Time wait for no one…

Its coming to the end of the first month of the new year. Such is the pace of life these days. How time flies? U wake up. You go to work. You go home. You sleep. And the cycle goes on. Time will not stand still for anyone. Have you wanted to do something, but you tell yourself “Let’s wait one more day”. I’m sure we all have said that at some point in our daily work. But what if tomorrow never comes? As a matter of fact, what’s gonna happen the next moment, no one knows. So my suggestion is, plan your day properly and make sure you try and execute whatever you planned and not wait any longer. We may not know what’s in stored for us next, but we can definitely plan for something to happen. Be it that present you wanna buy for someone, or telling someone how you appreciate him/her as a friend. Better still, your loved ones. Have you been neglecting your loved ones lately?

I went out with hippo last night to do some CNY shopping at Bedok Interchange. Just the usual groceries shopping and buying decoration stuffs for the house. Nothing unusual. But it was quite an enjoyable trip actually. And mind you, if you know me well enuff, I seldom “enjoy” my journey with hippo. To be honest, I dun really like her. Haha! But it was fun last night, joking about everything during our conversation while I was driving. How I wished every trip with hippo could be this enjoyable. Alas, it will not be. Knowing her, to make this happen is more difficult than Everton winning the English Premier League. Oh well! Cherish whatever moment that’s good. =D

I just spoke to one of my senior superior this morning regarding my posting. He gave me some rare insights of how he felt, which I am very appreciative of. =) He told me what I’ve done has been way beyond many expectations. But is this what I want, he asked. I think in order for me to progress in this career, I should look beyond what I am doing now. Though its something which I love doing. But sometimes, loving the things you do may not be beneficial to your career. So let’s look at the bigger picture. I’m sure I will survived, no matter where I am. =)

周郎妙计安天下,赔了夫人又折兵…

This was another famous saying that started during the Romance of the Three Kingdom period. “周郎妙计安天下,赔了夫人又折兵” means “Double losses”. After 赤壁之战 (the Battle of the Red Cliff), 周瑜 wanted to expand 吴’s territory but was hindered by 诸葛亮’s scheming tricks. In one incident, 周瑜 wanted to use 孙权’s sister 孙尚香 as “bait” to lure 刘备 to 吴国.  周瑜 tasked one of his surbodinate to meet 刘备 on the pretext of match-making, but this scheme was seen through by 诸葛亮. After consulting with his advisor, 刘备 headed over to 吴国. 诸葛亮 planned several “moves” for his master and 周瑜’s initial plot was thus voided. In the end, 刘备 not only managed to marry the beautiful and talented 孙夫人 and while returning to his own kingdom, destroyed 周瑜’s troops. Thus the saying “赔了夫人,又折兵…”

Today’s my 5th wedding anniversary. I’ve never really celebrated with my wife during the past 4 years. So tonite, she suggested we have a sumptous dinner somewhere. =) And so we went over to Iko Japanese Restaurant at Miramar Hotel along River Valley Road just now. It was S$30+++ per head and definitely worth every single cent of it! We had like 4-5 servings of sashimi (salmon, tuna, yellow tailed, octopus, etc) and some other tempura stuffs. The complimentary soup was fantastic too! I’d recommend this nice restaurant to those who loves Jappie food. Go try it someday! =D Anyway, what I wrote above has got nothing to do with what I am feeling today. Haha! How rare? I seldom write something so irrelevant in my blog. But I just wanted to share my little know-how on the history of the Romance of the Three Kingdom with whoever reads my blog. Just the rare few, I know. =) And I know you probably wun know the history of the Romance of the Three Kingdom. More to come, but hope its not too boring to you.

