Wednesday, February 27, 2008

what do you do when you've lost your marbles and then realise you feel like an utter ass for losing your temper?

blog about it.

duh.

and i really feel like a numbskull right about now.

to those who had to see me in that degenerate state and bear the brunt of my ranting, i'm sorry you had to see me that way and i hope you never have to see that side of me ever again.


The Living Years
Mike & The Mechanics

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door

I know that I'm a prisoner
To all my father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I'm afraid that's all we've got

You say you just don't see it
He says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It's the bitterness that lasts

So don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don't give up, and don't give in
You may just be o.k.

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

I wasn't there that morning
When my father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say

I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

Thursday, February 21, 2008

wisdom from the excellent facebook application, art of war quotes...

"To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence."
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Chapter IX: The Army on the March

oh and this one too.

"We cannot enter into alliance with neighboring princes until we are acquainted with their designs. We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country--its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps. We shall be unable to turn natural advantages to account unless we make use of local guides."
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Chapter XI: The Nine Situations

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

the beauty of the sky...

rich in different hues of blue
the sky doth carry other wonders too
from the pretty clouds that cover and conceal
the celestial treasures to be revealed

the stars and the full moon dance through the night
while the clouds and the sun in the day play in the bright
and while we gaze upon these wonders above
we are always reminded of His great love


yep... it's a beautiful sky over bishan tonight. i wish i had a camera that could capture it. the full moon hanging over with the stars all out in twinkling force. the beautiful colours of the sky, with the midnight blue meeting some orange and red just before touching the horizon. it's simply awesome.

couple that with the gorgeous and intricate cloud formations i saw earlier in ntu, it makes for one gaze into the heavens that just reminds you that you're part of something so much bigger.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

more musing and ramblings...

1) is chivalry dead in today's society? why are there some guys who just don't treat women as well as they really should?

2) why do some people fail to see that the people they're dealing with are real people with real feelings and real needs just like themselves?

3) why the hell can't nani do what he did against arsenal on a more consistent basis? was he able to do that because he was up against a rather rubbish justin hoyte? will darren fletcher be able to take more games by the scruff of their neck like he did? and will fergie drop the heroes against arsenal against lyon?

4) why am i struggling so much with this PR assignment? =P

5) does the end always justify the means? is it ever possible to make a decision to benefit the majority as well as the minority?

6) will the world ever truly know peace? is democracy really democracy when it is enforced on another country?

7) is it always prudent to tell it like it is? or is it better to sugarcoat and gloss over an issue and hope it blows over?

Monday, February 11, 2008

once upon a time...

there were two friends who had a passion for building airplanes. all they ever dreamed about was to get their planes done and up in the sky and fly, hoping that their flights would never, ever end.

one of them wasn't particularly good at making the finer parts of his plane. however, with a bit of effort, he refined his technique as time went by after much trial and error.

and eventually, he finished his plane.

the other friend couldn't build so fast. while his technique was slightly better, he still had troubles with certain parts of the plane, especially with the engine. so he kept on trying as well, until eventually, he too finished his plane.

he then agreed with the first friend on a date to take off so that the two of them could realise their precious dream together.

the day came. the two friends got into the cockpits of their planes and started the engines. the planes coughed and sputtered to life. however, strange noises were emitting from the planes' engines, sounds that just weren't normal.

nonetheless, the pair still decided to take off anyway. after all, their dream of flight was nearing reality!

the planes taxied down their runways and before you knew it, they were in the air. the two friends were ecstatic! they could finally fly!

however, the engines started to sputter and cough again, and almost at the same time, both engines died mid-flight. without their engines, the planes began to plummet from the heavens like falling stars, crashing into the earth.

miraculously, the two friends survived and, after a month in hospital, made full recoveries.

the first friend, however, became disillusioned. he thought he had finally achieved his dream, but in the end, the brief moment of glory turned into calamity. he was shattered. and he swore never again to take to the skies or even think about making a plane again.

while his friend turned his back on their dream, the second friend picked a totally different route. he had tasted his dream, and though it left him in pain when it crashed, he wanted to experience the feeling again.

he wanted to fly once more.

so, he did some research and invested some money into books, especially those about plane engines. as he learnt more each day, he went back to his workshop, applying what knowledge he had gathered and eventually, started work on a new plane.

