Afterthoughts....

I really liked the view ;)

Tottering in my heels along the walkway towards One Marina Boulevard with my scrawny arms struggling to hold on the bulky notebook and steel-chained Chanel-inspired (brimming) bag slung over the other shoulder.
I was huffing and puffing and trying not to fall while maintaining a steadfast pace as my feet can take me but my stride was limited by the hem-width of my dress. -_-"
Mag texted me last night to reach at 0745 instead... arghhh and Aloysius' bedroom window happened to be facing the funeral held at the adjacent block. It wasn't a peaceful night.

The reason for my attendance was because I was appointed to attend the SME Development Conference organised by DP Information Group. DHL being a co-sponsor has a booth (right in front of the buffet table) and this was supposed to be a opportune avenue to showcase our Ecommerce Solutions to the attending SME representatives.

It was definitely not the kindof crowd I was expecting, there was an interesting mix of folks. They were from all nationalities and wardrobes haha. Well, SMEs does refer to small-medium enterprises.

As I was stationed at the booth, I did not attend all the talks except during the panel discussion. I must say I'm proud of "Mr DHL" haha. One of the panelists christened Herbert as such, which I believe he wasn't impressed. But it did provide a light-hearted moment to the otherwise dry topics earlier.
The objective of this discussion was to address the challenges that SMEs face to establish their business and also to field the questions that participants posed.
The panelists were seated on the stage with an audience of 400-odd. I thought only Mr C.S. Liew and Herbert were more prominent in their presence and responses. Mr Liew had a wealth of experience for starting his own company, which was evident by his age, he gave very clear and thoughtful answers. Herbert was impressive being somewhat the odd one out, country manager of a logistics MNC. He was able to give insightful and informative responses despite being impromptu.

Maybe I was being prejudiced, I've always been intimidated by Herbert's confidence and intellect.

I'm still a far way off from that stage, there's alot to learn and time is running out.

Intervention

Procrastination....
and Inertia.....
Must.
Break.
Free.
From.
This.
arghh....

1. SME Conference tomorrow which I'll have to showcase our solutions to the participants.
2. Software Upgrade (again) next week and I'm appointed to oversee the smooth transition.
3. Dilemma over GLP and MIT IPOs, apparently they are deliberately scheduled to clash. Not exactly spoilt for choice unless you're one of them high-net worth individuals. One look at the prospectus (GLP) makes my eyes roll and the radio ads starts to get grating.
4. Shoes, I think I'm close to the point of overkill. I need rehab, yes yes yes...I think I have more shoes at Aloysius' place than him.  That my friends, is just the tip of the iceberg. Carrie Bradshaw I'm not

I need Intervention, any volunteers?

15.01.09

I managed to salvage this from my (now-defunct) blog:

