values

faith, strength, wisdom, love and courage.

consciousness

consciousness is a way of life.

the power of books

one of my 2012 resolutions was to read 15 solid books, which i gladly exceeded by completing 21 books! hahaha! well done! i always enjoy reading, gaining new knowledge from different authors and being inspired by them through their words. here are my 21 books! 

1.       the solitaire mystery – jostien gaarder

2.       the winner take all society – robert h. frank and philip j. cook

3.       thank you for firing me – kitty martini and candice reed

4.       52 productivity principles for getting things done – david allen

5.       think and grow rich – napoleon hill

6.       the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy – douglas adams

7.       the restaurant at the end of the universe – douglas adams

8.       take off @ 2359 起飞 – 吴庆康  

9.       touch down @ 2359 降落 – 吴庆康  

10.   on board @ 2359 翱翔 – 吴庆康  

11.   cancer cured naturally – betty l khoo-kingsley

12.   lord of the flies – william golding

13.   secrets of a millionaire mind – t. harv eker

14.   the 7 habits of highly effective people – stephen r. covey

15.   speed wealth – t. harv eker

16.   the cashflow quadrant – robert kiyosaki

17.   the e myth revisited – michael e. gerber

18.   value investing for employees – clive tan

19.   五月天的素人自拍 – 五月天

20.   时光电影院 – 幾米

21.   拥抱 – 幾米

out of these books, there are a number worth mentioning:

1.     the solitaire mystery

this book is written by the same author of sophie’s world, recommended by dai xing. indeed an enchanting, philosophical and conscious novel! i enjoyed the twists in the story plot, engaging me every minute! there is a story within a story which keeps me reading and reading. highly recommended!

the solitaire mystery

2.     2359 series

these 3 books are compilations of existing and new articles written by my favorite local writer, 吴庆康, released in late 2011. he has a column in the newspapers which publishes every wednesday. i have been reading his articles for the past 10 over years. times flies! once every few years, he compiles his articles into books. he shares a lot of his personal experiences, especially his travels and his perspectives over various issues. i have a wide collection of his books and feels like i have seen him ‘grow’ as his writing style changes over the years.

                         take off @ 2359 起飞               on board @2359 翱翔

touch down @ 2359 降落

3.     secrets of the millionaire mind

kelvin yeo created an investment mastermind group with me and silvia, where we focus on working on our finances and learn about investments from one another. our ultimate aim is to achieve financial freedom. this book is our 1^st reading book, recommended by kelvin yeo. from the author's personal experiences, he introduces new perspectives about money and teaches simple methods to manage money. there is a 3-day millionaire mind intensive seminar which puts the theory into practice. i missed the seminar in 2011 and was glad to go with them last year. i was impressed by the speaker and learnt a lot during the 3 days. the book and the seminar open up my mindset towards money, where i am becoming more driven to achieve my financial freedom. i continue to implement the methods taught and cultivate good money management habits. this year, we are moving on to learn about investments. one step closer to financial freedom! an easy to read beginner’s book for people who are serious about achieving financial freedom.

secrets of the millionaire mind

4.     the 7 habits of highly effective people

i have long heard about this book, but only managed to read it in 2012 when a few friends were recommending. sadly, the author passed away on 16 july 2012, leaving a legacy through the books he  wrote. the book is written in simple and understandable manner but with profound knowledge to learn and apply. i am cultivating the 7 habits in my daily life and finding them very useful. highly recommended!

the 7 habits of highly effective people

5.     the e myth revisited

never expected this book could be so interesting! the author shares knowledge on what an entrepreneur should take note in a business. a must read for people who are planning to set up their own businesses. a conscious book in business sense.

the e myth revisited

6.     五月天的素人自拍

this is the 1^st book written by mayday in 2001 and republished in 2012. this book was documented during the period when they were producing their 3^rd music album, 人生海海 and facing temporary disbandment as some members needed to serve the army. wow! through this book, i have a deeper understanding of my favorite band, of how they got to know one another in high school, how mayday was formed, how they produced their music, how they got into rock records and how they became famous from then on. their dedication to music inspires me and even now, they are still pursuing their music dream, living their lives with passion. my role models!

五月天的素人自拍

7.     拥抱

this book is a christmas gift from jada! she knows that i love 幾米 books. i had a pleasant surprise when i saw 幾米 autograph on the 1^st page of the book! i thought she had gone to get his autograph. instead, she told me that she just picked the book from the bookshelf. hahaha! she had lucky hand! i am happy to have another autographed book! coincidentally, i also gave her a 幾米 autographed book, 星空. i got the book signed when the illustrator was in town for the singapore writers festival in november 2012.