day by day, his knowledge grew, and so did the plane. the fuselage, the ailerons, the tail fin, the landing gear and the wings slowly took shape.

the path to flight was not without its difficulties along the way. once, his workshop caught fire and after putting out the flames, he discovered that the plane was damaged.

yet the second friend persisted. he rebuilt new parts from scratch and disposed of the damaged ones, even taking the time and care to add in improvements and refinements along the way.

finally, he was left with the engine. while he had not been skilled enough in the past, the second friend got his head down to work, referring even more closely to the books he had bought and attending to the engine with far greater care and skill.

eventually, he finished rebuilding his plane and looked at his calendar and picked a date to fly.

when the day came, the second friend was filled with excitement. this time however, it was also tinged with a touch of trepidation. he had crashed once, and all he could do was hope it would never happen again.

he suited up and trooped into the cockpit, where he started the engine. once more, the engine coughed and sputtered to life. this time, however, the engine purred once it had sprung to life.

the second friend closed his eyes and said a quick prayer, before taking his plane down the runway.

unlike the first time, the plane took to the air and stayed there. for the initial part of the flight, the second friend was anxious and he clung to the sound of the purring engine, hoping and praying that he wouldn't have to experience the dreaded sound of deathly silence once more.

but it was not to be.

the plane flew and flew and flew. and my, did it fly.

the second friend snapped out of his fear, and looked out the plexiglass windows.

and what a sight he saw.

he saw the trees of the forests and the rolling hills. he saw the cities and the people in their cars scuttling across the roads like marching ants. he saw the beautiful blue of the lakes, the streams and the rivers, which led to the vast green-blue oceans that stretched far beyond his horizon.

he didn't want to come down, but eventually, he had to. as the fuel gauge started to reach out and point to empty, the second friend reluctantly came back down and landed on the tarmac.

but as he wheeled his plane into its hangar, he told himself that this was only the beginning and a taste of things to come.

and he went to sleep that night, with a grin on his face, as his dreams were filled with the sights he had seen in the day...

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

remembering munich and the babes...

50 years to the day, a tragedy befell not just manchester united or england, but the entire world of football.

8 young men, whose long careers in the world of football lay at their feet, perished when their plane crashed along with 3 staff, 8 journalists, 2 crew and 2 passengers. this tragedy occurred after the plane stopped over in munich for a refuel following the team's european cup match against red star belgrade.

amazingly, some of the players managed to pick themselves up from the shock and return to action some 13 days later. 10 years later, the busby babes, led by sir matt busby, himself a victim of the crash, completed a miraculous turnaround, having not only reclaimed the league title within the time frame, but also winning the competition they were competing in when the tragedy struck, the 1968 european cup.

while the likes of best, charlton, stiles and law stepped to the fore to carve their names in united lore as a result, one could only imagine what was to be had those 8 players lived to see their potential fulfilled. especially so for young 21 year-old duncan edwards, who was described as the boy in a man's body, whose talent was so immense that he made the great bobby charlton feel inferior.

these were the men that set in motion the foundations of the modern day united - flowing attacking football that was pleasing on the eye with the emphasis on the effervescence of youth.

on this dark day, 50 years on, we still remember them, keeping them in our prayers.

players
roger byrne,28
geoff bent, 25
eddie colman, 21
david pegg, 22
mark jones, 24,
duncan edwards, 21
tommy taylor, 26
liam "billy" whelan, 22

club staff
walter crickmer, club secretary
tom curry, trainer
bert whalley, coach

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

random musings...

why can't some people just walk one floor up or down and insist on taking the lift?

why do some people think the whole damned universe revolves around them?

why is it beyond some people to just break away from their facade and admit that they aren't what they thought themselves to be?

why do some people insist on deception when simply telling the truth would easily suffice over a pointless white lie?

why do companies insist on using persistently irritating advertisements when they're just annoying the heck out of the customers?

why is it so hard to find a nice word that rhymes with the word 'poem'?

why do radio stations play songs, good and bad, to death by repeating them 24/7?

why does every single english footballer have to find a way to weasel their way into fabio capello's plans by talking in the media when they should be letting their football doing the talking?

and last but not least...

how the heck did a robot from cybertron end up getting the name bumblebee?

Sunday, February 03, 2008

would you believe it?

it's already february. one month of the new year. poof. snap. bang. gone. in the blink of an eye.

time's absolutely flying now ain't it?