Monday, January 29, 2007

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”

-Frederick Keonig

Talk is cheap.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

I'm back from OBS!
It's gonna be tough for me to put everything in words.

The course we went through, the feelings, the emotions felt changed me a lot. It's the beginning to a greater, better life.

Expect the unexpected~

I definitely didn't expect what was coming in the course. I didn't expect it to have such a great effect on me either.
We all grew stronger physically, spiritually and bonded so much throughout.
Friendships that will last.
Values that will hold.

Last but not least;
Accepting changes and adapting to situations and problems faced. A great lesson learnt for me.


It'll never be the same again.

We are all made up of bits and pieces of each other. Without everyone in my life, there wouldn't be me. Thank you so much....

Monday, January 22, 2007

Good news.... i know everyone will miss my presence while i'm away for a week at OBS. =)

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Youths

A lot of topics have been going on about Singapore's youths.
Being a youth myself as well, i definitely have a lot of thoughts to share.

Youths in Singapore today has evolved to a stage where we are very tech-savvy.
Take a look at the current state, some as young as 11-years-old are already starting their own on-line business, reaping profits from it.

Youths these days are becoming more creative than previous generations because of the advanced technology available in Singapore. Almost every average family would have a set of computer at home.

As much as youths are becoming more 'smart', the downside to it is that we are less hard-working because we have the mentality that since everything comes so easily, there is no need to work hard for it anymore.

We are much less independant as well. There are so many teenagers who have never had a taste of what is a tough life. Yet, we complain that this life is so tough. Ironic.
Teenagers these days are all spoon-fed so much that they do not know the importance of thinking for their future, much less planning.

We depend on our parents, our teachers, our lecturers, and all of the people around us to teach us, to guide us, to lead us through all the way. That is not wrong, actually. But over-dependancy will result in one not being able to think for ourselves.

Eventually, our natural human conscience will question.

"What exactly do i want in life?"

"Am i going to continue this mundane life of running in this rat race just to survive?"

All of us will somehow subconsciously or consciously have these thoughts.

However, having this thought is not enough.

One who takes action and think about this question; who faces this question, will eventually find the key to what one exactly desires.
Yet, one who fears and avoids this question; have doubts and fears about the risks if they take a different path from the current one, will not go far.

It's always never too early to start planning for our future.

The older generations have qualms about the younger generation not being able to strive in this society. But who is to answer?
When we stereotype youths these days and label them as hopeless, who were the ones who brought us up to be like that?

Many will say it's their parents who pampered them. I don't deny. Which parent don't want the best for their kid?
Yet, the more parents want their kid to do well in life, the more they will spoon-feed them. Then the more kids will not learn how to stand on their own. Eventually growing up, not knowing how to fend for themselves.

Youths these days are not hopeless. There are so many uncovered talents. However, parents always choose not to see their other talents and focus too much on academic studies. I always believe in letting your own kid shine in his/her own way. No one is too hopeless for their own good.

Times are getting better, obviously, living conditions will improve as well. Youths will never learn how to appreciate a good life because we have never had a tough life before to truly understand. I guess this is something that everyone, including myself understand.

Enough of ranting, life will go on like it always has been. Singaporean youths; including myself have only ourselves to prove of our self-worth.

After giving much thought to the particular topic on education, I realised that my "answer" was actually the answer to all my questions.

Education = Foundation Building
Simply to sum it up,
Foundation Building = Skills

These skills attained will be then used for work, because they are built upon on our foundation.

The education now is not solely on academics anymore. It stresses on character building and development as an individual as well.

To do well in work, of course we have to have a strong foundation.
And it's back to square once again, we got to study hard for our own's sake.
Ha ha ha....

Monday, January 15, 2007

Fine print:
These personal opinions have been written at a point of time where i deemed as right. They may change over time and is strongly not advisable to be taken as facts.


Have we not been taught not to accept everything at face value?

Then why are all of us doing what we are told, but never once question why we are actually doing it?

I know school always encourages students to question and enquire whatever that is taught. But ironically, whatever that's been taught, is deemed as the right answer; the best solution.
I recalled questioning "why" in certain science lessons. What i got was "Oh, that's because it's like this and like that, that's why it results in this. There's no further explanation to why it is like this."

Simple, i return back to square one. Then i have no choice but to accept what has been taught in the first place again. Ironic.
Doesn't that make me 'ask for nothing'? Because the reply i get would just be an elaborated version or, 'beating about the bush' of what's in the textbook.

In my 14-years-old world, of what i've been taking in; i noticed that majority adults, i.e. 21 and above, once they step into the working society and stop learning what they did in Seconday; Tertiary level, they forget all about it.
Take my own parents for example, as long as the subjects they learnt that they do not apply in today's life, they have no impression of what had been taught in their teen years.

Then my next question is, so what's the point of studying the subjects offered in Secondary? Why can't we learn the skills that are needed for our later part of lives.
I've always wanted to learn business studies, design etc; courses that are offered in Tertiary Education. We never have such subjects offered in Primary/Secondary Education.

