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!