Blog Feed: My blog is about sharing -- a thought, an idea, an article, a song or a film -- things we do that made up our leisure t..
| Home | My Account | Directories |
A Value-Added Life (3) (The end)
Published on 2012-05-23 01:00:00
"...removing wasteful thoughts..." > read more
A Value-Added life (2)
Published on 2012-05-19 17:14:00
What is the difference between "value" and "value-added" life?Well, "value" is like a stock concept. It is a belief. It can be as simple as bargain hunting or going IT craze and become addicted to latest technology. The older generation may believe in how their parents brought them up is the right way to bring up kids and hence practise that on their own kids and so impose "value" on their kids the way they were being imposed. "value-added" is marginal. It is still about sticking to what one bel [..] > read more
A Value-Added Life
Published on 2012-05-16 16:53:00
".... This could be a bargain-hunting activity...." There are so many examples surrounding us are about value-added. This blog if going to be left "empty", with no updates will not be value-added anymore. I like to think the blog is an "outcome" of the state of life I am in. It does not mean how often I wrote (though I was quite "active" in the earlier period of writing the blog), it is what I wrote that "add value". Value-adding can be contributing to seeing new perspective on certain issues th [..] > read more
Sex Addicts in Shame!
Published on 2012-04-11 02:02:00
"... there was an air of persistent unspoken sadness...." "Shame" is strictly a tragic movie. It is about a man and his sister who seemingly suffer from obsession with sex, or sometimes what people termed as "sex addiction".Michael Fassbender, who played the lead role gives a convincing performance portraying someone with an obsession for sex."Shame" touched on the rather taboo topic (perhaps not now, where you can easily find people talk about it, just search on Google, wherever you are, you fi [..] > read more
The effect of the darkside 3 (The end)
Published on 2012-04-07 04:44:00
" Walking with the darkside, that is within you..."Ever since I wrote about my "darkside", I have been through some reflections because I felt a bit "disturbed" (perhaps I like a bit of challenge?). It has helped me gain my resistance back. It helped me to become "strong" again. Actually I read an article after written that "darkside", It is from a website that talk about "acknowledging the dark side of human nature". Something written on the site appeals to me (though I don't buy into 100% what [..] > read more
The effect of the darkside 2
Published on 2012-03-31 05:35:00
Do you have a darkside? Yes, I do and It only emerged yesterday.What was that darkside about? We had a speaker yesterday in the School. That academic happened to be a former student from Aberdeen, whom I found to be a bit pushy and clingy when she was trying to do her PhD. However, she was also very good in getting things her way and get it done in the end, which explain why in the end she funded herself and finished the PhD and get to where she is today.She remains my "darkside" due to those mo [..] > read more
The effect of the darkside 1
Published on 2012-03-30 17:47:00
Feed-forward
Published on 2012-03-28 17:17:00
"It keeps my mind alive..." A friend on facebook posted an interesting article about "habit, routine and integration" which I had enjoyed reading, and which brought me to think of my experience of developing and keeping good habits in life, such as blogging, which was not doing too well recently. It's been quite empty for a while since the last post beginning of March 2012. I actually evaluated about blogging lately, not that I wanted to give it up, rather seeking an identity to be related and a [..] > read more
I am focusing again
Published on 2012-03-12 19:01:00
".... my mind was wandering all over the place..." I was not "feeling too well" in the past weeks. Something was "blocking" the way in my thoughts. I could not get rid of it entirely. I was not flowing. It just kept lingering about there in the head. It is not depression. I did feel I can function well and fine. I thought maybe it is work loads, and to be honest, there were some "loads" recently.I know for sure I will "get there" because I have been there and feel that sense of "freedom" before [..] > read more
The Karma of kind people
Published on 2012-02-23 14:28:00
"... only blocks the way forward..." It will be easier if the world only consists of "good" and "bad" people. It is complicated, however. Many a time, a lot of people actually fall in between the "good" and the "bad". It then made human relation interesting when we are not too sure how "good" or "bad" other people are. Have you had this experience, in that you "over-react" simply because you are a "kind" person and because you weren't sure of other people "intention" or "motive" and in the end [..] > read more
Living life in Anger
Published on 2012-02-19 14:18:00
