Lego!

There was a time in my life I used Lego to fill the void in my life. I bought many sets, which after a while, i found that i didn't have space to construct and display them. Therefore, some of them, especially the larger ones are still mint in their box or MITB in geek-speak. Someone was jealous that i bought a new car and she also wanted one. She has a ferrari at the back of her car and it is now crumbling. So i dug out my old lego sets and found the MITB Ferrari i never opened. No time to make it for her yet.

New Product

Someone sometimes sends the stuff she orders online to my office as i always have someone manning the reception. So when i received this parcel on my desk this morning when i came back to work after one week of traveling, I assumed it was one of those stuff she ordered. Mid-way through the day, Someone called and asked if i was in the office. I was. "Did you receive anything?" "Yes, one of your stuff." "Look carefully!" "Yeah, it's my name there." "Open it!" Here's what i found: A limited edition Red Product iPod Nano. Great for my jogs! What a good surprise! WHOPPEE! Another new product to my ever-growing Mac family.

Wedding

I havent been blogging much because there is just so much happening in my life recently that any free time seems to be better spent just vegetating in front of the TV rather than sitting in front of the computer. In some ways, now i get why some people are a little phobic when their phones ring or their blackberries buzz. Naturally there isnt much progress on the wedding. Dinner menu isnt settled, invitation card design not settled, general logistics not settled, blah blah and the list goes on Because I want to keep it small, I didnt tell those friends whom im not inviting (duh!), but it doesnt help that friends tell other friends whom im not inviting. Now there's a conundrum of seating and everything. Life should be better spent with other stuff.

Health

Health is wealth guys.

Green Tea

Out of the blue, a client just sent me a box of Hangzhou Longjing tea. Good stuff actually. I think it came from the same place in my previous post that i wrote about Emperor Qian Long and the tea he planted.

iLife

After a disappointing run with the current blackberry, which has a sucky battery life as well as slow OS, i have decided to take the plunge to get an iPhone to complement my BB. This thus completes my family of apple products. I now have an ipod, ipad, macbook air, imac, iphone, airport express too.

India - An Odd Dichotomy

Growing up, I also heard from my father who went to India about the filth and grime and poverty that was India. 25 years on, when i first went to the world's largest democracy last year, I thought it would be better and it'd be different. Because the trip last year was so hectic, I didn't get to see much of the city. On the trip the past week, i did manage to see Delhi and Mumbai in greater detail. I think this picture shows what Im trying to say. Here i am high up in this decent five-star hotel and in the cityscape, i can see a shantytown on the right hand side of the picture and offices on the left hand side. I have read and learnt about shantytowns in pri/sec school textbooks but have never really seen one. They look all right from the top but when you're on street level, you can see the sire conditions they live in. India has some of the world's nicest hotels and yet some of the neighbours of these hotels are the poorest around. Quite sad really.

A little room

In the continuing series of weird places where i discuss my deals.

This time in a time little hotel room in India. Very colonial style and very small.

A little pat on the shoulder

After receiving news of my bonus, I went to buy this, as a proverbial patting yourself on the back.

It's relatively muted as compared as in the past because sometimes i think i give myself too many pats too often. Haha. 

Technology Connects?

Im all for technology.

Believe me, I carry an iPod, iPad, Kindle, macbook air whenever i travel.

Plus my idea of connecting with others is checking up on them and spying on their pictures on FB.

But this takes the cake when you're outside having lunch with your wife and either your dad or father in law, you are glued to the iPad watching drama serials.

Pretty absurd if you asked me.

Nanjing Scape

Another shot of where i went in Nanjing.

The view was quite breath-taking although i don't think the picture does it justice.

High-Tech Bak Gua

We passed by this shop who touted themselves as the supplier for Lim Chee Guan. You know the one where people would queue for two hours.

We were feeling greedy and the price seemed rather reasonable. And of course, we ate so many samples that it was a little embarrassing not to buy.

So we bought 500gm of Kim Joo Guan.

I don't usually blog about food nowadays but i thought this merited an entry.

The pack comes in a nice gold-ish paper bag.



The pack is air-sealed in this gold wrapping.



There's a plastic cover on the pack.



Then after your remove the plastic cover, you need to peel off another air-sealed layer.



Finally! Some meaty goodness after clearing so many hurdles.

15 Things

Interesting article I saw on Facebook. If this article were to be believed, I need to make some life adjustments.

15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy 

Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go:

1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?

2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel. “By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that. “The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle

5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly! “A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle 6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.

8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take of all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it. “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell

10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place. “The only fear we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

12. Give up your excuses. Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.

13. Give up the past. I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.

Nanjing - Ming Dynasty Walls

Oddly enough i have three deals in Nanjing going on. That isnt ideal because i'd prefer them to be in three different cities than all being in one. But beggers cant be choosers. So that means I go to Nanjing very often. I like it because i like to see the Ming dynasty city walls. From this picture, you can see the walls. From where i was, i was within the city and beyond those walls was outside of the city. If you look clearly, you can see the city gates not unlike those gates you see in period dramas. I wonder how it was like living in those days. No internet, no electricity. Just running around all day and taking the city exams in the hope to be a 状元.

Merry

Have i told you that i'm getting married soon? I havent told many people cos I'm afraid of the massive fall-out amongst all the single gals i know. Im keeping it small and not inviting anyone i havent met for the last six months.

Korean Gift

I hosted the Mayor of Busan the other day. At the end of the meeting, he gave me this. When i showed Someone the box, she said it was exactly the same box as one that she has gotten before. I opened my box and it turns out that there's another box inside. It's some mother-of-pearl box. And it's exactly the SAME one that Someone got some years back! Seems like the korean economy is in a worse shape that everyone thought.

Gifts

Some of you older readers might remember i have a pretty Shanghai gal friend. She has since gotten married and is expecting. In fact, she was due lat week but now still waiting for baby to come out. Time flies, doesn't it? I have now known her for more than eight years now. Right from young punks to young adults, we shared our ideals and aspirations even though we came from different worlds. I remember a particular conversation where we spoke about how it'd be weird to get married and tough to meet up as often as we did. That conversation didn't happen too long ago. But the fact is, the frequency of us meeting up got lower and lower because we just got so busy with our own lives. At the same time, i didn't wish to impose on her every time i come, she might take time out to meet me and entertain me. We had a three-hour lunch the last time i was in Shanghai. It was nice catching up and nicer because i didn't have anymore meetings left and she was on maternity leave waiting for baby to come out. At the end, she gave me these. Turned out to be his and her key chains. How sweet!

Peacocks!

Saw these peacocks by the road the other day. Had to stop my car to let them cross the road.

便当

I've no idea if that's how you write 便当 but lest you think i eat big fish big meat all the time. We were negotiating contracts until 12pm when the client said it was lunch time and they said they ordered 便当 for me. They brought it in and said see me at 230pm. ??? Some of you might not know but the chinese would have lunch then take naps. But usually for my other clients, they dont do that! So im all alone in their office and read my Kindle till they returned.

Scirocco Flash Mob

For those Star Wars geeks out there: