Stock Taking 2

If there is one thing I need to stop buying, this is it: Cuff Links!
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The last time I counted, I have 30 pairs of them - yeah right, one for each day! And the cost for them: Around $2000 in all. (The most expensive pieces here cost around $150).
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Okay, I must admit that my little collection is no match against some of my lady friends' accessories, whose LV bag alone can cost up to $2000 a piece already!
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For the unfamiliar ones, a cufflink is a decorative fastener for the two sides of the cuff on a shirt.
Cufflinks are designed only for use with link cuffs shirts (also known as French Cuffs), which have buttonholes on both sides but no buttons. These may be either single or double-length ("French") cuffs, and may be worn either "kissing," with the ends pinched together, or "barrel-style," with one end overlapping the other.
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And yes, I have 2 (actually 3) pairs of silk knot, which is an alternative fastener to a cufflink. They are also known as monkey's fists (although, technically speaking, the knot is a Turk's head, not a monkey's fist) . Despite having a lower cost than cufflinks, they are just as well regarded and just as formal.
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The problem with cuff links shirts is that sometimes you leave home without the links! That's kind of embarrassing and you will look quite wierd without them! So, for people like me who drive, I kept an extra pair in my car (just in case) :)

Stock Taking 1

As a child, I always look forward to the coming Chinese New Year. Reasons: Lots of food, ang bao, and new clothings. Sadly, for most part of my recent years, the food isn't cheap (all food bills footed by me), the ang bao received are decreasing compared to the ones I received, and ... new clothings aren't cheap.

Why?

Well, for a start, I have to pay for the mandarin oranges as well as the "bak kua", not to mention other types of goodies. Next, I prepared in the region of $800 for ang baos (some for my parents, some for parent-in-laws, and the rest for other 'outlaws') but I always received less than $800. Man...it is a money-losing business!!!

Now, as for new clothings, most of my shirts are tailor-made. On average, I arrange for 5 sets of link-cuffs shirt made every 6 months, plus a pair of black pants. On the record, I still have around 4 pairs of brand new pants in my closet!!!

Perhaps the only people that are happy during this Chinese New Year are the kids, and ... my tailor!

Last Christmas I Gave You My CARD!!!

George Michael (previously known as WHAM) sang in the pop song 'Last Christmas' with this line: "...last Christmas, I gave you my card..."

In this holiday season many Singaporeans are celebrating Christmas, while others are suffering from the stress of:

A. Figuring out what gifts to buy;
B. Not having enough cash to buy them, and ...
C. Worrying about this on top of "everything else."

By 'everything else', I'm referring to the coming taxi-fare hike, the higher inflation forecast next year, the slow down in economy around the world in 2008.

Agreed?

Hey, the world doesn't stop during the holidays, you know. The instalments, the rent, the mobile phone bill and the PUB bill "keep on keepin' on" while we're pretending like they don't - and keeping this observation silently to ourselves so as not to freak - kill yourself and everyone's holiday cheer.

Is that you?

Well, heck, no matter how fortunate you are, the stress of "the holidays" can get to everyone. I know quite a few friends who scramble at the last minute to find gifts so they don't let their loved ones down only to discover they've maxed out their cards.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Good luck my friends.

But take it easy my friends. Next year's economic forecast isn't that rosy. Don't spend your last dime. Don't make this your last Christmas, okay?

Merry Christmas!!!

Dog as Exercise Machine?

A dog is the only exercise maching you cannot decide to skip when you don't feel like it.

Carolyn G. Heilburn

A New Beginning, A New Journey!

Today is the 10th of Oct, 2007. Three more years from now, at 10 a.m. in the morning, it will be 10-10-10-10. Anyway, just a silly thought.

I wake up today excited. Why? Because I realised that today marks a fresh start, a new beginning, a clean break. Yesterday ended last night; today is brand new. Nothing stale, nothing leftover. Brand new, understand?

I often thought about this: We wake up in the morning but forget to leave yesterday behind. Sad, but true. Leave what's yesterday yesterday. Today is today. Symbolically, yet very practical, we have to brush our teeth again. No matter how many times we have brushed before, we need to brush once more. The past & previous brushing are not valid for today!

