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Haven’t been shopping for a long, long time…So 3 weeks ago, I had myself a shopping spree. There I was, in the bookstore, grinning from ear to ear, just thinking what I had in mind. It’s as if I’ve just been released from a desserted shack on an island with no shopping to do.J 

Let’s see. First, I bought 4 Winnie the Pooh Bear activity book for my little girl. Trust me, I was more excited than her…hehehheh… Then gallivanted to the adult session to get myself something humorous. Voila!! Got 2 love comedy books, Hex and Single in the City as well as The Bachelorette Party. What an imagination!! The writers had me tickled all the way. Well, if you must know, I have many books- the “SERIOUS” stuffs kind that can make many snoozed 24 hours. So, what the heck!! From now on, I’m getting books for fun reading and not too much of mind boggling. When it’s time to unwind, these are the right books for me..hahhaha.. Yeah…too much of work can cause hazard. Well, you don’t want to look 52 when you are only 25, right??

Picked the last book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince- children’s edition. Nah, it’s not for my daughter but ME!! I need to get this into my collection before the last book is out. Imagine how much the price dropped after the first time being released into the market, about 50%. Wow!! Amazing just how much the bookstores are reaping out from us, the poor readers……

My most priceless purchase- “The Duet - Tony Bennet”. If you like jazzy classics and oldies, this CD is the most value buy. It has 20 songs, duet of Tony Bennet with the reknown singers these days on his 80^th Birthday. Cool man!! Even Wang Le Hom was featured in the last song with Tony. When Le Hom sang this genre of song, it sent shivers to my spine….Really, I can feel goosebumps on my arm. Boy oh boy……Frankly speaking, he is the most gorgeous Chinese guy who can sweep any ladies off their feet with his voice and his charming smile. He smiled to me once, 7 feet away….I nearly sprouted wings and sang with the angels….

That night, I went home happily with my purchases. This was no shopping day like any other for such a long time….Hmmm…..Nice!!

Yes, we have finally bought a bed for my little girl, Xue Rou. It’s  a single bed with pull-out. I was so excited about it just as much as my daughter. I asked her to put some of her stuff toys next to her bed, on the window sill to make it more cosy. Even she invited her Barbie to share the bed with her…so cute!!

Now she can have no excuse to sleep on our bed as she always said she loves our bed and would want to sleep with us, kicking one of us into her mattress at the bottom of our bed. Yahoo!!!

Well, I am not having high hopes that she will stay put in her own bed in her own room but it’s a start. Training her at this age is necessary. She’s turning 4 by May which is very soon now. I still wonder how the westerners manage to get their kids to sleep in their own beds, in their own rooms….beats me man!!

Having a bed at age 4 is truly miraculous because when I was young, my whole family slept on the floor with our thin mattresses. This make me reminisced  the time when I bought my very own bed for the first time, which is the bed me and hubby shared now..yes, at the age of 27….hahhaha…Me and my sis used to share a double deck when we were renting rooms and still in college. That double deck bed was bought with mum’s money, so it does not count.

Guess, having a new bed now will be an event my own little family calls for celebration. There will be opening ceremony with sparkling juices (a.k.a champagne ) for everyone, all with happy faces and lots of memories to cherish in years to come.

May we have sweet dreams and sleep tight every night in these wonderful beds, a luxury we tend to take for granted…

“The sad news is, nobody owes you a career. Your career is literally your business. You own it as a sole proprietor. You have one employee: yourself. You are in competition with millions of similar businesses: millions of other employees all over the world. You need to accept ownership of your career and your skills. It is your responsibility to protect this personal business of yours. Nobody else can do that for you. You are where you are because of what you are”

- Andy Grove, Chairman and CEO, Intel Corporation, in his book, “Only the Paranoid Survive”. 

How true!! Just like your life, nobody can control it other than YOU.

Similarly, YOU are the driver of this own vehicle of yours, the sole person who can determine what is it that you want, how you want it to be done and where is your ultimate destination in the end. If you choose to go this way and the road was kinda bumpy, well, you can change this route and go a different way.  It’s all in your hands.

Having shared this thought, it is good to realize one’s worth and value.

