I must’ve had some really bad experience in my previous life or something, but I really abhor seeing people drunk or drinking themselves silly.

From as far back as I can recall, I remember that I’d get anxious when I come across drunk people and try to steer clear of them because I feel that they have a higher tendency to get violent, talk really loud and offensively, and worst of all, puke their guts out. I admit, I have a phobia of vomiting (emetophobia), either myself or others.

So I can’t for the life of me, ever understand why people consume alcohol until they’re pissed drunk and why people would ever want to get another person drunk.

For the drinker, I think it’s selfish, stupid and disgusting because just for your few hours of fun, others will have to pick up after your mess, and it’s totally shameful because you’d just end up making a fool of yourself. For the people who enjoy getting other people drunk, I think it’s selfish, irresponsible and potentially dangerous due to oh so many factors. All for what? A couple hours of seeing someone being high and making a fool of him/herself? I guess the best part for them is that they don’t have to deal with the mess that takes place after they go home.

So yeah, call me a prude if you wish but I have minimal level of respect for these people. Grow up already! I don’t care if it only happens once a year or once in ten effing years.

How is it that some men have no problems stepping in when the situation warrants for it but others don’t seem to have the balls/guts to do the same?

Disappointed doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling when it happens more than once.

Why do I minimize eating meat (seafood included)?
Simple. Because I do not wish for another living being to be killed just to fill my stomach. And I also wish to reduce my carbon footprint by changing my diet preferences. Yes, Vegetables are living things too, and if I could live without eating anything, I would.

Unfortunately, I can’t. So I choose to eat the lesser of 2 evils.

Growing plants does not increase carbon emissions. In fact, based on what limited knowledge I remember from Science class in school, plants help clean our air and supply us with oxygen. Plants do not emit waste that clog our waterways and pollute our water systems. On the other hand, rearing livestock for human consumption is the highest contributor to carbon emissions and the grain used to feed these livestock can be used to feed the hungry in third world nations instead.

And don’t even get me started on the junk they feed/inject livestock with for them to grow faster with less feed.

Commercial fishing is depleting our oceans faster than they can replenish and fishing activities result in a lot of ‘collateral damage’ i.e. other ocean species being killed in the process of catching your tuna and other types of fish. Seabeds are being damaged from trawling activities to catch your prawns and other sea creatures.

So yes, this is why I choose to reduce my meat (and seafood) consumption.
I choose to stick with my veggies over meat any day, any time.

Why do I spend the extra effort and money to search for and purchase natural/organic products?
Simple. Because I do not wish to put synthetic chemicals in by body and because it is less polluting to the environment. For as long as I can afford it, I am willing to pay extra and spend the effort to get natural/organic products.

When you shower, do you ever wonder where your shampoo and soap/shower gel residue flow to? Do you wonder what chemicals you’re washing your body with? When you wash your dishes after a meal, do you wonder where your dishwashing liquid flows to? When you spray aerosol to get rid of mosquitoes, who breathes in the air containing aerosol particles? When you apply lipstick or foundation or body lotion, do you wonder what chemicals are getting absorbed into your skin (and ultimately into your body)?

I don’t claim to be a completely environmentally-friendly person. Because I’m not. I still drive my fully fuel-powered car everyday. I still use plastic (although bio-degrabable ones).

I try to make changes in small ways. Use less toilet paper each time I use the toilet, use the hand dryer instead of paper towels to dry my hands (I learnt that using the hand dryer uses a bit less energy than it would take to produce paper towels). Refuse plastic bags and use my reusable bags instead when buying things. Buy things in bulk (i.e. larger packaging) as opposed to those that come in small convenient packaging, which adds up to more thrash that we throw away at the end of the day.

If anyone faults me for trying to do the best for myself and the world I live in through my choices above, they should instead reflect on themselves and what they are doing to contribute to making the world a better place. I always maintain that taking care of ourselves and the planet we live in is not a choice. It’s a responsibility. And it’s a responsibility that we should gladly and willingly step up to, because we’re dealing with our own health and our home. Coz heck, isn’t it just common sense to want to take care of one’s health and home? To me, that’s simple enough to understand and want to do something about it.

Some people must sleep with all windows and doors shut, and curtains drawn to shut out all noise and light from the streets.

Myself, I actually enjoy having the windows open and curtains not drawn. I enjoy hearing the sound of the night… not total silence but just a type of silence where I know most of the world around me is asleep but there are a few souls out there still awake, driving their cars or working on their machines.

And the shadows playing on the ceiling and walls of my bedroom, cast from the streetlamps outside, give me a sense of peace and tranquility as I fall into a deep sleep.

*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

One type of attitude of people that I cannot deal with is half-heartedness in doing something. If you decide to do something (it can be anything… to stop smoking, to spend less, to lose weight, to be a better driver, etc.), then put your whole heart in and do it as best you can.

