It's June the 1st of 2011, we are already stepping closer to the half a year mark. So, what have you achieved? The resolutions you have written down and set for yourself at the start of the year, have they been fulfilled, or still in the process, or you haven't done anything yet? the start of the remaining 7 months of 2011 serves as a good reminder that you and I still have resolutions that we haven really worked on it.
Hmm, let's see how have I spent the last 5 months. I believe the past 5 months were very well spent, for me at least, of course every decision i made have to be companied with some sacrifices.
I'm 21 this year, the top in the list of course, is my 21st birthday! :)
Starting on the 10 Feb 2011, I had a series of celebrations all the way till the 14 Feb 2011. I had my longest birthday celebration ever in my life! All thanks to my wonderful family and friends! Next up, was my precious and long awaited ORD!
Seriously, I really thought ORD would be the happiest day of my life, but sadly it wasn't. Thinking that my army mates and I aren't going to be together everyday in the same bunk, slogging our guts out in all saikangs, be happy together and angry together, i had rather mixed feelings. Of course, getting back my well deserved freedom and also come out as a grown up made me feel that all that I have gone through was rather worth it.
Next up, I got myself a job. It was not an easy decision because on one hand, I wanted to have all the time for myself to do body maintainance (not sleeping, duh!), and to be able to do whatever I like, on the other hand I also want to gain exposure and working experience by working, of course the main motivation is money! i thought the latter was more important thus I have decided to work instead. I didn't feel happier but I felt very restricted, 80% of my day is taken up for working and I also have SOKA events like NDP to take care of. Suffocating i suppose?
Next up, is the big thing once in every 5 years - elections. I have made a blog post earlier on about this so i dont wish to comment more, we all hope for the best :)
That's about how i spent my 5 months, and I am seeing more exciting 7 months coming by, I having transformation *:P*, NDP, and also SMU. Challenges in life shall be the motivation for me to fight on. Jiayou!
Have you been happy and satisfied with the past 5 months?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
monday :)
I'm having one of my worst monday ever today. How's your monday? I can remember very clearly that I had a very hard time dragging myself out of bed this morning. The bed might have been far too comfortable, and also accompanied with the monday blues. I was seriously reluctant to leave my bed today. The whole first 2-3 hours of the morning, I felt so so sleep deprived (not to mention that I slept at 12mn yesterday).
What made the morning worse was, I realised that I have gotten abit rounder (i emphasies, ABIT), or maybe not. However, I can still fit to all the fitting clothes that I have so perhaps the gain wasn't very significant. It saddens me because I seriously don't want to go back to my past size. Hey, this is gonna stop. I'm so going to start exercising again man. I remembered I was in a dilemma when I ponder over whether I want to come out to work or have alot of free time for myself so that I can really make use of these few months to keep fit and slim myself even more. I seriously thought I could manage, but never did I expect work can be so mentally tiring that I sometimes couldn't even bring myself out for a run. Lots of commitments other than work didnt help as well. I chose to gain work experiences and earn $$$, and thus I was prepared that these might just happen. I believe it still not too late to put a halt. I will never allow myself to go back to where I came from :). I will never succumb to the post-ord-get-fat syndrome! Thursday is gonna be the start of my transformation :),
Today's work was as boring and mundane as usual. I'm getting really sick of office jobs. Now i finally understand why the previous temp prefer to work for just 2 months (it was even lesser at first but was asked to extend). Well, for the $$$, I had no choice but to work. Sadly to say, majority of this $$$ will be spent, for the things I want, a Samsung Galaxy S2 maybe? hahah.
I'm facing new stuffs at work every single day, and I have to deal with many problems every day. The new problem I face today might have been one of the most complicated because even my superior does not understand what has to be done, so we basically just explore, sent a few emails, made a few calls, get chided and told off for something that I dont even know why they are angry about... was rather angsty actually. The problem with my workplace is there isn't a standard guideline to follow within the department itself, and we, as temps are always the middleman, trying to explain to the people, and thus we get scolded. Hmmm. Luckily the employees know that I'm just a temp didnt really flare at me, it was quite stressful though. Are all companies like that?
Next, received a not-so-good news from someone close to me, and I began to worry again. The whole day today has been filled with many emotions. Fun, laughter, anger, upset, worry...
My colleagues has been very nice, we can talk to each other very well and also share each other's sorrows. Many bitching sessions going around, not from me, im just a listener. I understand the perm staff's jobs are much worse, and I can understand why they have so much complaints. It's good to have someone willing to listen to them.
The worst thing that happened today was, I was attacked by migraine again! This is the 3rd consecutive monday I'm suffering from migraine! What's happening? I seriously think it's due to not enough sleep. My head was spinning and splitting towards the end of work, thankful I didnt vomit at my my workplace or in the bus. I grabbed panadols and consumed them once I reach home, and went to sleep. Woke up to watch the last episode of the In-Laws and then I'm here to blog.
Guess this is one of the very few ranting posts that I will have :)
Have a nice day :)
What made the morning worse was, I realised that I have gotten abit rounder (i emphasies, ABIT), or maybe not. However, I can still fit to all the fitting clothes that I have so perhaps the gain wasn't very significant. It saddens me because I seriously don't want to go back to my past size. Hey, this is gonna stop. I'm so going to start exercising again man. I remembered I was in a dilemma when I ponder over whether I want to come out to work or have alot of free time for myself so that I can really make use of these few months to keep fit and slim myself even more. I seriously thought I could manage, but never did I expect work can be so mentally tiring that I sometimes couldn't even bring myself out for a run. Lots of commitments other than work didnt help as well. I chose to gain work experiences and earn $$$, and thus I was prepared that these might just happen. I believe it still not too late to put a halt. I will never allow myself to go back to where I came from :). I will never succumb to the post-ord-get-fat syndrome! Thursday is gonna be the start of my transformation :),
Today's work was as boring and mundane as usual. I'm getting really sick of office jobs. Now i finally understand why the previous temp prefer to work for just 2 months (it was even lesser at first but was asked to extend). Well, for the $$$, I had no choice but to work. Sadly to say, majority of this $$$ will be spent, for the things I want, a Samsung Galaxy S2 maybe? hahah.
