Christmas atmosphere..

Is the holiday season! People are taking leaves and going for holidays or just to laze around at home or even to do shoppings! Recession? Hmm.. well, why are there still so many people at Orchard Road? Shopping centres in the suburban areas or regional towns are expanding. Jurong Point extension is such an example. I have not been to Jurong Point for donkey years and a plan to visit that place is high on my list of "adventure" in this small island. Jokes aside and let's get down to something more serious! Okay, there is nothing really serious about a blog and I don think people should take seriously to what one's blog. A blog is a place to ventilate or rather to tell the cyberspace some things that will bore your friends or rather no one wants to hear. This is because as a friend, you are suppose to "listen" more and not talk the world of yourself! Anyway, enough of crapping and perhaps it is also time to write that year end reflections and new year resolutions!

Another good piece of news for this season is my friend has just given birth to her second son on the 15 December (Monday). Have to make time to visit her 8). Second piece of news is my boss is on vacation until next year - YEAH. Third piece of news is there is no 3 piece of good news!

Below are some photos taken this holiday season at ORCHARD ROAD:

Along route to Takashimaya.

Rows of Teddy bears forming a tree, displayed at Takashimaya Shopping Centre. I want one of those cutties.

Decorations on the Christmas Trees at Ngee Ann City. I wonder whether they recycle the same tree every year! Is good if they did that!

Street decorations. Not that impressive.

Welcome to Orchard Road and a Merry Christmas to you.

The other big and tall Christmas tree just outside Paragon. I like this one!

I tot i took more photos. Anyway, 6 is better than none.

"Iron, when heated and pounded, becomes a fine sword. Likewise, Buddhism teaches that our true strength and potential cannot be forged without hardships. " - Extracted from "Human Revolution" by Daisaku Ikeda's Words of Wisdom.

Merry Christmas to all!

Finest Ingredients!

Am watching this show titles "料理天王" which is a Korean movie on cooking. Just learnt that the finest ingredient needs not be the freshiest or most beautiful ingredent! In fact the most unsightly or "bent"truck can be used to make the best charcoal. The guy who sells vegetables in the market is in fact the best chef in town! The most important ingredient in any culinary culture is probably the "heart" or rather you must enjoy cooking and put your heart into the dish! Yeah, my piece of culinary advice which i believe is true because this is how i cook.

Besides cooking, not using the best ingredient can be applied in other areas as well. You can make a cute teddy bear without using the best cloth or the best fur. The basic ingredient is the know-how and the patience to sew it all together! In fact, a home-made teddy bear is a teddy bear made with love from the maker!

Probably when we are the best, there will be no place for improvement! Would not life be boring if we cannot keep on improving ourselves and learning something about ourselves every day? Every day is a self discovery day for myself. I won say i improve everyday but i want to be a better person, a more filial and understanding daughter and also a better employee at work. It is not easy doing all these and I will lapse into my old not so good self again! Human revolution is really not easy and it should not be else nobody will want to do their best!

"When your determination changes, everything will begin to move in the direction you desire. The moment you resolve to be victorious, every nerve and fiber in your being will immediately orient itself toward your success. On the other hand, if you think, "This is never going to work out," then at that instant every cell in your being will be deflated and give up the fight. Then everything really will move in the direction of failure. " - Words of Wisdom by Ikeda Sensei.

Some plans before the end of the year involve doing up the OEHS website, writing up my book reviews and cleaning my bedroom!

History is a peek into the future..

I have been reading this book entitled "The Britannica Guide to the 100 Most Influential Scientists". It gives a brieft account of the people that had made a difference in the field of Science from BC to current. Science more than 2000 years ago comprised of philosophy, astronomy, logics etc. What we have today is built up and developed from these people/ philosophers of the past. One built upon another to make the possibility of reachig Mar no longer a vision but something that will be possible in the near future. I guess from history, we should learn from the mistakes so as not to commit the same errors in our time. However, human beings are forgetful and arrogant creatures as we trust and strongly believed we are more intellient than our ancestors. We think this way because of what we have and what we are now - better and more prosperous, better understanding and treatment of diseases resulting in lower mortality and longer life, advance in technology and the advent of nanotechnology allows us to search even deeper into the micromolecular and nanomolecular level. At this point, we should stop and think that all these are possible not because we are smarter, is because we have inherited and built upon what our ancestors had started. History than is our cornerstone to the future, we should not dealt too long in it but advance with it.

Just finshed FD's meeting this afternoon ad we talked about the eight winds which in buddhism refer to the 4 postive and 4 negatives conditions that can influence our life. The eight winds are prosperity, decline, disgrace, honor, praise, censure, suffering, and pleasure. As human we are constantly swayed by this eight winds. We should not avoid this eight winds but we should face this eight winds and counter them in our strides. In buddhism, a life without troubles and fill only with pleasantness is not happines which is also not really possible in real life. When we face with problems, we should have the wisdom to overcome them through chanting daimoku. The joy of overcoming our adversities will bring more joy to ourselves than merely without or avoidance. This will become our experiences and make us stronger and better human beings!

The second Soka Gakkai president, Josei Toda, once wrote: “Absolute happiness is a state such that, whatever your situation, you feel an immense sense of worth and satisfaction; and wherever you are, to be alive is itself a joy…. Even when we encounter situations that make us angry, we become angry joyfully. When we establish such a state of life, our life is one of boundless joy” (The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. IV, p. 80).

Today is another lazy saturday!

Finally or gradually..

This is probably going to be one of the most controversial of my threads! Don worry, is not political neither is it sexist! I do not like the idea of being pursued by ISA and also it is not advisable to put myself in such a position! Technically, I m pretty pro government and I will probably get hate mails for saying this! Don say I m uneducated and totally hynoptised by the spell of ruling party. I have received education from institutions of the highest calibre and I have also drank "Ang moh" water and done a module in International Law! I don see I have been disadvantaged but rather glad that I have been given the opportunity and the freedom to choose. I have been rather puzzled of those negative comments on the local government. Are we in war? Are we not allowed to leave the country? Are we having bad sanitary facilities or pay a bomb to use public toilets? Are we restricted to access the internet? Are we have to worry constantly about being robbed and murdered? Are we......? The list is long. Do not know what I mean, try living overseas for some time or simply travel beyond Singapore! And about not being able to speak up? This depends on how vocal u are and now you have the chance to do that without applying for a license at Sim Lim Park! If is for other issues, please apply to migrate!

Wrote the above in a moment of tots a few days ago! I actually wanted to blog about this person that I like but who probably tot I m not worth the effort. However at tis time, I think perhaps is not so important after all. Anyway to quote from Ikeda Sensei's "The course of our lives is determined by how we react-what we decide and what we do-at the darkest of times. The nature of that response determines a person's true worth and greatness. " Guess is only at the most crucial of times, u will know who are the people that really support and stand behind u! The darkest of time is also when u discover what type of person u are! I hope I m a fairweather as well as stormy weather friend!

"Hope transforms pessimism into optimism. Hope is invincible. Hope changes everything. It changes winter into summer, darkness into dawn, descent into ascent, barrenness into creativity, agony into joy. Hope is the sun. It is light. It is passion. It is the fundamental force for life's blossoming."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

The change in the US presidency really brings hope to people all over the world. Suddenly we dare to dream and "yes, we can" accomplish if we set out to do what we believe in!

Blog, Blogger, Bloggest!

Woohh. long time no blog! What happened to me? Nothing! Just do not feel like venturing into the world of the blogger which can be quite controversial! Anyway, I m back today because i m inspired by this quote "One's true worth as a human being is not a matter of outward appearance or title but derives from the breadth of one's spirit. Everything comes down to faith and conviction. It is what is in one's heart and the substance of one's actions that count" by Ikeda Sensei at Words of Wisdom.

