In case it isn't obvious enough, I wish to state that I absolutely LOVE ZUMBA!
It's absolutely LIBERATING.
Last week, as I was dancing, I looked around and noticed many of my Zumba mates have improved tremendously.
Everyone are more daring in their moves now.
Some even surprised me with the way their rocking their chest and hips.
Woah...
I hope I have improved too.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Ok.
So, since I went on a date not long ago.
Obviously I'm looking... right?
Now, read this story and tell me what am I doing?
*****************************
I went hiking with two friends.
On our journey going down the hill, we encounter a barefooted guy bearing no sports gear whatsoever.
However, he was holding his smartphone in one hand.
It looked as if he walked out of his house and suddenly decided that he'd hike.
He was going really fast and I teased him, "Wow, you're really 'Da Man!"
He was so fast that he was already 10 feet away when I finished my sentence.
We were really slow because one of the friends I'm with is really , how should I put it, not athletically inclined.
So, I was really surprised to see Barefoot guy again at the foot of the hill.
As, I passed him, he stuck out his smartphone to me to show me a photo, "See! I'm not alone," he said.
It was a photo of him and another barefooted guy taken on the same day.
When it occurred me that he was waiting at the foot hill to show me, I blushed and could only muttered, "Oh!", and continued my journey to the end.
The end is where there's a little stream of freshwater flowing downhill to a little pond where the hikers could freshen up.
Barefoot guy joined my friends and I there.
He was really friendly and chatted with my friends.
Guess what I was doing?
For some UNKNOWN reason, I was very preoccupied with the stream of freshwater. ***slap forehead.
I couldn't open my mouth.
Thank goodness my two friends were socially normal and had the right amount of courtesy.
He asked where we were from and if we were regular hikers etc etc etc..
All I could muster was a sheepish smile.
Before long, he bade us goodbye after recommending some breakfast eat-outs.
I really don't know what I'm doing. ***banging head on table.
So, since I went on a date not long ago.
Obviously I'm looking... right?
Now, read this story and tell me what am I doing?
*****************************
I went hiking with two friends.
On our journey going down the hill, we encounter a barefooted guy bearing no sports gear whatsoever.
However, he was holding his smartphone in one hand.
It looked as if he walked out of his house and suddenly decided that he'd hike.
He was going really fast and I teased him, "Wow, you're really 'Da Man!"
He was so fast that he was already 10 feet away when I finished my sentence.
We were really slow because one of the friends I'm with is really , how should I put it, not athletically inclined.
So, I was really surprised to see Barefoot guy again at the foot of the hill.
As, I passed him, he stuck out his smartphone to me to show me a photo, "See! I'm not alone," he said.
It was a photo of him and another barefooted guy taken on the same day.
When it occurred me that he was waiting at the foot hill to show me, I blushed and could only muttered, "Oh!", and continued my journey to the end.
The end is where there's a little stream of freshwater flowing downhill to a little pond where the hikers could freshen up.
Barefoot guy joined my friends and I there.
He was really friendly and chatted with my friends.
Guess what I was doing?
For some UNKNOWN reason, I was very preoccupied with the stream of freshwater. ***slap forehead.
I couldn't open my mouth.
Thank goodness my two friends were socially normal and had the right amount of courtesy.
He asked where we were from and if we were regular hikers etc etc etc..
All I could muster was a sheepish smile.
Before long, he bade us goodbye after recommending some breakfast eat-outs.
I really don't know what I'm doing. ***banging head on table.
“Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny.” ― C.S. Lewis.
It is in the worst times that we develop the tools necessary to become our best selves. The struggles that I was going through was helping to define what the little voice was trying to say way back in the beginning – that dreams only die when we let them, and we only fail when we quit.
What is your voice from within trying to tell you? – something that is indecipherable at first, but it’s pushing you towards something better and something more.
Fight for that voice, protect it, nurture it. Do whatever it takes to realise it because that voice, no matter how faint it is at first, – is a piece of your unique genius that is trying to get out to the world.
There are times when things don’t get out the way we want, that’s the way it goes. In those moments, I want you to remember, that somewhere there's a man drawing with his eyes.
No matter what happens in life, we all control one thing : that’s how we respond.
Will we quit ? or get back up? Let’s get back up.
Let’s be our best when times are at their worst.
The Fruits of Adversity: Finding Clarity With Failure
Thursday, January 23, 2014
THE GUEST HOUSE
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
~Rumi
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
~Rumi
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
5 Year Old Piano Prodigy Performs Powerful Private Concert For 101 Year Old Fan
Ryan gives a special concert to Dorothy, 101, his oldest fan.
See this tender moment when Ryan becomes misty eyed at her kind words.
See this tender moment when Ryan becomes misty eyed at her kind words.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
I really love to hear LC laugh.
She's always so stressed with work.
Also, I know she's struggling with her personal issues.
