New Year Wishes for 2008

During the year may you have
Enough happiness to keep you sweet.
Enough trials to keep you strong.
Enough hope to keep you happy.
Enough failure to keep you humble.
Enough success to keep you eager.
Enough friends to give you comfort.
Enough wealth to meet your needs.
Enough enthusiasm to make you positive.
Enough determination to make each day better.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008

PS. These new year wishes are not written by me. For my pals or those who are wondering why wish trials and failure to another, my view is that even when we are face with bad things or unfortunate events, there are good things that can come out of it. There will always be ups and downs in life. Just because we are down, it does not mean we cannot learn from it, and be a stronger, wiser and nicer person thereon. Wishing everyone here the strength to face adversity and the wisdom to grow from it.

Enchanted

OK, after that gloomy reflection earlier, another thing is on my mind this month: Disney Enchanted.

I don't considered myself to be a romantic guy and I enjoyed piercing sarcasm and black humor more (think In Living Color) but somehow this movie caught something in me (well, Madagascar too, but that was coz of the 4 mafiaso Penguins). Enjoy the catchy soundtrack of this movie:

Like it? It's hard not to. This tune has been ringing in my mind for past few weeks. Know why? Personally I feel it's coz when you are always happy and positive, you shine on others like the bright sun on a cool windy beach. That's why Amy Adams jovial, bubbly, caring and thoughtful character is soooooooo addictive. She simply draws people to her like a magnet. That's how we should live our lives: to bring joy and happiness to people around us, and they in turn will bring joy and happiness back to us. Merry Christmas and happy holidays folks! :)

Soldiering on

Been busy busy last 2 months: new distributorship, new products, new models, PC Fair, 1U Fair, Courts Mutiara opening etc. Without realising it, all these took a heavy toll on my values and principles. I tried not to blame myself for my choice of profession and business but I guess this is what The Buddha meant when he asked us to pursue the Right Livelihood and Right Effort. Choosing the right profession and prioritizing our lives are so important to our happiness and well-being.

When workload piled up and things got screwed up, your patience will be running thin, and frustrations will set in. Then next thing you know, KABOOM! I lose my temper more often, was rude to people, yelled at people, even more subtle but recently noticeable: starting to lose my generosity and thoughtfulness. Though I realised it sometime back, I shove it aside once I started to work incessantly and today, I don't like who I saw in the mirror: a cold and temperamental workaholic. To make things worse, I took home my office demo rig, the one with an AMD Athlon64 X2 6000+ and Albatron 8800GT 512MB VGA. Put an ex-Gamer with a high powered Gaming PC and what you get: an addicted Gamer all over again! :P

Fortunately I'm still mindful of the suffering due to "wanting" - chasing goals so hard that one ignore all the goodness that one can offer to others. I intend to slow things down by going to the temple more often, spending time with my family, catching up with friends, and if need be, sacrifice some of my business objectives. Most of all, I hope to regain my "changed" self again.

Note to self: Guard my thoughts, watch my deeds. Soldier on...