Random Thoughts

Happy birthday, Mr Lim

Pee Hoe, hope you have a blast on your 32nd birthday and nothing "three long two short".

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The force is strong in this one...

Honestly, I'd rather be without force. Task Force, that is.

It's just... meh!

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Give and take

My social skill is lacklustre at best and I think of myself as primarily an introvert, so I usually don't initiate any social interaction. However I do remember the kindnesses and courtesies given me, and I try my best to return in kind.

Don't ask why you are not given something, ask instead what you have given to the other.

Instead of expecting someone to do something nice for you, be nice to that person first.

Give without expecting anything in return. Failing that, give before you take.

Make constant deposits in the emotional bank accounts.

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Love, love, love

Friends are tying the knot, always nice to know about relationships that worked out.

The world needs more love.

Make love, not war.

Be Happy

Things don't always turn out as we imagined, especially those that we did not have a clear idea to begin with.

You know, just go with the flow and see what comes out of it.

For doing just that, people said I am "creative".

*shrug*

To celebrate the 18th (+/- 10 years) birthday of a happiness-seeking bowling queen, the colleagues and I put together a... thingy.

The instructions I sent out were simple: "draw a smiley on one side of the card provided and write your wish or message or definition of happiness on the back."

Leave it to human nature and personality to get all sort of variations.

After we collected the cards, the Evil One and the lady-who-wants-to-measure-my-head did their magic and turned the cards into... gold

...the thingy! =D

I didn't do anything really since the ladies didn't want me to decorate the thingy with spots of blood droplets that would inevitably happened if I work with needle, but that didn't stop me from getting the credit, muahahahaha! =P

We gave the thingy as a present and pretended as if it's super fantastic and invaluable. I think the birthday girl fell for it.

And yes, that's where I put in my definition of happiness, all those sentences in that tiny card, I kid you not!

Okay okay, I cheated and use an additional tracing paper, but still...

Here's hoping that the birthday girl found the happiness she sought after.

Oi! Stay happy ler.

"Lao Juak"

My house is very lao juak (happening) now, mom came back from Kuching on Thursday, dad on Saturday, and I just picked up eldest brother and da sao from the airport earlier.

Hsiang is clinging to dad all day today, and when he warmed up to brother and da sao in the coming days, I foresee Ju and I will have quite a bit of free time.

Since Hsiang pretty much ignores us now that he has his yeh yeh (grandpa) and nai nai (grandma), I think Ju and I won't be missed being not around for a while, there will be additional distraction in the form of brother and da sao before he notices we are missing.

Woot! Free free FREE~~~~!

I think watching a movie in the cinema would be nice.

If You Can Dodge the Ball...

... you still have to comply with the umpire's decision!

Yes, that means YOU, all of you who gave the umpires a hard time in the recent dodgeball game.

The umpires volunteered their time to stay back, stood under the sun and refereed all the matches non-stop, the least we can do is to cut them some slack and respect their decision.

Umpires are human, human made mistakes, and dodgeball is such a vigourous sports that sometimes it's just impossible to catch all of the hits, faults or what not. Live with it!

For goodness sake it's a game, the objective is to have FUN, to release stress, not to create more!

Come on, show some sportsmanship please.

For all the efforts we have put into the Departmental Olympic Games, the only thing I wished in return was seeing smiling faces after every event. Not pissed off dark faces, it defeats the purpose and as one of the organisers it made me feel like we have failed.

I know I had fun in all the events I participated so far, which is all of them. I may suck in all of the events but I sure as hell gave my best and made myself available as long as my captain wanted me in.

I have no problem admitting my lack of skill, or how craptastic I am. That doesn't stop me from participating and having fun while doing do. It's ultimately, participation that counts, winning is just icing on the cake.

You know, I am suppose to write a news flash style entry like what I did, saying in a jovial way the superb one-man-show of the captain of The Merciful 9 who eliminated a Big Donut player with every ball he threw, no missed ball! We should really screen him for performance enhancing drug. =P

And about how that fantastic curve ball hit me with such shocking surprise and respectable force. Ever seen the curving bullets in Wanted? Yea, it's just like that.

Oh, and about how I hate being the last man standing in the deciding match and got eliminated breaking all hope for the team. I know I would feel great if I won that match for the team, giving Big Donut a shot at Dodgeball champion.

Oh well...

I think, somewhere deep inside, the Departmental Olympic Games had ended for me. I know there are still telematches, but... I don't know... It's like the flame has been doused, people are no longer having fun, and the events are getting further and further aways from sports and closer and closer to food.

Olympic Games eh?

