..my battle stance..

Been contemplating on writing (like really write) about this one day. Heck even this introductory post took me weeks to settle on. You know... King Arthur's story? Those knights of the round table? They were his best knights. There was the famous Lancelot who had an affair with the queen. And Galahad, Lancelot's illegitimate child, would turn into one of Arthur's finest knights. He was one of the three knights who achieved the holy grail. And then there is King David. He got the legendary Three. Who would be the equivalent of the sannin in Naruto. Or the five tiger generals in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. "The Three are   Ishbaal the Tachmonite ("thou will make me wise"), Eleazar ("God has helped") son of Dodo ("his beloved") the Ahohite ("brother of rest"), and Shammah son of Agee the Hararite." (source: wiki) And he also got his order of Thirty finest warriors. (Uriah being among them). Now this is my...

Damn it. Blood boil. But since I dunno the guy directly, and well.. I shouldn't be in the know of their past too.. so I just can't say this on fb. I know this is none of my business. I am just a common friend anyway. But this guy... really piss me off. This is what we call "si beh du lan". Seriously dude.

you asked me if there is nothing a girl can do then, (other than to just wait) well.. i dunno. i would have said that she can choose to courageously love. (against the odds) because a girl with genuine love and courage is truly formidable. but i suspect that will be the wrong answer. all i know is this. boys could just be as helpless. in a different way. (and we have no privilege of just waiting) it's a fair game really. where nobody really knows the answer or shortcut to their destination. (nobody have a damn clue) i'd play this song now and then. because it captures beautifully the beauty of uncertainty. that feeling when we take this aimless walk. hoping for serendipity to cross paths. we will gaze and see no clue. but we will not lose our sense of hope. because we know that if there is one thing certain about love.. it is this- love is patient.

"A man forgives a woman's lies"- Sanji, One Piece This is probably one of the best quotes I ever pick up from reading manga when it comes to man-woman thingy haha. For the uninitiated, this snippet of manga is to be read from right to left. I even googled this sentence to find the real source. But it seems like this is originally coined by the author of One Piece! Oh gosh... really? a mangaka? That statement is so interesting because it says something about a lesson every man will eventually have to learn. And with this 30th post, I have surpassed the number of posts I wrote in 2014.

Well it's not my favorite month. Despite it being my BIRTHday month. Yeah please.. can someone tell me what's the deal with this 'BORNday' word? The grammar nazi in me is unsettled to put it mildly. There is a very good post by a blogger on this. If you decide to change 'birth' to 'born' because you think that's the right word from verb/noun/adj pov, then you probably should go and re-read the dictionary? In any case there is just something about 'birth' that makes it more meaningful than 'born', I feel. But I am open to be corrected. Now.. there is this very tempting offer by citi This is one of the moments when you feel the plus point of having a partner heh. Anyway.. looking at the first quarter of 2015, I can only be grateful. So much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to. Both challenges as well as promises. The greatest opponent we have will always be this one person. Ourselves. That is our deadlies...

This is my favorite! It says something about his dedication for this country. For him Singapore will always be that little baby he painstakingly brought up. Will read up his books this year. But as always I would like to remind us that he was not alone. He had some great men helping him. Just that their names were being kept low. Anything truly great would never be accomplished by a single human being. Except for that one thing. Which, as it turns out, happens to be the greatest thing ever accomplished by man or men. The Divine Exchange at the Calvary.  

First of all.. salute, respect, hats off to rimbun who queued all the way to pay his last respect to LKY. Such determination that comes from their heart kinda restore a bit of my faith in mankind. I worked for a govt agency 8 yrs ago. I was in division that basically serves as secretary to the CEO. So we will be in all of his meetings, taking notes, prepare his presentation slides,  etc etc. I was kinda taken aback when I was first asked to take notes in meeting for the CEO. I felt like secretarial job is best suited for ladies. I didn't object openly but it showed. So my boss (bos ayam for those who knows the story) decided to hv a word with me. She told me how LKY first started as Secretary for his political party. How he also took notes and how he learned so much during his time as secretary. I never imagined that the guy was ever a secretary to anyone. But it changed my mindset ever since. Now I look up to those personal secretaries. They got astonishing level of at...

Phew.. let's try blogging with apps. There are two major camps on fb now. The first one (and thankfully the more dominant one in my circle) is the one that eulogise Lee Kuan Yew with their personal testimony or by sharing some positive articles on LKY. Now.. I do feel that sometimes the praises can get a little bit too much. Make me shiver a bit. And the TVs are going all out on showing and repeating his PAP campaign speeches. Seriously media guys.. I get it that this may be effective campaign but I would appreciate some sensibility here during such mourning period. I am more in the group that admire him for his great leadership and thank him for his cabinet policies that have helped created such a great nation. And yes.. the govt scholarship was the thing that enabled me to study and live here. For that.. I am selfishly and eternally grateful. As for the second camp. Well.. I feel sorry for them. They actively share articles that criticise LKY in their attempt to make th...

This movie was on Celestial today. Surprisingly heartwarming. Tony Leung is at his nonchalant best as Doctor Mack, a carefree genius doctor who look after the poor and prositutes in a HK shady neighbourhood. There is this farewell scene between Dr Mack (est in his mid 30s?) who is about to leave for Africa and a young girl (early 20s?) who has an unrequited feeling for him. "I will never again fall in love with another guy in my life, you now." she says with a sad tone. Dr Mack smiles. He holds her and replies, "You may not believe this now. But trust me..  you will say exactly the same sentence for about a dozen times more in your life. So now.. go and do well in your study and life, make some boys fall in love with you and then break some hearts along the way." I thought it was really poignant. So much truth in it. Beautiful script. There will be time when we think we may not fall in love anymore. not in such a way. But certainl...

"One of the best opportunities you can be given in life is to be underestimated." Not sure who says this but for some people (I am not saying all), this is so true! I told a friend that all I need in my circle is a 1% who have unwavering belief in me, and another 99% who underestimate me. That would keep me motivated to strive to be better and better. And that would give me ADVANTAGE. But we talk about advantage another time. We all have areas that need improving. But all too often, in Asia especially, we all are too reluctant to tell others that they need a change. Even less likely for us to humiliate or insult that person by pointing out their weaknesses. Even if we dislike that person. Or especially if we dislike that person hah. But insults, I realise, are a much stronger drive for me than comforting words. There are no two words in the English language more harmful than " good job "- Terence Fletcher, Whiplash. Last year, someone so, so close to me...

Well.. I guess I do miss winter. and all that idling moment. and the fact that it's freaking 11PM Singapore time and I was enjoying a beautiful sunset walk at Oslo. Gosh.. traveling! If I were an element, I would be the wind. If my lover asks me to write her a manual about me, this statement will be in the opening paragraph. And being my lover, she would definitely get it. Because she would be smart. And I digress. Anyway... I am so, so.. grateful that God has handled me with utmost care. This year.. unbelievable. Still feeling all dreamy when I remember that trip. And feeling the urge to work hard and save enough to travel again! And work-wise.. while housing mortgage bankers have been quitting jobs and moving to do something else.. and property agents too.. some of them are now busy promoting some MLM stuff. And frankly, I didn't close a SINGLE deal for the first 2.5 months!! Well.. I was away too for most of the time heh. But you know.. the market was simp...

Today we had our first CG in 2015. I shared from the great commandment verse. Love the Lord your God from all your heart, with all your soul, all your understanding, and all your strength. Ever think about why this supposedly great commandment is so often cited and so rarely discussed? I love John Piper's sharing about the joy in God and love for God>>> here I think it is beautiful. But then again.. one thing that I am learning as I meditate on the great commandment is this- My heart is not the same as your heart. Nor are my soul, understanding, and strength the same as yours. But God does not ask us to love Him the way someone else does. Even if our mum loves to compare our dad  to her friend's husband. No.. God wants us to love him with all that we are. Just as we are. Yes.. this selfish heart of mine, this heart that is full of deceit, bitterness, and everything that seems so unworthy, this is the heart that He is interested in. The question is.. w...