I simply cannot stand people who say they want to do something, but let other things sway the path to their goal. But then if they are so easily swayed, maybe what they wish to do is NOT even their goal to begin with.

And if you can’t stick to achieving your goal (due to whatever reasons, except unless you’ve tried your utmost best), please do not complain that you’re not achieving what you set out to achieve. Because I firmly believe that if you really want to achieve something, you can do it. So if you choose to use excuses as reasons for you not achieving what you set out to achieve, sorry buddy, not acceptable.

We can’t make a change unless we ourselves acknowledge the problem and are motivated and committed to make a change.

This is what my ex-boss’ fiancee had to say about him, in a bridal contest that they entered :

Firstly, I cannot imagine my ex-boss being this sweet coz he definitely doesn’t show any inkling of it But then again, we’re not his fiancee, haha.

But in all seriousness, I do agree with her. It’s not about grand gestures and big fancy gifts. Women these days are perfectly capable of buying material things on their own. It’s the small, everyday things that matter. Things that may seem trivial but really do show that our partners’ sincerely care for our needs and well-being. And a man who knows how to care for his woman this way (willingly and without being asked to) is a keeper coz they’re quite rare to come by.

This is the guy who would, every morning, drive from their place in Sg. Besi to Jalan Tun Razak (near IJN) to drop her off and drive all the way to Shah Alam to get to work. And he still gets in to office before I do! But when we try to get him to drive out during lunch, he’d be the last to offer I think I know of more guys who are the opposite i.e. who treat their friends/colleagues a tad better than they do their partners.

I wonder what it feels like to be treated like a princess… hmmm…

I wish them both the very best in their lives together

I’ve always wondered how all these animal sayings came about.

…Busy as a bee…
…Ants in your pants…
…Bee in your bonnet…
…Bird’s eye view…
…Scaredy cat…

Honestly, who sat down and thought these up??

Anyway, life is so busy these days, time just flies by like “whooooossssh”!
It’s already mid October, 2.5 more months till 2012!!! Like, hellooooo??? Time, where did you go??? Come back!!!

Anyway, am still trying to keep up with time… and trying not to get to sucked up in everything around me.

Everyone appreciates some kindness and caring at certain points in their lives. And some may need help in certain situations in life.

I’m the sort where if I tell you I’m facing a problem, I won’t directly ask for your help (unless I’m really desperate). I work on the understanding that if you care enough and you’re sincere enough to want to help, you would offer. And this offer would mean the world, because it’s from the heart. Because to me, if you need to be told what to do in these situations, then the offer wouldn’t be from the heart, thus would seem less sincere. Actually, even sparing a thought by asking how I’m doing or how my situation is faring would suffice, coz I would most likely decline an offer to help if I can resolve it myself. But just by you asking me how things are, shows me that you care.

I’ve a good friend who’s really good at this. Whenever he hears that I’m not well, he’d call to check how I am and ask if there’s anything I need. And I’m still amazed and touched by his thoughtfulness each time he does. I’m ashamed to admit that I’m not as diligent as he is to do this, but because of him, I’m motivated to remind myself to be a bit more thoughtful, and hopefully making some progress to being a better friend and ultimately, a better person.

Dubai. Check.

Cambodia. Very soon. Check.

Singapore. Soon. Check.

Mount Kinabalu. Not too far away. Check

Sri Lanka. Perhaps. Confirmed. Check :)

China – Silk Road. Check

Singapore. Again. For F1. This weekend!

Throughout my 10+ years of work, I’ve had the good fortune of having great colleagues. We all work well together, have great teamwork, and we back each other up when needed. We are also truthful and honest with each other, because in our line of work, time is of essence and it does not pay to lie or cover any mistakes because they will come and haunt you and bite you in your arse when you least expect it.

So after having all these years of wonderful teammates, I guess it’s karma that I have to deal with a colleague who displays the following traits :

• Thinks he’s a know-it-all
• Imposes his opinion on others when someone has a different view from him
• Tries to push off work i.e. if he can get away not doing it, he will
• Didn’t pay attention during a critical meeting, which resulted in me doing additional work and him doing an about-turn on his initial decision (I find this so unprofessional and a display of total lack of integrity)
• Complains about everything at work but never giving solutions
• Has criticisms about everything and is so darn condescending when he opens his mouth

I started getting annoyed with his attitude a few months after he joined our team but after that incident in the meeting, I’d just about had it with him. Now, I only talk to him when required and minimize my contact with him because once I decide that I don’t like someone, I don’t bother being nice to the person because I think it’s fake and pretentious. I realize that it may not be very professional but if I can get my work done effectively with minimal interaction with him, I think it’s fine.

And just to reinforce that I’m not overreacting, I’m not the only person who has gripes about this person.

I hope I have the sanity to not blow up at him one day, after another one of his endless complaints/criticisms about something or other.