Compilations

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.

— Bridget Jones’s Diary

Scare the world: Be exactly who you say you are and tell the truth. 

—Unknown

Well-behaved women rarely make history.

— Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.

— Kurt Cobain

Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I’ve had my share. But whatever happens to you, you have to keep a slightly comic attitude. In the final analysis, you must not forget to laugh.

— Katharine Hepburn

You know, it’s been said that we just don’t recognize the significant moments in our lives while they’re happening. That we grow complacent with ideas or things or people, and we take them for granted, and it’s usually not until that thing is about to be taken away from you, that you realize how wrong you’ve been, that you realize how much you really need it, how much you love it.

— One Tree Hill

Sad thing is, you can still love someone and be wrong for them.

— Elvis Presley 

I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.

— Bill Cosby

After all, computers crash, people die, relationships fall apart. The best we can do is breathe and reboot.

— Carrie, Sex and the city

People often say that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder,’ and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. This empowers us to find beauty in places where others have not dared to look, including inside ourselves.

— Salma Hayek

Life’s disappointments are harder to take when you don’t know any swear words.

—Calvin & Hobbes

And that’s the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.

— The Kite Runner

Of cinnamon melt-downs and the great outdoors

The wonders of mushroom soup and sleep :) The fever went away in the end, but I still had to clock in a bit from home. Messages from all over and a human thermometer- thanks you guys :D Caught up on all the missed TV shows and read a bit- the ideal vacation if I hadn't been hitting 39°!

An Ikea lunch, Ikea hotdogs and an Ikea dinner, spaced a couple of days apart. Craaaazy~! But the chocolate mousse is to die for.. *drool* The cinnamon bun hunt all the way to Somerset 313 and that idiotic customer service dude who got my blood boiling.. Urgh. Why is the service industry in Singapore so crappy?

Ravi and Ravi, spray wars at Mustafas, insane giggling at City Square Mall, pol sambol + gotukala + dhal and a cinnamon melt marathon. We were on a roll! Saturday saw 3 go down with the help of a chocolate fudge sundae, Sunday saw 2 more with a cappucinno on the side. The melts are like little bits of heaven in sugary syrup ♥ And Mr Google redefined the concept of 'finishing your food' haha.

The Blind Side is a pretty good movie- it gets you thinking, even at 3 in the morning, and it restored a little bit of my faith in humanity :) Sandra Bullock still has a fan in me! I loved the gutsy character she played, though whether it was Oscar worthy, I'm still undecided :p He's Just Not That Into You was just as good watching it for the 3rd time as it was the 1st :D Chicken curry and Kahlua (separately!) only added to the day's pigging out- I'll need to starve myself for a week before I return to normal! And then we watched movie trailers till 4am.. *sigh*

Tried out the circle line for the first and second time, and hit Max Brenner after aaaages! A crazy route through Dhoby Ghaut to the Esplanade to Clarke Quay and then Harbourfront- more time spent in trains than outside, catching up with Mr Shutterbug while he foursquared away :p

Then came Sunday! After struggling to wake people up, having more back out and missing breakfast, Mr Google, Prem and moi finally took to route 3 in Macritchie :D A grand total of 4 hours, 12km, the Petai trail, the Blue and Pink maps, the monkeys on the car and all over, the HSBC treetop walk, lots of steps and more mosquitoes! I think Avatar had the connection with nature thing down to point- there's just something uplifting trudging through the undergrowth with insects and birds chirping away and the smell of earth and fresh air all around you. The heart rate went up and the endorphins got to work- which saw me bouncing to beats on the bed and whacking Mr Google with a tiger. After I shaved his head, and before chased them around the garden for my wallet and attempted riding a child's scooter..'Nuff said.

