Rainbow

Rainbow ah.... every time I saw it, I will take a picture of it. Beautiful isn't it. I have been unable to take a full rainbow and thus have taken only a segment of it. It is still beautiful.

The 1st one was taken a couple of years back when I was walking towards Bugis MRT. The rainbow has more distinct colours than the one below. The 2nd one I took it as I was walking across the overhead bridge above KPE.

I prefer the 2nd one. It give me a 患得患失 feeling and the purple colour adds to the feeling too.

What do you think? Which is nicer?

On Government Service and the days before

Tomorrow, I will be going for my high key ICT which for me is the 5th while some of my platoon mates will be their 6th. A couple of years back, I was not called back to participate in one of the high key ICT which they had quite a hard time then. Whew!!! I should say hehe... Bad hor...

Well, going on government service is like a love-hate relationship. Why? Its pros will be I'm "on leave" and need not work, can get some rest (saw my eye bags a couple of days back... wow... didn't realise that they are bulging out) and meet up with my platoon mates. Its cons will be I got to tie up all loose ends both at work and at home before I go off. This alone is like condensing all the things I had to do over the next week into the last couple of days. It can be stressful at times.

Despite being stressful, I do have my lucky times. I attended the annual D&D on Friday, I got 3rd prize at the lucky draw. I believe this is the luckiest time out of my eh.... 29yrs on earth... haha... The prize is $500 Takashimaya vouchers and the best thing is there is no expiry date. Haha... given my track record of forgetting to use my previous vouchers, this is really a good thing. At least, I can use it anytime I want with no time limit. Well, there's a reason why I always forget to use my vouchers. I don't go shopping frequently or have many things to buy as I don't see the need to use the vouchers just for the sake of using them. I must say, I'm greedy... I do hope to win something bigger and more expensive in lucky draws hehe....

After a long Saturday rushing to tie up loose ends at work, Sunday's my time to fulfill my responsibility to my family... Hehe... one of which is my own new creation - chicken chop sphagetti... Over the past 2 times, I put the meat into the sauce. I was thinking why not take the meat out and cook a separate dish to add some colour to the normal yellow and red outlook.

Ok... I must say the chicken chop is a small piece... Hey, I'm not stingy ok... but I just couldn't find a big piece of meat in the fridge and the biggest one piece meat is from a chicken drumstick. So I go no choice. Hehe... though its a normal chop but adding a little chilli sauce to marinate the meat has brought some spiciness to the tomato sauce. Hmm... what should I put in next.... Maybe I should try seafood ingredients... hehe... the taste I can only tell after I've done it...

Appetizing?? Hehe...

Chastity Belt Ring

I read an article on the newspaper that mentioned the Taiwanese star Van Ness Wu has designed a new jewellery line called 3V07 (invert it to be LOVE) and one of its product is the ring designed to be worn on 2 fingers is called the Chastity Belt. This ring signifies that he had made a decision to remain celibate.

This ring has made to think of chastity belt. It is a locking device designed to prevent sexual intercourse and possibly masturbation. Besides this, it may also protect the wearer from rape or temptation. This devise can be used for both males and females. In the past, such chastity belts are the physical items worn on the genital to prevent or stop sexual intercourse. Now it has become an item that reminds one to celibate. The difference here is one is a physical and the other is mental.

The purpose of the ring targets a person's mental rather than the physical control. It seem that as we progress, more and more are created to control mentally instead. I believe we now recognise that the root cause of things actually come from the brain. I have a question.

Which is more effective? The physical control or the mental one. A mental one depends on the person him/herself. Having weak control and this method will be deemed a failure. The physical control does not have this problem. Be it strong or weak, the purpose will still be achieved unless physical force is used to pry off the belt. Its not that I find the ring useless but it is just that the control of mind is really very subjective and can be "mainpulated" by the heart, conscience, religion, teachings, etc to either abstain from or succumb to temptation. A very strong-will is a prerequisite to take up this mental route.

I believe when Van Ness has chosen this, he will have prepared himself to try not to succumb to temptation. He is taking a first step towards his goal. Though it'll be tough but I do hope he'll be able to do it. He should be a role model to be followed. His act is a reminder and strenghten my resolve not to succumb to temptation.