I'm facing new stuffs at work every single day, and I have to deal with many problems every day. The new problem I face today might have been one of the most complicated because even my superior does not understand what has to be done, so we basically just explore, sent a few emails, made a few calls, get chided and told off for something that I dont even know why they are angry about... was rather angsty actually. The problem with my workplace is there isn't a standard guideline to follow within the department itself, and we, as temps are always the middleman, trying to explain to the people, and thus we get scolded. Hmmm. Luckily the employees know that I'm just a temp didnt really flare at me, it was quite stressful though. Are all companies like that?
Next, received a not-so-good news from someone close to me, and I began to worry again. The whole day today has been filled with many emotions. Fun, laughter, anger, upset, worry...
My colleagues has been very nice, we can talk to each other very well and also share each other's sorrows. Many bitching sessions going around, not from me, im just a listener. I understand the perm staff's jobs are much worse, and I can understand why they have so much complaints. It's good to have someone willing to listen to them.
The worst thing that happened today was, I was attacked by migraine again! This is the 3rd consecutive monday I'm suffering from migraine! What's happening? I seriously think it's due to not enough sleep. My head was spinning and splitting towards the end of work, thankful I didnt vomit at my my workplace or in the bus. I grabbed panadols and consumed them once I reach home, and went to sleep. Woke up to watch the last episode of the In-Laws and then I'm here to blog.
Guess this is one of the very few ranting posts that I will have :)
Have a nice day :)
Saturday, May 28, 2011
finally! :)
I intended to blog 2 days ago but I just could not access into my account because of some cork ups with blogger. :(. Oh well, its better to be late than never. How's your week?
On Thursday, my army clique and I went to watch Kungfu Panda II! I am proud to say that I'm actually one of the first few to watch this movie. Cartoon movies are interesting but I always thought we could just have bought the DVD to watch because it's much cheaper. LOL. Well, I like to step into the movie theatres to enjoy the movie too :).
This picture was self taken so our faces looks especially big. But oh well, we have J, S, A and X! P was supposed to be inside the picture too but he didnt watch the movie with us afterall due to his 'other commitments' :P.
Kungfu Panda II was great, one of the nicest animation movies ever. You people can pick this movie to watch if you are clueless on what good movies are there to watch :)
Had NDP Trainings, and there were many thoughts. The majority of the participants for NDP Trainings are Uncles and Aunties, and I seriously admire how they still can have such high spirits, and seriously enjoy every single moment they spent in NDP Trainings. They can really commit themselves to come for every single trainings, make friends with each other so readily, and joke with each other, apparently they had no worries and no troubles! I guess this is what 乐在其中 is all about. Must really learn from them :)
I am still trying to get myself to learn to really enjoy every moment of my life, because I know it's important. Creating values to one's life is probably the greatest thing one can take away.
Oh well, end of week, release my chart! I am gg to release top 20 charts from this week onwards :)
xH Chart 第22期 公布日期5月20日
On Thursday, my army clique and I went to watch Kungfu Panda II! I am proud to say that I'm actually one of the first few to watch this movie. Cartoon movies are interesting but I always thought we could just have bought the DVD to watch because it's much cheaper. LOL. Well, I like to step into the movie theatres to enjoy the movie too :).
This picture was self taken so our faces looks especially big. But oh well, we have J, S, A and X! P was supposed to be inside the picture too but he didnt watch the movie with us afterall due to his 'other commitments' :P.
Kungfu Panda II was great, one of the nicest animation movies ever. You people can pick this movie to watch if you are clueless on what good movies are there to watch :)
Had NDP Trainings, and there were many thoughts. The majority of the participants for NDP Trainings are Uncles and Aunties, and I seriously admire how they still can have such high spirits, and seriously enjoy every single moment they spent in NDP Trainings. They can really commit themselves to come for every single trainings, make friends with each other so readily, and joke with each other, apparently they had no worries and no troubles! I guess this is what 乐在其中 is all about. Must really learn from them :)
I am still trying to get myself to learn to really enjoy every moment of my life, because I know it's important. Creating values to one's life is probably the greatest thing one can take away.
Oh well, end of week, release my chart! I am gg to release top 20 charts from this week onwards :)
xH Chart 第22期 公布日期5月20日
| 本周 | 上周 | 歌曲 | 歌手 | 最高名次 | 停榜周数 | 积分 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 让爱重生[1周榜首] | F.I.R. | 1 | 4 | 54 |
| 2 | 4 | 空口言 | 孙燕姿 | 2 | 4 | 59 |
| 3 | 2 | 晚安 | 林宥嘉 | 2 | 5 | 74 |
| 4 | 1 | 愚人的国度[4周榜首] | 孙燕姿 | 1 | 8 | 142 |
| 5 | 7 | 亚特兰提斯[1周榜首] | F.I.R. | 1 | 8 | 123 |
| 6 | 9 | 我最亲爱的 | 张惠妹 | 6 | 3 | 33 |
| 7 | 15 | 想自由 | 林宥嘉 | 7 | 2 | 20 |
| 8 | 10 | 好不容易 | 方大同 | 4 | 7 | 68 |
| 9 | 17 | 我们都别哭 | 梁文音 | 9 | 2 | 16 |
| 10 | 6 | 下一个我 | 炎亚纶 | 6 | 5 | 49 |
| 11 | 5 | 都什么时候了 | 张惠妹 | 2 | 6 | 73 |
| 12 | 8 | 当冬夜渐暖[3周榜首] | 孙燕姿 | 1 | 12 | 199 |
| 13 | 19 | 只看见你 | 炎亚纶 | 13 | 2 | 10 |
| 14 | NEW | 泪光闪烁 | F.I.R. | 14 | 1 | 7 |
| 15 | 11 | 最重要的决定 | 范玮琪 | 7 | 7 | 64 |
| 16 | 16 | 一万零一夜 | 罗志祥 | 16 | 3 | 12 |
| 17 | NEW | 花旦 | 周华健 | 17 | 1 | 4 |
| 18 | 12 | 情人知己 | 梁文音 | 3 | 8 | 90 |
| 19 | 14 | 会跳舞的文艺青年 | 李宇春 | 14 | 3 | 13 |
| 20 | 13 | 不为失恋说抱歉[1周榜首] | 梁静茹 | 1 | 9 | 106 |
| OUT | 18 | 末日快乐 | 倪安东 | 13 | 4 | 16 |
| OUT | 20 | 小小蚂蚁 | 潘玮柏 | 20 | 2 | 2 |
Saturday, May 21, 2011
chillax week!