Tomorrow is our district 4 monthly meeting and will probably be my last session in this district before moving to district 1 in the same chapter. They require a YWD who can speak Cantonese and the most obvious candidate is me! Yah, I can speak Mandrain, Cantonese, English and basic understanding of other chinese dialects like Hokkien and Teochiew! Why do I need to speak dialect? Well, most of the members in the district 1 are old folks who speak Cantonese so in order to make the meeting fun and bring understanding to their level, you have to speak their tongue!

And today, the Internet in my office was down and we cannot work! Then we realise how reliant we are on IT and internet. Nothing moves if the cyber network is down! This last sentence marks the end of this blog!

My weak nature..

Sounds funny isn't it? My weak nature sounds like a self indulgent post that is going to be written here! In actual fact, there is some truth but I want to encourage myself instead. Somehow I felt I want an overhaul of what I m doing now. I want to be in charge and be comfortable with myself but there seems to be things preventing me from moving forward! Something is holding me back and that is my weakness or negative life is coming forward! How can I defeat it and win over my weak self? In buddhism, it will probably be using my weak self as a force to propel myself forward! It should help me to improve, to greet what is unknown and to take on the environment! I guess we have to be aware and to win over our weak nature!

Thus in desperation, I had to seek some guidance and here is what is taken from the Words of Wisdom by Daisaky Ikeda "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."

Yes, I need the courage to confront myself and to admit my mistakes! Ultimately there is no shame in not knowing, there is only shame if we pretend to know everything! Thus, step forward Foong, and be not afraid to make mistakes. When mistakes are made, be ready to apologise, redress and continue to move onwards! Yeah!

Opposites..

Today I was reading comics and leant something from the story. Many would have say comics are not exactly educational materials but sometimes, there are some lines that really hit home. In one of the story, the characters were discussing what is the opposite of love and they conclude is hate. What is the opposite of marriage and the answer is probably familiarity turns to ignoring. The couple gets so used to each other that after a long time together, there is the loss of the passion that got them together in the first place. Well someone said at a course I attendee recently that one of the reasons that marriages broke down nowadays is due to the breakdown of communication between the husband and the wife. This breakdown in communication can be due to kids because there are so busy trying to provide the best for their children that they have found no time on their own and to do things they would do together. Ultimately when the children are grown up and have a life of their own, the parents will be left with each other. Will they have anything to say to each other besides the children? Hmm.. yes and no? I don want to answer!

The other thing from the comic is how do you know whether you like someone? The answer comes clear when you are able to spot that special someone no matter where you are even in a crowd or a busy street. A sense of familiarity or a detection of that person's hormone/ smell from afar? In some studies they have shown that a person like someone because of the hormone/ smell released from the person's body. This is probably the reason why some animals find their own by smell. There are of course other theories but I m not going to discuss them here.

From words of wisdom from Daisaku Ikeda - "Never for an instant forget the effort to renew your life, to build yourself anew. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway of life itself. This is not an easy task. Indeed, it may be the most severely challenging struggle there is. For opening the door to your own life is in the end more difficult than opening the door to all the mysteries of the universe."

Political view and the pursuit of Happiness!

Well from the title, i don think you will find any link between political inclination and the pursuit of happiness. U are right cos is just random! What is my political view? Well, what is politics in the first place? According to Wikipedia, politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions that affect others' lives. Politics consists of "social relations" involving authority or power and refers to the regulation of a political unit, and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy. Thus in short, it is some thing that rules your life either making it pleasant or unpleasant for you! If it is unpleasant, you will make lots of noise and if circumstances allowed, shift to another country that you think politically suits u better. If it is pleasant, you will live in peace! The irony comes. Even if the country has low crime rate, a passport that gives you liberty to travel and enter almost every countries in the world, a transport system that literally delivers u to the door step, an education system that produces top students, all type of cuisine to satisfy your taste bug and many others, it is still unpleasant for many. Well people are hard to please. So no more politics for now!

Watched the movie " The pursuit of Happyness" by Will Smith. I believe i might have said something on this in an earlier post. Anyway, wat is happyness or happiness? Is it the realisation of a dream? Is it achieving distinctions in all your subjects or is it striking the lottery? In buddhism, there are 2 types of happiness in buddhism - relative and absolute. Relative happiness is the happiness that you feel when u did well in certain things, watched a funny movie or bought a beautiful dress. The question is how long do you feel that happiness? Some of us are so hard to please or to be happy about things or sometime our happiness does not last from the satisfaction of this everything stuff. Relative happiness is fleeting happiness and it does not last. On the other hand, absolute happiness lasts because it is happiness from the depth of our heart. It is lasting happiness and satisfaction in our life. Probably a good illustration is we feel happiness even when we are struggling. This sounds illogical but if you have the courage to face every challenges head on without being defeated and treat that as a means to strengthening your self and enjoying every ounce of it, your life is happy! This absolute happiness stays with you and will not go away as relative happiness. Well if you don get what i means, grab this book " The Buddha in you mirror" which give a good description of what i m trying to say!

In summary, there is no summary. Quote from words of wisdom by Ikeda Sensei "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."

Another quote from the same source "We each move forward secure on our own earth, not the earth of others. Happiness is something we must create for ourselves. No one else can give it to us.""

Post National Day.. n 1 year older..

Singapore just celebrated her 43th birthday on the 9th August! I sat in front of the TV and watched the whole parade live from the Marina Bay floating platform! Asked me what I liked? Well, I do not have any special likes or dislikes but i guess the rain probably brought the whole spectators together with their red disposable rain coat.

Today I was trying to queue up to get mushroom soup. There was a couple in front of me who was trying to find out what is these soup thingy. My bag hit the lady while i tried to squeeze to the front of the queue. She was really fussy about it but she was like standing there with no inking of her blockage. The reason why I was trying to move pass her was they were really taking a long time n holding up the people trying to get into the queue. Anyway, the comment is why some people are so damn self centered and not aware that they are holding up the rest of the world! Yah! Well the morale of the story is we should be more aware of our environment. Decide what you want to get before you get into a queue and if you really need to ask, do apologise to those who are patiently waiting behind you and who have already made up their mind what they want to order! I could have been more patient too.

Since the olympic started yesterday, the most apt quote from Ikeda Sensei from words of wisdom "Life may be more akin to a series of meets than a single marathon. You can lose a race here or there, as long as you win in one contest, in one area. All the struggles you endured will become a prized investment in your own person."

Watched " The day after tomorrow" recently and I really like this movie! Global warming can be real so why do we not try to do something about it! Instead of living for myself and for today, we can change our motto to for ourselves and for the future! Ultimately this will benefit ourselves! Remember life is continuous and our legacy will be carried forward!

Safety and think safety first!

This year MOM or rather WSH Council's theme is "Safety Starts with me". How do you think safety first? I guess if you have taken the advance theory from driving school, u will probably encounter this concept. In the advance theory, you have to maintain a safety first mentality when u are answering the question! The safest answer will be the answer to the question. You can argue but they are always right!

Up until now, I bet nobody knows what I m trying to blog in this blog. In actual fact, I have no idea too! Anyway, just bear with me for a while more n I will be done with this blog!

From Ikeda's sensei Words of Wisdom, "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."

About mistakes, this is something that my current boss keeps emphasizing! If you make a mistake, always be ready to say you are wrong as saying wrong now is better than keeping a wrong that can escalate to unfathomable level! In another words, people lose trust in you!

"The important thing is to take that first step. Bravely overcoming one small fear gives you the courage to take on the next. " Another words of wisdom from Ikeda's sensei!

