The Outliers

Received this bestseller written by Malcolm Gladwell as a gift.  

After reading a few pages, a strong message conveys that I fall in either 1 of the 2 categories...really. 

1.0) Outlier 
2.0) Failure

I would have known better if I am an outlier, so logic tells me I am the latter. 

Let me read on and see if I stand any chances of any in-between. 

Wait a minute, but do I really want to be 

 1.5) mediocre?

In Search for a Bowl of Quality Ramen

At HK$120 a bowl, UME SHIO RAMEN definitely has made a statement and drew my attention.  I went for a trial but sadly to say it was not worth every cents of it.

This is the Plum with Salted Broth Ramen from MIST, which I ordered for lunch today. 

It has a slight hint of plummy citrus-ness, the broth was thin in taste and rather oily.  Pity one only gets 1 piece of BBQ pork to go with the big bowl, the high-class Ramen and the presentation of the whole thing nonetheless made up for the lost scores. 

All in all, I don't think there will be a next visit from me though. 

Creativity After A Rain Bath?

It was pouring dogs and cats out there but my mind was not at all disturbed by it.  

On the contrary, I decided to tune in and bathe in the rhythm of the rain, enjoyed a bit of reading, and was able to find a sense of tranquility very shortly after. 

What also came out of the rain bath, was a fair bit of creativity - hence this image creation, how about I called it "Me & Myself In The Mirror"?

Aino

Yup, rather tired of my old phone...here comes a new one after 7 months of having SE W995 in my pocket!

As far as feature phones go, I think Aino has pretty much everything I need.  

What's new for me would be the touchscreen navigation.  So far so good, the smooth sensitivity is there and I can't wait to load some touch-controlled Java games to play.  

Its Remote Play is also something very interesting.  

I should be able to wirelessly pair up with Sony's PlayStation 3 via Wi-Fi.  Not sure how well I can control my tennis swings with that though!

Stiletto

In a magazine I read today, the queen of erotic imagery, Madonna recently compared buying shoes to having sex!

According to the designer Jimmy Choo, the singer told him that buying a pair of his shoes is more satisfying than having sex with a man.

   

She said: "At least you know they are going to last forever."

Victoria Beckham said she can concentrate better when wearing heals.  

What about this pair of Stilettos?  Perhaps only ballet dancers will find its appeal and I'd marvel anyone who aren't and dare walk on it.

A Tweety Resignation

He is the pioneer in corporate blogging and I have been a loyal follower of his blog, until he decided to flee and hide from the public since May last year, after he happily sold his company to Oracle.

For a reason beyond any fathom I can measure, I failed to follow him on Twitter! I am attempting to kick myself on what I am missing, as he tweets his way out of Sun/Oracle.

See that bottle of juice he's holding?  

I gave him that and I remember congratulating him on gaining the throne when I first met him in an Analyst Summit.  That had to be in early Feb 2005!  


So long, farewell!

"Simplicity Is Best" Album OUT NOW!

 

Simple food, nostalgic decor, 

autographed CD covers from Capital Artists...

It's SIZZLING HOT, so DON'T MISS OUT

the newly opened Capital Cafe

in the Wanchai NEAR YOU! 

Over a cuppa and a sandwich, I was able to travel back by time tunnel to Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui's heydays and hence the attempt to design the CD cover above as my pic of the day.

Charming Molecular Mixology

Chemistry just isn't a word that most people associate with cocktails.  I came across this years ago, I said I will go try many a times and finally, I experienced the thrill of it all tonight with a friend.  

 

Molecular Mixology is the term applied to the process of creating "edible cocktails" using the scientific techniques of molecular gastronomy.  

"It's about changing the texture, density or viscosity, the molecular structure of a liquid," says Hong Kong's most renowned mixologist Antonio Lai at FINDS.  

Tonight, I was honoured to have Antonio made us 3 of his spectacular signature drinks - A foamy Earl Grey Tea Martini with caviar pearls, bite-sized icy cubes made from mixing Bombay Sapphire with liquid Nitrogen and finally an adorable Godiva Liqueur Burst jelly to finish!

Man....I tell ya, my taste buds were in heaven and I can't be more thankful that they are. 

Swarovski Bombay Sapphire

Gin best typifies chic and sophistication and I think it was Premium Bombay Sapphire's Original Dry Gin that taught all the other performers how to act.

