不是我不明白 - 超級星光大道 version [ 林宥嘉 & 曾沛慈 ]

Introducing this one song that I've been playing over and over again with for the whole of last week, (I think I'm addicted to the song). This is a shorter live version of it by 林宥嘉 & 曾沛慈 in 超級星光大道 competition. Check out the original version by 梁靜茹 [Fish Leong] & 卢广仲 [Lu Guang Zhong]. Loving it!

曹格 [Cao Ge] & 梁靜茹 [Fish Leong] - PK

Here's a song that's light and easy, by two of our very own local artistes who've successfully hit Taiwanese shores! Enjoy.

New Year's Resolution...?

Year 2008 will be over soon, in no time, and a new year's coming! [I put an exclaimation mark to signify the excitement of a coming new year, and NOT the excitement of another ending year. It only means I'm getting older by another year! :-( ].

As we all welcome & usher the new year, this could also be a great time for us to take a stroll back and ponder on the highlights that had made our 2008 wonderful! I personally think, I've experienced yet another good year with lots of learning opportunities, by both strokes and chances of luck, and also hard-put effort. Many of the things I never thought or expected myself to achieve, yet I made it somehow. Lots of growing, insights, learning, realisation, thinking, experiencing, etc etc. For one, I started my very own blog, eh? Haha. I guess the one thing we shouldn't look back and feel is 'regret'. Even mistakes are meant to be learned of and improved upon, so we definitely gained from them. All of these, and all the effort put into making your 2008 great, deserves a good year-end party & celebration!

And after all the party-ing is done and over with, comes the 'time of the year' where people asks the big question - "So, what's your new year's resolution?". It's such a commonly-asked thing that even wikipedia has a dedicated page for its definition! Danggg. I, for one, am a person who's not so sure of the new year's resolution trend. There are plenty of reasons that supports such a 'claim'. To start with, I don't think I'm such a disciplined person. I may have a list of resolutions in the beginning of the year, which may go *poof* (vanished in the thin air) by the mid of year. That's if I'm being good. Sometimes, they don't even last half a year, haha. It's not that I don't welcome changes throughout the year. And it's definitely not that I hate resolving or improving things that have room for improvement. It's just in my whole year, there could be so much of changes happening, even in our daily lives. I guess what I mean to say is, I think it's best to stay adaptable and flexible. You may have a list of resolutions in the beginning of the year that you might think not at all that necessary by the 1st, 2nd quarter of the year. OR, you may also not have something in your list in the beginning of the year, but feel necessary to work on by the mid of the year. Say, you just landed a new role in the company, which requires a total shift of skills set. You don't just go by the existing rule in your initial list, do you? But all in all, I guess there isn't any harm to have a general rule to go by. Here's an example (where I think most applicable for me) - 'This year, to save more money & spend wisely!'. Oh, and I think I better add at the back of the statement, 'You better stick to it, Sher Lin!!!' (*Note : 3 bloody exclamation marks! And that's a warning to self!).

Here's wishing all my readers (you know who you are) a Blessed, Prosperous & Successful New Year Ahead! And here's to thank all of you for making my 2008 wonderful! Cheers!

今生今世 - 曹格 [Cao Ge] & 側田 [Ze-Tian, Justin]

I really love this version of the song by Gary Cao Ge [曹格] & Justin [側田]. It's originally by Leslie Cheung [張國榮]. Both of them sang this rendition when Justin made a guest appearance in Gary's concert in Malaysia this year.

Being a Half-Banana

On my way home today, in the monorail, I stood in front of two gals. One of them chinese, quite tomboy-ish, and another, a mat salleh (a caucasian). What stood out was that, both of them were conversing in mandarin, and man, they were not only conversing in mandarin, those were China accented mandarin! I'm impressed. There you have it, a caucasian gal, with her bluish eyes, blonde hair, fairly freckled-face, speaking my supposingly native language, because, by all means traditional, I rarely come across such scenarios here in KL. Well, maybe it's a common trend in China, in bigger city places like Beijing, or Shanghai, where quite a large number of expatriats live. For all you know, they not only speak mandarin, they also read and write perfect chinese! And that calls for a session of pressure to people who's as half-banana as I am. Hmm... I'm already starting to feel ashamed of myself [*pout*].

** Disclaimer
1. The Malaysian-ised term 'banana' refers to a chinese who doesn’t speak, read and write chinese.
2. A half-banana (or semi-banana), in my terms, speaks chinese, but doesn't write or read the language.

Whitney Houston - Try It On My Own

Heard this song (after such a long time) while I was shopping with BC the other day. It was quite a hit back then. Enjoy!

