2011 – Feb 9 (Day 9)

Today is the 7th day of the Lunar New Year.  This is a significant day in the Chinese culture.  It is also called 人日 (pronounced as Ren Ri) which literally translates to ‘Day of Man’ or familiarly and affectionately known to us Orientals as ‘Everybody’s Birthday’.  My granny used to cook a pot of noodles for the entire household and we would all celebrate together with a bowl of rice dumplings in sugar-water.  I miss all the little traditions which I grew up with.  Some were simple while others were more elaborate but there is one thing in common – family.  It brought the family closer together.  :)

1. Received an unexpected phone call from my aunt June.  We were supposed to meet up during her visit in Singapore during the festive season but she was unwell and busy with her family.  It was a pity that we were unable to meet during her visit but we had a quick chat over the phone.  I was happy to hear her voice though it sounded nasal as she had caught a cold.  I suppose I will meet her next year.
2. Sent well wishes to everyone on my Facebook account.  Delivering happiness in the littlest ways.
3. Watched a movie while I was having my lunch.  Love multi-tasking!  :)
4. Received a surprise email!  Another request for quotation!!  2 days in a row! Feels wonderful to receive such surprises!  :)
5. Rushed to the office and sent out a few urgent emails before hopping in the car with my work team and headed towards Pulau Ubin for a business meeting!  I was feeling excited.  Felt like I was going on an excursion!
6. Had a great time chatting with my colleagues on the way to our destination.
7. Really enjoyed my first visit to Pulau Ubin for a business meeting.  There was an instant sense of tranquility when I step foot on the island and took a deep breath of the fresh island air.  It brought me back to my diving holidays and to my childhood days.  I spent a lot of time growing up in the rural areas of Singapore.  I miss the smell of morning dew.
8. Had a really good time on the island and having our discussion on the waterfront, feeling the sea breeze combing through my hair.  Ahhh…. best feeling ever!
9. Watched the sun set on our way back to mainland Singapore.
10. Caught a lift from my boss to my dinner rendezvous with my family.  Thank goodness for his help as my brothers were growing hungry and my mobile phone kept ringing from them trying to find out when I would be arriving so that they could start dinner.  Oops!!
11. Dinner with my family was a simple indulgence which I truly enjoy.  The meal was a simple fare but we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.  Simple food with family. Priceless!  :)
12. Connected with Ronny and some friends.
13. Showed gratitude and appreciation to another.
14. Shared joy, laughter and experiences with another.
15. Shared a bottle of beer with my younger brother!  hehe.. That was fun.  :)
16. Grateful that the weather was wonderful and cool today.
17. Started to write again!  Yes!!  Writer’s block.. begone!  ;p

I couldn’t ask for a better way to spend a “birthday”.  Receiving surprises, going on a “field trip”, spending time with a bunch of great and more importantly like-minded people, sharing a simple meal with my family, connecting with people who are significant to me and to be able to write with flow again!  I wish everyday is my birthday!!  hehe  

2011 – Feb 8 (Day 8)

I survived Monday and moving on to Tuesday!  :)

1. Had a late night last night but that didn’t stop me from having decent amount of rest.
2. Made a conscious decision to get out of the house today.
3. Had lunch at home while checking my emails.
4. Received a surprise email today!!  I received a referral for a quotation!  Nice!
5. Danced a victory dance in my bedroom!!
6. Kept my commitment to my mastermind group to set up a Facebook event invitation.
7. Took a bus to work.
8. Read my book while commuting.
9. Had a great day in the office working on the quotation and other tasks!  :)
10. Received a second quotation request within the same day!  WONDERFUL!!  :)
11. Thanked my referer!
12. Took a bus home from work and read some more.
13. Made myself a late dinner/ supper.
14. Connected with Ronny via Skype.
15. Watched some T.V. to dull my thoughts.
16. Shared joy and laughter with another.
17. Showed gratitude and appreciation to another.
18. Shared my day with another.  :)

I had a really good day!  It had left a great sense of satisfaction in my heart and soul.  :)

2011 – Feb 6 (Day 6)

Day 4 of the Lunar New Year and the last day of the 4 day long weekend.  Had a quiet day to myself… mostly..

