merry is love ;

Share the love.

Let's talk about charity.

This brings to mind volunteering. We hear people going to Malaysia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Philippines, etc. for volunteer trips every now and then. They build houses, libraries, sanitary facilities, teach English, even just to distribute goodies, or rather necessities, sometimes.

It looks all sorts of fun. Smiles aplenty in pictures.

I never could fathom why people like to volunteer overseas. I have not gone for one and I have no plans to do so.

I, for one, do not believe in it.

Help the needy. Help the disabled. Help the disadvantaged. Help the elderly. Help the homeless. Help the uneducated. Help the starving. Help the abandoned.

Singapore doesn't have meh?

They say blood is thicker than water. Call me selfish but, with the exception of disaster relief, I would much rather dedicate my time and resources to take care of my people.

Somebody to love

14 February.

Valentine's day.

Yet another one spent without a partner. Yet another one spent with Mag and PM.

I do not rue this tradition we have had for some 4 to 5 years now. Rather, I'm very glad and thankful that we are continuing with this practice because it means I don't have to spend this over-commercialised day by my lonesome self.

I met a fair number of good friends today. I met S for lunch, and Mag and PM for dinner. I should be feeling some kind of special but I don't.

Why?

I wonder if the lack of special-ness could be due to the frequency of our meetings. Or could it just be a general sense of boredom since we've known each other for so long? Would a catch-up session once in a blue moon be better instead?

Are we trying too hard to maintain our relationships?

I love my friends, don't get me wrong. But there must be something more to gel people together for 10, 20, or 30 years.

That something is what I would like to find out.

The man you would rather be

Who would you rather be?

The person who has been to the top but is now in the pits? Or the man who has never been up there at all?

This is the case of Colleague T's dad.

Formerly a CEO of a group of companies in Malaysia, he once worked in an office the size of Coldstone's al fresco area at China Square. His desk was so big that Colleague T could hide under it when he was fooling around as a primary school kid. He was chauffeured around and his family lived on Orchard Road.

Such was the life he led.

Then, Anwar fell from grace. So did anyone remotely related to him. Colleague T's dad was one of them. A short-lived stint as a consultant at China Aviation Oil before they collapsed and a few failed business attempts after, he is now a bankrupt with a 1-room flat to his name. The family currently rents this place out while they rent a slightly bigger apartment to stay.

While I do sympathise with Colleague T's dad but I couldn't help thinking that at least his dad has had his stab at glory. I guess that's better than someone who hasn't been there at all.

Of writing

Today, I tried recalling what 'blog' stands for but I couldn't - still can't - for the life of me figure it out. I will google it later.

What sparked this thought about language was actress Amy Brenneman's blogs on her website. I follow her on Twitter and she sometimes tweets about having posted a blog. I usually don't pay much attention but for some inexplicable reason, I clicked on the url link while going about my usual business in the loo this morning. (Too much information.)

What a great writer she is! Such thought-provoking, insightful writing. One does not doubt that she is truly a Harvard alumnus after reading those well-crafted introspective essays.

I aspire to write like her but I am well aware of my grasp of the English language. Writing using a wide range of vocabulary was - and still is - never my strong suit. I hated descriptive writing back in school. I never saw the point of fluffy language like 'white marshmellow clouds', etc. If they were white clouds, they were white clouds. Period.

So I rejoiced when we were finally given the opportunity to explore argumentative writing. This was the only way my people could ever gun for that elusive A. No need for words that paint a picture, just simple, to-the-point persuasive writing. I've not looked back since.

There are days I question why I hadn't put in more effort in expanding my vocabulary. I mean, a splatter of a couple of bombastic words here and there wouldn't hurt. It might make me appear supremely intelligent. But on most days, I am pretty contented with my command of the English language. I am consoled by the fact that while I am unable to put those impressive words in writing, I do actually have knowledge of them and thus am able to comprehend them a good deal of the time. I guess that makes me reasonably smart.

Oh, fine by me.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012.

Wow, i never realised it has been this long since i last blogged. there is actually a gap in the archives for the first time in the 7 year history of this blog.

A few things have happened:

- i just got my first promotion today! what a relief. Perks that came with this conversion are a salary increment, medical benefits that are just a tad better, and some very pathetic flexi benefits. and i thought what my last company gave was little.

- sissy s and i have gone and returned from china once again. We went to shanghai, suzhou, hangzhou, wuxi, and nanjing for a total of 2 weeks in late october to early november. Fabulous weather. visited our china friends and realised that so much has changed since we last met them. those we thought would get promoted did climb the corporate ladder at a blazing pace, and almost all the singletons were either attached or married! this made sissy s and me worry about our ticking biological clock a bit! but we thoroughly enjoyed our trip anyhow although there were hiccups here and there. oh well, can't complain much since we only paid some 500-odd bucks for airfare + tour + accommodan. this trip has also reaffirmed my love for china.

- chinese new year is still ongoing. Lots of feasting as in past years. still enjoying the festivities. and yay, finally a non-wardrobe-malfunction-on-first-day chinese new year!

What else...

- i finally have internet on-the-go with my fairly new samsung galaxy s2! besides the horrendous battery life, i'm lovin' it!

Oh, i also finally met sy after, let's see, 4 years?! i wanna be a boss too!

i want to do a 2011 reflections + what i want to achieve in 2012 entry but i can't seem to get down to doing it. need to do it soon before i forget the happenings in 2011.

For now, i'll leave it at 2012 huat ah!!