Happiness

In the current downturn, it’s easy to be depressed. Yesterday I was reading a blog entry, that we aren’t really as poor as we think, and that we should be happy for the things we already have.

Today, the DJ on Class 95 morning show was sharing tips on staying happy in bad times, and he said that he has started keeping a list of things that make him happy since Monday, and is amazed at how the list keeps growing (it’s now Thursday).

Inspired, here’s my list of things that make me happy, appearing in random order:

- A simple home-cooked meal prepared with love
- A good workout, the type that you sweat profusely, and feel like swearing at the sadistic instructor for putting you through all that misery
- Lovely view of the sunrise from my bedroom window as I’m getting ready for work
- A good and stimulating lunch discussion with my colleagues (topics ranging from hybrid animals, ladder theories, Chinese names of countries, reproduction)\
- Spending time with family just catching up and talking about everything or nothing at all
- Having fun with my friends
- My FAGs: sports sessions, food, gatherings at Shuyun’s house, birthday surprises, Chek Jawa + Zoo + many others
- Travelling: carrying tons of stuff, getting lost and going round in circles, walking and walking and walking, seeing and experiencing new things and learning new stuff about our traveling partner(s), all that food, oh the scenery!
- A good song to make me smile, feel hyped up or anything
- Receiving my items from sprees, especially if that cheap dress turns out to be really fabulous
- Relaxing and reading a good book
- Rushing through the weekends doing tons of stuff
- A clean house after doing all that mopping, scrubbing and ironing
- The smell of freshly laundered clothes
- Our nightly hugs and cuddles
- Singing songs off key while driving in the car
- Anything sweet (but not overtly sweet): chocolates, fresh fruits, cakes, ice cream
- Stroking and playing with pets, especially my little rascals kink and wink
- The bus driving past the beach on my way home from work on a lovely evening

The list doesn’t end here and will be updated periodically.

What makes you happy?

Random

The quantum for our annual increment is out. We should be very glad that in these times of wage cuts and pay freezes, we are still getting an increment, however slight the amount. But most of us are pissed off ‘cos our peers in our subsidiaries are getting a 20% higher increment than us at the parent company…

Hmm… I know we should count our blessings in these tough times… but can’t help feeling a bit indignant about the whole thing…

So excuse me while I rant a bit…

10 yrs on

Went back to my secondary school for a reunion last Saturday evening. While the turnout wasn’t very good, and we had it in the new school campus and not the one that we spent 4 years of our lives in, it was a good reunion catching up with old friends, a lot that I haven’t seen in the last 10 years.

The best parts of the reunion was when we simultaneously broke out into the school cheer and when we stood up to sing the school song (I can still remember MOST of the song, no mean feat considering it’s in super high pitch and have two repeating stanzas with very similar but different lyrics). Think I teared during the school song…

Now looking forward to the JC one, should be fun!

Health Scares

Haven’t updated in a while, went on my Vietnam trip and back, celebrated New Years at my new house, started living there on a pretty regular basis. I totally heart my new place, though it still needs some touching ups and more furniture… I just love being able to go home, cook a simple dinner and not needing to fight with everyone on what channel I wanna watch on tv. Plus the best part: I don’t need to rush so much every morning.

So anyway, within one week we’ve experienced two health scares. My dad tripped and fell on the staircase last week, and according to my dad’s colleague, he hurt his head and was bleeding profusely from the wound. That totally freaked my mum and all of us out… cos we weren’t there to see what’s going on, and my mum has a tendency to over-exaggerate. Thankfully it wasn’t serious, the profuse bleeding was due to a nose injury, and while my dad did have a hairline fracture on his nose, there was no concussion etc. Thank goodness for that. And best of all, my very hilarious tj had to remark: “wah uncle u look so cool, like boxer liddat” (cos the bandage/plasters were on his forehead and nose)

During a routine eye exam, tj’s mum suddenly found out that she totally couldn’t see from her left eye, and after much examination, it was found that her retina was detached and needed to be operated upon ASAP to prevent further retina tearing and complications. During the pre-op examination, they found that her blood sugar level was very high which may indicate that she had diabetes, which may result in her being unable to undergo the eye op…

The op sounds simple enough, but part of the healing process involves her lying face down for more than 90% of the time for 2 weeks to encourage the healing process. That sounds quite torturous to me… =(

I guess the moral is to eat healthy, exercise more, get more rest, take things easier, and spend more time with your family. And go for regular medical checkups.

For the coming CNY, I wish for my family to be healthy…