Random-ness

my grandfather has slight alzheimer's,
so it makes playing backjack with him very interesting.
especially since he was the banker.

"triple!", he would shout.
"see your card first," my uncle the co-banker reminded him.
"triple!" he would shout again.

20 seconds later,
"what's the bet," he asked my uncle, "is it single? why you say triple"
"you were the one who shouted triple so loudly!" my uncle replied with exasperation.

--------------------------

halfway through the session we started blue-toothing "cha cham bo" and "jin tian bu hui jia" to every handphone,
and everyone started blasting these songs through the hp speakers.

"banker lose money angry already, dun cha cham bo somemore"

-----------------------------

Mom just went to heat up some bak kwa,
and burnt every bit of it.

Dad opened up the toaster to a cloud of smoke.

the burnt smell is still present.

every inch of the bak kwa has turned black,
it's the most burnt thing i've ever seen in the toaster.

even the maid started laughing.

--------------------------------

i'm suddenly interested in how the mute communicate.
how do they talk over the phone?
one way will be to do text to speech conversion,
but what if they are poor, illiterate and can't type?

is there a cheap way to video conference?

picked up a few sign language stuff on youtube.

and i came across an intriguing website that suggests we go mute for a day.
either carry a sign that says "i won't talk today",
or just carry a notepad around.

i think i'll try that one day. maybe for cell group.
just not talk.
write or sign language your way through.

the benefits of this exercise are supposedly:
1) you think through the message you want to communicate and cut the junk
2) pple are more helpful
3) everyone concentrates
4) it's fun

i wanna try signing to order fast food.
that would be interesting.
or maybe not, it's just gesturing 5 and they'll give you meal 5.

i'll order meal with less salty fries and change to green tea!
whoo hoo!
how bout that!
-------------------------------

i'm behind on my M.A.D missions.
there just aren't enough kind things to do.
tmrw i'll give the auntie cleaner an ang bao.

---------------------------------

Gong Hei Fatt Choy

Last post before niu year comes.

Mini M.A.D lesson from the past week,
be sensitive to the moments when pple need a listening ear,
and be there.

it makes all the difference to the person in need,
i know because i've been the person in need.

"it is in my heart to help because i've been helped much"

---------------------------------

New juggling inventory.
3 new spinning plates, 1 flag poi on the way, and a new hula hoop.

Wandered around TP before the toastmasters session,
and i saw the hoop selling for just 2 bucks.
so i bought it, and carried it to Toastmasters.

it made a good conversational topic.

i saw a dancing cow too,
was so tempted to buy it.
but not sure what to do with it.

------------------------------------------------------

The story "The Cab Ride" below made me tear.
You know who i think the lucky person in the story is?
it's the cab driver.

these moments don't come every day.
but when they do, they leave a deep permanent mark like footprints in solidified concrete.

I still remember the time years ago when i helped an old man,
i was wandering abt Serangoon, not really doing anything, had time to kill,
and saw this old man, drenched from the rain, a little smelly, walking painfully slowly while carrying loads of things.

So i offered to help carry his things and walked with him,
and learnt that his children just kicked him out of the house.

We struggled to cross the road in the rain and a passer by stopped to help us out.
the old man grabbed my arm on one side and the other guy's arm on the other side,
and we slowly crossed the road.

I hailed him a cab,
and offered to pay the cab driver.
The cab driver said it was fine, it was just round the corner, he won't charge.

i remember walking home in the heavy rain that day.
(the maid opened the door and you could see from her face she was wondering what the hell i was doing)

the rain didn't matter at all.
i can't describe the feeling.
it wasn't pride or "well done myself",
it was just a feeling of....joy.
that there was love in the world.
that there was the guy who stopped to help,
that there was the cab driver who drove for free.
that there was hope...and connection.

these moments don't happen every day.
we just do the things we do,
and be prepared to welcome these moments,
with open arms.
----------------------------------------------------

The Cab Ride

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. It was a cowboy’s life, a life for someone who wanted no boss. What I didn’t realize was that it was also a ministry.

Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a confessional. Passengers climbed in, sat behind me in total anonymity, and told me about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, made me laugh and weep.

But none touched me more than a woman I picked up late one August night. I was responding to a call from a small brick four-plex in a quiet part of town.

I assumed I was being sent to pick up some partiers, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a worker heading to an early shift at some factory for the industrial part of town. When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, and then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.

“Just a minute”, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened.

