2005 will be over in around 8 hours. After that, 2006 will come in the door.
I'll be going to a friends house for a BBQ and some drinking to welcome in the new year.
I hope that 2006 will be The Year, but it is up to me to make the most of it.
Remember: the future is uncertain and vague. Unexpected things do happen, to as close as a few minutes, to as distant as the end of a year. Don't be too hung up on planning, but go with the flow. However remember your goals, and stick to them. Don't ever give up.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
The Cerocstar is back!
Yesterday I went to a beginners Ceroc lesson, having not done Ceroc for nearly a year. I still remember all the moves and the names, so I wasn't in unfamiliar waters at yesterday's class.
By chance I met Jamie and Somi, two university friends, at the lesson. It was their first Ceroc lesson and they decided to attend classes in order to prepare for their wedding dance. Complications? He works in Sydney, she works in Auckland, so they have very little practice time together between now and the wedding in late March. Hmmmm?
Okay so I agreed to help Somi with her dancing, while Jamie can hook up with a Ceroc dancer in Sydney. They'll decide on the music, get a routine together, and just practice the routine until they are confident. Then when the wedding comes, they'll put their moves together and just do their stuff. How hard could it be?
Yeah baby, the Cerocstar is back!
By chance I met Jamie and Somi, two university friends, at the lesson. It was their first Ceroc lesson and they decided to attend classes in order to prepare for their wedding dance. Complications? He works in Sydney, she works in Auckland, so they have very little practice time together between now and the wedding in late March. Hmmmm?
Okay so I agreed to help Somi with her dancing, while Jamie can hook up with a Ceroc dancer in Sydney. They'll decide on the music, get a routine together, and just practice the routine until they are confident. Then when the wedding comes, they'll put their moves together and just do their stuff. How hard could it be?
Yeah baby, the Cerocstar is back!
Sunday, December 25, 2005
A very special day
This Christmas day landed on a Sunday, the Lord's day. It has been 11 years since Christmas day occured on a Sunday. So I woke up at 9:00 am, went to church for an hour, just to see what it was like to attend church on Christmas day. Not too many people turned up and one of the elders resigned, oh well some Christmas day that was for the church.
But anyway, back to the subject at hand. I woke up and checked my mobile phone. Sure enough there were some text messages doing the rounds wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I didn't send out a mass text just yet, because I needed to rush to church. After that, I got home and prepared for Christmas lunch. Then I found some time to send out the obligatory Merry Christmas via text message. I got a few replies, one of them from a girl who I will call "Maimai" (names altered to protect the innocent!). She was one of the few who texted Merry Christmas before I woke up. In her 14 year old reply, she inquired what Santa brought me for Christmas. I replied that Santa gave me nothing but the very best in health and happiness. Which was perfectly fine by me as I do not yearn for material things on the Lord's birthday.
So that was that. Around 30 mins later as I was busy preparing for Christmas lunch, my brother walks in and tells me that "Shazza" was at the door wanting to see me. I ran to greet her at the door. Sure enough there were the two sisters, Shazza and Maimai, standing expectantly at the door. They walked from their house, around 5 minutes walking distance. I was especially startled to see them. Maimai said she felt sorry that I received nothing from Santa and gave me a tiny gift, neatly wrapped in paper and ribbon.
I was instantly touched and humbled by their gesture. It made me realise how lucky I am to have them in my life, and I hope that they will continue to be a part of my life for many years to come. Just as important, their gesture towards me captured the spirit of Christmas, to give and share to friends and loved ones. I invited them in, but unfortunately they couldn't stay very long as they had their party to attend at their place. In return, I gave them a box of Macadamia nuts for the girls to share.
The rest of the day passed with good cheer and Christmas spirit. Friends, family and others came together to eat, drink, talk and share gifts around. In all, this was a very special day, especially to receive a gesture from two young kids whom I will cherish for the rest of my life. May God bless them always.
But anyway, back to the subject at hand. I woke up and checked my mobile phone. Sure enough there were some text messages doing the rounds wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I didn't send out a mass text just yet, because I needed to rush to church. After that, I got home and prepared for Christmas lunch. Then I found some time to send out the obligatory Merry Christmas via text message. I got a few replies, one of them from a girl who I will call "Maimai" (names altered to protect the innocent!). She was one of the few who texted Merry Christmas before I woke up. In her 14 year old reply, she inquired what Santa brought me for Christmas. I replied that Santa gave me nothing but the very best in health and happiness. Which was perfectly fine by me as I do not yearn for material things on the Lord's birthday.