Yes, I want a new start; I needed one. A new beginning, a new journey. Just like my play station, there is this little button that says "Reset" or "Replay". Well, fortunate for me, today is that button. The power to reset everything new, to start all over again - to begin.

Best of all, a new destination! Commencing today, life can be different, for better or for best! And the good news is: yes, it can be for the better!!!

So, right from the start this morning (while I visited my usual holy shrine a.k.a toilet to offer my usual "offering"), I set out the following thoughts:

1. I need to know what I want, very clearly.

Not wishy-washy, or fuzzy-wuzzy. Hey my friend, that's a damn good rule for life, you know! And just as good for any marriage, my marriage! Yes, I leave no uncertainty. I will stamp my desire clearly. Let it be known. Mostly to myself.

My friend, it is a negative world out there but I choose to be positive. I want to be an achiever, an overcomer, a true winner! And I believe it's mine for the taking!!! But first, in order for me to make a new start, I must leave the old behind. New wine needs new wine skins. Otherwise, as the wine matures, the old skins have no more stretch in them and will burst. Then all is lost.

2. I need a new mind set.

That's what I am aiming for today. Don't you know that nothing actually enters your life without first entering your mind? In a way, it becomes stored as part of your database. All decisions are first checked & tallied with this database, like my spell-checker in the Microsoft Word program. In a sense, the database means you have already pre-decided.

Anyhow, mindset change is a bit hard and difficult if you don't know what you like to change to. A new mind set is easily said than done, because it takes real hard effort to correct warp thinking. Just like puppy love (or guppy love). Have you ever experience this strange feeling of liking someone when you are in your early teens, say back in Primary 5? You think you are in love. You think that love will last. But today, you look back and laugh about it because it didn't.

By the way: what's love?

Someone said that love is a feeling you feel when you felt it. For me, I feel nothing now. Love is more than a feeling! It's a decision!! And between me and my better half, it is more than a decision - it's a covenant. A covenant is an agreement built on trust. Some married couple's marriage is a contract. A contract is an agreement built on mistrust!!! Sad, but true. Think about that. Does anybody know what AGAPE love is anymore?

For some, love is just a word. But to some, love is not a word but a sentence - a life sentence!!! A death sentence!!! God help them, and their meaningless marital contracts too.

Yes, it take cruel effort to really pan out AGAPE love. Someone told me that it was not the nails that kept Jesus on the cross. It was (is) His love - AGAPE love!!! For me to follow His steps to love my wife unconditionally takes more than effort. I need His grace. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Thankfully, spirit can change; not so for the flesh.

I recently heard a female friend of mine said she don't mind co-habit with another man. Yes, staying together but not married; no contract, just condoms. It's like "I want you now, but I can also don't want you later if I change my mind". She obviously doesn't understand what love is. She said if things don't work out, if the "love" is gone, and the song stop playing, well, at least she can part ways without losing her financial assets. Gosh! I don't even know how to describe this kind of love she espoused. Nevermind, it's her life anyway. Maybe those foreign men she goes out with are eyeing her financial assets only. This is also very pathetic. I mean, does she really know what true wealth is?

Okay, back to me. I am making a fresh start. I need a slight new change in my behaviour, hence in my thinking. Good. But I am not rushing. I will take my time. It won't be overnight, overlunch, overtine/ milo ?? ... but over time.

You see: Things don't just happen. I must decide to make them happen. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Yesterday is a cancelled cheque. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is hard currency. Today is cash! Today is current!! Today is the present. Today is a gift!

And tomorrow begins today!!!

Life to its Fullest

Some people can, some people cannot.
Some people will, some people won't.
Some people have, some people don't have.
Some people do and some people don't.
What is it that some people do and most don't?

The answer is living life to the fullest.

Most folks I know get up and go to work, come home, eat dinner, sleep and repeat the process the following day. This process occurs day after day, week after week until you realize years have passed. You know you are alive because you are breathing, eating, paying your bills (plus GST) and going to work everyday.