1. Woke up at a decent time today despite of coming home late last night.  Hehe
2. Had leftovers for both lunch and dinner.  Yes, we had lots of leftovers from our family meals.
3. Watched a few movies.
4. Read my book.  Really enjoy reading all the research and references the author had made on traditions and findings on marriages in different cultures and reasons why people get married in the first place.  The book is called ‘Committed’ written by Elizabeth Gilbert.  It is the sequel to her earlier book ‘Eat, Pray, Love’.
5. Wrote down a list of things that I would like to get done for the following week.
6. Connected with Ronny via Skype.
7. Had supper with my friend Michael.  Really enjoyed our supper conversation.  It was filled with lots of inspiration and creativity.
8. Shared my ideas with others.
9. Shared joy and laughter with another.
10. Showed my gratitude and appreciation to another.
11. Love the cool weather.  :)

Though the day was planned to be spent alone and with my thoughts mainly, I am glad that I got to catch up with a friend especially when he had 2 bags of nuts which I had asked him to buy for me!!  hehe.. Hmmm… Macadamia nuts!!  :p

2011 – Feb 5 (Day 5)

Day 3 of the Lunar New Year.. I grew up in a really traditional Chinese family and we were taught at a young age by my grandmother that the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year is a day to be spent with immediate family members only ie. no visiting.  The reason was especially since we are Cantonese, the phrase of ‘the 3rd day of the lunar month’ sounds like ‘paying respects to ancestors’ in our dialect.  And it was frowned upon by the older generation if they were to know anyone is visiting another’s family on the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year.  Superstitious or not, I view it as respect to my culture.  I respect and embrace it.  :)

1. As it was “officially” family day in my household, I decided to stay home and just relax.
2. Also made a conscious decision not to do any work for the entire weekend since it is a 4 day long weekend.  So be it.
3. Had “linner” (lunch cum dinner).. hehe
4. Caught up with movies and stayed home for most parts of the day.  :)
5. Was spontaneous and accepted an invitation to an impromptu BBQ party invitation!
6. Celebrated good news!
7. Made new friends.
8. Had a great time at the party.
9. Allowed to express ourselves on the living room wall!!  That was a lot of fun!
10. Shared stories, laughter, hugs and food!
11. Showed my gratitude and appreciation to another.
12. Grateful that the weather held out.

I know that I had made an exception by going to another’s home but to my defense, the hosts of the party were not Chinese!  Always do something spontaneous.. you will never know what to expect and who you will meet.  Just take a chance and be pleasantly surprised!  :)

2011 – Feb 7 (Day 7)

After spending a 4 days long weekend with mainly family, good food and non-work related activities, I feel refreshed and ready to take on Mondays again!  Hehe

1. Received a morning call from my dear friend, Sulabha.  Those simple words ‘Good morning sweetie..’ made my eyes pop right open and I felt super fresh and alert! How curious!!  I should ask Sulabha to record her voice and I shall use her voice recording as my alarm ringtone!!  haha..  No, REALLY!!
2. Made a decision to work from home today.
3. Watched a movie during my lunch break and had leftovers.. hehe..
4. Planned the program of my mastermind group during a taxi ride to the venue of the meeting!  I amazed myself!  :)
5. Kept my cool with the taxi driver even though he was being difficult.
6. Hosted my first mastermind meeting with the ladies!  The meeting went really well and I am very happy with the results.  :)
7. Celebrated all wins today.  Size does not matter.
8. Experienced another way of having Yu Sheng as shared by Sulabha.. hehe.. Refreshingly sweet is what I would describe this experience.  :P
9. Had a great time connecting with women of strength.
10. Had a great time chatting with Ronny via Skype.
11. Shared laughter and love with others.
12. Gave and received hugs.
13. Read on the bus ride home.
14. Spoke my truth with compassion.
15. Showed my gratitude and appreciation to others.
16. Gave and received compliments.
17. Given my full commitment to my mastermind group today and I feel awesome about it.

Though the day started on a pretty mild tone, it sure ended with a BIG BANG!!  :)

2011 – Feb 4 (Day 4)

Day 2 of the Lunar New Year – To many it is another day spent in festive moods with relatives and friends simply sharing meals, playing majong and catching up with each other.  And to those who are not celebrating the Lunar New Year, it’s the 2nd day to a 4 day long weekend!  Everyone is happy!!  Hehe..

For me, my day went like this..

1. Had a nice long chat with Ronny via Skype.. Got to love technology!
2. Enjoyed a no alarm clock day and just rousing from my slumber when my body said so.  :)
3. Watched a movie in the comforts of my bedroom – Prince of Persia
4. Received an impromptu invitation to have a steamboat dinner at my future sister-in-laws home.
5. Had a great time at dinner.  The combination of food put into the bubbling pot of chicken broth was simply mouth-watering just thinking about it!!  I had way too much to eat and I fell asleep on the couch in the living room!! Hahaha
6. Watched another movie while we were having our dinner – Shaolin Soccer dubbed in English!!  It is still fun to watch it though I prefer the movie in its original language (ie. Cantonese).  Had a good time laughing in disbelief with my family nonetheless!  :P
7. Received a ride back home from my future sister-in-law.  She was really sweet to offer.
8. Had a great night out with a crazy fun bunch of friends at ‘Attica Too’.
9. Found myself walking home after a night out unintentionally!  I was waiting for a taxi but there were none going in my way so I decided to walk home.  Had a decent workout doing that too!  :P
10. Shared laughter and hugs
11. Showed gratitude and appreciation
12. Sat in a sort of sports car today!

