Went to the zoo on monday and had fun despite the rain. We were quite lucky in the sense that whenever there heavy rain, we would be somewhere near a shelter. Thus, we were not drenched. Among the many animals in the zoo, I loved the white tigers the most. Then we left the zoo for town to have dinner. The buffet dinner proved to be too taunting for many of us. The best part came when we exchanged present. We created quite a stir that people from other tables were also looking at us and seeing what we had gotten for our present.

Huiting, I loved the book you gave me. Haha. I will try to brush up my reading skills and apply what I had learnt. I think I can understand why you choose that book for me. Haha. Thank you!

Shopping yesterday. Anyway, I bought chocolates again. I also saw a Levis wallet. It is beautiful and of course, it comes with a beautiful price. I had such an impluse that I almost bought it until friends told me to look around. I wanted something that I could use for a long time. Oh ya, I love the watch which sammi is endorsing now. I like watch with delicate details. I have a dream watch but dun think my dream watch can be easily found since it is not something that people may like. Thus, this sammi watch seems to be the next best alternative.

Training was cancelled due to some unfortunate reason. Was already reluctant to turn up for training. Yet, after waiting for around 2 hours after lesson, coach came and told us that the training had to be cancelled. Began searching for people to do something. I was quite lucky. Managed to find a friend in the gym. Since I was already in sports attire, went down to the gym. Of the 3 hours I spent there, I was mostly chatting away. Left for dinner after the gym closed. So now, even though I yearned to sleep, my mind is still very fresh. Thus, waiting for time to pass and for the sleepy bug to bite me.

Woke up super early to meet a friend. We went all the way to the newly open Jurong West gym. The view was fantastic. Because of the swimming pool. The water was tempting especially when I was on the treadmill and the stationary bike. Lingered at that gym for around 2.75h. As a user, it is fun to be in that gym. If I were to work there, it will be so troublesome.

This may be the busiest month for me. Yet, it is the most enjoyable one. Had many things going on.

Was thankful for the dinner on both Sundays with my sec friends. Especially, when it is the exam period now. Even had a mini celebration at my grandma house. Haha. Initially, coz I feel like eating cake and brought a whole cake there. Then turned out to be a celebration. Tml will have another eating session with my poly friends.

* Thank you for all your greetings and gifts.

** Yee shih, I am so paiseh. You take off, in the end, I could not make it on last tue. I am touched when I know of it.

Birthday celebration for my grandma is always a grand affair, considering how big my family is. Went for one and had fun. The food was good. Today was like a show. Watching people. There were so many pieces of good news. Felt happy and looking forward. Our family is growing. Wonder how are we going to recognise one another next time.

I was told that by 25, something would happen. Seems a little unbelivable. But it never says it will really happen. Just that it will be good if it happened at that time.

My latest checkup was good. All was well. I am no longer plagued by poor appetite. It was quite a relief for it has been at least 2 years.

I had been waking up early for the past few Sundays, including today. Met up with my cousins and relatives at the Botanic Garden. We went there for a run cum walk. The air is very fresh. The whole walk took around an hour and it was usually filled with sharing and gossiping of things around us.

We also travelled to Changi Business Park to feed the tortises and fishes. It was nice seeing them eating.

For you

Hey, finally the present is in your hand. After numerous planning, the present only reached you by now. Can celebrate one month anniversary. Ha. As you know, I am not good with buying. So hope you like it. At least, I know the card is something you like.

We are quite super. From standing to siting to changing postion, we can just talk for 1.5 hours. No wonder I felt thirsty when I finally reached home. Haha. By the way, learn more routes so we can drive somewhere when we want. Counting down to Oct 16. Hopefully by Dec, the P-plates which you can take down will be of use to me. Haha. Wish me luck! I need a lot and I mean it.

I love the time I spent walking. It is a time when all kind of thoughts will appear. Along the way, I saw a primary school. Laughter and shouting filled the air. Those kids are enjoying themselves. Then reached a secondary school. The same old thing.

As a saying "Life is a bed of roses" goes by, it will depend on which perspective life is being subjected to. Rose contains thorns. We may get pricked by these teeny weeny thorns without knowing. Just like people. Overall, it appears harmless. Yet, on further inspection, it may contain tiny little thorns that just prick and scar us. Is it worth while to continue holding it knowing full well that accident may happen unknowingly? What should we do? Stay away and never touch it. Or simply remove the thorns.

Now the complexity of friendship/people is revealing itself. How blessed I am to truly acknowledge this revelation at only such a age. More of this will happen. It will only show the ugly side. Something I do not want to associate with.

