Just Me & My Box

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Sunday, October 28, 2007

I just had a "lashing" by a close friend of mine. Honestly speaking. I dont think I deserve it. I know the importance of faith. I know the importance of positvism. However, I ALSO know it pays to be PRACTICAL. I didnt call to whine and let you see me wallow up in self pity. I just called to seek help. That's all. What did I get? An outburst? I seriously feel I dont deserve it, especially at this point of time. As we grow older, it appears that we both do have different opinion and outlook towards life. Dont worry, I wont let myself wallow in self pity over this issue. I believe there's a fighter in me and I definitely will do something about it. If it really happen, I wont let this nonsense thing take away the objective and goals in my life. If I've accidentally insulted your faith, Im sorry. However, I seriously dont think it was fair for me either.

9:56 PM;

Thursday, October 25, 2007

" Nothing is impossible. Some things are just less likely than others. "
- Jonathan Winters
Aloha! It's been a long time since I've last blogged. Judging from the last date of entry, it should bave been about 2 months. Hey, I know I've been lazy or slow to update the blog, but well, I was really busy especially in October. I've been busy taking on various roles. Student, part-time tutor, part-time tour guide, part-time investor. Sadly, why am I not a part time lover as well. Alright, shall not be lame. So here are the updates!

For the month of Sept,

I cant remember anything significant except for my grandmother's birthday. Had fun migling with my cousins.

Here are the pictures for the birthday bash!

Birthday bash @ Jumbo Seafood Restaurant @ Seangoon Gardens!

My niece and nephew. God... she looks like a

"大肉包"..

Sharing bottles of beer and wine..!

My sister together with my cousin, posing as 2 idiots.

My cousin, Tok Tong pretend not to know how to sing.

In the end, he was the best singer for the night.

My sister wants to be a mother soon..just look at her expression.

My taiwanese cousin in law..

Acting cute.. by the way, she's only 1 year older than me..

and she's a mum of 2.. hahaa..

My other 2 cousins, Lidan and Lilian.

Relatives..

Lastly, not forgetting the star for the night, my grandma..

I guess for the updates for October, I'll leave it to another time..

11:46 PM;

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."
- Steve Jobs

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example: Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now. This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades.
Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

This is a story I got from somewhere... Really enjoy it...

11:43 PM;

Saturday, August 11, 2007

"Maybe I wanted to hear it so badly that my ears betrayed my mind in order to secure my heart. "
- Margaret Cho, weblog, 03-03-04

I've just realised I've really really been a lazy blogger. It's been a long time since I've decided to well, update my blog. Alright, dont worry, I wont bore you guys with those drama rama romance stories. You know, those types such as those from Titanic.. such as this scene.
Jack, " You jump, I jump."
Rose. "Oh.. Jack....."
If im the lead, I guess I would'nt be so romantic..
Me, "You jump..you jump..hurry, just jump for Christ sake.."

Ok.. being really very lame here. Anyway, just a short update... I know it's been 2 months since I last updated the blog. Basically, Im a very "busy" man.. You know, I need alot of time to slack..sleep..eat.. ~~watch my porn~~..Kididng...

Just to update you guys.. I've been busy travelling. Yes. I've been to Cambodia and Taiwan. Both trips are amazing. Really... Lots of scenic spots to see.. really friendly and warm people..and of course, I've made quite a few girls and guys fall for me.. hahahaha.. joking.. Just to sum it all I enjoyed both my trips overall. Here are some pictures to let you see.. Oh.. and not forgetting.. I've yet to say "hi" to my new Taiwan friend, Ms Tang Chien Ling. She's a really nice and sweet lady.. Unless you are as good looking as Tom Cruise (a.k.a Me) you can forget about wanting to know her.. haha.. just joking. Ok..Enough crap. I think Im drunk on water.. Enjoy the pictures..