I was told the news about my posting. And so it is to be. The concrete news of me going back to my roots has finally arrived. My superior asked me “So how? Do you wanna go?” I told him why not? Anyway, its time for someone else to fill my shoes in my present work place. Let’s see how well the next chap can handle all the work. =D Hahaha… Am I being mean? Well, since the organisation thinks that I should move on, then I should. But I always think that since I am doing such a wonderful job now, I should stay and continue. Becos in this state of corporate image, it is not very wise to just switched the people involved. But then again, it may be a good thing for me afterall, career-wise. So, let’s move on. Like I’ve said it before. I am already proud of what I have achieved. It may not be some Oscar winning, but still I feel I’ve done myself proud to be able to do what I am doing. I dun see it as any loss. In fact, I will treat it as a gain. A kind of knowledge which I could not have gained elsewhere…

欲破曹公,宜用火攻,万事俱备,只欠东风!

I was watching another exciting episode of Romance of the Three Kingdom today. In fact, i watched 7 discs from about noon thru to 6pm. That’s about a quarter of the day gone. Haha! Although this ain’t the first time I am watching, it still made my hair stood during some scenes. Really meaningful, touching at times and definitely exciting to watch! What’s the meaning of my title? Let me explain… “欲破曹公,宜用火攻,万事俱备,只欠东风” was written by 诸葛亮 (Zhuge Liang) to 周瑜 (Zhou Yu) when they were discussing the strategies to counter 曹操 (Cao Cao) during 赤壁之战 (the Battle of the Red Cliff). Basically, 周瑜 and 诸葛亮 knew the best tactic against 曹操’s 830,000 army was to use 火攻 (fire). But in that period, the wind direction was not for 周瑜’s fire tacitcs. He needed the wind to be blowing from the South-East. And thus, 周瑜 feint sickness. 诸葛亮 knew exactly what was 周瑜’s “illness” and offered this writing as prescription. Although 周瑜 was very impressed with 诸葛亮, he was at the same time VERY jealous of his talents and knowledge. 诸葛亮 knew the way of weather forecast, astrology, geography and many other knowledge. He managed to “borrow” the South-Easterly wind for 周瑜 during the battle, which was won beautifully. Meanwhile, 诸葛亮 guessed that 曹操 will escaped thru 哗蓉道 but he knew that 曹操 won’t die so soon.曹操 was eventually “released” by 关羽.

There are alot of learning points in Romance of the Three Kingdom. This particular one I’m writing today is about being in the right place at the right time. Cos no matter how well prepared one was, if without all the other elements, he will not succeed. And sometimes, such elements may not be what human could do. Hmm… So what can we do? Let’s pray…

中文之星…. Chinese Star!!

I get so facinated with the mandarin language and culture. I was talking to my close friends over dinner about Romance of the Three Kingdom – 三国演艺. How 刘备, 关羽 and 张飞 became brothers and how 诸葛亮 became the Shu Kingdom’s Prime Minister. Its intriguing to know that people in 189 AD are about to know so much about geography, astrology and military strategy. I will never get bored talking about Romance of the Three Kingdom. Haha! I’ve got the TV series on VCD. There was once I tried to record it on video tape when I was in Secondary School, the first time it was shown on TV8. Oh! And I love my new chinese software! Its cool to have a variety of language in one’s blog. There are many notable phrases in the Romance of the Three Kingdom. But one phrase i like alot was what 诸葛亮 told 刘备 when 曹操 attacked them in the beginning. 孔明 said “主公有多大的胆识,亮就有多大的嫫略”. This goes to show how much abilities 诸葛亮 has and how much trust 刘备 put in his Master Strategist. We must all have big goals in order to succeed. If our goals are gonna be mediocre, then our returns will be just the same. But then again, dun aim for the moon and stars when you can only reach the skies la. Haha… Know our limits. Know our traits, both positive and negative. Only when we know ourselves well, then we can overcome all the obstacles ahead of us. =)

