Viva Latino!

Song Spinning now: Carl Cox - The Latin Theme

This track can really make you go Gggrrrrr..... Ariba! haha..

I went to a Salsa club with a friend few weeks ago for the first time in my life. It's great experience seeing people dancing so freely to Salsa and Meringue, expressing their core self on the dance floor. There's actually a 3-man band playing live Salsa on the little platform, creating that unsurreal environment where people can let their hair down and move their body in the most unrestrain manner.

Beginners, pros and students of Salsa alike are twisting their bodies with the exotic music. Salsa is actually a very sexy and charming dance, especially when both the male and female are in perfect sychronisation to each others' movements and in tune with the music. This led to relate to this film "Dirty Dancing - Havana Nights", which was an excellent film for those who like to see the real Cuban dance - more sexy,more wild and more euphoric!

Its very hypnotising to watch'pro' couples dancing on the floor, to them it feels like nothing else existed but only the two of them and the music. No thoughts and no clutter in their mind, its just pure innate physical reaction to the music that keeps them going.

For me, I had the priviledge to dance with my friend's friend , whom ermm I have forgotten his name :P. Anyway he's a 1.9m tall lad from Aussie. Imagine 1.57 m gal dancing with a 1.9m tall guy, I feel like I'm a dwarf dancing with this giant! I'm only at his chest level and I had to stretch my hand up high so as to reach his shoulder.

Actually, had been taking Salsa lessons for a while and is thus is able to teach me some basic moves. In Salsa, it is important for the guy to take the lead and he's done it pretty well, not to mention that I keep stepping on him all the time!

It was quite a fun night in general. I never knew Salsa can be such a great workout..the club start to feel like a Sauna after you have danced for a while. Everyone was drenched in sweat but still enjoying themselves nevertheless!

Entry and drinks are freeflow for the ladies on friday nights. I suggest if you want to try something new, try Salsa dancing!

Take Yourself to the Top! by Chris Widener

A meaningful article that I received from a friend. After reading it, it somehow reconciled my mind and heart....

Everybody wants to get to the top, whether it is the top of a career, a company, the earnings scale, or the many other ways that we as individuals can define the “top” in our own lives! But with so many people trying to get to the top, how come so many people aren’t moving up? I think there are some fundamental reasons why. Reasons that can be addressed and changed!

What are some things you can do to get to the top?

Here are some thoughts for you this week!

First of all, define what the “top” means for you.This is extremely important because if you don’t know where you are going, you will never get there! Some people don’t want to be the CEO of the company. In fact, many think they are better off then the CEO even though they don’t make as much money. Instead, they think they are at the top because of less stress, weekends with their families, etc, and I see their point. It doesn’t matter what others think is the top, only what you do, since you are only gauging whether or not YOU get there! So where is it for you? That is the first question for you to answer.

Be passionate about your goal.Passion is the energy that drives us, or, as Alexander Pope said, passions are the “gales of life.” Passion is the wind in the sales of work. Find some thing you love and you will find something you can get to the top of. If you don’t love it, you may still make it to the top, though highly unlikely. And even if you do, there will be no joy. Let your passion carry you, because it will carry you far! Thomas Fuller put it this way: A man with passion rides a horse that runs away with him.

The will to continue in the face of hardship.Another reason most will not get to the top is because they simply refuse to scale the mountains of hardship that separate them from the top. If you want to get to the beautiful view from the top, you will have to climb over any obstacles.

Instead, many choose to stay at base camp! One would think that Bjorn Borg, one of the greatest tennis players to ever live, would consider his skill his greatest asset. Instead, this is what he says, "My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match. However down I am, I fight until the last ball. My list of matches shows that I have turned a great many so-called irretrievable defeats into victories."

Continue until you get to the top!

Love people and treat them right.What? Love people? That’s right! Why? Because if you are going to get to the top, you are going to need other people. Be a jerk and you will find people dragging their feet on you. Treat them right and you will find them helping you and even cheering you on!

Master the appropriate skills.Average skills will get you to the middle. Top skills will get you to the TOP! This is most assuredly true when combined with the points above. Are you achieving excellence in the skills you need? Are you growing day by day, month by month, year by year?

