Have you ever seen someone who used "intelligent" sarcasms in showing that they do know it all?
Or how about when you've done something wrong, someone uses sarcasms to "soothe" your mistake and left you feeling unsettled?
Well, there are a lot of forms of sarcasms.
The ones who show superiority.
The ones who show that one is more knowledgeable.
The ones who are covering the angers and disappointments within
The ones who are purely for fun and nothing else (If you are interested to learn this, you may watch The Golden Girls and pay attention to the character, Dorothy Zbornak)
As I always believe there are 2 sides of almost everything in this world, hence there are the yin and the yang of sarcasm too. At times it can really be witty and fun but at the other hand it's downright irritating and demeaning.
But I think when it's abused and overly used, sarcasm is a way in covering the insecurities of oneself, something that he/she lacks of. Because when thing doesn't blossom out of love, it'll be springing from fear. And fear is not a pretty sight.
And yes, to be sarcastic, is a skillful art by itself. But when it loses its luster, you'll tend to hurt people without you even knowing them. Even though you may not hurt them in the most literal way, there'll be a "paper cut" to the soul which to those who can't let go easily, will be a mark carried through life.
Remember - A sneer is the weapon of the weak. - James Russell Lowell. So what do you do when you were attacked by one? You don't need to do anything, because no matter what, the weak can't beat the strong.
Recently I'm so intrigued to see more of the world ... from my desk, for now. :p So, I roam around and found a vacation rental site with a cute name - www.goin2travel.com. (I do wish I'm doing what the domain name is saying ... argh!)
With the hike of rentals almost everywhere around the world, it'll definitely come in handy to have a guide for good accommodations list especially you are a frequent traveler. This site has listed vacation rentals that covers almost around the world. From Orlando to Florida and Florida Keys (I don't know there's such thing called Florida Keys). From Alaska to Africa. I was in the short-term accommodation business myself and hell I know how tough it is to find a perfect place to stay for short-term especially in Singapore. I don't think it'll be such a hassle elsewhere, especially not with such a comprehensive list exists.
One of my dream location will be Paris. Well known for its hedonistic lifestyle which where I am in right now, is very lacking of it. I'll definitely keep this site in mind when it's time to finally move my you-know-what and finally start discovering the world not from my desk. Like one of my cousin's boyfriend whom I can't help but admire, a true blue traveler who doesn't even mind to sleep in a cave for the sake of discovering a new experience. Not everyone can do that for sure, but well, everyone deserves to see more of the world, even if it's just for a while. I believe it'll be worth it.
A tune came into my mind yesterday and it brought me to this video.
What is it?
If any of you have grown up in Indonesia and been educated there, it's something you can't miss at all. It's one of our exercise routine which we had to do pretty regularly. It was part of our physical examination too. Yes, we got graded for it. And it's proudly called - SKJ 88. (Senam Kesegaran Jasmani 88). If it's being translated literally it means a type of exercise for physical freshness :p ... and the song was launched in 1988.
I still can remember I actually ran to buy the audio cassette and then started to practice in front of the mirror to prepare myself for the test. Ridiculous! But well, that's part of my life there.
This video, however, does not have all the correct movements. The beginning was pretty much accurate but most of it .... erm ... if you have the stomach to watch till the end, you'll understand.
Yes ... it was ... When anybody mentioned "its name", I'll shun them off. I'm appalled to even think about "it". Well, that was donkey years ago.
Now, who is not familiar with the word - insurance? Do you know how advanced this industry has become? Not only it has the cheaper range and those traditional life, mortgage insurance but there's even divorce insurance. Gee. What's that all about, man? I've no idea.
How did I overcome my phobia of insurance? Surprisingly, it was in my first job, I get to know this client who then introduced me to my current agent. From there I just took the most basic of everything. And within 1 year (or less, can't remember) I have already made my first claim! Can you believe it? It has helped me really well, since I'm quite injury prone -.-" (not the major one, thank God)
So, since I've reaped the benefits, I'm no longer holding on to my phobia, but I learn to embrace it. I'm not a preacher either, why should I? I don't even get commission for preaching it, but at the very uncertain time like now, it's best to have some "safety net" behind our back. Even though it may not be the right tool for everyone, for those who have trouble saving, it can be another great tool to train up your discipline in saving.
Ah well ... just remember to do homework, compare from every companies you know and choose the best plan for you. Not everything should be accepted just because the "expert" says so. In the end, you are the master of your own life.