A small woman in her 80s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knick-knacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

“Would you carry my bag out to the car?” she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, and then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing”, I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way would want my mother treated”.

“Oh, you’re such a good boy,” she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”

“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.

“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.”

I looked in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were glistening. “I don’t have any family left,” she continued. “The doctor says I don’t have very long.”

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. “What route would you like me to take?” I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing. As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, “I’m tired. Let’s go now.”

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked, reaching into her purse.
“Nothing,” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered.
“There are other passengers,” I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,” she said, “Thank you.”

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We’re conditioned to think that lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware - beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

- written by Barry Kingsley

Sunday Sunday

we came across a chinese magazine at work the other day,
and found out the chinese name of our product.
translated into dialect,
it became "Fock nao"

my colleague started reading the chinese mag in dialect (as much as she could),
and there were "fock nao"s everywhere.

Fock Nao.
it sounds so much like a bad word.
-----------------------------

it was a very strange sunday.
i went to another church with a friend who needed special prayers in that church.
i've never been to small churches so it was an eye opener.

and today there was a wedding somemore, by an old couple married for 38 years who wanted to renew their vows.

I was afraid i was a gatecrasher to the wedding but it was a very homely informal affair.

and then they did that "bride-throw-flowers-see-who-catch" thing.

and yes,
the bouquet flew straight to me.
i instinctively stretched my leg out to kick it, (what a nice volley it would have been)
but recovered and used my hands to catch instead.

and one of the elderly sisters said to me while laughing,
"God has a purpose for you to be here today!"

she meant it as a joke,
but something abt that line resonated.
-----------------------------------------------

at the end of the sermon there was a prayer session.
and the pastor went "which one of you is Yvonne?"
*raise hand*
"The Lord has asked me to give you a prayer of wisdom and strength"

and then another sister said she has a word of prophecy for me as well,
it came to her the night before.

the first line is "the church is not a social place",

so that's really embarassing cos it's like i machiam go church to play wan.

and the rest is about how God's ways are not my ways, and i should stop doing things my way.

interesting.

it was quite disturbing cos i thought it was referring to the mini M.A.D. journey, that i should stop being kay kiang, then later i thought it meant like there's some impending doom moment coming.

so i asked dear old shepherd,
who was in the middle of a flu viral attack,
and between sniffles,
she said the first thing that came to her mind was that i was skipping church too easily.

that made sense too.

--------------------------------------------

shereen put up 480(???!!) files in the shared folder.
and among the 480(???!!) files, i found this song.
beautiful song.
Corrinne May - 5 loaves and 2 Fishes



A little boy of thirteen
was on his way to school
He heard a crowd of people laughing
and he went to take a look

Thousands were listening
to the stories of one man
He spoke with such wisdom,
even the kids could understand

The hours passed so quickly
the day turned to night
Everyone was hungry
but there was no food in sight

The boy looked in his lunchbox
at the little that he had
He wasn't sure what good it'd do
there were thousands to be fed

But he saw the twinkling eyes of Jesus
the kindness in His smile
and the boy cried out
with the trust of a child
he said:

"Take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender

Take my fears and inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
to feed them all"

I often think about that boy
when I'm feeling small
and I worry that the work I do
means nothing at all

But every single tear I cry
is a diamond in His hands
and every door that slams in my face
I will offer up in prayer

So I'll give you every breadth that I have
Oh Lord, you can work miracles
All that you need is my "Amen"

Take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender
Take my fears and inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
I hope it's not too small
I trust in you

I trust in you

Take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender
Take my fears and inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all

no gift is too small

Mini M.A.D journey

My original M.A.D is still going strong, albeit slow.
I think i'm now at No. 8, and the next one is only in March.

I was inspired yesterday to do a mini one.
mini in terms of scale (you don't have to save the world, just greet a stranger),
but mega on frequency (e.g daily)

So i'm gonna start a social experiment for 2 months and use the experience to write a speech for the Toastmaster inspirational speech contest in March.

the experiment is this:
start a daily M.A.D (Make A Difference) journey.
M.A.D to someone EVERY DAY.
doesn't have to be a big thing, you can't save a person from drowning every day, but go out there and do something for someone, EVERY DAY.

try it for 2 months.
it's very exciting.
I've asked God to do this with me.
so inspiring and refreshing. :)

who wants to join me in this experiment?
we can share notes and experiences! :)

-----------------------------------------
We are Dancer!

songs keep jumping out at me these days.
"Are we Human, or are we Dancer" by the Killers caught me one fine morning.