The only factor i can think of is the foundation building. It may just be the answer to all my questions. Foundation building? Then why when we grow up only to forget our foundation? Doesn't that makes a tree without its roots?

We are all too busy trying to be 'in the crowd'. Trying to fit in to the society. Trying to be a society norm. We don't dare to question what is coming. We just take it in and conform to it. Everyone is taught the same thing in school. Yet, 20,30 years down the road, we see all the people we once knew leading different lives. Some may still be finding a place in the society. Some may have achieved their dreams.

What's the X factor that differentiate these people? Is it how we are brought up? What we are exposed to when we were young? The rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer?
But we are all taught the same things. So why do we progress differently leading through different paths?

It's not the in the 21st century anymore to be academically talented and be a doctor, a lawyer or a scientist; the professions which promised bright futures. If everyone were to pursue the same thing, won't the society be so filled with doctors, lawyers and scientists? The market value drops. Just like how the education system is now; the higher your degree, the brighter your future is.

If everyone achieved a U cert; then there's no big deal at all these days. It's the norm. This rat race of working harder, outwitting everyone, will carry on. What will it be like 20 years down? The society will be filled with everyone holding P.h.Ds. Is that how the world is going to progress? We will be studying until 30-years-old; not 23 in current days to complete University, to achieve a doctorate; then step out into the society to compete who owned more companies?

Sunday, January 14, 2007

I really hate to say this. My com died on me. I relied too much on the use of IT!~ Now i feel like dying. Gosh.
Why can't i just get a good computer once and for all... settles all the problems and fustrations. Blah.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Actually there are many things that may happen for no rhyme or reason. They just happen.
And when it happens, human nature tend to question and doubt its existence. That's when human fail to enjoy and appreciate the big picture because of the presence of doubt.

Everything need not be logical nor rational. What's said is said. What's done is done. It's all up to individuals to perceive and process the information.

I start to see more colours filling the shades of black as i open my mind more and more each day. I think it's a pretty good sign. I appreciate the people around me, accept the changes... accept for who everyone is. Once i start to accept and appreciate the inner beauty, the place becomes more beautiful. My world becomes more beautiful, naturally i may appear more beautiful as well. Ha Ha Ha! Above the humour lies more than just what is said. =)

Monday, January 08, 2007

What a great start for 2007. School has been going all well.
Maybe it's the good habit to sleep early every night, i'm surprisingly not feeling any fatigue during school hours; something that never happened during 2006. Ha ha~

Actually, i think Sec 3 is less stressful than Sec 2. There are lesser subjects to learn. More time to be given for us to concentrate and go in depth of the subjects. Each day, i feel that the 1 hour lesson duration passes so damn fast. We barely even learn enough for that lesson. Maybe the worse has yet to come, now is just the beginning of the horrorrrrrs!~ xD
Then we have our OBS camp in Week 4, that means there's only 8 weeks in term 1 that we are actually studying. No, another week is off for exams. Great. Time flies. Looking forward to everything that's gonna come!

Something i'm aware of, i know i'm never able going to drop a level to communicate with peers. I want to close that gap, but i'm advancing too fast. Not blaming anyone, part and parcel of life i guess. Lonely lonely. Ha~ Partly because i'm introvert and perhaps anti-social to strangers. However, still being the open-minded me, i'm trying to change to adapt to new environments. It takes time, all i need is more time and effort, i know it'll work out, i hope.


It's all a challenge. The challenge to be able to not be overun by emotions. The challenge of the test of time. The challenge of perservering. The challenge of all the processes we go through every day. We are all rewarded at the end of the day for all the hard work, the effort.

We reap what we sow~

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Recently, i've sent in those pictures that are captured in the cemeteries to SPI (Singapore Paranormal Investigators)

Would like to share with you guys on the replies of those pictures taken. Hopefully to clear my doubts as well as the readers'.


"Hi,

Sorry for the late reply. I had looked into these pictures, and I noticed that most pictures are very dark and blur. On further checks, I found that these photos are actually taken using Sony Ericsson K800i camera phone, and the exposure time are fixed at quite a short time, which explains why these pictures are underexposed. The flash of this phone also plays a part in this case too.

Anyway, from the picture DSC00035.jpg, the brightest orb is highly likely a water droplet. Reasons for this is because of the round, curvy lines which exist within the orb, and the bright reflection which this orb reflect back to the camera. Although this orb seems to have an "eye" and the bottom left, it's probably a feature of the water droplet itself, or an "overlap" of another particle in front of it. Also notice the texture of the orb is more opaque than translucent. This shows that the water droplet position is much closer to the lens.

As for the other pictures, I sad to say that they are too dark and contains too much noise to provide any solid details. A point to note is, even thou the background features are dark and blur, but the orbs can be seen quite clearly. This goes to show that the orbs are actually close to the camera lens, which implied that they're more likely to be cause by water or dust rather than paranormal objects.