Thoughts for the Day

Here are some random thoughts I've gathered for the day.

1. How being rich transforms a person.
(And I mean this in a good and bad way)
Do you see how datins or siu lais (referring to wives of rich men who don't have to work, and is still rich) shop in branded outlets like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada? That's the good thing. They walk into the shop, with an average of 3-5 shop attendants serving them, they pick their luxury items, swipe their platinum priviledged cards without much hesitation, and walk out with their new goodies. That's the good thing. They feel good about themselves (still a good thing), they pamper themselves (I'm not there yet, this is still good), and they feel they're a class higher than the rest (here! Stop right here). Now, that's the bad thing about it. So if you're flaunting an LV bag, parading a designer Gucci dress, and strutting with a pair of Prada heels, does it really make you a class higher? What does it buy you? Style? Maybe. A fashion statement? Maybe. Respect? Not necessarily. So exactly how high-er in class does that make you?

2. How having hundreds of friends don't beat having only a few TRUE friends.
At the thought of this, I really feel glad knowing I have my few true friends whom I can count on. They're the ones who had picked up my calls in the middle of the night of a working day, and still patiently listen to me nag (or cry). They're the ones who's always reminding me how great a person I am when I'm in one of those bad days. They're the ones who's stuck by me when I needed encouragement. They're the ones who shop crazily with me (I really mean it - the crazy word). The ones who offer a ride home on late nights. And the list goes on. Here's a roll call to all of these great people whom I'm proud to have around as friends. I don't need a list of hundreds of friends appearing in my Facebook account to tell me this. I'm glad I don't need this as a measurement.

3. How different kinds of people are necessary in the community.
As I jam-packed myself in a crammed monorail every ordinary evening of a working day, I come across various kinds of people. The kinds who block the entrance of the trains, the kinds who push you in like it's the last train to heaven before the end of the world, the kinds who take opportunities of the crowd to harass (in my own term) people, the kinds who sneeze, dig their nose, scratch their butts and hold/wipe on the only bar that is supporting tens of commuters at that same time, enough said... all kinds. And as I observed them, I thought to myself, even as impolite, annoying, or disgusting as they are, we still need them. Else, there wouldn't be any 'spice' added into our everyday lives, and I wouldn't have had the 'inspiration' to be writing this in my blog now. In all compliments, they add colours to our lives! (although I can do with less of the public nose diggers).

Making Headlines..

I came across this news on Yahoo!News today. Couldn't help but give credits to this piece of article, for it has somewhat made my day. This is what it reads :

***

Headlines : Gay penguins given own eggs to care for

"Penguins caught stealing eggs from straight couples in an attempt to become fathers have been given their own to look after following protests.
Zoo keepers moved the male birds away from the rest of the penguins to avoid problems as hatching season approaches.
But angry visitors to Polar Land in China complained it was not fair for the males to stop becoming surrogate fathers.
Following the protests, zookeepers gave the pair two eggs laid by an inexperienced first-time mother.
"They've turned out to be the best parents in the whole zoo," on zoo keeper said.
"We will try to arrange for them to become real parents themselves with artificial insemination."
Despite being gay, it is understood the three-year-old male birds are still driven by an urge to be fathers."

***

I'm not kidding! Click on link to this news!

I sent a friend of mine this article, and he asked me a pretty valid question : "How do they even know they're gay?!"

Enough said for now. I hope it made your day! *grin*

王力宏 [Wang Lee Hom] - 心跳

[Dec 16th, 2008] I know someone (yup it's you, Sean, haha) has been debating on how youtube videos don't count as blog entries. But when it comes to my idol himself, I can't help it. I've just gotta share this! [*grin*] The MV isn't out yet, so just make do with this sneak preview at the moment, and do watch this space!

[Dec 29th, 2008] I've promised you to post the MV earlier. It's out now, so here it is. Enjoy!

The Joyous and Solemn Occasion

Over the past week, I've attended two weddings, and a funeral.
I've seen how two lovely couples come together and devote their lives to each other, and I've seen how daunting it can be to have lost someone dear to you.
I've partied and celebrated together, in the name of love, with the couples starting new journeys of their lives together; I've also mourned together, in the name of love, with family and friends at the sudden loss.

And all of these, had made me thought of the very few things that has been so clichéd-ly said over and over again, yet have always been taken granted for.

Life could be short. We really wouldn't know.
I've never felt this deeply that if one day I were to die, I would want to have lived my life meaningfully. Age really is just a number. Whoever could guarantee you that "As long as you stay healthy, do your part in the community, play all the rules safely, and you'll live up to a hundred years old", is lying. Even God doesn't promise you that. What we can do, is to make every living day count. So whenever we have the urge to think "We'll always have tomorrow to do that", we really wouldn't know if we'll live up 'til tomorrow, would we?