拥抱

these are the highlights of the books which i have read. i hope you will enjoy these books as much as i do! gearing up for more great books in 2013! = )

the movies continued

as 2012 year end approaching, i was recapping the shows i had watched throughout this year. i actually managed to watch 44 movies/dramas/concerts! there were the mayday concerts and a number of nice dramas of different languages (chinese, japanese and korean) that i quite enjoyed. yes, i needed some dramas to spice up my life. hahaha! dramas could be addictive, as i could not wait to know the ending. more often than not, i would try to quickly complete my work and go home to catch up with the dramas.

of all the movies, the only movies that i watched in movie theatre were argo and life of pi (3D) with my friends. all thanks to online movie streaming and youtube, allowing me to watch movies whenever and wherever i want. =p

another movie year! enjoy!

1.       margin call

2.       one day

3.       the adjustment bureau

4.       source code

5.       恋爱恐慌症

6.       the hitchiker’s guide to the galaxy

7.       the descendants

8.       新天生一对

9.       the artist

10.   extremely loud and incredibly close

11.   hugo

12.   the help

13.   coach carter

14.   real steel

15.   不屈的媳妇 korean drama (the longest drama i ever watched!) 

16.   五月天 第168 场演唱会

17.   五月天 你要去哪里演唱会 （暂别）

18.   五月天 天空之城演唱会 （复出）

19.   五月天 DNA创造演唱会

20.   五月之恋

21.   五月天 十万人出头天演唱会

22.   五月天 离开地球表面演唱会

23.   the pixar story

24.   ice age 3

25.   爱

26.   拍卖 chinese drama

27.   flypaper

28.   我的见鬼女友

29.   醉后决定爱上你 chinese drama

30.   one litre of tears japanese drama

31.   last friends japanese drama

32.   天下500 期施振荣  x 五月天阿信 跨世代幸福论坛 改变为了幸福

33.   全开女孩 japanese drama

34.   大喜事 (the worst movie i watched this year!)

35.   johnny english reborn

36.   dark shadows

37.   盲证

38.   legal high japanese drama

39.   atm

40.   argo

41.   life of pi (3D)

42.   屋塔房王世子 korean drama

43.   千方百计 chinese drama

44.   ruby sparks

45.   痞子英雄之全面开战

stay real dreams

oh my gosh! oh my gosh! oh my gosh! i finally went to the stay real dreams exhibition (一克拉的梦想 当代美学展), organised by mayday 阿信, in shanghai on 14 October 2012! a dream came true!  

i first heard about this exhibition last year when it was exhibiting in taipei. at that time, i was very tempted to fly over to see the exhibition. however, i was also planning to visit nepal, a trip which i felt i needed to go as well. in the end, considering other factors, i decided to give the exhibition a miss.

this year, when i was reading an interview article in a magazine about 阿信, he mentioned that he would be bringing the exhibition to shanghai. wow! i was all excited! i would not want to miss the chance again. i started paying attention to his news feed on facebook (yes, i joined his fan page), in case he shared information about the exhibition.

one fine day, i saw the exhibition details on facebook! this was really happening! the exhibition would be from 21 september 2012 to 8 november 2012. i quickly shared the news with jada (she likes 阿信 as well), whether she would be interested in the exhibition.

after looking at our available schedules, we decided to meet up in shanghai on 13 october 2012 and visit the exhibition on 14 october 2012. shanghai would be the 1^st stop of my annual holiday, after which i would fly to guangzhou with her (she is working and staying in guangzhou), before taking the train to hong kong as my last stop. i had previously been to shanghai and guangzhou for work, but never to hong kong, a new place to visit this year.

with everything settled, i was finally on my way to shanghai! i met jada at a restaurant in the people’s park and we sat down to catch up with one another. it was definitely more fun to have another companion during travelling, to talk, walk around, and eat nice food!

we set off the next morning from our hostel and walked to the exhibition venue at the bund. the theme of the exhibition was about pursuing and fulfilling your dreams. the exhibition showcased the works of 5 artistes/designers including 阿信, who persevered in pursuing their dreams and became successful in their own field. 聂永真 for design, 阿信 for music, 蔡康永 for art, 不二良 for street and 童梦 for photography.

we were busy taking photos at the stay real signage at the entrance of the exhibition hall, before entering. hahaha! the exhibition began with the artworks of 聂永真, followed by photography works of 童梦, artworks and videos directed by 蔡康永 and exhibits by 阿信 and 不二良 at the last exhibition hall. undeniably, i came mainly for 阿信. he designed a number of sculptures, using the earth as the main theme. i could have been too excited about being at the exhibition and busy taking photos that i was not really paying much attention to the details of the exhibits. another reason could be that i had seen too many art works on the previous day, causing me to ‘shut down’ when seeing more. ironically, i only had this realization when we were in the cab, on our way to the airport for guangzhou. if i had known earlier, i might see the exhibition again. then again, maybe the outcome would still be the same. looking back, if i had the chance, i would slow down my excitement to ‘interact’ with the exhibits and appreciate more. lesson learnt: to be more present at future exhibitions, concerts, talks and shows.