The new becomes the old…

Its a weird feeling I’m having. 4 years ago, I was having much reservations about switching jobs. To leave a place where I was so familiar for about 10 years and having to switch to a brand new place then was quite a terrible feeling. New place, no friends, no buddies, no support watsoever. But my ex-boss told me what he felt about me. His advise then was, brave the storm, whatever storm there may be. And he knows I am the sort that will not fear or back out in the face of the adversity. Hmm… And so, now after sitting on this very interesting job for 4 years, its time to bid the department farewell. Although my plans ain’t gonna materialise (at least not in the near future), I’m now reserved about going back to my roots. Hahaha… I like what I am doing. Wrong! I LOVED what I am doing now. But sadly, I cannot be sitting on this job for the rest of my career. I wouldn’t be progressing further if I were to stay on this current post. There were already plans for me to move since last year. But I opted to stay and now that I’ve “progressed”, its only right I go back to my roots.

How time flies. It was like only yesterday when I first started on my first issue of my magazine. Now, after 16 issues and much transformation, I’ve to relinquish my duties and hand them over to someone else. =( I’m both sad and glad at the same time. Sad, becos I have to leave. Glad, becos I know I’ve done a good job. In fact, I think I’ve done a GREAT job! There were quite abit of stuffs that I’ve done to improve on the overall standards and quality of the magazine, which I was doing. I’m proud of what I’ve done. I’ve no regrets. I’ve done my best. =) I can lift my head up high when I look back at the 4 years I was here. And I’ve made alot of friends throughout these 4 years (all over the place, actually). It will defintely benefit me in my career. I’m quite sure. I’ve already established myself as quite a reputable photographer. Let’s not be sad about leaving my present place. I should focused on doing my next job well. And I know I will and I could. Looking forward to the new place. =D

Morale Low…

I thought I had hit the bottom of the pit on 8 January 2007. But it seems the pit was deeper than I thought. Sad… I thought I could end my current misery by burying myself in notes and books come April. But its not meant to be now. Its gonna be transforming from blue to green. Its my uniform I am talking about. Have not been wearing the green one for awhile now. My initial plan was for me to get a diploma and then continue my career thereafter. What’s the difference between going now and 3 years later? Sigh~ No mood to do anything for now. Looks like life ain’t fair afterall. It never was. It just proved me right that it never was. *sob*

Having mixed feelings now, actually. The new place that I’m heading to is gonna be new to me in most ways. But there will be familiar faces that I know very well. That’s the only consolation for me now. Sigh… I shall not dwell on what’s lost. I shall look forward to the new challenges ahead for me. Cheer up, Tommy! At least I know I will be going to a place where there are allies. Come to think of it, I’ve not had many enemies la. Haha… I just haf to think positive! “I’m an asset to any organisation!” – A reminder I always tells myself. Which I am proud to say I am. So, good luck to me in my future endeavours. Though I dunno when tat is happening. But I know its happening for sure.

Threading on new grounds…

I’ve never joined any other photoshoots other than Charby’s. I must say Charby has some of the top notch models in Clubsnap. *Thumbs up* I’ve always enjoyed those photoshoots. And the girls never failed to perform! Kudos to them all! Yiming, Veronica, Estelle, Valerie, Corina, Jac Sue, Lynn, Tricia, Cherlyn, Sherlyn, June, Cheryl, Mei,  and so many more… And so I tot its about time to venture elsewhere. Its time to thread new waters and see how the rest of the organisers in CS are doing.

And so, I joined Glenn Yong’s shoot yesterday morning at Fort Canning. Amazingly, I’ve never shot at Fort Canning before. Haha… There were 3 girls – KC, Yi Ting and Michelle (I think). Nice girls to work with. And I brought Casper along. He was a good prop. The girls loved him. Haha!! I’ve said it before, no one will ever reject Casper. Why would anyone do so?