Normal

Life in cheers has been alright. Things are going on well just that there are hiccups every now and then. It is perfectly normal since we are so new. Even the suppliers get a headache because we are always changing people and thus, they have a hard time looking for the correct person. Still, it is a great learning experience. It has been more than a week or nearly two weeks there. Time flies unknowingly. It is a plus point that I have fantastic teammates who helped me with things I should do. Especially today when I am bombarded with so many things and I only have a pair of hands. People’s characters, especially individual stands out easily. However, as long as the task is done and everything operates smoothly, it is not a big deal. Enjoy!

I guess this post is straight to the point. So at least you guys will not have more question marks popping up. ;)

The choice is yours

Do not leave life to fate simply because you are afraid of making the wrong decision.

Life is simply a sum total of the choices you have made. You are free to choose, but the choices you make today will determine what you will have, be and do in the tomorrow of your life.

That may seem a little daunting, when you do pause in your journey through life’s many twists and turns, and consider how you actually make choices.

Choice of career, choice of spouse, choice of investment, the list goes on.

Is it by instinct or do you actually analyse the important decisions you make in life? Or do you get so paralysed by the fear of making the wrong decision that you simply abdicate from any responsibility and just leave it to “fate”?

Schools do not teach you how to make choices in life, but it is a skill that can be learnt, and once mastered, can help you live the life your dreams.

Race (News)

Finish a race well. Many who start on well but get distracted and run out of steam along the way. One may start off poorly but as long as he intent on finishing life’s race well, it is good enough. We all have different ideas of what finishing the race well in life means. For many, it may mean being successful, for others, breaking away from some destructive habit like drugs or alcoholism. And for an even smaller group perhaps, goals that are not tangible – living right, being honest or living to help and serve others.

(News)

As Professor Joanne B. Ciulla puts it in her book The Working Life (2000): “For many, life consists mostly of exhaustion from work and then rejuvenation for work.”

“Their lives are like the Danaides’ leaky water jars – they pour bits of happiness in, but the jar itself will never be full.”

From his studies on happiness, the American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi found that people experienced “flow”, or peaking joy, 50% of the time when they were at work. Oddly, they enjoyed flow only 18% of the time when they were at play. So is work happiness, or happiness work?

In the book Good Work (2001), Prof Csikszentmihalyi, Howard Gardner and William Damon ponder the sometimes uneasy bedfellows of excellence and ethics in life. Their clear-cut gauge of a person’s identity is what they call “the universal mirror test”, named after a German ambassador who, pressed to provide a bevy of prostitutes for a royal celebration, resigned. Asked why, he said: “I refused to see a pimp in the mirror in the morning when I shave.”

Happy

Happy birthday, YJ! You have so many cakes for this year celebration. Hope you enjoy yourself and the cakes. Haha.. ;) All the best for your coming result..

Met up for dinner last night with some old friends. Though we seldom contact and the number of meeting can be counted with just five fingers for a year, we still get along very well. YJ, you are my bridge to them.

Talking

ys, it has been great chatting with you for hours. Though it is only through msn. It is still a fabulous start. Maybe you are a little busier than us, that is why we do not have much time for talk except just now. I am glad. Let us find new things and occupy ourselves. Those things you mentioned before, let us join. Although time is a crucial factor, I am sure we will be able to work around it. Step out of your current situation and you will be a step close to your dream.

Badminton

I felt tired after a long day in school but on the other hand, I was eager to play badminton with YT. She is a great pal of mine. Although we seldom contact, we would always keep each other updated whenever we meet up.

This evening, we spent the time reminiscing the past when we were training. When we stepped into the place, we were still wondering if we would meet our coach. True enough, the moment we opened the door, we saw familiar face. There she was, looking intently at the girls to ensure that they were doing the correct things. I missed her! She was a motherly figure to us when we were under her. Always asking us to study hard and play hard. She encouraged us as well as reprimanded us when we were in wrong. Our growing years were spent with her. Her trainings were wonderfully fun. No matter how tired we were, we always pushed ourselves because she believed in us. Then, we replayed the trainings we used to do. Doing everything that was supposed to be done in training. We are in love with our past trainings.

3 days a week. 3 to 4 hours during each of the 3 days. Sentosa camps, school camps, lunch after Saturday trainings as well as dinner for weekdays. I simply love the team I had with YT being my partner for almost all the competitions. That is why we do share a certain level of mo qi between us.

Steamboat

Today, after lesson, we had steamboat for lunch. It was quite a fun experience as I don't usually have steamboat with friends. We bought our own ingredients and prepared them. The food tasted nice and so did the company. =) Thank you, you guys.

Friday

After lesson, we went to fly kite. It made me think of that outing we had during sec 4. Everyone could not believe we want to fly kite. However, we went ahead with our plan and had an enjoyable time. It was fun flying kite. One of the kites made it into the sky within minutes. The feeling was fabulous since most of us had no experience in flying kites. Finally, all 3 kites made it to the sky. It was beautiful. That night, I watched the fireworks again. Nice. Better too.