It has been a few days since I last blogged. Not because I don't have anything to blog, it is because I seriously do not have the time to. With so many activities at hand, I have been reaching home at 10 plus 11 everyday, and I have to report to work again the next day.
It is a completely different lifestyle compared to what I used to have. I am busy, but I know I'm contributing to kosen-rufu, tiring yet fufilling. Sometimes I would just stop and wonder, why am I doing so much? Howcome I ended up with not much time for myself, and I would even come to a point where I get very annoyed because I couldn''t spend time for myself, friends and family. But wait, I'm sacrificing my lesser self, utilising my greater self. Won't life be very meaningful?
Had a refreshing talk with D and R over 2 separate occasions, and I realised, I have so much more I need to learn and improve on myself. One has to compromise in order to do kosen-rufu. I seriously would like to share whatever I know and life theories that everyone should have.
After cycling on Monday, I finally can have a free-er Saturday, although it's only 2/3 of the day, but I treasure, for myself and family, something I really need. Shall fully spend today man :)
Chart release!
#1 愚人的国度 孙燕姿
#2 晚安 林宥嘉
#3 让爱重生 F.I.R.
#4 空口言 孙燕姿
#5 都什么时候了 张惠妹
#6 下一个我 炎亚纶
#7 亚特兰提斯 F.I.R.
#8 当冬夜渐暖 孙燕姿
#9 我最亲爱的 张惠妹
#10 好不容易 方大同
That's all
It is a completely different lifestyle compared to what I used to have. I am busy, but I know I'm contributing to kosen-rufu, tiring yet fufilling. Sometimes I would just stop and wonder, why am I doing so much? Howcome I ended up with not much time for myself, and I would even come to a point where I get very annoyed because I couldn''t spend time for myself, friends and family. But wait, I'm sacrificing my lesser self, utilising my greater self. Won't life be very meaningful?
Had a refreshing talk with D and R over 2 separate occasions, and I realised, I have so much more I need to learn and improve on myself. One has to compromise in order to do kosen-rufu. I seriously would like to share whatever I know and life theories that everyone should have.
After cycling on Monday, I finally can have a free-er Saturday, although it's only 2/3 of the day, but I treasure, for myself and family, something I really need. Shall fully spend today man :)
Chart release!
#1 愚人的国度 孙燕姿
#2 晚安 林宥嘉
#3 让爱重生 F.I.R.
#4 空口言 孙燕姿
#5 都什么时候了 张惠妹
#6 下一个我 炎亚纶
#7 亚特兰提斯 F.I.R.
#8 当冬夜渐暖 孙燕姿
#9 我最亲爱的 张惠妹
#10 好不容易 方大同
That's all
Monday, May 16, 2011
In and Out of Singapore : Cycling
The Vesak Day long weekend was filled with Adventures! I had my sportiest weekend ever. Firstly I went for my virgin Night Cycling on Saturday night, and next I went to Pulau Ubin Cycling on the Monday.
It was really fun and I'm just glad that we've been through both events, unhurt, except for Marcus, who was toppled off his bike, but a minor topple. phew. I believed we all had fun :).
Saturday 14052011 2330hrs
I rushed down from Kranji Camp after my NDP Training. Can you imagine, Kranji Camp to East Coast Park. It was a long train + cab journey. The other 6 pple were at the ECP's Macdonalds waiting for me. It took me 1.5 hours to reach East Coast Park.
Once I got there, we immediately went to our bikes and kickstart this adventure. I believe this is the first time the clique is doing something like that, and we were all pretty excited.
Hmm, I have shiny shoes. :)
First group photo!
This place is our first rest point, where people stopped to drinkup, talk, chill and relax. After about 10 minutes, we continued our journey.
During the journey, C and I were riding alongside and singing mandarin songs, to spice up the long journey. The night was very quiet, and very very peaceful. I love the atmosphere and all, except for the frequent clearing of spider webs and some random mosquitos/flies.
After a 2hr plus ride, we finally arrived at Changi Village. It was about 2.15am. And thus we had supper over there. Roti Prata, Chee Chong Fan, Stingray etc. Wow.
Maybe some of you might know this place.
After that, we continued to embark on our journey. We passed by lots of places, made some wrong routes and all, and we are finally back to east coast park! It was awesome! We set by the cliff and took a break.
It was 6.30am, I seriously love the whole feeling of sitting by the cliff, facing the sea and waiting for sunrise. This very moment is very comfortable!
and we have tired peeps.
nice place to sleep. where you can hear the sound of the waves :)
That markes the end of our Night Cycling trip. It was so fun.
Monday 16052011 1000 hrs
Yes, here I am cycling again. Met VTW peeps at Tampines Int and we proceeded on to Pulau Ubin for a cycling trip, yet again!
Took the tug boat towards Pulau Ubin
It has been long since I last met the army peeps, and we were still as fun as ever. The cycling trip was fun and Pulau Ubin cycling is actually a few times more dangerous than the normal cycling trips in Singapore, because most of the routes in Pulau Ubin were treks.
Nice picture
Halfway through the journey my bicycle's chain came off, W taught me how to fix it back! I've learnt a new skill!
We stopped over at this place and we walked to Chek Jawa.
We couldn't cycle in because that place was restricted to bikes.
ambushed inside all trees!
Chek Jawa Wetlands!
The weather was damn hot but it was fun walking the Chek Jawa. The scenery was damn nice.
What a weird tree bulging out from the waters.
We also climbed up this 7 storey's high building and have a damn good view of the scenery! It was splendid!
After that we proceeded back to the ferry terminal. At one of the slopes, M tripped onto a pothole and fell from his bike. Luckily it wasn't serious. Some scraps on his left elbow and left knee. Hopefully he's alright.
