Robert H. Smith
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
May peace be with you
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I'm rich and so are you!
Money has no memory Experience has shown that:
You will never know what the total cost of your education was, but for a lifetime you will recall and relive the memories of schools and colleges. Few years from now, you will forget the amount you paid to settle the hospitalization bill, but will ever cherish having saved your mother’s life or the life you get to live with the just born. You won’t remember the cost of your honeymoon, but to the last breath remember the experiences of the bliss of togetherness. Money has no memory. Experience has.
Good times and bad times, times of prosperity and times of poverty, times when the future looked so secure and times when you didn’t know from where the tomorrow will come… life has been in one way or the other a roller-coaster ride for everyone. Beyond all that abundance and beyond all that deprivation, what remains is the memory of experiences. Sometimes the wallet was full…sometimes even the pocket was empty. There was enough and you still had reasons to frown. There wasn’t enough and you still had reasons to smile. Today, you can look back with tears of gratitude for all the times you had laughed together, and also look back with a smile at all the times you cried alone. All in all, life filled you with experiences to create a history of your own self, and you alone can remember them all.
The first time you balanced yourself on your cycle without support…..
The first time she said ‘yes’ and it was two years since you proposed…..
The first cry…the first steps…the first word…the first kiss…all of your child…
The first gift you bought for your parents and the first gift your daughter gave you….
The first award…the first public appreciation….the first stage performance….
And the list is endless… Experiences, with timeless memory….
No denying that anything that’s material cost money, but the fact remains the cost of the experience will be forgotten, but the experience never.
So, what if it’s economic recession? Let it be, but let there not be a recession to the quality of your life. You can still take your parents, if not on pilgrimage, at least to the local temple. You can still play with your children, if not on an international holiday, at least in the local park. It doesn’t cost money to lie down or to take a loved one onto your lap.
Nice time to train the employees, create leadership availability and be ready for the wonderful times when they arrive.
Hey! Aspects like your health, knowledge development and spiritual growth are not economy dependent.
Time will pass…economy will revive… currency will soon be in current…and in all this, I don’t want you to look back and realize you did nothing but stayed in gloom.
Recession can make you lose out on money. Let it not make you lose out on experiences… If you are not happy with what you have, no matter how much more you have, you will still not be happy.
Make a statement with the way you live your life: How I feel has nothing to do with how much I have.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Shitty feeling
The Last Straw
i am so damn pissed that i cried for 5 mins. i hate rong tian. she is my secondary school friend whom i meet once in months or so. she thinks that i am gullible and she enjoys it every time i fall for her tricks.
last week, she told me, "dont you know, I build robots for a living. how else would i make my money?" I didn't exactly believe her then but it could be possible as she has been out of a job for quite some time thus could be doing this on a side line. this turned out to be another trick of hers.
btw. i used to build robots when i was in college and it didn't take long to build one, except for the programming and testing part of it
yesterday she pulled another trick during dinner that there would be a comet shower today at 9.27 sg time and she got the whole of my group to join in the fun to make it sound convincing. today, she followed up so she sent an sms saying " hey guys, there will be a comet shower.... take lots of pictures". as i was busy studying in school, I didn’t bother checking its validity. worst of all, i forwarded to my friends and family putting my own credibility at stake. i can't believe i was that stupid
farking lies OVER the years.. i have had enough. you are no longer my friend. coz if you are my true friend, you wouldn’t have wanted to make me look like an idiot, always poking fun at me for your own pleasure.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Bikram Yoga
Friday, April 10, 2009
Dream Getaway
My trip to Finland to visit him was a fruitful one, not only did I get a taste of his daily life, we toured Stockholm together. We learnt a lot more about each other through constant quarrels. For one major quarrel - He went on his own to explore Vasa Museum after he knew I was joining the guided tour. After the tour, I immediately spent the next hour trying to locate him as I was worried if he was looking for me. I even went outside of the museum with 2 tickets for re-entry for both me and him in case I find him outside waiting for me. At the same time, I was raving mad as I could not believe that he had just taken off without a word, leaving me all alone in a foreign land. Eventually, I found him at the place where he had originally left me an hour ago. To my horror, he assumed I knew he was not going for the tour and that we would meet each other again somehow. Thereafter, he offered his service as a personal tour guide, to take me around the museum, showing me what I have missed. I rejected the offer as the thought of walking through the place again reminded me of my foolishness in trying to locate him the whole time.
Anyhow, I am truly appreciative of him as a person. The top five things I would want to remember about Daniel and his goodness are these:
1) Before I came, he was saving up coins for me to take buses around Finland.
2) He picked me up from the airport and sent me back, helping to lug my luggage around.
3) He let me sleep on his bed while he slept on the living room couch.
4) He took me to places that he had already visited in Helsinki and Estonia and accompanied me on most of my shopping trips. He wrote me a map like this when he couldn't come along due to classes.
5) Many a time, he was tired from walking in Stockholm and had wanted to return to the hotel. He hung around still coz he was worried about my safety.
We took turns to cook for each other though most of our meal times were spent in school. His house mates were extremely uncooperative when it comes to kitchen hygiene. They left used pots and pans and dirty dishes lying for days in the sink. Other than that they are pretty nice people.
On the day before the flight home, he took me to Tokyo 55 because he didn’t me to be cooking at home. He said it wouldn’t do me justice. We decided to try reindeer meat in the end. I didn’t feel bad eating it after I found out it was not an endangered species. If given the chance, I will eat it again without qualms. Apart from that, the sushi tasted really fresh and the rice tender; all made possible with the special touch of the chef’s delicate hands. Together, we splurge over a hundred and yet we were unable to fill our stomach. Since the food was fucking good as Daniel had described, it was money well spent. Unknowingly to Daniel, I shed a few drops of tears during the meal as I was reminded of it being our last dinner in Finland.
My returns for my family this trip: Shoes for each of my brothers, a bag for my mom, a massager for my dad and most importantly a beautiful memory.