A Mind of My Own

Spring cleaning is useless when it comes once a year. I am trying to understand why it’s a huge amount of stuff to be gotten rid of only when it comes to the new year. If daily cleaning has been done, why must there be a huge amount of stuff to be thrown then?

It is then always a frustration when the stuff you have thrown during spring cleaning, that you realise that you should have kept them. The law of stuff thrown and to be used weeks later somehow is cruel. The year of the ox had been a rather hardworking year with mad rushes to the temples and whatever Godly places to pray that the stocks and whatever is going up except for inflation. Perhaps, we have been shown ways but it doesn’t come in the package that we have imagined.

We are just being shown that not all the prayers will be answered in the way we want since it is beyond our control except our feelings towards it. I spent quite some time to make a base for a bag only for it to be thrown away just when I was at the end of finishing it. Utterly lost my temper right there and then since it’s my hard work. How can someone just dump it away? Only the person who has done everything and only to discover the work being treated as trash will one understand the anger and frustrations.

Dwelling on this, I ask myself if it’s worth wasting angry moments. I believe that it could have been my suppression for holding on to my temper for a long time. Not that I want to be angry but it was really a few days of hard work and those cardboards aren’t easy to find, especially that size that I like. I have often thrown away stuff only to be sorted out by the person who ask me whether I truly want to throw. For crying out loud, I am throwing away stuff that I am requested to, why am I being asked that question?

This year, Chinese New Year falls on Valentine’s Day. It’s my first time, I think. Since I have no recollections of previous years falling on which day. The tigers are coming and the oxen will have to give way. May this tiger year be the year whereby things that are to be thrown, will be thrown away at the right time.

I haven’t seen the world. Seeing the world from a TV is different from seeing the world and experiencing it yourself. Watching the mustangs run wild in the great plains is a different feeling from watching them run wild from a flat screen. Watching the jellyfish blob around in the marine world is different from watching a channel in Geographic Channel.

Having seen the blue skies in Australia, I like to experience life again. Life should be enjoyed. Having worked so hard for many years, I haven’t seen the world despite the efforts in having enough money to travel. Here, we have 1, 000 Places to See Before You Die. How much time do you really have left to spend with your family members?

I know how much I have used up but I don’t know how much time I do have left. There are times when we over-analyze certain things and think that they are too good to be true. If a simple task was deemed too good to be true, what about the tasks that need a lot of effort? No one wants to work till 65 and be seen picking up empty cans for recycling and hoping to make ends meet with creaking bone joints. If one feels that the effort would rather be spread throughout the years till one’s death, it’s such a pity to take one’s life lightly.

No one can name a price to your life. Not even you yourself.

I have heard this phrase over the years and have realised that it’s the one that limits me. When I ask myself, “Is it possible?” I hear all the “No” instead of “What if I try” That’s how I got frustrated in my job and the endless unhappiness of searching for that perfect job.

No such perfect job exists in real life. I have dreams, dreams that I want to be fulfilled. Having worked long enough to realise that even being a self-employed, I will not be able to have those fulfilled because I will not be able to go backpacking in Europe for even 5 days.

How long do I have to work in order to fulfill just that dream? 6 years certainly isn’t enough. Just the flight from Singapore to UK is enough to deplete my savings. Needless to say, I gave up on that dream when I was stuck in the job routine. A job is no longer secure.

Even that iron rice bowl isn’t secure either. You don’t get promoted based on your great performance at work, do you? You get promoted because someone in that position has decided to leave; finally after 15 years of hoping. When the economy is down, what are you doing? Still praying to God or looking for opportunities or simply self-reject the possibilities?

The human mind is the most powerful weapon. Once a belief has set in, it takes a long time to reach into our minds to take hold of us and eventually, we do it. Such as believing that we will never be a manager in a certain company even if we do know that we are the right one for it.

So many negatives since young. Remember when our parents said, “STOP ASKING WHY!” And we did stop after that? Rejection at that early age has taken root. Rejection is a painful thing but have we used that as a direction?

Is it remotely possible? How many years do you have left?

We have dreams. Goals that we want to be fulfilled, be it money, travel or even recognition for good things. Whenever we do something, we want or hope for repayment. When we go to the office, we will be paid our monthly dues and eventually, get promoted got clinching that particular deal. However, how many of us have really managed to get promoted?

This world is surrounded by people. Humans who make the decisions, not money. When bribery occurs, it means that the person simply has a need for it and accepts it. Did money make the decision? The kind of lifestyle that we have in mind is also our decision. No one else is responsible for making that for us. They are influences but not the decision makers.

The kind of lifestyle that I wanted to have is:

• To be able to be a good mother and wife. A mother like what my mother did. She simply gave her support to my father all these years in his business and didn’t complain about his late nights because he was out working hard to feed the family.
• To be able to spend time with my family. What my parents tried to do every weekend. Until now, they will ask us out for breakfast.
• To be able to teach my children values that mine have taught us.
• To be able to go for holidays without worrying about money all the time.
• To be able to have enough money for my children’s education in future without worrying about money.
• To be able to help others who have dreams to be fulfilled.
• To be able to afford to buy any item without paying in installments.
• To be able to give my mind peace when I am one day unable to work actively, I don’t have to worry about money.
• To be able to gain this kind of freedom that I have been craving for.

What kind of lifestyle do you have in mind?

This is great! GeckoGo is holding a contest for bloggers and non bloggers alike! A cool amount of US$900 travel vouchers for me to travel anywhere! I like Intrepid Travel because the travel itinerary is different from other travel agencies that I have seen.

Even if you are not a blogger, fear not! You still get a chance when you sign up at GeckoGo. You get an extra entry when you leave your GeckoGo profile URL at this blog post too!

