Monday, February 25, 2008

Not me ...

In times of anger, I frown.

Who wants to be upset?

Not me.

In times of misery, I frown.

Who wants to be troubled?

Not me.

In times of disappointment, I frown.

Who wants to be let down?

Not me.

In times of loneliness, I frown.

Who wants to be alone?

Not me.

In times of vengeance, I frown.

Who wants to inflict hurt?

Not me.

Laugh or cry, happy or sad?

You make the choice.

Not me.

Father vs Mother

It started with a cry

Followed by tears of joy



A gift made of love

A baby boy



After months of pregnancy

Its time to face the worries



A new chapter has begun

Of parenthood and infancy



A father can’t help but think

If his boy would grow up in just one blink



He wasn’t sure if he could afford the school fees

Or would his boy even excel in his studies



In the eyes of a mother

It was entirely different



Nothing of which a father worried

Was of any importance



She chooses not to worry about things that’s uncertain

Only the health of her precious boy was of grave concern

Turning 29 ...

Birthday parties and loads of mysterious presents are a thing of my past. As another year will be added to my age once the hour hand touches 12 midnight, nothing much exciting is going to happen this year. Maybe because am really getting older.

Surely its something to be proud of as each year brings an insight on wisdom of sorts. Don't we often hear that the older one gets, the wiser one becomes. Agree? I am indeed wiser.

I guess over the years, I gained lots of opportunities to learn different aspects of life - about love, about life and best of all about goals and dreams.

As each minute brings me closer to being officially 29, I ask myself numerous questions how I would be 3, 5 and 10 years from now. Would I be satisfied and truly happy with my progress in career, family relations and importantly health.

I guess I cannot complain much right now as I probably already have what I need now, everything except the house - my own home which I really hope to have before the year ends.

Career wise, am doing fine but of course, everything can be better.That's greed. I guess one becomes satisfied only when one knows when to stop wanting and for me, that's not so soon thus dreams and goals still live inside me while I'll try ways and means to bring these dreams and goals that I speak of to life.

So before I blow out any candles tomorrow, I have to think carefully what to wish for. World peace and pollution free will surely not be on the wishlist but perhaps, something closer to the heart.Yes, that's the thing I will wish for and may the dream come true soon.

So its happy birthday to me ..... And may my wishes come true on this special as well as every other day in my life.

May everyday be filled with lots of happiness for me, my loved ones, family and friends. Its only being happy that's truly the essence of a fruitful and cherished life.

See, words of wisdom. :)

Friday, February 22, 2008

Video shots ...

The convenience of having a camera phone with video capabilities sort of got me into a little bit of trouble recently. Forget Edison and Gillian please, I aren't talking about those.

Perhaps its my bad that I didn't ask permission to place the video up on youtube but well, it wasn't any offensive, nude or rude video. It was merely a video that had a congratulatory message to me on my upcoming wedding and best of it, it was from a friend.

I guess I have to respect the wishes of the cast who starred in the short video but from my point of view, I wouldn't have placed it up if I weren't proud to have a friend like you.

Never mind, its taken off so let it be ... I am sure I can find a replacement for another congratulatory video from other friends. Right guys?

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Busy weeks ...

Its been quite some time since I entered my thoughts and life on this online journal. What to do ? I have been busy with my social life and as well as help out at my best friend's wedding.

I have so many thoughts that I would like to share with everyone but let's take it on one at a time.

Over the weekend, I didn't get to do much except for helping out at Hanwen's wedding. My. I'll be lying if I said it wasn't tiring. It sure was. The fact that the night before his wedding, I didn't even catch a minute of sleep was too much for me.

For some of you who already know, I was the emcee for the wedding dinner as well as the joker who croaked as I played out a tune or two on the ivory keys of a grand piano. I felt really embarrassed for playing some wrong chords as well as singing a little out of tune but it doesn't matter, I did it all for a cause and that cause surely wasn't about being a star that night. There were only two stars there and then - the couple, Hanwen and Clara.

