Working it off October 24, 2007

Work was never meant to be a bad thing. Work brings out one’s strength and develops one’s passion. Work brings the bacon home. Work provides one with opportunities to be in touch with the outside world. Work broadens mindsets and brings us new friends. Work makes us feel useful and gives a sense of purpose and satisfaction in life. Work is something you do while you whistle happily.

However, we human beings are just too good in screwing things up.  This is what work also has the potential to become in modern-day life:

– a bloody warzone of bruised egos and blatant injustice

– a sweatshop cleverly disguised as a “golden career path”

– a health hazard

– where we sell out so we can bring the bacon home: bacon too expensive these days

– a place where people become commodities and networking is ultimately shopping  for useful contacts

– a destroyer of relationships: no time, no energy, no patience, no life…enough said.

– a transformer: generally brings out the worst in most people.

Work. What a double-edged sword.

Two insights October 19, 2007

1. “If you really wanted to write, you would be writing in spite of everything else happening to you.”
2. “Oh I get it…you haven’t written for yourself yet.”

Random Vignettes October 15, 2007

I have been experiencing numbness in my arms and legs these last two weeks, apparently caused by super-tight shoulders and neck – such a laptop casualty. This spout of pins and needles have made me wistful for a limited-laptop-lifestyle and more taichi/pilates/swimming, which I know is plain impossible lah. But I am trying to lay off tech equipment during the weekends.

There have been quite a number of episodes with strong connections. The two most distinct ones – Having a dinner review at Mimolette (love it, especially now Chef Kelvin Lee is lording over the kitchen and planting strange herbs at the back) and being greeted by two lovely brown horsies as I alighted the cab. The next day, I met my UK childhood friend Lauren, an equestrian prodigy who has accomplished so much in life even though she is hearing impaired and suffers from cerebral palsy (driving licence, master’s degree, studied and worked abroad, knows web coding etc). She showed me lots and lots of photos of her brown horsie. The second episode: rushing into a wedding dinner, only to make a sudden halt when I spot a familiar couple who had kindly offered me shelter as I did “backpacking” in NY many years ago. It turns out the dude is the brother of Big Butt Baby’s husband! To think I had heard and seen pictures of Big Butt Baby’s husband even before they had met!

The sad bit: It is through this serendipitous dinner that I found out from the said couple that godbro CK has not been doing well in the health dept. And guiltily, I called him the next day to hear the grim news. I’m not sure why he kept it from me all this while, but I feel horribly bad for only contacting him solely through SMS these last few months. Once again, I realise how I need to cherish and make time for the people who mean the most to me. I am going to give him, Q and god daughter Em big hugs this week. It’s been too long.

Two old uncles who have been giving some very good advice – Uncle Jack, my new tennis coach who is so affirming and PBLish (what was wrong/right about the stroke? how is tennis relevant to how one should approach life?) and Uncle William, the regular reflexology guy trying to unknot my back (can you please circulate your body a bit?). Realise that I do sorely lack advice from the paternal department, so I really do appreciate whatever (wise) old men advice I can get.

Reno is starting soon! It’s quite confusing and I think I only get 70% of what is going on. In a way, I’m glad D is a Design Nazi and Abi is a Patient Interiors Guru.

Life is stretching in so many different ways right now. Which is why I could not be thematic in any way for this post.