So, hurry and join in before the contest ends on 1st Mar 2009. Winner will be announced on 9th Mar. I think there is a typo at the site as it states 9th Feb when the contest ends on 1st Mar. It’s confusing since I doubt it’ll take a year to choose the winner.

Having played Geo Challenge with a vengeance because I was dethroned by my friends, one of them a couple on the same day, I decided to play it more. Now I know how high I can get. However, my poor mouse is being abused from all my left clicking.

I think I need a new mouse again soon. Perhaps for my birthday if it can last that long. I have this urge to visit a lot of places like Las Vegas for its strip of lights, Tokyo for its Sakura blossoms, England for its bridges, Moscow for its famous colourful buildings, Switzerland for its alps, Hawaii for its beaches, Phuket for its beach, Maldives for its beaches, etc.

Looks like I need to earn a lot more than I am trying to now or I have to be thick-skinned and asked for sponsors. Anyone? So far, I fail in my itinerary planning since my geographic skills still need some improvements.

Frankly speaking, it’s expensive just to take flights to anywhere in the world. So, I do like the idea of travelling around the world in 80 days just like what Phileas Fogg and his trusty assistant, Passepartout, had done. Maybe I need to plan out more in detail and then see where I would like to end up with first.

The next question is, am I able to go without 3 months of Internet if I were to travel via trains, buses and airplanes?

The year of the rat has gone and it came with Obama’s victory to the presidential post. Not an easy one since the whole world is watching him trying to let the finances going again. Bush’s takeover was certainly a bearish year. A quick slide to the bottom when one company after another announced their bankruptcy affecting pretty much the whole world since every trade is interwined with another.

Here, politics come into play since it is a great loss of face to announce one’s ability to handle the finances poorly to one’s spouse and another to the whole wide world. From what I gather, the Bush family haven’t been great in finances, otherwise, useless wars wouldn’t have been created in order to creat such morbid jobs to save the desperately injured.

Not that I should be the judge. It is hoped that in the year of the ox, the graphs will shoot up again so that jobs can be maintained and perhaps new ones for the fast changing economy. Money makes the world go round and that’s why trading is still a hot job but it is not an easy one either.

I have been trying various ways to earn some money while being online and it is a long road ahead. Those who have been successful have at least taken a year due to their commitment to their day jobs before quitting and joining in the foray of the digital world.

I hope that something positive will come along and I can go for holidays without worries. Sometimes, I hate it when money is the root of all evil. May the bull help us all.

Arranging my own holidays is fun when I get to choose my preferred accommodation. Here, Arrange Your Vacation comes into place. I like the neat sections where Latest Rentals and Featured Rentals are placed prominently so that I can just click and check out the best prices.

What’s even better is that RSS is available so that I don’t have to check the site everyday. I can just read from my RSS Reader and be updated when there are new rental rates being updated. The blog gives out tips on renting vacation homes too. A bonus since most sites on accommodation rarely give out tips.

In addition, you can view the lodging in various countries just by viewing the regions available such as, Asia, South America, Saint Helena and more. As an added bonus, you can even search for your preferred lodging by type, location and rental categories.

Site Rocks

• Various options for choosing the accommodations: Rental type, Rental Location, Rental Categories, Region, Countries.
• Clearly marked sections by using different colours.
• RSS options for rental updates.
• Newsletter subscription option available for those without RSS readers.

Site Improvements

• Scrolling down just to know that there are other search options available. Viewing by Rental Regions can be placed as a sidebar.
• Newsletter subscription option is placed too near the footer.

This review was done for this contest. Join before Feb 28, 2009.

[via Blog Contests on The Net]

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Christmas is coming and I am so excited! That is if I can ever clear the mountain of papers sitting on my desk. I managed to dump all the bills that have been paid for more than 10 months. The only thing that went through my mind as I tore them up was that I want a shredder.

Shredders remind me of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because Shredder was the bad guy and he could shred anyone into pieces. Well, not really since he has two sidekicks, Bebop and Rock Steady. I was thinking if it would be great that I could shred those bills into tiny pieces.

You won’t know which thief would still your personal data and use it their advantages. Therefore, since I couldn’t tear them into really tiny pieces, I had to add water to the bag so that the paper will rot faster. Nice tip from Mom. Mothers are there for a reason.

Meanwhile, besides my NaNoWriMo, I’ve also been busy with building up the online stores for the holidays shopping. Here’s what you can find below.

• Shopping with Cheri Divas is now so much fun with more clothes and jewellery.
• Gadget Lovers has a wide variety of printers, handhelds, games and anything that is related to technology for sale.
• For those preparing for their weddings, check out Lovely Gifts for gifts, beauty, lingerie and more.

Now, it’s time for my Christmas shopping.

After watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona by Woody Allen, I have only one conclusion to make. Spain is vivacious. The people are passionate about art and enjoying the finer aspects of life. The beautiful buildings, streets and the lovely houses have made me want to visit Spain.

The movie is about Vicky and Cristina who were in Barcelona for a 2-month vacation. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) was to complete her thesis in Barcelona while Cristina (Scarlet Johansson) would tour by herself at times. During the art exhibition, both girls met Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) who was recently divorced from a violent marriage. Cristina was instantly attracted to him and couldn’t help looking at him most of the time.

During dinner, Antonio approached them and proposed a weekend stay with just the three of them. Vicky was apprehensive but Cristina was raring to go. During the stay, Vicky was slowly charmed by Antonio but quickly regretted her passion.

As time went on, Cristina started to see more of Antonio and chaos began when the ex-wife, Marie Elena (Penelope Cruz) sought refuge with Antonio. The trio had problems at first as they were living in the same house but soon warmed up to each other.

I like the cute song that is being played during the start.

Trailer is embedded.

This would not have been made possible without Blog Aloud.