10 Mantras To Age Gracefully

10 Mantras To Age Gracefully

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*1. *Never say ‘I am aged': There are three ages, chronological, biological, and psychological. The first is calculated based on our date of birth ; the second is determined by the health conditions and the third is how old you feel you are. While we don't have control over the first, we can take care of our health with good diet, exercise and a cheerful attitude. A positive attitude and optimistic thinking can reverse the third age.

*2. *Health is wealth : If you really love your kith and kin, taking care of your health should be your priority. Thus, you will not be a burden to them. Have an annual health check-up and take the prescribed medicines regularly. Do take health insurance cover.

*3.* Money is important : Money is essential for meeting the basic necessities of life, keeping good health and earning family respect and security. Don't spend beyond your means even for your children. You have lived for them all through and it is time you enjoyed a harmonious life. If your children are grateful and they take care of you, you are blessed. But never take it for granted.

*4. *Relaxation and recreation : The most relaxing and recreating forces are a healthy religious attitude, good sleep, music and laughter. Have faith in you, learn to sleep well, love good music and see the funny side of life.

*5. *Time is precious : It is almost like holding a horse's reins. When they are in your hands, you can control them. Imagine that everyday you are born again. Yesterday is a cancelled cheque. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is ready cash — use it profitably. Live this moment.

*6. *Change is the only permanent thing : We should accept change — it is inevitable. The only way to make sense out of change is to join the dance. Change has brought about many pleasant things. We should be happy that our children are blessed.

*7. *Enlightened selfishness : All of us are basically selfish. Whatever we do, we expect something in return. We should definitely be grateful to those who stood by us. But our focus should be on the internal satisfaction and happiness we derive by doing good to others, without expecting anything in return.

*8. *Forget and Forgive : Don't be bothered too much about others' mistakes. We are not spiritual enough to show our other cheek when we are slapped in one. But for the sake of our own health and happiness, let us forgive and forget them. Otherwise, we will be only increasing our BP.

*9. *Everything has a purpose : Take life as it comes. Accept yourself as you are and also accept others for what they are. Everybody is unique and right in his own way.

*10. *Overcome the fear of death : We all know that one day we have to leave this world. Still we are afraid of death. We think that our spouse and children will be unable to withstand our loss. But the truth is no one is going to die for you ; they may be depressed for some time. Time heals everything and they will carry on.

One Simple Secret to Managing Work Stress

One Simple Secret to Managing Work Stress
Rusty Rueff, On Saturday 18 December 2010, 0:17 SGT


More books have been written about stress management than any of us could ever read. Consultants, psychologists and psychiatrists have made their living on helping others deal with stress. While a myriad of tactics and tricks can help us manage stress at our jobs, one simple action is often overlooked:

Arriving early.

There's no stress in being early. This small yet important tip can significantly reduce your own stress, and it also shows those around you how to act when work heats up.

Think about these scenarios and see if you can apply them when it comes to managing the stress in your job:

-- If your schedule requires you to be in the office at 8:00 a.m., show up at 7:40 a.m. Those extra 20 minutes will give you time to settle in and get organized before the pressure really heats up.

[See 10 Ways to Make Any Job Healthier.]

-- If the meeting starts at 10:00 a.m., arrive at 9:50 a.m. Use those extra ten minutes in the meeting room to collect your thoughts, get in the right frame of mind, or take a moment to check your Blackberry.

-- If your one-on-one with your boss is scheduled at a regular time each week, show up five minutes early so you're already there and ready to go when her door opens. Consider using your extra five minutes to talk to the boss's assistant, creating a relationship that pays dividends.

-- If your presentation is due on Thursday morning, organize your workload so you can deliver it the evening before, eliminating loss of sleep and anxiety on Wednesday night.

-- If you're responsible for providing end-of-year performance reviews, don't wait until the week right before the review to get started. The last week will always be the most stressful, and your feedback won't be nearly as constructive if you rush to provide it. Set a plan ahead of time for how you'll tackle the written reviews. For example, if you need to review 10 employees and you have four weeks before in-person reviews, aim to complete two to three written reviews each week. A bit of planning and organization can go a long way when it comes to reducing your stress levels.

[See The Value of a True Lunch Break.]

