Post Christmas cum Pre New Year blog..

Took today's title from the post christmas cum pre new year party that we had this afternoon in the office. Technically it was supposed to be yesterday but to accommodate more people, we decided to push it to today! Well all in all about 14 people came for the party. No bad when the replies that I received are less than that number! Food was good because it was planned by the party committee which basically is the whole office but in the end, is left to the wits of my colleague and me! Yah so you can imagine, how frantic we became! We had to take care of food as well as games! Luckily no decor involved this year! I made some Japanese jelly and we skewwered the ham with tomatoes! Comment was this is a pretty neat concept!

The actual party started with this game called "Fact or False" which is done by your truly using all the resources from the internet and some crazy facts that we know! Come to think of it, Mythbuster is not a bad source of information. However one needs to bear in mind that we are not American so certain thing cannot be used because they do not apply to us. I should have cut the questions down as by the time I got to end of the slides, I m extremely tired myself! Then it is a small food break before we continue with a guessing game. It is an action game whereby one is supposed to guess what the other person is trying to hint to him. Ok it starts something like this: 1 person volunteered to do the guessing. A card is then picked with actions written on both top and bottom of the card which is shown to the team mate. The team mate will decide on the action to be done and the card is then placed on the forehead of the volunteer. Then another card is picked and topics to be discussed are again written on the top and bottom of the card. The team mate will decide on the topic to discuss and they will use this topic to hint to the volunteer what the action that is written on the card on his forehead is about. For example, the volunteer's card said "complain" and his team mate picked the topic "rice", then they need to use "rice" as the content of their conversation to let the volunteer guessed that they are complaining. So something like " rice is really expensive, and the price keeps going up" or "got ants found in the packet of rice. what like that wan, must go tell the consumer's people or best still go tell AVA to come arrest the rice importer. Why they so unethical wan?... "

After the guessing game, we had another "see who can unwrap the presents before the number is thrown". This game was tot by my colleague which is basically see how fast u can unwrap a present and if u did so before your turn was up, u get to keep the present. A number is decided and a dice is used to determine whether the initial person who is given the present can unwrapped the present before the number is thrown. In the end after some dice throwing n lots of excitement and many layer of wrappers later, the winner emerged!

There is also a forfeiting game through the whole party which is "nobody supposed to put down the party hat before the game master and if he or she was the slowest to remove, then a forfeit will be bestowed upon him or her". One of my Drs was forfeited because he played plank on the game master a couple of times. The other person who was forfeited was me. Is actually nothing really frightening, I had to stand on a chair n sang a song. I did it with fun and glee. The Dr seems a bit reluctant to do the forfeit and I think we were really afraid that he will get angry. By the way, he had to do 3 forfeits. One was to tell a joke to make the people laugh, second was to be blindfolded and guessed by touch who is the person and third is the same as me, which is to stand on a chair n let the rest decided on a suitable course to do. From my point of view, the forfeits was not that bad so just do it and let the rest had a good laugh. Somehow I find that he was being gangsterish thoughout! This is the same Dr that I liked. Today, I changed my opinion of him. I don know whether I should continue to like this person who thinks nothing about me. I think behaviours can be controlled or adjusted to be better and I don mind liking a "gangster" as long as the guy returns the affection. This is just wasting my time if whatever I do is not going to create any value in the person' s heart. Why should I waste my time liking you? Everyone deserves to be valued and treasured by someone. Everyone is too precious to be thrashed by someone who does not care about you. Thus, I m going to reset my priority in this coming year 2008. It is easier said than done but I have to make that first small step!

I think I m too long winded with no pictures. Then and again, this is my blog and it should be my way!

"It is much more valuable to look for the strengths in others--you gain nothing by criticizing people’s imperfections."

- Words of wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

I know the strength in him and I will accept his flaws. This is to a person you truly like and who returns the affection. It is not worthwhile then to like a person who will have nothing to do with you. I m too precious and my life is too short for that!

Season Greeting and Christmas 2007!

How fast! It is almost to the end of the year and in another of couple days, we will welcome 2008! It seems like it was 1999 and we looked into the 21 century just not too long ago. Look at now, we are already 8 years into the 21 century. Things have progressed but the world is still not having peace. The shock of Sept 21 just one year into the 21 century does not really signify a peaceful and progressive world! It left people thinking about what we have achieved over the last century and what we still need to improve and what we should bring into the next decade and century. Firstly, I think though globalisation has brought us closer but it also leave a lot of gap around! Though we now can communicate and even travel across long distance in matters of hours, our understanding and our patience have decreased! We are able to see more differences among people and we lose patience when we do not see eye to eye. This is sad cos should not this gives us more time to understand and accept our differences! Anyway, today is Christmas and an event that is celebrated by many people around the globe. Though there are also many of us that do not celebrate Christmas but this does not stop us from bringing some cheers to our friends and families! The celebration of festivals by the people of the world is possible because we appreciate and are able to endure the peculiarities of others which we ourselves do not subscribe! The narrowing of the gap that separate us from them, you from me and he from she should be encouraged because only by understanding and thinking as one common human race, we can then resolved all those problems that are inflicted on us, environment and planet earth!

Therefore, Merry Christmas to all! May Santas continue to bring cheers and gifts to all those who believed in him! I rather enjoy the kissing under the mistletoe legend and m still finding that person to perform such an act!


Orchard Road is open to all pedestrians today! There are some floats on the road on display. Many took this opportunity to take a stroll along the road and some photos as memory to say "HEY! Watch me, I m on Orchard Road itself!"

It is not that glaring here but nothing stops some humor with sunglasses in a shopping centre!

This month has been pretty hectic and I will probably come up with a post on what I did this year as a conclusion to the blog for 2007. This means I have to start writing so that I can post exactly on 31 Dec 2007.

From now to end of the year, there will be a gathering, FD musical training, Telok Blangah Chapter Daimokukai and gym. Seems like a good ending to the year and a fresh beginning for next year!

On counting down to Christmas? I took my cousins to Harry's Pub but since the cousins are still young, we have to sit outside along the Singapore River. Then on to TCC for tea (to wash down the alcohol) and soup! Seems like pretty unadventurous but it was pretty fun still.

"As long as we are human, we are destined to make mistakes. We all fall prey to flawed beliefs and views. What separates a forward-looking person from an intransigent one, a virtuous person from a malevolent one, however, is whether one can candidly admit to ones mistakes and take bold steps to redress them."

- Words of wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

Just watched "National Treasure" Part 2 so from Abraham Lincoln himself who was the president featured during the civil war:

"There are no accidents in my philosophy. Every effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finite to the infinite."

"Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

"The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."

We are the water!

I tot "we are the water" will be quite an appropriate title for this blog. This is the title of 1 of the theme songs for this year SEA games. Unfortunately I din follow the whole process and probably to the rest of us who are non atheletic, this is just another event that happen. Right back to the song, the lyrics is pretty interesting. It talks about people like water coming from different places and converging at a common point and become united for a common dream. In this case, it will be victory, glory and achievement at the SEA games. I guess we are all pretty the same, all of us have goals, aspirations, needs and most importantly we are all staying on this planet earth. Our common heritage is the monkey and we are the species called the Homo Sapiens! Then perhaps, if we have this common acknowledgement, we can prevent a lot of conflicts. How can men and women who are so closely knitted have war and arguments that destroy harmony!?

Today, the FD participated in a community service event for URA, Marina Bay development and Esplanade. We volunteered to obtain wishes for Singapore on inflated plastic balls from Singaporeans and tourists all across the island. My venue was at Vivo City and the event started at 12noon. By 2pm, we had gathered enough signature to call it a day. It is really interesting to note that people really asked whether they need to make a donation for this. Of course, it is free. How can we ask people to donate when making wishes for Singapore! In total, we collected signatures on 16 plastic balls of different sizes.

After this, I had to go down for the final district meeting of this year. Although only 2 of my YWDs attended the meeting, it is considered a good meeting. I will have to work harder next year. It will be really great that my YWDs can grow and develop into capable individuals in their respective frontier! It is also time to pen down my resolutions for 2008. Some of 2007 needs to be brought forward not because I have not done them but I know I can do better next year. 2008 is a year developing capable people for the next decade!

No pictures for this blog. However I m still going to end with quote from Daisaku Ikeda Sensei.

"The heart is what is important." There is nothing more vulnerable, nothing more corruptible than the human mind; nor is there anything as powerful, steadfast and ennobling."

- Words of wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

"The fortitude to fight on through to the very end—this strength is not only the basis of happiness, it is also the force by which social wrongs can be righted. It makes no difference how humble or virtuous a person may be if they cave in at a time of crisis. Such a person may even end up betraying others. That is why we must become stronger. Victory can only be wrested by those who are strong."

- Words of wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

- Charles Darwin

"It is not length of life, but depth of life"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

往往一个人都会觉得自己能做什么呢？其实只要一个人能觉醒，能毫无畏惧的站起来，世界的转变就开始了。

Totto Chan and her quest for the welfare of the children.. An early morning on Saturday..

Totto-Chan, does the name ring a bell? This was a little gal who was a little gal during the second world war. A little gal who was different from others because she was more curious! In yesterday environment, this was equivalent to being naughty and unruly and children were not supposed to ask more questions nor disobey their teachers. Totto chan was expelled from elementary school. Well, Totto-Chan's mum did manage to find her another school and this school called Tomoe taught children to be themselves and used their curiousity as a method of education. Totto-Chan learnt in these classrooms of previously train cabins.

This was shared at the reading club yesterday at SYC. The attendance was not that fantastic but I think everybody did bring back some Totto-chan's spirit back home. This Totto-Chan really grows up to be someone true to herself. It is a true story of a Japanese lady who became a celebrity and an UNICEF embassador.

The Japanese version of Totto-Chan. The Englsh version is called Totto-chan - The girl at the window. This book has been translated into many languages including Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai. Of course, I have the English version. Read this a couple of years ago and certain episodes in the book touches me so then.

