This post is dedicated to someone who has been reading my blog (and vice versa) and bothers to leave comment once in a while. Nothing important or deep, it's just that, when I took these photos, people thought I was crazy. But come on ... with a first name like mine ... you think people can't give me a nickname that ends with the word "duck"? It comes so naturally, okay! Since I was 3 years old! -_-"
So ... Subconsciously, anything duckie-looking, attracts me. And I snapped these photos quite sometimes ago (to be exact 8 Aug 2009) and didn't think I will use them ever. Purely for personal collections. But since I just realized someone just changed her blog background to duckies ... I think it's appropriate I dedicate this post to my fellow stinger!
Thanks for reading my blog and bothers to pop by once in while too :) Hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do. Does any of them catch your attention? Hehe ...
You may or may not believe in luck, but if there is only one thing you choose to believe, put your bet on "positive energy".
"Oh come on, don't sell what those motivational gurus are constantly preaching!", you might say. But I sincerely not. By nature and by my upbringing, I am not a very positive person. I may look like ball of sunshine but my inner world resembles Darth Vader's.
Being a Scorpio, I am born with extra DNA of envy and jealousy. Not to mention the extra built-in self destructive mechanisms, the potential damage is unimaginable.
Being an Asian in the traditional Asian upbringing, I was always being compared to others who are better than me. Thinking that being an only child, I should not have any siblings rivalry problems. But alas, there are always the cousins, the neighbors, the kids of my parents' friends, etc. The list go on.
Growing up with the voices that you are never good enough coupled with the idea that the grass is always greener wherever you are not on it, no matter how many blessings you are given, you will be blinded by your own self pity. Proven! By me!
Until recently, some shits happened at work and in my personal life. For few days I went into destructive mode, towards myself and others. Thankfully I bounced back fast. I need to, it's survival mode. I can choose to destruct further, that is a very easy choice indeed, something I have been practicing for quite sometimes. Or, I can really start growing up and take charge of my life again.
Because life doesn't care whether you are happy or miserable. It's really up to you. Life moves on. The quicker you bounce back and follow the rhythm of life, the faster you will see good things start to happen to you. It did, to me. Seriously! Once I made the decision to move on and fight for what I think I deserve, I get it and even more.
A few of the early X'mas surprises are: 2 of the stocks I invest, laid eggs into my bank account. Not much, but it was still a very nice surprise. My job is taking a really good turn after I requested for it and be a little "proactive" than usual. The old saying, ask and you shall receive, I received! Beating the inflation big time.
Currently I stopped taking French lesson (something that I really love though kinda lose the steam a bit) in order to save more money to invest into the market. Who would have known, by supporting my friend who participated in a singing contest, she won free French lesson at my school and gave the voucher to me as she has no need of it. I was shocked and impressed at how the universe works.
So, how do good things keep happening? Never stop believing in them. Never stop imagining them. Never stop being grateful for what you already have. Never stop fighting for what you should have. Never settle for less than you deserve. Never shortchange yourself for the sake of settling.
If it doesn't work where you are, may be you are better off somewhere else. Hope good things will keep happening to you. If not, they are probably just taking a break until you are ready to receive them once again.
Are you living in Singapore? If you are, then you will understand what I am about to share soon.
I have been living in Singapore since 1998 and for someone who has stayed that long, you definitely feel things have changed rapidly within this short period of time.
One of it is the increasing number of foreign talents in the retail/service industry. Sometimes it can be quite frustrating as some of them can't even communicate properly in the 2 languages that are spoken by the majority of the population - English and Mandarin.
Once, I was on a bus, seated quite near to the bus driver (nowadays they are called bus captain). When the bus made its next stop, an older gentleman, probably in his 60s boarded and asked the bus captain in English,"Does this bus go to Queensway?" The reply he got was I thick-accented Mandarin that said,"Speak Mandarin?" The older man was trying so hard to translate Queensway but to no avail he turned to me and asked me the same question. I too didn't know what is Queensway in Mandarin. But I do know this bus does head towards that direction so I assured him that he would be fine. He than thanked me and disappointedly made a remark on the "foreigner" bus captain who couldn't even serve the public properly.
It is sad, but this trend is only going up. Things are changing and there is no way things will go back to the way it used to be. From this side, things do look frustrating but have you seen another side of it? I do.
I am in retail industry and since the day I started until now, I find it so hard to find local talents to work in this industry. They are either too picky or they have better offer somewhere or they simply don't last as they don't think too highly of the job.