National Education Show 2

Attended the NE show 2 on 12 July 08 which is yesterday! Well din expect to attend but an extra tix cropped up last min and I happened to be free! Actually I m not a busy person but it happened that I m free which is why i m able to attend a lot of events! In other words, I m always on the call and on people's back up list! Back to NE show, 2008! The theme for this year is "Celebrating the Singapore Spirit"! Overall, it is not as exciting as last year but maybe is still a sort of combined rehearsal, the whole show still need some putting together! I have been in at least 4 National Day parade so I so know how the show goes. You probably will not have a great show until the final day!

The best program of the show was the showcase by 6 perfectly coordinated Black Knight fighter planes! They did some fantastic maneuvers that one can only see at the air show which I also missed because I had something on that day! The plane shot through the sky performing some technically difficult acrobatic stunts that delighted all that were present! The organiser also attempted to switch on the communication channels between the pilots for the spectators. It was just some coordinating conversations about their impending actions! I rather they do some candid camera speech like "Jiak bao beh or ni hao!". Alright, this will not be broadcasted on national TV but it will be rather fun if it was really like that! YeaH! As usual, the Singapore flag was flied in by the chinook, escorted by pumas! Both are my favourite on air transportation, though I have never been on one before! The funpack for this year is not that fun! The concept of a recycled bag is good but I rather they give me the NTUC type of material bag! The fireworks were there but I did not think they were well coordinated yet! Anyhow, let's all look foward to the actual day for a better show! By the way, the theme song is available for download on the official NDP website. This is the only place where u can download your favourite singer's songs for free and legal!

I guess the motives for us to attend the parade are different! Some of us want to get hold of the funpack. There are also who enjoyed the spirit live at the Marina Bay. They are those who have never been there and want to be there to see how it all works! There are some very interesting foreigners that were present at yesterday's parade and who were sitting in front of us! They kept taking photos throughout the show for themselves and for others. Others also start taking photos of them because there are "enjoying" themselves so much. I guess there are the people who have the most fun throughout the show. At one time, they even start putting on the disposable rain coat because it was slightly drizzling for a while. It was a comical scene and of course the photographers had a great day putting them on film and they are not an ounce embarressed by their act and extra actions! Then there are some people who sat behind me making all kind of funny remarks and did not sound local or maybe local but been overseas for too long. That person din even know who is the Guest of Honour and was pretty skeptical about the whole thing. Well this is a national parade celebrating the anniversary of a nation state which has come a long way and proud of its achievements. There are always cliche we have to accept! The moral of the story is have fun and take it as a time to renew our pledge for being Singaporean! A citizenship that many crave and which we took for granted!

Today I m sick so i skipped the district study meeting. Actually I m feeling pretty guilty for not attending the meeting but I also do not want to go and come back feeling even worse! Look though sensei's words of wisdom and i took this "Human life is indeed wondrous. You may be ill physically, but as long as your mental state is strong, it most certainly will exert a positive influence on your body. There may be no better remedy than hope. " Guess a lot of illnesses are overcome because we have hope!

This is me, myself and I, taken in the new office because I was playing with my camera! I know but no harm pretending to be cute! hahah..

In life where there are so many other things..

This is my life! I guess it will be different from what other people are going through and we may not even know what others are going through! A friend just told me to take things easy cos we should not be put down with what we cannot control. In the end no one will pity us if we are down. This is human nature! I guess as human being, we should not be unfeeling and irresponsible creatures! We should have more compassion and love for our fellow earthlings!

On happy cells again! Yup i hope i have them often to help me through with tough patches! Technically happy cells should be cultivated!

I have nothing to say so i will quote from words of wisdom again "How aware are we of our own inner life, our spirituality--something so intangible yet so priceless? How much effort do we make to perceive that which is not obvious, which can neither be seen nor heard? I believe the exploration and enrichment of the human spirit is what determines our very humanity. Such enrichment provides an inner compass that can lead civilizations to greatness." Thanks Sensei!

Bad Ichinen will deflat the cells!

If we are happy, it is shown on our face and in the way we stand, we greet people and even the way we talk! We will skip a step as we walk. We will smile to people whom we never see before. We will whistle a happy tone and eyes will be looking at us but we don care! We are happy and we want to show it to everyone! Now when we are happy, our body will naturally react to that happiness with more happiness. We will want to be creative, we will want to do something special and we may even want to do bungee jump (maybe not me!). Anyway, we feel we can do anything and this is sensed by the million of cells in our body as they prepared to support our action! This is also why when we are positive, our cells will in turn wants to be alive too! People have recovered from diseases even hopeless situations such as terminal cancer n even paralysis to bounce back to good health. Science is not able to answer this question but buddhism has! In buddhism we engage our mind, our heart and our body. The philosophy of nichiren buddhism is one of hope and by engaging in the chanting of Nam Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo, we are engaging this hope to be brought out from our beings! Don believe me, give it a try! There are many testimonials of such personal manifestations! Better than drugs, no negative side effect!

Well if we are hopeless, lost, sad and even discouraged, our cells will be too! We do not eat well and our digestive system will suffer. We complain of imaginable headache, pains and dispair beyond help! Remember, Human beings are resilient and we are able to overcome all obstacles, if not we won dominate the world now. Just one happy cell in the body will affect the next and the next and the next, creating a chain effect that will turn the situation around! Then we will overcome and become even stronger cos we have been to the worst and nothing can be worser. Even the most down person can pick himself or herself up if he or she truly has one happy cell left in the body! If we are still alive, there is no reason why we should not have at least one happy cell in the body!

And aptly from Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda "Ultimately, our battle is with ourselves. Whether in our activities in society, or whether in historical, political or economic developments, everything essentially boils down to a struggle between positive and negative forces."

The above is something to cheer myself on too! Happy cells vs sad cells! "Aye! Aye!" for happy cells.

Today attended the Daisaku Ikeda Annual Lecture (DIAL) at the Singapore Soka Association Headquarter. The speaker for this year is Professor Jorgen Moller, ex-Danish Ambassador to Singapore and current visiting Professor to the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies. Chairing today's lecture is Dr Vivian Balakrisnan (whom I tot is a female when i was in JC) who is a MD and a minister of parliament. The topic is "Securing Peace in Asia in the next 25 years!". Prof Moller has adapted key policies from the EU to illustrate how we can apply it to Asia. Well for the European continent to forget the atrocities that inflicted one another in the last century and come together under a common EU is no small feat. If the EU can do it, why not Asia? Particularly I like the way Professor Moller ends his lecture. He used this Viking's sayings to illustrate that the way forward is really coming together and together works towards achieving the peace and advancement that we want to see for our region! (I really like this Viking's quote but I will wait for the next SSA Times to see if they put it into text!)

Thus from me on peace: Ci vis pacem, para pacem! (If you want Peace, prepare for Peace!)

More happy cells = Happy people = PEACE!

Builder, peace loving half aries and a fool perhaps..

Did a creative style profile today and discovered that I m a builder. This means I m visually-oriented: artistic, detailed, and resourceful and also adept with the hands. Not bad, I pretty much agree with the description! Yeah!

At the same time I m a peace loving half aries cum half bull still searching for my identity in this world! I want to find my matching other half (not another half aries and half bull) to form another integrated environment that will enhance peace. Oneness of man and environment or eshofuni, the buddhist principle that says we have the power to change the environment and likewise our environment has the ability to affect our mood! Thus, should we not make it a nice and peaceful environment for all? No unnecessary fishing, hunting, gun ownership, nuclear weapons, discrimination, child labour etc! What a beautiful world!

