Three Months On And The Luck Has Yet To Continue

How time flies. This is the fourth month that I am over here and things have pretty much been the same as when I first arrived. I have hoped that the rather good start could continue, but only to be a wishful thought.

There were just too many matters to sort out right after my resignation and before the flight: banking and billing, finance, domestic......the list goes on; there wasn't much time to look into these matters while I was still working. With no more than 8 hours everyday on average to play with, how much can one do, including sleep?

I reached the airport only about an hour and a half before boarding time. The check-in wasn't as smooth as expected because I had an overly over-weight check-in luggage - 27kg if I recall correctly. The things in the luggage were mostly minimal clothing to go round the years, but I had to sacrifice some warm clothing together with those meant for summer, just to make a pass; they were brought over for me by someone on a later trip though. Going through a late autumn with lesser warm clothes was just so "cool".

Perhaps Lady Luck was smiling at me. Not only did the ground staff allowed my 2-3kg lighter luggage to be checked-in, I was upgraded to Business Class because the Economy Class was full by the time I returned to the counter. Oh my, that would probably be my one and only time flying by Business Class.

Needless to say, everything in Business Class pale those of Economy Class. I don't know whether it was due to my special dietary arrangement or it is such for an upgrade, my in-flight meal was the same as that for the Economy Class. Nevertheless, the flight attendants professionally presented my meals no differently. I felt luxury in the air and luxury it sure was to be able to sleep on-board lying totally flat.

I had wished for this blessing to last longer, to at least extend till I achieve the first goal for this trip. But there aren't many things that last forever and this doesn't seem to be one. Things are still not happening as I have wished for and those unfortunates are better off left to the grounds.

Three months on, from the smell of fire wood burning to the smell of spring, the first goal is still far at the horizon. My optimism has been wearing off fast and pessimism has actually crept in. As much as I do not wish to imagine the worst, I have to prepare myself for it.

Flooded My Artistic Senses By December Rains

Finally caught the first musical of my life last evening (second one if I didn't give up waiting till the interval to catch the remaining portions of Les Misérables when it first performed in Singapore).

Although the story is very much predictable (as also commented by the lady seated beside me), the overall presentation makes December Rain still a musical worth catching.

(Dr.) Liang Wern Fook's lyrical flair has never disappointed me, from the time I first listened to his songs in the 80's to now; his flair in writing is to my great admiration. Good lyrics need the accompaniment of good music and that's where Jimmy Ye comes in (Wern Fook composed some of the songs too).

Kudos to the three lead performers: Kit Chan, George Chan and Jeffrey Low. I just can't help but be mesmerised by Kit's rendition, of any song, since her very first album; nope, not 《心痛》 but 《不要傷了和气》 (her first local album). George is, well, marvellous. His singing is great and the next thing I want to see from George, is his dance.

What drew me into catching this musical, was the theme song, 《請你吿訴他》 which I first heard from Dr. Liang's compilation album. Once again, this song , although slightly different in the lyrics (to suit the story), didn't fail to satisfy me. I also found 《只要你相信》， 《我以爲愛》, 《我終於看到》, 《渺小的我》, 《我該怎麽做》，《收起你的眼淚》 and 《我心中的雨》 well penned, composed and rendered. I got a copy of the soundtrack but it is to my dismay that some of the songs were not recorded by Kit and George, which they rendered so well in the musical. What a pity (to me).

Last but not least, the stage design must be applauded. Very artistically and well done. The "rope curtain" was ingeniously used to depict different things and meaning.

Why we only have rude kids who know how to pass exams

A worthy read from miyagi.sg, especially the part on how Japanese pre-schools educate their children.

Why we only have rude kids who know how to pass exams

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男人玩女人很正常/平常？ (It is normal/common for men to womanise?)

“有頭有臉的已婚大老闆，瞞著妻子，借故說要加班開會，但實為到酒廊風流快活”在本地極爲“平常”也好，“男人玩女人很正常”也罷，是不是就意味著“既然即平常又正常”，那麽背叛了婚姻的承諾就沒有“愧疚”可言，也因此無需“道歉與懺悔”呢？

原為“滅火”但所說出的字與詞更像是在引火自焚。當事人還算是有頭有臉，一家公司的老闆吧？那麽這樣的話語，是幫到忙，還是幫倒忙呀？是不是也在同一時候，把自己推向無底深淵呢？

說話到底是門功夫，也賴以智慧。還是效法聖人的“三緘其口”吧。

If "it is common for men of stature to use such excuse as needing to work overtime but actually to cheat on their wives" and "it is normal for men to womanise", being so "common and normal", does it imply that there is no need for "remorse and apology" even though the vows taken during marriage were compromised?