I woke up early today not simply to blog about Totto-Chan. I had something in mind. While my laptop started just now, I was reading about Ikeda Sensei's dialogue with the Youth on GOYA. One thing that striked me then was being true to oneself and to live by one's standard rather than to others. When we stand up for ourselves, we truly find our purpose in life. It is a shame to live in the shadow of others cos other won live for us. We live only once and if we are awkward about it then, we really have live in vain.

This morning, I was reflecting on my behaviour and my dialogue and conclusion with myself was I want to meet people and talk to people with my heart. Ok, this does not mean to dig out my heart n ask it to talk. It means to dialogue with sincerity. In chinese, it should be 以心比心. Hopefully by using your "heart" to dialogue, it will reach into the heart of the other person who will reciprocate with their "heart" to you. This is also the avenue to start a heart to heart and meaningful relationship, a way to develop trust n peace among people. I talk about this because I find I might be too artificial at times and I don really like people to be that too especially those I consider as friend. I guess age and time and life do harden people as time pass by but we should not let this hard fact of life control us. Like what I was saying, we should live true to our life n not the standard of others. In using the heart, we appreciate associating with this person. After that, there is no regret. I would like to say to this person that I like at work (Whether or not he has any clue I like him), I have use my heart so please treasure it!

More picture from Taiwan and I would have finished the whole installment!



Another picture of damage by earthquake in Taiwan during Sept 21, 99. This scene was preserved in the Earthquake museum.

Last meal in Taiwan and the best! Japanese steamboat and eat all you can! Tuck in everyone!

Standing in front of the mall that houses the bookstop that I had been pursuing the whole of the trip. My final trip to the bookshop before heading home with lots of books.

The last leg to home. Taken at Kaohshiung airport, the corridor send passengers to their respective flight! Ciao n till next time, Taiwan!

"Trust is as difficult a coin to earn and it is easily lost - the trust built over a decade can be shattered in an instant by one offhanded remark or deed. A person who is not swayed from their chosen path, even during the most trying times, will ultimately find that he or she is trusted from virtually every quarter. "

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

An ept quote from Ikeda Sensei on today's blog.

I tot I m busy on Saturday but Sunday is even worse...

Yesterday was a busy day or rather I had a work out in the morning followed by shopping. Kino is having 20% discount until the beginning of Janurary 08 and how can I miss such an opportunity to get more books! In the end, I din really get that many except for what I should be getting - the latest release to 2 comic titles and a book for my cousin!

As for today, my alarm rang at 7am but I was only physically up at 7.40am thinking I had enough time to prepare and go out of the house by 8am. Unfortunately a miscalculation on my part resulting in me leaving the house 5 minutes late but my friend was even later so by the time we took the train, it was already about 8.30am. We needed to reach Senja Kaikan by 9am for the FD musical training. If I had not already mentioned in the previous post, the SSA FD will be presenting a muscial called "The Little Prince". Yeah, clap clap, gonna be a world class musical. Although today training was still a bit ra fwor everybody but there is potential for improvement! SO, wait for 26 and 27 January 08 for the actual staging of the musical!

Before the end of the training, we had to rush back to Tiong Bahru for another meeting. This time, it would be the FD RHQ3 ICs and student mass home visiting meeting at my friend's house. The same friend who went to Senja with me in the morning. I had to go home first to print the write up for Totto-chan and to bring my laptop for the meeting later. Though the meeting was supposed to start at 1pm, we din start until 1.30pm with gongyo and daimoku. I was feeling kinda of groggy by then cos woke up too early and not enough sleep. Anyway, the meeting started with the impression from the JB exchange by both the RHQ3 Chief and a student. It was a good exchange session and a new start off for our FD campaign towards FD musical 2008. The meeting ends at 3.15pm and I had to rush for another appointment at SYC.

Took a cab down to SYC cos I was getting late and it was raining. The lucky thing was I managed to wave a cab almost the min I got to the road. At SYC, we had to put up this notice board for Reading Club where people can leave their message n impression for the book of the month. For this month, we will be doing Totto-chan and which was the reason why I had to go home earlier to print the write up. We did up the notice board on record time with the cooperation from the members of the reading club. Hopefully, people will really leave their impression on the board. The content will change each month according to book of the month. For those curious about the reading club, please go to http://readingclubsyc.wordpress.com/

Conclusion, today is really a FD day. FD in the morning, FD in the early afternoon and FD in the late afternoon. Nite? Well is for me to blog. haha.. La Viva FUTURE DIVISION!

More of Taiwan's photos below:

The interior of Taipei 101. The core of the building houses Page One, a local company that makes its name in Taiwan. There, you probably find the most english books in Taiwan. The interior design of Page One is really nice, though a bit difficult to navigate!

Shen Keng's Tofu street, where u find specialists of stinky tofu. However I don really find the tofu stinky here!

Here is Feng Jia nite market! Another of those street market where u can find many stuff and local Taiwaness food. As usual, I was not really impressed with the food but the stinky tofu here is not that bad though.