The lyrics are very mysterious,
so i started looking around to see how pple interpreted it.

One intepretation is that the singer is at the brink of death,
and he is wondering the ultimate question,
are we Human, or Dancer.

A dancer is a choreographed body,
a puppet,
moving to the beat of the choreographer.

"and i'm on my knees looking for the answer"

-----------------------------------------------------
There is No Purpose To Life

One thing led to another and soon i found myself reading excerpts from the book War and Peace.

And the excerpt says, the purpose of our lives, is beyond our comprehension.
To a bee keeper, the bee exists for honey. To a child stung by a bee, the bee exists to sting pple. To a poet, the bee exists to be with flowers.

the purpose of the bee is all of that, and much more.

The famous butterfly effect from theory of chaos: a butterfly flapping its wings in brazil can set off a tornado in Texas.

who knows whether my fart will cause a mini tsunami at some offshore island.

Your purpose is beyond your understanding, so quit bugging me, God seemed to be saying.

--------------------------------------------------

Then What's The Point?

i've always felt my toastmasters speeches were all mini sermons for myself.
and so it was for Project 9.

Excerpt from my Toastmasters speech abt the book The Purpose Driven Life:

"The author says, these are some purposes of our lives.

1) Love.
We're here to live a life of Love. Love God. Love people. That is the universal message that all religions preach.

2) Growth.
Every temptation and difficulty allows us to grow into better pple.

3) SHAPE

All of us have unique SHAPES.
S - Spritual gift
H - Heart / passions
A - abilities
P - personality
E - Experiences

Find you SHAPE, use it to serve and help, and your purpose will unfold by itself.
"

Follow that, God seemed to say, and you'll be alright.

---------------------------------------------

SHAPE

ever since i read abt the GPS (gift -passion-serve), i've harboured a whacky idea to spam some of my close friends and ask them abt my GPS.

And it suddenly struck me that i should also ask God abt my GPS.
and so i did, during Friday's prayer meet.

SHAPE

The "S" has always been a little hazy. I sort of know what the others are, but I don't know what my S is. And God answered yesterday. :) He also revealed something abt my "E".

-----------------------------------------
Aquarius

something got me interested in reading horoscopes,
and a few days ago i started surfing through Aquarian traits.

These were some of the funny things i read:

"If you have an Aquarian friend who is more outrageous, then buy him a bizarre gift that may not even be useful. It could be, for example, an alien lava lamp that doesn't even give out light, as long as it looks interesting." The astrologer on the vid said it while stifling a laugh, it was quite funny.

"The Aquarian sometimes needs time to be alone. Leave them alone, and soon you'll find them coming back friendly and cheerful again"

"The Aquarian is a humanitarian, and is always seeking answers. Boredom is like a disease they avoid, and they value freedom above all things. They have many ideas but seldom put the effort to implement the ideas"

"She can suddenly decide to study ballet, meditate in the mountains or join the Peace Corps. She belongs to everyone, and yet to no one. Those born under the sign of Aquarius not only march to a different drummer, they make up new music as they go along. "
---------------------------------------

I really like this story. http://www.turnbacktogod.com/story-a-glass-of-milk-paid-in-full/

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water.

She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” . “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room.

She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words:

“Paid in full with one glass of milk” Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: “Thank You, God, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands.”

----------------------------------------
This too:
http://www.turnbacktogod.com/gods-message-can-make-the-difference-in-the-life-of-someone/
----------------------------------

Time to go M.A.D. to someone.

Are we Human or are we dancers




pay my respects to grace and virtue
send my condolences to good
give my regards to soul and romance
they always did the best they could

and so long to devotion,
you taught me everything I know
wave good bye, wish me well

you gotta let me go
are we human or are we dancer
my sign is vital, my hands are cold
and Im on my knees looking for the answer
are we human or are we dancer

------------------------------------

Project 9 Power Persuasion

Preparing for it absolutely killed me.
it was definitely the toughest project so far.

the thing abt writing speeches is,
when you're inspired, it just flows out of you.
when you have writer's block, die.

so i waited around for inspiration,
and this was a really tough one to do.
you can't just write abt anything,
to persuade an audience to do something, it's gotta be something that really matters to you.

and i've already done one to persuade pple to pick up juggling so i didn't want to repeat the theme.
Among the ideas i struck out:
-persuade pple to buy mp3
-persuade pple to accept philosophical ideas like there's no real world out there
-persuade pple that God exists (not a wise one to do since i'll be stepping into OB territory)

it was tough.
i spent sunday night getting inspired and mon night polishing the speech.
actually stayed up till 5.30am, drifting in and out of sleep.
in the end had to take half day off on Tues and even then i only slept 3 hours so i could finish the speech up.