A hug on a Monday morning, a drenched trek through Bras Basah at lunch (thanks QJ!), new found respect for MS Paint, a surprisingly decent creative exploit and two projects down :) Hung out with the sibling on what was a beautiful evening around 7pm, and had quite the interesting shopping experience :D

We all have our crosses to bear, but that doesn't mean we forget how to smile.. right? :) I'm terrible when it comes to taking my own advice though. But I sat there in the dark yesterday, listening to this on loop [came across it on trailer night!] and felt like someone out there understood :)



A chaotic Tuesday which began with 3 different warbrobe shifts and harried phone calls in between. Yeah, I forget things sometimes, like important client meetings :p Was feeling frustrated and annoyed and sad and let down all at once, but weekend plans cheered me up :D Just one of those days when you wake up and wonder what you're doing with your life I guess..

'We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle'

"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."

- Marilyn Monroe

'Scuse me while I kiss the sky

Every once in a while, that weekend comes along, leaving you insanely happy and high on life :)

5km, finally, and twice in a week :) Still some way to go before perfection though. But at least I'm still alive :p The company lunch at zam zam, with all of us smelling like murtabak all afternoon :D New projects, new colleagues, new reasons to smile.

Martinis (best appletinis ever~!) and steak sandwiches with the girls at Mortons, dinner and drinks with the boys at CQ. Weird conversations about being killed by a Malay cop and cynical wisecracks about Singapore. The rum n' coke vs melon martini drink-off, and more rum n' coke on the house by way of the cow-themed lucky draw! The random run-in with QJ, the arrival of the duo, Eski Bar and the absinthe that had no effect on me, and margaritas at Iguana. I think we redefined the word pubcrawl :D

Kaya toast and yummy mango sago, >_< x 15, Alice in Wonderland, random archery tryouts, posing for marathon publicity for Facebook, the hunt for the elusive 'fro, onion rings and pathetic attempts at jaywalking, Reverie for 2 minutes, Somerset 313, the gorgeous hat, and the really cool goodie bag :D A chilled out evening, Jersey girl and the much needed sleep :) That was my Saturday.

Domestication, before heading out to the Gifted Artists children's exhibition on Sunday. I LOVE the Red Dot museum :D It's such a funky and artistic venue for all that creativity. The exhibition was amazing- to think of how 6 year olds can come up with stuff like that is just beyond me :) And we got to meet some of them too :D The themes of violence and nightmares were interesting- it made sense in a way.. and the self portraits and interpretation of trees were uber-cool :D There's just something about kids that helps put stuff into perspective- the simplicity of their world :)

Kayaking adventures beckoned, and we found ourselves back at the lake, except we got on the kayak the wrong way :D But we talked and laughed and had a blast, particularly in the mud and under the bridge :D The aching arms and legs were so worth it! The one with the mop then joined us for the Brazilian Rhythms at UCC, after the scramble for dinner- not a bad show, except jazz isn't really my thing. The drummer and pianist were something else though :O

Another crazy week looms ahead, but hey, its only 5 days till the weekend :D

Prisoner, turned president

After a funny twist of events, we finally got around to watching Invictus. In one word, the movie is amazing. Goosebumps all the way.. the good kind :)

'I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul'.

It was moving and inspiring and captivating and so much more. The soundtrack was awesome. Morgan Freeman delivered a stunning performance. Matt Damon was hot! *fans herself* There were a couple of lame bits, but in the space of 2 hours, the movie addressed so many different issues, both subtle and overt.

Like tolerance, and forgiveness. Of blood, sweat and tears.

About simply believing in yourself, even if people around you don't, and doing your best with what you have, regardless of the circumstances and against all odds.

How beyond colour and class, we're all human, with the same rights, the same needs and wants.

About standing up for what is right, and fighting for what you
believe in.

A reminder of how great people like Nelson Mandela are, with the kind of vision and philosophy that most leaders of the world today lack.

Watch the movie, if you haven't already. Trust me, it hits you right at the core :)

Making waves

This speech was made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen,at the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an Honorary PhD.

"I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work. You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk or your life on a bus or in a car or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul.

People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter's night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've received your test results and they're not so good.

Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the centre of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and them to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone and I meet them for lunch. I would be rotten, at best mediocre, at my job if those other things were not true.

You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay cheque, the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon or found a lump in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.

It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the colour of our kids' eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of to live.

I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned. By telling them this: Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face.

Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived".

(Credits go to Insee: thanks for sharing babe!)