-- If you're faced with a meeting across town that starts at 4:00 p.m., think ahead about your commute time. Without traffic, you could make it in half an hour, but who knows how long it will take when a lot of vehicles are on the road. Give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination, even if you risk arriving earlier than necessary. It's worth the time you'd otherwise spend fretting about arriving late. While most of us despise sitting in traffic, in this case, it can be turned into time to think, relax, or catch up on a few phone calls.

[For more career advice, visit U.S. News Careers, or find us on Facebook or Twitter.]

Combined with other stress management tricks that work for you, looking for opportunities to be early is an effective way to keep your cool. And don't forget that the people around you--your colleagues, staff, and maybe even your boss--look to you as an example of how to handle moments of pressure. By incorporating the "there's no stress in being early" approach, you'll help your workdays move more smoothly, both for you and for everyone else.

Rusty Rueff, director and career expert for jobs and career website Glassdoor.com has been a CEO, led HR in global companies and is co-author of Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business.

My First Trip to Japan 17 - 29 Nov 2010

MY FIRST TRIP TO JAPAN 17 - 29 NOV 2010

Japan is a country that I am dreaming to go for a long time. Maybe the time is not right yet for me to go. Could be also due to the cost that my dream did not come true. But in Jun 10 when my friends from the Bucky Group told me that they are making a trip to Japan in Nov 10, my first question I asked them was "Is it going to be expensive ?". The answer I got was "No, because we are going on back-pack and we will be staying at guesthouses.". My next question then was "Can we still join ?". The answer I got was "Yes, but need to decide fast as we are going to do the booking for air-tickets and guesthouses soon. There are 7 people confirmed going." I must thank our leader, June San, for being so helpful and kind to plan the trip for us, do the necessary bookings, lead us while we were there and also help us to save a lot of money for this trip. All in for the 12 days in Japan including air-ticket, I spent about S$2,500. And that include shopping for things I like and things to give my neighbours, colleagues and friends. June was so kind to take us round the places even she had been there before, I am really touched.

I have heard a lot from friends about their trip to Japan. All said it was very good. For me, I must said it was lucky for me to choose Japan as the last country to travel in Asia. Because I have been to Taiwan, China, South Korea, HK, Macau, Thailand, Loas, Myanmar, Vietman and Cambodia, Japan to me is the best. Why I say it is the best, below are my sharing :

People

People in Japan are so friendly and courteous. If you ask for direction, they will be happy to help you and some even come forward to help without you asking. I remember I was at a medicine shop one evening. All the staff there are so happy working at the store. They are full of energy until the store closed. When you make your payment, they will greet you and show their appreciation. Every restaurants we went, the customer service is excellent.

I also do not have the feeling that the Japanese are trying to make money from us because no one will come to you to sell thing. If you like to buy any thing, just ask, they will be happy to serve you. Unlike so country, everywhere you go, there will be people trying to sell something to you. 

Scenary

My trip was mainly to see the autumn of Kyoto, Osaka and Nara. The autumn there is so colourful. Every spot you go, you can spend time taking photo just at one spot. Every step you make, the view is different and you can continue to take more photos.

Cleanliness of Environment

Everywhere we go, it is so clean, so neat and so tidy. As for the streams we saw, all the water are so clean and crystal clear. It is part of their culture.

Social Security

Everywhere we went, we felt so safe. I can see people there generally have their own job, the crime there is very low. Even in a city or at the market, I can see people just park their bicyle and go and do their own things. No one will steal their bicycle.

Food

Being an asian, we are use to eat Chinese food. I must say I fall in love with the Japanese food when I was in Japan, it just taste very good. I also find that Japanese food is actually healthy food. They hardly use oil to do the cooking other than deep fried stuff like prawn. 

Finally, I enjoyed very much while I was in Japan. It was a totally new experience for me. The culture there is so different for us. I find that we have a lot to learn from them.

The Man of Perfect Virtue

The man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.

   --  Confucius (Analects 6.28.2)

Who to Appreciate, When and How

Appreciation : What to appreciate, When and How: an Important Lesson!

One young academically excellent person went for an interview for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview; BUT in that Company, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV, that the youth's academic result was excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never was there a year he did not score. The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarship in school?" and the youth answered "no".

The director asked, " Did your father pay your school fees?". The youth answered, "my father passed away when I was one year old and it was my mother who paid my school fees".

The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" the youth answered, "my mother worked as cloth cleaner." The director requested the youth to show his hands and the youth showed a pair of hands that was smooth and perfect to the director.