Don't Give Up

A friend sent me this attachment.

"Don't give up.....One day I decided to quit...I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit mylife.I went to the woods to have one last talk with God."God", I asked, "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"His answer surprised me..."Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?""Yes", I replied."When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I t ook very good care ofthem.I gave them light.I gave them water.The fern quickly grew from the earth.Its brilliant green covered the floor.Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on thebamboo. He said."In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.But I would not quit.In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I wouldnot quit." He said."Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Comparedto the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong andgave it what it needed to survive.I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."He asked me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have beenstruggling, you have actually been growing roots"."I would not quit on the bamboo.I will never quit on you.""Don't compare yourself to others."He said."The bamboo had a different Purpose than the fern.Yet they both make the forest beautiful.""Your time will come", God said to me."You will rise high""How high should I rise?"I asked."How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return."As high as it can?" I questioned."Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."I left the forest and brought back this story.I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.Never, Never, Never Give up."

Besides never giving up, I realised that there are a couple of lessons learnt here.

The first lesson I learnt is that foundation is very important and it takes time. But once the foundation is ready, the sky's the limit. Just like the bamboo who is reaching for the sky while the fern is growing near the ground. Another aspect to note is that building a strong foundation requires lots of patience and effort. A strong base will and can never be built quickly. Understanding the basis of having a strong foundation is the first step to success.

The second lesson is that each being has his/her role to play. Be it at work, at home, with friends or with your partner, there is a role to be played. We just need to do our part to fulfill the purpose of the given role. Be it tough or easy, its a process that all will have to go through. We must look to it as a challenge with every hurdle we meet and we will emerge stronger and better. Looking at the bad side will only make things worse so look at the brighter side and all will succeed.

Don't give up easily so that one can succeed later.

Quote of the Day - Woman

When I read this article which was sent by one of my colleague, I had a good laugh and at the same time it made me remember that life's a cycle.

Scratching your head?? We should treat ladies better otherwise we'll be in for trouble. Is it really true that we'll be in trouble? There is always two sides to a coin and always two way traffic. This depends on how a guy treats the lady and how he is being treated. This is something that actually not only guys should take note and be aware of but ladies too. Because it is actually not about guys or ladies but about an individual. You will be treated well if you treat others well and if you will be treated with crap if you treat others crap.

So start treating others well so that you will be treated well too.

A Great Experience Today - Volunteering

It has been quite some years since I participated in volunteering works. The last time I volunteered was during my secondary school days. Had participated in a few activities which my uniformed group organized. I remembered going to an old folks' home to help to clean up the home and flag raising for NKF. Back then, the feeling of helping wasn't so strong. I was treating it as an activity which I will be going through. Though I had carried out the activities with diligence, I was just carrying out in a routine manner.

As I carried out my work today, its quite a different feeling. Even though it is just a little gesture to hang the meal on the grille of their door or greeting them when they come out to take the meal, I really felt for these people. A simple thank you really makes my day and I hope that they will be able to live well.

My Carelessness

It is really a cause to be laughed at. I was really very careless today.

Had my schedule planned after I knocked off today. First make a trip to supermarket to purchase a packet of jelly powder, put my stuff down and go for a jog in the evening before having dinner.

Thought making agar-agar was easy. So I thought there is only a need to buy a packet of jelly powder will be enough for me to try out making agar-agar. Went about doing my stuff and having dinner. As I was doing the preparation to make agar-agar, I flipped back and saw the ingredients required. Never did I think that there's a recipe and an ingredients list. I had to get caster sugar and citric acid too with the packet of jelly powder that I bought. I asked my brother whether it is possible to do without the citric acid. To my horror, if I do not have the citric acid, the jelly powder would not solidify. I was like... Alamak!!! Why like that!!! Haiz... too bad. I could not try out agar-agar making tonight. My brother told me that there is a premix packet and I remember seeing it on the shelf. I thought that it was such a big packet and I could not finish it tonight so no point buying it.

The problem is I did not read the back of the package and bought the jelly powder only. If only I was not so careless and had taken a look at the back and not assume that agar-agar is easy to make. It is my plain carelessness which has made me a clown. Well, everyone learns from mistakes and bearing it in mind, I will not commit the same again next time.