theme of the year

i remembered during my meet up with kelvin yeo in late 2010, i shared with him about setting a theme of the year. after attending the programmes and trainings in eci, i learnt that creating changes in our lives would take time, effort and discipline. i decided to set a theme for 2011, to constantly remind myself of what i wanted to achieve at the end of the year. through eci, i realized that i was not loving myself enough, often trying to please others at the expense of myself. therefore, i set 2011 to be a “self love” year (s.l.y), using 1 full year to learn to love myself.

somehow, this came true. i left my internal auditor job in 2011 and took a pause in my working life. i finally decided to follow my heart and take a big step into the unknown. this pause stretched over 9 months until i was hit by another sign. during this period, i did a number of things which i always wanted to do (entry dated 23 september 2012). the break was not smooth sailing but nonetheless rewarding, at least i gave myself a chance to fulfill what my heart desired. in the process, i definitely learnt to love and get along better with myself.

in 2012, i set the year to be a “creation” year as i wanted to ignite the creative juice in me. 2012 became a year of changes, where i found a job through zhang yi, doing marketing analytics at zalora, an e-commerce start up company. i finally switched out of audit! i was grateful that this came along or maybe this was meant to be, as part of my journey. i was happier and learning new things. in the end, the biggest creation in 2012 was creating a team with kelvin yeo and zhang yi to do something together in 2013.

for 2013, i set to be an “action” year, a year to take action and get things done. i must say this is the toughest theme i have set. i am not a natural “action packed” person. there are a lot of internal fighting within myself, having self doubts and comparing myself with others. these internal conflicts are draining my energy, with ups and downs, like going on an emotional roller coaster ride. there are days where i can work and days where i just want to rest. i foresee “action” to be the theme for the next couple of years as well, until i get comfortable being “action packed”. although moving slowly, i must acknowledge myself for the small steps i take each day. still a long journey ahead!

having a theme each year helps me to stay focus and gather my intention towards achieving that. give a try to set a theme of the year for yourself. you never know what might unfold when you set a strong intention! before getting back to work, let me share an illustration by a malaysian illustrator, lim heng swee, to encourage you and me. never give up! = )

never give up!

生存以上 生活以下

the past week at work had been very hectic, making me feeling drained at the end of friday. i was emotionally and physically tired, especially after firefighting on monday and tuesday to complete my reports. there were continuous requests for new information to be presented that i constantly needed to build them into my reports. 1 week passed by so fast that before i knew it, the whole work cycle would start again on the coming monday. sometimes, i felt that work was taking too much of my time, leaving me little energy for my own stuff after work. the only thing i wanted to do when i got home was to relax and rest.

i was listening to mayday songs while working, to cheer myself up. as i listened closely, i could strongly resonate to the lyrics of 1 song, 生存以上 生活以下, written by 阿信. the song title literally meant “above survival, below living”. he pointed out the routine lives that people were going through day after day, year after year, just to survive. we seemed to lose ourselves and forget how to actually live. living was only left with breathing, eating and drinking. for the past week, i could feel the days of my life passing by just like that, spending most of my time reacting to the demands of others. no wonder i felt tired!

luckily, i managed to regain back some energy after meeting up with coly for lunch and zee for dinner. i needed to break away from my daily work routine. my weekends were rejuvenating when i got connected with my mastermind groups, went swimming and wrote this entry. doing the things i enjoyed definitely uplifted my mood to prepare for the coming week! i shall keep on fighting!!! >_<

生存以上 生活以下

作词: 阿信  作曲: 玛莎

连刷牙 也照着节奏 冲了马桶 洗了脸上的疲倦泡沫
没有梦 昨夜没有梦 镜子里的 陌生人已经不再做梦
上课钟 变成打卡钟 单行道般 的人生流失在车阵中
进行曲 规律的平庸 活的像是 一句标语压韵而服从

午餐是 随便还是 都好还是 跟你一样 的任何一种
奇怪呢 很久以前 我是很有 想法主见 心跳很执着

伤心再也不吹风 现在只害怕伤风 耽误了谁和谁的要求 一天一天
看日升日落 看月圆月缺 年复一年的经过 看谁把我变成现在的我
怕潮起潮落 怕患得患失 错了又错的疼痛 终于我的生命只剩生存
活着只会呼吸吃饭喝水的生活

小时候 只要看天空 枕着白云 就觉得全世界都拥有
长大了 拥有的更多 为何感觉 到越来越匮乏越贫穷
那一年 只追逐自由 现在只能 追逐着涨不停的石油
是不是 地壳又震动 要从家里 震落才悔恨这样生活