I think this is kind of a good concept. Short film cum mv clip. Maybe western songs have had this for a while. But I don't recall such concept being used a lot in Chinese mv. Note on Angelababy (why, dear, do you choose such a name?) She has grown from being an actress whom I initially associated with roles in some nonsense movies (like those beach volley movies that emphasize on babes and well.. curves) to a rather versatile actress who now and then does decent job in good movies.

Had conversation with a friend about CS Lewis the other day. She told me that CS Lewis got married in the end (I assumed that he didn't), but his wife died two years later. That painful event caused CS Lewis to write a book titled 'A Grief Observed'. I suspect that book may not be a New York Times bestseller nowadays. But I am quite confident that book will be among the most-read in Christian funeral homes. This is one of his quotes that once again make me goes.. "I know right..." “You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth of falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn't you then first discover how much you really trusted it?” ― C.S. Lewis , A Grief Observed I openly deal with pain and sadness partly because I am melanc...

hm... It seems like I have jelly-like soft spot for this kinda girl's voice. And glad to finally found this song. Always had a gleeful smile on my face whenever it plays on radio. but never knew the title.

in the mood to write hah! and this mellow song certainly inspires and lend me some words. fearing to disturb this peaceful equilibrium, i put on my 'best-friends-forever' face. pretending to listen, to understand, to be still.. i wrapped the chaos inside me with perfect alibis. at times i would become greedy, your smile melted my fences, my alibis undone, all i wanted was to be with you, with or without reason "can I hug you?" kept on pounding inside till it hurts if there is a future, scenes of you and I, let's not be friends there, what do you say? for once let me be brave, let me be selfish.. for once let me not whisper, let me say this out loud.. if there is a future, chapters of you and I, let's not be friends then, what do you say? for once let me be brave, let me be the man.. to hold your hand and fill your heart.

we.. not all of us, not you and I, but we as in we.. we don't write about two kind of things. one.. the things that are obvious. two.. the things that are within the deepest and most hidden part of our heart. so we may seem to say so much but we never really tell much. love, when it attains the kind of depth that is beyond deep, will never find ways to express itself in writing and words. same thing for hatred, and wound, and sadness, and happiness. and yes... kimi mo..

mungkin bila cinta, maka segala daya untuk menjauh hanya menciptakan gesekan, dan lalu daya yang bekerja sebaliknya. mungkin bila cinta, maka mata yang menerawang, hanya menemukan refleksi dia, yang ternyata ada dalam titik terjauh. mungkin bila cinta, maka langkah yang sengaja beda, hanya tinggalkan jejak2 hangat, yang perlahan mengisi penuh hatimu. maka bila cinta.. #iseng

This photo is taken at Bern. This city is interesting. Its old town buildings are mostly of the same color (as seen here). So when a red hot bus passes by, it suddenly brights up the scene. Bern is historically an important city. So there is plenty to learn from if you visit its museum. There is Einstein museum there too. The scientist only lived there for 2 or 3 years. But since they said he developed his relativity theory there.. well, they decide that it's worth a shot to have his museum here. The only new thing I learned from visiting Einstein museum is that.. during his college time, the bloody scientist slept with his girlfriend without proper safety measure. So she got pregnant. I believe he would blame the Switzerland's beautiful landscape and cold winter for that. Ah that girlfriend Mileva.. I love her!! She was so cool. She would eventually marry Einstein. She would also help Einstein with his work as this woman, it seemed, was a BETTER mathematician than ...

It is CNY and I just returned from my maiden Europe trip. I guess this title (and probably the post) will be so out of place. But paradox and irony are my cup of tea and bowl of raisin. My friend asked if I got any inspiration from the trip. Well probably a lot. But one of them is this. I come to understand how small I am. The world is such an amazing place. and this is but a fallen world. Imagine the Home we are heading to! And when I think of that, I realise how I need to have a bigger heart. It is okay to be wronged by even your most trusted person(s). Such things are going to happen in this life. Sooner or later. It's the question of who and when, not if. And so be it. My Father in Heaven is the Father of abundance. If through some experiences I have to let go some so-called friends.. so be it. If anything, it is good to travel light. Carry only the most essential allies and stuff. And travel we must! There is so much so much to explore!