We are all fools in some way when we stubbornly hold on to things that we know are hopeless or useless to us. However we cannot let it go because it has great sentimental and emotional value for us. Probably if we are to realise that the only thing that we will bring with us forever is our heart and memory of the heart which essentially means our soul!

From Daisaku Ikeda Sensei in Words of Wisdom "It is much more valuable to look for the strengths in others--you gain nothing by criticizing people’s imperfections.".

Below are some photos taken from Southern Ridges:

This is the famous place where the Indian scene was filmed in the local movie " Army Daze". Presenting Telok Blangah Hill!

Durians durians.. so far yet so near! Don be deceived by this photo, I had to zoom my camera len to the maximum.

The "fingers" of PSA and beholds one of the busiest port of the world!

The human spirit!

Yesterday I was wallowing in self pity because someone made me feel so EXTRA! Then, my not yet 14 yrs old cousin told me something that woke me up from my self indulgence! She told me nobody can put me down except myself! This statement penetrated and create a ripple in my mind and tots! Me as an adult who is more than double her age had to be reminded that I m my own boss and I m in control of my own feelings and determination. No one should be able to dictate my life cos is my life! A friend also reminded what Ikeda Sensei said in a guidance to the young women division (YWD). As YWD, we should not based our happiness on our partners or others. I somehow subscibe to this sayings of "我宁愿人负我，我也不愿我负人！". Just a principle to work with but sometimes is really hard to keep to it! Most of us do not like to be let down by others but we seems to be doing that constantly to people.

Quote the following from words of wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda:

"Ultimately, we are responsible for our own destiny. It may seem to us that our fate is predetermined, whether by our genes or by our environment. What really matters, however, is how we can improve ourselves from this moment forward, how we can change the circumstances that we find ourselves in. This enormous transformative force is what Buddhism is all about. In this struggle lies the source of never-ending youth and vitality."

Somehow I m always able to quote something from Ikeda Sensei that resonates my feeling. In the recent YWD Kenshu which i missed because i had lousy reasons why I cannot attend. The issues discussed is Mentor and Disciple spirit. How can we be worthy disciple of Ikeda Sensei and worthy inheritance of the Soka Gakkai movement and spirit? Sensei is what he is today because he holds his mentor deeply in his heart! His achievement is the achievements for his mentor, someone who changes him to what he is today! If we are determined to achieve something, it is not impossible. Everything is possible if we believe in it or rather we take steps in achieving it. It is no use strategising and talking while doing nothing to bring about the thing. Getting our hands dirty and our feet into the task will create something and move it nearer our goals!

The plants will always face or reach towards the sunlight! This is due to the chemicals called auxins in the plants that ensure they grow towards the sunlight which is greatly needed for photosynthesis. Without the food produced, there is no growth nor survival of the plants. Plants need to grow and they are never stagnant. The stem will grow thicker, the root will grow longer and the leaves will grow bigger too to take in the sunlight! With the stem, we can then determine the age of a trees by reading its rings! The spirit of the plants are undaunting! As the thinking species in the biological system, we should have the same undaunting system. Although we try not to grow around the waist but we should grow in our brain materials through the accumulation of wisdom and knowledge. Our spirit should be the auxins that will propel us to achieve and to reach for the growth and sunlight in our life!

Last sunday, I have also visited the Southern Ridges at the West end of Singapore. It stretches from West Coast Park to Mount Faber and this includes forest walk, hilltop walk etc. Took many photos will put up in a later blog.

Need to get back to revision for tomorrow's paper! The "never say die" human spirit will continue to strive!

Feeling a bit sad.. probably too much stress

Feeling a bit emotional now! Somehow feels someone is angry with me! Well maybe I m too sensitive but I m a woman and the female species is supposed to be sensitive to such issue! Anyway I am suppose to study now but end up msning friends over the msn! Getting more responsbility at the new job and I have written my first inspection report! Have to archive all these things so that I can summarise them for performance appraisal at the end of the year. This will also helps me to write my resume! YUP!

"People who come to your aid in a time of personal crisis are people of genuine compassion and courage. More often than not, people will try to act as though nothing is wrong. Others are either afraid or refuse to get involved, and quietly drift away."

- Words of Wisdom from Daisaku Ikeda

Hmm.. people of genuine compassion and courage will aid you in time of crisis. Can we say this of people who help those out during the cyclone and the earthquake? These people who despite of the horrendous condition still go out to the affected places to offer the people their strength and comfort. As the highest order of living creatures in this world, should not we the group that has the capacity to help each other out? The group that will be able to create a better world for all! Some time, we still cannot defeat nature!

Well, time to go back to my studies!

What can be done besides donating money?

Recently, there are a couple of disasters that struck the world, 1 of them happened in some of the poorest part of the world and the other one happened in the most populated part of the world! Watching all those scenes on TV and looking at the photos in the newspapers and internet touched many hearts! A lot of people want to help but there is a limit to what we can do or at least that is what we think! Unless you are already in those voluntary associations such as Redc Cross, doctors beyong borders or Care, it is really difficult uprooting yourself from your current position to be in the area!

The other concern is instead of helping, one becomes a burden! What can one contribute? To help to dig emergency sanitary toilets, to build tents, to distribute food, to apply first aids, to counsel etc.? Does one has the vaccinations and immunity to face the situation? I realise if i want to do any of this work, I have to be at least trained to do first aid! I must trained myself to be able to counsel and to give hope to these people! Facing the aftermath, I must not suffered from post traumatic stress! Seems like a lot of myself but this is true especially when you are living in an environment that is comfortable and sheltered!

I feel helpless with the situation in Myanmar! I can only pray the country's leaders will just relent and let help in. Contrasting with China, the government is actively sending help to the area but the area is too big and too remote and it is slowing the process initially. What is the cost of life? Probably can be easily illustrated by the reactions in these 2 countries!

Still have revisions to do. First paper on Tuesday!

"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 from Daisaku Ikeda

... some online blogthings!

As explained by the title, some random blogthings that I took:

You Are 48% Feminine, 52% Masculine

You are in touch with both your feminine and masculine sides. You're sensitive at the right times, but you don't let your emotions overwhelm you. You're not a eunuch, just the best of both genders.

http://www.blogthings.com/areyoumasculineorfemininequiz/">Are You Masculine or Feminine?

Your Personality Cluster is Extraverted Intuition

You are: A true wordsmith - a master of words Original, spontaneous, and a true inspiration Highly energetic, up for any challenge Entertaining and engaging, both to friends and strangers

What's" Your Personality Cluster?

You Are 50% Extrovert, 50% Introvert

You're a bit outgoing, a bit reserved Like most people, you enjoy being social But you also value the time you have alone You have struck a good balance!

http://www.blogthings.com/areyouanextrovertorintrovertquiz/">Are You An Extrovert or An Introvert?

All American Kid

Popular but not plastic. Athletic but not a jock. Smart but not a brain. You were well rounded and well liked in high school.

http://www.blogthings.com/whowereyouinhighschoolquiz/">Who Were You In High School?

Your Travel Personality Is: Easygoing

When you travel, you're looking for a lot of downtime. Vacations are your chance to recoup. All you need is a scenic spot and plenty of time on your hands. You'll figure out the rest. You're not one to make lots of plans when you travel. You just follow whatever path seems right.

What's" Your Travel Personality?

Your Thinking is Concrete and Random

You are naturally inquisitive and curious. You're excited by new ideas, and you are a true independent thinker. You are interested in what is possible. You like the process of discovery. You are often experimenting, challenging old ideas, and inventing new concepts. Rules, restrictions, and limit don't really work for you. You have to do things your own way, and you can't be bothered to explain yourself.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofthinkerareyouquiz/">What Kind of Thinker Are You?