When you look at yourself and you feel good about whatever it is inside you, then you have achieved more than you realized.

Careers are material but your life is not. But because this material is a part of what you want to have in your life, it is significant that you do something to hike up your worth and value. I could name a few (1) Grooming….the way you carry yourself, the way you dressed, the way you lay your words (2) Never stop learning. If you don’t have the talent, learn a new skill, brushed up on your skill-set, go for language classes (3) Understand your own strength. Know what you are good at doing. Expand from there.

All these can improve one’s confidence level and when you feel confident, even a high mountain cannot stop you. 

There are many instances when candidates I have met or spoken to just wouldn’t go the distance. Maybe they fear what they cannot do and therefore, they paused and it’s gonna be a pit stop for them. Or maybe they just want an easier way in life, just stay in the comfort zone and lay back. Actually I do feel sorry for such people…. L Without challenges, without obstacles, without risks, without being brave and upfront, without high self-esteem…..what would life be!! Roller coasters ride are not that fun to many people but if you ride on it even for once, you will have a different perspective and feeling…In fact, you may find it to be quite fun too. Who knows!!

My latest motto is “Live each day as if it is your last”. Be kind, be compassionate, be generous, be loving, cared a lot, stick by your loved ones, stick by what you believe, help others who are needy, hug, make love grow in your homes, in your workplace, be truthful, have integrity………if you got a career advancement opportunity, go for it…..if you are given a blank new page, start writing your ideas on it….when you can do this bit by bit each day…. One day when you look back, you are able to smile and hug the world because you have lived a meaningful life.

Finished my 7-days trial fitness sessions at Fitness First and today is the last day. It was totally awesome coz I did back to back, from yoga and carried on to Body Balance. First time with yoga…I know my body was stiff as a stick but didn’t know it was that bad until I started with yoga today. Boy was I out for a surprise…When they started doing the routine of "support your body with two hands on the floor and lift your bottoms off with legs crossed", I was like "ARGHH"!!! What the heck was that!! It was just out of the question. I sat and stared, that’s what I did and I laughed too!! CRAZY ah!! It was quite embarassing not being able to do some of the routines or should I called "stunt". But who cares, nobody knows me and I need to sweat..Hey, why am I writing this in my Blog??

Then when the Body Balance session was on, the relaxation part was so nice…We just lazed on our back and closed our eyes…A bit weird for me. Do the instructor get paid just to get us resting on the floor?? Maybe I gotta check with the Manager outside?

The music was so soothing, so relaxed and at peace until I heard this noise from the next exercise mat…Was that guy snoring or what?? Don’t tell me he fell asleep!! Fantastic!! I hear that all the time from my hubby and now this uncle next mat is killing my peace and quiet..ARGHH….The uncle looked like in his forties…too tired climbing the corporate ladder until no time to sleep at home I bet

So far, no shitting episode like the one my sis had encountered in the shower room. Thank GOD!!

All in all, I love the free trial. Get to push myself to exercise after 4 whole years doing nothing to keep fit .. Used to be so active in outdoor sports and games and exercises. You name it, squash, tennis, badminton, jogging, aerobics, dancing etc…Now, getting lazy, flabby and flumpy. Even sweat does not come easy….My sis who went to classes with me, sweat profusely. I don’t understand it. She said I don’t really stretch, shake or push myself hard enough. But how can?? I was jumping and shaking as much as any others all over too, doing whatever is being told and following whatever is being shown on the stage by the instructor. Help!! My sweat glands must have got clogged due to lack of exercise. Can this be happening?? Help!!

I think the sweating part and  a little bit of squirming, wriggling and body shaking oughta keep me in shipshape. The fitness club sales exec maybe calling me tomorrow. See how it goes…..I may join.

It’s now 3.10am. Can’t sleep. Must be the tea…..Gulped down 3 glasses of Chinese tea, 2 mugs of Green tea and 1 cup of Raspberry tea. It never had any effect on me for 20 over years and now….It had me typing on my notebook before 2 hours til dawn breaks…No more late tea drinking from now on.