I took this at the airport and regrettably for display only and not for sale.  

Otherwise, this limited edition bottle studded with Swarovski crystals dazzles bright enough to knock me out even before I can pop open the bottle!

Perfectly Lonely

John Mayer's performance in Beacon Theatre on his latest plug - Perfectly Lonely...

Love his talent and the music that he brings...go straight to 4'25" if you want to see the guitar duo jam.

Dusk Till Dawn

When I was young, I always got mixed up with the words Dusk and Dawn.  Did you ever have this problem or was it only me?  

Well, then I devised a way of distinguishing the two.  The word "Dusk" sounds like "Dust" and dusts will be mostly settled by day end and...there you go...that's my wicked way of memorizing those 2 words.

Here's not 1 but 2 photos of the day, titled Dusk Till Dawn - An absolutely beautiful day today for me. 

I am thankful for waking up to a lovely sun rise and ended the day with a spectacular sun set.   

Regrets I have a few

I did something that I regret, or precisely, I should say, I didn't do something and therefore I am regretting big time right now.

And it is not the first time.

When I packed for my trip, I was contemplating whether to bring my 70-300mm and the standard 50mm, along with the 17-40mm.

At first, I pulled out the 70-300mm as I thought that would be unnecessary.  Guess what...at the last minute, even the 50mm was withdrawn!  Tripod was totally out of the picture from the beginning of course, and guess what went in my rucksack instead? A brolly!

Yes, a brolly.  I heard you laughed.

That was where it all went wrong.  If weight was my concern, why would I bring a brolly which you knew I won't use in this sort of weather anyway.  I must be out of my mind!

I think I have to face the fact that if I am ever going to be serious about photography, I should be prepared to be bogged down by weights.

I am going to carry EVERYTHING with me next time, so this disappointed look of mine won't happen again!

What I called Great Customer Service

 
Background:
I was supposed to go to REP via HAN.  I turned up at the gate 30 minutes before departure, only to be notified that the plane will be 2 hours delayed, which meant I will miss my connecting flight.  

Great customer service means thinking ahead standing on the customer's shoes, and before anyone could react - provide the victim with a viable solution.

Solution provided:  

• Re-routed HKG - SGN - REP, upgraded to Business
• Free flow of cocktail Mimosa, Champagne, OJ, coffee
• Luggage happily waiting for me at REP

In Return: 
The satisfied customer (who obviously had a few drinks) took the effort and appraised the team with excellence in customer service. 

The Lull Before The Storm?

"Where is everybody?"

Hello.........((((((hello))))))........(((hello))).....(hello)...anybody here?...((here?))...(here?)

 

My Midnight Snack

They look like sour cream and onion potato chips, but they are not.  They are Seaweed and salt potato chips from Calbee - my midnight snack to keep me sane through a 5-hour long webcast.

Here's my pic of the day - to commemorate this special day when Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) finally announced it had completed its acquisition of Sun Microsystems, Inc.  The day when Sun set to be Oracle's.  

And yes, there were bigger chips in the bag, but all gone in the last 10 mins into the webcast, way before I remembered to take photo as my pic of the day. 

A Founder's Emotional Attachment

I have had the chance to watch McNealy on stage many times and to interview him face-to-face. He was always performing some kind of role. As a statesman, clown, practical joker, visionary etc.

One of Silicon Valley's last true characters has now signed off - Sun's founder McNealy has sent a final goodbye memo to his staff today, said there was an interesting book to be written about Sun, but he wasn't going to write it. He said the company was sometimes better at inventing stuff than making money, in which I can't agree more.

Finally he said Sun was 'way more fun than any other company. By far.  From our dress code (You must!) to beer busts to our April Fools' pranks to SunRise.  Again...I can acknowledge each and every one of it.  


The memo I read today was not full of marketing dreck.  It is definitely one of those rare expressions of a founder’s emotional attachment to his company.




This photo was taken a few years back in Shanghai when I first met Scott McNealy, but I am going to be loud and proud and stick this one in as one of my daily photos for Project 340.

The Authentic Tram #120

I was finally able to catch this tram, right in front of a historical landmark - The Pawn!

 

My special love about this tram is that it is the only tram in Hong Kong still maintaining the original 1950s' double-deck design.

The cabin of this oldest running tram is varnished with its original light-green colour, topped with advertisements at the time.