What These Sunflowers Say About You

You are a truly warm person with amazing bursts of energy. You bring happiness to everyone around you, and you are adored by many. You're bright, bold, and cheery. You nourish friends you with your optimism.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatdotheflowersyoupicksayaboutyouquiz/">What Do The Flowers You Pick Say About You?

That's all for now!

Stress stress.. cramming..

Is cramming time! Lots of work to cram into a cranium that contains a brain that only uses less than 10% of its capacity! That means i have to work harder to make sure that the most essential stuff is entered though I believe the non essential has a better place in the brain! Anyway, less than 10 days to my exam and still I m in a daze state! That'a all for exam as I think I write something more encouraging! Yeah!

As the world is a in a desastrous mood recently, we should all reconsider our priorities.

Some quotes from "180 degree - Yearnings for Peace":

When a lamp is lit, darkness is dispelled. - Sikh Teaching

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of services and compassion are the things which renew humanity. - The Buddha

Many raging fires are quenched by a single shower of rain, and many evil forces are vanquished by a single great truth. - Nichiren, 13 Century Buddhist Sage

A thousand people working hand in hand can achieve the strength of a thousand people; ten thousand people working without unity cannot achieve the strength of even one man. - Taoist Saying

From Words of Wisdom, Ikeda sensei says "Iron, when heated and pounded, becomes a fine sword. Likewise, Buddhism teaches that our true strength and potential cannot be forged without hardships."

Will continue to do some cramming!

3 Criteria: Short, Thin but Healthy and Stupid...

Interesting title? Of the 3 criteria, I have only meet one and that is short! Well I m not thin and never will. Doctor told me I have a mid-frame body size so that means I cannot be thin if not I will look like skeletor or those they used for medical study. As for stupid, I will use Jack Neo's movie "I not stupid" to explain. Technically it depends what area of stupidity u are refering to. We should not elaborate that here as that will be exposing my flaws! Curious? Please continue to be!

Today is an interesting day at work! Since I took up this new post, there are really a lot of interesting n new grounds that I have found myself tracked into. Firstly the countless licenses that a research facility needs to have and the many governmental regulations and authorities that u need to know and be familiar with. It is basic courtesy to call up and say hello so that they can expedite the process. It is also a familiar thing to receive government letters frequently! Remember, we should always engage the authorities!

My colleague who is away this week for course will be shocked when she comes back to work. I have sent her lots of emails for her information. I have been sending emails to almost everybody these few days for information and actions! Keeping her in the loop is good so that she knows what are the things happening!

Back to today! While I was busy trying to match some data, the maintenance person asked to see me. I wondered what happen and it turned out to be a non-compliance act that had happened at the disposal area. Following the person down to the crime scene, it was really a non-compliance act that nobody knew who had done it. I took some photos and asked for help! Yah, I m not exactly a trained crime scene investigator and this is definitely not CSI! Investigator Help arrives and pointed out that there are surveillance camera around the premises and they are 2 that overlooked into the disposal area. Feeling excited, we went to the Command and Control Centre and called up the recorded images. After some trial and error, we finally located the crime action. Now was to identify the culprits! It turned out that the identities were quickly discovered and I made a few phone calls to enquire! The confrontation was not good and I had to make more phone calls to clarify some policy issues. Eventually I got my policy answers and the responsible party called up to acknowledge the non-compliance and we close the case.

Suddenly the floor above us thundered as if something heavy had been thrown on the floor! No worry, this is not another repeat of Hotel New World. There are no cracks on the wall and I m still alive to write this post! Don know what happen though! A wild guess is it could be from the construction site next door!

Anyway, end of my tale for the day!

To sum up with a quote from Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda:

"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."

I spring from the earth!

Say u to what?

Wanted to blog but cannot think of anything constructive to say. Just tot i will do something pretty random here. Just watched the movie "Talkingcock", a stupid Singapore movie made by Singaporeans for Singaporeans who love to talk cock and jokes only a Singaporean will know!

3 random dogs of 3 different colours made with towels! Woo Woo...

This is taken near Botanic Garden! Just random phototaking while waiting for the bus to Orchard Road!

Near home and pretty random too! Really early in the morning so there are no vehicles around!

Daring Nephew here! Is he not cute?! Yeah yeah! The position of a froggy!

Another random quote from Words of Wisdom by Ikeda Sensei:

"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."

"Not all who wander are lost." - J.R.R. Tolkien

So is May Day ....

Happy May Day! Heard May Day come about because of a few workers that banded together to demand for shorter working hours in the late 19 century. As a result of their sacrifice, May 1 was destinated as the day for labour day and this spreaded all over the world as workers become to see themselves as much more than money making machines and cheap labour! Well, today is a holiday for many and a long holiday for some. Tomorrow, it will be a bit quiet at the office as many will take the opportunity to take leave for a short vacation. Yeah but I will still be going to work tomorrow!

I was at the bookshop on Wednesday and I bought this book called "The Last Lecture". Have not read it yet but it seems to be the last lecture of a professor from a US university. He was disgnosed with a terminal illness and when asked what his last lecture will be, he said the lecture should be about "living". How provocative a topic! I think most us of will probably decide about lecturing about our life, our achievements and the knowledge that we would like to pass down to the next generations. To talk about living shows the positive perspectives of the person and this will be a person to learn from. Not many people will talk about living and the other person that values every minutes of his living is non other than Daisaku Ikeda sensei. Every seconds and every minutes is important. Sensei taught us not to just talk about the future but to fully make use of the presence to create value and to never regret this day of our life. We can always say there is a tomorrow but if we do not make good use of today, there may not be a tomorrow. In order not to regret, we must use our time and thus our life carefully! Most of the time, we tell ourselves that we are afraid or that we cannot do this or that. In the end, we will regret we ever hesitate. Hesitating in doing things as it may turn out wrong but without doing, we will never know! At the end of the day, we know we have tried and looking back, it provides us with the consolation that the answers are known. All it takes then and now is the courage to live our life!

Just watched a movie called "Stomp the Yard". This is about this dance or sport called "Stepping". The stepping movement is great but behind all those dangerous yet fabulous sequences are lessons for the youth. Themes such as teamwork, integrity, honesty, and hardwork are good moral characters. Often, one has to make some choices but not all choices should include sacrificing one's belief and dignity. At the end of the movie, the movie quoted this from Dr Martin Luther King, Jr "Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of education".

Education is to train the mind as well as the character of a person. Pocessing high intelligence yet lacking in strong moral character does not make the person educated. Unfortunately this is a common sight in society today! Graduates from well known universities with mulitple degrees and Phds have shown their brain power but their characters may be in an unpolished state. These are the people who will probably take up positions of decisions in companies and the government. These are the people who will make the decisions and make peace. With no strong character built, their actions will be the perils of the common people. Thus, education should start with building character before inculcating knowledge which is neverending in the first place.

"The word "character" originated from the Greek words meaning "sculpture" and "impression." Character, then, could be thought of that which is shaped or etched. It may be true from a medical perspective that our psychological and physiological traits are generally predetermined genetically. Knowing this, however, adds little to our lives. All that matters is how we can better ourselves here and now."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

Building character starts from the home and do not leave it to the teachers who probably have problems making syllables deadlines!

BTW, I also like the song group "May Day" from Taiwan. Yeah!

Lastly and to quote from Daisaku Ikeda's Words of Wisdom again "The task of education must be fundamentally to ensure that knowledge serves to further the cause of human happiness and peace. "

Cheerios!

Today I grow more wiser hopefully in both IQ and EQ

Happy Birthday to me! Yup is my birthday today and I share it with many fine individuals both in history and among my friends! Well maybe not all fine dividual as one of them is remembered for his notoriety in World War II. Other than him, the rest have made history and fame in the arena of Health, government and entertainment!

