Flurries, Flurries

Flurries,
Gently falling from the sky
She starts asking why

Flurries,
You make the background beautiful
But why are my troubles still so plentiful?

Flurries,
You come and go
But my troubles never slow

Flurries,
Darkness descend
Your pure whiteness still ascend

Flurries,
Your impermanence
Makes her see beyond all continents

Flurries,
All things are transient
She realises

Flurries,
She says
My troubles are miniscule

As compared with
The vastness
of the Earth

Aska はじまりはいつも雨

はじまりはいつも雨

The beginning
Starts with the rain

Pitter Patter
Pitter Patter

The raindrops
Hit against my window

I look out
Seeing you
Standing in the rain

Arrggghhh.....
Don't know what to write. This is such a beautiful song. Can't write these days. Can't even spell properly. Wanted to tell a friend that she looked beautiful in her wedding gown, but could not spell 'beautiful', so had to replace the adjective with kirei. What a loser. Can't even communicate properly in English these days. Is it because I have stopped reading? I should continue reading, really. Did not even get to finish reading "In cold blood". Gosh. I wish I could write as well as those professional bloggers. How to brush up my command of English? I guess I gotta read, read, and read.

Anyways, 飛鳥さん最高です！

Vital Statistics

Took my height and weight this afternoon. Can't believe that I weigh 53kg at 1.61cm. My little tummy is getting bigger too. My waist line seems to have increased by 1cm? Damn. I recall some years back, I also weighed around 53kg and my weight went back to 49kg back in 2004 - 2006. Now it's increased by 4kg! Is my weight increasing due to age? Or is it due to the numerous meals that I had with customers in the last 3 months? I really dislike travelling overseas for business. I tend to over eat whenever I am on business trips. It really sucks.

The last time I ran was last Friday. And I did only 4km? But I was panting like crazy even before I completed the run. Oh man...... I better buck up and run more regularly.

Thoughts

Super tired from all the travellings.
There's always a price to pay for.
I wish I could become a 'normal' employee again.
No travellings, no 100 over emails to respond to, no conference calls, no meetings.
Just wanna a normal and peaceful life, with regular exercise.
Sigh.
Life is not easy.

Falling in Love at a Coffeeshop

I think that possibly, maybe I’m falling for you
Yes there’s a chance that I’ve fallen quite hard over you.
I’ve seen the paths that your eyes wander down
I want to come too…

I think that possibly, maybe I’m falling for you

No one understands me quite like you do
Through all of the shadowy corners of me

I never knew just what it was
About this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew…
Ahh…

I think that possibly, maybe I’m falling for you
Yes there’s a chance that I’ve fallen quite hard over you.
I’ve seen the waters that make your eyes shine
now I’m shining too

Because, oh because
I’ve fallen quite hard over you

If I didn’t know you, I'd rather not know
If I couldn’t have you, I'd rather be alone

I never knew just what it was
About this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while, I never knew
I never knew just what it was
About this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while, I never knew

All of the while, All of the while it was you
You…
You…
You…

Misia Discotheque Asia Tour 2008

Listening to Misia live at the Singapore Expo was 100 times better than listening to her on YouTube. Her 5-octave voice is superb and she is one of the best rock singer I have ever known!

We were pretty close to the stage and could see her clearly. She looks like a nice girl to me as she obliged the audience encore twice. The concert lasted for close to 2.5 hours! Wow, I truly enjoyed myself that night! You made my day, Misia! Though I was dog tired from my business trip, you really made my day!

Saving Private I

Private I
Though stout
Stands tall
Behind the ferry wheels

The sunrise glorifies his beauty
Signifying his determination
And strength

He keeps going
And going
And never gives up

That's the spirit
She says
Keep it up
She says

Save private I
Save private I
She says

Private I is saved
Private I is saved
He says

She smiles
A weak smile
Closes her eyes
And rest peacefully
Forever

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

In 1820, Smith wrote a letter to an unhappy friend, Lady Morpeth, in which he offered her tips for cheering up.

I have my own variety of tips lists for cheering up, and I was interested to hear what someone from two centuries ago would recommend. Most of Smith's suggestions are as sound now as they were almost 200 years ago – though a few are amusingly odd, and it might be tougher today to work "good blazing fires" into everyday life.