This piece of landscape was devastated by earthqauke on September 21, 1999. To remember this day in Taiwan's history, the government preserved the damage caused by the earthquake and created a museum to teach all about the earthquakes and their physics.

Ri Yue Lake or sun moon lake, the only inland state in Taiwan that does not face the sea. It has become such a tourist area that it is no longer cheap to stay in any hotels or resorts facing the lake.

"The heart of one person moves another's. ... If one's own heart is closed, then the doors of other people's hearts will also shut tight. On the other hand, someone who makes all those around him or her into allies, bathing them in the sunlight of spring, will be treasured by all."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

- Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) - Ex USA President

Abraham has it when he said the true worth of man is tested when he is given power.

"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."

- Christopher Reeve (Ex Superman)

We must dare to dream!

To quote Ikeda Sensei again, "I have a dream, only I can fulfill.."

No boss around! No one to stop us from talking with our neighbours...

This week is a fine week! No boss around and we are free to talk to anybody in the office without being worried that that the boss will appear at any time.. hahah.. No stress week! Well she will be back next week though and I m getting a headache now!

Christmas is near and town is full of lights and human beings! Well it just shows that business is good and people really buying. I bought my chinese new year clothes today as well. Yes, it is a wee bit early but it beats trying to find something that is not red when the session is nearer.

Well I have to continue my Taiwan's trip photo in this post after a long break.

Welcome to the famous Shilin nite market! Ahhh, actually I m not really impressed with it except the place is really big and crowded.

The Train! Contrary to what the tour guide and tour leader said, is pretty easy getting around on the train! What can be more complicated than Tokyo's train station or even London's undergound labyrinth!

Welcome to Zhong Zheng gate! I don know whether they are dismantling this place or renovating this place cos I have been hearing quite a lot of contrasting opinion!

Soldiers, the cream of the crops, changing duties at the Zhong Lie's Temple! This is to commemorate those who had served the country's with courage and royalties!

Once the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101 is now being overshined by Burj Dubai since Jul 2007. No visit is completed without a trip to this symbol of Taipei and Taiwan!

Went to gym today! Great new is my lean weight is up and fat is down. However, there is no change in the total weight. Therefore I have to abstain from potato which is one of my favourite food!

"A person who cannot genuinely empathize with others can never excel as a leader. So much of what ails society today is the result of too many people in leadership positions who do not or cannot identify with the plight of their fellow men and women. It is in enduring pain and struggles that the earth of our humanity is cultivated. And it is from this earth that a capacity to be genuinely concerned for the welfare of others blossoms."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

Need to go take a nap but I think I will blog pretty soon!

JB exchange and to have a sense of gratitude!

Finally into the month of December and christmas is just round the corner again! Hmm.. last year this period of the year, I was preparing to go to Japan for holidays! It was a great trip and I got to meet mickey mouse but I lost my camera in Shinjuku and all my photos! This just meant I have to go back again! I have to visit SOKA GAKKAI headquarters again! Kenshu? Maybe..

Had wanted to blog before the end of November but opportunity did not knock on the door as I was really busy the whole of last week with activities in SSA and also gym. Below is a summary of what I did last week:

Monday - Reading Club discussion at TBSC with the committee and Denise, our speaker for the next reading club on 14 Dec 07

Tuesday - Briefing for the JB exchange at SYC, submission of souvenirs and payment of $50

Wednesday - Gym at Fittness First. Muscle aged for a few days after that.

Thursday - Went to the airport to send my brother off to Sweden. He will be there for a year. Rush down to Redhill for a YWD meeting with our new Chapter YWD chief.

Friday - Gym again before finally going down to Jurong Soka Centre. At JSC, we stayed for the nite to set out together to JB on Saturday.

Saturday and Sunday - First overseas exchange meeting with JB (Johor Bahru)'s SGM Future Division.

The whole experience at SGM (Soka Gakkai Malaysia) Future Division is really enjoyable and it was a learning experience for all of us. I have never seen FD students who are really filled with enthusiasim and full of youthful life forces. They really took pride in what they do and they really perform the roles they were given to the best of their abilities! Gakkai is a place for youth development! One thing I learnt from the leader from KL was to always have a sense of gratitude as we are practicing Nichiren Buddhism. In order to learn what Ikeda Sensei is feeling, we have to read his books to find the bond with him. This exchange humbled many of us as the purity of faith in these members are incredible. Ghee Han, Singapore FD Chief, told us to have a dream because we will move forward. Wai Leong, Student chief from KL, told us to study, have a good health and to polish our life into diamond. Johore regional MD chief told us to not neglect our meal so that we do not get gastric which incidentally can develop into ulcer, then cancer and ultimately death. These advice though simple but provide the fundamental for practicing faith. We need to be healthy to do our activites, we need the knowledge and wisdom to share with the people around us and finally we all have a mission to fulfill and only we can do it!

JB exchange 1 and 2 December 2007. - Establishing the Foundation for Eternal Victory in the Next 10 Years Through Faith, Practice & Study!

Early saturday when we set off towards Tuas!

Into Johore and on our way to the SGM Johor Kempas Kaikan.

