A 'Transformer Dish?!

How I spend my limited personal free time these days

It is always nice to have a reflection of our life every now and then. Usually, we do that because 1. we have time.

2. we need to (usually after something bad happened)

I think I'm doing that for the first reason.

My daily life is considered to be quite routine and should be 'boring' to many folks. I've white collar job with fixed office hours (+ voluntary/necessary OT). That takes up most of my waking hours. Besides the mandatory personal daily tasks, like brushing teeth, bathing, changing clothes, 3 meals, spending time to play with my kid a little bit and listening (more) / talking (less) to my wife also occupy a bit of time before bed. The only so-called personal free time that I had travelling back and forth from office, breaks during office hours and a bit of TV news watching time before bed. I don't know how others live, but I really cherish the limited personal time that I have each day.

First of all, I'm not complaining about the responsibilities and tasks that I need to take on outside my personal time, cos they are needed and I do enjoy some of them. I'm just saying that how to make the most of it from my limited personal time is very important to me and I'm trying to perfect my skill of squeezing every drop of it.

'Getting inform' is my hobby. So, my mind needs to be fed. That's why I like to read and listen. For reading, in view of the short span of personal time that I've, reading anything long is almost out of question. I've not read any novel for a long time. Even for books, I only read one or two books this year, and they are books in chapters with content that can be read and put down for a long time before picking up again without and problem. Therefore, I like reading articles from newspaper and the web. That's why I use my mobile to read newsfeeds everyday. Surfing web is a must. I love to be informed of what's going on in the world on different aspects.

'Watching' is another form of visual information gathering. Watching news is a must to be if possible. TV shows and movies are luxury, cos slots of my time are in 'half-hours' at most. I can push it to 45mins for an episode of Heroes, but movies take too much time. That's why I've not see a movie at home for long while. With my kid, going to cinema became a very infrequent event.

Listening is good too. Music is a passion. I still listen to music very often with my ipod. Definitely every week day on my way to and from work. However, I also divide those times, may be half or more on listening to podcasts. Thanks for these feature, I can listen to what I want any time. Yes, some of those podcasts are news, when I listen to them, they are old news. But, as long as I've not heard them before, they are news to me. Most important is that those news podcasts are more in depth then just regular TV news. So, to me those podcasts are more 'to-know-more' kind of cases. I try to listen to as many as possible, as I always get new episode every time I hook my Ipod up to my PC. I always have a backlog of them to be cleared.

As you can see how I spend my limited personal free time, you can pretty much tell, how busy I am and what would be my best gift. Da Da...an Iphone! That could help me to do most of the above. However, I'm still stuck with my old phone contract, so I don't think I will get my Iphone till next May or June. So, I just have to wait till then as I don't wanna pay any penalty for getting out of contract. Still, I'm still quite in touch with the features and news of Iphone, not just from reading those news websites about Iphone, but also playing with my wife's Iphone. Hopefully, by the time I buy an Iphone next year, the Iphone will be improved upon to meet more of my needs and desires.

Time of the year again

Well, it’s almost the time of the year, when people are gathering for various religious, and holiday festivities. Personally, I’m gonna take 2 weeks off for my overdue long vacation for this working year. Well, I’m planning to get to do some personal things that I wanna do for a long time, but just got put off due to various reasons. Certainly, I still need to take care of my son. Glad that my wife is gonna take time off as well. So, we can do some family outings as well. I’m sure 2 weeks are gonna flied, but I will try to make the best out of it.

It is a bit early to talk about New Year resolution. Personally, unlike most people, I don’t really put much thought on those conventions that…well because today is so and so, we have to do this or that. If I feel like I need to change, I just change. If I need to plan, I just plan. January 1st is not necessary a new beginning for me, if I need to begin to do something, once my mind is set. Then, just do it, that’s it! So, when folks are planning to do that so-called New Year countdown, I’m just not into it. Still, I will take my son to go to see those Christmas decorations and related stuff. Though, I’m not that into those festivity spirits, I’m not gonna to deny my son’s chance to explore and enjoy those things himself. He is too young to know what’s going on, but I think he will enjoy them, and that’s what matter the most. I’m looking forward to have a good time with my wife and my son in these coming holidays.