“1st. Live as well as you dare.
2nd. Go into the shower-bath with a small quantity of water at a temperature low enough to give you a slight sensation of cold, 75 or 80 degrees.
3rd. Amusing books.
4th. Short views of human life—not further than dinner or tea.
5th. Be as busy as you can.
6th. See as much as you can of those friends who respect and like you.
7th. And of those acquaintances who amuse you.
8th. Make no secret of low spirits to you friends, but talk of them freely—they are always worse for dignified concealment.
9th. Attend to the effects tea and coffee produce upon you.
10th. Compare your lot with that of other people.
11th. Don’t expect too much from human life—a sorry business at the best.
12th. Avoid poetry, dramatic representations (except comedy), music, serious novels, melancholy, sentimental people, and everything likely to excite feeling or emotion, not ending in active benevolence.
13th. Do good, and endeavour to please everybody of every degree.
14th Be as much as you can in the open air without fatigue.
15th. Make the room where you commonly sit gay and pleasant.
16th. Struggle by little and little against idleness.
17th. Don’t be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice.
18th. Keep good blazing fires.
19th. Be firm and constant in the exercise of rational religion.
20th. Believe me, dear Lady Georgiana.”

*
A thoughtful reader sent me the link to PocketMod, which shows you how to make your own mini-personal organizer. I can't wait to try it out myself.

*
Check out my new one-minute internet movie, Secrets of Adulthood.
http://www.secretsofadulthood.com/

Butterflies in my stomach

Starting something new come 1st August. Have been having butterflies in my stomach for the last 1 week. Anticipating it because of some damn good rewards but nervous coz some additional new responsibilities.

Some short-term goals (next 6 months):-

1)Excel in this new 'venture'
2)Nest
3)Continuous elation contingent upon.....homosapiens around me

Confidence, determination, hard work and integrity.

Accepting failures or semi-failures

Procrastination is the thief of time. How well said. Life is always full of challenges. No short-cuts to success and nothing's guaranteed. One does not expect that the sail is always on calm waters without the company of fierce storms, which is highly unrealistic. One faces the reality with bravery, go through failures and knocks with integrity, and there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Failures must be accepted with grace, and one has to move on with confidence and might. Sinking into "anti-elate" status is uncalled for, and it results in deteriotion of one's life, be it QoL, relationships, etc. Running away from problems is not a solution either. Proscratinating and wanting the best of both worlds are no solutions as well. Be decisive, focused, and think through carefully the consequences of the decision made. Always look at the brighter side of things. Remember, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Moving Back!

Have decided to move back to good old sunny Sin! It's been a rewardful 2 months in Vancouver. Is it worth moving back? I think it definitely is! A great career with one of the leading industry players in the industry. Why not? Decision to move back may be quite impromtu but it's still worth it, for sure.

I will have to work doubly hard and face and conquer all the challenges that I am going to face. If I work hard enough, I will be able to 'recoup' my 'losses' incurred in the last 2 months. Well, but not all's lost, anyways. I have gained much much much more than the materialistic stuff that were lost. Monetary loss is nothing. I can always earn back those that was lost within a couple of months with this job.

No more run-of-the-mill performance at work for both of us!

Looking forward to a 'new' life! Buri! Buri!

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Driving in N. America

Drove a total of about 180km within a day yesterday. Driving in N. America is pretty stress free; no worries about obnoxious taxi drivers tooting their honks at you, no tailgatings when you are a little slower, no swearings and pointings of middle fingers from nasty drivers. It was raining pretty hard and visibility was kindda poor. However, we still braved the rain to drive to Abbotsford, a small city about 72km west of Vancouver. I enjoyed the drive but full concentration was warranted since it is right-hand drive. Got a bit of time to get used to right-hand drive, but managed to get the gist of it within a couple of hours.

I am glad to be given this opportunity and it really boosted my confidence to drive on highways in N. America.

The only sad thing that happened was that another car behind us skidded and bumped into our car when we stopped at a red light junction. The driver is a lady and she was very apologetic towards us. Well, guess she will have to pay the rental company's damages, if any.