We were told not to exchange any informations with the girls. That’s a taboo thing to do, according to Glenn. Hmm… *ponders for awhile* I told myself “Let’s be professional.” And I did. I think if I ever get to study in the polytechnic, I’d wanna talent scout some new and pretty faces and get them to be MY models. Haha! Lobinhoot’s Models? Sounds cool? =P Just some wishful thinking for now. Hehe… Let’s do it the “110m Hurdles” way. One hurdle a time. Friends, comrades, pals… Pray for me, ya? =D

I’ve not had my favourite Hokkien Mee at Whampoa market for awhile now. Seems like only yesterday that I had so much joy n fun munching it. But its been while since. About 2-3 weeks since I last ate hokkien mee there. =( Why would a plate of hokkien mee make me so miserable? Sigh~ Sometimes, it seems easy when you say you could give up certain things in life. But saying and doing it ain’t the same. Still, its something tat have to be done. It is still one of my most favourite food (I’ve had hokkien mee since young) and I cannot give it up becos I’ve to eat it alone the next time. Painful as it may seems, I will have to brave the emotions once more. I’ll let you know when I do go back to Whampoa market and enjoy the plate of hokkien mee again. Eating my hokkien mee alone, just like before.

I wonder who does Casper missed? He’s been moody. Think he caught the flu bug recently, due to the weather. But he’s still hyper though. He jus went to the salon yesterday. Cut his fur and now he looks alittle smaller. Haha! Maybe I should organise a TFCD for my boy. Anyone interested?

Working round-the-clock

When I left office, I thought I could happily go back home and enjoy a hot cup of milo. But it was not to be. Haha… Went by to do some “errands” before goin down to Geylang to buy fruits and then back home. Traffic along Clementi Road at 6pm is HORRENDOUS!! I cannot imagine people on the buses going thru that stretch of road. OOooo Man~~ Anyway, it got worst when I hit the PIE. There were a couple of accidents along the way and I got stucked in the jam for almost a good 45 minutes before I got to Geylang. I got my fruits and went back home.

I knew I would have lots of chores to do last night. Today being the 1st day of the 12th Lunar Month, hippo would be praying awhile later. She should still be in slumber land now. But the ultimate chore last night would be to get rid of the fleas and ticks residing in Casper’s little dog house. Yes, its kinda like infested with fleas and ticks. Terrible creatures! I dismantled the dog house and got it down to the void deck area and sprayed insecticide all over the house. Got back home and scrubbed every single gap, loop, hole, slot, etc. Whatever you can name it, I scrubbed it! Now he has a brand new dog house. =D Let’s hope I will do this more frequently. Am gonna send him to the salon this weekend to shave him. Yep, u heard it right. Shave him. Ok, maybe not clean shaven. But slightly shorter than puppy-cut. Will start to post pictures of him soon. =) If you’ve noticed, I’ve not been posting alot of pictures with my blog lately. Not in the mood, I guessed. But things should be better as the days goes by. Damn tired now… But hey! Its friday! So chin up! A couple of hours more to go!!

The Year of the Fire Boar (Feb 4th 2007 onwards)

I was reading some Feng Shui books lately and realised this - The Year of the Fire Boar actually commenced from 4th Feb 07. The Lunar New Year is on the 18th Feb 07. Weird? I dun really know how these were calculated, but apparently its a one-year cycle. So the Fire Boar period is from 4th Feb 07 – 4th Feb 08.

So what’s in store for the new year? There are 9 grids in the Flying Star Chart (numbers 1 – 9 in each grid). every number represents something. It could be good, it could be bad. According to divine calculations, Houses facing Southeast, South and Southwest will be extremely good in the coming year. Houses facing Northeast, North and Northwest will not be enjoying that much luck. The 9 grid Flying Star Chart also applies to each household, each room, each office, etc. Basically, u haf to divide the room into 9 grids. The number 2 star, which represents illness, will be in the middle of the 9 grids this coming year. This means that the if we do not guard ourselves against this, then the household may fall sick easily. It is also said that this coming year will see the spreading of diseases in the world. Sigh~~ Sometimes I wonder if its good to know so much about your future? Or would you rather take it as it comes? Anyway, where there’s trouble, there will be remedy. So in the case of the illness star residing in the middle, use a Brass Wu Luo to counter this. Enuff said la… If you wanna find out more, go to the news stands or book stores to get your latest copy of the Feng Shui Magazine – Feng Shui World.