So that was that. Around 30 mins later as I was busy preparing for Christmas lunch, my brother walks in and tells me that "Shazza" was at the door wanting to see me. I ran to greet her at the door. Sure enough there were the two sisters, Shazza and Maimai, standing expectantly at the door. They walked from their house, around 5 minutes walking distance. I was especially startled to see them. Maimai said she felt sorry that I received nothing from Santa and gave me a tiny gift, neatly wrapped in paper and ribbon.
I was instantly touched and humbled by their gesture. It made me realise how lucky I am to have them in my life, and I hope that they will continue to be a part of my life for many years to come. Just as important, their gesture towards me captured the spirit of Christmas, to give and share to friends and loved ones. I invited them in, but unfortunately they couldn't stay very long as they had their party to attend at their place. In return, I gave them a box of Macadamia nuts for the girls to share.
The rest of the day passed with good cheer and Christmas spirit. Friends, family and others came together to eat, drink, talk and share gifts around. In all, this was a very special day, especially to receive a gesture from two young kids whom I will cherish for the rest of my life. May God bless them always.
Friday, December 23, 2005
The year that is 2005
Well, the end of 2005 has come, and I'm in one of those reflective moods again. This blog is the perfect medium to reflect on my thoughts, so I'll write what's happened to me during this year.
2005 started with a catastrophic tragedy, with the Asian tsunami wrecking havoc across many countries and taking over 200,000 lives. It wasn't the way people wanted to spend their Christmas and New Year holidays. Up to now, the people affected are still struggling to cope. To provide aid, lots of fundraising took place. In particular, World cricket's response to the crisis was as swift as it was heart-warming. Within 15 days of the disaster, the first World cricket Tsunami Appeal match was played, with the greatest players taking part. It's great to see the game of cricket bring together people of difficult cultures and races and helping out those affected by the disaster. Old rivalries were forgotten and new friendships were forged. And since I love cricket, I watched every single game and got some entertainment while they raised funds. I knew I was watching something special.
For me, I set myself a handful of goals to achieve this year. And I was surprised at the way that I stuck to most of the goals while I still had energy. Here's a run down of what I've achieved:
Physically, I took up running and I've been running fairly regularly while the weather is good. I took part in this year's Round the Bays, and the Push Play Corporate Challenge, earning respectable times due to the training I put in. I hope to further my running next year, and maybe run a half-marathon or marathon soon when I have a few more races under my belt.
On my birthday, Orion coincedently gave me a BodyTech gym membership. As opposed to the normal subscriptions paid by regular patrons, I only pay $45 a month. Since then I've been going three times a week using the weight machines, and I have noticed some changes to my overall physique. The staff there are a great bunch of people, and I hope to continue going to achieve my fitness goals, that is to get fitter, get stronger, build muscle mass and gain weight.
I have taken up indoor cricket again. I haven't played indoor since 2000 and my friend James decided to get the same team together this year and play in social games every Monday evenings. Unfortunately we tend to end up on the losing side often, though there are times where we have dug in deep to produce some memorable games.
Unfortunately, I haven't been dancing since April since my parents went on their one month holiday. Part of the reason was the fact that I failed to secure a dance partner for the Ceroc champs in June. When I watched the champs I was certain that I could have placed if I secured a partner. I miss Ceroc, but I haven't felt the need to go and do it anymore. Hopefully I'll start taking it up next year. I dabbled in ballroom dancing after seeing many dance shows on TV such as "Dancing with the Stars". However, I couldn't sustain the interest, along with my other concurrent activities, and after a few lessons I stopped attending classes. I hope to put aside some time for ballroom dancing next year. It's hard when you don't have a regular partner to do it with.
Mentally, or academically should I say, I've gotten back into reading now, long lost from my days in high school. From the time that I received a library membership I've read six books: Pride and Prejudice, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and four of Dan Brown's books, the author of The Da Vinci Code. I hope to keep up reading in the new year and get into reading some "serious" best-selling literature.