Yeah, with 4 days til countdown for another new year 2007, how can we not think of the what we have or NOT achieve for the past 361 days. I was just telling my hubby the other day….at a blink of an eye, before we even smell the coffee, our little girl will be grown up. It just freaks me out, thinking about this!!

Let me see, what were the downs this year for me. Like my sis and Ryan said, lots of challenges. Well, that is certainly a good word for it if we don’t count "problems" in.

Well, I had many headaches in the begining of the year while serving an employer. Work my butt off but got nothing out of it. So, I moved on and do things my way. Lo and behold, fairy Godmother must have love me and bestowed me with bravery and guts. We made changes in how we want our lives to be. We take control of what we have and strive to make the best out of it. Ever since then, I guess, sun shines everyday. It’s all about knowing what we want and being grateful for everything that we have. Other than that, losing a baby was extremely painful.

Highlights will be plenty. Xue Rou goes to school, we run our own soho business, make new friends (especially Markus from Austria, thanks for your wonderful friendship), meet old friend who is in New Zealand, family outing with parents-in-law (that is a rare ocassion) etc…oh, yes, finally become a proud owner of a digital camera. I have been using an analogue camera which makes me look like ancient history. Had it since 1997. Actually it was my hubby’s but seems like I’m more of the owner than him. I utilized it to the max. Even the salesperson whom I bought the new digicam could not believe I had it for so long and still using it. Unbelievable how he could think this way!! Just because nobody used analogue camera, he thinks these type of cameras are useless. Maybe it’s not such a big deal to many of you, but to me, digital camera of my own is a luxury…You cannot imagine how much I yearned to own a good one. Saving every scrap and penny I have just to get one.

It has been an amazing year for me. I have grown wiser, get to understand myself better and spiritually contented. I would not want to say "I should have done this or do that or I should have done better". Maybe there was much more to learn and I have not. Then again, maybe it was meant to be this way.

So to the new year, I welcome with open arms. May it brings joy, good health, peace and prosperity to all. Happy New Year 2007!

I have been thinking of putting my thoughts down for zillion times….but never really got to do it….And when I finally wanted to do it, laziness steps in and mind just went blanko. Like time, inspirations and thoughts can vanished into thin air very fast too.

Today is the day. I am just gonna do it. Don’t know know makes me do it now…Hmmm….Must be Xmas!! Hahahha….or hohoho!

Well, this is going be my first and it has to be a blast!

I have put up my Xmas tree which has been fully utilised since we move into our very own home in Year 2002. We don’t have real fir trees here…so make do with the fake ones bought from deparmental store..Wouldn’t it be great if we can get a real tree, with its fresh crisp, pine smell!!

Everyday of the month December, Xmas melodies are filled in the air throughout the whole house. I ‘ll make sure of it. Even when commuting in the car.

I wonder why do I do all these….Is it I am so afraid, one day, people just don’t feel this "Christmasy" feeling anymore? I just want to preserve it. I love Xmas all my life. It’s the best time of the year. Everything that is Xmas related, I want to be apart of it.

Funny that this year, my Xmas spirit is souring higher than ever. To remind myself one day when I looked back, December 2006 is just too fabulous….first it started off with termites invasion in my apartment unit toilets (funny that they love our toilet so much), then I accidentally spilt water into my hubby’s notebook, and the best part, we got into a back-to back car accident which crashed our whole rear window and left a terrible dent on the bonnet, tearing the paint and with crazy downpours these days, my car is gonna look like a bloody old junk soon despite of having it for a mere 2 years.

Normally I would have a fit when such things happened. But I sipped in all the "chrismasy" air and drank the jolly punch bestowed on me. I was like "Yeah, so what!! "…….When the accident happened, I told myself, put into practise the 90/10 theory by Stephen Covey. I then told myself, "I can’t let this dampen my spirit and kill my good mood the whole day". I did not let it affect my emotions. I let it go and just do the neccessary with a light heart. Though it was a long day with so many things to settle, I realised it really help me a lot. I found peace in my mind and in my heart. Just what I need and want.

So, I think this is gonna be the best Xmas ever to me, for I shall remember this December til my ashes are spread all over the world (I do not want to be buried 6 feet underneath).

Have a Merry, merry Xmas!! PEACE ON EARTH……