Going back to basics

Eagles are the most long-lived bird in the world. By the time they reach 40 years old, their claws started to age, losing their effectiveness making it hard for them to catch their preys. The lifespan of an eagle is up to 70 years old. But in order to live this long, the eagle must make the toughest decision when its at 40.

Their beaks began to grow long and curvy to the point that it reached its chest. Its wings are extremely heavy due to thickened and long feathers making flying extremely difficult. The eagle is left with 2 choices - Do nothing and await is death or go through a painful period of transformation and renewal.

For 150 days, it first trained itself to fly beyond the high mountains,build and live in its nest and cease all flying activities. It then began to knock its beak against granite rocks till its old beak completely removed. When the new beak is grown, it would use it to remove all its old claws and await quietly for all new claws to be fully grown.

When new claws are fully grown it would use these to remove all its feathers, one by one 5 months later, when feathers are fully grown, with renewed strength, it began soaring in the sky yet once again and was able to live for the next 30 years. In life, as individual or an organisation, sometimes,we have to learn to make difficult decisions so as to make room for changes. Changes bring about renewal. And the only way for us to soar again is to let go of old ways, old habits, old life.
For as long as we are prepared to put aside our old baggage (past glory or shame, past success or failures), be willing to become zero, with an empty cup mentality, we will be able to discover our potentials and head towards a renewed perspective in any aspect of our lives.

I've got so much shit it's fuckin' ridiculous

You know how to realize you have too much stuff? Move into a smaller room.

So, my landlord's decided to move back in and kicked me out of the master bedroom into a smaller room. And after moving over, I realized that I have too much stuff. I literally have to shove things off the bed just to be able to sleep, and then pile them back on in the morning so that I can get to the door. I'll eventually get it all sorted out, but it's gonna take time.

Ah, well, at least I have a place to stay, so I can't complain. Plus, sorting through my stuff now and getting rid of all the shit I don't need will make it easier when I eventually move out.

Aw, hell, who am I kidding? I've always known I had too much shit. But living in a big room meant that I can ignore the issue. So it's time to tell myself: "Buck up, buddy. You have too much shit and it's time to get rid of 'em."

*sigh...* I am so NOT looking forward to this. There goes my weekends.... :(

Learning the lingo

So, I bought a whole bunch of self-study language thingies yesterday. Kinokuniya was having this $10 off language packs promotion thingy, and I just couldn't resist. I got French and German for myself, and Esther asked me to get the Italian pack for her. And after that, I went to Borders to pick up the Spanish pack (which was the one I really wanted, anyway), because Kino ran out of the CD version of it.

So now, I have 4 languages to learn. (If I can somehow find the time to do it. Got a book to finish and return to the library. Plus my friend is plying me with really good books to read; but, hey, I'm nothing if not flexible. I've been known to read up to 4 books at the same time.). Anyhoo, I've already started listening to the Spanish CD yesterday. Kinda hard to follow without the book, so basically I have to sit with my hand on the keyboard, ready to rewind anytime I missed something. But that's ok. It's kinda fun when you think of it.

Plus, hopefully, I'll be able to watch El Mariachi without subtitles soon.

Women and work: The missing link discovered?

I bumped into several girls that I knew in school over the last few weeks, and one thing that struck me was this: Those that are still in school has maintained their figure and look exactly the way I remembered them. But those who had graduated and are working have put on weight. And I don't mean a pound or two of flesh, I mean really putting in weight.

Please, indulge me. Let me give you one example. One of them is this girl who was a runner and a swimmer. She was a skinny little thing. Now, she's got double chin and an overhang (you know, like when your tummy dribbles over your waistband?)! Is it something that strikes women when they start working? Or is it some chemical thing that happens to them after a certain age and/or milestone has been passed? Or is it just the combination of stress plus ice cream/chocolate/insert-your-favorite-comfort-food-here?

This is a mystery to me and I aim to solve it, dammit!

Ladies, leave your thoughts, please. Tell me why this happens, and if this is a common thing or it just happens to my friends? Guys, does this happen to the girls you knew in school as well? Muchas gracias!

In the news...

So, this week's been a pretty busy week for news. First, there's the mobilization of 700 troops (and 12 dogs!) to look for 3 fugitives in a small island off the coast of Singapore. Then, someone in the government decided to play hardball and kick someone they deem as a troublemaker out of the country.

But the most interesting thing this week is the Taiwanese elections.

President Chen Shui Bian was shot while campaigning yesterday (or the day before yesterday, depending on how you look at it). And today (or yesterday) was election day. I'm subscribed to news alerts on my mobile, so first I got an alert saying that Lien Chan (the opposition) is in the lead, then I've got one saying that insider sources in the Lien campaign said that Lien is going to concede the election and admit defeat. Forty minutes later, there was another alert saying that Lien is going to contest the results and move for the votes to be nullified. Twenty minutes after that, it turns out that although Chen won, the majority was not sufficient for a referendum to be passed on Taiwan's secession from China. Talk about drama! And this is the culmination of weeks of mudslinging by both sides.

Politics amuse me. Politicians even more so.

Well? What are you waiting for? :P

P.S.: I'm still available! Haha.... :P

I believe my mouse is possessed

That's right, boys and girls, my mouse is possessed. A few weeks ago, I bought an optical mouse for use at work, because the one that came with my workstation sucks big time.

I have come to rue that decision ever since.

The mouse has a positively disturbing tendency to move the cursor around on its own, especially if you weren't holding it. This has made life very difficult, to say the least.

But then again, I did get the accursed thing for $14. So I guess you get what you pay for, huh?

I think the mouse just winked at me. Oh dear God! It knows! If something happens to me, let this be my explanation of what happened.

I better get back to work and pretend that everything's alright.

It's staring at me through that evil, malicious red eye again....

Angels With Broken Wings...

Your wings are BROKEN and tattered. You are
an angelic spirit who has fallen from grace for
one reason or another - possibly, you made one
tragic mistake that cost you everything. Or
maybe you were blamed for a crime you didn't
commit. In any case, you are faithless and
joyless. You find no happiness, love, or
acceptance in your love or in yourself. Most
days are a burden and you wonder when the
hurting will end. Sweet, beautiful and
sorrowful, you paint a tragic and touching
picture. You are the one that few understand.
Those that do know you are likely to love you
deeply and wish that they could do something to
ease your pain. You are constantly living in
memories of better times and a better world.
You are hard on yourself and self-critical or
self-loathing. Feeling rejected and unloved,
you are sensitive, caring, deep, and despite
your tainted nature, your soul is
breathtakingly beautiful.

Image is a painting by Natalya Nesterova,
source:ca80.lehman.cuny.edu/.../
images/fallen_angel.jpg


*~*~*Claim Your Wings - Pics and Long Answers*~*~*
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I feel so naked today

I'm experiencing the early stages of mobile phone withdrawal syndrome. I forgot to take my phone with me today and it's shaping out to be a pretty bad day for me.

What's worse is that I'm expecting a couple of phone calls and/or SMSes today.

You know how they say you won't miss it till it's gone? Well, they could easily have been talking about mobile phones.

At least I still have my PDA...