seeing anyone?" Well, I've been happily dating but no serious commitment for now (the last one was traumatic and I need some time to grieve and recuperate.. what can I say, am an emotional schmuck sometimes!)
Anyway, can't wait for Rye to lend me a book he is currently reading "A General Theory of Love" ooohhhh.. I actually recommended him to read "He's Just Not That Into You" first if he is ever to understand the psyche of women's fear (here that, guys?) and make his moves on a certain someone... wonder how that is progressing...?
Today is a special day, celebrated V's birthday and did alot of catching up. I am so happy to see her finally getting a hang of motherhood and family life. Its flattering that she thinks I will make a great mother... some day. I hope not to disappoint anyone, especially myself but first I must get me a responsible man to begin with (haha, how's that for a dash of humour?) :P
Ok as usual when women gather, the usual question they ask singletons like myself is, "So are you seeing anyone?" Well, I've been happily dating but no serious commitment for now (the last one was traumatic and I need some time to grieve and recuperate.. what can I say, am an emotional schmuck sometimes!)
Anyway, can't wait for Rye to lend me a book he is currently reading "A General Theory of Love" ooohhhh.. I actually recommended him to read "He's Just Not That Into You" first if he is ever to understand the psyche of women's fear (here that, guys?) and make his moves on a certain someone... wonder how that is progressing...?
Friday, June 24, 2005
Balance in LIFE!
A close pal shared this story (thanks KS)... It'll hit the core of your conscience. Then another friend told me that his daughter passed away during a road accident and the greatest regret he has was not spending enough time with his daughter before...
His wise words to 'workaholics' like me...
While all aspects of our life are important, without a balance, you become addicted and like all addictions you lose:
· No balance with your family - you lose them
· No balance with your work - you lose your perspective and you actually lose focus on the important aspects of your job.
· No balance with yourself - you forget who you are and when you retire you have nothing! Or worse than that, if you lose your job through a company sale or downsizing you lose your identity.
He went on to tell me that who we are is NOT what we do to make a living. Who we are is a balance of our family, our work, ourselves! It truly was the best advice I ever received."
"When you go to work...
1. Look at what you have on your desk
2. Make a list of everything you have to get done
3. And beside that list write the impact of not doing it
4. Then focus only on the top three items that have the most impact.
5. Do that everyday for a week.
At first, you will find it difficult to leave. But, after awhile, you will find that you will have more energy, and you will be more focused in your work because you have BALANCE! There are times when we have to lose balance- a special project at work, or a family matter at home but
consciously focusing on balance keeps everything in check."
"Balance of Life" - important for us ALL!
His wise words to 'workaholics' like me...
'What I do today is important, because I will never have today again'
While all aspects of our life are important, without a balance, you become addicted and like all addictions you lose:
· No balance with your family - you lose them
· No balance with your work - you lose your perspective and you actually lose focus on the important aspects of your job.
· No balance with yourself - you forget who you are and when you retire you have nothing! Or worse than that, if you lose your job through a company sale or downsizing you lose your identity.
He went on to tell me that who we are is NOT what we do to make a living. Who we are is a balance of our family, our work, ourselves! It truly was the best advice I ever received."
"When you go to work...
1. Look at what you have on your desk
2. Make a list of everything you have to get done
3. And beside that list write the impact of not doing it
4. Then focus only on the top three items that have the most impact.
5. Do that everyday for a week.
At first, you will find it difficult to leave. But, after awhile, you will find that you will have more energy, and you will be more focused in your work because you have BALANCE! There are times when we have to lose balance- a special project at work, or a family matter at home but
consciously focusing on balance keeps everything in check."
"Balance of Life" - important for us ALL!
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Reunions
June seems like a pretty busy month for me with many unexpected activities and I am not talking about the Great Singapore Sale, mind you. I visited one month old Gen and caught up with some dive buddies there. It was heart-warming to see the softer side of CY, the natural way he interacts with kids. He's gonna make his future wife proud :)
I also met my former uni mates for the yearly reunion. This is something we hope to keep on doing for the longest time. It's great to see how we progress from those days slogging for our Bachelor, juggling full time work and part time studies. Regardless of the grades we got, they have my respect, especially those with family (for their endurance and perseverance).
I met my cousin from KL who is preparing to get married to a guy from the 'upper crust' (so happy for her) early 2006. Its amazing how some people seems to have it easy but I know she prays really hard to get to where she is now. I wish her all the best in her future PhD course as well (something I hope to do in the near future as well).
I managed to lobby some pals to volunteer and support the career change of an ex colleague - I wish her well in her spa training. I corresponded with a dear friend in JB... glad to know that he still dives and that we will be exchanging pictures. I caught up with my potential business partner - she'll be going China soon for business trip and I hope that she can do some research on stretchable cotton.