You can always get better and getting better will take you closer to the top! Even if you only improve a little, you can keep improving that small amount and it will eventually become a big amount! Demand the best from yourself and you will get to the top. Remember the words of Jose Ortega y Gasset: "We distinguish the excellent man from the common man by saying that the former is the one who makes great demands on himself, and the latter who makes no demands on himself."

• Define the Top

• Be Passionate

• Persevere

• Love others

• Skill Mastery!

These will take you to the top!

SINGLISH VS ENGISH

Received the email below from an ex-colleague...gosh...what a culture we had developed in the 39 years of independence...uniquely Singapore indeed.. Happy Birthday Singapore! :P

SINGLISH VS ENGISH

-Use Singlish, it's so much economical n effective - Compare n See

When Going Shopping

-Britains: I'm sorry sir but we don seem 2 haf the sweater u want in ur size, but if u gif me a moment, i can call the other outlets 4 u.

-S'poreans: No Stock!

When returning a call

-Britains: Hello, this is Mr Bean. Did anyone page me a few moments ago?

-S'poreans: Hello, who page?

When someone is in the way

Britains: Excuse me, i'd like 2 get by. Would u please make way?

S'poreans: Lai, siam! or Siam hor! or Skius!(excuse)

When someone offers to pay

Britains: Hey, put ur wallet away, this drink's on me.

S'poreans: no need lah!

When asking for permission

Britains: Excuse me, but do u think it would be possible 4 me 2 enter through this door?

S'poreans: (While pointing at the door) Can pass or not?

When asking to be excused

Britains: If u would excuse me 4 a moment, i have 2 go 2 the gents/ladies. Carry on without me, it would onli take a moment

S'poreans: Go toilet! Buay tahan ahh... ...

When doubting someone

Britains: I don't recall u giving me the money.

S'poreans: Got meh?

When disagreeing on a topic of discussion

British: Err. Tom, i have 2 stop u there. I understand where u r coming from but i really have 2 disagree wif wat u said about the policy

S'poreans: Talk cock lah u!

When asking someone to lower thei voice...

Britains: Excuse me, but could u lower ur voice, i'm trying 2 concentrate over here.

S'poreans: Eh, Tiam leh!

When asking someone if he or she knows you

Britains: Excuse me, but i noticed u staring at me 4 some time. Do i noe u?

S'poreans: See wat see?! Buay Song ah!

Retrospection

Song Spinning Now: Julee Cruise - Falling

Its been a while since my last post. During this short period of time, I've got into a change of work environment again, for the 4th time since my arm recovered in April. However, these are just jobs to bring in some cash while I continue to hunt for a suitable marketing related career. I feel like a restless soul, always on the move yet always ended up in shitty contract jobs that made me even more miserable. That's just the kind of person I am, even if it's a contract temp job, I still will not hestitate to make a quick exit if it's some slave driver job that requires you to work 12 hrs a day or if it's something so boring that you feel like you are not learning or achieving anything but just to clock in the hours to earn the pathetic $6/hr.

Anyway, I certainly haven't lose hope in getting a suitable marketing related job despite several attempts and failures. I believe I can get one and its just a matter of time; I mean its really easy to be despaired but I just think of it as the employer's loss for not hiring me, hahaha..pardon me..yeah..too bad..they can't benefit from my powers! :P

Well time passes really fast, before you know its already the month of August, this means we are getting to the end of the year soon! Looking back on the months that passed, this year had been an extremely restless and trying period for me. Career wise, it's absolutely not taking off and I'm still struggling on this part. My physical being is the area that is most affected by this freak little accident that left me with a much weaker left arm now, although my health in general is not too bad.

I guess the only area in my life that is flourishing is my social life. I have met many new people and made a lot of new friends this year. The best thing that is that I manage to find my primary school friends after 12 years of lost contact, as well as many secondary school classmates via friendster and I've also managed to meet up with some JC friends and even ex-colleagues! Its like suddenly I'm having a lot of old and new friends entering in my life right now. They are practically from all over - old schools, past work places, friends of friends, other places etc. Well the feeling of making friends every where you go is just incredible, it makes you an even more sociable and cheerful person!

There's another 5 months to go before 2004 ends and 5 months' time can still bring in more new things, new friends, unexpected events or experiences. I'm excited to see where life will lead me to by year end, so let's hope I'll have more good things coming up!

