Month: May 2010

Hard to keep reminding myself to switch to Firefox especially for spreadsheets heavy with data..

C’mon Google.. surely your own browser can be tweaked to work better with your apps than a third party one, eh?

Here’s to a wise beginning to the week..

Good morning! And have a nice day! :)

As I’d just introduced characters from a novel I’ve been reading, I just thought I’d feature an interesting comment on the ‘Of Nuts and Geniuses’ from a well wisher –

Anonymous said…

you should have an option like ‘cliched’ or ‘not quite interesting’ or ‘load of optimistic rubbish’ etc…it seems unfair that the only choices I have are cool or interesting…neither of which your little note on rebellious genius can qualify for.

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There is indeed a 3rd reaction called ‘Can do better lah’ which has a touch of Singlish and may not be all that obvious. That can be changed I guess(has been changed!)..
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Nice to have comments, always.. so please keep your thoughts coming!

I am generally more of a flexible person when it comes to most things or so I think (maybe I’m not).. One thing that I know does happen to me is that once something works very well, it takes a lot for me to change it – especially when it comes to stuff I do for leisure.

One such example is with reading novels. And one such group of Novels I simply LOVE are those written by Colin Forbes.

There are a whole bunch of these novels and they primarily feature the team from the British SIS (Secret Intelligence Service – equivalent to the CIA) and all of these are thrillers with lots of adventure, mystery and some rather cool action. The coolest part is the main team and the main ones here are –

Tweed: The head of the SIS. An unassuming person to look at, extremely intense and never lets anyone on what he’s thinking unless he is very very sure! Super smart, of course..

Paula: His right hand, practically – a smart brunette with brains and a thirst for action! Very brave and portrayed as an adventurous right hand..

Bob Newman: A very famous international correspondent tough guy who Tweed trusts completely..

Marler: The real hero in my point of view atleast. Marler has always been my alias name (haha) and the reason is he is this cool, suave guy – always unruffled and is the deadliest marksman in Western Europe. Marler is someone who’s made it to my personal mission statement even just for the fact that he is always a calm head during a crisis and always, ALWAYS does things with style..

Harry Butler and Pete Nield: Opposites in the sense that Harry doesn’t pay too much attention to appearance while Nield does but both extremely dependable arms men, breakers of locks etc etc.. Complete the team..

Forbes’ novels have always enthralled me. Maybe it’s because there’s been a part of me always enthralled by the world of such secret/confidential missions, action etc.. I’d read Forbes when I was in high school and this time, I decided to pick these novels up and re-read and boy, I’m having a great time..
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The funny part is the difference in outlook now. These novels are very very British and they, as a result, portray Russia, China, US etc as power hungry monsters and that does occur to me as humorous right now..

Nevertheless, the real learning is observing the characters. It’s great fun and also tells me that when we get really deep into something, anything.. there are always life learnings that can be drawn out..

yes, anything, including Harry Potter(for the skeptics).. :D

Tony Robbins teaches that we all have a primary question we ask ourselves whenever we’re under stress. And it’s not nice. Can you think of a question that has gone through your brain for most of your adult life whenever you get a little stressed?
Mine? “Am I going to look stupid?”

Not a very empowering question. To say the least. Think about it. The answer to that question is never going to be: “Oh, No! You? You’re going to look like a genius right now! Go for it! Everyone’s going to love you!” It’ll be more like, “Yah, you will look stupid. Remember when you messed that thing up before? Everyone looked at you funny? You got all sweaty and freaked out? Yah. That’s gonna happen here, too. Fer schizzle. Whatever you do, DO NOT do it!!”
Yikes! So…. Any more ideas on what your question might be?

… My question stopped me from doing ALL KINDS OF THINGS (from dancing to making simple phone calls). The Big Idea? Get clear on the fact that you have a question that’s running the show when you’re stressed. Figure out what it is. And, most importantly, replace it.
My empowered question? “How can I let God flow thru me?”

THAT is a MUCH MUCH MUCH better question to ask myself when faced with a stressful situation, no? Yours? Change the question and change your life.
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Interesting thought – I do have the knack of first thinking if I would look stupid or not. Time for some replacement, it seems.. :)

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And I am becoming a big fan of Brian Johnson’s Philosopher Notes..

The feeling’s a bit different this time though..

Generally, it’s one of mad excitement..

Maybe it’s because I know I have an exam on the 18th to study for..

Maybe it’s because most friends are back in Singapore fighting the good fight..

Maybe it’s because a part of me has stayed behind in university knowing it’s done..

Or maybe it’s just because the ‘I am a graduate’ feeling is sinking in..

Feels different..

More solemn..

I guess I can no longer say I am just a stupid irreponsible student who has the right to fool around..haha

Maybe I’m ‘growing up’.. haha..

All these aside, it’s back to home sweet home, and there’s no place on earth like it..

Great to be back! :)
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It’s nice to crystallize why we feel the way we do. Just got a slew of book learnings from friends who are reading a book a month. Since 3 of them read and shared learnings from the alchemist, there’s a lot of talk of ‘Be friends with your heart’..

I’m trying.. :)

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Nice one.. quotes from Brian Johnson’s Philosopher’s Notes and Apple’s ad..