The director asked, " Did you ever help your mother wash clothes before?" The youth answered, "never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books, furthermore, my mother could wash clothes faster than I could"

The director said, I have a request, when you go back today, go and help to clean your mother's hand, and then see me tomorrow morning.

The youth felt that the chance of landing the job was high and when he went back, he happily wanted to clean his mother's hands. His mother felt strange. With happiness mixed with fear, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's ha! nds slowl! y and his tears fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and that there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that she shuddered when his mother's hands were cleaned with water.

This is the first time that the youth realized and experienced that it is this pair of hands that washed the clothes every day to earn him the school fees and that the bruises in the mother's hand were the price that the mother paid for his graduation and academic excellence and probably his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother's hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, the mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office. The director noticed the tear in the youth's eye and asked: "Can you tell what you did and learnt yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hands and also finished washing all the remaining clothes".

The director asked, "Please tell me what you felt"

The youth said:

"Number 1 , I know what appreciation is now'. Without my mother, I would not be successful today.

Number 2, Now I know how to work together with my mother. Only now do I realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.

Number 3, I know the importance and value of family relationship."

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates, every employee worked diligently and as a team and the company improved tremendously.

The Lessons from this an ecdote:

A child who has been protected and habitually given whatever he needs, develops "entitlement mentality"and always puts himself first. He is ignorant of his parents' efforts. When he starts work, he assumes every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the suffering of his employees and always blame others. These kinds of people, may/will achieve good results and may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel a sense of achievement or satisfaction.

If we happen to be this kind of (protective) parent, this is the time to ask the question

- whether we did/do love our kids or destroy them.

-You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn to play the piano, watch a big screen TV but when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it.

-After a meal, let them wash their plate and bowl together with their brothers and sisters.

-It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love and show them the correct way.

-You want them to understand that no matter how rich their parent are, one day they will grow old, become weak and that their hair too will grow grey!

-The most important thing is for your kid to learn how to appreciate, experience and learn the effort and ability needed to work with others to get things done. They should also value, appreciate what the parents have done and love them for who they are!

"Every sunrise delivers opportunities, While every sunset asks what we did with opportunities."

More Power Than We Can Imagine

We touch the lives of others in ways we often never know. People sometimes come into our personal world for fleeting moments and can leave us forever changed. We have more power to create or to destroy than we can imagine. We can leave things or individuals better or worse than we found them.




-- Gail Pursell Elliott

HOW TO BE HAPPY

How to BE Happy

Being authentically happy is not quite as straight forward as it may appear. There are three essential steps.

Step One is to ‘see’ and dispel the many myths and illusions about happiness. (The Mythology of Happiness)

Step Two is to explore the deeper meaning of happiness in order to induce and affirm three realizations.

Realisation One - That happiness is not something that comes from outside our self. Authentic happiness is not a dependency on anyone, anything or any place. Happiness is an inside job!

Realisation Two - That happiness is not excitement. Most of us learn to believe that our happiness is stimulated and so we search for the stimulation of our own favourite brand of happiness. If we have been doing this for a long time it’s not easy to break free of this habit as there is likely to be some form of addiction to something, someone or somewhere.

Realisation Three - That happiness is not an occasional high in contrast to an occasional low. Authentic happiness is not an up and down affair. It is a stable and consistent state which is only possible when the three forms of authentic happiness – contentment, joy and bliss - are fully understood.

And that of course is Step Three.

Authentic Happiness is Undisturbable CONTENTMENT

Contentment is only possible when we re-awaken the awareness that everything near and far in the world around us is exactly the way it is meant to be in this moment now, and that there is only this moment now.

Not so easy when we realize we have spent our entire life avoiding being fully present in this moment now. Avoiding the present is the ego’s way of killing our contentment by attempting to escape into the future or wallowing in the past.

Contentment is only possible when you are able to accept everyone as they are, at every moment, in every situation. That means an end to judging or resisting others, an end to complaining and blaming, an end to trying to change others and world events. Not so easy after a lifetime of armchair judgment, resistance and the rejecting of others.

That doesn’t mean just sitting back and doing nothing. It means the re-awakening and the acceptance of self-responsibility and seeing how self-responsibility is inextricably linked to world responsibility. In other words, it is only when we cease to project what we think and feel onto others and create actions aligned with what is true within our self that we can make the most effective contribution to the world.