It doesn't mean that if you are an experienced biker you can handle the Pulau Ubin treks. It's not easy. Never good to be confident or complacent when you are cycling in Pulau Ubin.
We took the bus back to tampines.
I thought this picture was nice.
And next we went to have dinner at
Japan Village. Buffet 3pm - 5pm.
We had good food but we were all bloated. There was like never ending orders, and the food just kept coming. But it was damn fun.
finally we took a group photo.
What a memorable weekend :)
It was really fun and I'm just glad that we've been through both events, unhurt, except for Marcus, who was toppled off his bike, but a minor topple. phew. I believed we all had fun :).
Saturday 14052011 2330hrs
I rushed down from Kranji Camp after my NDP Training. Can you imagine, Kranji Camp to East Coast Park. It was a long train + cab journey. The other 6 pple were at the ECP's Macdonalds waiting for me. It took me 1.5 hours to reach East Coast Park.
Once I got there, we immediately went to our bikes and kickstart this adventure. I believe this is the first time the clique is doing something like that, and we were all pretty excited.
Hmm, I have shiny shoes. :)
First group photo!
This place is our first rest point, where people stopped to drinkup, talk, chill and relax. After about 10 minutes, we continued our journey.
During the journey, C and I were riding alongside and singing mandarin songs, to spice up the long journey. The night was very quiet, and very very peaceful. I love the atmosphere and all, except for the frequent clearing of spider webs and some random mosquitos/flies.
After a 2hr plus ride, we finally arrived at Changi Village. It was about 2.15am. And thus we had supper over there. Roti Prata, Chee Chong Fan, Stingray etc. Wow.
Maybe some of you might know this place.
After that, we continued to embark on our journey. We passed by lots of places, made some wrong routes and all, and we are finally back to east coast park! It was awesome! We set by the cliff and took a break.
It was 6.30am, I seriously love the whole feeling of sitting by the cliff, facing the sea and waiting for sunrise. This very moment is very comfortable!
and we have tired peeps.
nice place to sleep. where you can hear the sound of the waves :)
That markes the end of our Night Cycling trip. It was so fun.
Monday 16052011 1000 hrs
Yes, here I am cycling again. Met VTW peeps at Tampines Int and we proceeded on to Pulau Ubin for a cycling trip, yet again!
Took the tug boat towards Pulau Ubin
It has been long since I last met the army peeps, and we were still as fun as ever. The cycling trip was fun and Pulau Ubin cycling is actually a few times more dangerous than the normal cycling trips in Singapore, because most of the routes in Pulau Ubin were treks.
Nice picture
Halfway through the journey my bicycle's chain came off, W taught me how to fix it back! I've learnt a new skill!
We stopped over at this place and we walked to Chek Jawa.
We couldn't cycle in because that place was restricted to bikes.
ambushed inside all trees!
Chek Jawa Wetlands!
The weather was damn hot but it was fun walking the Chek Jawa. The scenery was damn nice.
What a weird tree bulging out from the waters.
We also climbed up this 7 storey's high building and have a damn good view of the scenery! It was splendid!
After that we proceeded back to the ferry terminal. At one of the slopes, M tripped onto a pothole and fell from his bike. Luckily it wasn't serious. Some scraps on his left elbow and left knee. Hopefully he's alright.
It doesn't mean that if you are an experienced biker you can handle the Pulau Ubin treks. It's not easy. Never good to be confident or complacent when you are cycling in Pulau Ubin.
We took the bus back to tampines.
I thought this picture was nice.
And next we went to have dinner at
Japan Village. Buffet 3pm - 5pm.
We had good food but we were all bloated. There was like never ending orders, and the food just kept coming. But it was damn fun.
finally we took a group photo.
What a memorable weekend :)
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Thankful friday!
After a series of events that had happened the past few days, probably due to the piled-up workload that I have, and of course tireness, I realised that I have actually overlooked some important matters as well as neglected on some things I did or say. Or should I say, I have kind of lost myself the past few weeks.
It was subconscious. It was not deliberate. I have like a million things on my hands and I have totally no clue of how am I supposed to manage my time, because the activities are like crashing each other most of the times. What's worse is, these activities has been taking away my weekends, and weekdays night. My 2 important commitments - family and friends, thus has been neglected, I supposed. I also yearn to have personal time for myself which I can't seem to have recently.
Thus just a few days ago, I gave these matters a serious thought, and have decided to clear things up one by one. Chanting helps because I kind of received some power to have the courage to actually reject some of the commitments to be able to free myself. Yesterday night, I met up with some of my comrades in SMU for a discussion on the IDP event, an event to commemorate peace. I was rather hesitant to accept that involvement, but I accepted because I want to work with a very motivated person, Roy.
My life in SMUSD has been very fun-filled, and also with lots of learning opportunities. Roy is one of the leaders of SMUSD, and he has this positive aura in him that always motivates people around him. He is a devoted soka member, and has also shared alot of Soka teachings to almost everyone he knows. He has shown actual proof of the power of daimoku, and has so much positive aura in him that I really admire. I hope I can be like him one day, where I can live my life and face every challenges optimistically. Yes, I was taught in Soka that we must all be brave and courageous to face challenges optimistically, I have been trying to do that as my own human revolution. There's so many things I need to change in myself, and I'm quite determined to do just that. So, at times if you see me being negative about certain issues, please nudge me and say, "hey, you are supposed to view it positively, right? "
Thank you.
I'm rather thankful to be able to meet Roy again yesterday night and we had a good talk. Was rather down yesterday due to some personal issues, and I finally set my mind proper and decided to organise my life well again. I shall chant more daimoku and make sure I and manifest the Buddhahood in me, as well as the wisdom and courage in me to face problems. I believe all these will come true.
I'm having a long weekend this week, a sporty one indeed. Let's see, I will be heading for night cycling tonight, and then cycling at ubin on monday, and kayaking at ubin on tuesday. Wow. I need all these to destress.
Hopefully everything will turn out well. I'm pretty grateful.
My chart. Week 20
#1 愚人的国度 孙燕姿
#2 都什么时候了 张惠妹
#3 晚安 林宥嘉
#4 好不容易 方大同
#5 亚特兰提斯 F.I.R.
#6 空口言 孙燕姿
#7 当冬夜渐暖 孙燕姿
#8 最重要的决定 范玮琪
#9 情人知己 梁文音
#10 下一个我 炎亚纶
That's all. Have a great weekend! :)
It was subconscious. It was not deliberate. I have like a million things on my hands and I have totally no clue of how am I supposed to manage my time, because the activities are like crashing each other most of the times. What's worse is, these activities has been taking away my weekends, and weekdays night. My 2 important commitments - family and friends, thus has been neglected, I supposed. I also yearn to have personal time for myself which I can't seem to have recently.
Thus just a few days ago, I gave these matters a serious thought, and have decided to clear things up one by one. Chanting helps because I kind of received some power to have the courage to actually reject some of the commitments to be able to free myself. Yesterday night, I met up with some of my comrades in SMU for a discussion on the IDP event, an event to commemorate peace. I was rather hesitant to accept that involvement, but I accepted because I want to work with a very motivated person, Roy.
My life in SMUSD has been very fun-filled, and also with lots of learning opportunities. Roy is one of the leaders of SMUSD, and he has this positive aura in him that always motivates people around him. He is a devoted soka member, and has also shared alot of Soka teachings to almost everyone he knows. He has shown actual proof of the power of daimoku, and has so much positive aura in him that I really admire. I hope I can be like him one day, where I can live my life and face every challenges optimistically. Yes, I was taught in Soka that we must all be brave and courageous to face challenges optimistically, I have been trying to do that as my own human revolution. There's so many things I need to change in myself, and I'm quite determined to do just that. So, at times if you see me being negative about certain issues, please nudge me and say, "hey, you are supposed to view it positively, right? "
Thank you.
I'm rather thankful to be able to meet Roy again yesterday night and we had a good talk. Was rather down yesterday due to some personal issues, and I finally set my mind proper and decided to organise my life well again. I shall chant more daimoku and make sure I and manifest the Buddhahood in me, as well as the wisdom and courage in me to face problems. I believe all these will come true.
I'm having a long weekend this week, a sporty one indeed. Let's see, I will be heading for night cycling tonight, and then cycling at ubin on monday, and kayaking at ubin on tuesday. Wow. I need all these to destress.
Hopefully everything will turn out well. I'm pretty grateful.
My chart. Week 20
#1 愚人的国度 孙燕姿
#2 都什么时候了 张惠妹
#3 晚安 林宥嘉
#4 好不容易 方大同
#5 亚特兰提斯 F.I.R.
#6 空口言 孙燕姿
#7 当冬夜渐暖 孙燕姿
#8 最重要的决定 范玮琪
#9 情人知己 梁文音
#10 下一个我 炎亚纶
That's all. Have a great weekend! :)
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Discussions on Youth - Part One
My mood recently just took a roller coaster ride. There has been a series of up and down moments, mainly down moments these 2 weeks. A million things are weighing on my mind, fighting to occupy the small tiny brain. I have been feeling very troubled lately, perhaps I really havent chant enough.
I had a super sleepless night yesterday, where I lay on my bed at around 1.30am. Tossed and turned on my bed. The problems I was facing were damn alive on my memory, they didn't want to sleep. The whole night I was busy pondering over whatever has happened and whether I have made the right decisions.
I need to settle them as soon as possible. I don't want to see myself lost inside the maze of troubles, I need to find my way out.
Just when I needed guidance, I saw this book on the table. Discussions of Youth.
Discussions on Youth is a book written by our most beloved Sensei, Daiseku Ikeda.
"I trust all of you. I live for your happiness, for your future. You are the hope of humanity. Each of you is hope itself. Each possesses a precious treasure. "
"Please accept this book as a companion on the journey called life, and live courageously in the twenty-first century - the most important century for humankind. " - Daiseku Ikeda
I picked this book up almost immediately, because I was rather sure I can find my answers in it. This book is written just for youths like you and me! It talks about challenges faced of youths, friendship, love, how should we improve ourselves, why we should have faith etc.
Today, I'm going to talk about
Part I , The Hopes of Youth.
Alot of you might be asking, why should we study? What good does it make if we study hard, get good grades, get into university etc. Your parents have always nagged at you to study hard, arrange for you to various tuition classes etc. Have you ever wonder why they are doing so?
In this chapter, Ikeda mentioned that
:: a truly great person is a friend to those who are suffering, pain and misery. ::
This is because more often than not, people who are living on this earth, and are suffering, in pain or in misery, are ostracised, despised, and pushed to the margin. And many of our leaders are guilty of doing this, which is a deplorable mistake.
That is why, all of us should study, study hard for the sole purpose to find out more to help the people who are suffering.
Next question : Is entering the University the best thing in life?
He said, yes. Being in the university helps cultivate and fosters student's abilities and capabilities, and also to equip them with certain qualifications so that they are able to contribute to more people in the society one day.
Next thing I wanna talk about is Friendship. Quoted from the book :
"You cannot choose your parents, but since you can choose your friends, it is an important choice to think about. "
Thought provoking? Yes.
The chapter also states that in any event, it is important to understand that friendship depends on you, not the other party. It all comes down to your attitude and contribution. Be a loyal friend where you enjoy together and go through hardships together.
In many cases, when you find that the last thing you want to see of your close friend is him/her being cold to you all of a sudden, and when that happens, youths tend to choose to find out what was wrong in fear of getting hurt , the other friend too, is also feeling lonely and rejected.
I can totally relate to this.
Thus, we are encouraged to make the first move and open up the channels of communications. If that still fails, Ikeda says, then you should feel sorry for your friend instead.
Another thing I found meaningful and is a must to share was,
::It is crucial to be courageous and live proudly, believing in yourselves. Those who betray or bully others are the ones truly to be pitied."
I reflected on the things I have done, which may have been wrong. I'm guilty of them and I'm willing to change for the better.
Many thoughts came across me when I was reading this chapter. People do make mistakes, I do too. What I hope for is everyone to be forgiving and tolerate each other's flaws. I sincerely want the best for you guys and if my approach somehow stepped on your tails, or offended you, I'm truly sorry. Only receiving friends with an open heart, willing to help each other in any situations, you will then see the true value of friendships. I will pray and chant for all of you to be happy. I sincerely hope so.
I had a super sleepless night yesterday, where I lay on my bed at around 1.30am. Tossed and turned on my bed. The problems I was facing were damn alive on my memory, they didn't want to sleep. The whole night I was busy pondering over whatever has happened and whether I have made the right decisions.
I need to settle them as soon as possible. I don't want to see myself lost inside the maze of troubles, I need to find my way out.
Just when I needed guidance, I saw this book on the table. Discussions of Youth.
Discussions on Youth is a book written by our most beloved Sensei, Daiseku Ikeda.
"I trust all of you. I live for your happiness, for your future. You are the hope of humanity. Each of you is hope itself. Each possesses a precious treasure. "
"Please accept this book as a companion on the journey called life, and live courageously in the twenty-first century - the most important century for humankind. " - Daiseku Ikeda
I picked this book up almost immediately, because I was rather sure I can find my answers in it. This book is written just for youths like you and me! It talks about challenges faced of youths, friendship, love, how should we improve ourselves, why we should have faith etc.
Today, I'm going to talk about
Part I , The Hopes of Youth.
Alot of you might be asking, why should we study? What good does it make if we study hard, get good grades, get into university etc. Your parents have always nagged at you to study hard, arrange for you to various tuition classes etc. Have you ever wonder why they are doing so?
In this chapter, Ikeda mentioned that
:: a truly great person is a friend to those who are suffering, pain and misery. ::
This is because more often than not, people who are living on this earth, and are suffering, in pain or in misery, are ostracised, despised, and pushed to the margin. And many of our leaders are guilty of doing this, which is a deplorable mistake.
That is why, all of us should study, study hard for the sole purpose to find out more to help the people who are suffering.
Next question : Is entering the University the best thing in life?
He said, yes. Being in the university helps cultivate and fosters student's abilities and capabilities, and also to equip them with certain qualifications so that they are able to contribute to more people in the society one day.
Next thing I wanna talk about is Friendship. Quoted from the book :
"You cannot choose your parents, but since you can choose your friends, it is an important choice to think about. "
Thought provoking? Yes.
The chapter also states that in any event, it is important to understand that friendship depends on you, not the other party. It all comes down to your attitude and contribution. Be a loyal friend where you enjoy together and go through hardships together.
In many cases, when you find that the last thing you want to see of your close friend is him/her being cold to you all of a sudden, and when that happens, youths tend to choose to find out what was wrong in fear of getting hurt , the other friend too, is also feeling lonely and rejected.
I can totally relate to this.
Thus, we are encouraged to make the first move and open up the channels of communications. If that still fails, Ikeda says, then you should feel sorry for your friend instead.
Another thing I found meaningful and is a must to share was,
::It is crucial to be courageous and live proudly, believing in yourselves. Those who betray or bully others are the ones truly to be pitied."
I reflected on the things I have done, which may have been wrong. I'm guilty of them and I'm willing to change for the better.
Many thoughts came across me when I was reading this chapter. People do make mistakes, I do too. What I hope for is everyone to be forgiving and tolerate each other's flaws. I sincerely want the best for you guys and if my approach somehow stepped on your tails, or offended you, I'm truly sorry. Only receiving friends with an open heart, willing to help each other in any situations, you will then see the true value of friendships. I will pray and chant for all of you to be happy. I sincerely hope so.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Reflections
The Singapore's General Elections 2011 has come to an end, however there are serious thoughts that has been weighing on my mind the past half a month, especially the past few days which I thought that I should pen it down.
It doesn't matter which party you are rooting for, or which party are you against with. All I know is, we all set out, wanting the very best for Singapore. As a Singaporean myself, I love Singapore and I am thus deeply concern in which direction this country is heading to. If the past 5 years has been satisfactory or good to you, it's okay to still support fully with the government's policies and whatnot. However, if the past 5 years, you have seen yourself struggling to make ends meet, seen yourself feeling uncomfortable with lots of non-singaporeans in our daily transport, seen alot of foreign talents competing for your job, seen your children struggling so hard to pay for for their basic HDB flats, due to the skyrocketing prices, seen you and your children having to pay so much more for their medical bills, as well as comparing your income to the rates of inflation and feeling uncomfortable with it, of course, taking a look at the ultra-high ministers' pay, then something must have been very wrong with where the country is heading isn't it?
I'm 21 this year but I was not allowed to vote, to my disappointment because my birthday falls after 1 Jan 2011. However, since I'm at this age, at the right age to vote, I thought I should really see myself as a responsible voter, analyse whatever things that were going on for the elections and make a conclusion myself, even though I was not allowed to vote.
Beginning of April, the government starts to unveil a series of upgrading plans, which is kind of expected because this has been the practice before every elections. Of course, the series of upgrading plans also comes with our Grow & Share package, where money is distributed from the government depending on where you stay. I'm not saying if this is a good practice, but it comes very timely. Well, I believe the ruling party does have an advantage over all the other parties because they have their means to these resources and thus, can use them as one of their campaign tactics, serving as carrots to the citizens. I did not have much discontent about it even though I thought elections should have been fairer.