"..... perhaps it's time to change a job." Recently, GS was promoted. I was really happy for him. GS is about 8 years younger than me and a bright academic. I often joke with him that, even if he were to waste 8 years of his life time, he would still catch me up. He is already promoted two grades higher than me, how fantastic is that!Recently, I heard GS might leave the job, which I was a little surprised. Hasn't he just recently promoted? My other colleague, JS told me that GS was "not happy" a [..] > read more
Knowing your strength the different way
Published on 2012-02-16 15:05:00
".... by looking at how animals behave.." I love horoscopes. I read a lot about horoscopes. I even try to guess other people's horoscopes and sometimes I got it right. I have a book that tell me each and every fact about the Chinese horoscopes, the yin and the yang, the effect on the 5 elements and more interestingly, the cross over with the western horoscopes and the characters descriptions.Being interested and believing in horoscopes could be a sign of being fatalistic, which isn't necessari [..] > read more
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont
Published on 2012-01-22 14:05:00
"Have you thought of who would you like to be by your side when that day comes...."In the end, Mrs Palfrey passed away on the hospital bed, next to her faked grandson, in "Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont", a story about the friendship between a 80 year old woman and a young writer. If time flow like water on a river stream, throughout one's life, then at one's old age, one would have reached the ocean as the water gradually flow and ended up. Ocean is deep, accepting and take on anything that [..] > read more
Doing "anything" is easy except doing "nothing"
Published on 2012-01-16 16:37:00
"...... If you know how to do "nothing", one day you would find that you could just do "anything"......" "How many of us actually sit and do nothing for at least five minutes a day in our daily life?". Natalie asked that in the first session of the meditation course I attended last August. The practice of the Raj Meditation is simply "sit and do nothing and keep a peaceful" mind. It's a very intuitive way to encourage people to start doing some forms of mediating. Since finishing the course last [..] > read more
Who need anymore "time"?
Published on 2012-01-14 10:01:00
"... When the right time is NOW...."Steven Spielberg once said that, he loved what he do so much he didn't feel like he is "working" a single day. I often wonder what does obstacles mean to him? Has that ever made him think of the future and worry him? But perhaps it is the idea of "living in the NOW" that carried him from one day to the next? The fact that he enjoyed what he do seems to justify that. This interestingly mirrored what was advocated in a book that I recently read, "The Power of NO [..] > read more
Technologically leveraged friendship
Published on 2012-01-09 17:00:00
"...Be careful what you wish for.." Talking about being sentimental and age and how this affects one's view of friendship, I am beginning to realise how powerful technology has developed in such a way that it changed the way you see friendship. I am the more conservative type. I don't have lots of friends on facebook, for example, and not intend on increasing too many too soon, and NOT (what a "narrow escape" on facebook, at least I tried) knowing people without first knowing/seeing them in REAL [..] > read more
Some "friendships" just cannot be forced
Published on 2012-01-06 17:32:00
"....but some could be so simple that you cannot believe it is happening.."I had a nice chat with GG the other day on MSN. I have known GG for more than 10 years. I knew her in the third year of my working life while in Singapore. She was one of the Realtors in the company, always bringing clients around for flats viewing. She was friendly, willing to share opinion and open. I like her because she didn't take herself too seriously and even laugh at herself, down to earth and genuine. GG is one [..] > read more
Inspirations and Resolution
Published on 2011-12-31 17:30:00
"....What your mindsets said...." Another day about to go by, then it will be the new year. How time flies! People look back their life this time of year, so what did you find? For me, I need inspiration so I can keep going and move forward. This forms the basis of my resolution for 2012. Here's my inspirations and resolution.INSPIRATIONS I was inspired by Tersesa Hsu and Ben Breedlove in the last quarter of 2011. I had also gone to "hell and heaven" at work in November 2011. These are opportun [..] > read more
Not afraid of death anymore
Published on 2011-12-29 17:22:00