And when others are seen to be NOT acting in alignment with what is true in them, our response is not one of judgment and condemnation (which kills our contentment), but one of compassion and understanding (which maintains our contentment).

Authentic Happiness as Unbridled JOY

Joy is only possible when our life energy (the self) flows out into the world, free of the desire for any part of the world to flow towards us. As creative beings our deepest joy is when we are being creative and when our creativity is aligned with the truth of ‘who’ we are (identity) and ‘what’ we are (nature). This is not so much to do with the limited creativity of painting and poetry etc., but the creation of our life. The purpose of life is not to ‘get a life’ but to create our life.

That means realizing that we are primarily designed to give of our self wholeheartedly at every moment. Not so easy when we realize how halfheartedly we may have ‘learned’ to live our life. Half-heartedness happens when we want something for our self. Half of your heart (which is you) is focused on bringing something, or someone to you, so only half is going out as giving. And half of that often carries a ‘condition’ with it. This creates an inner tension that becomes the ‘killjoy’ of most lives.

In truth, life (the self) is not designed to want anything. Life needs nothing, you need nothing. Your body needs food, shelter and clothing, but ‘you’ need nothing. If there is a need, it is to see and realize the ‘opportunity of living’ which is to give of our self, to give well, to give accurately and generously. That means ‘creating’ the most appropriate response to meet the needs of people and the world around you. When we do then there is the presence of authentic joy. A joyfulness that comes from inside out.

Some may say that to give give give is to be blind to those who would take advantage of our generosity and that it will make you more like a joyous fool than joy full. But they are likely to be still living from a belief system that says life ‘owes’ them.

One of the signs of the presence of joy is when the awareness of time passing recedes into the background. You stop looking at the clock. True joy can only be known beyond the consciousness of time, like the innocent universe of a child at play, before it learns that it has to be home in time for dinner… or else! Then it runs home not out of joy but out of fear.

Question: What or who do you ‘use’ to disturb your contentment and why?

Reflection: Assuming you didn’t use these situations/people to disturb your self what would you think, feel and do differently?

Action: Practice both the questions above at the end of every day this week.

C Mike George 2010

Edited extract from The 7 Myths of LOVE…Actually!

5 Ways to Wellbeing

5 WAYS TO WELLBEING

1. Connect. Connect with the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.

2. Be active. Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and one that suits your level of mobility and fitness.

3. Take Notice. Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experience will help you appreciate what matters to you.

4. Keep Learning. Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.

5. Give. Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you.

Updating Bank Signature for Apex Club

Updating Bank Signature for Apex Club

Each year at this time of the year, Clubs who has new key appointment holders change need to update their bank signatures.

7 of us went to our bank yesterday afternoon, Saturday, to has the signature change to the new appointment holders, ie President, Treasurer and Secretary.

The branch we went to at Vivo City opens 7 days a week till 7pm except for public holidays. It is not so good for the staff who were working but very convenient for their customers. But not every branches open 7 days a week. I remembered many years ago when I was the Treasurer, the bank opened 5 and a half days a week, I can only do it on Saturday morning went I am not working.

The process was also very smooth because we have the documents ready with us. They are the original AGM minutes and form for signature change. But it is important to note that the bank do not allow any cancellation on the form. Luckily, I was present, we amended the new mailing address on the form, and the bank manager allowed me to sign for the correction plus 2 other office bearers to sign. All the new appointment holders also need to be present at the bank with their ICs.

Forgot to Live

7 Laws of Learning

7 LAWS OF LEARNING

This article features seven laws or principles that turn knowledge sharing into growth:

1. We are all born to learn.
2. You never know when learning will occur.
3. You learn by connecting.
4. We all learn differently.
5. Connections come through story-telling.
6. Learning is both an emotional and intellectual experience.
7. Learning can change lives.

About My Mum 5 Jul 2010

About my mum, 5 Jul 2010

Born on 2 Mar 1940, my mum is 70 years old this year. I am happy to see her each day when I come home. This is how she looks like in her room :

My mum use to tell me she will find her own program each day to keep herself occupied. This is good because both my wife and I need to work each day. During weekend, we are also busy with volunteer works.

Sometimes she will cook and forget about her cooking and continue watching TV and end up the food got burnt.

She will read Chinese newspaper each day. When it is my turn to read, the paper will be in a mess because she said this showed and proofed that she read the entire newspaper !

