I just came back from a run, and it's damn cooling with the nowadays wind. Surprisingly, these few nights, the wind is so strong and yet it doesn't materialize into any rain. Weird. But thanks to the windy night, I clocked myself 1 minute faster. The humid weather usually deters me from my smooth run because I will get breathless fast, but tonight is like running with air-conditioned environment.

Still far away from my marathon and IPPT gold standard. But it's just the start of the year. Haha.

Damn it, my friend just bought Sony A300, and it looks fierce. With my current $ earning ability, some fierce stuff are better left on the retail shelves. Never knew that even camera stuff also can get comparative cheaper prices across the causeway.

Talking about photo taking, I have downloaded Picasa 3 and never thought of photoshop since. Not that it has numerous features, but it definitely has the ones I needed to edit my photos.
And if there really is a need for editing of raw photos or creation of some designs, can use GIMP.

Open-source applications are really the way to go for poor people like me :D

I always believe that anyone can make an impact on others no matter how microscopically small you look to the world. And after chancing this guy who went on a bike from Singapore to Great Wall of China, I started to question how the hell he went through his torturous ordeals. Be it the weather, the grueling distance, the blistering fatigue he had to endure, the difficulty with languages in the various countries, the small budget he had, the morale he had to keep with his teammates: any of these obstacles can make one turn 180 degrees and head back home.

If I'm jobless one day and someone sponsors me 5k, I would do it too. Nah, I'm kidding. It's too much for me.

Guys check out the global warming links on the website too, they are quite interesting.

Yes, that's how far Singapore is away from Taiwan. And currently Taiwan's weather is 27°C at its hottest, and 18 at it's coldest. So friends, do not expect me to pick up my phone between 21st to 28th Dec 08, because I will be 3073km away. Not sure how costly for the international call, but better play safe not to call, then sorry.
This pilgrimage trip certainly does not make me dance around in enthusiasm, but bringing my camera around does make a bit of difference. And the fact that I do not need to work until next year does make me excited no matter where I go.
Hope this trip does push me forward a bit, as I realize I'm lacking behind be it spiritually or in terms of my current drive in doing things. So if you ask me again if I need a break, I definitely do. Wholly bigtime.
At then end of every year, I will ask myself (usually with a big sigh) what I have achieved for the year. And here I come again. Haiz. I'm not trying to be pessimistic but honestly I didn't hit a high in my life tachometer.
But rest assured, I will have my Year 2009 planned out well before it comes. Some phrases might be commonly used next year:
Heroes are born during bad times.
A great horse does not look back and eat the grass behind it.
If there is fate, two will eventually meet up from 500 meters, if there isn't, two beside each other will only be passerbys.
Apologize for the lousy translation. Some phrases are not meant to be translated.

I don't know what title to give. I just know that I need to write.
Perhaps people might ask themselves everytime. Is life destined? It is when you look at your current condition, feel bounded, and make a statement:"Guess I can only go this far".

My friend told me a story of 3 animals: an elephant, a horse and a rabbit.
3 of them decide to cross the river to the other bank for some reason.
The elephant finds it damn easy to cross, cause the water level seems way too shallow for him. The horse decides to follow and finds that galloping across the river takes some strength, but horses have powerful legs. So he goes through smoothly too. The rabbit looks at the river and knows that he will never ever be able to cross such a deep river. He stays on the current bank and looks enviously at his friends on the other bank, with a deep sense of self-pity.

If your life is too smooth sailing just like an elephant crossing the river, do you take for granted that the river never ever post a threat to you? But if you have to do everything just like a rabbit crossing the river, do you complain about why life is so full of obstacles?

So rather than complaining from the rabbit's point of view that the river is so damn deep (which isn't cause the elephant don't even care a damn), why not think from a simpler perspective, that your objective is just to cross the river and stop comparing? In the end, it's still the same river to anyone.

I guess in your mind, you still want to know why you are the rabbit. Well, my advice is get on with life, you don't have much time to look back.

Seriously can someone tell me what has happened to the bear? The position looks funny.

This picture doesn't really help much either.

But anyway, I guess xmas celebrations are still going on despite the economy downturn. Some companies will probably carry on with less employees, some will just make an excuse that they have forgotten about the xmas tree.

If you still need to buy gift but the current crisis still spoils your mood a bit, here are some suggestions (to convince yourself that you have been economical):

1) If your xmas exchange ruling doesn't include "Do not buy chocolates", rather than going for Royce's or any other "branded" chocolates, settle for Van Houten's or Cadbury's. In the end, most are still made from sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin, and vanilla. Any chocolate at this time will leave a bitter aftertaste anyway (if you have burnt your pocket).

2) If you are buying beautiful wrapping paper to wrap your gift, leaving people with surprises as to what to expect as their gift, usually wrapping chocolates results in a disappointment when they open it up. "Ohhhh... no, chocolates again..." But even if you are not buying chocolates, what's the chance of the person tearing up your beautifully wrapped paper like it did not worth a cent (and it usually costs 10% of your total amount spent). Use newspaper. Choose between Straits Times, The New Paper, My Paper. And you can use advertisements with a beautiful background as the design. And please, wrap only one layer.

3) Get something useful. A person wouldn't want any gift which simply hangs itself on the wall, or fridge, and doesn't help them tide down this pathetic period. Instead of a deco kind of stuff, get an organic soap with fragrance(so they can at least enjoy their bath knowing that they do not need to spend on soap for a month), get a handheld massager (so that they can DIY even if they can't visit massage parlours), or a small wallet (so that big wallet owners can downgrade and place less credit cards into it, preventing the possibility of reaching out for one when the desire to spend is there).

Lastly, do not quote me for the above, if the gift recipient gives you a disgusted look at the sight of the gift.

五月天 - 突然好想你
作词：阿信
作曲：阿信
专辑：后青春期的诗

最怕空气突然安静
最怕朋友突然的关心
最怕回忆突然翻滚绞痛着不平息
最怕突然听到你的消息

想念如果会有声音
不愿那是悲伤的哭泣
事到如今终於让自已属於我自已
只剩眼泪还骗不过自己

突然好想你你会在哪里
过的快乐或委屈
突然好想你突然锋利的回忆
突然模糊的眼睛

我们像一首最美丽的歌曲
变成两部悲伤的电影
为什麽你带我走过最难忘的旅行
然後留下最痛的纪念品

我们那麽甜那麽美那麽相信
那麽疯那麽热烈的曾经
为何我们还是要奔向
各自的幸福和遗憾中老去

突然好想你你会在哪里
过的快乐或委屈
突然好想你突然锋利的回忆
突然模糊的眼睛

最怕空气突然安静
最怕朋友突然的关心
最怕回忆突然翻滚绞痛着不平息
最怕突然听到你的消息
最怕此生已经决定自己过
没有你却又突然听到你的消息