"..... Still I respect life....." Today is 18 year-old Ben Breedlove's funeral. Ben has become popular on the internet after he posted a video detailing his fear of death until he felt he has overcome it. He died on Christmas Day from a complications of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an abnormal thickening of the heart's walls, which he was suffering from. I watched his video (posted here). You can tell he no longer had fear over death. He was so calm and peaceful. Underlying his calmness [..] > read more
High school's sweethearts are the sweetest
Published on 2011-12-27 17:40:00
"..... Memory is the gift of time and is enough to bring a smile on your face ...." I just watched "One Day", the movie about a couple who knew each other during their graduations' days in a potentially one-night stand situation, which both agree to just become friends. They agreed to keep in touch with each others and this lasted over a period of 20 years, which they met only one day a year throughout, due to their different locations.You can imagine how hard this is going to be. However, given [..] > read more
Thank you for remembering me on Christmas
Published on 2011-12-25 17:00:00
"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." ~ William WardThe early morning on Christmas Day was especially peaceful, even I could feel that. I have lived in the UK for over ten years across five cities. Each time I moved from one to another, I knew new people and kept in touch with the old ones, though this means we will become less close since we will be distance apart. Thanks to facebook for making it possible to chat and catch up with long distance [..] > read more
A little Christmas Wish
Published on 2011-12-22 17:33:00
"... Maybe grandma won't be celebrating Christmas, but as long as she was happy, I would be happy for her...."KM missed her mom the other day while listening to "O Holy Night" and had some emotional moments. I can understand it is Christmas festive periods where family members gather and have some nice time together, exchanging gifts, etc, so I can imagine how KM felt suddenly when mom was not around anymore. This Christmas I am still going to do some works, but when I am not doing my work, I s [..] > read more
Visiting Singapore; Visiting people
Published on 2011-06-27 05:22:00
"... but, how many of them will I visit"I emailed a friend yesterday, telling him, how differently I felt each time I returned to Singapore. Indeed, I am suddenly a bit confused whether going back Singapore, as if a routine (just like some may thin > read more
A time and place for everything
Published on 2011-06-07 16:49:00
"When it feels right, you will enjoy it"Following my exam finished today, I will be locking myself away from tomorrow onward for 5 or 6 days to mark those 175 exam scripts. This also marks the end of the second semester and the beginning of a three m > read more
Resignation!
Published on 2011-05-22 14:00:00
"No, not me, no, no!" We had a meeting last Friday, and a very shocking news was announced, my colleague YS has resigned! It was shocking because he was meant for some form of likely promotion as far as we all know, and when that was announced it was > read more
The Singapore GE 2011: Apology, Social Media's war and the voting outcomes
Published on 2011-05-07 15:52:00
"..... in the long term, Singapore will be fine. It is what you expect from it that matters."The Singapore General Election 2011 had just taken place on the 7th of May. The current government taking charge by the People Action Party had ruled Singapo > read more
Do you feel "older" today?
Published on 2011-05-06 17:52:00
"we can do anything in any stage of our life, never mind our age...."I was watching BBC2's The Graham Norton Show and saw Robert Pattinson on the show. He looks so dreamy and only 24 year old. I looked at him and I asked myself how long will that pre > read more
How "dark" is a dark comedy?
Published on 2011-05-05 15:44:00
"It's life and you got to take it or leave it, you either laugh or you cry......"Have you not wondered before why this is so? We might be too concentrated on being entertained and forget about the meaning and implication behind those laughter. I espe > read more
Breathing spaces
Published on 2011-05-04 16:14:00
".... stop procrastination entering my thought system...." Finally, I had the most challenging task taken off the lists of research I wanted to focus on. It was not easy and I am talking about this one with MW as discussed few days back. The tou > read more
Get the engine started
Published on 2011-05-02 17:32:00
"Yes, it works fine even with some mishaps...." It's the bank holiday today and I already tried to get back to my normal work routine. So, it was waking up in the morning, going for a swim, then back doing dinner and then breakfast, and head off to o > read more
Research Strategy
Published on 2011-05-01 16:18:00
" .... my strategy is to keep an "equally weighted" research portfolio..."This is the last Sunday evening of the 4 weeks Easter Break. From Tuesday onward, I will be back to the routine at work. I so much wish I had one more week of holiday. However, > read more
It's the "thoughts" & they don't "count"!