She's a very genuine person and her laughter exudes that pure energy.
I did something really silly in our double date together last week.
LC was narrating that story to two other colleagues/friends.
I should feel very embarrassed.
But seeing how LC was laughing, I'm glad.
She's always so stressed with work.
Also, I know she's struggling with her personal issues.
She's a very genuine person and her laughter exudes that pure energy.
I did something really silly in our double date together last week.
LC was narrating that story to two other colleagues/friends.
I should feel very embarrassed.
But seeing how LC was laughing, I'm glad.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
In the small town of San Donaci near Brindisi, Italy, there's a 12 year-old German Shepherd named Tommy which goes to Mass nearly every day and sits patiently by the altar.
He goes there out of love, he is just waiting for his master.
The reason Tommy attends Mass at this church is because it’s where he last saw his owner.
Her funeral was held here.
Now, he diligently waits for his master to come back.
He curls up by the altar to wait for Maria.
Tommy is there every day and waits patiently through all of the church services, keeping a silent watch and waiting for her.
The loyalty and love dogs possess is unlike anything else in the universe. Nothing breaks my heart more than to see a dog like this in mourning.
He goes there out of love, he is just waiting for his master.
The reason Tommy attends Mass at this church is because it’s where he last saw his owner.
Her funeral was held here.
Now, he diligently waits for his master to come back.
He curls up by the altar to wait for Maria.
The loyalty and love dogs possess is unlike anything else in the universe. Nothing breaks my heart more than to see a dog like this in mourning.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Me = What are you reading?
LC = *quiet...(put the book down)
Me = You don't mind if I take a look, do you? *(I took the book )
= Whoah... !
LC was reading her notes on English vocabulary and grammar.
LC went to an independent Chinese school, hence, her Chinese is far more superior than her English.
However, as I've always mentioned to her, her English is definitely better than my Chinese.
I'm really in awe of her desire and discipline for self-improvement.
This reminds me of another incident.
A big group of us were having lunch.
I was trying the make out the Chinese words in the menu.
I was surprised that KerL and Mi can't read Chinese either.
"You went to Malay school like myself? Wow, you speak Mandarin so fluently! So much better than me!"
Gosh, we really need to continuously acquire skills to be competitive in the job market.
Competition aside, learning should be a life long passion.
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Mahatma Gandhi
A lazy bump like me really has a lot of catching up to do.
LC = *quiet...(put the book down)
Me = You don't mind if I take a look, do you? *(I took the book )
= Whoah... !
LC was reading her notes on English vocabulary and grammar.
LC went to an independent Chinese school, hence, her Chinese is far more superior than her English.
However, as I've always mentioned to her, her English is definitely better than my Chinese.
I'm really in awe of her desire and discipline for self-improvement.
This reminds me of another incident.
A big group of us were having lunch.
I was trying the make out the Chinese words in the menu.
I was surprised that KerL and Mi can't read Chinese either.
"You went to Malay school like myself? Wow, you speak Mandarin so fluently! So much better than me!"
Gosh, we really need to continuously acquire skills to be competitive in the job market.
Competition aside, learning should be a life long passion.
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Mahatma Gandhi
A lazy bump like me really has a lot of catching up to do.
Two elderly staff came to get their HR exit checklist cleared.
In my past experience, all staff are very happy when they are doing this, hence it's easy to see that they were very eager to leave the organisation.
However, it was not the case for these two men. It's obvious it was not their choice to leave. Uncle T, especially.
I could feel the sad burden in his steps as he walked away.
I knew that he has an invalid sister at home. I almost wanted to give him some money for encouragement, but I couldn't think of a way to go about it without hurting his pride.
I thought of giving him a 'red packet' saying it's for the coming Chinese New Year, but I didn't have any red packets with me.
Knowing that Uncle T. is a very proud man, I decided to forgo this intention.
I hope that he will be ok.
In my past experience, all staff are very happy when they are doing this, hence it's easy to see that they were very eager to leave the organisation.
However, it was not the case for these two men. It's obvious it was not their choice to leave. Uncle T, especially.
I could feel the sad burden in his steps as he walked away.
I knew that he has an invalid sister at home. I almost wanted to give him some money for encouragement, but I couldn't think of a way to go about it without hurting his pride.
I thought of giving him a 'red packet' saying it's for the coming Chinese New Year, but I didn't have any red packets with me.
Knowing that Uncle T. is a very proud man, I decided to forgo this intention.
I hope that he will be ok.
Monday, January 13, 2014
The Story of Akkosa
In the Akkosa Sutta, a man named Akkosa found out that one of his clansmen had just become a disciple of the Buddha. Outraged, Akkosa went to the Buddha to give the Buddha a piece of his mind – he hurled abuse and insults at the Buddha, telling the Buddha what he thought of him in no uncertain terms.
The Buddha was unmoved in the slightest by this barrage of insults and just asked a question in return:
“Do you sometimes receive visitors as guests?”
“Yes I do” replied Akkosa.
“And when they come, do you offer them food and drink and courtesies?” asked the Buddha.
“Yes, sometimes I do” Akkosa said.
“So what if your guests don’t accept what you offer to them – where do the food, drink and courtesies return to?”
“They return to me of course!” Akkosa answered.
“Akkosa, you came here today, hurling insults and abuse at me. I do not accept what you have offered. So where do these insults and abuse return?”
Akkosa got the picture
The Buddha was unmoved in the slightest by this barrage of insults and just asked a question in return:
“Do you sometimes receive visitors as guests?”
“Yes I do” replied Akkosa.
“And when they come, do you offer them food and drink and courtesies?” asked the Buddha.
“Yes, sometimes I do” Akkosa said.
“So what if your guests don’t accept what you offer to them – where do the food, drink and courtesies return to?”
“They return to me of course!” Akkosa answered.
“Akkosa, you came here today, hurling insults and abuse at me. I do not accept what you have offered. So where do these insults and abuse return?”
Akkosa got the picture
Friday, January 10, 2014
The Zumba instructor invited me to stage! (it's a small one)
I danced side by side with her.
There was even a point where I had the whole stage to myself!
I dare not look at the mirror but had fixated my concentration on her as I didn't know the moves.
It was exhilarating!
It's the same feeling like when my school assignments was selected as a sample.
Such an honour.
Perhaps I'm emotionally exaggerating this experience, but I don't care ! I'm happy !
It has been too long since I've felt this special !
I'm happy!
I danced side by side with her.
There was even a point where I had the whole stage to myself!
I dare not look at the mirror but had fixated my concentration on her as I didn't know the moves.
It was exhilarating!
It's the same feeling like when my school assignments was selected as a sample.
Such an honour.
Perhaps I'm emotionally exaggerating this experience, but I don't care ! I'm happy !
It has been too long since I've felt this special !
I'm happy!
Thursday, January 09, 2014
“Always trust yourself and your own feeling, as opposed to argumentations, discussions, or introductions of that sort; if it turns out that you are wrong, then the natural growth of your inner life will eventually guide you to other insights.
Allow your judgments their own silent, undisturbed development, which, like all progress, must come from deep within and cannot be forced or hastened.
Everything is gestation and then birthing.
To let each impression and each embryo of a feeling come to completion, entirely in itself, in the dark, in the unsayable, the unconscious, beyond the reach of one’s own understanding, and with deep humility and patience to wait for the hour when a new clarity is born: this alone is what it means to live as an artist: in understanding as in creating.”
Allow your judgments their own silent, undisturbed development, which, like all progress, must come from deep within and cannot be forced or hastened.
Everything is gestation and then birthing.
To let each impression and each embryo of a feeling come to completion, entirely in itself, in the dark, in the unsayable, the unconscious, beyond the reach of one’s own understanding, and with deep humility and patience to wait for the hour when a new clarity is born: this alone is what it means to live as an artist: in understanding as in creating.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Happiest man on earth is a Buddhist monk
Ricard was brought up among Paris’s intellectual elite in the 1960s, but after working for a PhD in biochemsitry he gave up on everything behind to become a Tibetan Buddhist in a Himalayan hermitage, says anyone can be happy if they only train their brain.
He passionately sets out why meditation can alter the brain and improve people’s happiness in the same way that lifting weights puts on muscle. “It’s a wonderful area of research because it shows that meditation is not just blissing out under a mango tree but it completely changes your brain and therefore changes what you are,” The monk says.
The mind is malleable,” Ricard told The Independent on Sunday yesterday. “Our life can be greatly transformed by even a minimal change in how we manage our thoughts and perceive and interpret the world. Happiness is a skill. It requires effort and time.”
Saturday, January 04, 2014
"He was away for almost four years during the war. When he wrote me letters, he was never allowed to tell me where he was. So he'd draw cartoons to help me guess."
"When he was dying, I said: 'Moe, how am I going to live without you?' He answered: 'Take the love you have for me, and spread it around."
Thursday, January 02, 2014
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
Happy New Year!
Today, as we wish each other a Happy New Year,
let us determine to be more sincere, compassionate, warm-hearted human beings, trying to make our world a more equal place.
let us determine to be more sincere, compassionate, warm-hearted human beings, trying to make our world a more equal place.
That way we'll actually make it a happy year.
-----------Dalai Lama
I invited another friend for lunch today !
Added her on Facebook too !
Phew... was very nervous about it.
We talked about gym and she told me that the instructor whom I have a crush on actually took off his shirt in one of the classes which I had missed !
I have attended his classes consistently for more than half a year, and it was only during that rare time when I had missed it that he chose to lose the shirt ??!!
I asked if she saw the six pack abs.
She gleefully nodded.
Damn....
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