Among my friends, there is 1 fine individual who is born on the same year, month and day with me. We met in University more than 10 years ago and it all started with an inpromptu introduction by myself after realising we share the same birthday! Recently, there are more and more people that I know that share the same birth day as me. These people include my consultant's triplets, my student's father, the nurse in the staff clinic of my ex-company and maybe even the baby of another dr.

I think this is a good day because I am born on this day! Heard from my mum that I was an overdue baby who refused to come out so probably I have been hanging on in the womb so that I can come out on today. Yeah!

I have not made any wish on this day but I hope I can find my better half. No special celebration and no cake as I do not like cake. It is basically a day of trying to finish my assignments and holding 1 future division meeting in the afternoon. In a sense, many people celebrate my birthday with me today and I had a great meeting with the students and in fact learning more about them and their interests!

Lastly, ending my blog with words of wisdom from Ikeda Sensei:

"..Never for an instant forget the effort to renew your life, to build yourself anew. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway of life itself. This is not an easy task. Indeed, it may be the most severely challenging struggle there is. For opening the door to your own life is in the end more difficult than opening the door to all the mysteries of the universe. .."

Today is the start of a new beginning and opening my life to more possibilities!

Sum it up after almost 5 year!

In my last post, I have mentioned that I have resigned! Yup so in this post I m going to sum up what I have been doing in my last job for the last almost 5 years! Not exactly a find fault type of review but I tot it will be interesting to blog it. Yeah!

My own ways of doing this so if you are interested do read on. If you think this has nothing to do with you, then just ignore it. Then and again, if you can come and read my blog, you should be interested in some ways! SO here goes:

Location:

My office shifted 3 times and the current location is a refurblished new block with a long history and is rumoured to be haunted. However with time passed and as more people populate the building, the "yang" energy will put those creatures of the darkness at bay!

People:

People go and people come. I have seen the departure of many people and wondered when is my turn. Hmm.. as mentioned, my unit bade farewell to at least 4 permanent Admin Assistant and many temporary helps. Some 4 executives, 1 nurse, 2 epidemiologists and even 1 consultant. The unit split in 2007 and half of the people departed to another unit and probably a better environment too!

I should not forget all the friends that I have made along the way. Thank you all if you read this post!

Projects/ Events:

Many along the way but I like those that involved the whole company cos is so challenging. You have to solve the logistics, the manpower, the supplies and coordinate the movement of goods and materials to ensure the smooth running of the whole process. It is actually pretty cool when your adrenaline gets pumping especially when you have to do reporting to the ministry within a certain period. You get drained but you feel very satisfied!

Participating in these projects test your own limits and make work more bearable.

Meetings:

Why meeting? Meeting cos some of them are really boring and I have to sit through them hearing the same thing from the boss and trying hard not to fall asleep! Is embarressing to fall asleep in meeting with external people and I did just that in a few! Cannot help it cos is like the tape repeating itself in a boring afternoon!

The best part about Unit's meeting is that more than half of the things that are mentioned are not to be recorded. Thus the minutes at the end of the meeting are just single line sentence for each topic discussed. This is to prevent important information being disclosed to people outside the Unit and which will be used against the Unit. In another words, we should be more confidential than the CIA or the FBI unit.

Photography:

My phototaking as well as video shooting skills improved tremendously when I am in the Unit. Rather, there are plenty of chances to take photos and from different angles as well.

Presentation:

I have the choice to present whatever I want and to research into the topics. Since I m bad at journals, I will choose those topics that I m interested in and write it in such a way that it is related to the discipline of the Unit. A lot of work involved and many unknown areas trampled but the journeys have been fun and enriching. My audiences include Drs and professor. Recently one of the drs told me she did learn something from my presentation.

Conclusions:

I have much to say and too much actually so I will just stop here! Too much of anything makes it dull and I won want that to happen here! The next phase is up the next corner and it will be a new page in my blog!

Say Cheers and bye! Of course we will meet again but not in the office!

This has nothing to do with today's blog but I ran out of non controversial photo!

Quote from Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda Sensei:

"Ultimately, we are responsible for our own destiny. It may seem to us that our fate is predetermined, whether by our genes or by our environment. What really matters, however, is how we can improve ourselves from this moment forward, how we can change the circumstances that we find ourselves in. This enormous transformative force is what Buddhism is all about. In this struggle lies the source of never-ending youth and vitality."

A new step forward!

Finally I resign! Yahoooooo...

On the 26th of March 2008, I tendered in my letter to the boss and resigned from the position of Executive which I have held for the last 4 years and nearly 10 months. Before I handed in my letter, I was pretty apprehensive and nervious. It is not that I really like my position so much that I am hesitating leaving such a place. The problem got to do with whether or rather what the reaction of the boss will be! In the end, my worries were unfounded, the boss excepted my letter with no big emotion. Later on in another subsequent talk with her, she told me she was surprised I have stayed so long despite the problems with the management! Yah, this means my presence is non-essential and pretty much redundant and I should have gone long ago! Well although I know I was bad-mouthed by her often but hearing from her personally is rather different. Anyway, in the last few days, my parents were insulted because they were uneducated and thus was not able to teach or nurture me in management! I dressed badly cos I came to work in jeans and shorts and the ex-division chair was not happy! Hmm, well I wonder what is the truth and whether there is any truth in her words! I believed if I m really bad in my dressing, the ex-manager will probably talk to me or at least hint to me. No one can beat the boss in coming for accrediation meeting in a light pink long sleeve blouse and a long light purple skirt! Too bad I din take a photo of it!

On Friday, one day after I tendered, she told me it was a short notice that I was giving but I pretty much don think I will be able to work for her any longer. She had wanted me to leave end of the month so that I can transit over to the next person. If you pretty much think that I should not have gone long ago, then there is also no reason that I should stay further to hand over! I have lots of leave to clear. I have so much leave to clear because it is troublesome to take leave and no one to cover. It is troublesome cos you have to check with her first before u can book any holidays and if it coincide with hers, she will threaten to not let you go as no one is around in the office. For goodness sake, if I m away for a long period, I will jolly well ensure that the next person or someone in the office will cover my duty. There is no crush too because I m not a doctor. If the boss is not around, the clinic will be closed too so there is no conflict anyway! For handing over of work, I will try to teach the temporary Assistant and my MO. Poor MO got to learn how to do my job! Wih the frequent changeover of manpower every month and the need to cover whoever is missing, the opportunity to take leave is minimal. Everytime someone leaves, I will do that person's job. Well I try and even if it is not good, I tried anyway. I don complain because it may be my fault that the hiring is delayed. In the end, when I leave, you should at least say "Thank you" to me for being there to hold the function together all these years!

Morale of the story is "Learn from this experience and don be like the boss". She taught us what not to be!

"People who come to your aid in a time of personal crisis are people of genuine compassion and courage. More often than not, people will try to act as though nothing is wrong. Others are either afraid or refuse to get involved, and quietly drift away."

- Words of Wisdom from Daisaku Ikeda

My mum says I m rude. Well I guess i will try to note that. I guess I m rude because I m quite a crumpsy person when it comes to expressing my feeling.

March 16 marks a significant event!

Significant day today! March 16 is the 50th anniversary of Toda's sensei entrusting the youth to continue the spread of Nichiren Buddhism to the world and is also the 20th anniversary of Ikeda sensei's visit to Singapore! On such a special occasion, we have a meeting yesterday where SSA invited youth members from the SGI organisation in Asia. Countries attended include Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Sri Lanka, Philippine and Thailand. During the meeting, youth representatives also signed a pledge for kosen rufu to be presented to Ikeda Sensei. SGI General Director also commented that is significant that this event is being held in Singapore, the Lion City.