青のレクイエム

This is like a dream, or like a lie
one harsh morning everything was taken away from me

Soon I will sink into the cold depth of the sky
as the moon silently fades and my breathing stops

A single drop of melody
returns to my waiting hands
as it spills from the organ

Should I ask for someone to warm me?
or to hold my frozen body
No matter what I wish or pray for
this love has already been lost

A drop of kindness drops into the sandglass
even my tears have gone to a frozen place

When you’re honest with me, I don’t want to go
my overflowing feelings tell me to be with you
But no matter how much my heart cries out or sighs
my voice no longer reaches you
this love can no longer return...

元ちとせ 青のレクイエム

いつか風になる日 Itsuka kaze ni naru hi

yagate kitto so kitto, towa wa setsuna ni satte.
dakedo zutto ah zutto koko ni ite ageru
tada kaze ga fuite iru.

There is no such time that lasts forever.
But I will be always here with you.
Do you feel the breeze around you?

Crossroad

At the crossroad
Of life
One ponders

To smell
The fragrance around
Or to ignore
And fall
Into abyss
Willingly

Light at
the end of the tunnel
No doubt

But is one willing
To go through
The hardship

When one is so
Sheltered

It's the journey
Not the destination
That
Counts

Random Thoughts

Unproductivity is spending time gossiping in the office instead of doing real work.
Unproductivity is sitting in front of my laptop and not able to do anything.
Unproductivity is having nothing to do in the office
Unproductivity is taking a few hours to get a job done when it can be done within an hour.

And how does unproductivity come about?

It all depends on the individual. I may not be assigned any work to do (well, that's the bosses' job!) but I can DO something else to improve myself:-) I can refrain from participating in gossips, I can refrain from daydreaming in front of the laptop....(guess it's ok to daydream occasionally:-). I can expedite a job and do it perfectly well without having to drag it for hours. Everything's within my control, EVERYTHING. It's all in the mind.

Lapland

Guess what time it was when this pic was taken? Well.....it was around 12.30pm or so in the afternoon. Winter in Scandinavia, Kiruna, the most northern city in Sweden. Long nights and much shorter days, around 3-4 hours of daylight.

I remember when I was in Xinjiang in late Spring, it was the opposite. The days were long; the sun was still up in the sky at 12 midnight...midnight sun.

Anyways, these are the moments that I cherished most!

Changing ya badself

How The Brain Rewires Itself
Friday, Jan. 19, 2007 By Sharon Begley

IT WAS A FAIRLY MODEST EXPERIMENT as these things go, with volunteers trooping into the lab at Harvard Medical School to learn and practice a little five-finger piano exercise. Neuroscientist Alvaro Pascual-Leone instructed the members of one group to play as fluidly as they could, trying to keep to the metronome's 60 beats per minute. Every day for five days, the volunteers practiced for two hours. Then they took a test.

At the end of each day's practice session, they sat beneath a coil of wire that sent a brief magnetic pulse into the motor cortex of their brain, located in a strip running from the crown of the head toward each ear. The so-called transcranial-magnetic-stimulation (TMS) test allows scientists to infer the function of neurons just beneath the coil. In the piano players, the TMS mapped how much of the motor cortex controlled the finger movements needed for the piano exercise. What the scientists found was that after a week of practice, the stretch of motor cortex devoted to these finger movements took over surrounding areas like dandelions on a suburban lawn.

The finding was in line with a growing number of discoveries at the time showing that greater use of a particular muscle causes the brain to devote more cortical real estate to it. But Pascual-Leone did not stop there. He extended the experiment by having another group of volunteers merely think about practicing the piano exercise. They played the simple piece of music in their head, holding their hands still while imagining how they would move their fingers. Then they too sat beneath the TMS coil.

When the scientists compared the TMS data on the two groups--those who actually tickled the ivories and those who only imagined doing so--they glimpsed a revolutionary idea about the brain: the ability of mere thought to alter the physical structure and function of our gray matter. For what the TMS revealed was that the region of motor cortex that controls the piano-playing fingers also expanded in the brains of volunteers who imagined playing the music--just as it had in those who actually played it.

"Mental practice resulted in a similar reorganization" of the brain, Pascual-Leone later wrote. If his results hold for other forms of movement (and there is no reason to think they don't), then mentally practicing a golf swing or a forward pass or a swimming turn could lead to mastery with less physical practice. Even more profound, the discovery showed that mental training had the power to change the physical structure of the brain.