Then there are agencies who see opportunities in this situation and starts to introduce foreign talents to fill the void. Unfortunately, these agencies earn their living from those poor workers who sometimes are not properly matched to the job. They paid 6-9x their salary amount in advanced, putting all their trust and hope in the agents and future employer, then in most cases, they found themselves stuck in a 2 year contract that they have to serve in order to earn back the "capital". But to the unlucky few, they are sent back immediately not because they are not good in terms of attitude but due to the language barriers. They lost the $ that their family has saved so hard in order for them to have a better future. Hence, some may resort to other ways of living instead due to fear if facing their family in shame.
There are so many frustrated parties here: - Customers who don't get the expected level of service - Employers who don't get the suitable employees - Employees who don't think they are in the promised land
Under different lights, they share the same life with frustrations and they share the same needs to be understood and treated fairly. But life as usual is ever changing and ever camouflaging. The next time you think how different someone is from you, we are still the same living organisms who try to make sense of life and its quirks.
"The first 24 hours after surgery are critical. Every breath you take, every fluid you make is meticulously reported and analysed. Celebrated or mourned. But what about the next 24 hours. What happened when that first day turned into two, and weeks turned into months. ... Surgery is when you get saved but post-op, after surgery is when you heal. But, what if you don't?" - (Prologue, Grey's Anatomy)
Let's be honest, at the surface, the quality of the show Grey's Anatomy seems deteriorating. I personally cant be bothered with the lives of the characters anymore. I watch it for the sake of watching it since I have been following it since the day it hasn't gained all the fame and awards. But, there's one thing that is getting better as the show and the characters grow, they are the prologue and the epilogue of every episode. They may not be a short and sweet type of quotes, but they are the ones which make you stop to ponder.
The recent episode titled "Adrift and at Peace" is one of the example why this show is taking a more philosophical approach towards the story line. After the shooting incident, some of the characters are moving on quite well. Life goes on and there are more lives to be saved. They go on with their works as usual. One of them, Dr. Christina Yang, took it really hard and instead of trying to move forward, she chose to move backward.
And that is reality. Not every one moves on at the speed of light. However, the presence of great supports is definitely the most crucial when it comes to healing, accompanied by a strong belief that healing is possible. Then again, like life, nothing is really predictable and fully controllable. Ultimately, life flows according to its own tempo. Sometimes, you may fall and never get up. But what if you do? No matter what, it is still worth it to take the road to recovery.
"The goal of any surgery is total recovery. To come out better than you were before. Some patients heal quickly and feel immediate relief, for others the healing happens gradually. And it's not until months or even years later that you realize you don't hurt any more. So the challenge after any surgery is to be patient. But if you can make it through the first weeks and months, if you believe that healing is possible, then you can get your life back. But that's a big if." - (Epilogue, Grey's Anatomy)
PS. Seriously I thought of changing the end of the quote, instead of the "big if", it should be "the big gift". Claiming your life as your own is the ultimate present in life.
"Be as good to yourself as you are to those you love." - Suze Orman
The urge to please others, has always been the trait for the majority of us. We have been conditioned, especially in the Asian culture, to put others first before ourselves. To think that being an only child, one would have escaped it, wrong. I'm not spared.
Sure, I think I can be more selfish than most people who are well trained under "the siblings rivalry scheme", but with further observations, my selfishness has been masked with a thin layer of "people pleasing" virus that it disguised itself so well that guilts resurface once in a while in silence.
Observe! How many times have your screamed in silence just because your voices are not heard? How many times you do things out of the good of the group instead of the good of yourself? Was it worth it? Do the voices still silently crave for your attention?
Mine do. It's getting louder nowadays that it refuses to accept no as the only answer. And this time, I listen. Life starts to turn around in an amazing way.
No matter what others try to sell to you when it comes to your life, you are the CEO and COO of it. You make your own decisions and you operate the entire aspects of it. Enough are the days of politeness and giving in, because if it takes sacrificing yourself in order to make others happy, you should start to question is the idea of such happiness will really be worth it. Ultimately, you are your own enterprise. Sometimes you need to cut costs in order to start seeing profits.
Not only each and every aspects of the movies is perfectly put, the message that it invokes at the end of every episode, makes you question about life (and death) in a more interesting way. The theme song is so cute (as you can hear in the trailer below) and started the show with a light bubbly tone. But as the characters and stories develop, the show carries deeper meaning and makes us ponder upon life's more complicated circumstances.