Though meant to correct the misread, the very words used seem to put the speaker at dire state. Is not the subject a person of considerable stature? Then, are the spoken words helping the situation or otherwise? Is it also at the same time, digging himself a grave?

Speaking is an art which requires much wisdom and training. The wisest thing to do is to speak only when we know what we want to convey.

Didn't stick-out that finger often enough...the middle one?

My trigger finger seems getting worse.

It used to only refuse to stretch out when I wake up and would slowly stretch out within the next couple of hours or so. Just yesterday, and since then, this finger seem wanting to fold-in the whole day and it required an effort to stretch it out. I'm starting to find it a chore to do things, everything, due to the state of this finger.

I have heard from people with similar problems and doctors had, almost all, advised them to go under the knife; I have heard that this doesn't guarantee success and intrusive treatment is a big no-no for me.

To alleviate the pain, one could opt for steroid injection but then again, I've been told that it's painful, expensive and seems to have a limit on the number of jabs one can take. Quite a nay for this too.

Really need to know the cause of this and find a remedy aside what was mentioned above. I have been enduring the pain, discomfort and inconvenience for about 10 years or so now, though there was a break of a few years in between.

Could it be that I didn't stretch this finger out often enough that it has turned out to be such? Oh, this trigger finger happen to be my middle finger and I don't suppose I want to have a brush with the law by sticking it out - in the public. *grinz*

Yay.....My Birthday......But Not Quite My Birthday.

In about 13 hours, it would be my birthday, but just not quite yet. Hmm......why is that so? Well, 13 hours from now, back at home, it really would be my birthday, but at New York City, where I am currently at, it is just not the day yet.

This is kinda strange cos unlike being in a place where the time is ahead relative to home, I could celebrate my birthday twice - that is if I reach home on the actual day. But here, I can't quite celebrate yet cos it's just not the day yet in New York and it would be over by the time I reach home. But still, I can celebrate once.

Actually, if we were to go technical on this, my date-of-birth, in New York, should be 19 Nov, instead of 20 Nov cos at the very instance I was born, it was as such.

Just lame. Why such a bother? I never really celebrated my birthday anyway. Even my 21st birthday was a low profile family affair.

But just as well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to myself, in 13 hours.

在大約13個小時之後，將會是我的生日，但卻又不太是。怎講呢？從現在算起13個小時之後，在我的出生地，確實是我的生日，但是現在在美國紐約的我，在13個小時之後，還未見到這日期的到來。

還真有點感覺怪怪的。我現在若位于與家相對時間較先前的地方，我將有可能慶祝二次生日。當然，我必須在我的生日那天回到家。在美國紐約可還不能慶祝啊。而回到家後，生日也已過了。雖然如此，我還是能有一次的慶生。

其實，若從時差方面作計算，我在美國紐約的出生日期應該是11月19日而非11月20日，因爲我出生的時候，美國紐約這裡正是11月19日。

無聊之至。干啥爲此長篇大論？我從沒真正慶祝過多少個生日。就連我21歲生日也只不過是一個簡簡單單的家庭聚會。

也罷。在此，為我在13個小時之後的生日獻給自己一個生日的祝福。生日快樂。

It Has Been A Long While......

Really, time and tide waits for no one, it has been over a year since I last posted. There have been times that I wanted to write and times I have things I wanted so much to write, but just did not manage to get it done.

So much has happened, so much has changed. So unconsciously letting time and life ticked-by that one does not realise that one is getting lesser time to fulfill one's destiny.

Ah well, it will be some re-collection of past happenings coming up.

真的， 時間不留人； 已經超過一年沒下筆了。曾經有過要下筆的時候，也曾有過我非要刊載的事項，但最終沒做到。

這期間，發生的事很多，改變的事很多。不知不覺中，讓時間和性命悄悄地流逝，殊不知已沒剩下多少時間來履行我們生命中的責任和義務。

罷了。接著將會是一些過去的回顧。