Just the other day, she said she has been reading some dharma books and being a Buddhist, she does not scold anyone. I responded to her saying : You do not scold people, xyz@*#! (I created some noise trying to mimic her scolding me). Immediately she said that if she did not scold me in the past, I will not become who I am today !  So, no matter what I said, my mum always got something to reply me.

She is alone at home most of the time, so I subscribe to Starhub cable vision so that she has more TV program to watch.

Those who parent who are still around, they should talk to their parent more often. This month, my mum is going to Japan with my godmother. 

Some Happenning in June 2010 - Trip to a Special School in Batam

SOME HAPPENNING IN JUNE 2010 - Trip to a Special School in Batam

I have not been writing for a while, so better continue with what I have been doing, ie some sharing.

On 12 Jun 2010, with the help from my friends, Collin Ng and Michael Tan, we took some 40 people to St Ignatius School at Batam island. We brought along with us a lot of goodies for the children there.

In the morning, we took the 9am ferry from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. Here are the program for the 2 days.

Day One, 12 June - Saturday


0800 hrs: Assemble at BatamFast check-in counter, Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal
0900 hrs: BatamFast ferry departs for Nongsapura Ferry Terminal
0845 hrs: Arrival at Nongsapura Ferry Terminal, proceed for immigration clearance
0900 hrs: Check-in to rooms (subject to room availability)
1100 hrs: Coach departs for St Ignatius School which takes about one and a half hour journey (coach may leave early)
1230 hrs: Arrival at the school and prepared lunch boxes to be consumed onboard coach while on the move
1600 hrs: At least 3 1/2 hrs at the school to mingle with the children and distribution of donated items, ready to depart
1730 hrs: Enroute, stopover at Barelang bridge and arrival at Batam View, refresh and ready for dinner (those not staying will take 1830 hrs ferry back)
1830 hrs: Seafood dinner at resort Kelong Restaurant followed by own leisure

Day Two, 13 June - Sunday

0800 hrs: Breakfast at Wangi Melati Coffee House
0930 hrs: Own activities (some may wish to charter transport to town)
1200 hrs: Buffet lunch at Wangi Melati Coffee House
1400 hrs: Late check-out
1530 hrs: Assemble at reception for transfer to ferry terminal
1620 hrs: BatamFast departs for Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal

Note: Time difference between SIN and Batam is one hour and we are one hour ahead of them.

The cost for this trip is S$150. Our volunteer, Mr Goh, was very kind to donate S$2000 for this trip of which S$1800 goes to upgrade the playground at the school.

Collin have downloaded some pictures and also written a short article of the trip on this blog,

http://stignatiusschool.blogspot.com/

What I like to share here are :

1. For the participants, I think they spent a memorable weekend at Batam. From playing with the children at the school to relax at Batam View Resort, enjoy the good food, Indonesian massage, singing at the KTV room, watch big screen World Cup match, shopping, etc.

2. For the children at the school, all should be happy as we brought with us lots of toys, stationary, cloths, shoes, sweets, chocolate, wafer, ballons, etc. We also taught them how to do the limbo rock, dance Macarana and played game with them. We have 2 entertainers who performed some magic and played games with the children.

Finally, Apex Club of Singapore (City) have completed another service project in overseas. I think we can make this a yearly event for the Club.

Apexian Yeo Chao Loy
President 2009/2010
Apex Club of Singapore (City)

The Happiest People

The Happiest People

The happiest people I have known have been those who gave themselves no concern about their own souls, but did their uttermost to mitigate the miseries of others.


-- Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902)

Here are 5 things happy people do :

1. They find their most golden self
2. They design their lives to bring in joy
3. They avoid ‘if only’ fantasies

4. They put best friends first
5. They allow themselves to be happy

My Labour Day 1st May 2010

My Labour Day, 1st May 2010

On the eve of Labour Day, my mum told me one of our toilet flushing system is leaking. The whole toilet floor is wet. I knew the rubber stopper of the flushing system has disintegrated.

On Labour Day, I went to the market to look for the part to replace. To my surprised, I found the rubber which cost only S$1. I bought the new rubber and the 10 minutes DIY job solved the water leaking problem.

Here are some photos to share. If you can do your own repair, it can save you time and money. Anyone need help in this area can let me know. As a Mechanical Engineer, I use to change my own taps and do minor repairs at home.