生活的 反面会是 死去还是 这般生存 不再有冲动
闭上眼 就能感觉 生命正在 一分一秒 飞奔远离我

还不如一只昆虫 至少能破茧展翅 飞向那被夺走的天空 一天一天
看日升日落 看月圆月缺 年复一年的经过 看谁把我变成现在的我
怕潮起潮落 怕患得患失 错了又错的疼痛 终于我的生命只剩生存
活着只会呼吸吃饭喝水的生活

一年有 三百六十 五个日子 五十二万 五千多分钟
一生有 三十四亿 五千六百 七十八万 九千下脉搏

为爱而出生之后 生命要怎么挥霍 直到我化成烟的时候 一天一天
看日升日落 看月圆月缺 年复一年的经过 看谁把我变成现在的我
怕潮起潮落 怕患得患失 错了又错的疼痛 终于我的生命只剩生存
活着只会呼吸吃饭喝水的生活
看日升日落 看月圆月缺 年复一年的经过 曾经我也那么独一无二
怕潮起潮落 怕患得患失 错了又错的疼痛 终于我的生命只剩生存
活着只会呼吸吃饭喝水的生活

连刷牙 也照着节奏 然后设定了明天 六点半的闹钟

幾米/jimmy liao

one morning as usual, i was browsing through the newspapers and saw an advertisement by the national arts council, featuring the writers for the singapore writers festival (swf) 2012. i did not take much notice and continue flipping through, until i recall a familiar face. i flipped back to the advertisement to confirm. oh my gosh! my favorite taiwanese illustrator,  幾米 was among the writers featured to speak at the swf 2012! i always enjoyed his illustrations and bought a number of his illustration books. he would be speaking at 2 swf events on 10 and 11 november 2012. i must get the swf ticket! 

i waited for the fateful day to come, bringing along a few of my favorite illustration books for his autographs. i arrived early at the event hall and while walking to the washroom, i saw 幾米 sitting alongside the walkway with his assistant. wow wow wow! i saw him so up close in person! when i came out of the washroom, his readers were surrounding him, requesting for his autographs and taking photos with him. when he was about to leave for the event hall, i grabbed the chance to ask for a photo with him. he acceded to my request and the event host kindly helped to take the photo. i thanked both of them and we went into the event hall. ahhhhh!!! never imagined that i would have a photo with 幾米!!! 

this session was themed “finding the child in me”. the 3 children book authors, including 幾米, shared about how they retained their childlike innocence through observations and interactions with children, gaining inspirations for their creative works. although i was unfamiliar with the other 2 children book authors, i enjoyed their stories nonetheless.

the next day was the “meet the author” session, solely by 幾米. the event hall was so crowded with people that many ended up sitting on the carpet or standing around. this was definitely a rare occasion for his readers to meet him. the session began with a short animated film, adapted from his first illustration book, 微笑的鱼. after a brief introduction by the host, 幾米 came on stage with loud applause from the audience. he shared about how he started his illustrating work and what led him to publish his illustration books. he was naturally shy yet proud of his own works. the audience was amused by his stories and laughing away. the climax of the session was when he began reciting his latest illustration book, 时光电影院. this illustration book was his way of paying tribute to movies. the event hall became silent as he recited with his gentle and compassionate voice. everyone was listening attentively and following the illustrations projected on the big screen. somehow, he could draw the audience into his story, as if we were part of the story, feeling what the characters were feeling. the audience gave a big round of applause when he finished. we wanted to listen to more. at our request, he recited another illustration book, 星空, dedicated to teenagers, who might feel lost in this big world during their teenage years. he hoped that through this book, they could find comfort and strength to face the ups and downs in life bravely. he was choking with emotions as he read on. 星空 was one of my favorites and i was tearing as i listened. i would not be so emotional if i were to read the book myself. his illustrations and words painted a beautiful story and listening to him made the story even more touching. for a story to touch others, the story must first touch the author. he is one such author. he seemed to understand and touch a small part of our inner worlds through his illustrations. 

i did an act of courage during the questions and answers segment. my heart was thumping hard when i stood up to ask him whether there would be a possibility to bring the exhibitions based on his illustrations into singapore. he answered, not likely, mainly due to the big scale of logistics and constraints of funding and manpower. i was wishfully thinking that if i became successful and wealthy one day, i could accomplish that, letting more people see and appreciate his works. then again, i could just fly over to taiwan to see the exhibitions! hahaha!

i managed to get his autographs on 6 copies of the illustration books that i brought. i planned to give 1 copy each to zhang yi and jada as they liked his illustrations as well. i could not wait to see their expressions when they receive the books! having to meet my favorite illustrator was exhilarating and taking a photo with him was definitely a big big big bonus! another item crossed on my wish list! yeah!!!

i look forward to more awe-inspiring creations from him! = )

微笑的鱼 animated film

时光电影院

星空

my favorite illustration book, 躲进世界的角落

his autograph!


幾米 & me! 

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...