One more day left

Yes, I will be heading down to Singapore tomorrow for the 3rd time in my life for a holiday. Yes I am totally jakun and yes I am extremely noob about Singapore and the places I should visit. What I don't seem to anticipate is the long journey I have to take just to get there. Sitting in a bus for half a day is not what I call an exciting adventure. None the less, I intend to make this trip a little worthwhile for me by taking as many photo's I can.

Thanks my colleague, I've managed to get a free accommodation there so that is much easier on my pocket but I do know that I want to go and eat pork ribs at Tony Roma's over there. Hopefully I wouldn't be too disappointed with it considering that I ate the Lord of the Ribs at Checkers in Bangsar. This time again I am heading down there with my partner in peril, hoping to savour the moment of sinking our teeth into succulent roasted pork ribs.

Yesterday I wasn't feeling too well at work and the fact that I had to rush about didn't really help. Worse of all, it was extremely hot here in the office and the fan I hijacked was used by my other colleague. Best way to get rid of the heat is to take a cool refreshing shower, which I did (pays to have a gym in the office) and after that I felt refreshed.

Of course by night I was already reeling from all of the work which had piled up and running from meeting place to meeting place was taking a toll on me. Then came a blessing of unseen proportionate, a good friend passed me a lovely cup of chamomile tea, medicine and cake. This was totally unexpected and after drinking the tea and taking the meds, I felt much better and feel exhilarated. Thank you sooooooo much!

By the way, I went to Saisaki at Wisman UOA yesterday and noticed that the place has changed a bit. The decoration looks slightly nicer but unfortunately the taste has not improved. So much for RM52++ per head, definitely not a place I would want to recommend to eat Japanese food unless its the buffet that you are after.

Another hot day again.....I am just melting away.

At least there are somethings I can look forward to in the coming months.

May:

• Spider-Man 3 (Sony) - 5/4
• Shrek the Third (P/DW) - 5/18
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (BV) - 5/25

June:

• Ocean's Thirteen (WB) - 6/8
• Fantastic Four 2 (Fox) - 6/15
• DOA: Dead or Alive (Wein.) - 6/22
• Evan Almighty (Uni.) - 6/22

July:

• Transformers (P/DW) - 7/4
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (WB) - 7/13
• The Simpsons (Fox) - 7/27

August:

• The Bourne Ultimatum (Uni.) - 8/3
• Daddy Day Camp (SonR) - 8/10
• Rush Hour 3 (NL) - 8/10
• King of Kong (PicH) - 8/17

Random Shot

Another day, another week at work and here I am, sitting and staring at my laptop screen wishing that the day will pass by soon. No meetings with the folks in Netherlands today because its the Easter holiday weekend for them (lucky guys got Friday and Monday off.....grrrrr). I need to be productive today, that is what I try to remind myself but here I am trying to listen to some songs on my Ipod and trying to concentrate.

The weekend went by pretty quickly and it was fairly productive. I've finished a book off my reading list and I can continue on the next book, well 3 other books in my list. Definitely been a long long time since I last went to Starbucks and chilled out with a book and a huge cup of mocha on the table. This time was a little different than the last time I did that, if I am not wrong, the last time I actually sat down at a Starbucks was during the time I visited Sydney. What a great way to chill out.


Anyway here is the review for the book I read. It was an interesting book, I learned quite a few important points in there and I would definitely recommend it to any of my friends. But unfortunately the copy I have with me is not mine so you might need to find one out there. The book mainly talks about the pitfalls on relationships (mainly for married people) and how it usually stems from the guys. Interestingly enough, I seemed to realize that it was completely true (ok guys, you can hang me but once you read it then you would be hanging right next to me).

A guy's action may seem to be fairly normal but it can mean a totally different thing to others. I felt as if my eyes were opened and a whole new thought process is being formulated right now. Of course issues mentioned in this book totally relates to married couples but why use it as a cure when you can actually read it to prevent simple mistakes from happening right? As a good doctor would say, prevention is better than cure.

Most importantly, I would recommend that when you read this book, read with an open mind and be ever ready for direct and hard hitting facts. Learn from it and think about the issues because sooner or later we might be in one of those situations and we wouldn't want to be caught off-guard right? A solid read, 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

In your face!

Today I woke up feeling extremely happy, why? Firstly, the past three days were great for me in almost every aspect, personal, work and church. Secondly, Liverpool beat Arsenal over the weekend and beat PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League which did totally surprise me. And finally, Manchester United lost to Roma last night. Talk about sweet glory for those devils!

Now isn't that the best combinations around?