It started out as a pretty laid back afternoon but it soon gain speed!  Unexpectedly wonderful!!  :)

2011 – Feb 3 (Day 3)

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year.  It is a day of mixed emotions which spreads across all age groups in the Chinese community around the world!  Why?  Let me enlighten you on this…

• Little children love the Lunar New Year as there is an abundance of new year treats, snacks and .. RED PACKETS!!  Red packets are little envelopes filled with money.  These red packets are little gifts from elders to children and unmarried members of the family, clan, neighbors, friends..etc. basically to anyone the elders like.  To a certain extend, its a little like Christmas!  Except, there is a higher sense of symbolism in that little red packet.  It symbolizes love, generosity of spirit, blessings and everything wonderful.
• Parents may or may not like this season as they well have to budget a sum of their income to prepare these little gifts of joy.
• Elder folks love this season as everyone – family, neighbors and friends – will be busy visiting one another and sharing the festive joys.  It brings the family close together for at least that few days in a year.

Personally, I love the Lunar New Year!  Not only do I get to hang out and hangout with my family and friends, collect them little red packets but I get to savor all those delicious and mouth watering new year food.  To me, nothing beats the feeling of sharing a meal with the people who matters and its even more meaningful if the meal was home-cooked as its always made and filled with so much love.  :)

So these were the highlights of the day for me.

1. Had enough rest and woke up in the morning.  Though it was not the perfect morning of the 1st day of the Lunar New Year, I just had to go with the flow, be grateful and smile to myself in the mirror.  :)
2. Wished my immediate family a Happy Lunar New Year.  :)
3. Had a feast of a lunch at my aunt’s.  Simply love their new home.  The winds were cool and soothing, the meal was simple yet so good and the conversations were priceless.  LOVE IT!
4. Hung out at my eldest brother’s home.  Had a great time playing with my nephew and niece!  I am so blessed to have such cute little ones in the family.
5. Shared joy and a belly full of laughter at my eldest brother’s home.
6. Received hugs from the little ones!!  Priceless!
7. Brought my mum to my girl friend’s – Shirley – home for dinner.  It had somehow become a tradition for me to bring my mum over for dinner.  Shirley and I have been friends since we were six years old!  We love one another like we are sisters. We are different and we choose to embrace one another completely!
8. Had a glass of wine with Shirley’s dad.  Also part of the “tradition”.. hehe
9. Had another feast at Shirley’s.  Her mum is a super cook!  Shirley had better write down all those secret recipes somewhere and keep them safe because I am going to uphold our little “tradition” for a long time to come!
10. Brought and shared joy with another.
11. Connected with dear family and friends.. in person and via the internet.
12. Received compliments.
13. Shared wonderful stories.
14. Watched movies/ TV with others.
15. Spent quality time with family.
16. Exchanged well wishes for the new lunar year with others.
17. Showed love to another.
18. Shared my day with someone special.

I had a super day and would not trade it for anything else!  :)

2011 – Feb 2 (Day 2)

Eve of the Lunar New Year.. Bidding goodbye to the year of the Tiger and ushering in the year of the Rabbit.  ’Gone with the old and making space for the new’ is what many Chinese would say when it comes to a new lunar year.  Yet another reason/ excuse to create a new list of things to do/ improve in one’s life.  In some way, we Chinese are given a second shot at making or refining the new year’s resolution which we have made before the start of the calendar year.. hehe.. Nope, I don’t view it as cheating.. I merely see it as another opportunity..  being hopeful.  :)

Well, there is something very significant and symbolic about the eve of the Lunar New Year.  Every year at the same time, every Chinese person will be having their reunion dinner with their families.  This is a cultural thing.  And it is also a very special event to us Singaporeans as we will have ‘Yu Sheng’ – a Singaporean Chinese creation I believe.  ’Yu Sheng’ is a sort of salad that we toss with our family and friends.  It has a fantastic medley of flavours mainly sweet, sour and tangy with a delightful texture when you eat it.  The main ingredients of this salad are sliced raw fish, shredded carrots and radish accompanied with a bunch of julian cut pickled ginger, sugared winter melon, roasted sesame seeds, chopped roasted peanuts, special crisps and seasoned with five spiced powder, pepper, lime juice, oil and plum sauce… I am starting to feel hungry just describing some of the basic ingredients in this salad.. But there is something else which is very special about this dish, as we toss the salad together as a family, we say really lovely and positive Chinese Idioms and sayings.  Not only does it taste wonderful, it symbolizes optimism.

I view our Reunion Dinners as our version of a Thanksgiving dinner, substituting one big roasted bird for another roasted bird.. hehe..