It wasn't actually important to do well,
it's just a personal target kind of thing.
you can't pull out last min (performer's honour), you can't go on stage and give rubbish,
and it's sort of like a challenge - CAN YOU PERSUADE?

oh well,
i was too tired in the end to enjoy the moment.
i thought it went ok,
but some others said it was good.
and i did get a "Best Speech" award but it isn't really a big deal.

the other toastmasters agree that P9 is the toughest,
the rest should get easier.
i'm taking their word for it.

one more and then i'll be in Advance. :)

--------------------------------------

Today No Go Home

my mom was watching telly the other day,
and the advert for "yi nan wang" CD appeared.
and she told me that's the present she wants.

Of all things,
she had to make me go out and search for a chinese oldie CD.
very uncool to shop for obiang CDs sia.

After i finally hunted it down and got it,
my dad decided 今天不回家 will make a funny ringtone,
because it starts off so loudly and abruptly.

So i installed it for him,
and liked it so much i installed the same song as my ringtone,
and my brother heard it,
and he liked it so much HE put it as HIS ringtone.

and all these happened at 11pm.

so now my entire family has 今天不回家 as our ringtones.

----------------------------------

mom was so excited abt the CD she started playing on the hi-fi in her room.
and then Dad somehow managed to get the CD tray stuck,
so the hi-fi could only play whatever CDs that were inside.

the next day they carried the entire hi-fi system to mom's office so the engineers there could help her fix it.

"so how?", i asked her that evening, "did they manage to fix it?"
"yesterday the tray is stuck but still can play. so they opened it up an closed it back. now can't even play"

--------------------------------------

the previous entry on swimming with Poot wouldn't be complete without the SHOWER experience.

"Hey i bought new shower gel from Watson. wanna try?" Poot asked from her cubicle.
"ok, pass it over," i replied as i reached below the partition. "My hand is belo......" *PIAK!* i suddenly see the bottle fly over.

"you threw it???? you...."

and the gel turned out to be some power MINT shower gel.

"it's cold!" she kept complaining. "try the gel, after you wash it off...it's cold! i'm catching a cold taking a shower! it's cold!"

"you had to buy MINT shower get right. and shit how do you off the shower tap."
"you have to keep pressing it to turn it on"
"i only pressed it once and it's been on since then"
"oh. how did you do that?"
"shit i think it's stuck"

i managed to turn it off in the end (jen..breathe...i didn't flood the toilet).

------------------------------------------

i'm finally done shopping for new toys.
there's nothing else i need besides flag poi and plates.

Jiahui has some brand new plates she would sell off to me.

i didn't want to ship 2 pieces of cloth (flag poi) across the ocean so i emailed for lobangs.
and now HF offered to carry it back for me (she's in NZ and flying back soon).

so cool.

-----------------------------------------

thinking of taking up some in line skating courses.
Speechcraft is coming up.
these are workshops for beginner speech makers.
i'll be helping out in it.

and the next round of Speech contests are coming up.

busy days ahead then.

was gonna take a magic course,
but the dates won't fit.
i guess i was never meant to take up magic.

---------------------------------

GPS

i've always thought the cafe "Gone Fishing" is a really cool place.
it's a place opened by dreamers, for dreamers.

the owners wanted it to be a chill out place,
and anyone with dreams and ideas were invited to try them out there.

so it became a philosophy cafe every tues,
where there was a reg philo group discussion.

budding musicians and stand up comics could try their performances there,
and budding cafe owners can try their hands at running it.

what a grand idea.
-------------------------------

i've only been there once, when someone told me abt it.
it was there, that a group of jugglers, brimming with enthusiasm,
wanted to start our juggling company.

we named it "PiakWorks", and did a mind map.
i dun remember what was on the mind map, just that there was a huge dollar sign in the middle.

so huge the cafe owner quipped "that's a really huge dollar sign" when she served us our drinks.

and then we wrapped up the board meeting with prata,
where MJ ordered "splatter prata" when he meant "plaster prata".

