Happy Birthday BMW!

Opps..actually my dua bai is a merc..not a beemer..but big merc white mah..aiyo..identity crisis..

Despite a kiss here, a scratch there..i think my dua bai is doing well..

Wanted to put up a lovely pic of my dua bai...then i realised..eh. the only proper shots i have of it are taken exactly one year ago when i first collected it..which, in any case, are not suitable for viewing anymore..

Jia you dua bai..tmr bring u go bathe k?

Inspiration

Now that i've some free time and am in a relatively stable and contented mood(it's festive seasons afterall), i thought i'd rearrange & blog some of those thoughts tat raced through my mind in recent months..but other than the fluffy entry on cheenatown, i haven't really been tat productive..

Hmm..seems like inspiration only comes to me when i'm:

a) down & out

b) stressed

c) busy

d) broken-hearted

e) all of the above

Me & My Cheenatown

I've got lots of draft entries saved..but haven't had the will to sit down and go thru all of them..anyway it's unlikely that all will eventually surface for 'public viewing'..

I've had a busy Nov..this i think anyone who have had contact with me in the past 2 months will know..i had been complaining/lamenting/whining to well, practically anyone and everyone who have had contact with me in the past 2 months..

Of cos, 'busy' is a relative concept..what i term as 'a busy day' could very well be a slow day for someone else..but tat will come in another blog..which is currently under 'drafts'..

Wat inspired me to blog 'urgently' today were..2 things:

#1. I have been spending more time in my office lately..and as usual, when i get hungry/bored, i will go for a 'walk'..At my previous office, my fave walking venue is of cos the supermarket..Ever since i shifted, i practically shop the whole of cheenatown when i had planned to just get a quick bite..u would think that me being a cheenatown kid would be 'sian' of the area by now..

Anyway..i didn't know i was going for my teabreaks so often enough tat the stall owner recognises me already! Oh dear..no wonder my jeans feel tight these days..and the worst thing is, when i get to the area(whichever hawker it maybe), i can't resist but eat all my fave food..i end up having a 3-course tea break everytime..@.@

I wonder which is worse..walking to supermarket or walking to the hawker centre with all my fave food..

#2. I came across this scene..which i found very 'jarring' with the whole cheenatown backdrop..I saw this uncle..in a white singlet and khaki berms..exactly the kind u expect to see at the kopi tiam with one leg up the chair, drinking lao hu beer..well, wat was 'strange' was he was walking across the hawker centre holding a packet of Mac fries and eating away happily..

I dunno about you, but that was one of the last few sights i expected in a cheenatown hawker centre..

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It's Sunday again..time to sit & think again..aka sidetracked while revising..again..

Nothing too 'inspiring' today..the fast food place i hung out at earlier on was not too conducive..

So i stared at my blog..then i decided..i shall update it..for keen/loyal readers..you would have noticed it by now..

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. ~A.A. Milne

I changed my header..not that i didn't like the previous one..just thought it's time for a change..in fact i really liked all my headers..i can still remember the one before this..'A truly happy person is one who enjoys the scenery on a detour'..i think this stayed with me for 1 or 2 years before i used the most recent one - 'The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring'

Well..we'll see how long Pooh will stay up there..haha

Sunday Mornings..

This article is penned down in actual handwriting..on foolscap paper(so long never use this word!)..in fact, by the time i finished writing, it filled up 1.5 pages..Oh, why didn't the words flow as easily when i was doing my assignment..


Date: 1 Nov
Time: 11ish am
Venue : Sandwich chain 5 mins from my house
Objective: Last min cramming for exam

The reason why i had to cram so much in at the last min is really..inconsistency. Unlike the previous module when i was reading up conscientiously on a regular basis(still very 'on' at tat time), this time was like just going for lecture(& day-dreaming half the time)..one week later, attend the next lecture..and 15 weeks later, i need to spit out a 2000 words essay based on some theories which i'm totally not familiar with and having to recall 15 weeks' worth of information for exam..

Anyway..that's not exactly what i feel like talking about..too depressing liao..

It's Sunday morning! I like Sunday mornings..Sunday mornings are like the lazy cousins to the action-packed Saturdays..& obviously, Sun mornings are more compatible with my nuah character..though I'm quite proud of the fact that i seldom sleep in on Sun..i only did that when i was a student..quite strange actually..Maybe it's due to the fact that i often have to work Sun mornings, this is a fact ever since i started working..my first job..my overseas 'job'..and now..It's not like i work every Sunday, maybe half the time? So i'm pretty ok with it..and i guess it makes me appreciate Sundays more too..There was a period of time when i play badminton every Sun am..and there was a time when i went out for brunch every Sun am..well, it's getting harder to get Sunday morning kakis these days..