Cheers!

Yellobie"

It's quite a disappointment that some of the pictures are too dark and blur to be investigated. But i still believe in such supernatural beings. Fortunately, and unfortunately that i'm not able to see them. Ha ha ha...

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

"In order to gain something, you must present something of equal value. That is the principle of Equivalent Trade. Back then, i had believed it to be the truth of the world. But as it turns out, the world is an imperfect place, And there is no principle that can explain its existence. Not even the principle of Equivalent Trade. But i still believe that one cannot gain something without paying the price. The pain i endured must have been the price for something else. I also believe that by paying the price of hard work, i can gain something."

"People cannot gain anything without sacrificing something. You must present something of equal value to gain something. That is the principle of equivalent trade in alchemy."

One of my favourite Japanese anime: Full Metal Alchemist


You are The Tower


Ambition, fighting, war, courage. Destruction, danger, fall, ruin.


The Tower represents war, destruction, but also spiritual renewal. Plans are disrupted. Your views and ideas will change as a result.


The Tower is a card about war, a war between the structures of lies and the lightning flash of truth. The Tower stands for "false concepts and institutions that we take for real." You have been shaken up; blinded by a shocking revelation. It sometimes takes that to see a truth that one refuses to see. Or to bring down beliefs that are so well constructed. What's most important to remember is that the tearing down of this structure, however painful, makes room for something new to be built.


What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.




At my best, i'm strong-willed, determined and always standing firm on my ground. At my worst, i'm narcissist, critical and biased. Neither the extremes of each traits, but i'm definitely very driven to accomplish my goals and resolutions for this year.

- At least A for every subject, particularly those i'm better in.
- Continue to build on the inner strength and will power of mine
- Be more sensitive and understanding to the people around me
- Resume weekly runs
- Be more generous in love-giving
- Read more about our purpose in life
- Worry less about every single little thing
- Be more expressive through actions
- Learn to accept blame and let go

I will be adding more to the list each time i feel there's an area i strongly feel needs improvement.

To be or not to be...
The determining factor of one's destiny.

Who truly understand the meaning of what's behind it?

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

There's always more than just one side of every thing to life...

Just like the 4 seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Winter may be cold... but once it's over... we experience the warmth that comes after that.

Similarly in life as well... we may be facing the winter right now... but i know, someday, we'll get to enjoy what the rest of the seasons have to offer.

Questions

I wonder... wonder.. if i'm being too demanding, too authoritative towards everyone around me...? Am i being too full of myself... too confident, too superior over others?

Perhaps... it's time i quieten and let the world fill me in of what i don't know than always saying of what i know...

Questions... who's to answer for me? Or, am i suppose to rely on myself to find the answers?
I thought i'd like to share this little experience...

People always say, Today is a new day.

We don't have the chance to live the past, but we have the chance to look forward into the future. Leave where the past belongs, move on to create a better future.

At the start of each day, what's the first thing that comes on one's mind when one wakes up? Is it a positive thought that the day is going to be a good day? Or a negative one where one dreads what's going to come in the day?

Such a simple thought WILL affect how one feel about the rest of the entire day, really.

Personally, such thoughts are in the mind sub-consciously. Perhaps, i can put it in a way that it's human psychology. We tend to not hope for the day to be a perfect one, and that it's just another day.

I remembered back on Christmas Day, the previous night, i had little sleep. A couple of 4 hours were all i had. Waking up to the next morning, dreading the early morning tuition i had. Feeling so lethargic, i went ahead with the tuition with the mindset that "i'm so tired...hurry get it over and done with..." With the grouchy face i had and such a mindset that i'm going to behave like that for the rest of the tuition, obviously i did not gain much from it, at all.

Then, the next session, i promised myself to have a better attitude towards this. I slept earlier the night before, woke up with a positive mindset "I will do my best for this session". The results are so different. Seriously. At the end of that session, i felt so accomplished for being able to do my work twice as efficient as the previous lesson.

Such a simple mindset at the start of each day is actually the factor to deciding whether one will have a good or bad day. At first, I didn't believe that it's those first thoughts that goes through your mind at the start of each day that will bring you to what you want to see in that particular day. But those little every-day things that happened, proved me wrong.

I thought i would like to add on that at the start of each day, it's good to set as a routine, to be grateful for whatever that has happened in one's life. As much as there are many problems one faces in life, one can never be happy all the time, neither can one be depressed all the time.

Don't belittle the power of such positive thoughts.
生活的点点滴滴让我长大成今日的我。。。没有这些艰苦的日子也不会懂得什么叫幸福。
见识过那么多种的人,真是大开眼界。。。谢天谢地,感谢在我生里出现的每一个人。很感激那些对我所付出的关怀和爱护,在2007年里,我会尽我全力做一个更好的我!

Monday, January 01, 2007

What's the best gift one can ever receive?

To love and be loved....