The main character of the show - Cathy Jamison (Laura Linney) found out that she has cancer and most probably won't live much longer, started to live her life to the fullest while also preparing herself for her final days without telling anybody about it, not even her family members.
The most recent episode #13 - Taking the Plunge has one of the best ending that wrenched your heart in a touching manner.
*Warning! Spoilers ahead ... please read at your own risk! And after typing so much about the scene, I found the video on youtube, so you may skip what I wrote and go straight to the video below.*
Cathy's son - Adam, a typical teenager who simply can't be bothered with many things. In this episode, he has been seen to keep asking money from his mom and dad and both of them to refuse to give as he seriously has been asking too much. When his parents are not around and his mom has accidentally left her purse at home, he opened up her wallet and took some money but he also found an envelope that wrote "Don't open until I'm gone". He opened it and found a key to a self storage unit. He rode his bicycle and opened up the storage door and saw a sports car, a bicycle and hundreds and hundreds of nicely wrapped presents. Plus at the center of the storage room a photo of his mom and him. Puzzled, he started to approach the gifts and realized there's a card attached to all the presents.
"Happy 30th Birthday, Adam." (On the sports car)
"Dear Adam, Happy 19th Birthday. Love Mom." (On the bicycle)
"For Adam, Happy 26th Birthday. Love, Mom."
"2012. Merry Christmas, Adam. I love you, Mom."
"2015. Merry Christmas, Adam! XX Mom")
"Congratulations to my high school graduate. XX Mom"
"For Adam on your college graduation. Love Mom."
He knew by then that his mom doesn't have much time to live. He took a look at the photo on the wall and cried.
Life is precious. Who doesn't know that?
Death is inevitable. But many tends to forget.
What you do in between is your choice. You can be pushed around by others. Living by their standards, or you can simply reclaim it and make it your own. Taking a plunge in life means getting your feet wet and immersed yourself in it. Like Cathy, she sets her own standard. She wants a pool at her backyard, she gets it, even though people think she's crazy. Heck, her days are numbered!
Life is too short. Be the master of your own life and make your own choices. So one day when you are near your death bed and look back, you can tell your self,"Yes, that's exactly how I want it to be. My birth. My life. My death." If you decide to be pathetic, then be proud of your pathetic choices. Don't blame others. There is no fixed rule that say "you must live a happy life". Set your own standard. Tweak it along the way and be proud of it. Start to own your life that is given to you before it's being taken away.
Are you one of those, like me, who have lots of plans and plots when it comes to life?
You create benchmarks and have your own yardsticks against people around you whom you think are successful. Then you are all depressed because you are no where like them. Then you try to figure out what can be done better? Why are not as good as them? Why this? Why that? Are you? I am.
Finally I am throwing the towel of figuring things out. No point.
When I want something, I will get it.
When I can't have it. Then it's not now. May be next time.
I am tired of figuring things out. I am tired of planning and plotting.
I am tired of thinking too much and not going anywhere.
I am not them. I am me.
I am going to start living lives as how it is at this moment.
If it throws me s***, I will take the s*** and move on.
If people disappoint me, which they do, without fail, I will accept it and move on.
I learn (and I better learn it well) that s*** will always happen but no matter what happens, if you don't move on, life will. If you are not at the same pace as life, then you will be left behind, that's the truth with life. Time doesn't wait. Life doesn't wait. Then why are you sitting at the sideline watching all goes by? If you are not in the life that you want now, create it. If you think it's impossible, stop complaining then create one that is possible.
I am moving on may not be forward, it may be sideways but I am moving on, my way.
Uncovering what you really want to do is not about searching and figuring out what’s perfect. It’s about jumping in and seeing what the water is like. - Henri Junta, The Wake Up Cloud
Talents are seriously everywhere and the world just never fail to surprise me with the growth of amazing talents! I stumbled into this French post on my Google reader, top 10 acappella that consists of only 1 person.
And my favourite are the following:
1. Michael Jackson – You rock my world by Jean-Baptiste Craipeau
2. Lady Gaga Medley by Naya Marie
3. Jason Mraz – I’m Yours by Del Soul
4. Katy Perry – Teenage Dream + Bruno Mars – Just the Way You Are by Mike Tompkins
A French friend of mine shared this and I couldn't stop adoring how fantastic and creative ad campaign can be. Truly, there's no limit in terms of idea.
If you would like to see the original blog post in French, you can find it here.
