Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Energy

Was having lunch today with a group of colleagues at the food court. Sometimes, when am not in the office, I like to destress and not think about work, but have this colleague who usually radiates negative energy, complaining about this and that, this person and that person. It gets tiresome after a while. There's so much negative energy that I feel like shutting off. Unfortunately I cant... :(

Usually, simply in one ear, and out the other is the best solution, but is hard when the colleague expects an answer or comment to the statements being made. Must think happy thoughts! Must think happy thoughts!

Have read this story about mood. What is your mood for the day, is actually what you want it to be. Wake up thanking God for another day and for the bountiful gifts which have been bestowed upon us. We condition our feelings for the day. Whether we want to be happy or sad, joyful or depressed. Think positive thoughts, and positive energy will radiate. It will lift the mood, the feel, and of course, the spirit. Channel positive comments, smile, and enjoy the day. May be hard at times, especially when there is too much work, compounded with office "issues", but must keep in mind to think positive. Only then can we be a joy to others.

Wedding Dinner

Just got back from an ex-colleague's wedding dinner held at the Chinese Restaurant in Wentworth Hotel. Was surprised that it was held on a weekday to begin at 8:30pm. Initially concerned on traffic, as it rained quite a bit earlier on, but was glad traffic around 7:45pm was smooth (luckily cos' of Ramadan period).

Didn't look forward to the food, but was pleasantly surprised. Quality was quite decent, but now feeling the after effects of MSG. My ex-colleague looked good in a light pink dress and was radiant during the dinner (not due to the booze!). Think there were slightly more than 10 tables with the bride hosting.

There was also another wedding "next door", with some very off-key Karaoke singing. Luckily my ex-colleague had the good grace of not having a karaoke session during the dinner. Otherwise, it will be like competing! As it was, the background music played was kind of loud.

All in all, it was a pleasant dinner although on a tiring week day. Reasonably good food, and was good to see the bride and groom together. Quite a matching pair. Here's to both the bride and groom - Y and W!!!

Friday, October 21, 2005

Green Eyed Monster

Came across this article – thought it was quite good.

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Dealing with jealousy - What are the ways?
Jealousy is an emotion that can be very damaging to ANY relationship. It can also prevent you from growing emotionally. It is not the same thing as envy. Jealousy wants what someone else has. Envy is when you don't want someone else to have what you don't have. If a person is jealous, they already have what is desired but they are afraid of losing it. When you are feeling jealous, you are undergoing an emotional combination of anger, dependency, hurt, and self doubt. When you spend time focusing on what you are not, this is a result of insecurity. Sometimes when we are afraid of losing something, we actually cause it to happen because of our actions and behaviors. All our thoughts and actions are centered around our fears and insecurities. This causes more fear and insecurity. These feelings cause other harmful feelings and may result in us indulging in self pity. What are some ways of dealing with jealousy?

· Develop independence.
We need to be sure we are not overly dependant on any one person. We need to focus on the good things we have and not on what we don't have.

· Focus on developing more confidence and attractiveness.
Sometimes something simple like getting our hair done or changing our style of clothing can help. Taking a course on self esteem or assertiveness is also beneficial.

· Be honest with yourself.
Sit down with paper and list things that are making you jealous. Look at it objectively. Are these things silly or trivial or are they really important?

· Communicate with the person who is the object of your jealousy.
Tell them your feelings. Is that person doing something that is causing you to be jealous? Letting them know can often help the problem. If this other person cares for you, they will work on changing the behavior that is adding to your jealousy. Being aware of your feelings can also help you cope better. Realize that jealousy shows your lack of self esteem and uncertainty of your own worth. Work on taking a really good self evaluation. This experience can be a wonderful learning opportunity for you. Work on communication with other people. Work on developing confidence.

· Study your rival.
Look closely at the person you are jealous about. What do you like and dislike about the person? Are his or her qualities beyond your abilities? Be sure you are not being unrealistic about that
person. Are you seeing things as they really are? Take control of your feelings. Terminate the relationship if nothing else seems to work. Take the time to concentrate on your own growth. Work at trying to understand and improve your relationship.

· Do not overreact.
Remember, most incidents are temporary so don't magnify what happened. Serious jealousy stems from a fear of loss, reputation, control of ourselves, our spouses, or relationships. Losing
control of our emotions and feelings will only make things worse.