Published on 2011-04-28 10:24:00
"Yes, what was I thinking? maybe they are just "thoughts"I returned home yesterday to find my fridge/freezer not working anymore. Those frozen breads gone all soft and the fridge not very cool. I was a little "stressed". I can remember under normal s > read more
Looking forward to good productivity
Published on 2011-04-26 17:17:00
" . Time waits for no man, but time waits for me..."This is still the Easter holiday period for the University, and it also coincides with the National Easter holiday, so the University is closed and I was happy to stay at home for good Friday, the w > read more
Buying what you need or what you like?
Published on 2011-04-24 16:58:00
"..this is hard, especially facing attractive bargains!" I had never been this relaxed. I have been enjoying myself over the past few days. Finding myself on top of things and able to focus on doing light hearted stuff in an organized way, and not le > read more
Marginal Tasking
Published on 2011-04-23 17:33:00
".... If it concerns personal finances, take one step at a time, step and step and marginally, never go one step too far. Be ready and then you go, but plan early.."It's the Easter weekend and this year there are two long weekends because Prince Will > read more
My double bed orthopaedic mattress
Published on 2011-04-21 16:00:00
".... I am perhaps quite used to simple living, to the extent the meaning of "living standard" does not actually mean anything."My double bed mattress arrived. This is really a "Big step" for me. I have moved to Loughborough for more than a year now, > read more
What if I aim to be a professor one day
Published on 2011-04-20 16:50:00
"... you need to know the game first!" One of my hobbies these days was to surf the web for "role model". This is in relation to what I said the other day about "thinking out of the box". I came across something that kept me thinking for a while toda > read more
Think out of the box
Published on 2011-04-18 17:04:00
" ...... those that matter the most are not those you see everyday at work" I am "inferior" only because this helps me to stay grounded and cool headed. We had our annual Research Away Day today and this year, the theme is for all of us to > read more
Relax is a form of focus
Published on 2011-04-17 16:54:00
"Yes, there is only one thing to do - relax." You find spaces for relaxing when "a certain point in time" does not feel the same as "all other times". It has come to my attention that I need to find a way that is unique to me, and only me, that allow > read more
Hereafter
Published on 2011-04-16 17:26:00
"How do you deal with the lost of a loved one?""Hereafter" is another movie I watched recently. The story linked three different segments together, each involving some relations to the issue of death. This relation to death is different to that > read more
The Beautiful "Norwegian Wood"
Published on 2011-04-15 17:52:00
"The young, soft and tender hearts hurt the most, and the pains are most beautiful...." "Norwegian wood" tells you about this and I think, it is also the main aim of the director to want to reflect in this movie. "Norwegian wood" is based on Har > read more
Breathing is "healing"
Published on 2011-04-14 16:32:00
".... it serves another purpose apart from keeping you alive"I came back from Birmingham this evening, finishing my short but fruitful 3 days conference. I have email assess during this time and still able to receive messages from work colleagu > read more
Life Time Achievement
Published on 2011-04-13 17:32:00
"but, life goes on...." I continue to network with people at the conference. The BAFA conference normally attracts academics in the UK and internationally in the area of accoutning and finance. You see familiar people all the times and also som > read more
Life's a journey
Published on 2011-04-12 17:35:00
"But this is not a good one,...." Taking the public transport in the UK can be quite an experience. Today I will be travelling to Birmingham for the "British Accounting and Finance" conference for 2 days. The journey is about 1 hour 10 mi > read more
disruption is not so bad
Published on 2011-04-11 17:32:00
"If you know the difference between thought and feeling...." After writing yesterday's post about "De-cluttering", I began to see the rationale for having a "to do" list everyday. I think this is just so that you don't pile up things too much to the > read more
De-cluttering
Published on 2011-04-10 16:28:00
".... but what purpose does that serves?" It seems that cluttering is one of the main hindrance for a minimalist's lifestyle. Cluttering stops you for having a very "clear" life, it's too crowded. We talked about this the other day, claiming that it > read more
Never Wrestle with a Pig
Published on 2011-04-09 17:44:00
"... I can already relate to the title as I already identified a couple of "pigs" in my workplace."This is a new book I bought today. The title, Never Wrestle with a Pig, is cool and I just only found out what it meant. Well, never fight with a pig b > read more
The challenge of a Minimalist
Published on 2011-04-08 17:48:00
"hmmm..... perhaps start from your mindset...". Minimalist is not the topic that I first mention. I had discussed this before. Indeed, a lots of other bloggers are mentioning this too. Thanks to my Dashboard, I have been able to keep updated ab > read more
When "being focused" is taken to the extreme...