THINKING ABOUT THINKING:

AS SCIENTISTS PROBE the limits of neuroplasticity, they are finding that mind sculpting can occur even without input from the outside world. The brain can change as a result of the thoughts we think, as with Pascual-Leone's virtual piano players. This has important implications for health: something as seemingly insubstantial as a thought can affect the very stuff of the brain, altering neuronal connections in a way that can treat mental illness or, perhaps, lead to a greater capacity for empathy and compassion. It may even dial up the supposedly immovable happiness set point.

In a series of experiments, for instance, Jeffrey Schwartz and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) can quiet activity in the circuit that underlies obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), just as drugs do. Schwartz had become intrigued with the therapeutic potential of mindfulness meditation, the Buddhist practice of observing one's inner experiences as if they were happening to someone else.

When OCD patients were plagued by an obsessive thought, Schwartz instructed them to think, "My brain is generating another obsessive thought. Don't I know it is just some garbage thrown up by a faulty circuit?" After 10 weeks of mindfulness-based therapy, 12 out of 18 patients improved significantly. Before-and-after brain scans showed that activity in the orbital frontal cortex, the core of the OCD circuit, had fallen dramatically and in exactly the way that drugs effective against OCD affect the brain. Schwartz called it "self-directed neuroplasticity," concluding that "the mind can change the brain."

安全地帯 碧い瞳のエリス Anzenchitai

あなたに

sangatsu kokonotsu - remioromen

9th March

Sangatsu kokonoka (Goodbye version)

9th March

Ikea in Stockholm

Didn't get a chance to see Ikea in Sweden. It was closed due to Christmas holidays. What a pity.

Aurora Borealis

Witnessed the aurora borealis in Lapland. Nature is so amazing. Though it was not truly breathtaking, I was in complete awe. While everyone was riding the snow mobile, I actually saw it occurring already... It appeared as flashes of green...but too bad, no other colors like red, purple or orange. Anyways, it was a sight to behold. Hope to catch the really nice one in the near future.

恋におちて

Life
Means
Seeking
Happiness

Happiness
Means
Living
For your
Loved Ones

Loved Ones
Will
Always
Be there
For Me

Me
Myself, and
I

I'd
rather be
Alone

Being Alone
Brings
Less
Sufferings
To
People
Around Me
Sufferings

Sufferings
are afterall
Part & Parcel
of
Life

Life
Is
Back to square one
It is
About
Happiness

Happiness
Means
Living
For your
Loved Ones
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

徳永英明 最後の言い訳

It’s so painful pretending to be asleep now
The drops that fall are tears
And you’ll wait for the dawn and then go
Because it’s you who’s afraid of the dark

The thing that’s most precious to me has become the furthest away
I knew you so well, and now it’s all a memory

I think everyone likes you
I’ll miss you, you don’t need to worry about that
What makes it so painful
Is the fact that you think you’re doing me a favour by saying goodbye

You’re the closest to me, and yet the hardest to understand
I loved you so much, and now it’s all an excuse

The thing that’s most precious to me has become the furthest away
I knew you so well, and now it’s all a memory

It’s all a memory

You’re the closest to me, and yet the hardest to understand
I loved you so much, and now it’s all an excuse

The thing that’s most precious to me has become the furthest away
You’re the closest to me, and yet the hardest to understand
The thing that’s most precious to me has become the furthest away

Which way should I go?

Scurrying down the street
I hesitated
Which way should I go?

At a loss,
I hastened my steps
Which way should I go?

Without turning back
I continued walking
Which way should I go?

To surge forward
Or, to reverse
Which way should I go?

Happiness is a state of mind
So says many
But still
Which way should I go?