This is the S$1 rubber:

My recent trip to Malaysia - qing ming, Good Friday

My recent trip to Malaysia - qing ming, Good Friday

Just to share on a recent trip I went to Malaysia from 1 Apr to 4 Apr 10. Four of us (Raymond & wife, me and my wife) drove to Batu Pahat to stay one night there, then continue to Kajang for another night before we head for Tampin. At Tampin, we spent a night there.

On 3 Apr 10 evening, as we were travelling to my friend house in Tampin, we saw wild boars crossing the road. My friend had to slow down the vehicle to let the wild boars cross the road. Just as he thought there is no more wild boar crossing and continue with the drive, there was a last wild boar came dashing cross us. Fortunately he is able to slow down to avoid hitting the wild boar.

We spent the last night at my friend house and then on 4 Apr 10, we went to a cemetry. One of the rare scene I saw was fire crackers and fireworks. The noise it produce is very loud, in Malaysia, this is 'boleh'. We then had a small makan session after the praying at the cemetry.

Finally, any of my friends who like to join me in future for such trips, just let me know. 4 of us spent about RM200 on petrol and toll. Stay is free because we are staying at friends' bangalow.

This is the house we stayed at Tampin.

Fireworks at the cemetry

About Change

ABOUT CHANGE

Hasn't been writing for quite a while. I came across this article which I find it interesting.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result"


- Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein's quote is the underlying philosophy of About Change. If we continue to think and behave in the same way we will continue to get the same results.

About Change works with people, families and teams who believe that things do need to change but may be unsure on how to do that. About Change offers:

Counselling

Mental skills training

Life balance

About Change works to ensure that individuals can achieve their goals in life, sport and business.

If nothing changes, nothing changes.

Is it About time for a Change?
--------------end of article-----------------
You and I have the ability to change. Sometimes it depend on the person and sometime it depends on what the person want to change or what make the person want to change. Whatever it is, the person can achieve it depending on the person determination and will power.

Yes You Can, Yes You Will

Loving What Is

LOVING WHAT IS

This Loving What Is book is written by Byron Katie with Stephen Mitchell. She shares 4 questions that can change your life. What are they ?

1. Is it true ?
2. Can you absolutely know that it's true ?
3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought ?
4. Who would you be without the thought ? Turn it around.

Worth reading.

Wallets

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Ladies out there, if you like to find out more about handbags , etc, the #1 source for women is at :

http://www.bayareabags.com/

My 1st Experience Working on Operation Redshirt

My First Experience Working on Operation Redshirt

It was a bright Sunday morning on 17 Jan 2010. I got up early and when for breakfast with my wife at the newly upgraded Telok Blangah Hawker Centre at around 8:30 am. I was there because of Operation Redshirt. About 100 of our Apex Club food recipients are receiving groceries and Hong Baos under the Operation Redshirt for the 1st time.

I was told the volunteers of Operation Redshirt will deliver groceries to Blk 5 Telok Blangah Crescent at 9:30 am on 17 Jan 2010. They will start the distribution at 10:15 am.

When I reached Blk 5 before 9:30 am, I saw a lorry and a lot of volunteers in Red Shirt were there unloading the groceries. Our own volunteers were also there to assist. They are Leslie, Joelle, Nicole, Sunny & wife, Rose, Michael and wife. This photo shows the groceries to be given away under this operation for the poor residents at Telok Blangah.

Operation Redshirt is very well organised after running it for 10 years. The advanced party team will deliver the packed groceries to the distributing point while the 2nd team giving out the groceries and deliver the groceries to the individual recipients are working at another location. By 10 am, the advanced party have completed their task and move on to another location while the 2nd team come and take over. After the advanced party completed their tasks, I had an opportunity to take a group photo with them.

The 2nd team arrive before 10:15 am to start the distribution and delivery. I met Peter Lim and have a chat with him. He is a very nice and friendly man with no 'air' at all. He is also a man who lead by example as you can see him in the photo in the queue with the rest of the volunteer from the 2nd team.

The head organiser, Cherie Lim, was also there supervising her volunteers. She and 5 other childhood friends started this project in year 2000. Today, the number has grown to 1,404 elderly poor in more than 10 locations. All have benefitted from this project. I am so happy to see so many people reaching out to help the poor in one way or another.

This Operation is also published in Straits Times on 16 Jan 2010 in page  B6.