Three verses which was spoken to me over the three days and I thought really did lift my spirits up.

Philippians 4:6-7
⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:13
¹³I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Hebrews 11:8
⁸By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Totally feel that my faith level has increased and my confidence level has risen. For that I have to thank my friend for giving me plenty of encouragement yesterday and helped me realise a couple of obvious things about myself. Cheers to you mate!

Another day ahead to conquer!

Patience, focus and unmotivated

I need to remind myself that I should be patient. Always be patient, patience is a virtue, patience, patience and more patience. Even my own self-conscience is driving me up the wall because it speaks to me in a little voice which keeps reminding me that I am not patient enough. "Mark, are you being patient?", or "Mark, patience is a virtue!", these very words ring through my head all day long. I wonder if someone is trying to tell me something. Who knows?

Focus, focus, focus! The next word that hits me like a bullet, shattering the very train of my thought. Well, that train isn't too long anyway, about 10 seconds of focus time at most without getting distracted by things like, "Ooh that car is coming close, I better give way to him" or "Hrm, what should I eat for lunch today" or even work matters! How does one discipline their own minds to stay focus?

Sometimes when our minds start to build an image in it, whereby in that image you see something you really want happening in your life, you tend to put your whole life and effort towards trying to achieve that reality. We can try with all our might but definitely certain things are beyond our own capabilities and sometimes these things we cannot control them.

The journey of finding out the truth or a possibility can be one that is difficult and sometimes one that is sorrowful. At times you might feel the moment when you thought that things are going right and there is hope and at other times, you feel as if you are lower than the gravel on the road. A man searches for hints but sometimes to no avail could it be clear to you. Judgment could have been clouded by certain thoughts and actions controlled by mere emotions rather than logical thinking. But you can't blame him sometimes, because try maneuvering a stretch of road coming down a hill on a bicycle and not have any street lights!

I find it tough especially at this moment, not knowing how things are going. Anything could happen at anytime and just having a negative thought about it and my soul is crushed. I wish it would be easier but then my other sense thinks that this is a challenge. Its not easy weighing possibilities and planning for the worst but I trust God in all of this. Well I try to tell myself that I think so.

But faith means having total reliance on God and I know my heart and mind sways from the 100% mark as we ourselves are not perfect. I may think I have put in effort, but all of that effort and time might have not gone to good use. That's the negative side of me thinking right now. I tried to see some sort of signs, some that might at least give me a glimmer of hope but whenever I think about it, I am sure to have negative thoughts about it and it just sends my spirits right into the pits. So much for saying that I am a rather positive thinking person.

Some people had it easy and some people had it tough, my previous experience was quite easy considering it to be purely on God's grace for me but now I yearn for that very grace. Focusing on other things is tough right now, motivation is low because of a negative mindset but perseverance is absolutely needed, just as much as my morning coffee fix (Nescafe white coffee ftw!). I need to continue to strive harder and harder. But what if striving harder means pushing back that which I seek? Is it truly what I deserve or has the very potter who created me not molded me well enough? (I doubt that since He is perfect in every single way!)

Is this the part when a potter sees that his product is not to his desire that he completely destroys the clay, turning it into nothing but a lump? Am I that lump right now, have I been completely broken down by the potter? Will I be built up again? I truly believe that whatever person that we have turned out to be, God has made us unique in our own individual ways.

I guess what I can't seem to take right now is total rejection and failure. With this, I look at myself and see if my heart and soul, and wonder if my heart is in the right place. It could be, it could not be. But the very fear and worrying that I've been so accustomed to, is totally wearing me down.

I think I need a clear cut sign, I am just too blur, negative and worried.

If only there was one.....

D-day, 1st September 2007

I never knew.......

I never knew that Women were like irons and Men were like light bulbs.

The simplicity of this statement really boggles the very core of my mind. Now if only the rest of the world realizes that.

3rd Generation Toyota Vios Advert

Check out this Toyota Vios advertisement. The car looks really cool and the style suits the new Toyota line-up. I wonder when Toyota might start selling this car here in Malaysia. Of course, even with my current Toyota Vios, I feel that the space within my car is rather limited especially since I am rather large and I sit with the seat moved all the way to the back.

Of course, the next car I wouldn't mind seeing here would be the new Toyota Altis, could it be the Toyota Axio which was launched in Japan last year or could it be the same one as the European Corolla. Who knows, who knows.

Corolla Axio: Image Source

European Corolla: Image Source

From the two images you can see a slight difference in the design. I wonder which one might arrive on our Malaysian shores.