Basically it's a series of advertisements for the latest Sony Ericcson phone - Xperia X10. They conduct a focus group consists of 3 people who will then try out the different functions of the phones they get. My favourite is the little girls but the rest are as hilarious too. Enjoy!
The recent passing of Mrs. Lee, wife of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has definitely saddened the nation. I am not Singaporean nor I am very actively aware of the political scene of this country but I must admit, the love between both of them are so strong that every time they appeared on TV or their photos surfaced on newspaper, you can't help to see how loving they are to each other. It's not one of those PR moves to appear "perfect" in public. They are truly meant for each other throughout the thick and thin and most importantly, they are a couple who focus on big picture and build a nation and a loving family instead of poking on the small pettiness in life. Mr. Lee has written a great eulogy for one to understand their love story better. Everyone should read it.
Thanks for your contribution, Mrs. Lee. Your dedication to your husband, family and nation are truly exceptional. :-)
“Much has been written about the loyalty of dogs, but what I love about them isn't their devotion to me so much as their devotion to being alive.” — Steven Bauer
This quote found me when I have been procrastinating about blogging (again) and straightaway I'm acting on my laziness as the story has been at the back of my mind for quite a long time.
For those of you who know me, you know I love dogs. I love them, sometimes, more than I love human beings (that includes myself). Up to this day, I still miss, think and talk about Kiky as if she is still waiting for me to come home in my hometown. Well, in a way, she is waiting for me to come "home". Can't wait to meet her.
While I'm still in this earthly sphere, I get to know 2 more dogs closely - Kaya (the dark brown one) and Guyu (the beige one). They are my friend's poodles. I swear I hate poodles. They are, to me, so ugly beyond reason, especially with their super curly hair. OMG! To this date, if I can afford to, I wouldn't choose a poodle. Not in a million years. I will still get a minpin :)
But behind those curly hairs, they are still lovely beings. So lovable that simply looking at them can bring me so much joy and simplicity. No human can do so as they are just too complicated and full of expectations. (Including moi.)
My focus today is about Guyu, the small and really frail poodle who has the fear of height. (Even though it's just as high as a cushion, she will not jump down.) Her fear is really ridiculous to the point of laughter. But, I don't think she cares. She is too busy being happy.
Guyu is definitely the happiest dog I've ever seen. She wakes up happily to embrace a new day = a new breakfast served. Then she will happily run around the house. When people start to wake up, she will happily follow them around with the occasional ankle biting game or hi-five-ing people's butt while happily jumping around. Then she will be happily supervising people doing their daily chores, walk around each room of the house and as the day goes by she will be happily going to sleep and ends the day by having another happy dream of chasing the toy or something.
She is a happy dog. She is so happy that one time I witnessed her wagging her tail when she was simply drinking water. Seriously? One is happy by drinking water when one is not even at the dessert or at the point of dying from thirst? What was in her mind when she was thinking water? As if she saw water for the very first time and decided "Hmm this tastes good and this makes me happy".
Her constant state of happiness is really contagious. It is so overwhelming and I can't help but to smile back at her every time she is just being her silly self. Guess, she doesn't know that. She doesn't know what she has brought to people around her, who have witnessed her heightened state of being. She is too busy being alive.
And I feel alive every time I am with her. Thank you, Guyu for being who you are. There are still so many lessons I need to learn from you. *Woof*
I stumbled upon this article who share 20 ways of giving even if you are broke. The title caught my attention and the ideas are just wonderful. Though some of them do depend on where you are but others are definitely do-able. For example, donate your old magazines, books, aluminum cans, etc. And the more interesting ones like donating your hair, bone marrow, even glasses.
No matter what, this list is definitely a start to kick-off more creative giving in us.
Since I still have no idea what I should blog that purely comes from my own brain, in the next few posts, I am going to share what I have been reading and finding out about the interesting world we are living in.
Now ... it's this animated video/seminar about what drive us to do what we do. It'll be one of the best 11 minutes you've ever spent in enriching your mind. Enjoy!
Oh geez, where was I? I was everywhere except at where I needed to be. For example, maintaining a consistent rhythm in blogging. Discipline is a b***h. And yet, it's one of the necessary element to keep things going. Once one lost the momentum to do anything, the thing will seem harder. I am on the path to reclaim back my momentum in life. I am not giving up. I do have an idea of what to write next. Now, I need to befriend my b***hy friend called "Discipline", claim back the momentum and charge forward to what I really need to be doing. Live my life again.
