MUCH ADO HAS been going on in my life lately; some happening, some happy, some utterly gossippy, some entirely disapoointing, some has been thot-provoking, some sad..
No matter, Sinyee has herself goin strong.
Tat’s the irony with an online blog tho’. U just haf the urge for someone to listen to u, to write it out, to let it all out, yet not able to cuz of the lack of privacy of online “diaries”, to which netizens label as blog nowadays. ARGH!!!!
Anw, I’ve just returned from Taiwan & HK recently. My 1st time abroad. An entirely whole new experience (& my brother’s).
Proceed to my facebook acct: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=685440335&ref=profile to view my photos. =)
I think all good things MUZ & WILL come to an end, cuz we came home to the most devastating news that very day - tat my beloved Dad suffered fom stroke, tho’ minor, still tore the very flesh of my heart.
As in personal life, hmmm… can’t say much here, tho’ tat’s the very issue that has kept me wide awake on this lonely holiday season YET again.
I was really despaired over some events tat’s happened recently, so I’d decided to come here and let it all out.
Anw, much as fustrated as I am rite now (now tat I haf rebuilt my life all over again), I still am goin strong, head up high, proud as I walk!
It’s been very tiring to put on a smile and joke about my very apparent single status (being singled out and linked to guys by my colleagues & frens), it being the centre of topic everywhere I go, I still am optimistic.
Therefore, my very intention here to let it all out initially, has ironically – this very post that I haf posted up months ago: http://sinyeerediscover.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/excerpts-from-the-monk-who-sold-his-ferrari-part-1/ that turned out to – enlighten me.
Tho’ I’ve never had the chance to finish this book (it lost out to CSI), I have extracted a great deal outta it.
*Thank you Wesley for lending me this book. I owe this knowledge to you*
Anw, head cleared now, I am moving on.
I have dignity.
And I still am crazy.
Don’t worry, mates =P
IT’S BEEN WELL into a new year & new start for me, I know I know, it’s already March now – but it alwiz seems like yesterday that I’d just started afresh, even as events upon events starts to reserve its slot in my diary.
Business 1st – on 9th Feb, I’d started a new job in my current company, as a Marketing Executive!!! I had been looking ard for a marketing position ever since my short stint in my previous job @ an Architectural/ID firm, thru numerous means such as the internet & newspaper. Let’s juz say that it’s only been my 3rd interview when I got this job – & they called me the next day!
How lucky am I? A marketing job, with a high enuff pay (for the moment) albeit the most serious recession ever since the Great Depression.
I am thankful, and estatic - not to say the least.
Life, in secondary order, is good too – altho my current female direector alwiz says tt sth muz b wrong with my social circle, as I’m kinda hanging out in the housewives club.. haha..
Anw, I’d been busy looking ard for the perfect dress for my cousin’s wedding in KL this comin weekend. Kinda stressed me out a little that my fave shops weren’t able to satiate my taste, wat with the wedding date drawing nearer with every passing weekend – until I went to Miso (a branch of Blum & Co.) thru the recommendation of my gf’s hubby.
I found my dress for the KL 6-star wedding, together with the gown for my gf’s wedding in May – plus a Karen Millen number to add up to my collection! God Bless.
Adding on to my string of good news/ events, my ex-boss juz contacted me to tell me that I’ve been invited to his company trip, fully subsidised, to TAIWAN & HK!!! Wow! I almost jumped outta my seat in the office!
It’ll be in April, rite after my bday. To pass on the kindness (from my ex-boss), I invited my little brother along too, altho he has to pay a price (which was well worth it tho’).
Therefore, my 1st half of the year would be so so busy, with so so many events that I could harly breathe and rest..
And therefore I should really rest now; and feel lucky with wat’s goin on and comin into my life rite now~
Tada.. Penning off now~
IT’S WELL INTO the wee hours of a Monday morning (22nd Dec) and here I am finding myself writing on my almost dusty blog (which I seriously thot will shut down cuz of the convenience & my frequent usage of Facebook) amidst listening to my newly downloaded songs; and watching “Sex and the City.”
It’s not because that I’d woke up @ 5pm today or that I was hyper-active.
It was some thot and questions that kept me wide awake.. Therefore, I had decided to write it down, or at least get it off my chest (while I wait for my “Sex & the City to finish loading)..
Career wise – I’d finally plucked up the courage to discuss with my Boss, Daniel, bout my stint in his company, or rather - life as an Interior Designer. Much as I enjoy working with him, not to mention the free meals that comes with it, I couldn’t find myself having/ leading this kinda life.
Life – as in “I am constantly working”.