The facade of the Johor Kempas Kaikan, officially opened in 2000, which the local members spent 10 years planning and funding.

A sharing session where we discuss the mentor-disciple relationship. Lion cubs will emerge as lion.

Kosen Rufu, a stone inscripted with the chinese character placed at the carpark of the kaikan.

The notice board of a private kaikan where meeting of Honbu 1 Chapter 3 is held.

Finally, members of group 17. We have members from Johore, Sembilan, Singapore and KL.

Resolution No 1 - I m going to start reading Sensei's New Human Revolution!

"One of my favorite Argentine poets, the great educator Almafuerte (1854-1917) wrote: "To the weak, difficulty is a closed door. To the strong, however, it is a door waiting to be opened." Difficulties impede the progress of those who are weak. For the strong, however, they are an opportunity to open wide the doors to a bright future. Everything is determined by our attitude, by our resolve. Our heart is what matters most."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

Thank you SGM!

A whole day of TV and Internet!

Sunday seems to be the day to get sick! Well I got up and din feel very well and continue to lie in bed until about 11am. Then a bit grouchingly, I had to drag myself out of bed! Took some chinese herbal tea but din really help and had to use generous dose of medicated oil to lessen the pain. As a result of not feeling well, I also missed today's last study meeting and a chance to meet some of my new YWDs. As it is too wasteful to go to sleep and I don want to waste my sunday, I had to tilt my head one side and starts on my DVDs, VCDs and audio CDs cataloguing. Finally after some struggle and much medicated oil, the list is completed! Yeah!

Today I have watched almost 3 episodes of Crime Scene Investigation starting from LA, NY and Miami before going on to Boa vs Python, then the HK TVB awards (Lydia Sum got the achievement award in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of TVB) and Eragon on DVD! I had to get the original Eragon VCD. Then TV showed the TV special of HERO, the movie stariing Takuya Kimura, Takako Matsu adn Lee Byung Hun. The story is a prequel to the movie that will be in cinema this month. Yeah, all my favourite actors and actress, so I m definitely watching! After Hero was 综艺大哥大 and now I am watching CSI-Miami again!

Besides the TV, the Laptop is also on for the whole day! I have been in and out of facebook, yahoo mail and other websites! hahah.. gonna kenna radiation poisoning soon!

Now, another installment on my Taiwan's trip.

Peace train station, a place for toilet break. We are on our way to visit the jade and gold mazu temple in 南方澳, a small fishing harbour in Yilan 宜蘭 county.

The port itself just in front of the Mazu templet and supposedly, further out is where the Taiwan's naval fleet is stationed! Well since it is a seaport, you can get some sea product like dried shrimp.

This is the street of 九份, where we shop for all the mango puddings and sun biscuits! And not losing out, I got 1 big box of sourvenir here to bring back home.

Naturally weathered rocks in YeLiu 野柳. Shaped like mushrooms but tasted not like them. There is even 1 feature that resembled Queen Elizabeth.

We had dinner in this resturant called 两个飘舞的woman. Hahah.. ok this is what the guide told us so I don know whether is the correct name. Anyway, the architecture remains me of Gaudi's organic style. Well I think there is some element of organic here. I bought the book on the architecture but I have not read it yet! haha, wat's new!

Finally, the pics have reached Taipei so next blog should be in Taiwan.

Human Rights?.. is it a right for human?..

According to the United Nation Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed in 1948, human rights is much more than freedom to do whatever you want, it contains the freedom to practice free thoughts and religion, equality of all human regardless of race, culture and education, equal rights of woman and children, no slavery, fair trial and access to the law, freedom to own property and many others. The bill containing 30 articles was ratified on December 10, 1948 and next year will be the 60th anniverary of the declaration. Human rights is part of International Public Law and though the declaration has been in place for more than half a century, failure of human rights is still evident in many parts of the world. Mainly the children and the women folks are victims. There is no rights for human if politics and self interest lie first in person of authority. However human rights is not a tall story nor something so big that it can only be achieved by the authority. It can always start with oneself. We, as common people, do our part to upheld the integrity in ourselves and the people around us. Simple things like being friendly and cordial to our neighbours in multi-racial Singapore is already practicing human rights. Thus it is not difficult, it is part of being human beings!

Many believe including myself that our country has no human rights. If I really look closer and applying the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we have human rights. Most importantly, male and female have equal access to eduation and to justice. We have the rights to practice our religion. We have the freedom to travel to any countries we want with minimun difficulties. There are many more examples. Well, we do believe in capital punishment but this helps to deter crime in some way. Thus if we say we have no human rights, we have really define human rights in a narrow term! We have restricted our human rights!

