ESSE QUAM VIDERI

Phrase of the day :
Esse quam videri

It means,"To be, rather than to seem to be."

BABY & POOCH - GROWING UP

Found this from a forwarded e-mail. I think it's so sweet!
Meet Martine, a lovely baby girl... and Gizmo, the adorable pooch.

WAKE ME UP WHEN OCTOBER ENDS

It's coming.... it's finally approaching.

My Bali vacation - first Nov'09 weekend. And boy, oh boy... I absolutely can't wait!!

I really am excited about this trip... but am trying to keep the excitement to a minimal level of squealing! After so many months of waiting for Nov 5 to approach, it's finally almost here! Imagine, I booked the flight tickets (zero fair promo) in Feb'09. That was ages ago!!

So, I checked out the Bali vacation packages during the MATTA fair Sept'09 edition. Prices looked good, and I rooted out the best travel agent with the best offers. And after checking out the accommodation, I must say I fell in love with it immediately. The pictures look gorgeous! I could almost just live there... almost!

So, here's to a well planned trip for the four of us. My we all pay in time, and have a wonderful time there! Cheers, mate!

CHOCOLATES & RELATIONSHIPS

Just finished reading The Chocolate Run, by Dorothy Koomson. Good read. I really liked it.

Worst part : I feel so much alike to the character "Amber Salpone". The emotions, relations, family and hurts. Except the shagging part.

This is my second Dorothy Koomson book, and the second one in the row, too. It's amazing what good fictional reads exist in the NIEW Resource Centre on the 2/F at the building I'm working in. Oh, THANK GOD there's a resource centre!! Life working here would be almost meaningless without books.

And now, I'm craving for chocolates.

WASTE NOT

My company's Web Portal was holding this "Share Your Environment-Friendly Ways To Win A Specially Designed T-Shirt" contest. 200 T-shirts to be given away.

So, I thought, "Hmm... Why not give it a try?!" After all, I have all the time in the world. Seriously, I'm just dead bored.

Ok, so here's my best entry. It's not my best BEST, but just good enough for some smiles. Oh, I do hope I get a T-shirt!

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To conserve water at home, my family would save the water used to wash precooked rice. The rice-water is then showered onto the potted plants and trees in the garden. The plants would grow nicely from the rice nutrients in the water.

We also have three dogs which we are responsible to clean up when they poo after meals. Instead of using fresh water from the pipes to wash the backyard where the dogs poo, we collect the water drained out from the laundry washing machine. As the washing machine holds up to 4kg of laundry load, we get up to three buckets of water. The water is collected from the last stage in laundry machine wash : the 2nd rinse. Therefore, the water collected is not dirty, but slightly soapy. And because fabric softener is added during the laundry wash, the collected water smells of rose (or lavender when we switch brands).

At home, laundry washing is only done when the amount of laundry is enough to fill the machine. By doing so, we save on water and electricity.

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Post Note : I DID win a T-shirt!!!

I want to travel. I need to travel. But where to go?

"Anywhere your feet takes you... anywhere your wallet will allow you," that's what I always say.

EMPTINESS

I need a task to do

Someone give me a task to do

I need a...!

~Excerpt from "Fire Within Me"

Little Women : The Original Cast Recording

DASHED DREAMS WILL STILL ARISE

A lot of friends have been blessed with the opportunity to travel overseas, be it far or just across the border. And when they do, they tend to post a lot of photos.

Photos of how exciting life has suddenly become... stories of how much they're enjoying themselves... of how it's all a work assignment but they're having Fun Fun FUN...and the never-ending tease of "oh, how I wish you were here!" crap.

Truth to be told... I get jealous. I get extremely jealous and a huge unpleasant feeling just sorts of swells up inside and eats my heart inside out.

Why the green monster raging inside me?

Because I want to travel, to see places and meet new faces. No, instead, I got stuck with the dead-beat job, with no future and only reprimands to face everyday. So I chose the wrong career path. So, I didn't bother to be more bold and seek overseas opportunities. So, instead, I chose to pay more attention to my parents' happiness.

Sigh!

I do get to go traveling, once a year... self paid SHORT trip. Regional. Usually within the country. Just for ONCE, I wish that the company sends me overseas.

And then, I think back on all that I have had... and all that I still have: a home, my own place, a car, my parents who are still strong, and most of all, a job that pays. I have other friends who are still within reach, and I have my faith.
So... there will times for travel later... if not soon. I will make my own way to see the world. Til then, hold on to the things that you have. Afterall, the grass may always look greener on the other side, but home is where the heart is.

Comics - Reading it Differently

About a month ago, I got hooked on the Vertigo comic series "Fables".

It's good... it's really good.

Like the title goes, Fables tells the tale of what happen after "...happily ever after." How come Prince Charming appeared in Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty's tale?? What happen to the big bad wolf after the three little piggies built a house of bricks? And how did they all end up living in a small fictional part of New York called Fabletown?

But it got me to thinking about something else... Comics form a part of our Generation's lifestlye. Comics are bought for pleasure reading, trade or share, and at times, a collector's item. How can we turn comic reading into a form of humanitarian act?

There must be some interesting way to start a cause with comics. 20 cent into a relief fund for each copy sold? Inside adverts to make people aware of needed moral/monetary support? Sign petition appeals for big comic production houses to contribute monetary donations?

What about donating old comic books to school children in poverty ridden countries? With these you achieve a few goals :

1. entertainment – colors, pictures and storylines to delight the troubled minds

2. education – a form to teach how to read, write and draw

3. encouragement – for the children to feel appreciated and build self esteem. Let them know that they are thought and cared for.

Think about it.

JANUS

I just realised just how L-O-N-G it has been since I made my last blog entry. Lazy, i guess. So lazy to maintain this site.

Year 2008 has come to an end, and 2009 is here. Nothing's changed. That's alright... there's still 11 more months to go before we see the closing of another year.

So, to all my friends... thank you for your love and support. I will always be here, if you need a shoulder or a listening ear. And yes, food and movies anytime, babes!

To my colleagues, I'll try to remain calmer than usual.

And too my family... I'm never that far away.