There was a point of time where I find myself working into the wee hours of the night and well into the weekends (for a very meagre pay) - I couldn’t join my frens for KTV because I have to work early the next day (the next day being a weekend, mind you) or visit the gym because I have to finish the project. The ONLY time / period, where I really had time to rest, hang out with my frens & gym was when my Boss was overseas.
Then, I found that I’d been losing alot of hair & weight. It was then I snapped.
Should I really carry on being an Interior Designer, where I know I WILL be of status in this company in the near future; or should I move on to another career with a more balanced lifestyle?
I chosed the latter.
Congratulate me at least.
Life – On Thursday, I tried asking this guy I’d known @ the club out. Well, he kinda rejected me. It was expected actually.
Kinda depressing cuz the 1st date went really well; & he’s tall (1.85cm), handsome, speaks excellent English, charming, has good manners & most importantly, I got attracted!
I dunno if I really am a date-virgin or that I’ve been so immersed in my own world cuz it seems to me that he was interested – what with all those “What kinda flowers do you like” “Do you mind if I pick you up after work” or “Will I get to taste your secret-recipe tuna”. Plus we held hands (which was electrifying) AND he msged me the next day!
The whole date was just so dreamy – like in a fairytale!
A guy who wasn’t interested won’t ask and do that rite?!!!!
But after the zouk-out, things just took a 180 degree turn. It feels as if to me that he backed out.
It has been a week since we last contacted, and I dun already have much hope.
To add salt to my wounds, Iver (& her sis) felt that he wasn’t interested me (from their observation @ the zouk-out). How great was that.
AND to add much much more sadness into my much beloved season…. (Santa, you certainly din get my letter)
It was the weekend before Christmas, on a Friday night after work.
Bee had gone for company dinner & Ling was already home. And whenever I find myself in this kinda situation, I’d alwiz call upon my fren (& ex-bf), JX, for a good dinner and chat-up.
It was strange becuz I’d tried to call him the night b4 for some guy problem opinion but it seems that he was overseas from the tone of his phone; and the fact that he’d suddenly gone overseas??? So, back to Friday, I’d decided to call his best fren, JJ, for his wherabouts. JJ told me he was in Korea, and I instantly knew he was there for his gal fren.
Much as I was in shock, I was not to say – heart-broken.. Just… lost and sad.
Don’t get me wrong – I am happy for him. It’s just that the extent to which he went to, to chase her, really got to me. He’d never went to such length for me, at the very least. No guy ever did.
It got me to thinking :”Will there ever be a guy who loves me so much that they’ll go to such an extent for me?” And in the 1st place, will I ever meet such a guy? A guy who really truly loves me for who I am?
I know I know. I am still young, only 23. I should place myelf out there and meet more pple, know more frens and date more. But analysing from where I am standing at, I am fairly sure that I’d still be left on the shelf come age 30.
& btw, I hate dating. It’s so fake & tedious - so much mind work & guessing games.
So here I am, sitting @ the dining table in Iver’s house, blogging my life away. Now the whole world can laugh @ me!
My Boss actually told me sth that really jolted me:”Sinyee, dun mind me saying, but it’s evident that your career is your bf/ husband la!” It got to me thinking:”Ya. It’s true. My life had alwiz evolved ard my bf. Not myself.”
Isn’t it high time then that I should start living for myself? Or is that just me, to evolve my life ard my guy?
And that Friday nite, amidst tears and sadness, Iverina told me:”Sinyee, you have alwiz made the move. For once, let a guy go to such length for you!!!”
Will I, and do I have such a luck? (I am alwiz the unlucky one) To have a guy crazy bout me? To, for once, have a guy who loves me as much as I do?
I think only time & fate will tell.
At the very least, I am optimistic.
Merry Christmas to you.
TODAY, FOR THE 1st time in my life, I literally cried alongside a very close girlfriend of mine who bared her heart to me.
I HAVEN’T BEEN visiting the cinema for quite some time. So last nite, in return for a favor done by a fren for my work, I decided to relax, skip my usual gym and treat him to a movie. We went to the GV @ Plaza Singapura, and was talking ard when I bumped into a galfren..
Turns out she worked @ GV, and I being me, asked her if I cld get any free movie tix… To my HOLY surprise, she said:”YA! just call me b4hand, and I will book for ya.”
Unable to contain my excitement & @ the same time skeptical (wondering if I’d heard it wrongly), I repeated myself:”Free wor! U sure?!!!”
To which she fervently nod her haed:”Ya, ya! just gimme a call. But u’ll have to collect personally from me la!!!”
H.O.L.Y SHIT!!! I SHALL GO FOR FREE MOVIES NEXT TIME!