Sunday morning & I'm here sitting down in the restaurant..it's about 30% occupied, with 5 out of about 15 tables taken. Table #1 is this couple in their 50s', with husband reading papers and the wife doing some writing(maybe she's got exams coming up too).. Table #2 has this middle-aged man reading papers by himself over a cup of coffee.. Table #3 is occupied with this group of 5 young ladies catching up with each other(one of them is telling the others about her day in Labrador Park..apparently the seafood there is not bad)..Table #4 belongs to a young couple, who are enjoying each other's company as much as they're enjoying their breakfast ..and lastly, Table #5 with a couple and their 2 young children in tow complete the scene..

Every 20-30 mins, a table will vacate..but the next customer who comes along does not stray far from 'the relaxed' mode..as though it's some sort of unwritten rule at the entrance..'highly-strung individuals are not allowed in'

There's a laid-back feel in the air..everybody seems relaxed..from their body language to their dressing(nobody in working attire so far) to their choice of conversation topics..and i like this kind of feeling..

Well, some people may say i can afford to do this anyday, not just Sunday, since my working hours are not exactly 9-5..but somehow, the 'feel' is different..

On a normal weekday, the tables are mostly occupied by people in smart working attire..half of them will have their laptops in front of them and most of the time, their conversation revolved around work..you can't help but feel stressed around them..in fact, u feel guilty for taking up the table for a 'not-so-productive' purpose and u feel the need to vacate once you've finished your meal(hey, isn't that the main purpose of sitting down in an eatery anyway?!)

Speaking of eating..i think studying makes me fat..i always end up having dinner twice on lesson days, and it obviously takes some(though not all) time away from my workouts, & now i have fast food for company when mugging..


That's the end of my 'inspired piece'..i was just wondering 'hmm..i feel like i'm quite free today', then i realised why..i don't have lessons today..& why is this so? Cos it's my revision week and exams are next week! Oh damn..why is it i get so productive suddenly in all areas..except the one thing that's most important now..

Damn it..

Supposed to be finishing up my paper and revision notes..but no..i ended up spending 2 full hours sitting in front of the tv(something which i dun usually do in the first place) watching a show that i've watched before..

Yesh..the show is 'Secret'..watched it on the big screen when it was first shown..think i watched it again on dvd sometime back..and now i'm 'sacrificing' my study time to watch it again..

Well, i'm not ashamed to say i like the show..sweet little story..and i like the music..it's been 2 years & i'm still using the tunes as my mobile ringtone and i still play the CD every now & then..

Okok..better get back to work..i mean study..

Psychology Notes..

Friday nite..and i'm at my desk..with a pile of notes in front of me..

Since i occasionally claim to be studying pyschology..here're some interesting nuggets i picked up(while cramming for my exams 3 days away)


Regression - (def) a movement back in psychological time when one is faced with stress


So where do we retreat when faced with stress? According to Freudian theory: To the last time in life when we felt safe and secure. Maybe that explains why these days i feel like jumping onto a plane and get 'out there'..not that out there is safer & more secure..but 'out there' is where i dun normally get stressed out..

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Sublimation - (def) the transformation of an unacceptable impulse, whether it be sex, anger, fear, etc into a socially acceptable, even productive form.


For eg, someone with powerful sexual desires may become an artist, a photographer, or a novelist. In fact, according to Freudian theory(again), all positive/creative activities were sublimations, and predominantly of the sex drive..

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Anal Stage(it's really a 'proper' stage in Freud's theory) - ...at one and one-half years, the child enters the anal stage. With the advent of toilet training comes the child's obsession with the erogenuos zone of the anus and with the retention or expulsion of the faeces..The child meets the conflict between the parent's demands and the child's desires and physical capabilities in one of two ways: Either he puts up a fight or he simply refuses to go..When a child opts to retain faeces, thereby spitiing his parents while enjoying the pleasurable pressure of the built-up faeces on his intestine; if this tactic succeeds, and the child is overindulged, he will develop into an anal retentive character - some common traits include obsessively neat and clean..

So that's why..