------------------------------------

i've always wanted to go back there again,
but it was way too ulu.

then a few weeks ago i realised it was no longer ulu since my work place is also ulu,
and i decided i'll spend some evenings after work there.

imagine my disappointment when i found the website and it says the cafe has ceased operations effective from 1 jan 2009.

i guess shit happens.

--------------------------------

the owner is now a life coach,
and i found something that caught my eye.

He says, on his website,
that we find our life purpose when we do 3 things:

1) gifts
2) passion
3) service

Use your gifts in your area of passion to serve others. and the purpose will reveal itself.

it is our own inner GPS system, navigating us around.

---------------------------------------

Passion - the Double Edged Sword

Some days i really like being busy,
some days i wish for some idle-ness.

Last week was one of the weeks i did everything.
and now i'm completely drained.

not that the things weren't enjoyable.
went swimming with Poot for the first time.
and got caught by with jen's condo security guard.

we swam a few laps, then gossipped for a long while, then swam some more.
pretty fun.

After that we went for some good food at chomp chomp,
and an interesting post dinner walk.

------------------------------------

recently i'm on a juggling high.
i think i juggled 4 times in a week.

had a enjoyable time doing some practice on sun after church.
did my usual thing, then when i got bored, dug out the compedium of club juggling and learnt some new stuff.

Most of the high came from a slight breakthrough in 5 clubs.
it's been FOUR years i think..since i tried 5 clubs and practiced on and off.

i'm beginning to get the "feel" of 5 clubs.
but it comes and goes so let's see how long this one lasts.
that's why need to juggle more while the "feel" is still present.

----------------------------------

After 2 hours of juggling at the esp, i came home, plonked down my things,
and went joggling.

for an hour.

Joggling is jogging while juggling.

it's quite fun. the juggling beat is like a pace setter.
i almost sprained my ankle running off an errant slab of concrete,
in front of a passer-by,
so that was embarassing.

It was so enjoyable,
I joggled another 4km on wednesday,
after coming home half dead from work.

it's funny how 2.4km seems such a dread during school,
and now 4km is just normal.

theoretically i only joggled 2km,
because i couldn't juggle at the straight parts of the track as the floodlights blinded me.
maybe i should do clubs next time.

----------------------------

shepherd dropped by the juggling session on fri and picked up 3 ball juggling.

it reminded me of the little anecdote i shared with darren and of which he enjoyed tremendously.

"I invited some of the juggling guys to this church event right, and BT asked if i was trying to convert more jugglers into christians. i told him no, i want to convert more christians into jugglers."

and then Jiahui came by,
and she brought along her new toy.
A tightrope.
to walk on.

and she went on to harness and tie ropes round the pillars.
you don't see such things everyday.
---------------------------

went for lunch with Harvey yest.
i was gonna wear black for a wedding dinner in the evening so i went for colors to meet him.
but i overdid it and became very bright.

so on the way there i msg-ed him a warning abt my flambuoyant dress code.
and he replied that he didn't drive that day and cycled instead.

so we sort of knew that our dress codes were completely mismatched.

i thought it was kind of funny, and i didn't really care to be honest.
hope he felt the same way.

-----------------------------

the wedding dinner was an outdoor beach event.
i've never attended a beach wedding dinner.

deciding what to wear was tricky,
you can't be too formal, and you can't be too informal.
and heels will get you stuck in the sand and it was a buffet too.

shereen told me to bring 2 sets of clothes then, one formal and one informal,
but i told her pple might mistake me for the bride.

------------------------------

i got to start writing my speech.
power persuasion.

i've stopped for a while because i have no inspiration for this project.

and now getting started again after so long makes it even more difficult.

oh well, gotta start sometime or i'll be stuck here forever.

power persuasion.
power persuasion.

sigh.

it's the NEW YEAR!

----------
WHAT A HOOT

and i'm gonna spend it doing nothing.
it's been a while since i did nothing.
finally i have time for myself again.

spent new year's eve's eve with weips alia thec and sherise.
had dinner at hooters watching waitresses walk around in bright orange grandma panties.
there was one that looked like she was in charge and she was wearing polo T and long pants.

"Do you think they get more clothes as they rise in seniority?"
"and that one just made a mistake. so less clothes for her!"

if you order prawns they actually offer to shell them for you.
as in, not in the kitchen, but right in front of you. the waitress will shell the cooked prawns.
i've never heard of that before.

we ordered hot wings and 911 wings. After you have the 911, hot wings are tasteless.
go for the 911.