I'd like to share with you a site that I just found. It's suitable for anybody who'd like to publish anything, and guess what, you can even earn $$ from there. When I mentioned anything, it literally means anything like: - Books - Audio - Seminar package - Photo - Video - Presentation - Spreadsheets - Music - Etc
It's called YouPublish. Well, at the moment I don't have anything to be published yet but it's one of my dream to have something published, even though it's just a piece of poem. But that doesn't mean I can't kick-start it by publishing something online, right. And YouPublish seems to make things easier for people who want to spread their work around the globe. You may choose to sell your publication or give it out for free. It's up to you. :-)
Well, hope you are having fun with it! :D I know I will though not so soon ... may procrastinate haha ... I have nothing to be published for now except all my self-portraits -.-" Euww .... I'm not so narcissistic ... yet :p
Image courtesy of http://www.pastdeadline.com Don't be surprised. The title is referring to yours truly. Yes. I am a TV shows addict and I'm proud of it. (Oopps... shameless me). But seriously, I love all of them. From drama to comedy. From reality TV to talk show. You name it, I love it. :p ... Geez ... I know, it sounds quite pathetic and you may be thinking it's such a time and life consuming activity but somehow, I found a different life in it. Go figure.
I wouldn't want to list down what I'm watching as that would be too scary but I think I'd better jot down what I am discovering that's worth sharing from those that I've watched. And at 3AM I'm so eager to share about what I just finished watching - The Apprentice (UK). This show is modeled from the successful American version by Donald Trump (the real estate mogul) where people are fighting for "the" job to be his apprentice and throughout the "interviewing" process, they'll be given projects to manage. The winning team/candidate will be rewarded and the loser will be FIRED.
Image courtesy of http://newyork.corante.com I love the US version from the start because I thought every projects will be interesting despite of the drama-rama between the contestants, there're always things to be learned. I guess NBC agreed with their fans and created a section in its website that says - Lessons Learned, even Trump University is part of this. How smart The Donald is. :p
So, when I stumbled upon The Apprentice (UK), I was quite apprehensive as the general notion of British show is either boring or have some different taste of joke. But, being a GREAT TV junkie, I kept on watching. Though there were times I cringed at the way they deliberated soooooooo much, as if they were required to write a 100 pages essay for every question they are asked. URGH.
As I watched more and more, I realize, I actually love the UK version more now, why? Not because I need to write 100 pages worth of essay now, but because the challenges given by Sir Alan Sugar (The UK version of Donald Trump) were actually much more interesting and challenging than the US version. They normally will require the contestants to get their hands really dirty into the process of the business, inside out, outside in. If the US version requires the team to sell as much ice cream as possible in a period of time, the UK version will make the team to go to the dairy farm, make their own ice cream, create their own original flavour, let the locals taste the ice cream, and then sell as much ice cream as possible. Not only the project has the intention to grill the teams involved, it also has the sincere intention to help the local dairy farm to expand their business to London. I just love that idea so much. It's a win-win-win-win situations: 1. Contestants had a challenging task to be closer to the prize 2. Dairy farms had more exposure 3. New customers had the chance to be pioneers with those unique flavours (imagine avocado + chili) 4. It made great TV and another win 5. DD, the TV junkie is happy and learning something at the same time
The losing team this week was really a surprising one for me. The leader was doing quite a great job and they managed to secure larger deals compared to the other team. They had 6 appointments made the day before compared to the other team only had 2 appointments. The difference between their sales was approximately £200, but that small amount was brutal enough to get someone fired.
The losing team members were actually doing quite a great job and I was perplexed how the project manager was able to pull through this and actually chose 2 members to be brought to the boardroom with her. As more mouths spoken up, it's easier to see where things went wrong and here was the scenario:
There were 6 members. 3 were in the production house, making ice cream. 3 were focusing on sales and setting up appointment for the next day.
The sales team (consists of Lindi, Jennifer & Raef) was really doing quite well but they got a little bit cocky. From the sales team, Lindi was chosen to be the second-in-command.
They managed to clinch 2 quite big deal - cinema chain and pub chain.
Jennifer took the initiative to give an exclusive deal to the cinema chain. Which means the unique flavour of the ice cream will not be allowed to sell in other cinemas. This decision was taken by her without first consulting her sales manager (Lindi) or worse, the owner of the ice cream - the dairy farm!!
Lindi on the other hand also gave a 3-month-exclusive deal to the pub chain without consulting the dairy farm.
Both decisions pertaining the exclusivity of the flavour had made Sir Alan so mad that if he had known this earlier, he would void the sales which will make the difference between the winning and losing team to be more than just £200.
So who do you think will be fired? - The project manager who were being cornered by her team member - Jennifer who had given away the exclusivity to the cinema chain without permission - Lindi who was also given away the exclusivity to the pub chain though it's only for 3 months
The female candidates from Series Four in the boardroom. Back row left to right: Lucinda, Shazia, Sara, Jenny. Front row left to right: Claire, Helene, Lindi, Jennifer. At this point, I was really thinking that Miss "Exclusive" Jennifer will be sent home. She made one of the major mistake for making her own decision just to secure the deal without thinking on behalf of the dairy farm, who'll eventually continue and delivery the business after the challenge. To my surprise, it was the second-in-command cum sales-manager Lindi that got the boot from Sir Alan. Reason, she was the sales manager. She should have stopped Jennifer from making the big mistake and shouldn't even have made the mistake herself. She was a very creative sales person out of all the candidates but because of this mistake, she was fired. :( I was quite sad and shocked to see her go but well, she did make the mistake.