nevertheless, what struck me the most was a series of wall decals along the corridor when we walked out of the exhibition. it displayed the whole process of pursuing a dream, going through the ups and downs and finally making the dream come true at the end. this wrapped up the whole exhibition nicely and i felt inspired. i guessed the exhibition did achieve its objective, to inspire people to pursue their dreams, at least for me. i needed to take my dreams seriously, believing in myself that one day, my dreams would come true. i was glad i made this trip to see the exhibition. thank you, jada for accompanying me!

lastly, thank you, 阿信 for organising this exhibition and look forward to more creations from you, whether in music or art! = )

stay real dreams exhibition

me at the stay real dreams signage!

i have a dream

confused over what to do

chasing after the dream

fighting! fighting! fighting!

need a helping hand!

meet with accidents!

meet with failures!

listen to other people's sharing

follow the right people

get to the top!

finally, dreams come true!

if i am not in my dreams, i am on my way to my dreams...

happy birthday to me!

happy birthday to me! time flies and this year i am celebrating my 32^nd birthday! it seemed just yesterday that i celebrated my 31^st birthday. the past year has been a year of changes, gaining new perspectives and mindsets. i am very happy that i am living my life with more clarity and positivity, grateful for my family and friends around me and grateful for everything i have. i am proud of myself to reach this stage of my life. *pat on the back!  = )

on my last birthday entry, i ended with “what do i want to create? how do i want to create?” somehow, the universe must have heard me, that after a year, i am on my way to create something with yeo yeo. everything happens for a reason.

to a year of great creation till my next birthday, cheers!

p/s: receiving all the birthday wishes from all my friends! thanks for being part of my life! hugs! = )

宠上天

one day while waiting for mastermind meeting to start, i was listening to this mayday song when the first verse of the lyrics caught my attention, “你爱看鬼片 又怕看鬼片 就要我陪”.  i suddenly recalled the night where i was watching ghost thrillers with coly during our business trip in wellington (entry dated 19 september 2012) as she was scared to watch alone. the lyrics literally described the whole scenario!

i knew coly in university, but we were not close then. we were in the same project group for 1 module and i vaguely remembered her at that time. when we met in our ex company again, she told me that she actually remembered me quite clearly and that i was her first friend in university. opps, sorry for that! =p

i got to know her better through the business trips we went together. i still remembered on her maiden trip in sydney, february 2008, she started to share her life story to the whole audit team during the dinner session! i had never seen someone who was so open about herself. gradually, from one business trip to another, we clicked off and bonded very well! our best trips were in wellington and bangkok where we had so much fun together. she had a lot of ideas and i would usually let her have her way, executing her crazy ideas with her. those were the days when i was her "partner in crime"!

in my world, she is a very knowledgeable girl, though she denies it. she reads widely and i always learn something new whenever she shares with me. she is someone who is very real at heart and speaks her mind. i like her realness and will want to open up to her. often, we nod in agreement for similar perspectives towards things. we write cards to each other, when words can better express ourselves. i am always touched to tears by her cards! she also has a big heart to care for the people around her and give support wherever she can. on the other side, she can be quite “bimbotic” in her actions at times, but she never tries to hide them and i always have a good laugh when she shares her “bimbotic” stories! hahaha!  

though we are in different companies now, we continue to meet up whenever we can. i will pop by at her place to have afternoon tea and catch up on each other's lives.

宝贝!!! thanks for being such a great friend! you add lots of colours and joy to my life! never fail to bring a smile to my face whenever i think of you! i am truly truly blessed to have known you!

dedicating this song to you! the lyrics describe exactly what i want to say to you!“就是要宠你 宠你 宠上了天”! to our friendship! hugs and muacks! = )  

宠上天

作词: 阿信  作曲: 阿信

你爱看鬼片 又怕看鬼 
就要我陪
坐在你身边 很想告诉你 
我比你还怕鬼
我无时无刻 都无怨无悔 
让你无忧又无虑 每一天

你一个口令 我一个动作 
绝不拖延
你一个皱眉 我三条黑线 
整个高度警戒
我无时无刻 都无怨无悔 
让你无法又无天 的撒野

是我的 朋友 就是 我的baby
就算你 打我 踢我 也都ok
就是要宠你 宠你 宠上了天
天堂 整个 搬到你身边

是一座堡垒 是一种哲学 
我们之间
是一股热血 是一句干杯 
也是一种永远
我无时无刻 都无怨无悔 
让爱无穷又无尽 万万岁

是我的 朋友 就是 我的baby
就算你 打我 踢我 也都ok
就是要宠你 宠你 宠上了天
天堂 整个 搬到你身边

是我的 朋友 就是 我的baby
你想要 蹂躏 虐待 也都随便
就是要宠你 宠你 宠上了天
让谁都羡慕 都赞美 
让谁都傻眼

啦啦啦啦啦啦啦 让谁都傻眼
啦啦啦啦啦啦啦啦 啦啦啦啦啦啦啦啦
啦啦啦啦啦啦啦  

叽咕帕 （台湾的一种猜拳游戏）