As most of you might have known that I'm currently blogging from my Blackberry. It has been a wonderful experience indeed. I did mention briefly about how I'm able to also use my Nokia N97 by using 2 SIM cards with only 1 phone number. I dedicate this post to this amazing technology since one of my friend was asking.
Thanks to the M1 customer service personnel who was listening to my sad plea about how I still want to keep my Nokia and not going to abandon it, he then introduced me to the 2 SIM card option.
Basically you will only have 1 number and you are able to enjoy the goodness of 2 phones; especially iPhone and Blackberry which tend to be the most popular combination. You will then be given Primary SIM Card and Secondary SIM Card. And these are what each card can do.
Primary SIM Card - Incoming calls: When calls come in, they will first reach the Primary card - Receiving SMS: When SMS comes in, it will only reach the Primary card - Outgoing Call: Able to call out - Sending SMS: Able to text out - Surf the internet using 3G service - If your primary phone is a Blackberry, you will be able to use its function too
Secondary SIM Card - Incoming calls: When calls are not being picked up on the Primary card, it will then be diverted to your Secondary card. Yes, your second phone will ring. - Receiving SMS: You can't receive any SMS through this card - Outgoing Call: Able to call out - Sending SMS: Able to text out - Surf the internet using 3G service - If your secondary phone is a Blackberry, you will still be able to use its function too
Changing and Checking - You may check which phone is the Primary by dialing *137# - You may change the Primary by dialing *136# on the designated Primary phone (Yes! It's that easy!)
Charges and Fees Depends on the service provider there are some charges involved with this service: - 1 time fee for the SIM card (around $19) - Monthly fee ranging from $2.50-5
Advantages - You are able to enjoy the goodness of 2 phones while still having only 1 number - When you run out of battery on one phone, you still have the other phone as back-up - You don't need to tell the whole world you have new number just because you have a new phone
Disadvantages - You need to pay for this - When both phones have no batteries (Trust me, it happened!)
Overall, I'm just grateful this service exists. I was delusional enough to believe I'm able to use 2 phones at the same time while everyone around me thinks I was being ridiculous. Then the universe sent that helpful customer service personnel to let me know that I'm apparently not the only insane greedy phone user around. When you believe it hard enough, the answer may just be presented to you. Who knows. :)
Exactly, thanks to me not knowing, I'm compelled to write about it. For years I've been trying to define me, define my blog as the expert says, you need to find a niche. You need to specialize in something.
Alas, after so many years of figuring things out, I still can't find my niche. I still specialize in nothing. This frustrates me to the core.
When I look at people around me, I'm able to pinpoint: - she is a supply chain specialist - he dwells in hardware - she is so good in her French - it is so good in loving people (yes, I'm referring to the wonderful four-legged creature that I adore)
Then I take a look back at myself, what am I good at? I am not expert in skin care just because I'm working in the industry. I'm not a specialist in short term rental just because I dwelled in it for a while and worse, my beloved language of French, I'm so far from mastering it. My passion was procrastinated as I lost my steam then I stopped the course as I couldn't commit. Well, simple case look at my blogging habit, kinda say it all about me and specializing in something. This just sadden me to the core. How am I going to define myself? What am I good at?
That's when I realize defining myself in such a rigid manner doesn't work for me at all. I am who I am and I am who I'm evolving into (thanking someone for this insight). I am accepting to be the specialist in nothing and everything. I may not know a particular subject in depth but I am sure I at least heard of it or willing to learn about it. I am not ignorant.
I may not be the top student in French anymore (thanks to my lazy other half :p) but throw me back to Paris and I should be able to converse to the children now instead of playing alphabet games with them like I did in December 2008 (as shown below).
I am evolving and I love who I am becoming so far. I still not sure what is my niche, who I want to be and it may get fuzzier as I think harder. But as I let things simply flow together with life, so far it had never failed to surprise me.
I define myself as a human being with a curious mind and ever evolving soul that when I come to the end point, one thing I am sure is that I have grown to be better than I was before.
This will be the first time I'm blogging from my Blackberry Bold 9700. I love this phone so far though the connection can get a bit cranky at times and the calendar + tasks display is not as nice as my previous Nokia N97 but and the battery life is really pathetic. But despite all its flaw, I love this phone.
The email and messenger functions are just superb. It's a no nonsense phone for business and communications. Definitely not as fun as Iphone but based on my needs, BB is definitely the one for me.