Unfitting name, should just call it Departmental Makan-makan Telematch Games

Happiness

Happiness is friends remembering your birthday. Happiness is sleeping in. Happiness is the absence of sadness plus a bit more. Happiness is writing nonsense. Happiness is having a shoulder to cry on. Happiness is being healthy. Happiness is making peace with past events. Happiness is reading a good novel. Happiness is the toothy smile of a baby. Happiness is receiving birthday wishes. Happiness is having someone to love and being loved. Happiness is having friends that care. Happiness is taking the perfect photograph. Happiness is forgive and forget. Happiness is having someone to pour your heart out. Happiness is sharing with others. Happiness is helping those in need. Happiness is being alive. Happiness is letting go of the past and moving on. Happiness is being content. Happiness is appreciating the little things. Happiness is having a nice meal. Happiness is knowing our limits. Happiness is singing at the top of our voice. Happiness is a nice warm greeting. Happiness is having a goal. Happiness is playing fantastic game. Happiness is smiling a lot. Happiness is dancing in the moonlight. Happiness is having friends. Happiness is not taking ourselves too seriously. Happiness is eating chocolate. Happiness is hitting the bull’s eye. Happiness starts by stop saying you are sad. Happiness is not holding grudge. Happiness is believing in oneself. Happiness is watching a great movie. Happiness is a choice.

This is what I wrote for a friend who wants "happiness" as a birthday present.

What's in Your Favorites?

I used to copy and paste the interesting articles I read online into notepad to archive them.

Until I found out there's this Favorites folder in Internet Explorer and there's this handy Add to Favorites function.

Yea, I am slow.

Anyway, I have this "good read" sub-folder within my Favorites folder and I was looking through it a few days ago.

See if any articles in my "good read" folder interest you, just give me a holler and I will send you the url.

30 foods women should try before they're 30. Probably too late for most of my friends and colleagues, heh.

Are office romances always a bad idea? Ooooh, I have forgotten what it says.

Chocolate helps protect heart health. See, I can always justify why I love chocolate so much. =)

Death of the masculine man. Eeeks! Must have something to do with all that Nelson/Nancy thing...

Floating Cities. If I remember correctly this is an article about conceptual cities, I remember one that floats on water with all the green energy generation stuff.

Is tech ruining relationships? Is it?

Online Dating Service. What the heck?!?! Why would I have this at all?!??! This is so wrong. I had to find out so I click on the link...

Oh I see! It's an article about where to kiss lar. Phew... ears would have been twisted off if wifey sees the link name not knowing what the article really is about. I changed the name in my favorites liao.

The perfect mobile phone. Yea, I know I know, the sky is falling, pigs can fly and all that. But it's true, the caveman read stuff about mobile phone. I feel dirty...

Why I hate Valentine's Day. Article by someone who can write much better than I could on my pet peeve, the Businessmen-con-your-day! Not recommended for senseless romantics who love to be slaughtered by the businessmen.

May the Force be with Wax Bungalow

Seems like I am full of grumbles and negative energy nowadays, always ranting like a lunatic.

Oh well, still going to rant anyway!

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Work is just... meh!

Sure feels like there are about 200 things that need my attention at the same time, and some stuff are showing signs of heading towards task force.

May the Task Force be with you... Gaaaaah!

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Turnout of the four competing teams today was lacklustre, none of them had more than four players out of the required six.

What's not to like about dodgeball, eh?

It's so far the only event that I think I don't suck so much. Not because I am any good, but because generally everyone is as crap as I am. =D

Unlike foosball and table tennis where my craptastic lack of skill was being magnified multiple times by the crazy skill of them good players. In dodgeball, everyone is about the same, at least that's how I perceived it.

I am just going to jump to conclusion here because I can...

Damn all those colleagues made of wax that would melt in the sun, damn you for ruining it! >_<

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Son went and did a suicidal jump off the bed and built a bungalow on his forehead.

Why boy? WHY?

Couldn't save his tumble in time and for that I suffered the sonic boom that shattered the eardrums.

Much much MUCH worse is the shattering of my heart.

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At least there was a sparkle in the form of knowing about a new life and new journey of a dear friend.

without wax,

- CK -

If only...

If only I could suffer instead of my boy, I would do it without a second thought.

If there is any divine power that could transfer the cold from my boy to me, I am willing to be sick for double the duration, or more. Please just do it.

Get well soon my dear baby, it's heart wrenching seeing you suffer so.

Grumbles

Nastier than usual these few days. Temper's short. Sarcasm's thick. Tired all the time. Anti-social. Grumpy. Complain a lot. Leaving extra doses of snide remarks. Lash out with little prompting. Feeling down. Easily irritable. A touch of depression.

Why? I wonder. Being sick? Raining always? Lack of kisses and hugs from wife and baby? Work related stress? Finance related stress? Just plain stress? Sleeplessness? Full moon? Worries? Things not going well? Getting too much shits? Combination of some or all these?