Published on 2011-04-07 17:32:00
".... you forget to return to the real world." I finished watching "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" from the BBC Iplayer tonight. This is not a new movie. It was shown in 2006. It's a different sort of Thriller movie, as you would expect with bloo > read more
I give up fighting altogether!
Published on 2011-04-05 17:33:00
"What an idea, giving up? what a disgrace! But it's a quite BIG thing to do, i.e., giving up. The underlying of giving up fighting is to simply, follow the flow"Today I followed the flow in my ipod. ipod is an interesting invention. Firstly, the lazy > read more
The Secret of Breathing
Published on 2011-04-04 16:04:00
"... is for you to find out.."This is correct. It sounds a bit silly, yes it's the commonsense way of breathing I am referring here. Let it take over. Well, don't we all breath, if not we would have all gone dead by now. Yes and that is also co > read more
"Happiness" is Cheap!
Published on 2011-04-03 14:43:00
"Yes and in fact, I just got one that cost me only 20 pence!"Sunday is often a time that you feel "settled". It's a day you tend to do the washing, hoovering the flat, and get ready for the new week to come. So, Sunday's evening, after dinner t > read more
Happiness comes when you "relax"....
Published on 2011-01-25 17:01:00
".... and you can even nurture it and let it be part of your everyday life."It's the new year 2011 and this means I have been in Loughborough for almost 18 months now. I am quite settled in to be honest, and somehow you got that feeling of "missing o > read more
what's important come FIRST! :D
Published on 2010-10-21 16:05:00
When you have a wide range of tasks to accomplish and not knowing which one to start, what is the way forward? The other day that was how I exactly felt. My whole afternoon didn't feel as if I accomplish anything. I didn't feel satisfying for those t > read more
Wishing for the happiness of others
Published on 2010-10-18 16:57:00
I came across this article, "The practice of Metta Meditation! Looking at the site, it explained the meaning to be "a strong wish for the happiness of others." I am not sure it means feeling thankful for other people, but I think the basis is a diffe > read more
in Nirvana or in hell?
Published on 2010-09-29 16:59:00
Sometimes our emotion does go through quite a number of changes throughout the day. I somehow tell myself this will change and will pass, so no need to be affected by it too much. Obviously it is not always that easy to practice. This reminded me of > read more
Loneliness as an inner darkness
Published on 2010-09-25 16:34:00
"Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens." -- Carl JungI was reading about the LKY's interview with the New York time couple of weeks ago and I cannot help feel sorr > read more
back to basic
Published on 2010-09-24 17:01:00
As I begain writing blogs few months back, I also learnt the environment in which the blog writing platform works and I learnt ways to make it for me to allow me to get the best out of it. There is an interesting option on Dashboard that allows one t > read more
5 "mistakes" YOU should make
Published on 2010-09-23 17:26:00
"Some mistakes are just too costly! Oh No!" :( Hey, no one's perfect. He who believe he made no mistake is the most miserable person in the world, let not the person be you. Happier people made mistake as they "find themselves" in those mistake > read more
Who would say NO to a FREE meal?
Published on 2010-07-21 16:09:00
"...... of course, unless if you are a fish. :D" I am a bit under the weather last few days and start to cut back on meeting friends or going out, so I end up spending time at home with parents and doing some stuff on the web. I recalled people tha > read more
How can you "save Singapore" in a Memory stick?!
Published on 2010-07-20 16:38:00
".... How can you feel "belonged" to a place, if it increasingly gives you little or no memory?"Just as I was talking about searching for lost memories in Singapore yesterday, a lunch meet today with my uncle, PK, reminded me that, Singapore will be > read more
What do I miss in Singapore
Published on 2010-07-19 07:34:00
".. actually i don't know what I missed. I have lived in the UK for such long time that some memories about Singapore seemed to have lost....""What do I miss in Singapore" this seem to be question many were asking recently. Is it about food, or other > read more