I love how Sir Alan put it when it selling, even though bringing in money to the company is important and at times you may need to do whatever it takes to secure a deal. But, it doesn't mean you need to sell your company in order to clinch the deal. If the deal is bad, walk away. I guess this theory doesn't just apply to business, but in life you just have to say no when you know you are selling yourself short.
Sir Alan, you definitely got my eyes hooked on your version of Apprentice.
For those who've loved and lost ... And wonder if time will wash away all the pains and memories ... Unless you have a selective amnesia, pains and memories remain.
17th April 2008, will mark 3 years anniversary of my one and only beloved dog, Kiky, passing away to another realm. For those who know me, I put my dog above all else. Even above myself.
You must be thinking that I'm crazy as some of you must have lost loved ones who are actually human beings. Well, I think losing a being, physically or emotionally, surpasses the notion whether he/she is a human or not.
Though 95% of the time I treasure and remember great moments she had given me, but it's that 5% of reliving the lost that is tough. And when those moments come, I can't help but being swept away. I lost control of myself. You think 13 years is enough to be with someone or you think half a year is too short but when it comes to losing, I don't think time has anything to do with it. So, how do one get over it? I don't know. I don't think it's possible to get over it. I think the main lesson is in living with it and each time the memory haunts you, it will not be as bad as before. And slowly, it'll be 99% of great moments and 1% pain. But through pain, we draw strength and wisdom to move forward and do better next time.
"Time goes by but life stands still to the moment we used to share."
It was a rainy afternoon. I was strolling alone with a cup of bubble tea on my hand. The weather was not so bad but the floor was wet. It just poured heavily before that. I thought I was going to have a smooth walk for at least 10 minutes. Who knows fate had different plan for me.
I stepped on a metal plate on the concrete floor and my shoes didn't have any grip at all and ... BAM ... I slipped as if I just had one of the ride in the playground. I'm not afraid of embarrassment. And I was not even concerned with the wounds I had on my elbow. But I was pissed that my clothes were dirty.
Sunday, 13 April 2008 Around 9PM
It's not a rainy day as I recalled. So, I made really sure I didn't slip off again. And I was once again strolling down the road and this time with 2 of my friends. Suddenly, I felt something on top of my head. And at that point of time, lots of birds were flying around as if they were rushing back home. I knew it at that moment, I just got myself "the gift" from heaven.
You must be thinking, damn, what a weekend I just had. I was thinking about that too if my whole weekend only consisted by those 2 eventful activities. Fortunately, there are so many more colourful activities in my life. I explored new places and food. I met my old friends. I made my friends cleaned my hair for me (aww... aren't they sweet? but may be behind that they were cursing and swearing haha... I wouldn't know) and I made everybody laughed when I told them bird passed motion on me ... that's fun.
I'm just glad out of the 48 hours of my life, I didn't let that few minutes stole the limelight away from my great experiences to come. If I'm able to rewrite the entry for those days, they will be:
Saturday, 12 April 2008 Jelius, my genius friend was back in Singapore. So glad I managed to catch up with her again. She's my junior, she's younger than me by 3 years. And she's one hell of an independent lady. She is well known (made by yours truly) for being able to explore Singapore all alone by the public transport (bus and MRT) only with simple instructions from me. She also managed to explore part of Sentosa island all by herself and since this was her 2nd time in Singapore, she finally had her revenge to explore further (as the last time she came it was raining cats and dogs). But alas ... this time it's also raining heavily. Aih -.-" ... but she's still as chirpy as ever and I believe there'll be the 3rd coming of Jelius. If anybody is wondering what happened to the top I'm wearing ... it's gone ... I over-cleaned it. The parts with stained are turning white. HUAH!!!! I'm just grateful I'm able to capture the memory of it in this photo. Though it didn't really do justice to it! :( Hicks. But oh .. well ... it'll be part of my pajamas collection now.
I also managed to try one of the nicest tiramisu in Singapore. Aih .... :-) ... that did make my day. It's from Jones, the Grocer at Dempsey. Geez. It's really great. :-)
Sunday, 13 April 2008 So have you ever wondered who were my two helpers with the "bird shit" incident?
The tallest one is Enny and the other one is Michelle (I like to call her Thing2). And yes, both of them are also 3 years my juniors and yes, I'm much shorter than them for goodness sake. (Bearing in mind, Enny has been nice to me by wearing flats as she knows no matter what she wears, I'll still be shorter than her anyway).
If you ever wonder why most of my friends are much younger than me? Well, it's like reliving my high school all over again. I'm not sure why this happened but I think it may be one of the contributing factor to make me stay ... "youthful"? Hahaha .. or may be even "kiddie".
After all, the falling down and the bird shit didn't spoil my day at all. My day is how I want it to be and it's been filled with joy and fun. I hope everyone is also choosing to make your day a happy one too.
