Nothingness

Nothing is synonymous with vacuum, which is more profound than emptiness.
Doing nothing is synonymous with valueless, which is worse than suffering.
This explains why humans need to do something to keep themselves going.
I personally experienced this myself.

When I was holidaying in Hanoi 2 weeks ago, I did nothing during my free time. I merely watched TV, brainless TV programmes. After that short break, I found my brain not working as well as it should be. I suddenly realised that I had forgotten quite a few words that I had learnt in the last couple of weeks. It really makes me shudder, will I pass my GMAT? I guess I better start looking through the questions and studying them seriously!

Word of the day from M-W : Chiliad (pronounced as kill-leead)

group of 1000

What's the difference between a chiliad and a millennium? Not much: both words refer to a period of 1000 years. While "millennium" is more widely used, "chiliad" is actually older. It first appeared in 1598 and was originally used to mean "a group of 1000," as in "a chiliad of errors." "Millennium" didn't make its way into written English until the 1630s. Not surprisingly, both words trace back to roots that mean "thousand." "Millenium" comes from the Latin "mille," and "chiliad" is a descendent of the Greek "chilioi."

The Truth of Impermanence

There is a tendency for human beings to visualise the truth of impermanence in terms of death and decay only. We tend to relate this truth only in the negative aspect. We tend to forget the flip side of the coin. The rain comes after sunshine, but sunshine also comes after the rain! Impermanence means "constant change" of all phenomena. This truth is neutral. It is what makes possible the transforming of bad situations for the better (and vice versa). Impermanance can therefore, offer hopes!

Everything arises and passes on
When you see this,
You are away from sorrow

- Dhammapada

Everything above refers to all things and situations both bad and good. When in suffering, know that "This too, shall pass." Take it easy and be realistically hopeful for a change for the better. When in joy (of the worldly), know that, "This too, shall pass." Treasure it, but don't be attached. Transcend it if you can, transform it into unconditioned happiness. Seeing impermanence is not to make us free from sorrow through glum freezing up of our hearts. It makes us more true and authentically alive to the flux of all things great and small!

JY Salon

Hate going to salons that overcharge and do not provide professional hair cuts. Yes, customer service may be good, but think about it. What's their objective of chatting up with customers and being friendly with customers? There are hair salons out there, particularly a famous one here, which sells packages at something like S$988 and S$1355 for 5 or 8 visits respectively. Why the hard selling? Take note, owner of this chain of salons, if your guys keep 'pestering' customers to buy packages, there won't be regular customers coming back to your salon. Main reason is because these customers do not want to be harassed or coerced into buying packages.Get it?

I paid more than S$250 and yet I am greatly dissatisfied with the hair cut given to me. I am not sure if their quality of silk rebonding is good, coz I am only into my 2nd day. I remember, sometime this time last year, I went to a salon with a Japanese name, that was my 2nd time to the salon. My 1st experience in that salon was generally good. The haircut was done by a guy, and he was pretty professional and he did a pretty good job. However, my 2nd experience there was disastrous. The cut was done by a lady and the impression that she gave me right from the beginning was bad. REAL BAD. She didn't seem to have a passion for cutting someone else's hair. She was like going through the motion of hair cutting and the end result? It was disastrous. From then onwards, I swore not go to into that salon anymore. Never. Ever.

And guess what? Yesterday, I wanted to give another salon chain a try, so I went to its branch in Tampines. The experience in the salon was generally good. However, I dislike the look that was given to me. I dislike the fact that the lady at the counter kept persuading me to buy the stupid package. She didn't give me GOOD reasons why I should buy. What they said is "Oh, it's worth buying". Give me a break.

In any case, I just wanna say to the owner of this salon (btw, I don't want to mention the name upfront, but you should know who you are). I will never, ever step into any of your salons again. If friends were to ask me about your salaon, I will tell them frankly about the "pressure" that I experienced, though I have to admit that it was not great. However, for people who are not resistant to such pressure-selling, I bet they could have pressured into buying the packages.

So, please. When a customer says 'NO' to your offer the 1st time. Do not keep pressurizing them into buying packages that only your own hairdressers think its worth buying. It was damn obvious to me that the package has no benefits to customers, but who makes money at the end of the day??????????? YOU know the answer.

Crying Out Love In The Center of The World MV

世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ

What can I say?