Don't like myself like this. I am not even enjoying the teambuilding stuff this week, felt more like work than fun, usually it's the other way round. But these few days, I am just anti-everything.

Meh! Me no likey.

Reading is Good (Apr 09)

Read four books since last review.

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Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer is a fantastic read.

It's like Ocean 11 with just four people, so Ocean 4?


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It's a story about a nasty businessman who manipulated the share market by creating a shell company with empty promises and burst the bubble when he had raked in enough, causing those who fell for and invested in the fake company to go bankrupt.

Among the victims, four persons were hit the hardest, a professor, a doctor, a gallery owner, and an actor-wannabe lord.

These four persons ganged up to get even, by devising plans to con the money back from the businessman. They were fundamentally decent people (like me!) so they just wanted to get their invested amount back, plus whatever cost incurred during the operation to get back their money, hence the title of the novel.

I repeat, it's a fantastic read, gripping good story line and well paced. Go read.

Quote fromthe novel:

"it's not winning that matters. It's taking part" (origin: Baron de Coubertin, remark when opening the 1896 Olympics)

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Dark Paradise by Tami Hoag is intriguing.


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It's about a city girl, this Marilee Jennings who had just broke up, and who was stucked in an unhappy job looking for a break.

She went looking for the only friend she could talk to, who stayed in New Eden, Montana, the cow boy cow girl country, only to find the friend is dead. Police said it's a hunting accident but Marilee doubted it.

The dead friend left Marilee a fortune, including a ranch. Marilee decided to investigate her friend's death and in doing so got involved with the locals. Lives were changed.

There's a Hollywood happy ending with murderer found, evil rich and power hungry person taken down, relationship mended, live happily ever after. Those kind of stuff.

The in between is where the juicy bits are, especially with all those wild sex.

Yea, I think that's enough to cause some people to want to read the novel, heh. =P

Anyway, good read, page turning entertainment.

Quotes from the novel:

"belonging doesn't necessarily have anything to do with birthright"

"...in limbo. What a curious place to be. A fog, where contact to the past had been severed and the future lay beyond the thick white mist."

"if you can't do the time, don't do the crime"

"that's what you do, not who you are. Never confuse the two... That kind of thinking only limits you."

"that boat sailed a while ago, skipper."

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The Deal by Joe Hutsko is an alright book. Interesting enough story line and relatively easy read.


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It's about a power grab of one Matthew Locke, who took over the position of Peter Jones, the founder of Via Computer Inc, and how Peter Jones did a come back.

The good, bad and ugly of business deals and workings were touched on, as well as the danger of the internet. There were stuff about designing hand held computers, hand writing and voice recognition. There were romances, real, fake, and illicit.

I would say the novel is okay, not spectacular but not bad either.

There is a good moral of the story though:
Don't believe everything you read online, and exercise caution with people you meet online, you never know who they really are and what they are really after.

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The final book I read in April is a collection of short stories by Jeffrey Archer called A Quiver Full of Arrows.


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I was mildly disappointed not to find anything related to archery in this novel. However Jeffrey's twelve short stories were such good reads that I forgive him for deceiving me with the title.

=P

I won't go over any of the twelve stories, just wanted to say that they are all entertaining read and the length is just nice for my before sleep reading duration. Some stories are better than others but generally all were well written and interesting.

I particularly like Old Love, it's a sweet story. Or maybe because it's the last story and the only one I can still remember...

Light and easy, all in all a good novel.

Quote from Old Love:

"Philippa and William confronted the examination papers every morning and afternoon for two weeks with an appetite that bordered on the vulgar."

Long Weekend

Friday's Labour Day, so it's a day off work making a long weekend.

I didn't have anything planned for the long weekend, I ended up sleeping most of it away, so perhaps it's good that I didn't have a plan.

The annoying sore throat on Thursday made a turn to the worse and my wife, seeing the sign of me falling sick, banned me from being too near to His Royal Highness King Baby Hsiang, fearing I would infect the little one.

She even cancelled her facial appointment scheduled this weekend since she doesn't want me baby sitting His Royal Highness King Baby Hsiang.

Well, I spent most of the weekend resting in my bed, which didn't seem to help since I am starting to develop the symptons of a cold today, while sore throat persisted.

I hope it is not swine flu. If it gets any worse I will go see a doctor. Else it's rest, and more rest.

What a dull long weekend.

Well, at least I played some Baldur's Gate. Never did finish the saga, even though I have the complete series for years, only ever completed the original Baldur's Gate.

I restarted a game sometime last year (or the year before) and am nearing the end of chapter 4 now. Hopefully this time I will complete Tales of the Sword Coast expansion and finally install Baldur's Gate II and it's expansion.

Given the trend, I should be able to complete the saga in, say... five years, if ever.

Give or take a few years.

What do you expect from slacker extraordinaire? =P