SORRY GAL! JUST YOUR LUCK TO BUMP INTO ME!!!
Anyway, talking of discounts.. Lemme take a look @ wat I have (@ the moment):
:: Bodyshop – 50%
:: Giordano – 10-20%
:: Giordano concept – 20%, with 10% on top of it using Citibank card
:: Esprit – 10% – 40% inclusive of sales items
:: Tangs – 5/10% rebate (forgotten liao)
:: Topshop/Topman/Dorothy Perkins/Warehouse/Miss Selfridge - 10%
:: MNG – 5% (pathetic.I buy the most clothes from here somemore)
:: FANCL – 10% rebate
:: Pazzion – 10%
:: G2000/G2 Blu/G2 black/G2 women – 50%
:: Charles & Keith – 10%
:: Lancome – Membership (free exchange for Lancomeproducts every yr;dependin on how much u’d spent for the yr)
:: Cosmetics – DFS!!!!
:: NewUrbanMale bikinis – secret.haha.
& more & more…..
The wonders of friends…. Bless you guys!!!
MY BUDDY, WESLEY, while conversing to him late one night, commented that I haven’t been updating my blog recently; which kinda jolted me a little.
I was like:”No need la, I already have Facebook, my frens would pretty well be updated ’bout wat’s happenin in my life rite (which isn’t alot btw..)?”
He then relented:”Den are u gonna leave it like that or shut it down?”
And I was jolted again:”Ya hor~ I beta start writing then..”
To which Wes said:”Ya lor~ U shld update YOUR frens of wat’s happening ard u ma, esp since there r so many changes ard u recently…”
To which I rebarked:”BUT there isn’t much happening ard me wat.. except career wise……”
So anyway, so just u know.. I have moved into Interior Architecture for a fren of mine, and am learning, struggling while enjoying. Mainly just doin alot of drawings now, and since I ain’t exactly trained in AutoCad alot in Poly (just the basics for 6 months), I have to pick up my speed and short cuts along the way. My kind boss invested money into bringing someone in to teach me, all the more I shld live up to his expectations rite? Stress stress…
Oh & btw, my Mac com crashed yesterday, while my Boss is in India. And I had to hand over my draft to him on Monday, and all of our projects are in my com, and we din have a backup. I M SIBEI STRESSED. I’m already dreading Monday. God Bless my Soul. U pple readin my blog bless me too..
Frens wise, still the same old bunch, of cuz I have added another fren who is very ONZ to go Jazz and Hip Hop with me every Tuesday and Thursday nite (cuz Pam haf to take care of her gals @ nite). Sundays are of cuz with Pam (I like to call her Pam Pam) & my Bee (I like to call her Bee Bee too).
Oh.. talking bout Pam, I’ve been buggin her to bring me buy some nice false lashes ever since I saw her nice lashies online and in dance classes. So today, we purposely met earlier b4 the class to go for some lashies shopping and may “lim teh” (if time permits). In the end, we were both late so we only were able to buy the lashes and have a late lunch. She kindly taught me how to put on the lashes and helped me buy the best glue. Anyway, after class and steaming, my lashies couldn’t stand the heat in the steamroom so it came partially undone while I was doin my weekly facewash cum hair-plucking in the gym. Pam suggested I take down my lashes den put on again later (for practise) so I listened to her. I had a bad feeling bout it, and it realised. I went back to my locker w/o knowing a clue where I’d put my lashes. Damn it….
Oh… And we were having so much fun I wished she was single, so we can alwiz go bitching and “bio” guys at Orchard road…
Anyway, while watching late nite TV with my bro and sis last nite, we tuned upon “小白龙“, which starred Ceceilia Chueng & Francis Ng. Damn Crap. Anyway, Francis Ng was called “Chicken Feather aka C.F.” in the show.
Den my sister said:”U shld be called S.B.W.L aka Sibei Wu Liao” – to which I thot – quite true.. I’m alwiz taunting my sis when she’s in a good mood anyway.
A commercial then came on air and it was featuring “Painted Skin” and “Connected” – the 2 most recent Chinese shows. I was slapping my Bro on the arm to watch with me, to which he said:”I may wanna watch with my fren, u know, the gym fren la. We watch together lo. He also wanna u come advise shopping with us together too..”
Suddenly, I felt so pathetic.. Wa lao.. No hang-out bunch until I have to watch movies with my Bro and his fren le~ *sigh*
Anyway, show u guys a pic of me in falsie lash, when the occasion rises. Till then, see ya.