Lifelong learning, the folks in white emphasis on this in hope for our nation to cultivate our most abundance resource...the familiarity of the 'iron-rice bowl' is a passe concept in today's society...even more pronounced at such perilous times...
From the first moment of conciousness, we start learning, our brain... simply its like a sponge...our eager minds learn from every sensory experience..
It starts at an exponential rate and plateaus when we reach young adulthood...the fundamental techniques of acquiring knowledge is supposedly from reading and writing..
"To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries."
Writing is a form of expression, of creativity to evoke emotion, social influence, to immortalise a thought or an event...in essence, writing allows us to apply our knowledge and our ability to express ourselves in any agenda..
Reading was (and is still is) something that I truly enjoyed, I'm the classic geek, who was introverted, shy, soft-spoken (do not snigger) who would rather make-up excuses not to be out with my friends and curl-up in bed with the latest fiction.. reading fuels my imagination...its my own private paradise where i can envision the characters in my head and play out the scenes of the story...when in secondary school, i took up the opportunity to express all the ideas in my head like fish to water... when i was writing...everything just flowed... my mind was running with a multitude of ideas and scenes... it was overwhelming, i was penning 1000+ words essays when the assignment only called for 500 haha
Throughout childhood, we continually learn everything, how to walk how to run, the associated cause and effect teaches us the expected response to every situation, anything that's deemed 'bad' is associated with pain and displeasure anything that's deemed 'good' is linked to approval and rewards...
From the cherubic wide-eye 'angels' we were...gradually our distinctive personalities are manifested...and yet the stereotypes are endless...the rebel, the clown, the nerd, the easy-going one, the freak etc... i shall not continue with how we progress to our eventual self, as it will take a lifetime... literally
we branch out only to be compartmentalise and categorized...the Americans readily embrace the notion of inidividualism, thus harbouring delusions of grandeur evidently in the American Idol franchise...
Don't you agree that a person views himself or herself through others' perceptions in society and in turn gains identity. The self is the result of the concept in which we learn to see ourselves as others do. One will never stop modifying their self  throughout the entirety of a person’s life unless all social interactions are ceased
The question is, how do we define ourselves?
Are we conditioned socially from young, so our eventual selves is a sum of all the external agents?
Is there an intrinsic self that is autonomous from our making into our passing of this phenomenal world?
Is our physical and psychological-being mutually exclusive such that if our psychological self were to inhibit another physical being, we will be the same? having the same thoughts, same feelings, same neuroses...
A self that is not defined by others and not affected by externalities...
Otherwise, is there a definition for the self? what makes us special or different from others? if we're born as a blank slate, awaiting to be written, by whim, chance, luck, not within our control? what makes me.. me? if 2 babies grew up in the exact same conditions, will they turn out the same? save for their genetic makeup?
We started out in our lives, thinking that we're special and different... then as our social network expands, we realise that there's a whole new world out there and an array of personalities that are similar and opposite from us...we get drawned to someone similar or someone who complements us (but that's another argument for another day)
If we're defined by our personalities...which is the defining trait that we can claim ownership to? The answer is doubtful, as somewhere out there, there will be someone else who exhibits that similarity...
We are all different and the same? Therein lies the paradox...
That.. my friends... is the question that was posed to us in 1999.. after 3 years and 25 grand, it still baffles our minds...
What a morose and fatalistic thought to throw at young and eager students striving to the future of our nation (go MOE!)
Insightful indeed, it makes one take a step back and think of the big picture, perceiving the world through the looking glass... it takes cynicism to a higher level...
It was overwhelming for little me to bear, the decison was to detach myself and take an objective stance and continue with my life with hope, faith and delusion...

............................If God was a DJ.....................

Life is a dance floor
Love is a rhythm
You are the Music...

I dreamed a dream in time gone by.....

There can only be one Fantine...

Hello Kitty Brownies

I was inspired to make brownies as prelude to my potluck party this weekend.
I've gotten this from smitten kitchen (using Alice Mendrich's recipe). I think I'm kindof rusty from adventures in the kitchen, many a time I have been wanting to make those famed World Peace Chocolate Cookies, however procrastination and sloth got the better of me... aahhhh :S
Strangely, each time I try a recipe for the 1st time, I would fret and fumble but it would eventually turn out to be wonderful, somewhat like a first kiss. Thinking that I would do even better the second try after learning from the virgin attempt, I'm always disappointed. Sigh...
I somehow tweaked the recipe a little, reason being that Aloysius had a 'health-scare' recently. Which serves as a reminder not to take our body for granted and to treat it like a temple ;D
In an attempt to make brownies less sinful, I reduced the butter (by 10-20 gm?) and sugar (1/4 cup less).
Apparently though, the texture seems to have been compromised a little.
The recipe calls for 2 large eggs as well, and by American Standards, large would probably equate to extra-large in the local context. But eggs only come in 1 size here!
I could always heed the wise words of Marty and head to the famed Tanglin Mall Marketplace where you can get everything American.
Lastly, I left the brownie to bake while I took a shower, although I set the timer to slightly less than 20 minutes.
My personal verdict is that it wasn't as moist as the fudgey little brownies I made a few X'mases ago for the office party.
But this one is definitely cuter :D yay!

Right under my nose....

 

01 Oct Friday, Citi was hovering around 4.03 - 4.04. I was exhausted so Q-ed to sell at 4.05 then went to bed.

Come Saturday morning Citi touched 4.1 and closed at 4.09... diddly-darn! Arghhh....done deal at 4.05...