One of my favorite Artists of all times - M.C. Escher

I always like M.C. Escher. The pictures that I select here are 'inspired' by his scretches and drawing. Folks just somehow 'try' to make them into more 'modern' day 3D real life stuff. Lego is an obvious choice, but my favorite one got to be the car!

Some thoughts on parenting a 15 months old

Being a dad of a more or less 15 months old boy is joyful as well as tiring. He will always find something to surprise you and do something to crack me up. On the other hand, with the seems to be unlimited energy that he has, I can't help but think that 'man, I'm old!'

Watching him, spending time with him can't help to make me think that a lot of things that we take it for granted are not really easy. Do we remember when did we take our first step, learn to walk, learn to run, go to certain place the first time, learn to feed ourselves, our first words, etc. All these must be learned and explored to gain experience then become essential part of ourselves. It also makes me think that nothing is easy, how we human equips to deal with all the challenges that we have. Also, it makes me really admire our parents who raised more than one kid, we all turn out ok, not great, but ok. How can they do that? Certainly, environment has changed, but there are still things that don't change. Our parents didn't know a lot more than us (that's perhaps), certainly they are not as resourceful as us in terms of material things. Just think about washing diapers, that task alone would enough to put most current day parents off from having babies. Just how could our parents able to do all that?

Well, I don't have all the answers, but one thing is for sure. It is the love and sacrafice that we've on our kids that make us to do the difficults, if not the impossible. I love my kid and glad that my wife is helping and we hire a maid to take care of the 'dirty' works. In view of the current economic condition, I hope and pray for things to stay stable. Challenges are always around, just don't want more unwanted. Touch wood!

Dream on Dec 8, 2008

Well, I enjoy dreaming, cos I think that they are entertaining, considering my daily life is kinda routine and bored. So, I would love to catch my dreams and just for the heck of it. Last night, I don't remember a lot about my dreams, I only remember that I was in a strange bathroom that with 2 huge tubs. The walls are white, the wall of the bath tubs are with white porcelain. Somewhat like those old fashion public bath place or like to hot springs in Japan. I was by myself. The tubs are deeper than issue, just sit that water are up to my chin. I remember that I had to soak myself in one tub for few minutes and then come up and hop into the other one. The only difference is that, one is very hot, the other one is cold. I remember that I was told to do so for skin beautification, to tighten my skin or so. I don't know why I've such dream and go through the same treatment as what I would do before cooking chicken wings (i.e.boiled them for few minutes and dump them in icy water, but not repeatedly) .

Well, just a dream!

Fortunate Telling - 三世書 (Book of three lives?)

三世書 - "Book of Three Lives" (not sure if the translation is correct or not), it is a book widely believed by Chinese as a reference in fortune telling. The most basic premise of this book is based on your name, birthday and time, to tell what kind of person you are in your 'past' life, how your current life is gonna be, and what your 'next' life will be. Certainly, it is not gonna be acceptable for people who doesn't believe in this sort of things and people who doesn't accept the concept of reincarnation, i.e. most Christians. For more information, for those who can read Chinese, please refer to this good article for further details.

I thought about the concept of knowing our past life and next life to be quite ridiculous. I do believe in reincarnation, but the thing is that we can change who we were in our past life regardless who or what we are. If we did good things, we may benefit from them due to karma and vice versa. We just have to accept them, knowing that doesn't help. Like some folks lost their limbs, if they find out the reason is because they chopped someone else's limbs, what can they do this life? If they already lost their limbs, that's it! If they've not, then they should be careful like everyone else. There is a belief that we should do good this life, so we can:

1. Compensate/offset the sins from past lives and current life
2. To accumulate good deeds, so we will be better off next life

I believe that just doing good can make us feel good, that's already good enough to motivate us to continue. Thinking too much about the above just make us too 'calculative'. That may take away the fun or good feelings for doing good deeds.

On the other hand, knowing what will be in next life is also stupid. First, if we believe in karma, things have not been finalized or all set unless we are gonna kill ourselves in next minute. So, there are still plenty of opportunity for changes one way or the other. So, telling you something so definite for next life, like you will be a beggar, a policeman, etc. It is just plain stupid! Cos, just in our current life, we change jobs all the time. Even in the Chinese history, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty had been a monk, a beggar, a thief before end up became an emperor. So, how do we know what stage our life the book is telling?