After many months of procrastination, I finally earned my Sun Certified Java Programmer certification. Before I started at Orion, I decided to study for it in order to secure a developer role. However when I got the job at Orion I quickly stopped as I felt that I didn't need to study for it now. But since I bought the expensive textbooks I couldn't stand seeing them on my desk gathering dust. When my parents went on holiday I resolved to put in two hours a night and study for it. Eventually I finally got the certification. Now I have started studying for the Web Component Developer certificate. I hope to get this certification next year, as well as other Java certifications. And I hope to stay committed to the task, because it wasn't easy to stay motivated to study, especially when there isn't really a time limit.
I have rediscovered my piano side now. After a 7 year break from the piano, I have managed to learn several new Chopin works and hope to learn many more as well as improve myself. I believe that I have a lot to learn and that I can go even further than before. I also met up with my old piano teacher, who had turned 88 this year. We talked about my future with the piano and he believed that I have the potential to go even further, it's up to me to see how far I can go. Unfortunately he cannot pick up where we left off, so I'll have to find another teacher.
Financially, I think I'm pretty well off, considering my current situation. Instead of buying my lunches, I've took the time to prepare my lunches which has saved me a ton of money. With the rising cost of petrol, I've managed to spread out my petrol spending to around $120 a month. It came with changed driving habits, and some self-sacrifice such as not travelling around much. Not going to Ceroc certainly helped my finances. I hope to save a lot more so that I can buy a house or do some travel.
Spiratually, I haven't really grown. I am still attending church, and I still play piano week in week out for the service of the Lord. I imagine that I'll have to hand in my piano service in the forseeable future after having played for nearly 11 years. Though I'm not sure as to what my reason will be for doing so. Most likely travel or OE, which I haven't really thought much about but will definitely come into play next year. There's one thing that I'm glad to be rid of: I quit the church band. Sure there were some good times, but those were few and far between and I couldn't stand practicing with them every week. To be honest I didn't really want to be in the band but when I played a reasonably nice song with them I ended up being sucked in by them without any regard as to whether I wanted to join them. So I joined them and I stayed with them for two years. And it was just in the last few months that I felt incredibly frustrated after practice sessions, feeling that I'm just wasting my time with them and listening to them bicker about useless and trivial details. Just recently I walked up to the band leader and said I want out. He didn't appear disturbed, but then again I didn't hang around long to gauge any reactions. It'll be intersting to see how 2006 pans out for the band. Maybe I'll need to assist them if they need it; I can always assist (that's my nature) but I won't join them. I want to be free.
Relationships haven't been the focal point for 2005, unfortunately. I didn't really spend much energy in looking for that special lady. There were potential ladies but unfortunately they didn't eventuate. I'm not sure whether 2006 will allow me to focus on relationships since there are so many things that I want to do. Cutting back on social activity, e.g. Ceroc, also inhibited this as I devoted my energies into other aspects of life.
So 2006 will bring many challenges. It's just daunting when I start to think about the things that I'll endeavour to do. Time is precious and I've only started to appreciate its value; it must be because I just turned 26! Apart from trying to continue on with the good work that I have invested this year, there will be new and better things that will occupy my time in 2006. As always I will train for running events and go to the gym. I will continue to work hard and try to gain two or three Java certificates next year. I'll continue practicing the piano as there are so many Chopin works that I want to learn and get under my belt. I'd like to read more serious mind enriching literature and learn new things, like cooking, DIY, and take part in new activities and sports. I'll also be going on holiday to Malaysia and Singapore, which will definitely be exciting; so far April is the target month. While doing the travel, I'll consider the OE. And then I'll try and get back into dancing, which I must admit has made me a happier person back then. Hopefully I can find some special lady to share my interests next year, God willing.
Well I'll leave it there for now. You'll definitely be hearing more from me again in future. I hope that 2005 has made you into the best person you can possibly be, just as it has for me. And I hope that in 2006 you will continue to prosper and be challenged in what you do. Finally I hope that you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
2005 started with a catastrophic tragedy, with the Asian tsunami wrecking havoc across many countries and taking over 200,000 lives. It wasn't the way people wanted to spend their Christmas and New Year holidays. Up to now, the people affected are still struggling to cope. To provide aid, lots of fundraising took place. In particular, World cricket's response to the crisis was as swift as it was heart-warming. Within 15 days of the disaster, the first World cricket Tsunami Appeal match was played, with the greatest players taking part. It's great to see the game of cricket bring together people of difficult cultures and races and helping out those affected by the disaster. Old rivalries were forgotten and new friendships were forged. And since I love cricket, I watched every single game and got some entertainment while they raised funds. I knew I was watching something special.
