My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done; and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.

- Maya Angelou

just caught voyage de la vie.

on the surface, it looks like any other circus act with the contortionist, juggler, acrobats.. and it ends nearly out of context with the lead finishing off with the voyage de la vie. if you didn't know already, "voyage de la vie" means "journey of the life".

"It's not about the destination. 'cos the moment you arrive you'll find what you're looking for has always been right there inside, right there in your heart. on this beautiful journey of life." - Voyage de la vie

sure, the show is amazing. breath-taking. lead singer needs better diction. viktor kee is amazing, and i'm not talking abt his costume during his juggling act.

each act, like every other circus act, increases in difficulty level. stunts get tougher. yet each performer brings it through and ends with an astounding finish.

each act reflects life, doesn't it?

everyone will go through challenges.. and with each new challenge, the old ones don't seem as daunting and become even routine. but it's not being able to overcome the challenge that matters. it's how you overcome it. that is, THE journey of life.

****

hooked on this song for now.

latest updates, the left eye is still swollen, as well as the left area above the cheekbone. other than that, i've done my work for the day and i'm a-ok.

given the time, i was looking at my ongoing personal projects

- earring website (still... pending.. ahahaha.)

- sgflea. completed. uploaded bags too!

- room

the room project is hopefully going to be done by end of the year. i've been surfing to get ideas and i came across this amazing website that reminded me of how much i just love melbourne. (photo credits all to TheDesignFiles.net

by Sarah Dingwall

by Georgie Kay

Georgie Kay's company has done some amazing events too. this is just too pretty!!!!

if ever i do get married, i want either style just for friends. the family can be stuffed into some random yummy tung lok restaurant.

random ramblings. but yes. The Design Files is currently my favorite design website. whee~

today, i was hit with another allergic reaction after lunch. not something that happens usually but it has happened before. swollen puffy eyes. itching throat.

this one more intense than the previous few.

when i was in the cab to the doctor's, i felt like i was dying. my whole body was itching. my throat hurt. i could barely open my eyes. and i was breathless. for a while, i felt like i was going to die.

how apt though. just last night, i was writing my own eulogy for my own funeral. random, i know. but the timing then.. as the cab ambered along bukit timah, i was wondering who i should contact to let them know about the eulogy.

it was the scariest feeling ever. i closed my eyes (not difficult..) and prayed. i just prayed. i couldn't tell if i was crying or not as my eyes were already tearing from the reaction since my eyes started to swell.



with His blessings, i'm fine right now, my right eye is nearly back to its original size. my left eye is slightly more than half of the original size. but it's an improvement nevertheless. despite the numerous pills i'm popping, i'm thankful that everything else is normal. sigh.

just before hari raya puasa, a few friends and i headed out to Holland Village for chicken wings, satay and beer. unfortunately, the satay never happened 'cos the store didn't sell satay in the evening (like huh...) and chicken wings were resigned to spicy wings in Harry's.

so while chilling in Harry's, we chatted/complained about the usual things, namely, work. one friend, D, shared his frustration. and he came up with the best analogy we have ever heard from him. a little background, he's trying to clean up stuff that have been left behind by people who are no longer around.

his analogy? he likened the situation to having a pig from long long ago. Pig A has been butchered. the tail is in one container. the ears in another container. he's found ears in one container. he's told that it belongs to Pig A, the pig he's looking for. there's no way to confirm that it belongs to Pig A as there is no tagging and no one else can confirm it. there are many other containers with many other ears.

hence also known as "GGFML"

we were naturally laughing throughout the entire night, even on our way home.

one of the girls, affectionately known as Pig, drove. D sat in the passenger seat and suddenly it was beeping. turned out he didn't put his seatbelt. we started to talk abt the sensors that had detected someone in the seat. i said it had to do with placement of weight. one friend said that there was a heat sensor.

then pesky, in her usual pesky way, asked what wld have happened if there were many many bowls of kway teow soup that were heavy and definitely way too hot. D played along and pretended to be a voice sensor of the car in a robotic tone, "I am sorry. Passenger combusting. Passenger combusting."

we died laughing in the car.


i seriously have mad friends.

so many.. so many rants that follow today's Townhall Conference. in essence, it was mindless propaganda to convince disgruntled staff that they have been empowered to make a difference and be the difference that they want to see. huh. heard it a million times... seen it flop a million times. stop lying to our face, dear Firm.

**

on a lighter note, after dinner, i sat in front of the telly and finished a show with my dad. based in chongqing, zhongshan, it was a true story about a man who carved 6,000 steps into the mountain for a woman that he loved. archived footages of the couple were sweet. really really sweet.