Alive, but are you LIVING? Are you getting all you can get out of life? Are you living your dreams or at least chasing them? Are you creating tangible goals and not lofty unattainable goals? Are you working on these goals on some level every day or every week or even one day a month?

If you are not striving to accomplish great things in your life what are you waiting for? The right time is now! The action step this week is to do one thing out of your comfort zone. If this means attending a social gathering, asking someone for a date, seeking reconcialation with an offended party, approaching a successful entrepreneur to learn more about a business that holds your interest, or even volunteering for a cause you believe in, just do it.

"The difference between great people and everyone else is thatgreat people create their lives actively, while everyone elseis created by their lives, passively waiting to see where lifetakes them next. The difference between the two is thedifference between living fully or just existing".

- Michael Gerber,
Author of "The E-Myth Revisited"

Watch the Signs

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

-Confucius

Why is it that most people complicate their own life? How does one go about complicating life?

It's simple. Most don't pay attention to the signs. No, I'm not talking about the stars aligning and astrology. I'm talking about the small changes that happen with our bodies and our finances but we choose not to pay attention.

We might recognize, as we get older that we can't bend down as we once had. Most take note of it but don't do anything about it. Our waist size grows a little bigger each year. We figure, "Well it's not too bad yet". I'll start watching myself after the holidays. And from a wealth perspective we complicate our life by giving into immediate gratification. "I need, I need, and I need". Is it need or want?

If you use your credit cards unwisely then before you know it, you dug yourself a hole you can't climb out of. Now you see how easy it is to complicate life. The best way to avoid complicating your life is to set up a system to keep healthy and a system to avoid further debt.

From a money perspective create a budget to begin saving and investing; and create a system for purchasing large-item purchases.

From a health perspective, exercise a little at a time slowly progressing over a month. You will be surprised how performing 15 minutes of exercise a day, twice a day is beneficial. Just get started.

What signs are you missing?

Life vs Life Situation

"Forget about your life situation & pay attention to your life. Your life situation exists in time. Your life is now. Your life situation is mind-stuff. Your life is real."

- Eckhart Tolle

Dance - Enjoy Each Step

When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way.

- Wayne Dyer

Lobster Pasta, Anyone?

I brought my wife to this chic little restaurant along Mohamad Sultan, called Vino Vino. The lobster pasta is simply heavenly. Accompanied by a glass of ice wine, who need caviar or cigar?
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Best part, it won't hurt your wallet. I wrapped up the evening, food & wine, all under $80. ($110 if you anyhow park on the roadside!)
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My advice: Stick your car under the basement carpark in UE Square.
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Thank God for lobsters, pasta, & ...wine!
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Coming up next ... lunch at Singapore's top Italian outlet...Garibaldi!

Reading & TV

"I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book."

Groucho Marx

He who watches TV, don't read;
He who reads, don't watch TV.

EagleBoy

My Instinctual Variant Test Results

It's interesting to know so many tests have been designed to try to understand so little of so complex a being as we humans. A friend of mine have been bothered by his "weirdness" lately & decided to seek out some answers from a battery of tests. Here's one he tried. The scores are mine, though.

Check it out here

The Instinctual Variant Theory holds that your instinctual drives can be divided into three forces (or clusters). The Sexual force drives you to seek closeness, like you would experience in a strong romantic relationship or a close friendship. The Social force drives you to consider the wider community, where you & others stand, what everyone thinks/feels/needs of you & what you think/feel/need of them. The Self Preservation force drives you to maintain individual concerns - security, health, comfort, etc.. Each person will have a different mix of these three variants. Your results suggest the following mix:

Sexual - 86%
Social - 62%
Self Preservation - 90%

Well, as expected, I scored low on Social & High on Sexual & Self Preservation. That would be me, for now. Or at least the one who designed this test thinks that would be me...for now.

The Truth about Lifestyle

Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you.

Lifestyle is the art of discovering ways to live uniquely.

Some people have learned to earn well, but they haven't learned to live well.

Earn as much money as you possibly can and as quickly as you can.
The sooner you get money out of the way, the sooner you will be able to get to the rest of your problems in style.

- Jim Rohn