Quote...unquote

I came across this today during the endless hours of procrastination:

'There comes a time in life when you have to let go of
all the pointless drama and the people who create it,
and surround yourself with people that make you laugh so
hard that you forget the bad and focus solely on the good.

After all, life is too short to be anything but happy.'

So nicely said :)

Colour blind

Yasmin Ahmad will be missed and remembered.

MJ sure rocked my world :)

I was watching snippets of his memorial service on TV today and was reminded of a quote from a book by Jeffery Archer: 'the popularity of an individual in life often only manifests itself in death'.

I wish people had appreciated MJ more in life, especially over the last few years, when he wasn't actively performing or at his peak; that they had judged his talent and music less by who he was, and more by how uniquely different and great it was. The outpouring of grief all over the world just goes to show how much his music brought people together; how one of the greatest entertainers of our era made an impact on people's lives that will probably last generations to come. I grew up listening to Billie Jean and Liberian Girl; my brother grew up trying to perfect the 'moonwalk'; my parents still have his albums that they bought in the 80s. I'm sure he's sold more albums this weekend than he has over the last couple of years, but music like his is timeless and he changed the face of entertainment in a way only few other people have. He may be gone, but he's left the world with a lot to remember him by.

As a personal tribute to him, I'm posting my favourite MJ video- I loved watching this as a kid, more for the changing faces in the video than anything else, but the song is still on my playlist today :)

Think again..

Advertising 1101: Honda got it right... ;)

Excerpt from the ad info:

There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in these images. Everything that you see happened in real time exactly as you see it. The recording required 606 takes and in the first 605 takes there always was something, usually of minor importance, that didn't work.

It was necessary for the recording team to install the set-up time after time and it took several weeks working day and night to achieve this effect.

The recording cost 6 million dollars and it took 3 months to finish, including the engineering design of the sequence. The duration of the video is only 2 minutes, but every time that Honda shows the commercial on British television, they make enough money to support any of us for the rest of our lives. However, this commercial has turned out to be the most displayed in the history of the Internet.

Honda execs think that it will pay for itself simply because of the free showings (Honda is not paying one cent for you to see it). When Honda senior execs viewed it, they immediately approved it without hesitation-including costs.

There are only six Honda Accords built by hand in the whole world, and to the horror of Honda engineers, the recording team disassembled two of them for the recording.

Everything you see in the sequence (besides the walls, floor, ramp and untouched Honda Accord) is part of those two automobiles. The voice is that of Garrison Keiller. The commercial was so well received by Honda execs when they saw it, that their first comment was how amazing the computer graphics were. They almost fell out of their chairs when told that the recording was real without any graphics manipulation.

By the way, about the wind shield wipers in the new Honda Accords, they are sensitive to water and designed to start working as soon as they get wet.

The long-term benefits of sunscreen ;)

This is something that always cheers me up, and it's about time I posted it. Bazz Luhrmann had it down right :)

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen...

You'll need a cup of coffee for this one...

... because it's a bit long, but worth every minute :) Kudos to my Dad once again :D

For those who like to read ;)
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/06.05/99-rowlingspeech.html

And for those who'd rather listen :)

Thoughts for my rainy Tuesday...

This is pretty old and I'm sure we've all seen it at some point, but today I went back and watched it again, and realised that the inspiration never fades...

The gifted among us...

Erin showed me this vid last night... And i couldn't stop thinking abt it... Take a look :)



It's a bit difficult to follow the talk show host without subtitles, but in short the little 5 yr old girl on piano is blind, and the little girl singing is only 6 or 7 yrs old, and they performed together for this talent show.. :) I'm still in awe :D

The little Korean pianist has never been to music lessons or been taught the piano... She had been adopted by a family when she was a baby and had just started playing the piano when she was 3 :| Here's a clip of her playing "Fur elise" :D (There are more clips showing how she can just follow a tune the moment she hears it)



And the little singer has her own album out! This is her singing "i will always love you" by Whitney Houston.. It completely blew me away :|



Vids like these are just awe inspiring... And they give me the goosebumps every time :)