After the one week throughout, I'm even more reminded to treasure people who have closely surrounded me throughout my lifetime. And I've never felt this grateful for even the simplest things and slightest gestures in my everyday life. I hope I'll carry this mindset with me for the longest time!

Kids Don't Lie...

There's an unproclaimed fact, that kids don't lie.
To quote this from a real-life example, let me just recall a scenario I've seen first-hand.

Years ago (and I really mean, many, many years ago), an aunt of ours came visiting over.
Back then my youngest sister was just over 2 years of age, she was cute and adorable. The following dialogue took place.

Aunt : "Girl, aunty's (referring to self) hair (she's just got a new haircut & perm) nice or not?"

Sis : *Hesitated* *Thought for a few seconds* and said "I don't dare to say" (innocently truthful).

This remained a classic family joke for years!

This also got me wondering. As we grow older, we tend to adapt to filteration of speech. We say only the nicer things, and many a times, we learn to polish the truth in the name of fear, fear of repercussions. Come to think of it, we can learn from kids sometimes. In their world, they see and draw a perfectly clean and flawless line between black and white (and we were the ones who taught them to), unlike us with extremely vast grey area.

Hence, if you ever caught me bluntly speaking, do spare me a thought, I'm only trying to learn from the kids! *grin* (Nah, I'm just kidding, I won't be blunt, I'll try, haha)

Saying Thank You & You're Welcome

In our world (working world), we are taught of two skills to groom on. First being, technical skills (in my case, Microsoft Excel, Cognos Queries, and various systems & databases). Second being, soft skills (in my case, logic, pro-activity, learning to increase visibility & leveraging good relationships with the other teammembers).

One simple soft skill I've picked up from my job/career is learning (or should I say revising) what we've been taught from our younger days, by our parents, by our teachers - to learn how to say 'Thank You' & 'You're Welcome' (and graciously mean them, off course).

Rewinding to my younger days, I recall the occasional little treats or gifts from an outstation uncle or aunty on a holiday visit, my parents have been instilling "Girl, you should say thank you ok, don't be impolite". I would nod my head and obey. So at every chance that was given to me, I proudly (proud because, I thought I was being the most obedient and clever daughter any parent could have, haha) say 'Thank You Uncle", "Thank You Aunty".

Now, fast forward to the now I'm in. Saying "Thank You" means so much more than just that! My 'Thank You's now are actually more of tokens of appreciation. So yes, I've now learnt that thanking someone should not come to be seen just as polite or good manners, but a show of heartfelt gratitude!

Here's another thing though. Learning the true meaning of Thank You was not all. I actually did learn how to say 'You're Welcome' for the reason aside from courtesy alone. I've learnt that in the working world, many a times, sweeping the value you bring under the carpet isn't such a smart thing to do either. So, do make yourself seen for the contributions and effort you've put in, and be generous with 'You're Welcome' instead of smiling sheepishly after receiving a 'Thank You'!

A List of Reasons...

Today, as I was in the midst of gathering and organizing my thoughts, I pondered upon this.
If you, or anyone, would've had asked me, why do I love you, I would be struggling for words to explain.

I've always thought, I have plenty of things I love about you. But now that I thought about it, I don't think any of those were the reasons why I love you. There were no reasons, because I just do.

I love that you'd gently pat my head and call me ling. I love being spoilt by you. But if you don't do that, would I still love you regardless? I would.

I love it when you score that basketball point in any random evening session. I love watching you play and cheering for you. I love sharing your pride and achievements. But if you don't score that point, would I still cheer on and love you regardless? I would.

I love feeling safe with you. You can probably close both your eyes, and still manage to get to the destination without a loss of direction. You seemingly have a GPS in your head. And I love that I can count on you on that. But if you lead me to a wrong way, and got us both lost, would I still love you regardless? I would.

I love that you sing well. I love listening to you sing. I love that you play the guitar well. I love seeing you in full concentration. But if you don't sing, and don't play the guitar, would I still love you regardless? I would.

I love your honesty. I love that I can always trust you. But if you were to lie to me and hurt me, would I still love you regardless? I would.

I love that you're always striving to secure a better future, I love that you strive for the best financial stability. But if you were to go bankrupt, would I still love you regardless? I would.

I could continue listing hundreds or thousands of things I love about you. But if you'd take one of those things out, would I then stop loving you? I wouldn't think so. I would still love you entirely.

