2011 : Weighed, Measured and Found Absolutely Fabulous

Well well, the year winds to a close as we welcome 2012 in 2 days time. Has your year turned out the way you expected when 2011 began?

I certainly did not anticipate what 2011 had in store for me. The plan was to limit my travels and if possible not travel at all this year cause I was looking to save up enough money for a place to buy. No chance of that happening, as I soon found out.

Earlier in the year, I was kicking myself in February about missing a chance to attend a meeting in my company's headquarters in Sandefjord, Norway. But I thought to myself, maybe something better is in store. And it turned out to be true. In March I was able to go to Amsterdam for 3 days meeting (and I took additional 3 days off to travel around with my sister). Then what came up was even more exciting! I was approved to travel to Norway for subsequent meetings in May, June, August, October and November, for a bout 10 days each time.

And in between I went Dubai and Abu Dhabi twice in November and December for a total of 3 weeks. If I said I didn't want to travel, I would be lying! And for my company to send me over to attend these meetings, I feel blessed. Never in my wildest dreams would I have envisioned that I was able to jet off almost every month this year.\

All those trip earlier were for work, and I also managed to squeeze in 2 personal trips this year. First was to UK for my sisters graduation with my family. We stayed for almost 3 weeks and visited London, Paris, Rome, Geneva and Interlaken before flying back. Next trip was a small family trip to Sandakan, Sabah from which we then drove to Semporna for a few nights in the middle of the ocean.

So this year for me was a year of super ridiculous travelling. Some statistics:
- I have spent 50 hours in transit at Amsterdam Airport.
- Almost 50 days in Sandefjord Norway.
- More than 120,000 miles flown this year.
- About 90 days in a hotel.

But then, there is always more to life than travelling (for work or otherwise). I have made new friends. More friends have gotten married. Caught up with my friends (though much less than last year). Going thru my resolutions for 2011, It seems I achieved most of them except losign weight (cause of all the good food while travelling and lack of time for gym) and spending more time with my friends (same reason as earlier).

I shall look forward to 2012 with excitement (though I know there should be considerably less travelling). Wait, I'm not too sure about that as I have Bali, Bandung, Sabah, Singapore, Jakarta, Thailand, Vietnam, India scheduled for next year. And I should be looking forward to receiving the keys to my place soon. Hehehe fingers crossed, I would be able to move in by the first quarter of next year.

Anyways, I think I am a bit long winded here. I wish every1 a great year ahead and live prosperous!


Boodyboy, out!!

Life's forseeability

I wanted to do this post as a tribute to my grandmother who just passed away last Friday. But after thinking about it, I've decided to blog about how certain things in life cannot be controlled by us, no matter how well we plan it to be.

The incident that led to her passing was definitely a shock to all of us; her children, grandchildren as well as great grandchildren.

While she did pass away at the age of 81, which many people consider to be old age, the fact that she lost her life due to an accident is still a fact many of us cannot accept. After all, when I last saw her 3 weeks back, she was still in a jovial mood (we were at my sister's surprise farewell party at Ecoba).

Here's what happened (in a simplified manner):
Apparently there was a gas leak from the spare gas tank at home. My grandmother went to reheat the food, turned on the gas stove and an explosion occured. MY grandmother suffered 1st degree burns and was put into the ICU where she survived for another 4 more days. Ultimately, her age and her previous health conditions made it difficult for her body to recover from this shock.




All I can say is that, life is pretty unpredictable. As much as we can how to live our lifes, we cannot decide how, or most importantly when our lives come to an end.





The best we can do is have a plan and give it our best shot till its time to go. Had we not given our best, would we regret it when we're on our death bed?

The next time we decide to skip an invitation or pass up on an opportunity, lets quickly ask ourself, without prejudice, "Am I going to regret not doing this in the future?" Give yourself the chance to answer it honestly. If you can say no to yourself comfortably, then by all means, you will continue to live life happily.

If you might even think that you will have the slightest regret, why not give it a shot and say yes. It never hurts to try something out. Even if you failed it, you still have something to gain. Something we call experience and wisdom.

I hope that my grandmother had lived her life to the fullest, made the choices which she thought was best for her and her family. She raised a group of children who turned out to be great uncles and aunts for me. I'd say, for a single mother for over 40 years, she did a pretty good job. Somethings in life like the hardships they had to go thru, living life without much money, was not her ideal situation, but she gritted her teeth and did her best to provide for her 9 children.

As you can see from the picture above, that is how big our family is. 9 Children, 18 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. We shall all remember her in our own special ways.