Having said that, I still can't part with my Nokia N97. So thanks to today's powerful technology, I'm able to use 2 phones with my 1 number. How fantastic is that! The advancement of technology amazes me as it offers so much flexibility to fulfill one's need at a very reasonable price.
Now I just hope my eyes won't get smaller from all these typing.
Wish me luck and I promise, more posts to come soon. I am also now on twitter at www.twitter.com/daringdd. As recommended by my friend, it may be more suitable for me since I tend to be lazy in updating long post. Whatever it is, I will be present in both. Yay!
As usual, being the queen of procrastinators, I have abandoned my blog again and again and now I am back and not sure when I will be hiding behind my comfort zone again. But for now I decide to make an appearance. And I change things up a bit ... only my header ... :p I realize my deep love towards the black and white (inspired by previous post) I created a simple header that simply consists of those 2 colours. If can put in silver, I would ... because black and silver are simply cool!
Alright, back to the theme ... why should I blog?
Even though I have stopped blogging for some times, but the urge of writing is always there. Somehow, through writing out my thoughts, a part of me is being kept sane this way. And hence, I will try to look for an insight to keep my insanity down low ... Though I think sometimes, my insanity makes life so much more interesting. We'll see.
I would like to thank you for readers who have been so faithful and supportive of my blogs. Without you I wouldn't have so many visitors from many countries. Though there's only 1 post that attracted the most traffic, it still means a lot to me that people do find my post interesting.
So voila ... I am back and I will be more present ...
I seriously can't wait to share these beautiful black and white photographs by various photographers. Some are just so captivating to the soul. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Which one is your favourite?
Mine is ... this mysterious looking one by Toni Frissell
Finally I don't need to rely to someone to do that! Yes, I know I don't wear it every time but still ... to finally be in control of a tie feels liberating.
All thanks to my new found love - DEXTER! A fictional serial killer + blood splatter analyst from a TV Series haha! How no life can I be, eh? Heck, finally, anyone can learn how to tie a tie by using this simple steps and storyline. It works wonder :D
Thank you, Dexter!
Voila ... the story line for tying a tie is as follow and of course, the video. Enjoy!
- Rabbit hops over the log - Rabbit crosses under the log - Rabbit runs around the log - One more time because it's trying to outsmart the fox - The rabbit dives through its rabbit hole - Safe and sound!
And I have been procrastinating for so long ... shame on me!
Yes, you heard me right. A taxi driver in Singapore has been blogging regularly since the start of his career. Though he has only been a taxi driver for 6 months due to an unfortunate event, during those period, he blogged simply to record stories he experienced during his contract. Little that he knew his misfortune made me move my arse and type something here.
This special taxi driver's name is Dr. Cai Mingjie. Yes, he has a "Dr" title as he has a Stanford PhD. He was terminated from his job May 2008 and since then he had so much trouble to find job as either he was overqualified or there were simply no responses to his applications. (He has started to look for job since May 2007!!!!) Putting his PhD aside, he decided to be a taxi driver in November 2008 and the rest is history.
I have heard of him on the newspaper before. At that point of time, I thought the media wanted to show how bad the market was during the crisis that job was so scarce. I pitied him, and many of the Facebookers did too. But few days ago, I was shocked, I saw his book at the book store and without shadow of a doubt, I bought it. Even though it's at quite a hefty price (for local book it is a little bit high, I should have bought it online and I could get his autograph! HAHA) I just thought to myself,"Hey! This is interesting! I want!".
The book - it's an easy read. Simply love how simple the way he wrote it and most importantly the daily life stories stories were intertwined with philosophies and reflections. As most people now, there are good and bad people that taxi drivers may encounter and this book covers both sides. But he focused more on the good sides and even the bad, he reflected on it and they become life lessons. He's my idol.
What I love the most is when despite his unfortunate circumstance of losing his job and being pushed from one of the more prestigious career of scientist to one of the lower one of a taxi driver, yet, he managed to put his pride aside and did what a scientist will do to the whole experience - learn, observe, reflect and share. I know I connect with this most because I used to be a passionate observer and sharer like him through my blog. Then ... I slacked and slacked and .... you know what happened after that long time of drought in actions = NOTHING!
Lots of the stories he shared inside, especially about the sides of Singapore that not many of us will chance upon - lives of the prostitutes, the senior citizens who are struggling, the old men with some "needs", the executives who are stingy and rude, etc. They opened my eyes and heart to learn more about what we have easily missed about our surroundings. I am grateful to chance upon his book and slowly awakening that curious gene inside me. One lesson at a time.