On the actual March 16, SSA organised the First Youth Peace Interfaith Symposium at the Singapore Expo and it gathered resounding success. The theme for the symposium is "Humanizing Religions, Creating Peace" and the speaker for this first ever peace symposium is Mr George Yeo who is the Minister for Foreign Affairs. It is significant to note that the theme is also the theme for the peace proposal that Ikeda Sensei has submitted to the United Nation this Jan 26. My role in this event is part of the welcoming group where we warmly welcomed our foreign minister to this event.

"I choose hope because I feel a deep responsibility to do what I believe I am obligated to do - to pass the world on a better place than when I came into it"

- David Krieger (President of Nuclear Age Peace Foundation)

I choose hope for another reason. I choose hope because without hope we will never believe we can fulfill our dreams nor make the impossible possible!

"Let us extinguish the flames of hatred with a flood of dialogue"

- Daisaku Ikeda

A speaker at the symposium said something like we should not beat someone down because we were being insulted. This is because in peace time, we should not make enemy. We should make friend so that in war time, our friend will shot that someone down before it gets to us!

Well this is not advocating war or even killing. In the end, it should be si vis pacem para pacem - if we want peace make peace!

"A great revolution in just one single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a society and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of humankind."

- Daisaku Ikeda

Today, YMD chief said is a new departure and we should attain a higher level from before. We should set a new determination to start at a higher platform as we have succeeded showing our fellow citizens that what we have been doing is the correct path.

New goals! Renewed determination! Refresh faith! A new human revolution! Another step towards Kosen Rufu!

Leaping over 2008

Is a sad day today? So far 3 of my colleagues have resigned! This will be the no 4 Admin Asst, no 4 Executive, and 1 consultant that will be changed over! In May, it will also be the 4 th changeover of MOs in the Unit. Woah.. 4414, the last 4 digits of my employee no. and the first 3 digits of my employee no starts with 8. Coincidence or symbolising something big happening! Hmm.. will have to see.

This is also the week that the office is hosting a visiting expert in Occupational Medicine from UK. Well some well known and authoritative person in the field and who is really tall. I gathered he is almost twice as tall as the boss. Ok is a bit overstated! As usual with any foreign visitors, the boss will get into her fake American accent which sounds funny. I don understand why she cannot just speak properly. I don think foreigners have problem understanding us if we pronounce all the words properly.

Back to the topics of resignation! The boss wants me to talk to my executive who had handled in her resignation letter. She wants me to find out the reason behind her decision. Well and honestly, I know the answer but I cannot tell the boss that so that means I have to find some credible story to convince her. Need to discuss with my colleague! Wonder when it will be my turn? I have the urge and inspiration to write the letter and the content is already spinning in my head! This means more daimoku and earnest prayers!

Then another thing I want to do is to tell my other colleague that I like him! Maybe I should just write him an email and tell him I like him. Just I like him and he can interpret it whatever way he wants. Is not very healthy to cope things up too long in the mind and I think telling him will help me to move on! On second tots, I think I will hold it until later!

I want to break through by MAR 16! A significant date for SGI and SSA cos it marks the 50th anniversary of the SGI Youth's determination to carry on the propagation of Nichiren Buddhism and also the 20th anniversary of Ikeda Sensei's visit to Singapore.

"One thing is certain: That is that the power of belief, the power of thought, will move reality in the direction of what we believe and conceive of it. If you really believe you can do something, you can. That is a fact."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

Everything comes to nothing

I do not know why but I am really down. As in, I m in a state of low morale n life condition. Like I say in Facebook these few days,"Foong is sad! She needs lots of hugs and encouragement!". From Ikeda Sensei's quote today "Human life is indeed wondrous. You may be ill physically, but as long as your mental state is strong, it most certainly will exert a positive influence on your body. There may be no better remedy than hope." Guess I need hope. Without hope, we will not be able to survive until tomorrow. Without hope, we will not be able to trust and believe in other people. Without hope, there will be no sunshine, no laughter and no one to share our joy and sorrow! Guess hope is the key to the answer but how to have hope! I need to go and chant!

The office is busy with preparation for some expert to visit next week. I m still calling the secretaries of department to ask them whether their bosses are coming for an open discussion. Do not really like calling people so I have not completed my calling list. We need sponsors for the refreshment and being who I m, I really do not like to call people especially those I don know and ask them to do the sponsorship. Had the help of one of my colleagues from the main department but seems like everyone is on thin budget. Anyway, one of my doctors wants to try 2 other sponsors which we have some dealings!

Probably this is the last blog for Feburary. March may be a better blogging month!

Happy Chinese New Year!..大吉大利，岁岁平安

Seems like a long time since i last blogged! Busy or just bochap (no interest). This is the second day of chinese new year and I have only been to my uncle's place last nite! This is the routine thing every year. Hmm.. think I better make a difference next year if not chinese new year will be just like any other public holidays!

Since the last blog, I have done quite a lot of things. For January, we completed the FD musical " The little prince". The rehearsals were bad but the students really put up a good show on the actual day and come to think of it, the first 2 shows are more full dress rehearsal than performance. Imagine. The lights and sounds are only adjusted on the morning before the first show! There was never a full run before but u must really give credits to the lighting crews, they performed and marvelously! Since I have not included photos for a long time, will insert some here which were taken during the musical preparation.

Tired after a whole evening of recording especially most of us came after work. We left the studio at about 11pm! This is day 1 of recording!

The RHQ3 FD sisters.... hahah.. Din notice half of us were wearing red and the other half in black. Those of us in black were supposed to help out in the backstage and logistics while the people in red did welcoming, ushering and attendance!

We have the geographer and the sheep in this pic! To understand the characters in the musical, please pick up the book "The Little Prince"!

This is the larger than real life fox in the musical! Cool!..

The next project coming up is the 3.16 meeting in March! Then the Friday Rendeavous sessions will start in April. For the 3.16 meeting, I have no idea what I will be doing. For the Friday Rendeavous, I m in the Workshop committee and we have lined up a series of talks and workshops for the year. Promised to be really cool and fun workshops!

This last week, the office is pretty quiet cos a lot of people are on leave to either do last minute spring cleaning or to go back home for the season. I miss the one on leave to go home! Then we have our HMDP project after the new year! This is going to be focus after the holidays! Lots more things to do? Rather, we don seems to have done a lot of things up to date!

Is New Year and a new beginning so:

心想事成，步步高升，开开心心，圆圆满满

What I want to wish for the New Year? Hmm.. or rather my resolutions:

1) Pass my exam and finally complete my law degree this year

2) Read more books and to finally start reading the "Human Revolution" and "New Human Revolution"

3) Keep my exercise regime

4) To finish my million daimoku and to start on another million

5) To get to know my YWDs and FDs better

6) To do my human revolution ie to be a better person

7) To have the correct attitude in watever i do!

"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

"Every exit is an entry somewhere."

- Tom Stoppard (Screenwriter and playwright)

走出去就是路！

Sun Tzu Art of War or so

Today at meeting, we were treated to another piece of famous chinese history! Sun Tzu's Art of War is not only used in ancient warfare but is a great manual for business and commerical strategy! I don think Sun Tzu had any inkings that his works were used by future generations and in such wide application! This post is not going to discuss Sun Tzu as u can always read more about it from books and wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War). So why is this old theory of victory being mentioned during the Unit's meeting? I don know but I guess the basis is the boss has an MBA and she needs to read this because she needs to undertstand how her boss is thinking. It is an acument thing and there is a need to apply this to our enviroment to understand it better!