Tiredness

Physical and mental tiredness. They seem to be consuming me for the last many months. Why do some people still feel tired after so much rest? I guess it's because of the burdens that they carry. They bring their worries with them everywhere they go, both conciously or unconsciously. Burdens make one's shoulders feel heavy, they make one's footsteps heavier, they make one's breathing heavier, and they make one's eyelids droop further.

How does one keep a balance between staying lethargic and energetic? I guess one has to stay positive, really positive. But the question is, how does one stay positive? It's all in the mind, I guess. What does one do to stay positive? Does staying or rather, pretending to be happy and positive help? Well, I think it does help to a certain extent. I am not sure, but so far it has helped me quite a fair bit. I can be feeling so lousy when I am on my own. But when I am with people, I revert to my 'reel' self. Just like showing the unreal me to people, so as to prevent people from asking why I am feeling so down. And when I put on a 'brave' front, it helps me forget my real problems....at least temporarily.

Birds of a same Feathers Flock together!

It is really strange how human relationship works. One tends to hang out with people who are of the same kind as oneself. As the saying goes "Birds of a same feathers flock together". Wells, how true this idiom is. Some people think that they are perfect, love to criticize others, and talk behind peoples' back. But they are not aware that by criticizing and gossiping, they are making themselves imperfect. Or rather, they are just as 'bad' as those people whom they criticize. There are people who even rile sarcastic remarks at their 'enemies' on their blogs. Don't these people realise that by doing so, it reflects a lot on themselves? When will they wake up their idea?

There are some who even claim that they are extremely religiously inclined and that they believe in doing good. What is the definition of doing good? By being sarcastic at people? Gossiping all the time? Spending time writing on their blogs about 'copycats' who 'copy' "HER" itinerary? By being selfish? What do you think of a housemate who simply refuses to answer incoming calls because she KNOWS that the calls which are ringing aren't for her? (And you know, she knew jolly well that the calls weren't for her because HER ENTIRE group of friends were with HER!!!) What a bitxx! And there is someone who HIDE YOUR grocery because she thinks that the grocey she hides belongs to one of their mutual friends who just moved out from the apartment. Isn't that a selfish and uncivilised act? There is also someone who GIVES instructions on who should sit in who's car when comes to car pooling. This particular someone also dictates with whom you should share the room with when comes to a tour. Who does she think she is?

When people first know each other, we always take people by face value. Therefore, when there are organised trips, we go together as a group. However, as time goes by, you see peoples' true colors. Sometimes, he is invited for an outing; and sometimes he's not invited. DO YOU KNOW WHY??????? SCROLL down for an answer

Birds of a same feathers flock together
Birds of a same feathers flock together
Birds of a same feathers flock together
Birds of a same feathers flock together
Birds of a same feathers flock together

The answer to my earlier question is: Wells, he is invited BECAUSE the GROUP of birds need MORE people to SHARE the cost of petrol, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

So I really wonder. When this group of birds rant how well they have travelled, how rich their travelling experiences have been, lalala, and lalala, have they ever wondered whether all these experiences have made them better people?????? . Gosh:-. In any case, I count myself lucky for not having met such birds yet....

But to you. Poor you.

What you can do is "Treat them as acquaintances".
Do not get upset by their remarks
Do not get upset by their behaviours or actions
Do not get upset by what they write on their blogs
Do not get upset by the expressions on their faces

You will be a much happier person.

Dinners

Attended the company's 10th anniversary D&D last night. Pretty well-organised considering the fact that they took less than a month to make preparations. Food was pretty good, there were sufficient entertainment to keep our moods elevated. The not-so-fun part was that no one really dressed up. Some guys were in t-shirts and jeans, and some gals were in jeans as well. Most gals wore black dresses, mostly spaghetti straps....so it was pretty boring. I didn't bother to dress up too. Wore the cheap polka dotted purple dress from H&M with the cole hann platfom shoes.:-) Actually, I thought it would be real fun if people could dress up....

Susie Wong performance was pretty fun, best part was that she engaged the participation of 2 of the guys from the company. With the 2 guys and Susie Wong clowning around, it made the room filled with lots of laughter.

Climax of this D&D? Hmm......guess there was none. BUT, I already had a BIG surprise before before the dinner started. One of my colleagues' hubby used to be my boss (though only for less than 1 month) in one of the previous companies! What a small world it is!

Gotta get up early this morning to go hiking. Hope everything goes well and hope I will enjoy the hike.

Doing Personal Stuff in Office

As mature working adults, we know that it is against company's policy to use company's PC to do our personal stuff. For egs, surfing info for our personal use, or chatting on the MSN....LET ALONE posting some stupid pics on the MSN (that's being used in the office).

There are so many retards out there and some retards are still insisting that they are brilliant. So what if it's a fucking art piece? So what? If the pic was offensive, would you still show the pic in ya msn? (ESPECIALLY using the company's computer!) My eyes couldn't be playing tricks on me. The moment I saw that pic, I found it grossly offensive. Mickey Mouse? My arse.

The retard really spoils my day. Anyways, I hope this retard is smart enough to DELETE all the personal pictures that are saved in the company's computer.

Clouds

Have been in love with clouds for as long as I remember. Especially cumulus clouds, those cotton lookalike clouds. I think my interest in clouds was stimulated by a Geography teacher in Sec 2. Since then, I have started observing clouds and staring at them (esp in the afternoons) whenever I am free. Used to do that when I was in the uni. Loved to stare at those clouds above me, admire them for their lightness and 'carefree' nature.

On my way home this afternoon, I saw beautiful cumulus clouds admist the bright blue sky. Really enjoyed it so much. Though the sun was high up there and the heat was kindda unbearable, the beautiful background of the cumulus clouds livened my mood and made me feel so good. Right now, as I am typing, I am enjoying my precious afternoon....Hope to continue reading "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", sip my coffee and munch on my favorite black peppered crab puff...Yummy!

Taking leave without any purpose is not so bad afterall. It's so nice to be at home on a quiet weekday afternoon. MF just SMSed me saying that he's bored.....Well, guess I don't feel as bored as he does! This poor man needs to catch up on his sleep as he is always busy with his 2 toddlers at night....and that results in lack of sleep everyday! HaHa!

From http://136067.brightwebsite.com/cloud-types/:-

There are three common main cloud types that form in the different layers of the atmosphere. There is also a fourth common cloud type that forms vertically.

High Layered Clouds that form above 17,000 feet are:

Cirrus: Delicate white strands of ice crystals that often form, what is referred to as “mares tails.”

Cirrostratus: A veil of white cloudiness often covering the entire sky, causing “halos
around the Sun and the moon. This can be an indicator of an approaching storm.

Cirrocumulus: Small white patchy patterns like fish scales and referred to as
“Mackerel skies.”

Mid-layered clouds that form between 6,000 to 17,000 feet are:

Altostratus: Drab gray clouds of water droplets that obscure the view of the Sun and moon. They have the potential to produce rain and snow.

Altocumulus: A darker, larger pattern of patchiness that may produce a shower.

Lower layered clouds that form below 6,000 feet are:

Stratus: A wispy cloud of fog that hangs a few hundred feet above the ground and
often bring drizzle.

Stratocumulus: Dark gray clouds, often covering the entire sky, which do not bring rain.
They form rounded wavelike bands that are broken by blue sky.

Nimbostratus: Low, dark, ragged rain clouds that often bring continuous rain, sleet, or snow.

The fourth common cloud types that form Vertically are:

Cumulus: Large, billowy “cotton balls” of clouds with dark bottoms and bright white tops that can reach 10,000 feet high. May produce brief showers.

Cumulonimbus: Towering thunderheads, dark on the bottom and white anvil-shaped tops that can extend to 50,000 feet. Often produces lightning and heavy precipitation, including hail. Occasionally produces tornadoes.

Table Soccer

It was really funny today when we played table soccer. Me, MF, John, and K. I am so used to playing midfielder and attack but when my role became defence, I really sucked BIG TIME. Every shot that K and J took went into the goal post. K & J are considered very new players. Including this afternoon's game, that was probably their 3rd time 'on the table':-)OMG. We were all laughing till we couldn't play at all!

However, in an earlier game with BK and KL, MF and I won the first game. It seems that my skills has improved:-), though most of the time I am merely 'groping' in the dark. No strategies, no precisioness, nothing.