(read more on the couple here.)

the son of the couple recounts how the father would go down the mountain to gather food and what-nots while the mother stood outside the house diligently to await his return.

then you learn that the man fell sick... you hear how the woman he called his wife made her way down the mountain at 2 am in the rain to her son's place at the foot of the mountain to call for help... only to find out that she reached the bottom only at daybreak given her age... then how he passed away due to a stroke a few hours later when they returned.. and finally watching the elderly woman press her eyes in painful remembrance as she tells the camera how much she still wishes for the man she spent half a century loving to come back to get her, it hits you..



love really is just that pure and simple.



unconvulated by the complexities of today's world and the selfishness of man's sinful heart... pure and simple love does still exists.


that's one little thing i pray i'll never forget.

going to the toilet has turned into an excursion with the toilets on my floor deciding to take a renovation break. Not too bad. i get daily forced exercise when climbing up 2 flights of stairs to get the toilet on the 7th floor. retarded. but it works.

side note, in a bid to help a friend find apt songs to sing at our company's D&D (the attached responsibility of playing music buddy/dictionary to a friend), i found this one that i like. a lot. never knew the title. not the band. now i do.

enjoy.

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

something a few friends and i talked about. like how kids can no longer be punished in schools without parents going into overdrive about the kid's self esteem and yadda yadda what-have-yous.

we then agreed that if we ever had kids of our own, we would not spare the rod. simply because we turned out to be healthy adults with no self-esteem issues or anger mgt problems.

then i thought about it. it's simply back to the simple rule of nature: survival of the fittest. (for the lack of a better concept..)


kids born in the 80s used to always get caned or spanked. i firmly believe that the stronger ones always become more resilient. we always found a way to dodge the cane, be it throwing canes away or holding the cane hostage while hiding behind the couch. when hiding was no longer an option, we turn to prevention. we learnt what was approved and what wasn't.

we adapted to the 'abuse'. we grew stronger with each caning or punishment received. we don't have self-esteem issues. we don't blame anyone for our punishments. we take it, we adapt and we remain confident of ourselves as persons.

the weaker ones.. well.. crumble.


it's just part of life isn't it? you get what you give. God forbid that the world becomes filled with spoilt dumbasses. sigh.




on a side note, i think this will be an awesome show..

credits to leloveimage.blogspot.com

28 June 2003. wow.

sure, that was more than 7 years ago. i've had similar moments too. i can assure you that i have never doubted your feelings for her. i don't doubt that the way you feel is different now. it has to be different because you're older. because you've seen more of life. because you've moved on (i hope).

Only God knows how much you loved her back then. How happy she made you. how devoted you were to the girl who made you happy just by smiling and smsing you. How painless the relationship was until towards the end when it started to get screwed up. Only God knows how much pain you went through and how long it took you to finally get over her (assuming that you have already).

i don't know if it still hurts when you mention her now or not. but it probably does. and i'm quite sure you miss her tonnes, whether you admit it or not. you have to. you were seemingly selfless in your pursuit of her affections. she was your sunshine. your light. your hope. you were always bursting to declare how much she meant to you.

i promise, as your best friend, that i'll be there when the next one comes along to make sure that you will love her even more than you ever did with anyone. i'll make sure that she mends your heart if she should ever break it. we'll make the next one work, i promise.

if not, what kind of a best friend would i be if i can't help you be happy? it is my oligation. it is my responsibility. to you, here's to hoping. i'll cope.

you know sometimes you get that feeling that something bad has happened..

you call.. you sms.. no response..

and with every second ticking away, you find yourself becoming more nervous. more anxious. more afraid..


but you've done whatever you can do, short of being a psychotic-stalker..

what do you do?




you simply pray. you simply pray with all your heart that everything is ok. that everything is fine. that nothing is wrong. that the little chill in your heart and uneasiness in your tums will go away once you receive that sms or call.

i'm praying. just praying.

Hong Kong, oh Hong Kong...

it wasn't an intense trip. but it was oh-so-fun. exhilarating. holidays like this aren't going to happen anymore. i just know. each holiday is different from the other.

this one. just.. *sigh*

friday spelt the start of my leave period. or rather thursday evening when i left office deliriously happy and a huge load off my chest and back.


so i'm on leave until next sunday (whoots!). and yes, it's one of them self-discovery break from work. and i discovered that i want to be a stay-home wife/mom.


i'm not kidding.


as the bus trudged along orchard road, bringing me home, i stared wistfully at the afternoon crowd and wished i was part of it. it's not just the shopping. it's the ability to just do what you really want to do. like bake. cook. look after the kids. i actually want to do all that.


speaking of kids, i had the chance of 'influencing' a baby on the train again. the first time i exerted some form of power, i got a baby to nom the blankie. today, i was standing by the door and there was a baby just at the seat by the glass. for convenience's sake, let's address the kid as "he".


the kid was gurgling and grinning widely at me. i smiled back widely and stuck my tongue out. he looked at me, pressed his face against the glass and stuck his tongue, still pressed against the glass. he was just licking glass. i burst out in silent laughter.


anyway, i digress.. i'm not looking for a lifestyle of the rich and famous. i don't need to buy high-end luxury goods. i just want to do what i want to do.


one nice thing about this leave is the little gems that i find along the way. like at the takashimaya food festival, i found a really good roast! Mocambo coffee by the Drago family. even without sugar, the cafe latte had a buttery texture. and the aftertaste is sweet! absolute love. i spoke to the girl serving me and found out that they are opening up a cafe at the promenade mrt station. whoots!!


much to do this leave period. much to do. :)