The current supervisor cum boss at work told me "There is no human rights in this country" ".. you and your human rights issue, no wonder whatever I told you, you will not follow.." The reason why she said this start with my refusal to wear a skirt to work. The boss insisted that it is the dress code but the the actual dress code says that dress pant is also allowed. Thus this insistence is because of my "Human Rights" principle. I m not trying to disobey or being unreasonable and as an employee of a particular company, if is the dress code, then I have to follow. However the reason given by the boss is not exceptable. This is my insistence of being treated fairly as an employee and being in skirt or pant is not a life and death issue. Furthermore, it is more convienent to move around in pant. As any subordinate, there are certain things I have to fulfill but the frequent bringing up of the fact that I do not wear skirt is really too often and void of logic especially when it is not a company policy. The boss can win but the boss will win if only she makes people do thing in a logical way. Being a dictator is not going to garner her any respect from her staff. Employees will not work hard for their employer who are "asshole" and even if they are, they must be motivational "asshole". An indiscriminate display of nastiness is going to earn more disgust than grace.

Come, let's shift away from a workplace that does not even know how to respect their employee to a place where u can even fight in parliament. You guess it? Well is Taiwan and my next installment of photos.

This is the starting point of the first East West Highway! From here you can travel from the East of Taiwan to the West and I believe we are someway near Hualien.

There is a shrine that is built here to commemorate those who had given their life for something I cannot remember but is either for the country or something they build. Anyway this place has a stone with these 4 words 长春听涛 or forever listening to the fall. Peace for those who are buried here.

The hotel that we were staying in Hualien. Not bad internally too. It has some nice marble carvings in the lobby for display and sale. Hualien is home to Marble.

Welcome to the Hua Lian's aboriginal cultural village. This is the home base of the Amei tribe, one of the 12 official tribes in Taiwan. We were treated to a night of dances and songs. Some of the audiences were also invited down to the floor to dance with them later on in the program. Try your talent at pole, anyone?

We are on our way to Taipei along the pacific water and round 5 mountains! I m going to be sick with all those round the mountain roads. Consolation? Enjoy the vastness and clearness of the Pacific Ocean and be scared with how close the coach cruised along the edge of the cliff!

Next installment on another day!

"When we draw strength from within, our outlook undergoes a dramatic transformation; everything around us looks completely different. To be strong--that is the key to happiness."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

Like what Ikeda Sensei says "The Heart of one person moves another's.", I hope my heart will be able to move others especially the one that I like.

I must really sleep properly so that I will not get sick on Sunday! I missed the last study meeting of this year and I missed meeting some of my new YWDs!

1 wedding and 1 funeral..

Watched "4 weddings and a funeral"? Today, I have attended 1 wedding and a funeral. Life is really something fragile and something that can be broken so easily. Nothing can give back life once it is gone. Life has to be recycled in order to come back again. In buddhism, this is what happened, life leaves the body and return to the universe, recharged and come back again as another personality. Fundamentally, life remains unchange and karmic link remains intact! Sounds profound? Nope if u think about it. Everything leads to something. Like energy, one form is transformed to another, there is no energy that will disappear. Energy will just come back in another form or be imbedded in another thing. For example, the nitrogen cycle and the carbon dioxide cycle.

Therefore do not begrudge life. U will not get a second chance! Simple yet difficult to apply. If we are not afraid to face our life full on, we will definitely be able to achieve much more. Our human and mortal thinking always hinders us. Utimately, it is not that hard to say " I like u" or to say " I m Sorry". Why then do we not say it out willingly and freely enough? Our pride stops us! We still want "face"! Complex human feelings! Think about it! I m!

Now for another installment on Taiwan tour. Some more of Kaoshiung before heading to Taidong and Hualien!

What u see behind me is the statue of wen wu da di. He has his leg stepping on 1 tortoise and a snake and his hand holding a sword! Flanging the bridge are immortal soldiers as well as the 四大护法.

This is the courtyard of the luohan statues. All the luohans have different pose so I think there are more than 600 here if I get my info correct. Anyway, this will lead to the main temple where it houses 2 huge buddhas.

Into Taidong and on route to the red leaf spa area.

This is taken at the spa and of course no shot in swimming costume will be displayed here. haha.. n after this, we will proceed to the Bear Holiday Resort.

Somewhere near Hualien, the street where the tour guide lives. An ordinary street in the sub urban are and is so quiet. Accordingly, all the youth and young people are either in school or in the big cities to earn a living. Only those who can find a job stays around and even then, it seems like a deserted town in broad daylight!

"True love should be transformative, a process that amplifies our capacity to cherish not just one person but all people. It can make us stronger, lift us higher and deepen us as individuals. Yet, in the end, we can only partner with those befitting ourselves. The same is true of friendship. Only to the extent that one polishes oneself now can one hope to develop wonderful bonds of the heart in the future."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

Should I say it here? I like one of the Drs working with me now. I don know whether he knows anot but if he does, he sure really know how to pretend not to know!

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction."

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery (who wrote "The Little Prince")

Stardust.. fantasy n Human Realm..

Is amazing or rather interesting to have a form changed when you cross over some line! In the movie "Stardust", a star becomes dust when she crosses into the human realm through a wall that separates the 2 world. Is not rather true that a tiny line divides right n wrong, fantasy and reality, sky and earth, man and animal, real and image?