I AM MAKING it a point to note down any phrases that I come across from any books I have read so that @ any point of my life when I feel lost, I can alwiz refer to these phrases. BOY!!! I even made it a (mental) point to buy these books when I have my own home, so that I can pass it on to my family, hubby, my kids esp, and my frens.
Over the years somehow, work has changed me, alot of pple too – I believe.
I have lost my habit to read before I sleep every night, a habit I had cultivated since secondary school - it’d laid me to sleep peacefully every night (tho some nights I have had vampires chasing me ard – dependin on wat book I was reading then). It has since been replaced with watching dramas on my laptop ever since I bought one. I’m not saying that it’s bad to watch TV, I had learnt a great deal outta it too.
Now, I try to do both. HAHA… So muz choose a book that’s worth reading (cuz drama just see ma, entertainment, so no need to use the mind. reading, alot of mind cells activity involved. tired)
Of cuz, for those who are fervent fans of my blog (a bit “piao bai” I know) and those who just knew about my blog, these excerpts and phrases are bits and pieces I have picked up along from the book (while reading - I haven’t finished) which I find have a deep impact and great meaning. That’s why I have bookmarked them and shared them here.
I think it’s better to read the book “THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI” BY ROBIN S. SHARMA yourself if you find yourself a bit lost here.
SOME EXCERPTS IN THE PAGES OF “THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI” I FIND WORTH SHARING
EMPTY YOUR CUP
Just like a cup, our cup is filled to the brim with doin the same things everyday with the same people who thot the same thots everyday. How can any more (new wisdom/ideas/strategies etc) go in… until you first empty your cup?
INVEST IN YORSELF
Investing in yourself is the best investment you’ll ever make. It’ll not only improve your life, it’ll improve the lives of all those around you.
It is only when you have mastered the art of loving yourself that you can truly love others. It’s only when you have opend your own heart that you can touch the hearts of others. When you feel centred and alive, you are in a much better position to be a better person.
OUR MIND
Our mind is like a garden.
“If you care for your mind, if you nurutre it & if you cultivate it just like a fertile, rich garden, it will blossom far beyond your expectations. But if you let the weeds take root, lasting peace of mind and deep inner harmony will always elude you.”
Most good gardeners guard their graden like proud soldiers & make certain that no contamination ever enters. Yet look at the toxic waste that most pple put into the fertile gardens of their minds every single day: the worries and anxieties, the fretting about the past, the brooding over the future & those self-created fears that wreck havoc within you inner world.
“To live life to the fullest, you must stand guard at the gate of your garden & let only the best information enter. You truly cannot afford the luxury of a negetive thot – not even one.”
PAIN
“From struggle comes strength. Even pain can be wonderful teacher.”
“To transcend pain, you must first experience it. How can you really know the joy of being on the summit of the mountain unless you have first visited the lowest of valley?”
STOP JUDGING
There are no mistakes in life, only lessons (very true indeed). There is no such thing as a negetive experience, only opportunities to grow and learn.
“Stop judging events as either positive or negetive. Rather, simply experience them, celebrate them and learn from them. Every event offers you lessons.”
Most pple have grown the most from their most challenging experiences. And if you meet with an outcome you did not expect and feel a little disappointed, remember that the laws of nature always ensure that when one door closes, another opens.”
Every experience, even the worst, offers us a lesson. Therefore, we should open our mind to the learning in every event. In this way, we will grow stronger and happier.
DO NOT GET HUNG UP ON THE OUTCOME
“To reach your destination, you must not get hung up on the outcome. Instead, enjoy the process of personal expansion and growth, Ironically, the less you focus on the end result, the quicker it’ll come.”
“It’s like this story of a young boy who travelled far from his home to study under a great teacher. When he met the wise old man, his 1st qns was: “How long will it take me before I am as wise as you?
The response came swiftly: “5 years”
“That is a very long time,” the boy replied. “How about if I work twice as hard?”
“Then it will take 10 yrs,” said the master.
“10! That’s far too long. How about if I studied all day and well into the night, every night?”
“15 yrs,” said the sage
“I don’t understand,” replied the boy. “Every time I promise to devote more energy to my goal, you tell me that it will take longer. Why?”
“The ans is simple. With one eye fixed on the destination, there is only 1 left to guide you along the journey.”
USEFUL QUOTES ALONG THE WAY
Great dreamers’ dream are never fulfilled, they are transcended. – Alfred Lord Whitehead
I am an artist at living – my work of art is my life. – Suzuki
Most people live – whether physically, intellectually or morally – in a vert restricted circle of their potential being. We all have reservoirs of life to draw upon of which we do not dream. – William James
I REALISED THAT I haven’t been writing for a while, therefore I thot of putting up some excerpts of the books I have recently read.