For all my fellow readers, I hope you continue to live life to the fullest and dont pass up any opportunity in your life without giving a chance!

Boodyboy, out!!

Defragment. Reformat. Mylifeneedssortingout.com.my

This is it.

I don't which is scarier. The fact that I think I made a mistake. Or the fact that the way for me to resolve this mistake leaves me with an uncertain future.

I really don't know. I just realised I cannot continue to do things which are against my key personality traits. In fact, the longer I stay in this situation, the more uncomfortable I am.

I am sure the step that I have chosen to take to rectify my situation will receive lots of criticism. All I wish is that something good will come out of this sooner rather than later.

As it is, I'm already feeling uncomfortable from day to day. Yet now I am scared of the consequences to my decision to leave this uncomfortable situation.

Brickbats? Support? Criticism?

People will say,"This young man has some serious issues. Does he even know what he wants in life?"

Oh well...



Boodyboy, out!!!

Why I'm Here on Earth

Its been a very long time since I wondered about the reason why I'm here on Earth.

I used to think about it all the time, when i was much younger. Am I brought to this world for a reason? Or am I here just to continue the existence of my kind? Well, back then I would spend countless hours on my bed, pondering upon this question till I fell asleep. But I never knew the answer.

And after such a long time, this question just popped into my mind a couple of days back.

And I was surprised, with what I thought the answer could be, today. Maybe time has changed my a lot more than I had thought. Life has taught me so much since when I was a kid.

I guess studying in University and working for almost 2 years had changed me a lot. I was so busy i had no time to think of questioning my existance and other "trivial" matters (although it was going thru my mind quite often when i was younger).

Well, going back to the question of, "Why I'm here on Earth?".

I guess there won't be a right answer. After all, my cameo appearance on earth would be at most 85 years. The universe has been here for millions / billions of years and many lives has come and gone since life began here on this planet.

I guess the reason I was born is because I am the by product of my parents wish to have a kid. To continue my family lineage. To ensure the survival of my species. To be there to take care of my family when age has caught up with them.

Well, looking at my given answers, it doesn't really make me really motivated to be an achiever in life. I mean, if my answer to why i'm here today is right, then I guess I would be disappointed.

But if I ask myself: What do I want in my short stint in this planet?

The answer would be to impact as many people's lives as possible in a good way. While being born a Chinese makes me think about practicality and money, I always tell myself there has to be a way for me to balance all these together.

When I ask myself, today, How much have I done to make this world a better place?

My answer would be a disappointing one. I don't think that I have helped as much people as I would have liked. Even my younger, more idealistic self would agree.

I've been to busy with satisfying myself with trying to find more money (work), spending them, and literally just enjoying myself way more than helping others. I have splurged on myself more often than not on food and material goods. I've neglected saving for my own future. I've just been selfish.

I can get defensive and always just tell myself, it's okay to be selfish. It's okay to feel good spending you own money.

However, being in pursuit for more money has made me compromise on what I plan to achieve here on Earth. I've probably just wasted 3-4 years just being selfish. But if i don't enjoy now, I would leave this life regretting the fact that I've passed up on so many opportunities to have fun.

On the other hand, would I be satisfied with myself, on my deathbed, to think that throughout my life, I've only served to make myself happy?

The dilemma's of living life.

At most, the only people I have had a chance to help were my friends. Although my social circle has expanded, I doubt that I have made much of an impact in their lives.

Have i helped my family enough? No. The answer is very obvious. In fact, once i became more independant (making my own money), i feel that I have neglected them more than I have ever done in my life. I told myself it's okay to be a little selfish. There were times when my both my parents would be frustrated at the fact that I wasn't at home long enough for me to hold a decent conversation with them. Sometimes, i would come home so late that they would be alseep. And we all go our seperate ways when we leave for work the next day. While that doesn't make me feel proud, I still do my part when it comes to household chores.

And again, you see what human nature does to us? We always try to comfort ourselves by giving us excuses. We tell ourselves it okay to do/not do .... , because ....

But this a topic for another day.

I guess, I should make an effort to try and help as many people as possible. Beginning with my own social circle. I shall start offering help to my family and friends whenever I can. After all, charity begins at home, no?

For those who have managed to read till this part of my post, I thank you. Take a little time tonight, before you sleep and ponder, Why I'm here on Earth? and What are the things that would make me proud when i look back at life when I'm 80?

When you have found the answer, work towards them. And live life to the fullest.

Boodyboy, out!!!

P.s. for those who need a place to start, try reading Rick Warren's Best Seller, Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here For (I have the book, if ever you guys need to read it, I'd be glad to lend it to you)