Source: http://www.allaboutlifechallenges.org/dealing-with-jealousy-faq.htm

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

New Shoes

Wearing a new pair of shoes today for the second time. My trusty work boots are falling apart, but had originally bought a lower cut pair earlier on during sales in preparation.

Breaking this new pair of shoes in, but feet is hurting a bit, particularly near the ankle. Not as painful as Monday when I wore it for the first time. Could hardly walk then due to the pain.

Anyone know of any good way of breaking in a new pair of leather shoes?

Monday, October 17, 2005

Seven Swords and books

Saw 7 swords ("7S") over the weekend, together with The Myth ("TM"). Didn't really like TM, some parts were enjoyable but on the whole, something was lacking. Can't quite put my finger to it.

For 7S, I liked it. However, thought the character developments were lacking for the other 3 swordsmen. The elder two had their story mentioned, but the younger 3 did not. The way it ended, probably paved the way for a sequel. Good fighting scene towards the end. Can't wait for the next instalment! :) I have never read the book or don't know the story, so my appreciation may be lacking. May try to hunt if there is an English translation for the story sometime.

Somehow for movies, these kind of "settings", Chinese historical or Medieval has some appeal to me. For reading, I especially like Science Fiction, but more towards the fantasy genre as opposed to the futuristic.

I started off reading SciFi when I was in Uni. Was browsing through some second hand books in a town called Cottingham (Hull), and the very first book I picked up was Dragon Flight by Anne McCaffrey. From there, I read almost all the Dragon series (except for the newer ones) and her other futuristic series. Picked up Tolkien's Lord of the Rings then, in 1991, and was further hooked. Also read "The Foundation" series by Isaac Asimov (very good!).

My favourite writer to date is David Gemmell (he writes predominantly on sword and sorcery). Just bought "Lord of the Silver Bow", but haven't had a chance to read it. I have read all his books and am collecting them. However, not a keen fan of the Jon Shannow series. Other writers I enjoy are Raymond E. Feist and L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Also enjoy books by:
RA Salvatore (some are good, others so so), Terry Brooks (esp like the Shannara series), Jenny Wurts, and Melanie Rawn.

Used to like David Eddings, but somehow, the writing style pales in comparison. Eddings attempts to include humour in his books, esp for the newer series, but somehow, it just doesn't work. I get bored quite quickly with his books now.

Have also read others, but not as spectacular as David Gemmell ("DG"). Somehow, although DG's storyline is tried and tested - and yes, may be similar for the different series written, it's somehow still very captivating. His first book I have ever read was "Legend", but my favourite character is still Tenaka Khan in the Drenai series! The BEST!

I usually go "hunting" for new books during sales in MPH, as I buy and keep like a collection. Now, have too many books already, don't know where to store them. Wanted to get a proper book shelve, but no place to put. Keeping them in smaller shelves as well as covered containers at the moment, but have not thought of long term plans for storing. I guess will have to do so sometime......

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Colours

Was having lunch today with some colleagues, and an ex-colleague who showed us some wedding pictures taken previously. There was a general discussion as to the colour scheme of the photos and which "series" so to say and which we prefer.

It is interesting that some prefered the classic wedding look, i.e. predominantly white, both staring into the camera type. Others prefered a more sensual look, red and dark brown being the dominant colour with the pose adopting a certain attitude. I like the latter better. Even more interesting, some prefered pictures taken outdoors and some indoors. There is so much variety nowadays, and just wondered if the preference stated underpins a person's internal feelings or outlook on life.

Can it be generalised to say that introverted people prefer indoors and a classic look, and extroverted people prefer outdoors with dominant colours? What about those in between, i.e. classic but outdoor, or dominant but indoors? What does it say about the character? Would moods affect the choice of colour?

Then again, there are the black and white shots which can be simply breathtaking if taken properly, outlining each minute detail of the picture. I have seen some black and white shots which simply outshine the coloured ones, especially those closed up shots showing a person's feature. This is where the observer simply focuses on the different nuances of monochrome tones and the emotions portrayed by the subject, as opposed to the observer being distracted by differing interplay of colours. I guess there are benefits of both and it depends upon what or how one feels at the point of looking at the pictures.