Excellent Violin Performance by Lee Hom [王力宏]

Here's yet another stunning and impressive performance by my idol at the Golden Horse Award. I know, it's a little biased, coming from me, but well... Enjoy! :D

A Non-poetic Poem

I came across this short 'poem' from a friend's post on Facebook days ago.
It's not romantically poetic in exact, but I do think it makes some sense.
Let me just share it here too...

Multiply

"Whatever you give a woman, she's going to multiply.
If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby.
If you give her a house, she'll give you a home.
If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.
If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.
She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.
So - if you give her any crap, you will receive a ton of shit."

So for all you guys out there, "Treat your woman right!" Haha.

品冠 [Pin Guan] & 戴佩妮 [Penny Dai] - 半生熟

Here's a sweet & light duet by two of our very own local artistes. Hope it will make your day. Check out the 2-in-1 guitar! Enjoy!

古巨基 [Leo Ku] & 梁靜茹 [Fish Leong] - 還是好朋友

Here's a nice duet from Leo Ku & Fish Leong. Enjoy!

王力宏 (Wang Lee Hom) -《摇滚怎么了》

Just to share - My idol Wang Lee Hom's new MV sees him collaborating with Janet Hsieh (on the pipa). For those of you who don't already know, Janet hosts the travel documentary Fun Taiwan on Discovery Travel & Living channel.

Never Deny Yourself Value

One thing you should never do to yourself is to deny yourself value.
People can throw sarcasm at you, judge you, criticise you, make you feel shitty... and still, you should never feel shitty about yourself. Off course, you should never ignore constructive feedbacks. They allow us to continuously re-evaluate ourselves. And self-evaluation is vital for us to grow (*read: to grow mentally, emotionally, intellectually, etc. etc... in short, to grow wiser). You must've sensed the familiarity of the rationale. It's in the psychological theories, teachers teach you in school, parents teach you from young, heck, they even have whole shelves in mega bookstores in the 'Motivation' or 'Self-Help' sections dedicated to books that tell you to value yourself.

So, why this blog, you may ask. Frankly, I don't know. [By now, you must be thinking, "what a confused soul"]. I want to stress that, I'm not confused. I'm just curious. Here's a thought. At what level of criticsm do you usually deem healthy? How many shots of those do you deem constructive? How many jabs are of the 'moderate' dosage - the healthy balance? Now, I'm quite sure, there must be different benchmarks as to how each and everyone of you determine the balance point. As for me, for as long as I know I don't betray my values I was brought up with, instilled and educated with, then I'm not denying myself value. Hope all of you out there will discover the confidence to stand up for your self-value!

Trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah : 2006

Was 'ransacking' my hard disk today and found a few older photos to share with you.

These were taken during a short trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, back in 2006. Wish I had more interesting food photos to share from this trip, unfortunately, did not manage to capture much. [*Note to self :- Do not attempt to post more boring entries moving forward. This, however, is an exception. *grin*].

Boarding our boats at the harbour. Destination : Pulau Manukan.

Looking back at the harbour from our boats.

Ahh... Pulau Manukan, here we come... (Did some snorkelling here)

[Above & below] Up-close & personal with a school of fish.

A view of Mt. Kinabalu's peak from afar.

Clouds float atop the peak as early as 9am. If you intend to climb to its peak, you may read up on more details here.

Came across Rafflesia, acclaimed as the biggest flower in the world.

This was the resort (Zen Garden Resort) we put a night at in Kundasang, along the hillside of Mt. Kinabalu.

While enjoying the cooler air, we took a walk at a nearby flower farm. Its nursery actually showcased many interesting & colourful breeds, mostly enabled by combination of warm sun, cool wind & moderate temperature. Here are the various photos taken.

Later that evening, we went for a dinner in Sutera Harbour Resort. The view was rather magnificent, so we've decided to take a stroll along the beach. And I managed some shots.

Tranquil walk along the beach at Sutera Harbour.

[Above & below] Sun setting from the beaches of Sutera Harbour.

A beautiful call from Mother Nature.

S.H.E - 安静了

If you've been watching the Taiwanese Series "Fated To Love You" [命中注定我爱你], you may want to have a look at this MV. The lead actor Ethan Ruan Jing Tian is in it. Enjoy!

周杰伦 [Jay Chou] - 说好的幸福呢

Here's a song I've been repeating a lot lately. Enjoy! :-)

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

I've ecently mentioned in my previous post about Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. For those of you who are interested to view his presentation, here it is.

Trip to Taiwan : 2007

I'm gonna be blogging on a much-delayed post, a trip I went on last year (read : June 2007) to Taiwan.