For me, I set myself a handful of goals to achieve this year. And I was surprised at the way that I stuck to most of the goals while I still had energy. Here's a run down of what I've achieved:
Physically, I took up running and I've been running fairly regularly while the weather is good. I took part in this year's Round the Bays, and the Push Play Corporate Challenge, earning respectable times due to the training I put in. I hope to further my running next year, and maybe run a half-marathon or marathon soon when I have a few more races under my belt.
On my birthday, Orion coincedently gave me a BodyTech gym membership. As opposed to the normal subscriptions paid by regular patrons, I only pay $45 a month. Since then I've been going three times a week using the weight machines, and I have noticed some changes to my overall physique. The staff there are a great bunch of people, and I hope to continue going to achieve my fitness goals, that is to get fitter, get stronger, build muscle mass and gain weight.
I have taken up indoor cricket again. I haven't played indoor since 2000 and my friend James decided to get the same team together this year and play in social games every Monday evenings. Unfortunately we tend to end up on the losing side often, though there are times where we have dug in deep to produce some memorable games.
Unfortunately, I haven't been dancing since April since my parents went on their one month holiday. Part of the reason was the fact that I failed to secure a dance partner for the Ceroc champs in June. When I watched the champs I was certain that I could have placed if I secured a partner. I miss Ceroc, but I haven't felt the need to go and do it anymore. Hopefully I'll start taking it up next year. I dabbled in ballroom dancing after seeing many dance shows on TV such as "Dancing with the Stars". However, I couldn't sustain the interest, along with my other concurrent activities, and after a few lessons I stopped attending classes. I hope to put aside some time for ballroom dancing next year. It's hard when you don't have a regular partner to do it with.
Mentally, or academically should I say, I've gotten back into reading now, long lost from my days in high school. From the time that I received a library membership I've read six books: Pride and Prejudice, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and four of Dan Brown's books, the author of The Da Vinci Code. I hope to keep up reading in the new year and get into reading some "serious" best-selling literature.
After many months of procrastination, I finally earned my Sun Certified Java Programmer certification. Before I started at Orion, I decided to study for it in order to secure a developer role. However when I got the job at Orion I quickly stopped as I felt that I didn't need to study for it now. But since I bought the expensive textbooks I couldn't stand seeing them on my desk gathering dust. When my parents went on holiday I resolved to put in two hours a night and study for it. Eventually I finally got the certification. Now I have started studying for the Web Component Developer certificate. I hope to get this certification next year, as well as other Java certifications. And I hope to stay committed to the task, because it wasn't easy to stay motivated to study, especially when there isn't really a time limit.
I have rediscovered my piano side now. After a 7 year break from the piano, I have managed to learn several new Chopin works and hope to learn many more as well as improve myself. I believe that I have a lot to learn and that I can go even further than before. I also met up with my old piano teacher, who had turned 88 this year. We talked about my future with the piano and he believed that I have the potential to go even further, it's up to me to see how far I can go. Unfortunately he cannot pick up where we left off, so I'll have to find another teacher.
Financially, I think I'm pretty well off, considering my current situation. Instead of buying my lunches, I've took the time to prepare my lunches which has saved me a ton of money. With the rising cost of petrol, I've managed to spread out my petrol spending to around $120 a month. It came with changed driving habits, and some self-sacrifice such as not travelling around much. Not going to Ceroc certainly helped my finances. I hope to save a lot more so that I can buy a house or do some travel.
Spiratually, I haven't really grown. I am still attending church, and I still play piano week in week out for the service of the Lord. I imagine that I'll have to hand in my piano service in the forseeable future after having played for nearly 11 years. Though I'm not sure as to what my reason will be for doing so. Most likely travel or OE, which I haven't really thought much about but will definitely come into play next year. There's one thing that I'm glad to be rid of: I quit the church band. Sure there were some good times, but those were few and far between and I couldn't stand practicing with them every week. To be honest I didn't really want to be in the band but when I played a reasonably nice song with them I ended up being sucked in by them without any regard as to whether I wanted to join them. So I joined them and I stayed with them for two years. And it was just in the last few months that I felt incredibly frustrated after practice sessions, feeling that I'm just wasting my time with them and listening to them bicker about useless and trivial details. Just recently I walked up to the band leader and said I want out. He didn't appear disturbed, but then again I didn't hang around long to gauge any reactions. It'll be intersting to see how 2006 pans out for the band. Maybe I'll need to assist them if they need it; I can always assist (that's my nature) but I won't join them. I want to be free.
Relationships haven't been the focal point for 2005, unfortunately. I didn't really spend much energy in looking for that special lady. There were potential ladies but unfortunately they didn't eventuate. I'm not sure whether 2006 will allow me to focus on relationships since there are so many things that I want to do. Cutting back on social activity, e.g. Ceroc, also inhibited this as I devoted my energies into other aspects of life.
So 2006 will bring many challenges. It's just daunting when I start to think about the things that I'll endeavour to do. Time is precious and I've only started to appreciate its value; it must be because I just turned 26! Apart from trying to continue on with the good work that I have invested this year, there will be new and better things that will occupy my time in 2006. As always I will train for running events and go to the gym. I will continue to work hard and try to gain two or three Java certificates next year. I'll continue practicing the piano as there are so many Chopin works that I want to learn and get under my belt. I'd like to read more serious mind enriching literature and learn new things, like cooking, DIY, and take part in new activities and sports. I'll also be going on holiday to Malaysia and Singapore, which will definitely be exciting; so far April is the target month. While doing the travel, I'll consider the OE. And then I'll try and get back into dancing, which I must admit has made me a happier person back then. Hopefully I can find some special lady to share my interests next year, God willing.
Well I'll leave it there for now. You'll definitely be hearing more from me again in future. I hope that 2005 has made you into the best person you can possibly be, just as it has for me. And I hope that in 2006 you will continue to prosper and be challenged in what you do. Finally I hope that you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Destroy Me!!!
This morning I started on my new workout card, Superslow. Basically you push for 10 seconds and let go for 5 seconds.
My previous 2 workout cards had the comment Push Very Hard, written by Al, one of the supervisors. On top of the normal circuit exercises, if a person needs to be pushed very hard the supervisors can tell them to do push-ups, sit-ups, wall-sits, etc, if they are feeling a little sadistic.
So when I picked up my new card, J Dogg (the supervisor who took in my previous workout card) had written the comment DESTROY ME!!! WTF?!?! Does he think I'm some sort of battleship, or tank, or even an Ahnuld?!
My previous 2 workout cards had the comment Push Very Hard, written by Al, one of the supervisors. On top of the normal circuit exercises, if a person needs to be pushed very hard the supervisors can tell them to do push-ups, sit-ups, wall-sits, etc, if they are feeling a little sadistic.
So when I picked up my new card, J Dogg (the supervisor who took in my previous workout card) had written the comment DESTROY ME!!! WTF?!?! Does he think I'm some sort of battleship, or tank, or even an Ahnuld?!
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Some post to fill up blogging void
I've been very quiet on the blogging front lately, not sure what the reason is.........
Anyway I've had a good week. Okay there was one thing that was VERY crap, but I won't go into further detail on it. Petrol prices have finally hit the $1.31 mark and expected to fall further, hopefully. I still remember the very high prices that I had to pay to fill up my car, so hopefully petrol doesn't soar to new highs. Experts said that petrol would reach $2/litre. Hmmmm..........
And I got a raise at work, woohoo! Guess that is good enough to offset the crap event that put a damper on an otherwise awesome week. Oh well I guess I can pay for my petrol more easily.
Anyway I've had a good week. Okay there was one thing that was VERY crap, but I won't go into further detail on it. Petrol prices have finally hit the $1.31 mark and expected to fall further, hopefully. I still remember the very high prices that I had to pay to fill up my car, so hopefully petrol doesn't soar to new highs. Experts said that petrol would reach $2/litre. Hmmmm..........
And I got a raise at work, woohoo! Guess that is good enough to offset the crap event that put a damper on an otherwise awesome week. Oh well I guess I can pay for my petrol more easily.
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