I do think that consulting fortune-tellers or involve in such activities are very tempting. I did that myself once before. However, I think we should get a grib of our life in our own hands and make the best out of it in our current life. The old lesson of not doing warm to oneself and the others should be a good enough life-long motto. Just try our best and there shouldn't be much regret. That's what I believe in.

Why men dress themselves ugly when they get old

I'm not talking about others, cos I don't know what other men's stories are. I'm talking about myself. Well, I'm not yet forty, but I think I'm kinda give up myself in terms of making myself look good with clothes.

Well, I do buy clothes, but most of them are for work. Cos, I still have to look decent to go to work. I'm not a salesperson, I still have to visit clients every now and then. Also, I couldn't dress too bad in my working environment.

However, for after hours, I really giving up in terms of dressing up or for occasions. Perhaps, there is not much 'occasions' that I need to dress up. I don't think I need to dress up to go grocery shopping, or just dine out in neighborhood eateries. As such, I just put on my old clothes.

As I was poor when I was a kid, I didn't have the money to buy nice clothes, just new clothes would make me happy. Brand name stuffs were largely off limit. As I grow up, I learn more about economy and business, knowing that large share of money that we pay on brand names stuff are for the 'name' rather than the clothes itself. Also, learning that fashion is not evil, but just not my cup of tea. I do buy brand name clothes every now and then, for their quality when they are on serious sales or just for going to work purpose. Mostly, I don't really have the 'urge' to buy clothes to dress up, to make myself look good, or like most women claim: make themselves more confident.

For men, as we get older, we just have seen too much and know enough that we don't need the clothes to make us confident. We know that if we have money, we will be confident. Or, if we are a knowledgeable person, we will have confident. Clothes can help, but it is more like the 'garnish' decoration on the dishes, like those roses that made of carrots. No matter how fresh and tasty the carrots are, not matter how beautiful that rose is, if the main dish tastes bad, the dish sucks! it fails, that's it. So, we would rather devote our time and resources on other things that make us more confident.

Also, if we have family, especially with kid(s), the expenses will be high. As we only have only so much 'ammunition', personal clothing usually is low in priority. Unless, the men is very into clothing, or like designs, or kinda artistic, etc. I think most grown men just don't put much thought in their own clothes.

On my personal level, I don't have a big closet, as more space has been provided to my wife to put her own clothes. I just don't have the urge or incentive or simply 'space' to buy new clothes. Yes, I can throw old clothes away, or like my wife said, 'retire' them. However, I'm just brought up in a frugal lifestyle. When I know there are so many people in the world that doesn't have decent clothes, and clothing industry is just an environmental unfriendly industry, I just don't want to 'retire' my clothes if they still fit and clean. So, their 'retirement' age have been pushed back, and the 'immigration' into my closet has been really slow. Only, those that are 'job-related' have faster entries.

Don't know if that's the same or similar case for other grown men......

Magic Crocodile

A nice magic! Enjoy!

Some recent observations and thoughts...

Economy is bad.

People are being laid off. Those who have jobs scare of losing them.
Merchants want cash badly, they dump their inventories, especially those of luxury fashionable goods.

Big sales everywhere, and crowds just swamp in stores and buy things that they don't really need. They bought them because they have stayed in line for too long to leave with empty hands.

Many shops will close down in future months. Brand names, familiar names will become history.

Investment markets is too stormy for the ordinary folks, they were engulfed and stripped. Only the braves and the insane remain.

People that can keep jobs feel lucky for a moment, and just work.

Some people will put off the idea of getting marry, having kids for financial reason.

It is a bad time to graduate from college, a worse time without a degree, and the worst time to retire.

Bad news will be norms, people will become desensitized to them.

Suicide and homicide rate will go up. Crime rate will go up as well.

It is good time to make good comedy movies, if they can get financed. It is a bad time to make bad movies, if they are lucky to get financed.

We don't need tragedy or horror movies. Cos, we just need to look around.

Religious activities, attendance to temples and churches will rise.

Self-help books will be hits, how to get rich books will be in bargain sections, like 'Dow at 40,0000'.

People will spend more time at home with family and watch TV, or serving net. Those, with a crowded family, small home, only 1 TV, and one PC will have more fights and arguments at home.

Lastly.....things will get worse before turning better. That's a thing that I'm sure. Cos, things are in cycle. Things will change and keep changing. Only Change is forever!

Peace!