Last but not least, I never envisioned a simple coffee session with an ex colleague (whom I was not close to back then) to lead to walks along Orchard Road and a nice conversation over dinner (he was gracious to pay for it, what a gentleman!). It started with supposedly handing him the lawyer's letter (our former company was going through liquidation) and one thing led to another... didn't know we could click coz he was too quiet for my liking. From one session together, I got to know the real Rye, which was great. Wish him well with his 'pursuit' (can't wait to hear updates).
That's all for now :)
I also met my former uni mates for the yearly reunion. This is something we hope to keep on doing for the longest time. It's great to see how we progress from those days slogging for our Bachelor, juggling full time work and part time studies. Regardless of the grades we got, they have my respect, especially those with family (for their endurance and perseverance).
I met my cousin from KL who is preparing to get married to a guy from the 'upper crust' (so happy for her) early 2006. Its amazing how some people seems to have it easy but I know she prays really hard to get to where she is now. I wish her all the best in her future PhD course as well (something I hope to do in the near future as well).
I managed to lobby some pals to volunteer and support the career change of an ex colleague - I wish her well in her spa training. I corresponded with a dear friend in JB... glad to know that he still dives and that we will be exchanging pictures. I caught up with my potential business partner - she'll be going China soon for business trip and I hope that she can do some research on stretchable cotton.
Last but not least, I never envisioned a simple coffee session with an ex colleague (whom I was not close to back then) to lead to walks along Orchard Road and a nice conversation over dinner (he was gracious to pay for it, what a gentleman!). It started with supposedly handing him the lawyer's letter (our former company was going through liquidation) and one thing led to another... didn't know we could click coz he was too quiet for my liking. From one session together, I got to know the real Rye, which was great. Wish him well with his 'pursuit' (can't wait to hear updates).
That's all for now :)
Sunday, June 05, 2005
True Believer
This week was a special week, in remembrance of "Precious's" birthday... Its been a while since I spoke to my pals whom suddenly been 'missing in action' for the longest time; missed them. I can't complain coz I have been pretty busy myself - exams and work.
My dive buddies just got back from Layang-Layang, damn! (that was part of my dive wish list which I have yet to fulfill). Here's an extraction from their dive log:
Anyway, I hung out with friends at Original Sins over dinner, partly as a farewell to a dear ex-colleague who will be going back to Malaysia for good and also partly to celebrate the closure of IKS matters - the food was exquisite as always... that place brought back fond memories as well... enought about that!
I also managed to take the kids from Melrose Place to watch "Aga-Boom" at Downtown East. Not only was it a time of fun for the kids, it was also a time for a few laughs for my own sanity - It felt good.
I also got down to getting quotations for my home renovation done, finally! With the exam for my first semester over (Alhamdulillah; thank God!), I got some quality leisure reading time. I bought a few good books - Nicholas Sparks "True Believer" & "Three Weeks with my Brother", Tony Parson "The Family Way" and Paul Coelho "The Alchemist".
Next week, I will be meeting up with a close pal to celebrate her birthday as well as visit one-month old Gen :)
Its been less than 6 months at my new job; enjoy the company of peers; at the same time, I need to reassess my priorities in life... remember the 5 most important things!
P.S.: Happy b'day J & Des.
My dive buddies just got back from Layang-Layang, damn! (that was part of my dive wish list which I have yet to fulfill). Here's an extraction from their dive log:
The reef there is definitely the healthiest I've seen so far - Density of corals and sea fans were just amazing. The lagoon dive yield all the smaller stuffs like pipe fishs, lion fishs, flounders, flathead, nudibranches, resident octopus, cleaner shrimps, moray eel, crab, hermit crab and many more. Big fishes are in abundance there and is the main attraction.
I can't stop thinking about the big encounters. During the relaxing check out dives, we saw 3 hammerheads and at least 1 on subsequent days. I also saw my first Manta! The DM said it's not yet the season and it is also his first time to saw Manta in Layangx2 for this year.
On the 2nd day there is a school of devil rays (~28 of them) flying in the ocean sky. There are also schools of 9 & 5 devil rays in the next day. Plus 2 marble rays, huge schools of jacks, GT - all the big stuffs!
Anyway, I hung out with friends at Original Sins over dinner, partly as a farewell to a dear ex-colleague who will be going back to Malaysia for good and also partly to celebrate the closure of IKS matters - the food was exquisite as always... that place brought back fond memories as well... enought about that!
I also managed to take the kids from Melrose Place to watch "Aga-Boom" at Downtown East. Not only was it a time of fun for the kids, it was also a time for a few laughs for my own sanity - It felt good.
I also got down to getting quotations for my home renovation done, finally! With the exam for my first semester over (Alhamdulillah; thank God!), I got some quality leisure reading time. I bought a few good books - Nicholas Sparks "True Believer" & "Three Weeks with my Brother", Tony Parson "The Family Way" and Paul Coelho "The Alchemist".
Next week, I will be meeting up with a close pal to celebrate her birthday as well as visit one-month old Gen :)
Its been less than 6 months at my new job; enjoy the company of peers; at the same time, I need to reassess my priorities in life... remember the 5 most important things!
P.S.: Happy b'day J & Des.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