But it was really fun playing with those guys. We had so much fun and everyone tried their best during the game. I don't know how long we can stay this way. I used to play with Wyman and MF but our dear friend,Wyman has since migrated down under. We miss you, man.

The Purpose of Life

The purpose of meaningful existence -- to discover the wisest way to exist, and to thus exist wisely.You may discover then, that it is the wisest way to be kind to yourself. This may bring you much happiness that you readily 'overflow' the happiness to others by sharing the Wisdom with them on how to live purposefully.

The whole process is the accumulation and perfection of the twin peaks of Compassion and Wisdom. What we want is happiness, and these two qualities are essential for it to be attained.

SF, Yosemite, and Vegas

Chancellor Hotel on Union Square is excellent. The rooms do not have air conditions but it's great for the type of weather in SF, though am not sure if the heat will be unbearable during summer.

What we did in SF:-

Day 1, Sunday - Had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Food is moderately good. The chocolate cheesecake is really rich, but our stomachs were not able to take in all of it!
- Window shopping at Nordstrom, and shopping centers and boutiques. Didn't buy any stuff coz Ian said it would be more worth shopping at premium outlets in Vegas. However, bought some shoes at DWS on the 3rd day at SF! Love the shoes there!

Day 2, Monday - Had brunch at a Thai restaurant. Their iced tea taste good but the food is mediocre........well, perhaps you can even say it's substandard. Walked around the city again and took the cable car to the Fisherman's Wharf. Went to Alcatras Island, a place where you only want to visit once....

Day 3, Tuesday - Had brunch at the foodcourt. Korean food...it actually sucked. Walked around the city again and headed towards Chinatown. Nothing spectacular, though SF's chinatown is supposed to be the biggest one in the U.S. However, it seems to be much cleaner as compared with other chinatowns we visited previously. Walked a distance to Coit Towers, to the crookedest street, and thereafter....ALL the WAY to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a long, long walk but definitely worth it!

Yosemite National Park
Day 4, Wednesday - Took the bus to the railway station, and the train to Merced to catch the bus to the Yosemite National Park. The journey took about 7-8 hours and by the time we reached the national park, it was almost 2.30pm. Checked in to the Curry Camp. Saw a notice pasted on the door of the check-in counter a curry camp. Apparently, and Indian man was lost at the Merced River on 19th May... Wondering if he would ever be found...A pretty boring day, walked around the National Park and viewing Half Dome from far. Had dinner at one of the food courts. Used shared bathroom and it was about 5 minutes walk from our tent. We also kept our food and other stuff with a strong smell in an allocated locker which was near the nearest washrooms. This is to prevent bears, which are extremely sensitive to the smell of food, to 'crash' our tents and eat the food. If it really happens, the camper will have to pay something like US$120 and guess what? The bear will be euthanized.

Day 5, Thursday - Tried hiking the Mirror Lake track but unsuccessful. Managed to get out of the 'lost track' by 11am. Headed towards the Nevada and Vernal Falls. The 4 Australians we met said they took 7-8 hours to complete the hike of both falls, but they took a lot of breaks in between. However, we took 4 hours to complete the hike, but was entirely exhausted after the hike. Was so exhausted that I could not even speak a word.... Total distance covered was about 7 miles or more, I think.

Day 6, Friday - Took the bus down to Merced City. The South African driver was really nice and as we were at the airport real early, we walked to the city which is about 4 miles away from the airport. The driver happened to be driving pass us (in his own car) on our way to the city. He dropped us near the Starbucks in the city and we hanged out in the city till 3pm before walking back to the airport to catch the 430pm flight to Vegas.

Day 6, Friday - Reached Vegas at about 615pm. The flight was extremely bumpy and made me feel like puking. Took the airport bus to the Imperial Palace and had pizza for dinner. Was not impressed with Vegas though there's so much neon lights and big hotels with casinos all around us.

Day 7, Saturday - Had breakfast at McDonalds. Took the bus to Premium Outlet Centers. Shopped almost the whole day before we settled down to have japanese buffet for dinner.

Day 8, Sunday - Took the bus towards North to the Outlet Center, Vegas. All outlets are housed in a building unlike the premium outlets where individual stores are housed individually.

Day 9, Monday - Flight back to SF.

Day 10, Wednesday @ 1.00am - Home Sweet Home!

Sharing

The kindest thing that you can do
Is to be kind to yourself,
That you realise the value of kindness so much,
That you actually share it with everyone else!