I was at Geylang this evening, buying fruits for hippo’s prayers tmr. I saw this huge lorry taking 1 and a half parking lot, so I parked right behind it, thinking it would be alright. Next thing I know, the parking warden rode his scooter and was about to gimme a ticket, when the fruit stall uncle shouted out my car plate. I had to rush to get my car out of the way, but was unable to find a lot. All these while, the stall owner was trying to help me. In the end, he offered to show me some ulu back lane where I could park. Phew… So I think I am not that bad a person afterall. Hahaha… If I m bad, I dun think the uncle will bother to alert me about the parking warden, let alone helping me get a parking space. Thanks, uncle! =D

How to break into a smile when your heart feels sad? How do you pretend to be happy when you know deep within you haf so much sorrows? How do you take the next leap forward when you know you might not reach where you wanna leap to? How? How? How now, brown cow? Moo~~~~

Oreo(s), Pringles(s) and whatever cookies…

Yep… I’ve lugged a full 3 NTUC (local supermart) bags of Oreos, Pringles and Oke cookies to the office this morning. Hmm… Preparing for war? Not quite actually. They are meant to fill up my (and some other pple who doesn’t payfor them) tummy when I get hungry while at work. Am munching a piece of Oreo now actually. Ha!

I need balance. Both in life and whatever things I do. Noticed the Oreo & Pringles combo? Sweet and salty? Hahaha… I always believed that no one can simply lived on one side of life. Or should I say no one WILL haf the luxury to always be happy in life. There are times when you will be sad (I’m pretty sure about this) and there will be times when you feel thrilled and so full of energy. Its a matter of how we managed the balance. How much Oreos? How many slices of Pringles? Occasionally I get the Lemon 1000 to “sour” myself up alittle too. Haha… But its ok.

Things ain’t that bad these days. I just need some planning to be done. Oops… My colleague jus asked me to join him at the roof top. =X If you know wat that means. Oh well… Time to distress before my work bogged me down for the rest of the day. So much for now. =)

Back from the roof top and “dived” straight in to work on some organising work in the office. My boss just told me this, “Anything more than 5 years in record, throw!” What a good guide. Hmm… I think we like to keep things and stuffs that we might not be using them. Maybe tats why most HDB flats in Singapore has a store room. After goin thru the pile of “junks” I realised half of those stuffs in there were dated like 19 “kong-kong” (1900). No la… Not that long ago la. Haha… But its a term we’ve been using quite while now. Basically trying to emphasise the point where its way too old in history. Why do these people keep them for so long a period anyway? Things have gone out-dated and alot of those stuffs we have been holding on to are no longer valid. Time to let go? Haha… Why is it that I’ve been on this topic of “letting go”? Hmm… Some things are hard to let go. Too much sentiments put in, I guess. I’m too sentimental. Too emotional. Nothing heard today from who I want to hear of. =( When will there be good news for me? =( The question should really be “Will there ever be good news for me?” Too much anxiety now. Too stressful now. Too much goin thru my head now. I dunno how I could handle all these right now actually. But I’m coping. I have to cope with changes and whatever comes. Whatever the decision, its not gonna change the price of pork, eh? Think I’ve lost some weight these past week or so. Haven’t been eating well. No mood to eat. No appetite to eat. Oh well, but we all still haf to eat right? If not how to continue the fight?! =D Let’s brave the storm!

Remember Master Yoda’s words: “Do, or do not. There is no try.” “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. And hate leads to suffering.” Only when you believe can u succeed. And only then, will u really taste success. I hope I dun succumbed to the dark side now. I think I almost did. But I’m pulling myself out of it. Come what may… The force will always be with you, Padawan Tommy…