Problem with posting on a so-long-ago event is that, I won't be able to recall the exact details (duhh...), so I'll just try to allow as many photos to speak on my behalf. :-)

Oh by the way, quick highlights of the trip - I saw Wu Zhun and Xu Hui Xin at the airport upon arrival in Taipei! And this...

was a bonus [hehe].

The famous authentic 'Ah Zhong' Oyster Mee-Suah on the streets of Xi-Men-Ding. A close-up picture of the yummy bowl I had [below].

Busy streets of Xi-Men-Ding.

Saw this restaurant with the concept of serving food in mini replica of toilet bowls [Creative or un-appetizing, you decide]. Oh, and they let you sit on toilet bowls while you enjoy the food. Check out their website here: http://www.moderntoilet.com.tw/. [P/S : Ignore the semi-naked guy standing on top of the roof].

Accomplishment : Tried fried smelly-toufu.

You can see the black clouds hovering above, I had to take this shot quickly. Taken at the gates of National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (Cheng Kai-Shek Memorial Hall) [below].

The majestic Taipei 101.

Changing of guards at the National Palace Musuem.

Took this at a chinese vineyard.

One of the temples we've visited, aside from Fo Guang Shan [snapshot below].

[Above & Below] Nightview of Love River, Kaoshiung.

All 3 pictures above taken at Taroko Gorge, Hualien.

This one's taken from Jiu Fen.

Hope you've enjoyed the photos posted! If you're interested to find out more about travelling in Taiwan, do visit Taiwan: Touch Your Heart Official Website!

Lu Guang Zhong 卢广仲 - 100种生活

Reality Check

Okay, this enlightenment may seem a little 'deep' for a second entry. But I did mention, I just want to capture my thoughts (so that I can look back and see how much I've grown down the years. Blah, haha).

Anyway, a close friend of mine sent me this yesterday : http://shinscancerblog.blogspot.com/. I've since been reading a random selection of entries from Shin's blog (even in the office, during alternate work hours, mind you). See, it's one wrong choice to be in the 'reflection' mode while you're at work. Why? Because... I do get carried away with emotions, sometimes. Okay okay, most of the times. And then, she (my close friend) has to recommend this other good book to read (which also allow plenty of room for reflection mode). You may check it out here, it's called The Last Lecture by the late Randy Pausch : http://www.thelastlecture.com/.

One of the thoughts that stood out to me was, how will I face 'death'? As in, if it happens to someone I know, or someone dear to me. Recently, a colleague of mine lost her dad, he was only 57 or 58 of years. Looking at her handling so well at the services, made me think, if something like that were to happen to me (touch-wood), I wondered if I could handle it as well as she did. I'm 24 this year, and I honestly think, when it comes to so many matters in life, I'm still so much like a kid! So this is reality check #1. Hence, resolution for #1 would be, start being a grown-up! Reality check #2 would be, I've been working for 2 years now, and I seriously save close to nothing. And to claim that I'm a Finance Degree holder is a total shame, looking at how 'financially' inefficient I am! Hence, resolution for #2 would be, I have got to start implementing strict (yes, strict) control over my spending behaviors. Reality check #3 would be, asking myself "What are the key milestone achievements in my 24 years of life?", and my answer to that, "Hmmm....". Hence, resolution for #3 would be, start getting out of comfort zone to make way for some really effective change!

With that, I'm ending my second post here with this particular newcomer artiste I like who sings really well (with good guitarist skills too!). Do check out his other songs when you've got the luxury of free-time. :-)

Welcome to My Space!

Hi there!
As you know (applicable as in, to those of you who already know me), I'm not so much a person of words (Okay, maybe I'm not exactly *that* quiet, but I'm not *that* loud and noisy either, am I?) [*innocent smile*]. By now, 'blogosphere' isn't such an un-common term anymore, but as you can see, I started out late [*wide grin]. So please bear with me while I explore my 'very late' new toy.

Now, there are many times where, while living the typical KL-working-life (with busy roads (traffic jams), people jams (referring to the monorail and lrts, off course), OTs and all, oh yea, and not forgetting office politics!), I would occasionally stumble against thoughts gathered from the day-to-day events that feed my eyes. And I can't be rambling on and on about a typical day in KL everyday afterall, right? Right. So I have to find an alternative source to park those thoughts somehow, err...right? Hence, the title of my blog (Nah, lame excuse, haha). Shall just try to capture as much of my flying thoughts here, so.. do watch this space! I'm ending my first post with a picture below (a scene I miss from my uni days). Have a great weekend!

A bird's eye view of Cyberjaya at dawn.