For myself, I tend to favour darker toned colours, especially navy blue, but am prone to go for darker shades of other colours, e.g. red, green or even orange. It also helps when people tell me that dark colours have a slimming effect! :P

Monday, October 10, 2005

weekend

Had a good time last weekend. Met up with some friends on Saturday who wanted to try the char siu chicken wing dish. Turned out quite well actually, with a slight variation of grilling the chicken as well. Both microwaved and grilled dishes turned out pretty tasty if I do say so myself. :P

After that, watched "The Red Shoes" and "Boogeyman". Personally, I tend to avoid horror shows as I am not as daring and have a vivid imagination, but was "persuaded" to watch the two. I prefered "The Red Shoes" more than "Boogeyman", but both were not as scary as some other horror shows I have seen. I get more frightened if it is about spectres or spooks, and will avoid the chinese horror shows. I think one of the worse was Nightmare on Elm Street...

Much prefer to watch adventure or comedy shows. Looking forward to catch "Seven Swords" soon. Some friends usually complain about movies being slow, yes, that's true, but it takes time for events to unfold, and for the story to develop. Sometimes it is the little little things which makes a movie good, it need not be action packed/high adrenaline push all the way through the movie. Well, that's what I think anyway...

Thursday, October 06, 2005

bad... bad... sad... sad...

actually wrote this yesterday, but couldn't seem to post it online.
anyway, the day ended on a happier note... traffic was a breeze (as most were indoors eating), and my sister ta-paued "Sweet & Sour Chicken" for me for dinner! so, not so sad after all.... :)

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Had a tiring day at work today. Mental fatigue.

A friend called up last minute just before I had to go for a meeting at about 4pm, asking about the possibility of catching a movie, but no concrete plans. Either "Into the Blue (the one with Jessica Alba)" or "Flight Plan (the one with Jodie Foster)", but either movie will begin about 6:30pm or 6:45pm. A bit rushed if coming from Ampang to MidValley (my official working hour finishes at 5:15pm). So, scrapped plans.

Wanted to leave early today too, but suddenly realised that today is the first day of the fasting month. Traffic is normally quite bad from Ampang, but is compounded during this period as people rush to go home or somewhere to break their fast. Would probably not have gotten to MidValley before 6:30pm anyway from Ampang.

Also had a last minute unscheduled dinner plan, but will take me at least an hour's drive to get there. Didn't feel up to going as I was pretty tired out (what more with the traffic at this time). Felt more like going home and resting. Sometimes it is difficult to placate when expectation to meet up is there. However, I declined, but am feeling bad...

bad... bad... bad...
sad... sad... sad...

how to cheer myself up? was just binging on chocolate just now (the one with nuts!)... yeah.. EATING junk food again, but heck... once a while right?... err..just now, and just just now, and just just just now.... Actually, when I am stressed, I also eat... so that doesn't help....

How ah?

Must remember to think more happy thoughts.... think positive..... and relax.....

Just looked out my window to see whether there was a sunset to cheer me up!, but alas.... it's already dark outside.... got to be going and brave the traffic...

Monday, October 03, 2005

The Wicked Pitches - photos 2


Finally managed to get the pictures associated with the newspaper article on softcopy. Thank you very much to JK for helping out!

This first pic appeared in the NSTP's 27Sep05's Life and Times cover page. There's like a line going across the page cos' I folded the newspaper!

Alas, not all the group members were present for the photoshoot. A few did not turn up on the day for one reason or another.


Quite a few commented that I looked "rounder"... (my face that is!). Yeah, true enough, must find time to exercise again. Haven't been doing that for quite a while. The only exercise I get nowadays is going bowling. But, I guess is insufficient.

Been promising myself to sign up for the company's gym since last month (as we go by quarter year). But today is the beginning of October, and I have yet to sign up. Have told myself to also check out the gym in one of the condo blocks where I live, but also haven't gotten round to it.

Festive seasion coming soon, and after that Chinese New Year. EATING TIME!!! :P Maybe I should "diet" a bit during this month as Ramadan period kicks off.

I guess another incentive to target a trimmer me is for a scheduled 2006 end of year show by The Wicked Pitches. Have to look slimmer on stage. How ah?! Especially with all the good food around!