Cambodia in June

That was my meal for the first morning I spent in COSI. In case you guys do not know, the trip to Cambodia was mainly an introductory to help the kids there in the various orphanages, such as COSI. Anyway, the meal I had was considered a luxury.. the kids only had a salted egg with a bowl of rice.

Chu pei happily teaching the children English in COSI..

As for me, I was having fun playing with the kids after their lessons.

We are known as the Cambodian version of Backstreet Boys.. Now that reminds me.. Along the way, while we were walking out to a nearby village which was like few km away.. some idiotic girl asked this silly question, "Do you think the village sells Ice-cream?" And she's an undergrad. So much for being a global citizen.

Beautiful sunset at Cosi.

Yes. I ate that.. hahaha

Taiwan in July

One of the breakfast I had.. some egg roll.. Cant remember the name..

Please welcome the 2 MIB (Men In Black) They are going to save the world from the evil monster.. the G monster..

Backdrop of 我猜我猜我猜猜猜.. some variety show..

We are the poster boy and poster girl for Evian Mineral Water!

*Advertisement*. Please buy this guava juice. It's delicious. Sweet and Juicy..

Buy now and you'll be able to get another can for free..

Muscle Man~!!!.

This was taken at Toroko gorge..
Ok... Enough of updates.. If want to see more photos.. Please click Here

3:41 PM;

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Right. And so i smell cobwebs. Woah. It's been a pretty long itme since Ive last enter an entry. Let me see, like 3 weeks? Anyway, been a whole lot busier after the exams. Hey, but I aint complaining. Im enjoying it. Let me update slowly.

Seafood Feast
Finally had a seafood dinner with the Muggeteers to reward ourseleves for the hard work.

The Hungry Ernest devouring a prawn.

If you are wondering where did one of the clams been too, well, it's on my plate.

Look at the food........ Crabby.....

It's a real tiger shark.....

They really do have alot alot of tanks.

The crabs are huge....

PC fair
Had my crazy 4 days job at the PC fair, which really provided me alot of experience. Hahaha. Bet you guys didnt know that 1-2 hours before actual start of the fair, it's already a mini carnival. And mind you, if your really really want a good discount, go on the last day, at the very last hour. But be warned! stocks may not be available, however, stuffs that usually go on great sale would be those that people dont really want. For eg, 1gb of SD card was going for $10 around 9pm on the last day. 2gb card was going for $20. In addition, the items that are normally on sale would be items that are real buulky, such as speakers, printers and desktop. if you want discounted laptops, then i suggest you got to get it much earlier.

12:45 PM;

Friday, May 25, 2007

"You don't know a women till you've met her in in bed and in court!"
- Unknown Source

I just sent the lady back from work. Seriously and honestly speaking. Can someone please tell me how to win over a person who's 9 years older than you? Someone used to tell me this, "When it comes to relationship, there is no difference in the reaction of a 30 year old lady to that of a 16 year old teenager." But it doesnt seem so..

She just told me that she's pretty independent and she had just managed how to fix a fan. With that accomplishment, she casually commented that she might not need a Man in her life after all. That gave me an inspiration to type this entry.

A few reasons why girls doesnt need a guy in their life.

1) They definitely do not need a breadwinning husband. With education and capabilities, they are able to earn cash as fast as the way they emptied their nail polish bottles.

2) With cash and capital, they now have the power to kick any one ass. Dressed in power suit, in the office, they kick all the guys ass...maybe some balls too.. Hail Venus!

3) The male still proves to be some usefullness, especially in the area of sexual pleasure. Till one fine day, some smart alec invented the Dildo. With that, Man is redundant.

4) With cash and more cash, who would need to worry about having a husband who might just cheat on you.

5) There is an equation. An increase in the amount of cash will result in a proportionate increase in the amount of LV bags. $=LV. And since LV is the common enemy or nemesis of males, an increase in LV bags will inversely cause a proportionate decrease in males. Therefore, ↑ Cash = ↑ LV bags = ↓ Males

6) If there is ever a need to change a lightbulb or repair a sink. Do you think you need a male in the house to do it? With cash and more cash, anything goes! Buy a new light, buy a new sink!