Stardust is worth watching and I m going to get the book and the VCDs. If you love fairy tales, happy endings, witch crafts, magic, curses, romance, adventure and UK, this is the movie for you! From wikipedia, the filming locations of the movie took place in Scottish Highlands, Isles of Skye, and places in England itself such as Buckinghamshire. I like the landscape of these places and it really brings back memory of my stay in UK. I won mind backpacking in the highlands again. The air is fresh and the scenary is breath taking. U feel like you are one of the highlanders when u are in Scotland!

Anyway, UK will have to wait until next year perhaps. Back to Taiwan, Let's put up some more photos before I forgot where I have been.

Dream Mall in Kaohshiung, Taiwan. Accordingly, it is supposed to be the 6th largest mall in Asia. Well, is like any other mall with lots of shops. The best thing is it contains 2 bookshops of which my favourite is 誠品bookshop.

The interior of Dream Mall. This photo is taken to show the big escalator behind me.

Why? or spoilt? The Taiwanese has an interesting way of making English sounds Chinese. So next time when you say why, remember it may be spoilt instead!

The ferris wheel with carriages of Sario or Kitty and friends on them. This is located on the top floor of Dream Mall. Great view of Kaohshiung on it but then and again, the air is probably too polluted for you to really have a clear pic of the City.

"Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind."

- A Midsummer Night's Dream (I, i, 234) by William Shakespeare

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

- Eleanor Roosevelt (Ex First lady of US)

"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend."

- Albert Camus (Nobel Prize for Literature 1957)

Boss versus Employee

To the boss, if you cannot find what she wants, is because you are untidy and disorganised. If the boss cannot find thing, is because she has lots of things. Hmmm.. The boss is always right?

"Boss, the deadline for submitting the document is tomorrow?"

"I m so busy, how can I possibly do it and why do u always pass me things at the last minutes? I have told you so many times..... Why do we have to do this, it is not important! They are other more important things to do"

In fact, this is the umpteen time that the document has been presented to her. She had made multiple changes so when this draft is presented to her, the deadline is near. The document is required to fulfill some certification requirement in the office.

On another day...

"Boss, BD require the document from you a few days before the meeting so that they can go through it.."

"Ok ..I will get back to them"

"Boss, the meeting is tomorrow, BD just called regarding the document.."

" .. Haiz.. I will email them"

On the actual day of the meeting, the document is finally shown to BD 5 minutes before meeting the client. After the meeting, BD told me the document is still the same as the original document that they send to her. The boss is supposed to decide on the term and amend the document before meeting the client.BD was supposed to have a copy before the meeting so that they know what is going on. We are back to zero, the purpose of the meeting is not fulfilled.

Most the time, the employee working under the boss are the people that suffer because we made excuses for their delay and we have to bear the blunt too. hahha..

Was in Taiwan from 22 October 2007 to 28 October 2007. 1 whole week of no work and no nonsense from the boss. Yeah!

Loading of luggages onto the plane. Raining outside. Cool to take this in BW.

First meal in Taiwan and we had lunch at the Hakka Cultural Village! Smile, tea?

Famous 担仔面 in 六合 market in Kaohshiung. Salty but still ok if you ask me! The portion is small though so if you don like it, you won waste too!

More of Taiwan later.

"Everyone born in this world has a unique role that only he or she can fulfill. Were this not the case, we would not be here. The universe never acts without cause; everything invariably has a reason for being. Even the weeds people love to loathe serve a purpose. I might add that every cherry blossom has its own personality, a purpose and meaning in life that is unique to it--as do the plum, peach and damson."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

Reading is to gain knowleage. Resting is to be able to go further.

3 Rs - Reading, Resting, Recharging!

When I read, my brain is recharged because I gain new knowledge and insight into things. When I read, my mind starts to wonder and wonderful images are formed to encourage and to propel me onwards!

When I rest, it is to make sure that my body is recharged to take flight again and to be able to take on more adventure! After I rest, my spirit will be recharged and nothing will be a hedge that I cannot overcome!

When I recharge, I will be a better person than I used to be. After I recharge, you will see that I m a better person, a person that will stand strong,both physcially and mentally, when surrounded with obstacles. Nothing will bring me down cos I will not allow it to happen. Nothing is too difficult if we set our determination to do it!

Ganbatte!!

"All great literature, ancient and modern, is a bridge connecting one human being to another, one spirit to another. The quality of our life is determined by how many of those bridges we can cross."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

I want to love, be loved and be in love!

"Love wins, love always wins" - Excerpts from "Tuesday with Morrie"

What has it got to do with upbringing?

Teenagers are kicked out of their house after high school in the States and if they fail to launch, the parents will have to think of some way or employing someone to kick their children out of the house. For further info, please consult the movie "Failure to Launch". In Asia, we stay with our parents until we get married and may stay on even after marriage! Basically, there is no issue about staying at home as long as you contribute to the daily expenses and houseworks. I think parents are even glad that their children are still living with them after they get married.