Through the Barricades

Mother doesnt know where love has gone
She says it must be youth
That keeps us feeeling strong
See it in her face, that's turned to ice
And when she smiles she shows
The lines of sacrifice

And now I know what they're saying
When the sun begins to fade
And we made our love on wasteland
And through the barricades

Father made my history
He fought for what he thought
Would set us somehow free
He tought me what to say in school
I learned off by heart
But now thats torn in two

And now I know what they're saying
In the music of the parade
We made our love on wasteland
And through the barricades

Born on different sides of life
We feel the same
And feel all of this strife
So come to me when Im asleep
We'll cross the line
And dance upon the street

And now I know what they're saying
When the drums begin to fade
We made our love on wasteland
And through the barricades

Oh, turn around and Ill be there
There's a scar through my heart
But I'll bare it again
I thought we were the human race
But we were just another border-line-case
And the stars reach down and tell us
That there's always one escape
I dont know where love has gone
And in this trouble land
Desperation keep us strong
Friday's child is full of soul
With nothing left to lose
There's everything to go

And now I know what they're are saying
It's a terrible beauty we've made
So we make our love on wasteland
And through the barricades
Now I know what they're are saying
As hearts go to their graves
We made our love on wasteland
And through the barricades.

Meguriai

This wish... whoever... this wish
My lock is always open

So nice... this encounter, a chance encounter like this

Only this time, even covered with wounds, I still went out of my door
I extended my pointing finger, touching yours

The one who made others weep for love
and the one who was made to weep,
They might as well share the blame equally

Do not let go of this hand (The two of us)
We don't have the map of stars (We don't feel lost)
And we are not able to exchange much words

So at the end (These eyes)
If I was forgiven (If it ends)
When I look back, at the end you are the one

Even when all were lost, we two are one

Watching the people who see the bus of love they failed to catch driving away
the two of us, sitting here, are gently rocked

However hard I tried to warm it up,
my courage still could not hatch

Beauty that could not take shape ...
how vexing it was to be waken from the sweet dream

The bus they failed to catch (love was)
watching the people seeing it off (sent across)
The two of us here (in chance encounter)
are gently rocked (two of us here)

The bus they failed to catch (love was)
watching the people seeing it off (sent across)
The two of us here (in chance encounter)
are gently rocked (two of us here)

The one who made others weep for love
and the other who was made to weep
They might as well share the blame equally

This wish... whoever... this wish

So nice... this encounter, a chance encounter like this

失恋して聴いたら元気になれました。飛鳥の声に癒されます。

Αντιο

Μακαρι να ηταν νεκρος. Γιατι η ζωη μου μια τετοια αθλιοτητα; Εγω πιστευω σθεναρα οτι υπαρχουν πολλες ζωες με πολυ πιο αθλιοτητες, ενα εκατομμυριο φορες χειροτερη απο την δικη μου. Γι 'αυτο δεν θα πρεπει να σκεφτονται να πεθαινει. Εγω δεν θα πρεπει να αισθανεται ετσι. Ειμαι θυμωμενος, λιγο πολυ θυμωμενος. Γιατι ειναι τοσο ρευστη ευτυχια μου; Γιατι ειναι αντικειμενο μονο ενα ατομο; Γιατι εν λογω προσωπο δεν μπορει να ειναι ισχυρη και αποφασισμενη; Γιατι εν λογω προσωπο δεν μπορει να προσπαθησει να βελτιωσει; ΓΙΑΤΙ; ΓΙΑΤΙ; ΓΙΑΤΙ; ΓΙΑΤΙ; ΓΙΑΤΙ; πρεπει να εχω κανει κατι πραγματικα λαθος μου στην προηγουμενη ζωη. Ζωη μου ποτε δεν ηταν πραγματικα καλη. Εχει περασει τοσα χρονια. Τι ειναι ευτυχια; Που μπορει να βρει την αληθινη ευτυχια;

Μονη στο σκοταδι
Ι χαμηλοτερα το κεφαλι μου
Με την απροσεξια

Μαλλια μου πεφτει μαζι με αυτην
Καλυπτοντας το προσωπο μου χωρις κνησμο

Εξω απο το παραθυρο
Ο ουρανος ειναι γκρι
Και δεν προκειται ποτε ποτε σειρα του γκει

Οι βροχες προβλεπεται να χυθουν
Με βαρια καρδια
Θα στριφογυρισουν
Καθοριζονται και προβλεπονται

Αντιο
Forever


Alone in the darkness
I lower my head
With carelessness

My hair falls along with it
Covering my face without any itch

Outside the window
The sky is grey
And it will never ever turn gay

The rain comes pouring down
With a heavy heart
I tumble
Down and down

Goodbye
Forever