So here is my list for today..

1. Had a short but deep sleep of about 6 hours and waking up feeling completely refreshed to start the day with.
2. Decided to work from home today.
3. Kept to my commitment to myself to complete the list of things that I had planned to complete before I went for my reunion dinner with my family.
4. Work-wise, I felt that I was very productive, motivated and efficient.  Keeping the goal and target in my mind as I completed each of my task for today.
5. Watched 2 movies while I was working!  Hehe.. Love to multi-task.
6. Complimented my mother for cooking a delicious pot of soup for dinner.
7. Had a fantastic time with my family this evening for our reunion dinner.  I love our little get-together, just hanging out with my family, playing, eating, laughing, catching up and just having fun.  :)
8. Received presents from my sister-in-law!  Hehe.. I love it!
9. Got to drive my brother’s car on our way home.  :)
10. Connected and re-connected with the “usual suspects” and more.
11. Watched a Chinese movie when I got home.  It has been a long time since I did that.  Feels great to reconnect to my roots and practice my language skills.. hehe..

I really enjoyed how the eve of the new lunar year penned out and I am looking forward to hippity hop year!

2011 – Feb 1 (Day 1)

First day of February 2011.. Another two days till the Lunar New Year begins!  Time for a new beginning and spring cleaning.  It has also been raining for the past 5 days.  Is this how Mother Nature spring cleans?  By rinsing the earth?

I have also noticed that my neighbors have been busy de-cluttering their homes too!  As bags full of thrash lay neatly beside the overflowing rubbish bins at the foot of my apartment block.  Whilst my neighbors are busy with their homes, I was keeping busy with my own..

1. Woke up early this morning and had a light breakfast to start the day with.
2. Decided to work from home today since it was one of those perfect rainy days to stay indoors.
3. Read my emails after taking the entire weekend off work and fully concentrating on relaxation – mind, body and soul.
4. Got some work done.
5. Watched two movies – ‘Rapunzel’ and ‘Salt’
6. Connected with dear friends via technology.
7. Shared laughter and virtual hugs & kisses today.  hehe
8. Wrote blog entries.

It was a day spent simply in the comfort of my home.  Looking forward to another home office day tomorrow followed by a huge feast at my brother’s.

Let’s get the ball rolling again for 2011 shall we?

After taking such a long break from writing my daily entries, I have decided to restart this ‘habit’ of mine.  Many things had happened since my last entry in this category of mine called ’5 a Day’ and it had spilled over to the beginning of 2011!  So much so that it had become a little overwhelming and at the same time a little too personal for me to pen it here.. on my blog.

But here is a quick peek into what had taken place in Jan 2011…

1. Celebrated New Year’s in Old Delhi, India!  Awesome experience!
2. Spending the night at the airport of a foreign country!
3. Donated a bag full of goodies to the less fortunate.  Well, it was not by choice but since I would not be able to recover it, it will be recognized in my eyes as a “donation”.  C’est la vie!
4. Making space for love to grow.
5. Taught 450 students and their teachers on ‘Dinning Etiquette’!!  450 students!! That was really a memorable one!
6. Made my first Toastmasters Club visit for the year and had a great time participating at ‘Table Topics’.  Had a great chance at winning the ‘Best Table Topic Speaker’ for that evening too!
7. Spent two weekends with my wonderful girl friends just relaxing, bonding, connecting, eating, laughing, chilling out, exercising and eating.  Looking forward to more of such weekends… soaking in all the feminineness.
8. Walked in the rain.. by choice.  There is something magical about it.
9. Attended an incredibly informative and thought invoking talk by John Wong. And had wonderful organic foods for lunch/ dinner.
10. Started my health regime of eating healthily with regular exercise.
11. Discovered a new remedy for a good night’s rest for myself… evening run!  It worked like a charm and I was in bed by 11.30pm!  Yay to me!!
12. Productive meetings with my team mates from Eksalife.
13. Enjoying my work both as a trainer and as a Business Manager at Eksalife.
14. Creating new and maintaining existing bonds with friends.
15. Spending time with my family.
16. Connecting with friends on a deeper level.
17. Received a book ‘Three Cups of Tea’ as a gift from Ronny.
18. Drew out a general plan on how I want 2011 to be like for me.
19. Volunteered my time for others.
20. Made travel plans with family, friends and significant other.
21. Waking up every morning with a smile on my face!
22. Received and gave hugs!
23. Brought laughter and joy to another!
24. Received surprises!
25. Cried happy tears!
26. Caught up with movies.
27. Mended my shoes for free!

These were just highlights of Jan 2011.  I truly appreciate every opportunity I had received to express my thoughts and feelings be it formally or candidly.  Just embracing every moment and making the most out of it.  :)