Next time, I must target to hop on one, so I can take pics of its teak-lined windows and rattan seats inside.

Project 340

People often say that their whole lives flashed before their eyes after they experienced a traumatic event. Perhaps it’s a bit morbid, but I think that sounds pretty incredible.

It is coming to the 25th day into the new year, and after some serious dreading and procrastinating, I have come up with a project plan.  Yes, a plan.  

A project to take a picture each day, write something about it and then post it somewhere.

Ok...the plan has just been adjusted as I type.  I decided to start from tomorrow so I can literally call it Project 340, instead of 341!

As photo uploading gets easier and camera phones get smarter, I am thinking, giving myself such a project that requires me to commit to this degree isn't that bad, right?

I must say the movie Julie & Julia was where this idea tripped my trigger, it's time to get documenting!

340 and counting!

Hello 2010

One good thing about new year resolution is you are entitled to the full 365 days to complete whatever you have in mind.   

12 days into the new year and I realised I have been taking a longer-than-expected break from blogging.  I thought to myself, it has been nearly 2 months since my last entry, there really is no big deal if I leave it for another 2 months, right?   I can tell you a whole list of excuses for not writing, but I do not think this is something of interest to you, or is it?

Another year has passed, another chapter closed, another digit to add to my numerical age.  What do all these mean to me? 

I was asked at count down, the difference in my life between 2009 and the one before.  I practically could not answer. 

So, what I did, I picked up a pen, got a piece of paper and started doing some tallying on things that mattered to me in 2009

• Wrote 45 blog entries, accumulated 5,000 page views
  
• Attended 4 weddings and a funeral
• Organised 12 birthday parties & 5 school reunions 
  
• Enjoyed 5 live concerts & watched 10 movies in the cinema
  
• Enrolled in a photography class and a tennis class (both dropped out midway)
• Took up a handful of freelance and proof-reading jobs which helped pay the bills
• Survived a 5-hour long operation

Are you keen to reinvent yourself in 2010? Or at least use the new year as a long overdue excuse to get rid of bad habits or pick up new ones?

Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time of year when we feel as if we have to turn over a new leaf. The time when we misguidedly imagine that the arrival of a new year will magically provide the catalyst, motivation and persistence we need to reinvent ourselves.

Whatever your resolution may be for 2010, please be reminded not to forget about your own health and happiness.

A Wish On His Birthday...

Can you but feel my sorrow, can you feel my pain,
or even see my tears fell down like rain,
know of the sickness and of the strain,
all of this I must endure again and again.

All of the drugs, the chemicals too,
the treatments I've been through,
from all those injections,
come bruises often black and blue.

Now I look so different, now I look strange,
for in this battle my body must change,
to defeat this cruel killer,
my life I must rearrange.

Cells in my body are me trying to kill,
to win this great fight I must have the will,
your help and love is all I ask,
to get me through this onerous task.

Every day and every night,
against this cancer I must battle and fight,
while I cry and weep,
this single thought I keep.

Reclaim my life, reclaim my right,
keeps me going night after night,
to live and to love are not only my birthday right,
I will not surrender, I will always fight.

I was reminded I haven't talked to the Dead!

Facebook has a new way to annoy its users and it is this dumb feature that attempts to get you reconnect with your friends - "friends" that you haven't spoken to or interacted in a while.

So they think they know the world's population now huh?  I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to be reminded that I haven't "talked" lately to a friend that has passed away!

To resolve that, may be I should put my act together to fill in this form and help them identify its deceased member(s).  

Music Simmers & Bathes in Moonlight

I bought the movie tickets a month ago, fearing its hit smashing the box office.

The day came and as I watched Michael Jackson's This Is It, I can't help but find my toes constantly tapping to every beat and my head nodding to his grooves.  I had the urge to clap at the end of every song rehearsed but have to remind myself I was actually sitting in a cinema!  It's sort of mixed feelings really. 

It's fascinating to watch Michael Jackson controlled every nuance of the performance, from the dancers' cues to details in the music that a layperson like me would never notice.

The most interesting part has to be the words he used to describe things: music simmers and bathes in moonlight.

Even though I'd probably never go to see Michael Jackson in concert, I can see that the show would have thrilled and amazed fans, and that this film will be one way for them to experience just a bit of what could have been.

The Dilemma of Shortening Jeans

A common problem that I come across when buying premium denim jeans is that the length often need adjusting.