Below is an article on something that I've learned this year and I'm now constantly applying it in my life.

I wish to dedicate this piece of article to a friend who had gone through some emotional struggle with himself lately. Hope you will continue to improve yourself and that you'll only get stronger and determined every time you face a disappointment, rejection or failure. Believe in yourself pal, you are definitely not a loser!

Believe in Yourself

By Harold Bloomfield, M.D.

Believe In Yourself You have the power to create a better life for yourself. But only if you believe in yourself and try. As Eleanor Roosevelt recognized, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." So get started on making your dreams come true.

Ask For Advice And Help Thinking about making a major life change? Ask your friends for help and advice. You may get very conservative advice from some people: "Don't take risks," "Don't rock the boat," "A boring job is better than no job at all." But you're also likely to get encouragement and help. People will respond to your courage. Doors will open. Try it. You'll be surprised at how helpful people will be when you ask.

Making Failure Your Friend

By Dr John C Maxwell

Failure is either your friend or your enemy and you shoose which it is. If you play a dirge every time you fail, then failure will remain your enemy. But if you determine to learn from your failures, you actually benefit from them and that makes failure your friend. To turn your losses into profits, ask the following questions every time you face adversity:

1. WHAT CAUSED THE FAILURE?You won't learn all you can unless you're willing to find out what went wrong in the first place. Were you in a no-win situation? Is there a certain point when things broke down? Can you pinpoint one central mistake?

2. WHAT SUCCESSES ARE CONTAINED IN THE FAILURE?No matter what kind of adversity you experience, there is always a potential jewel of success contained in it. Sometimes it may be difficult to find. But you can discover it if you're willing to look for it.

3. WHAT CAN I LEARN FROM WHAT HAPPENED?The key is to always maintain a teachable attitude and embrace the idea that Lord Byron once conveyed: "Adversity is the first path to truth."

4. WHO CAN HELP ME WITH THIS ISSUE?Generally speaking, there are two kinds of learning, experience, which is gained from your own mistakes, and wisdom, which is learned from the mistakes of others.

5. WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?In Everyone's A Coach, Don Shulan and Ken Blanchard state, "Learning is defined as a change in behavior. You haven't learned a thing until you can take action and use it." Make new commitment to learn something from every mistake or adverse experience in your life.

The lessons are there for the learning. But failure won't reach out and teach you. You must be willing to make failure your friend and seizing the opportunity to learn.

A second career

Song Spinning now: Julee Cruise - Falling

After watching the Current Affairs programme "Get Real" on Channel News Asia, I received a harsh reality, a profound confirmation that the future is absolutely insecure and unpredictable. To wait or hope for a rebound economy or go back to the good old days seem very distant; it might not even happen. All the forecasts and news on economic improvement are just news, there's hardly any significant changes down to the microscopic level.

In this episode, presenter Diana Ser brought the audience to the pride of two retrenched, over 40 year old white collar professionals who still couldn't find a job after 3 years despite lowering their salary expectation to just $20k to $24k a year.

These days making a living in Singapore is just going to get harder and harder as jobs are getting scarce and there's intense competition among tons of candidates for one position. As employees and job seekers face the increasing trend of contract positions replacing permanent ones, lower salaries, flexi wages, longer worker hours, cost cutting measures, foreign competition, fewer benefits, piling work load, chronic work stresses and etc. , job security is abscure and job satisfaction is rare.

Taking the analogy extracted from Robert Kiyosaki, this situation reminds me of a treadmill that is going faster and one has to keep catching up or run even faster to get ahead of others. The treadmill will continue to increase its speed, leaving no room for breathers. People who ran out of breath will naturally stop to catch some breath and when they decide to resume their run, they will be way behind those "machines" in front, who doesn't stop to take a rest. Even if you have all the stamina to go on and on,

It can be a dread to maintain this kind of working life just to get by or continue to live on this planet. Suddenly civilisation and globalisation create so much chaos people are going back to pre-civilisation, retreating into their rustic or rural havens for the purpose of finding peace and tranquility to keep up with sanity.

Every now and then you heard about people getting retrenched and it doesn't just happen to the older employees, but to younger ones as well. I came across those in their 20s who were retrenched due to company downsizing and surprisingly they were from MNCs. This proved that both local and international firms are equally vunerable.