In three words, I can sum up everything I've learnt about life : It goes on - By Robert Frost
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    Monday, August 29, 2011

    Precious Saturdays

    This is not a new story..and I've personally read it several times in the past. But reading it again...just reminds me of how often we take for granted the Saturdays we have. A day we can have for whoever u really wish to spend with..away from work and stress. This Saturday, I am thankful I spent time with my dearest Daddykin. Never assume the next few Saturdays will exist for you...instead, treat every Saturday as the last few u might have. What will you do then? Well...I'll leave it to you to decide after you finish reading the story:

    I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business himself.

    He was talking about "a thousand marbles" to someone named "Tom." I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say.

    "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital."

    He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities."

    And that's when he began to explain his theory of "a thousand marbles."

    "You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years."

    "Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part."

    "It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy."

    "So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and have thrown it away."

    "I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight."

    "Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones …"

    "It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!"

    You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show's moderator didn't have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.

    "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."

    "What brought this on?" she asked with a smile.

    "Oh, nothing special," I said. "It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."


    Good night now...and have a great week ahead all!

    Sunday, August 28, 2011

    haPpy Friday steamboat with ex-RBS peeps!



    (All of us!!)

    Last Friday, I finally met up again with my ex-RBS girls for dinner together! I've been keeping myself really busy at work recently, and fingers crossed, everything's going as planned and I'm really happy with myself so far *beams*

    Meeting with the girls always helps me to relax and enjoy myself. The steamboat has been most yummy and it totally satisfied my craving! And not to mention, we all laughed like mad throughout the whole session..LOL! After steamboat, we then had desserts @ Cafe Cartel!

    Apart from my work, my life hasn't been the most smooth-sailing throughout the past few weeks. But I'm trying my very best to stay strong and move my life on the rough sea. I thank my family, my friends, my colleagues and my Boss for staying through with me. Most of all...I thank God for staying with me too! :D

    Monday, June 20, 2011

    Gathering with my fav JC mates!!

    This post is also suppose to be up quite some time ago...here's a meetup with my ex-JC besties! *loves*

    Location for dinner was at one of my fav eating place now - Mad for Garlic! I ordered my usual favourites of the restaurant - Mushroom Risotto and Garlic Snowing Pizza! *YUMS*



    (Bok, Cheok and me! Zhongwei joined only later cos of work~Super miss them all!)




    (Above my 2 fav dishes @ Mad for Garlic!)



    (Steak on hot plate surrounded by loads of different types of garlic...Not too bad too!)

    After dinner, we crossed the road over to the Irish Pub - Durty Nelly's for a drink! Just some usual chit-chatting and updating of each other's life...but totally heart the session! <3!




    (love love love them!!!heex)



    (Here's a group pic before bok left for movie~)

    Gotta find time to meet up with the group again soon...totally miss them! (>.<)

    Sunday, June 19, 2011

    Taiwan Trip Day 5 - Taipei

    Indeed this last post of my Taiwan trip has been superly overdue! I know!! Hmm...let's see what I can remember from the pecktures! Pardon me for this post...less words..more pics! =p





    (This bun store...one of my fav! there's a long q to it too! can't remb where it was exactly thou..but the buns r super soft and nice!)





    (Some of yummy stuff I had!)



    (and of cos...final night in Taiwan..how can I miss out Ah Zhing Mian Xian right!??!)







    (We also visit Lup Zhi Xiang aka Xiaozhu's shop!!)




    (Best of all? I saw him in person and he walked passed me! a peckture with his car! Shuai dai le!!=p)




    (Supper - the super big and delicious yakult with aloe bits + yan shu ji!*drools*)



    (Tadaaa~ been aiming this for quite some time...and I finally bought it! a cover for my passport! teehee~ *loves*)

    K lah..that's about it for my Taiwan trip! I'm so missing Taiwan and really look forward to go back there again! hoping to be back there again during the cold season as well..cos I really love the cold weather there - eat piping hot street food in the cold weather is just SUPERB!! I Love Taiwan!! <3

    Sunday, May 8, 2011

    Taiwan Trip Day 4 - Taipei

    4th Day and it's off to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall! Nothing really fantastic there...but I gathered that it's always nice to at least visit there once..:) Enjoy the loads of pectures!






    (Upon entrance into the area~)






    (The interior..there was also a short performance on the changing of Guards ceremony~)



    (Taiwan 101 visible from there~)






    (Loads of flowers right outside the memorial hall...with the cold breeze..it feels really nice!)

    Right after our visit at the Sun Yat Sen memorial hall, we went over to one of the central train stations which I forgot which stop it was. :p Din Tai Feng for lunch...didn't find anything exceptionally nice for the Din Tai Feng there though...I find it similar to the standard in Singapore..hmm..





    (All of us patiently waiting for our food to be served!)





    (Yum yum lunch!)

    After a filling lunch, one of the girls wanted to visit one of the pastry stall just right outside the shopping mall..they sell really nice biscuits!!




    (A Must-try!)

    By then, stepping out into any open area was just too cold to bear! The wind was really strong and I gathered it's probably less then 10 degrees! Brr...we quickly hide back into the shopping mall after buying the biscuits. And then it was some shopping of skincare and cosmetics! Shu Uemura stuff is so much cheaper at Taiwan I get to buy myself some so I won't feel sorry! HAHA!

    After returning back to hotel to put all our loots, we proceeded to Shi Da Night market for our night out!




    (This little shop serves really nice Lu rou fan!)






    (Eating all of this in the super cold weather is unforgettably comfortable!)



    (Just a peckture of the night market~)

    The night markets in Taiwan just leave me wanting more and more! Even after several nights of different night markets, I still can't have enough! The food was tasty and some of the shopping was also good buys (though not all)!

    Day 5 of Taiwan coming soon! *Stay tuned* (>.<)