As we chomped on the wings by the riverside,
we made a list of impossible new year resolutions.
be happy, skinny, and married. ("and rich!" sherise quipped.)

"in that order too yea guys. happy first, and then we'll be unhappily skinny and married"
"and next year we'll be sitting here eating wings and grumbling abt unhappy married lives! like what the hell did we do?"

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After dinner we popped by Liang court for some KTV.
the rooms there have really cheesy brightly lit light changing table tops.
it's so cheesy it's really funny.

and there we sang till 2am.

"i have work tmrw guys!"
"what's the problem? you reach home at 3, you still get 3 hours of sleep!"
"i'm gonna give you a call once i wake up so we can ALL wake up at 6"

KTV was a real workout.
i don't recall anytime singing with Weips that we didn't start jumping on the sofa.

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the COUNTDOWN

A good new year's eve for me is one spent in the peaceful quiet of home.
squeezing with the crowd in some countdown party is not my cup of tea.

As it turned out,
2008 is a special year.
not only was i at a countdown party (and had fun), i was PAID to do it.

it was quite a blessed gig really,
and perhaps it's a reward for returning the unexpected payment from the church kid's service for doing a little demo for them during christmas.

------
even that was a comedy of errors.

i did a little demo for them, completely voluntarily.
and then they sent me a token of appreciation for it.
i was pleasantly surprised and quite tempted to take it,
and while telling it to my mom she told me i shouldn't keep it.

now this, coming from "i-am-more-particular-abt-money-matters-than-u-are" mom,
cleared the doubt for me.
If even she, who is more particular abt money matters than i am, says it's not right to take it,
then it's probably not right.

so i returned the money, with appreciation.

and then now mom tells me "oh you mean it's organisation money and not personal money? then you should take!"

anyway,
i'm happy i returned it.
Because i feel that the countdown gig that dropped from the sky (extremely last min) was truly a blessing.
the payment for it was twice my normal rates, and i didn't even ask for it.

"how much do you charge?"
"so-and-so per hour."
"ok..erm...hmm..can i pay you (so-and-so x 2)?"
"Er..ya sure!"

thnx for being so honest mr agent! (if he's reading this!)
-------

So i went down to the countdown event,
and walking through the place and squeezing through the crowd made me shake my head.
it's gonna be sooo hot and claustrophobic i thought.

and it was after a 2am night out and a full busy day at work too.
(after which, was rushing home, grabbing a maggie mee dinner, and rushing out again)

but after i met the agent and got brief-ed,
the gig turned out a lot easier than i thought.

we would be waiting in an air conditioned room,
and would do 2 entourage walks round the place.

i love doing entourage walks because it's really fun.
the percussion band gives you nice beats to juggle too,
and you walk through the smiling crowd and you pretty much just juggle what you want.

we had cabaret girls and stiltwalkers and the percussion band and a few jugglers.
so great.
i love the dressing room feel of the waiting room.
it's one of the highlights of performing,
being backstage and waiting your turn. i like it as much as being on stage.
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the gig was supposed to end at 11,
but got extended to midnight (of which i got even more payment for!).

and near midnight, the organisers had time to kill on stage so they got the whole entourage up on stage.

so for the first time i think ever,
i counted down ON stage at a huge countdown party as a performer!

and the last ice-ing on the cake?
i was quite reluctant to do gigs till midnight on new year's eve as going home would be hell.
there's no public transport and you can't get a cab and the roads are jammed.

but then they told me the trains had extended hours,
and it was a straight ride to my place too,
so i got home in half hour. :)

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so that was a really fun, unusual and unexpected way to cap the end of the year.

there's an article on "Mind and Body" today on the pursuit of happiness.
Page 17.
the author reviewed a book by a 13th century philosopher, forgot his name.

his conclusion?

Like Aristotle, the 13th century guy believed that the meaning of life is to find happiness.

pple seek happiness in wealth, in body (beauty etc) and in soul (friendships etc).
But pple will never find true happiness in this lifetime because created things are always imperfect, and because they are always imperfect, humans will always have the feelings of desire.

and because we always have a desire for something, we can never attain complete happiness.

Complete happiness can only be found in perfect things, and only God is perfect. So happiness can only be attained when we have union with God, in the next life.

and if you dun share his religious views, then understanding the concept of "not being able to get true happiness in this lifetime" can actually free you of the struggles of seeking true happiness.

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have a great year ahead brown cows!