I had to admit I wasn't very cool playing the piano as its my first time playing alone and in the midst of people whom most I didn't know. 400 of them but I have to say, I think I did a good job. Not many have the guts I had. ; ) By the way, this isn't going to stop me from performing at my own wedding.

As the wedding took place over the weekend, come Monday, my body was weak and tired thus Sandy and I took Monday as a rest day. We skipped work.

Oh yes, it was kind of cool when someone walked up to me on Tuesday afternoon asking me if I were the emcee on Sunday night. I was rather surprised as the lady said I did a good job. I joked with her asking if she enjoyed my croaking away - she did. That sure boosted a bit of my ego but seriously, I still dare not watch the video playback of my performance that night. Arghh...

Anyway, its been busy days at work as am rushing out some projects for my clients as well as trying to maintain sleep. I realised that once one loses sleep, he can never catch it back no matter how much one sleeps. Its like chasing lost time - impossible so let's treasure our bedtime and try our best not to skip sleep. Skipping meals is fine but skipping sleep causes a lost mind.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Lunar New Year ...

Like I always say, good days fly pass really quick. Quicker than the blink of an eye.

Its been about 5 days since I updated my blog and I have to admit there have been so many things that took place during this festive season of the Lunar New Year - a celebration to mark the new beginning for the Chinese community.

It usually starts off with a reunion dinner on the eve of the New Year with immediate family. Like most Chinese families, the reunion dinner is an important affair. Its a day where family members get together for a meal. Perhaps, on Sundays, its reunion dinner throughout the year as we often gather at Godpa's place for a simple dinner. Its not what we eat that counts but the quality time we give one another.

As per Chinese tradition, home visits take place and exchange of gifts and red packets are part of the tradition. During this period, I usually get extra income but it seems that this is going to be the last year that I am free from giving out red packets. If you do not already know, married couples will have to give out red packets and thus no escape for me but I am sure I will enjoy the process of distributing red packets.

During this few days of celebration ( given that its a long weekend in Singapore), we indulge in food, snacks, alcohol and most importantly, gambling. I had quite a number of rounds of blackjack and the result is - negative. Have been in a losing streak but it doesn't matter, its all part of the fun losing to family and friends. ; ) So if you won my money, feel bad not.

Today is Sunday and tomorrow is not a holiday. Sigh, work is likely waiting for me at my work desk. I guess that's life. Again, like I always say " a bad day like any other good day will pass us by quickly " thus, am looking forward to the weekend again. ; )

Monday, February 04, 2008

Mother & child

This afternoon as I walked out for lunch, I saw something that disturbed me a little. A mother had her ears plugged in with wired headphones listening to an MP3 player while crossing the road and holding the hands of her primary school daughter.

Her daughter who was probably about eight years of age was calling out to her mother, telling her not to cross as the 'red man' was still there. The mother wasn't bothered but walked on singing her favourite tune and ignoring the little girl's plea.

I didn't understand what was going on in the mother's head. Did she not care about the life of her child or was she just unaware that she and her daughter run the risk of being knocked down by a moving car.

Even a little girl of this age knows about the lurking danger of crossing the road illegally, what more dangerous can it be when crossing the road with music pumping in the ear? I seriously don't think the mother was fit for parenthood.

By the way, which sane mother would sing to her own world of downloaded MP3 songs and forget the presence of her daughter? Only the insane and uncaring ones. Its sad isn't it?

Guilt stricken...

Just on Friday, I reminded myself that Sunday is going to be a shopping day for my two brothers but I forgot about it completely.

After having learnt last night that they stayed home all day just waiting for me made me guilt stricken.I know that I haven't been paying much attention to them recently and I haven't been playing any part in their growth as teenagers. It seems like I reflect a bad brother in me.

So what can I do to reverse things? Seriously, its not going to be easy. These two brothers won't rip me off my bank statement by asking for material stuff. They just don't and I feel even more guilty this way.

Shucks. By saying such, am just opening myself as a target for future rip offs but am just proud that this two brothers of mine behave well and are reasonable chaps. This shows that they have grown up and have matured in their thinking. Keep it up boys!

warm regards,
Mark Chong