On the issue of upbringing which basically means training that someone received while he/ she grows up! They are different types of upbringing and it will probably depends on the culture, religion, who your parents are and the type of family background you come from. I don think anyone will say I have better upbringing than you etc because who is to judge whether anyone has better upbringing! Will you say that a politician will have better upbringing than a polite waiter working in a restaurant? In the news and especially in some parliament of some countries, corruptions and even cat fighting are occurring among politicians during parliament sessions. A polite waiter who smiles at his customer will warrant a praise but is it his good upbringing that he smiles a lot or is it just his friendly nature? Point to ponder.

Tiring day today especially since I din sleep well last nite so going to end this post here n go to sleep.

Insult me but please don insult my parents! I think they are pretty proud of the fact that they did not fail in their parenting cos we din end up as criminals!

"I suffer whenever I see that common sight of a parent or senior imposing his opinion and way of thinking and being on a young soul to which they are totally unfit. Cannot we let people be themselves, and enjoy life in their own way? You are trying to make that man another you. One's enough." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

A round of applause for Emerson, he said it all!

Happy Boss Day!.. Cupcakes anyone?

Today is Boss Day! Should there be such a day? Should we as subordinate give our boss a treat? A debatable answer. If the boss is good to his/her staff, it will be a good time to show their appreciation for all the rubbish that he/she needs to put up every day in the office. If the boss has been bad, then the staff can still show appreciation to shame the boss for his/her bad attitute! As a boss, if your employee give you something on this occasion, will you be flattered or will you think that there is some ulterior motive? I will be flattered as the boss because it shows that I have subordinate that still care about me even though I may have been mean to them at times. Even if it is purely "polishing my shoe", they still bother to do it. Question? If the boss accepted your gift, consume it, thanks you for it and then told you later that this gift is to butter her, how will you feel? If the boss thinks that it is with motive, then would not he/ she reject the gift upright and chide the employee for such action? However, the acceptance of the gift will also signify that the Boss understands the implication? Then, would not a gift be just out of the good will of some one with the only motive of making someone happy. I believe we all love to receive gift as this is human nature. No one will turn something down unless the purpose behind such gift is really of question eg bribery or even criminal in nature or they are for something that you are unable to perform or they are really too expensive to receive as gift for no reason at all.

An innocent cupcake becomes an item of evil intention. How absurd can that be?

More beautiful cupcakes! They looks good yet be not deceived by its mere appearance.

Please also note that comments to cupcakes' pictures above are not directed at the cupcakes themselves or their ingredient or baking methods or their makers or even the shops that sell them or anything related to these cupcakes. Comments are used metaphorically.

Therefore the morale of the story is never give gift or even cupcakes to your boss. Is just not worth that effort! You will be backstabbed for whatever intention you may have.

Finally we should leave with this following quote:

"Failure is an instrumental part of every success. Whether our life has been a triumph or tragedy can only be judged at its very end."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

I think without failure, we probably will not know what is success. To succeed, we probably have to fail first. Most importantly, we have to pick ourselves up from the failure and carry on!

I cannot oversleep!

I had wanted to blog yesterday when I was highly inspired. Cannot remember what I had wanted to say but I think it has to do education! Why this topic? I don exactly remember but it probably got to do with the fact that I have more than a basic degree and a comment by a friend of what's wrong with having something more than a degree. Education is not a tool to tell people you are more superior than them because u know more. Education is a tool for people to get beyond the environment (meaning the environment beyond the skin that wraps our flesh and organs) that they are in. It is something we all need to become more human and to empathise with others. Then even if we are educated, it does not make us more superior human beings cos knowledge can make someone arrogant! I guess when I got myself educated, it is not to show my superior studying power but rather I want to know my world and I want to know why things are happening around me. I want to know why there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and why the gods are quarreling when there is lightning and thunder on a rainy night. I want to play a part in maintaining the ecosystem on this world in which we live. Though the earth may not be the only living planet in the entire universe, it is probably where we will be for many years to come.

Today I overslept and I slept in the afternoon and as a result, I got a terrible headache which is not so bad now. I think I really have to find something to do on weekend.

A black and white photo that was taken from a canon camera which I only realise has this function a couple of days ago.

Same canon camera but in its original colour.

The sky in black and white. The sky is the limit and probably that means no limit!

Hmm.. last friday, we had the first reading club at SYC organised by FD! The first book to start off this session was Lords of the Rings! Remember the famous quote of "One ring rules them all"? Power in the wrong hand will lead to suffering. It takes a strong individual both in spirit and inner strength to resist power and to use it wisely. It is rare to find such individual.

To quote:

"A person who cannot genuinely empathize with others can never excel as a leader. So much of what ails society today is the result of too many people in leadership positions who do not or cannot identify with the plight of their fellow men and women. It is in enduring pain and struggles that the earth of our humanity is cultivated. And it is from this earth that a capacity to be genuinely concerned for the welfare of others blossoms."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

Guess our life span is limited so if we are always limiting ourselves because the norm says so then we are really wasting our lives! I should not live to regret because I have no time for that! This is also wat my friend told me. This is the moment! To quote from the lyric of a song from RENT, there is "No day but today". Incidentally, RENT is also a very inspiring muscial about life of the common people who are constantly confronted with their own identity and basic survival.

There is "No day but today"!