I recently invested in a pair of Levi's Premium that I adore but I cannot simply have them taken up without ruining the vintage look I have just paid top dollar for.

I can't believe how lucky when I found a tailor that can shorten jeans and then reattach the original hem with an invisible seam. Don't ask me how they do it, but I guarantee you wouldn't be able to tell mine have been shortened - an investment that is definitely in the money.

Change The World

Only recently, I realised if I can raise the spirits of just one person for a few hours, I can consider changed the world.

Because of my action, this person might go on to encourage and raise the spirits of someone else, thus setting up a chain reaction. There's no knowing where this might lead, but I imagine the world will have changed for the better.


Michael Jackson once said something about changing the world we are living in,

"We're Here to Stimulate, Eliminate And Congregate,
Illuminate We Are Here To Change The World"

Eric Clapton wrote a song about it too

"If I could reach the stars I'd pull one down for you
Shine it on my heart so you could see the truth
That this love I have inside is everything it seems
But for now I find it's only in my dreams"

I guess when these great writers wrote these songs, they didn't mean we can all change the entire world forever so there be problem free everywhere. They knew this is impossible to achieve overnight, but...let it not be the mother of procrastination or our inaction.

Think about this, what you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever but in its place is something you left behind.

So...let it be something good - even the smallest change is a change worth making.

Simply Wordless

There's a woman I know who lost her beloved daughter over a year ago and she's still not over with it. She will shed a bitter tear or two all of a sudden, out of nowhere, and just like tonight, I would have thought I must have said something inappropriate to have triggered that.

After certain point, I know for a fact that a parent will never come to terms with the loss of his/her child, however long that period of time has been.

I came across this

A woman who lost her husband is called widow;
A man who lost his wife is called widower;
Kids who lost their parents are called orphans

but there's no word to describe parents who lost their child...that's how bad the loss is!

The Founding of A Republic Propaganda

The Founding of a Republic isn’t the greatest movie of all times, but as a Chinese, it’s definitely worth watching and particularly timely so, during the nation's 60th birthday.

If you are familiar with the history of the Chinese Civil War you should enjoy it even more, partly to check if they have changed anything and partly to appreciate how they portrayed what happened over 60 years ago.

If you are like me, who is cynical about the whole Communist Party of China, you will still be able to walk out appreciating the movie for not being a shameless propaganda piece but rather, a genuinely well-made film starring countless familiar celebrities.

The movie helps me remember one of the most contentious and pivotal moments of modern Chinese history. Well, for point scoring's sake, at least I know how we came up with our national anthem and the meaning to the design of our national flag.

Consider cramping 65 years of history and roll that out in just under 2.5 hours! It's not bad.

Recipe: Mussels in White Wine and Crème Fraîche

Blue Mussels from France are right now in season and I didn't realise I have passion for Mussels until this day.

Mussels can be found virtually anywhere in the world, but these one from France are the best and the fattest because the water is warmer than in Brittany and Normandy.

If you want a taste of the pure sweet delight, here's how:

1. In a wide skillet with a lid, melt butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and shallot, and stir until very soft and beginning to turn gold, about 5 minutes; do not let them brown.
   
3. Add thyme and bay leaf and stir.
   
4. Add wine and 1 cup water and bring to a boil over high heat.
   
5. Add mussels, cover, and cook until open, about 4 minutes.
   
6. Transfer mussels to serving bowls with a slotted spoon and boil liquid in the pan until reduced to a sauce.
   
7. Turn off heat and whisk in crème fraîche and salt and pepper to taste.
   
8. Pour over mussels and serve with crusty bread.

Never Give Up Hope

I have been following a blog lately, written by a mother whose child was diagnosed of stage 4 Neuroblastoma at age of 10 months old.

I'm in awe that someone who is going through such a difficult time can capture so much of the emotion & love in writings on a daily basis.

Her blog started about 2.5 years ago, is till continuing this day and her sharing, which is both positive and informative, not only is helpful to all desperate parents out there, it also serves as a reminder on how strong we human being can be when faced with obstacles, whether you are an infant or an adult.

I then recalled a conversation with my bedridden friend in her last demise days one Christmas eve, here was how it went...


“Do you know what I wished for?”

“I’m going to tell you my wish even though you’re not supposed to tell wishes. Because I want you to remember it.”

