Walk on

Had an exciting weekend with friends and family..it was a revelation of friends with kids, friends trying to make kids, cousins with kids, and singles who always act like a kid.

Anyway time to grow up and walk on. Just hours ago, I finally had an answer which has halted my existence for the past 6 months.Finally life has breathe into my body, collapsing my lungs - felt like the world has finally came crashing down on me...2 words and a single song playing on my laptop over an over again, in an industrial area, in another country, all alone without my friends.


Walk On by U2

And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage you can bring...
And love is not the easy thing...
The only baggage you can bring
Is all that you can't leave behind

And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on
What you got, they can't steal it
No they can't even feel it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight...

You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen
You could have flown away
A singing bird in an open cage
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom

Walk on, walk on
What you got they can't deny it
Can't sell it or buy it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

And I know it aches
And your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Home...hard to know what it is if you never had one
Home...I can't say where it is but I know I'm going home
That's where the heart is

I know it aches
How your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Leave it behind
You've got to leave it behind
All that you fashion
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All that you measure
All that you steal
All this you can leave behind
All that you reason
All that you sense
All that you speak
All you dress up
All that you scheme...

Seize every moment

Lost a friend on 23 Nov 2007. We were born the same year and he was a hardworking guy who was good looking, a commando officer in Army if I recalled correctly, well built and represented Singapore in Dragonboat competitions and unfortunately passed away in one. Found his tribute video made by one of his friend last night on Facebook and it just shook my life - the fragility of life.

IHPT Technopreneurship Champions! (Stephen at the back row kissing a King, and me with the ace up front.

"Photographs are precious memories . . . the visual evidence of place and time and relationships . . . ritual talismans for the treasure chest of the heart." ~ Robert Fulghum

With these pictures comes the constant reminder of his loss to us all.Despite the sadness, it also brought back fond memories like how we first met, and how initially he struck me like a show-off Army "siao-on" crazed guy, often in singlets with muscles bulging out. Only later I started to know him as we stay in the same University Hall and went to the same 1st year class as well, it wasn't all good until we met during 2nd year in-house practical training and embark to win the inaugural competition in our faculty. This was a hardworking guy who is never afraid to face obstacles. I cannot imagine how much more he can contribute to society and how much more he has to live for. All I know is life is short and we never know how much time we all have. And even for the friends or aquaintenances around us, how many more have you not known well enough to have a lasting impression or to even call him a friend?

I had a little discussion lately with another old-newly re-acquainted friend, whom through our car club earlier this year, went to the same car charity event. She used to live in the same hall and block, was even my colleague in my first job, but we hardly spoke or barely remembered each other! So we spoke about the topic of making new friends, as I joined the car club earlier but was keeping a low profile and knew less people than her as I think I have too many, I feel stretched and somehow feel that I am diluting my friendships as the circle widens. But she made a point which I must remember, friends come and go because of different stages in life. Some married, have kids, different lifestyle from mine, they move on. New ones come along and sometimes they fit into your current lifestyle. Your old friends will understand, as friends they will forgive you when you come back. Which reminded me about an old proverb.

"Make new friends but keep the old ones; one is silver and the other's gold"

I can see some friends dropping off due to marriage, kids, change of hobbies and perhaps even the change of cars, and indeed change is inevitable and we need to embrace change as we should embrace life.

Carpe diem my friends.

Farewell Stephen. Though your life was short, I bet you lived it to the fullest and I am glad to have met you.

Gone too soon

Farewell Michael. Your music and MTVs will always live in my heart, etched into my memories, and your lyrics often linger on my lips - Like A Comet Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky...Gone Too Soon


Michael's brother Jermaine Jackson performed MJ's favorite song: "Smile."

Find no other MJ song more epitomical than this - Gone too soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Smelling burnt rubber can be addictive

Was overwhelmed over the weekend with basketball match/training as well as catching the Formula Drift 2009. Went with my car club with WY helping me get free tickets for walkabout and grandstand allowing me to get nice clear shot like the one above - a shot of the eventual winner M'sian T. Djan. This guy is absolutely consistent and can drift even in the rain on the final day.

Had a great time ogling at fancy rides and smelling enough rubber I think I crap some out earlier~ haha lame.

Note to self - 1

1) Hard work and Perserverance prevails as old age catches up with the mind and body.
2) Carbos are not good at my age. (4 more to go!)
3) SYTs are a dangerous species of the human race and there are a lot more where they come from as I age further.
4) Nissan Sunny drivers are still dangerous road hoggers; do not get overly excited that Nissan made "Sunny" an obsolete model - "Latio" is the replacement.
5) Speed is not everything; acceleration is and it is not a crime to accelerate to the legal speed limit of the road in under 7 secs in Singapore.
6) I still hate smoking and coffee but sweet things start to lose their flavor.
7) Photography is like everything else, practice makes perfect but too much of something loses its flavor.
8) It is about time to get attached again when your little sister suggests to introduce her classmates to you.
9) Life is all about making an honest living and being contented with what you have been blessed with.
10) Never stop learning and I learned recently that picking up a 2nd martial arts skill can derive much joy from beating up young teenagers/adults and earn respect at the same time by imparting them life's experiences about women and career.

We can only hope

Charmaine's little angels have managed to raise half a million dollars and are embarking onto their journey to fight the cancer. Let's all keep them in our prayers...

Come Come!

Not sure about you but I am already feeling the squeeze in tiny Sillypore, with more immigrants coming into this tiny island strapped for resources such as land, housing, water, transportation, education etc. In 2008, our population grew by 5.5% to 4.84 million, which translate to an additional ~250,000 people. There were 100,000 newly minted PRs and citizens in 2008.

Guess with ads on my blog from Google like this:



It is an open invitation with open arms to welcome everyone here. I hope the gahmen knows what it is doing and hope they are making ample infrastructures and resources such as teachers and doctors (sustaining indicators for developed countries) for this tiny nation. My other blog entries to highlight possible issues - here and here.
Curious note: Who paid Google to have that ad? ICA???

Mascots mask up

Even Singa the Courtesy Lion, our mascot for National Courtesy campaigns, prepares for the inevitable onslaught of H1N1 in Singapore. With his daily interaction with tourists, posing for photos to be taken, I would think he needs the more precautionary N95 mask.

Buildings I

Guess which country these photographs belong to.

Of things to come

I really cannot contain my excitement as initial reviews and videos of the 1st city - Barcelona concerts come online!!

There is only so much we can do

Sometimes I feel jaded as life seems to be helpless and there is only so much one can do. We have to leave it up to God.

Anyway wished I didn't change my air tickets to Chicago to London now..
They are renaming the famous Sears Tower in Chicago to Willis Tower (London-based insurance broker Willis Group, agreed to lease a large portion of the building and as part of the agreement obtained the building's naming rights). Just sounds so wrong despite the fact that it will constitute a 5-year, $350 million green renovation to upgrade the building. Sears was the tallest building for 25 years since 1973 until Malaysia's Petronas Towers were built in 1998 in Kuala Lampur. Sometimes we take things for granted, thinking they will be here forever, then the inevitable change will come and take it away from you.

That is why I love taking photos of old buildings, because some day it will be torn down to make way for something new. Will try to post up some of my building shots.