Nomination day came, on 27 April, I was kind of excited because GE2011 was the largest scale and the most competitive elections ever, and I'm so curious to see which parties are contesting which wards, and what are they going to offer. The biggest news that day should be the fiery competition for Aljunied GRC, which also refers to Group Representation Constituency. This particular GRC, incumbant party People's Action Party, won the Workers' Party in 2006, with a slight margin, not that slight actually, it was 56% PAP and 44% WP. It was seen as the most competitive GRC in GE2006 because it was the only GRC which fell below 60% of the votes for the PAP. This time around, the Workers' Party continued to put their stakes on this special ward, and they up the stakes. After serving Hougang SMC for 20 years, the Secretary General Mr Low Thia Khiang decided to step out of his comfort zone, and puts his focus on this special ward, Aljunied GRC. I believe this move has caught the incumbant party unprepared. It has then seen as the fiercest fight ever in Singapore's General Elections history, because WP has sent in all the best people into this GRC, which includes Mr Low, NCMP Ms Sylvia Lim, top-rated lawyer Mr Chen Show Mao and two other impressive candidates. PAP retained George Yeo and their team with a new candidate to compete with this 'A' team from WP. That's cool, now I am so interested to see what both parties have to offer in the series of 9 days of rallies. I knew the end result will have heavy casualties, for PAP, they are gonna lose 2 Ministers, and a Minister-to-be, and for the WP, they are going to lose the long term serving opposition candidate Mr Low, and an NCMP Ms Sylvia Lim, should either party lose this GRC in this elections. Despite much reluctance to see any of them leave, the game had to go on.
On the nomination day itself, 82/87 seats were contested. It should have been 87/87 seats contested if not for the 35 seconds late submission of application form of the opposition party. Many felt unfair, many thought it was fair. To me, I believe, if you want to serve the country, it is only right you have to be on time. Thus, that team being disqualified were justified.
Next, the rallies. I wouldn't weigh the results by looking at the turnout of the rallies for the respective parties. I thought there wasn't a need to attend the PAP's rally because everything they mentioned will definitely be on the news, I thought WP's rally should be more exciting and can provide me with better information and views. Thus, my dad and I went to the first WP's rally at hougang.
I wouldn't want to mention how many people were there and whatnot, because you can see it for yourself from the pictures all over the internet. I merely want to know more about what WP can offer and also their candidates calibre. To be honest, I was very impressed with their candidates and their party. Very well organised, all with the same goal in mind. I found their analogy to have a co-driver beside the driver so that the co-driver can slap the driver if needed very interesting. There is an underlying message in it, which I think was very logical. A parliament should have different voices so that every policy in placed can have the best evaluation. I also like the party's slogan "Towards a first world parliament". As compared, PAP's speeches didn't really impress me but was rather disappointing.
To be fair, I also went to the other opposition NSP's rally, to listen to what they have to say. I wasn't impressed with them and disagree with some of the policies they propose as well. That's besides the point. I made use of the social media to find out more about the elections and within that few days I found myself getting the knowledge of so many information. I have learnt how to differentiate and come to my own conclusion myself.
To cut short, elections came. As expected, Aljunied GRC lost to WP, and thus we have lost 2 Ministers, George Yeo and Ms Lee Hwee Hwa.
It is a pity that George Yeo have to leave. I wouldn't blame the WP because they did what they did just to prove a point. The GRC system is flawed and can make us lose good ministers overnight, also we can just get not-up-to-mark candidates into the parliament through the GRC system, really "I don't know what to say lah!".
GE2006, only 1 GRC was below 60% for the PAP. GE2011, there are a total of 6 GRCS fall below 60%, including the lost Aljunied GRC. Public discontent with the PAP? I think so.
All in all, I still appreciate what the PAP has done for us but I really hope there were more voices in the parliament. What we citizens want, perhaps is really for the government to listen to what we have to say, and not putting all their focus on economical success. The elections has come to and end, with PAP winning 81 seats and WP winning 6 seats. I seriously hope for the best in Singapore and PAP can really understand what the citizens are going through and make better policies. I believe they can really do better. WP, as well, I hope they can really carry out whatever they have promised and don't disappoint us.
It doesn't matter which party you are rooting for, or which party are you against with. All I know is, we all set out, wanting the very best for Singapore. As a Singaporean myself, I love Singapore and I am thus deeply concern in which direction this country is heading to. If the past 5 years has been satisfactory or good to you, it's okay to still support fully with the government's policies and whatnot. However, if the past 5 years, you have seen yourself struggling to make ends meet, seen yourself feeling uncomfortable with lots of non-singaporeans in our daily transport, seen alot of foreign talents competing for your job, seen your children struggling so hard to pay for for their basic HDB flats, due to the skyrocketing prices, seen you and your children having to pay so much more for their medical bills, as well as comparing your income to the rates of inflation and feeling uncomfortable with it, of course, taking a look at the ultra-high ministers' pay, then something must have been very wrong with where the country is heading isn't it?
I'm 21 this year but I was not allowed to vote, to my disappointment because my birthday falls after 1 Jan 2011. However, since I'm at this age, at the right age to vote, I thought I should really see myself as a responsible voter, analyse whatever things that were going on for the elections and make a conclusion myself, even though I was not allowed to vote.
Beginning of April, the government starts to unveil a series of upgrading plans, which is kind of expected because this has been the practice before every elections. Of course, the series of upgrading plans also comes with our Grow & Share package, where money is distributed from the government depending on where you stay. I'm not saying if this is a good practice, but it comes very timely. Well, I believe the ruling party does have an advantage over all the other parties because they have their means to these resources and thus, can use them as one of their campaign tactics, serving as carrots to the citizens. I did not have much discontent about it even though I thought elections should have been fairer.
Nomination day came, on 27 April, I was kind of excited because GE2011 was the largest scale and the most competitive elections ever, and I'm so curious to see which parties are contesting which wards, and what are they going to offer. The biggest news that day should be the fiery competition for Aljunied GRC, which also refers to Group Representation Constituency. This particular GRC, incumbant party People's Action Party, won the Workers' Party in 2006, with a slight margin, not that slight actually, it was 56% PAP and 44% WP. It was seen as the most competitive GRC in GE2006 because it was the only GRC which fell below 60% of the votes for the PAP. This time around, the Workers' Party continued to put their stakes on this special ward, and they up the stakes. After serving Hougang SMC for 20 years, the Secretary General Mr Low Thia Khiang decided to step out of his comfort zone, and puts his focus on this special ward, Aljunied GRC. I believe this move has caught the incumbant party unprepared. It has then seen as the fiercest fight ever in Singapore's General Elections history, because WP has sent in all the best people into this GRC, which includes Mr Low, NCMP Ms Sylvia Lim, top-rated lawyer Mr Chen Show Mao and two other impressive candidates. PAP retained George Yeo and their team with a new candidate to compete with this 'A' team from WP. That's cool, now I am so interested to see what both parties have to offer in the series of 9 days of rallies. I knew the end result will have heavy casualties, for PAP, they are gonna lose 2 Ministers, and a Minister-to-be, and for the WP, they are going to lose the long term serving opposition candidate Mr Low, and an NCMP Ms Sylvia Lim, should either party lose this GRC in this elections. Despite much reluctance to see any of them leave, the game had to go on.
On the nomination day itself, 82/87 seats were contested. It should have been 87/87 seats contested if not for the 35 seconds late submission of application form of the opposition party. Many felt unfair, many thought it was fair. To me, I believe, if you want to serve the country, it is only right you have to be on time. Thus, that team being disqualified were justified.
Next, the rallies. I wouldn't weigh the results by looking at the turnout of the rallies for the respective parties. I thought there wasn't a need to attend the PAP's rally because everything they mentioned will definitely be on the news, I thought WP's rally should be more exciting and can provide me with better information and views. Thus, my dad and I went to the first WP's rally at hougang.
I wouldn't want to mention how many people were there and whatnot, because you can see it for yourself from the pictures all over the internet. I merely want to know more about what WP can offer and also their candidates calibre. To be honest, I was very impressed with their candidates and their party. Very well organised, all with the same goal in mind. I found their analogy to have a co-driver beside the driver so that the co-driver can slap the driver if needed very interesting. There is an underlying message in it, which I think was very logical. A parliament should have different voices so that every policy in placed can have the best evaluation. I also like the party's slogan "Towards a first world parliament". As compared, PAP's speeches didn't really impress me but was rather disappointing.
To be fair, I also went to the other opposition NSP's rally, to listen to what they have to say. I wasn't impressed with them and disagree with some of the policies they propose as well. That's besides the point. I made use of the social media to find out more about the elections and within that few days I found myself getting the knowledge of so many information. I have learnt how to differentiate and come to my own conclusion myself.
To cut short, elections came. As expected, Aljunied GRC lost to WP, and thus we have lost 2 Ministers, George Yeo and Ms Lee Hwee Hwa.
It is a pity that George Yeo have to leave. I wouldn't blame the WP because they did what they did just to prove a point. The GRC system is flawed and can make us lose good ministers overnight, also we can just get not-up-to-mark candidates into the parliament through the GRC system, really "I don't know what to say lah!".
GE2006, only 1 GRC was below 60% for the PAP. GE2011, there are a total of 6 GRCS fall below 60%, including the lost Aljunied GRC. Public discontent with the PAP? I think so.
All in all, I still appreciate what the PAP has done for us but I really hope there were more voices in the parliament. What we citizens want, perhaps is really for the government to listen to what we have to say, and not putting all their focus on economical success. The elections has come to and end, with PAP winning 81 seats and WP winning 6 seats. I seriously hope for the best in Singapore and PAP can really understand what the citizens are going through and make better policies. I believe they can really do better. WP, as well, I hope they can really carry out whatever they have promised and don't disappoint us.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Historic.
Sorry for neglecting this blog for more than 10 days, I didn't have the time to update because I was busy with the series of events that has happened for the past 10 days. The 10 days, that have decided our fate for the next 5 years, the 10 days, we see the ugliest side of the media, respectable politicians as well as how differing views can lead to unhappiness.
#2 愚人的国度 孙燕姿
#3 情人知己 梁文音
#4 不为失恋说抱歉 梁静茹
#5 当冬夜渐暖 孙燕姿
#6 都什么时候了 张惠妹
#7 最重要的决定 范玮琪
#8 好不容易 方大同
#9 晚安 林宥嘉
#10 缠斗 倪安东
That's all for today :)
I guess, whatever unhappiness and displeasure we got and took away from the Singapore General Elections 2011, we have to put a stop to it. The results are finalised, our fate has been decided. My views will still be firm. I don't really care if you differ with my views or not, I don't want to influence you with my views. I believe time will tell.
We shall all take the next 5 years and observe what's gonna happen and decide for ourselves where your first vote should go to. (People of my age).
I've seen, and grown quite a fair bit from the past 10 important days. I realise, differing views can really cause displeasure. My naive thinking in the past was that I have always thought that when views differ, we can talk things out. I've met with people who are stubborn in their own views, although I admit that I might be stubborn in my own views too. I tried to understand their point of view, but it just couldn't get through. Well, I respect everyone's views and their choice. I strongly believe that, whether you are pro-PAP or pro-Opposition, we all want the best for Singapore. Nothing but the best.
Regarding differing views, I'm not talking solely about politics. I'm talking about life. How one should treat their life does warrant a serious consideration, am I not wrong?
:: I don't want to see myself at 30 years old, and still an un-achiever. ::
:: I don't want to see myself at the age of 21, I'm still so bothered with friends and differing views. We are all entitled to our own views and opinions. ::
:: I don't want to see myself having no plans and ambitions, and all talk no action at an age of 25 ::
:: I am now certain and clear in whatever I am doing, my thoughts and opinions aren't going to be influenced so easily by surroundings. I'm sorry if I have been rejecting outings because I feel that there are more important things for me to pursue for. ::
:: I am open to different opinions and I will make analysis to it and come to a conclusion myself. I don't wish to have anyone controlling what I'm thinking and doing. Even if my conclusion is a wrong one, I believe I will learn from it. ::
:: No fear ::
A rather thought-provoking week, when issues about our children's life, our life, and the issues of inequalities brought up. I seriously see the need to have a clear and well-drawn up financial and life planning. I believe no one wants to see themselves at an age of 55, and still struggling to pay debts etc. All these should come into place with proper planning and firm views.
Alright, back to updating my chart results.
#1 亚特兰提斯 F.I.R
#2 愚人的国度 孙燕姿
#3 情人知己 梁文音
#4 不为失恋说抱歉 梁静茹
#5 当冬夜渐暖 孙燕姿
#6 都什么时候了 张惠妹
#7 最重要的决定 范玮琪
#8 好不容易 方大同
#9 晚安 林宥嘉
#10 缠斗 倪安东
That's all for today :)
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