“OK. But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“Listen. I wished to live 4 times on earth. I want to live 4 times."

And then she paused, thinking about it, checking to see if she had put the right words to her deepest, most private yearning. I had my heart in my throat, afraid to breathe, willing myself to remember every second. And then she continued:


“Yes, I wish to live. Because I really like it here.”


This is how strong and positive we can all be. Never give up hope!

A Bane of My Existence

Rubik’s cube has always been a bane of my existence.

I was only able to solve one side as far as I remember, and absolutely no idea what to do after that.

I was also totally hopeless when introduced with the beginner's solution which requires memorizing a few algorithms - let alone this 12-sided IQ Pentagon puzzle.

A Bizarre Hue

As I expected, twitter went nuts with tweets about the apocalyptic red morning in Sydney.

It really was that bizarre changing hue and not been edited in photoshop.

Why Be Perpetually Late?

Haven't been writing for as frequent as I envisaged, because it took me a while to figure that there exists a norm for people to be perpetually late. Or I hate to say it is currently "in fashion".

I have always made a concerted effort to be on time or, usually early for every appointment, with few exceptions really, but every exception had been an opportunity for me to learn how to better manage the same circumstances next time.

Punctuality has become a trust issue in the western society. When you make an appointment, you are making a commitment to be where you said you’d be when you said you’d be there. You said you’d be here at 9 o’clock, but you are not here. If your word is not good enough about something as trivial as showing up on time, how can your word be any good about anything more important?

OK, you can almost always blame the traffic and come out clean and innocent, but if you think about it, if you can’t even consider the possibility of a little extra traffic in today’s western society, can I count on you to be handling anything else?

The attitude of the chronically late person who, when confronted, says,

“But I’m always on time for the things that are important.”

The message is loud and clear - when I’m late, it’s because I really don’t feel that whatever I’m late for is all that important.

For people I have a date with, I can only assure you that you are important and that your time is too valuable for me to be late.

The Etiquette of Facebooking

Once upon a time, the sentence "Everybody and their mom are on Facebook!" would have been gross hyperbole for the fact that the social networking site started allowing non-Ivy Leaguers to sign up.

Now, everybody. And. Their. Mom. Is. On. Facebook.

Yes, even your mom, who's probably not as IT technical as my very IT technical mom, is on Facebook.

In facebook, Jo Blogg posted his status as
"is organising an upcoming event named Jo is lonely and needs a friend Party".

In Jo Blogg's upcoming event page, it shows
Confirmed Guests (0), Maybe Attending (0), Awaiting Reply (8), Not Attending (259)!

How much does this information convey you about this person named Jo Blogg?

Let's say her mom read it and would probably reply
"What did you mean by lonely? Your father and I are very worried…”

Sure, Facebook can be a great tool for keeping up with folks who are important to you. Take the newsy status update for example, it is a real-time window into a friend's life. If you don't like, you can always ignore, but if you feel like, you can always express with a thumb up.

Nonetheless, as Facebook is getting sprawlingly more powerful, we have to be extra careful we don't create pointless twaddles and end up being
framed as one of the 12 most annoying types of Facebookers featured in cnn.com.

As I was writing this article, a friend of mine artfully sent me How Facebook Ruins Friendships.

Alrighty, go ahead, be deadly truthful.
Am I an evil facebook user? Feel free to be anonymous with your comments.

But before you do, I am going to post this blog entry on my facebook profile!

Bravo - The Mestizo Did It Again!

There has gotta be something about the mixing of the European and Amerindian origins in their population, which once again, made history when Miss Universe 2008 crowned her successor from the same country - where else but - Venezuela!

Miss China, Wang Jingyao, didn't do too bad, was named Miss Congeniality and Miss Thailand, Chutima Durongdej, won Miss Photogenic.

There must be some unique qualities that the Mestizo possesses which help them maintain their unparalleled record at winning international pageants and make them the world's most successful national beauty title.

Many of the contestants undergo life-long continuous preparation to compete in these is one, in which I think our little Miss Hong Kongs have much to learn from!

Sounds Familiar?

The worst sin a man can commit with the woman in his life is not to listen to her when she is speaking. Every man has heard the woman accuse, angrily,
“You’re not listening to me!”

The typical male response is to quickly say, “Yes, I am.”

Then she has you. She folds her arms and asks demandingly, “All right, then. What did I just say?”

It is only if he can feed it back to her with some accuracy that she knows for sure that he was really listening.

Sounds familiar?

According to a book that I am reading "The Power of Charm", the author states that when a woman communicates and what shows in a MRI scan, would be a full seven centers of her brain involved while in men, it is only two.

Men often listen halfheartedly to women, especially if the television is on. That’s because men can only process one sensory input at a time. They cannot, for example, both watch television and listen to someone else speaking, which women can do much more easily.

Here comes the relevance and precis of the book: for you to become a completely charming person, you must learn to master the techniques of listening - especially if you are a man.

The Salutation Worthy of Your Respect

My parents are wonderful, but there are people I know that really aren't that fortunate to claim they have wonderful folks.

I was at lunch with my cousin, my parents and an aunt, we were talking about honouring our folks. My cousin kind of scoffed at that and outright told me that her mother wasn't really worthy of being honoured.

As a matter of fact, that comment from her was rather abrupted and at that instance, I was not in the position to judge whether or not the mother's worthy of her daughter's salutation.

I, however, began to shed light on myself, thinking would it ever come to the minds of my parents, my sister, my friends, my relatives and even colleagues at work, that I am not worthy of whom I am being called?

I am a manager at work, the elder sister at home, a daughter to my parents and last but not least, friend of some friends and who knows, I could be someone's best friend too I supposed.

• Have I been a good employee and fulfilled duties at work?
• Have I looked after my younger sister and made her look up to me?
• Have I been a good daughter that made my parents proud?
• Have I reached out to friends and be there when they needed help?
• Have I earned enough respect to be called someone's best friend?
• And, if I ever become a god mother, am I capable of whom I am being called?

That really got me thinking but it was a good reflection exercise.

Need No Alarm Clocks

Human being has survived for most of our history without these confounded noisemakers - alarm clocks.

Why would you need one now? The answer, of course, is that everyone else has one, and it would look bad if you were the only one wandering into the office two hours late.

But like momma said, just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean you should.

I know it is well to be up before day break, but my problem is, no matter what time I go to sleep I always wake up within 10 minutes of 6:30am and I deserve more rest!

If they have alarm clocks to wake us up, do they have clocks that make you sleep longer?

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

"After the big C, you just don't sweat the small stuff."

This came out from Samantha Jones in Sex In The City, who, although was the most sexually promiscuous out of the 4 girls featured in the series, I admired her courageous attitude when she faced the challenge of breast cancer head-on, played with her looks by wearing outrageous wigs or hats during her chemotherapy.


Revisiting the TV series reminded me that we should always appreciate being alive, keep our emotions like anger and dissatisfaction in proper perspective, and cherish other people as the unique miracles they are.

We should force ourselves to be thankful that we can 1) smell - if not roses - whatever is sitting in front of our noses. 2) Make sure our ears are for listening, not for hearing and 3) always taste the food we eat before we swallow.

No Matter If You're Black or White?

Nintendo Wii will have a bit of a makeover and a face lift from pearly white to shiny black.

This black console is being released in Japan as of 1st August but there isn’t a release date for the rest of the world.

It will be sold on the shelves for ¥25,000 and that is when you need to throw away your white accessories, as you will be needing a Black Wii Mote with a rubber jacket for ¥3,800; a Black Nunchuk for ¥1,800; and a Black Classic Controller Pro for ¥2,000 to go alongside the new buddy.

Will you itch for a switch?

It Never Rain But It Pours

When troubles come, they often seem to come all at once or at any rate, no sooner has one problem been dealt with then another appears.

As Shakespeare put it in Hamlet, "When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions."

I realised this saying probably isn't just superstition when I came across Stephen Covey's Habit 3 "First Thing First". Giving it some thoughts, troubles come in three could literally be true, say if you are struggling to deal with one thing, then usually trivial difficulties can actually, not apparently be felt like big ones.

To take an everyday example, say in the middle of a domestic crisis you are more likely to forget to pay an important bill than you normally would. Thus you soon find that you are dealing with several problems at once.

According to Stephen Covey, he explains that most of us are driven by the concept of urgency, whereas we really ought to reorganise the way we spend our time based on the concept of importance - not urgency.