Evil

There are no evil people...
The real evil is the ignorance in our minds,
Which makes us think that there are evil people out there,
Which makes us not realise that the real evil,
Is the ignorance in our minds

It is this collective evil within our minds
That manifests as all the various forms of evil we see in our world

Thus it is the collective mental purifcation
That will save the world from evil

Bad Mood

Don't think you have a valid excuse for bad behaviour when you are moody. Don't think you can just say something offensive, followed by, "Sorry, I didn't mean that, I am in a bad mood today." You can't just walk away like that. Do you expect others to simply understand and forgive you --------- again and again, when you do it again and again? We can control our moods. We are our Masters.

Master your Mind, or be
Mastered by your Mind.

O-c-D

"It has been theorized that a miscommunication between the orbital-frontal cortex, the caudate nucleus, and the thalamus may be a factor in the explanation of OCD. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is the first part of the brain to notice whether or not something is amiss. When the OFC notices that something is wrong, it sends an initial “worry signal” to the thalamus. When the thalamus receives this signal, it in turn sends signals back to the OFC to interpret the worrying event. The caudate nucleus lies between the OFC and the thalamus and it prevents the initial worry signal from being sent back to the thalamus after it has already been received. However, it is suggested that in those with OCD, the caudate nucleus does not function properly, and therefore does not prevent this initial signal from recurring. This causes the thalamus to become hyperactive and creates a virtually never-ending loop of worry signals being sent back and forth between the OFC and the thalamus. The OFC responds by increasing anxiety and engaging in compulsive behaviors in an attempt to relieve this apprehension" - Wikipedia

Self Test : http://www.mytherapy.com/demo/
http://www.peaceofmind.com/scholarships.htm

No Cellphones on Plane

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A government agency on Tuesday said it will keep a rule in place that requires cell phones to be turned off during airline flights.

The reasoning behind the decision was technical. But the avalanche of comments the Federal Communications Commission has logged from airline travelers have been nothing short of visceral.

Main Entry: vis·cer·al

1 : felit in or as if in the viscera : DEEP - a visceral conviction
2 : not intellectual : INSTINCTIVE, UNREASONING - visceral drive
3 : dealing with crude or elemental emotions : EARTHY - a visceral novel
4 : of, relating to, or located on or among the viscera : SPLANCHNIC - visceral organs

Aficionado

Learnt a new word today. Well, it's a noun --- aficionados.

From the m-w dictionary.

a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity : DEVOTEE

Actually 'learnt' a lot of new words everyday when reading my books. Checked the meaning of each word but tend to forget its meaning now and then, unless I come across the word again. If I don't use these words, I will tend to forget them. So, decided to have a new word whenever I enter an entry. The article I read is that Pizza can possibly be healthy food. Studies have shown that antioxident levels rose by 60% with longer baking time and rose by 82% with higher baking temperatures., depending on the type of wheat flour used and antioxidant tests used. The longer the fermentation time, the higher the antioxidant level. This probably stemmed from the chemical reactions caused by the yeast in the dough that had more time to release the antioxidant component.

However, the article reported that pizza aficionados who might want to cover their crust with pepperoni, cheese, sausage, and ground beef, the health value added will be negated by these things with potential negative health consequences.

Ah-ha! So this is where I learnt the new word "Aficionados"!

9th March

In the middle of the flowing seasons

I suddenly feel the length of the day

Within these busy days

I paint our dreams with you

Put our memories on the winds of March

And the cherry blossoms as they carry on to spring

The over flowing grains of light

Slowly warm the morning

After I let out a big yawn

I was smiling just a little, sitting next to you

I am standing at the entrance to a new world

And what I have realized is that I am not alone

I wonder how strong I have become

Knowing that whenever I close my eyes

You would be there

That’s the way I want to be for you

The dust brought in by the swirling wind

Tangled in the hanging laundry

but before noon the white moon in the skywas so beautiful it astounded me

There are things that will not go well

But when you look to the sky, they seem so small

The sky settles into the cold

And the clouds drift silently

If we can share in the joy

Of waiting for flowers to bloom, that would be happiness

From here on laugh softly beside meI wonder how strong I have become

Knowing that whenever I close my eyes

You would be there

That’s the way I want to be for you