7) With those cute cuddly teddy bears on sale, who needs a guy to serenade the girl to bed with his arms all over her. Besides, hrow in additional cash, the teddy bear might even be programmed to do a hip hop dance and either sing or rap for you.

8) Basically being single means, not having to cook for that big fat slob idling his time away watching soccer. or alternatively, do girls need a guy to cook for him? what's hawker centre, Mcdonalds and pizza hut for.

9) If a woman ever need a baby, well, Angeline Joline has set the example. Now we can go international! After all, this is the age of globalisation. You can choose one from Timbatu to the one in the Himalayas Mountain. Alternatively, ladies can head to the sperm bank and have IVF. (But hey..that still require a male!) Or, well..clone!

10) Well, being single means, you have all the bed to yourself. You do not need to have sleepless nights having to fight over that bolster or blanket. Yo do not need to endure the loud thundering snores from another person.

A few reasons why guys doesnt need a girl in their life.

1) No more constant agony of having to guess why she's angry with you for not getting that shoes or why she's upset with you for hanging with your buddies instead of being with her.

2) You do not need to wonder why your wallet is burning a hole faster than you can fill it.

3) You do not need to worry about having to be in court for the wrong reason or having that already thick Women's charter to become thicker.

4) Food? well, with the age of globalisation, it has brought about standardisation too. Modern Males has now swear to a common standard diet - Burgers, fries, chips and beer. As for eating habits? Eat in fornt of the TV with ESPN channel tuned.

5) As for sexual pleasure. Well, since a long time in history, guys has always been very
'independent'. I shall not elaborate.

Ok. No offence to any gender out there. Im just being very cranky and lame. Ok till then. But not before this joke I heard from a friend.

Q) If a girl were to choose between bags of LVs, boxes of Jimmy Choos shoes and a guy, who would she choose?
A) The guy. Reason? She'll choose the guy and ask him to carry all those LVs and shoes.

A girl's fantasy - LV, Prada, Diamonds, Jimmy Choos
A guy's fantasy - Girls, girls, girls
See how faithful guys are!

1:40 AM;

Thursday, May 24, 2007

" A woman knows she's wearing the right dress, when her man wants to take it off. "
- Unknown source

Well, it has been a roller coaster ride for the past few ~~days~~ months. From the horrible deadly monotonous preparation to the angry reaction of the sociology paper to the suprising difficulty of the IBM paper. Finally, after 2 months and 239587475784321 seconds, Im officially declared Im FREE!!!! Exams are finally over. But before i can officially relax, Ive to mail my MC to UOL, clean up the paper jungle in my study room, do lots of housework..etc.

Yes, in short I've alot of things I need to do.. Exercise, arranged my stuff, buy a new computer, set up my biz plan etc.
ok. get a grip. First of all, the main thing i need to do is rest!!!!

Right, anyway, after many months, i really start to realised that after so much hankering over the girl, hoping my affection will move her, I guess, i start to feel abit tired and all. I think im really trying to let go of it. Well, after the past 2 months and all, although she been constantly chatting with me, I somehow feel like im the only one who's constantly keep putting my effort in trying to start this relationship. I mean, after this hard and tedious 2 months, I really dont feel any appreciation and feelings being reciprocated to me. Although she may still tell me she appreciate me, I just feel it's rather one way. Nvm, I shall not dwell on all this anymore. I guess, i'll still try to keep my relationship with her as a rather platonic one.

Anyway, til then, if you are free..and im free..give me a call.. we'll go out for coffee!

7:38 PM;

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WALKING.

Jasper Tan
Created Since
05 June 1985

RUNNING.

FLYING.

SMACKING.

REMEMBERING.