1. Important and Urgent (crises, deadline-driven)
2. Important, Not Urgent (preparation, prevention, planning)
3. Urgent, Not Important (interruptions, many pressing matters)
4. Not Urgent, Not Important (trivia, time wasters)

So, step back a little, don't let any crisis fool you. First thing first.

Popeye, you are wrong!

At my youth days, I was told the iron in spinach would make me strong, the notion propagated by Popeye the sailor-man.

I read somewhere online today that because scientists failed to sufficiently remove clinging soil in the labs, iron levels appeared unusually high in certain vegetables like spinach!

Which basically translated to "Spinach does not actually contain as exorbitant amount of iron as Popeye expected."

Now, tell me what to believe and what not!

May be I should stick with steak, just like Popeye's hamburger-eating friend Wimpy; or eat only orchids just like his other animal friend - at least he could tell the future!

Did You See Me Coming?

Ok, this is not about Pet Shop Boy's latest single!

I have been reading some proxy statements from SEC filings and something suddenly cropped up.


Fact 1:
The world’s second largest yacht shown here is owned by the world's ninth richest man in the world - Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of Oracle.



Fact 2:
Larry is worth around $18 billion, so he can easily afford to have a boat of this magnitude, which costs over $13 million each year to just maintain her (about 30 metres longer than a soccer field).

Fact 3:
Speaking of boats and this has been known for years, Larry’s yacht is called “Rising Sun.”

Fact 4:
Oracle acquired Sun 2 months ago...

Did anyone not see this coming years ago?

Medical Jargons

Why the heck do doctors use freaking weird jargons?

Example: Take the word "megakaryocytes".
What does this mean to you? Sound like some sort of Transformer? Megatron perhaps?



This word actually has nothing to do with Transformers. Megakaryocytes are actually the cells in the bone marrow that are responsible for creating platelets.

Why don't they just call them the "platelet-making-cells"? Sure, it's a little longer but only a by a little. They could well shorten it even more by making it one word: plateletmakingcells.

Megakaryocytes vs plateletmakingcells. Hmmm...the latter isn't that bad, is it?
They could very easily use simple English words that make total sense.

Using normal words would save every medical student from learning all these nifty little words that - no one in the normal population uses.

But then, after they completed that doctorate degree and then worked in the medical field for a while, you will then find that you no longer have diarrhea, you now have gastroenteritis....Did someone came in with a cracked collar bone? No no no, they came in with a fractured clavicle! Neuroblastoma Carcinoma - why can't it simply be referred to cancer in the adrenal glands for crying out loud.

Standing Still

I found during a time of shock or pain or grief, it's often difficult to concentrate on anything for any length of time.

If you’ve ever googled cancer poems, you should have come across this:

What Cancer Can Not Do
by Anonymous

Cancer is so limited…
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendship(s)
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit.

To me, there's some truth in it, but it really depends on which state you are in. If you are a newcomer when your world is at a stand-still, telling you all these would be a load of crap and you'd think it's absolute bullshit when you are still comprehending what just happened.

May be down the line, after some denials, some acceptance and some actual battleships, these so called chicken-soup for the soul will begin to sink in a little.

To B&B,

I came to know that depths of grief which bereavement brings. But I also learnt that faith and hope and that it is possible to come out safely on the other side, changed but also strengthened.
I wish you all well.

Auntie Audrey

Severe Sweet Tooth

OK, it's been 2 years since my last dental visit and I admit it has been longer than it should.

I have always pride myself with a good track record orally, so when my dentist told me 2 cavities and some early sign of decay were found, it got me thinking.

I am blaming the severe sweet tooth that got worse in the last 2 years.

Time to cut out the habit of prolonged chewing of gums, no more intake of coffee (hard to let go but yes, no more) and start flossing!

The Final Break?

Saw the extra 2-hour movie version of the Prison Break: The Final Break on Fox last week.

Michael and Sara got married and then no surprise, it was Sara's turn to be locked in Fox River for the murder of Christina Scofield.

We had who else but the experienced gang of prison breakers, Linc, Sucre and Mahone who helped break her out. Michael died not because of his brain tumour, but sacrificed himself in the ordeal.

They made it look so darn easy to break a fool-proved prison and that bit was rather ridiculous. The last 2 minutes of the movie was really touching though and not to be missed.

I read somewhere that they are thinking of a Season 5… but how on earth they do that when Schofield's dead now?!

I will sure miss Prison Break if that's the end of it all.