The excerpts of the book I’m gonna put up tonight is “Who Moved My Cheese”
“Cheese” as defined in the book, is a metaphor for what we have in life - be it a good job, a loving relationship, money, good health or a spiritual piece of mind.
“The Maze“, is where we look for what we want – the organisation we work in, our family or the community we live in.
The story is about 4 different characters who were faced with unexpected changes. Eventually, one of them deals with it successfully and writes his experience on the maze walls.
♦
HANDWRITINGS ON THE WALL
1) Cheese makes you happy.
2) The more important your Cheese is to you, the more you want to hold on to it.
3) If you do not change, you can become extinct.
4) What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
This phrase is something we should alwiz ask ourselves when we are afraid to change, to clear our mind. Sometimes fear is good, as it can prompt you into action – bcuz you know that it could get worse if you do not do something about it. But it’s not good when you are so afraid that it refrains you from doing anything,
5) Smell the Cheese often so you know when it is getting old.
6) Movement in a new direction helps you find New Cheese.
7) When you stop being afraid, you feel good.
8) Imagining yourself enjoying your New Cheese leads you to it.
9) The quicker you let go of Old Cheese, the quicker you’ll find New Cheese.
10) It is safer to search in the maze, than to remain in a cheeseless sitution.
11) Old beliefs do not lead you to New Cheese.
12) When you see that you can find and enjoy New Cheese, you change course.
13) Noticing small changes early helps you adapt to the big changes that are to come!
Change Happens
They keep moving the Cheese.
Anticipate Change
Get ready for the Cheese to move
Monitor Change
Smell the Cheese often so you know when it is getting old
Adapt To Change Quickly
The quicker you let go of Old Cheese, the quicker you’ll find New Cheese
Change
Move with the Cheese
Enjoy Change
Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of New Cheese
Be Ready To Change Quickly & Enjoy It Again And Again
They keep moving the Cheese
♦
SOME GOOD QUOTES
“Change happens to all of us”
“Denial. Sometimes we’re not even aware that we are afraid.”
“It’s not that they ‘moved the cheese’, but that the Cheese has a lfe of its own and eventually runs out”
“It’s alot better to initiate change while you can than it is to try to react and adjust to it. Maybe we can move our own Cheese.”
IN RELATIONSHIPS
Old cheese is old behavoir.
What we really need to let go is the behavoir that is the cause of a bad relationship, and move on with a better way of thinking & acting. The New Cheese is a new relationship with the same person.
Repeating the same behavoir will just get you the same results.
IN WORK
Sometimes, instead of changing jobs, we should be changing the way we are doing our job.
HMMMM… SUDDENLY I had no mood (or energy) to write here!!!
Anyway, I went for the 3rd Zumba Party today @ Novena, @ the “instigation” of my crazy fren, Pamela!!! Anyway, the more crazier thing is that I had left my shoes in Bugis, so I was thinking if I had to go down to Bugis just to take my shoes and den go to Novena for the party, will be quite dumb la… So I’d planned in my dreams the nite b4 to just heck it and dance bare-footed.
It shld haf worked cuz I thot halfway thru the dance, my feet would have sweat enuff to get a grip on the dance floor – but God just wanna go against my wishes and granted my feet dry throughout the party le!~ So can you imagine - I dun really dare to move as much as I’d like to; in the end, I found myself sliding thru all the moves!!!! So dangerous…
my breasts pretty much looks emaciated from the sports bra.. time to buy a new one!
Anyway, more pics here if Pam can give it to me. If not I’ll just Intro Pam here!!!
She’s crazy btw – She din want to go for this party initially, even after much persuation from me. She changed her mind only after Daniel a.k.a Bam Bam (Ban Ban – after Pam’s correction) called her and invited her to stage a dance or 2 for the party…
That’s Pam and my Zumba parties for ya…
PS: Oh ya, she’s also a “Dirty Meow” like me too (yeah!!! I finally found 1).. We usually just slap on our clothes after class and gossip all the way to the MRT.. (of cuz we fan ourselves dry 1st la)
I WAS INTRODUCED to this Comedian thru a fren, and was totally knocked out by his talent and jokes. I haven’t done much research on him yet, but here are some of his shows which I strongly recommend you to watch:
Achmed the Dead Terrorist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go
Walter and Jeff Dunham
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kXOg23pGeA
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67XTB9fytdA
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua0_88OwrRs
These are the 2 videos I’ve watched, so hope you enjoy. Of cuz there are alot more and of cuz I will watch (just hadn’t had time to).
Anyways, have a laughing-out-loud time!