After the paragraph above, I left this post in the draft post as I got sleepy. Now I m back again! Well there is still another occasion later that Sun Tzu is being brought in again! Anyway, it is good we know what is Sun Tzu all about but to apply it to understanding the big boss is not exactly the best application. I think if I m the boss, I don want my subordinates to use Sun Tzu against or understand me. Sun Tzu is better used in bringing businesses to the company or getting better business strategies! For me, the best strategy will be the 36 strategies of War where the last strategy says to leave while one still can! This is definitely aptly for the situation in the office.

Perhaps the boss should go and read books like "How to trust your staff?", "How to boost the Morale in the Office", "What are the things your staff do not want to hear?", " How to be tactful?", "What is considered as infringing of personal rights?", "How not to sound like a nag yet getting the message through?" and most importantly "Listen to your staff, they cannot be that wrong!". Note these books are of course non-existent but do consider writing one if you have any idea!

"Nonviolence" does not merely mean to refrain from violence. Violence erupts when one person blames another for a problem or conflict. Conversely, nonviolence is a way of life in which one resolves, “Let me be the one to change first.” If this spirit were to be embraced, how much more at peace would our families and society itself be."

- Words of wisdom by Daisaku ikeda

the second blog of the year...

This year started with a bang? Well, since is my second blog of the year, I don think it has been a bang so far! Got my first migraine/headache of the year last sunday! My nose has been sniffing and blocked for the past 4 days and don seems to be recovering! I have also twisted my ankle last Tuesday while crossing the road. OK it din happen because I was looking at some handsome guys. It would have been better if it had happened because I was eyeing some guys but too bad it just happened while i was walking innocently across the road!

The FD musical training is underway now and we are into the last second week of trainings and rehearsals. There are still quite a lot of things that need to be ironed out! Since I m supposed to do singing, I feel the singers are not getting the feel of the music! Next week will be the week to get it all done!

Just completed a 3 days workshop at the Navy. I did learn quite a lot of things from the workshop and in between i also did a presentation on IAQ to the participant. This is my first external presentation! I won say I did a good job but there is really room for improvement! It is a learning experience in so many areas and contrary to what I tot before the workshop, the people there are exactly very nice! Hopefully there is other chance that I can do the same thing again!

To end this, let's quote from Ikeda Sensei again from "Words of Wisdom"

"Of course, people want to live long. But in the end, what matters more is what we have been able to leave behind -- the value we have created in our lives, the number of people we have made happy and how much we have been able to grow and expand as a person. "

Today my fellow buddhists were telling me how those reactions that I got from the boss could be just a reflection of the causes in my life. It is precisely because of these causes that I got the effect. The effect could be elements that I should change in my life. Changing the causes thus transforming them into postive influence in my life. Probably this is precisely what it means to do human revolution.

My heartiest thanks to 2007 before embracing 2008.

2007 just passed! It is a good idea now to review what I have done throughout the year. There are so many things so I will just go by the month.

January
NDP audition – The venue will be at the Marina Bay, the temporary platform that is being built especially for NDP while they rebuilt the National Stadium. I heard this platform will be used for 5 years. It is probably the largest floating platform in Asia and a project by Sembcorp.

We shifted meeting location from Telok Blangah to Redhill. It is a new start for my meeting district. Other than that, I cannot really remember.

I passed my driving test on the third attempt.

My sister got married this year and I have the whole room to myself.

The Future Division and Student Division also launched their very own monthly magazine called “Wings”.

February
Chinese New Year fell on this month. This Chinese New Year, I stayed at home and rot and read all the comics that I had no time to read. Till the end of the year, I still had many more to read!

March
YWD 3.16 meeting fell on the month and the first NDP rehearsal started. I remembered my name was not found on the list. After some hassle, they told me I was on reserve list but they din inform me to tell me that. I was pissed because they did call me up earlier to tell me which group I was in. Anyway, I got a temporary pass to go into Kranji camp for the first practice. Then history was made and I remained in the item until the actual performance. My item is called the “River of Dreams” and my grouping is B1.

On this month, we also held our first Future Division Meeting for the year.

April
After almost 4 months or preparation, we had our Delta Zone Friendship meeting at SYC. Our souvenir this is year is a mini standing calendar from April to April 2008. It took us many months to complete the all the souvenirs by all the youth in Telok Blangah chapter.
Overall, it was a successful meeting.

May
2 months into NDP practices and we are still practicing hard for it!

My Law exam starts at the end of the month.

This month is also the changeover for the MOs in my Unit. We have 2 new MOs (not very new cos only 1 is new but the other one has been with us before) for BST training.

June
Law examinations continue and I took leave until 12 June (inclusive) to study. NDP rehearsal had started at Marina Bay by this month.

July
On the 7 of the month, SSA celebrated its 40th anniversary. The celebration was at Indoor Stadium but those of us in NDP had to go for NDP rehearsal instead as it was a performance vetted by the NDP committee. We got through of course.

Attended a piano recital where students were taught music with special methods that aids in the development of their brain.

August
NDP ends on National Day as we put our best performances for the year. 5 months of practices and perspiration culminated in the first ever performance at Marina Bay.

September
Nothing special really or I really cannot remember what’s going on this month

October
The first Nationwide Youth Meeting held on this month.

Future Division’s annual retreat which is a time for IC to refresh their spirit and to plan for the coming year programs.

The first reading club started this month with the book “Lord of the Ring” at SYC and we even put up a blog for comments on this and any book.

This is also the month when I went with my friends to Taiwan. On this, there are photo installments in the previous posts.

November
This month I was officially transferred over to the English district in my chapter. This is the first English district that I will be handling ever since I become a district leader.

Signed up membership with Fitness First and started my gym session at One Raffles Quay.

Reading club this month is on the book “Tuesday with Morrie”.

The MOs at work stayed in the Unit for another posting, after which they will go on for their Master program at NUS.

December
The first 2 days of the month was spent in Johore Bahru as the Future Division participated in an exchanged program with our counterpart in JB. It was truly a great experience as we learnt from each other and shared with one and another on the finer aspects of being a disciple of Ikeda Sensei.

Gotten my first PDA which was sold to me at a low price by my consultant.

Attended this year Daisaku Ikeda Annual Lecture on the topic “Buddhism, Singapore and Interfaith Dialogue”. The speaker is HE K Kesavapany, Director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

I joined in the preparation for the FD musical in January to assist in training the student to sing the songs for the musical.

The Future Divisions also did a community project in conjunction with Marina Bay Development, Esplanade and URA. We had to be at various places in town to ask people to sign their wishes on the balloons.

On work, I m helping my consultant with a workshop in January.

Reading club this month is on the book “Totto-Chan”.

Summary
After I have listed the things out, it seems there are not many things that I have done. Hmm.. probably the best thing to do is to re-read all those posts I have done to have an idea of what’s I have really been up to tis year! What I have is in essence what I have in my calendar both written and electronically!

I had given tuition throughout the whole year except during the school holidays. I had attempted to pack my rooms a couple of times. I had been to Kinokuniya countless times. I had also started on my million daimoku of which I m proud to say I have exceeded the half a million marks. In 2008, I intent to complete my million daimoku and to start on another million.

On the office stuff, guess many things happened and I should have written them here and here with my complaining. Come to think of it, I have to write a “What I have done in the office in 2007” for my appraisal this 2008.

I guess I have tried to like someone but that someone din show any sign. Thus, I have decided to move on. It seems really sad though and I think time will help to heal the openings.

After this review, it will be time to set my resolutions for 2008.

In 2008, I will have to be a better ICs for my Students and to look after members in my district.

“One thing is certain: That is that the power of belief, the power of thought, will move reality in the direction of what we believe and conceive of it. If you really believe you can do something, you can. That is a fact.”

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda