2007 is a good year for many. After all, it is the Year of the Pig. A golden pig indeed. Global economy is doing well. Job opportunities in Singapore are great. Shares prices went up. Property prices are as its peak like the mid 1990s. And our taxi drivers in Singapore are earning a comfortable S$4-S$5K wage. I am sure most government servants are earning more – with at least 2-month bonus. And yes, Singdollars and RMB are doing so well.

While we party and bid farewell to 2007, we overlooked the majority of our kind. And it is not too difficult to spot them. They are just around the corners in every city. You find unfortunate ones not doing as great as what the newspaper reflected. While we are partying, they worked behind our shadows, making life easier for us. The bus drivers, the shopping centres loo cleaners, the construction workers, the domestic helpers, the trash-cans collectors, the 24/7 factory workers, the poor child beggars of 3rd world countries, the soldiers at frontline and those who are desperately finding ways to make a humble living.

I always ask myself if it is possible to achieve a fair system in food-chain of economy. The rich and powerful ones at the top made use of the poor and helpless ones below. One used his lifetime to enjoy the wonders of life at the cost and expense of another’s life and time. Production workers slaved all their life producing "luxury items" for the ones above. A cheap price indeed. Rich nations outsource dirty works to poor nations. Risky and dangerous jobs are given to those sons and daughters whom we never regards as friends or families. Do we care if a maid fell off the window in the course of her chores? Nope, the employers just get a new replacement from the agency. 

Some people explained their daily life in measurement of dollars and cents. While others measure in their own standard of "passions" and "satisfaction". And many do it in the name of "you-know-who" (for my dad, for humanity, for Him)! It is all but justifying the doings of oneself. That at least give us a purpose to do things…a reason to progress. In whose words…in ours, I supposed.  I wonder if a man would do something so right and meaningful for himself without all these justification.

To many, it is just "Time" – a natural progression of things. Time to study, time to get marry, time to retire and time to punch-card and go home. We have created a world system, a society that remotely rally the world and mass to run a common path. There will never be a world of only leaders and no followers. Likewise, there will never be a world of salves and no master. It is a strange way of ruling nature and getting the system to work. And yes, this food-chain of economy will imprint everyone of us with a heavy price-tags. Of course, I am always challenging these rules. Why let time stop your path?

The wonders of this world were built by the poorest people and you will never know their names or face. Only the masters’.

I was walking home that night – after my Christmas party. It was 25th Dec 2007. The city was full of lights. Everyone is counting down. I just went thru 20 times of gift-exchange rituals. Stopping at the traffic light just outside my estate, I saw 5 young men (about late 20s) digging road gravels 1m below me. It was 2-3 degree that night. I can’t really call them "workaholic" – they don’t have that choice. I don’t think they want to celebrate Christmas too – so it is not about empathising and giving them a Christmas gift. Then what is it?

It is just making a living. Not a lot though. Perhaps just enough for them to elevate to the next level of the food-chain. The only pity is they may spend the next 80% of their lives doing just that. What about the idealogy of "exploring the world and enjoyment of life"? I guess such idealogy only exist at one level of the food-chain.

Happiness and health is the only fuel I am asking for. It doesn’t matter who you are and where you are. Happiness comes from many sources. As long as one is happy and healthy, life remains a miraculous journey that let one search for the answers he/she is seeking.

As long as there is a chance, do something meaningful and kind. Make someone smile everyday for the rest of your life. This is just a basic gesture. And it will help to make this world a beautiful place to live in. Not the lights and big buildings you see on the street…but the comfort and warmth one carries in his/her heart.

Start create beautiful memories. Cos’ nothing is real and stable. Not the value you see in RMB or USD. Or the fame and status you are holding.
There is only one true "Currency of Life" – that currency is call "Happiness".

 Lately, I have been receiving a couple of emails and msn from my “loyal readers”. Many thought I have given up this SPACE and moved over to FACEBOOK. Yes, it is really quite addictive on FACEBOOK. I have been spending my nights recruiting vampires and fighting zombies so I can retain my spot at the top 3. Haaa…ok, that is not really my main reason for not blogging.

Yes, there have been so much activities going on in my life right now. And I regreted not recording them on my blog. Perhaps, I should stick to my “1 blog-per-week” rountine. At least, people at home can find out the latest gossips. And people outside the clan can ponder what’s going on with this strange animal.

Here am I, sitting on my couch, enjoying the cool 15 degree night. I have Kalinda day-dreaming in front of me, Felicia making “Tang-Yuan” in the kitchen and Tracy reading “Lao Fu Zhi” to Elkan beside me. (I thought I asked Tracy to read bedtime stories to Elkan…I doubt Lao Fu Zhi is one!!! Man, she is a joker! No wonder, Elkan is NOT SLEEPING now – it is 1130pm now!)

Ahh…. life is so blissful right now. Wife, son and girlfriends – all under 1 roof. It is no wonder someone msn me “I really respect you, Joe… how you do it?” (Yeah, I told Randy that I am going to build the next “Playboy Mansion” in Asia and he was like “er…” last night)

Just came back from Vietnam and HK, celebrated my son’s birthday and suffering a terribly messy house right now. Need bigger space, more girlfriends and maybe a 2nd monster. Life is so unpredictable yet it is something we plan ahead. But we can never know our next junction of life – the who, where and what.

Yes, life has changed so much for me and my friends – since my very 1st blog back in 2005.

1) Francis Chay bought his mansion now. Less the playmates.
2) MC has married and is now a father!
3) Gareth has a car, 2 sons and 3 handphones?
4) Kalinda is becoming an attractive young and rich single.
5) Joanne is running a good and meaningful studio – with her another successful and crazy “Ang”
6) Juliana and Duuk bought and renovated their half-a-million HDB at central AMK
7) Jimmy married, got a brand new house and a successful business. Time for a little Jim.
8) Yifu ~ Ah… the friend I miss most – got to catch up with him on his naughty mischiefs
9) Yixi ~ My loyal reader and a role model for me.
10) Meijie ~ Man…how many girlfriends you had now? I lost count.
11) Tracy ~ Gained a couple fo KGs and moving on to an expat’s Account life.

Last year, I wrote 94 blogs and received 16600 visitorships.

This year, I wrote 97 blogs and received 24385 visitorships.

Here is the list of my 2nd Year Blog. Some are sad, heart-warming and amusing. I have bold those that I love so much.

Click on them and it leads you right to my archive.

Hope you have an enjoyable time with me. Looking forward to another great year.

October 08         My Last Bachelor’s Golden Week

September 23    Ache-boarding (not snowboarding)

September 22    Our 7th Wonder – Kaylene!

September 16    Smoking and Non-Smoking Areas

September 16    Yiwu – World’s Wholesale Capital

September 16    Food Express

September 16    Hanging On the Job

September 09    Caffeine on News ~ Again

September 09    My new Toy, Elkan’s new Nemesis

September 09    “Facebook” – The new e-Addictive

September 09    Between Day & Night, Heaven and Earth

 

August 31          2 Birthday Stars – Kalinda & Duuk

August 31          The Bench

August 31          Pirate Boat, Fireworks and Disney Land

August 22          Urban Oasis

August 22          Stormy Seasons

August 18          Meijie Sexed 32!?

 

July 31              The new “LOST” Xbox 360 Game

July 26              Uniquely Singaporean (Public Transport)

July 22              The Mega Designer Reunion – Since 1996

July 22              Juli Dressed 30!

July 22              FHM – “Fool Him” Magazine

July 15              Watching Transformer with Yao Ming

July 14            Bookmarks of our Life

July 08              Goodbye Again.

July 07              Concrete Jungle

July 07              Found the New “Xiang Yang” Market

July 07              The Big Hangzhou Gathering

 

June 30             Queen Juli is Back!

June 29             The Life Budget

June 17             Sandman “stonified” Spidey

June 17             Fami”liar” Brand

June 16             An Eventful JOE’s DAY – 15th June

June 09             Little Terror is Back!

June 09             Kevin Here in Shanghai

June 09             Soldiers First.

 

May 26              When Birdie Calls…

May 26              Hot in Shanghai

May 12              The Great Walk of China – A Lonely Expat Road

May 10             Fulfilling a Promise

May 09              A Preventable End – The May Leong Story

May 09              Makeover Room

May 07              My May Golden Week (1st – 20th May 2007)

 

April 22             Piracy Disclaimer

April 22             Freedom comes with a Price
April 22             Budget FastFood

April 22             Festive Car Plate

April 22             My Lovely “Senior Citizens”

April 18            Roadside Pet Shop

April 18             Chinese Rubbers

April 18            Gareth’s 32th Birthday

April 15             The Colours of the Season

April 15           A Pack of Fries

April 05            Let’s be Green!

April 05            Francis’s New House

April 04            For Polite People Only
April 01           Let’s Walk Together

 

March 25           Joanne’s 30th Big Bang

March 24           The Heavenly Hangzhou

March 10         The Price of War

March 04           Mekong River

March 04           The Ho Chi Minh Leg

 

February 27       The Hanoi Leg

February 25       Goodbye Singapore, Hello Vietnam

February 24       A Tourist’s Perspective

February 20       The BIG CNY Feasts!

February 15       Valentine in Hong Kong

February 11       A Letter from the Police

February 10       Tracy’s Secret Fling at Krabi

February 10       Baby Bloomers

February 10       Hock’s 32nd Birthday

February 10       Duliana’s 4Cs

February 10    Couple’s Nicknames

February 05       My New Room-mates

February 05       Moving House

 

January 23        EcoSphere – “Sea Monkey” for the Adult!

January 23        My 22nd Girlfriend

January 21        Meanwhile, on the other side…

January 21      Goodbye My Baby

January 14        My 21st Girlfriend

January 13        Winners at the Last Mile*

January 09        Childhood Friends

January 08        The 1st Wedding of 2007

January 08        The 1st Birtyhday of 2007

January 03        Babysitting in Shanghai

January 02        Wahbiang Top 50 Moments 2006

2006 

December 24     Christmas Party in Shanghai

December 24     I love Taipei

December 16     Siow Wei’s 1st Ward Stay

December 16     Preparing for Christmas

December 03     Sam & Clan in Town

December 03     Grey’s 100th Day Baby Shower

 

November 25     Little Elkan’s 1st Spread

November 19     A Surprise Visit

November 16     Threesome in Hong Kong

November 13     My “illegal” hobbies

 

October 22        World of Acronym

Every month, I would have friends visiting me from HK or Singapore. And each time, I will get them to bring me a couple of magazines. Now, it seems I have a big ISSUE with FHM. Yes, a big unhappy issue.

 

You see, big magazine brands like FHM, Stuff IT or Maxim have their own country-editions. It means, they share a common pool of content. If you are reading FHM UK and FHM Singapore, you will find similar content. The main difference is of course the covergirl they put on the front cover. The UK version will sports more uncensored content (such as nude photos) which Singapore’s version cannot.

  

So, what is the BIG issue? Well, both country-edition (FHM Singapore and UK) run a monthly "Photo Contest" – The Singapore Edition says "Snap Anything Outrageous? Send it in and win prizes? Email: incoming@fhm.com.sg" For the UK edition, the contestants will have to send their entries to a number instead. And every month, both magazines will allocate 1 page showing the entries. Of course, there are some pretty cool snaps and yes, there is always a WINNER for each country!

 

So, this is a REAL contest with REAL prizes huh? I would deem it is a localise one too (based on the submission email address). Well, take a look for yourself.

 

(Left: FHM UK: Peter from Liverpool, FHM Singapore: Peter from Katong) – Same Peter?
 

(Left: FHM UK: Quesy, FHM Singapore: Lin, Tanjong Pagar) – Different Photographer?
 

(Left: FHM UK: Sam Bassett from Hadleigh, FHM Singapore: Sam Lee) – Different Sam?
 

(Left: FHM UK: Bun, Ely, FHM Singapore: Paul from Dover Road) – Different Address?
    

Okay, I say it is okay to share a pool of content. But entries? That is disgusting! That is low class!

And we are talking about being original here. I can’t believe FHM (a big international magazine) would be so less creative and careless about their content. Come on, dun you know we have both FHM UK and FHM Singapore selling in the same shop? You cannot get away with such low-class "cheats" by changing photographer’s name and address! That is stupid. And plain lazy!

 

Have you ever hear an old song which stirs up the memories inside you? It is like traveling through time. You can almost taste the past, feel the atmosphere back then. A strange but familiar feeling, songs do have its magic. It can bookmark the phases of your life.

 

Perhaps I "burnt" my memories and feelings better in mp3 format – not in jpeg or mov. I can revisit a certain place I have once visited but the sight of the place doesn’t really trigger the "taste of yesterday". It is just "buildings" to me – physical and nothing emotional about. Songs are different – I can even recall my mood back then. Am I happy, sad or nervous? 

 

Whenever I hear an old familiar song, it let me travel back to the spot where I "burnt" those memories and feelings. Like a bookmark of my life, I refresh that part of the memories – I can almost even taste the scent of yesterday’s atmosphere. Is it sweet, sunny, ocean, humid, rainy or cold?

 

Whenever I hear these songs, images of my past came alive to me. Like bookmark of my life, I could feel and see images right in front of my eyes. Seeing faces, smiles and hearing voices of that moment in time.

 

Say You, Say Me – 1986, Catching guppies near my primary school drains

Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now – 1987, Inspiring, my PSLE Days
I want to dance with somebody – 1987, My first kiss, my first taste of love

Let’s Go Baby – 1988, Excited – 1st week in Secondary School

Out of the Blue – 1989, Energetic! My teenage days! Doing Sat PE! Same class with Gareth!
Never Gonna Give You Up – 1990, Wild – Running and getting trophies!

I be Your Everything – 1990, Rainy, St John Island Camp

 

The CDman Days
It Musta Been Love – 1991, Confused about Love with Yixi

Just for You – 1992, Thrilled! My waitering days with Meijie and getting O’level results.

Say Yes – 1992, Hopeful, Days at Singapore Poly
Emil Chow – Ai Siang Sui – 1995, Bored, doing army’s sentry duty at airbase

And when she Dance – 1998, Lonely, Temasek Poly Days – Joanne left poly
Sammi Cheng – 很愛很愛 – 1999, Tears, my granny funeral
Spandau Ballet "True" – 1999, Sleepless, on a sole cold winter flight to Perth

 

The Napster Days (MP3!)
Love 2000 – Forbidden Love – 2000, Sad, parents moving out. I stay alone.
Can you keep a secret – 2001, Smell of my new renovated house
Rainbow Connection – 2002, Happy, Days at VOXmedia with Kalinda
First Love – 2002, Blissful, Joyful – My Wedding Days with Felicia!
Jay Chou – 一路向北 – 2005, Thrilled! 230km/hr to KL with Francis!
Play Your Own Kind of Music – 2006, Feeling Lost, 1st week in Shanghai
Jay Chou – 心雨  – 2006, Rainy at Taipei and fireworks with Tracy

I always tell my friends that Life is just like a battery. It comes with limited essence and everyone is given the same limited supply of Life to make one’s worth. That is why we have to use our man-days wisely. Imagine wasting our energy and time on something that is fruitless.

If life is so priceless and limited, you be amazed at the way we spend our lives. How we consume our hours blindly and how we should live a fuller life. Watching a series of "LOST" would cost us 1 manday (1 hour/episode x 24) of our life. And for those who don’t watch "LOST", what did you do with that 24 hours of life?

The Budget of an Average Life – 70 years = 25,550 days 
(in mandays breakdown)

Sleeping: 7,452 days (7 hours /day for 70 years)

Eating: 3,200 days (3 hours/day x 70 years)

Schooling: 1,825 days (8 hours/day x 15 years)

Sex: 433 days (10 hours/week x 20 years) 

Work: 4,000 days (10 hours/day x 30 years)

Communication: 1,500 days (2.5 hours/day x 70 years)

Idle: 608 days (1 hour/day x 20 years)

Internet: 608 days (1 hour/day x 20 years)

Toilet: 1,065 days (1 hour/day x 70 years)

Bath: 532 days (30 min/day x 70 years)

Watching TV: 1,994 days (2 hours/day x 70 years)

Miscs (waiting, travelling): 2,660 days (2.5 hours/day x 70 years)

Smoking: 1,065 days (1 hour/day x 35 years)
Praying: 3 days (unknown)

 

 

I never expect my 32nd birthday to be that grand and exciting. On the eve of 15th June, I was playing Ghost Recon II on my newly bought Xbox 360. Felicia came to me and asked if I am expecting a big birthday party. I smiled at her, shaking my head. I didn’t really feel the excitement or have any hint that people remember my birthday.  In fact, I am happy to have a good gathering with just Felicia, Echo, Francis and my little boy.

At the stroke of midnight 12am, Felicia walked into the living room and wished me "Happy Birthday". She gave me a nice bear hug and went back to her room to work on her freelance work. Within the next 20 seconds, Joanne sent me an SMS greeting. Tracy’s SMS came in about 5 seconds right after. 12:01am – 3 wishes at the 1st minute. (Mmm..my girls are really great!).

 

I played Ghost Recon II until 12:30am and went online to check email. Diane popped me a MSN greeting. She has passed Felicia my birthday gift 1 day before they flew to Shanghai. I was surprise by her gift…mm…still wondering how she know my birthday. I decided to open her gift later today.

8:30am, Morning.

When I woke up this morning, Elkan greeted me "morning" as usual. However, he added 2 more words (I believe he just learnt it today) – "Happie Birthday, Daddy!" Haaa… I just smiled at him in amaze!

Gareth buzzed me a couple of times but I missed his call. He then followed with a SMS plus MSN and a phonecall to wish me Happy Birthday. "Bro, there is never a better way to greet you. You got to hear it in real voice!" Gareth said. Haaa… I agreed.

 

I suppose to turn up at office after 1pm. However, after some hiccups at the local government office, I went back to the office earlier than expected. When I walked pass the reception counter, my receptionist passed me a parcel. "France" it says. I thought it was something from my client in Europe.

I walked to my table and saw 3 gifts lying on the table. Instantly, I smiled  and looked around. Then, I heard my super-AE, Rebecca, screaming her top! "Oh no! I haven’t wrap his present! Hey Joe, I thought you are back only at 1pm?" she exclaimed. Haaa… first time I caught her so unorganised!

 

Lying on the table were 3 gifts – they are from Alicia, Clare and Rebecca. And those presents were beautifully wrapped! Mmm…So my lovely team mates remember my birthday! That is quite a surprise… they were so sneaky, I never suspect they remember. I intended to invite them for karaoke tonight. I MSN Alicia and get her to help me organise a lunch or dinner with the team. Lunch seems to be a more popular choice amongst them.

 

I opened the parcel from "France". It contained a very beautiful wooden box. It says "chocolate" on the outside. There is a golden plate on the box with my name engraved on it. I wondered who sent me this? Then, I found a card inside. It was from Joanne. So sweet of her! She went through the effort to select and custom-made the chocolate set for me. 

12pm, Lunch.

 

I brought my team to Huai Hai Lu’s Crystal Jade. There were 12 of us (including Felicia and Elkan). Guess how many dishes we ordered? 25 dishes! There were so much dishes that we need to pack for home. Still, it was a very fun lunch. I always like to lunch with my teams of beautiful account ladies and slim gentlemen. Elkan was "good boy" today… he went around giving everyone a "tickle" handshake.

 

The team bought me a nice cake and we were so full at the end of lunch. Everyone in Shanghai is calling me neckless now! And silly Lisa, Rebecca and Heidi are giving me nickname – PengPeng, Jiji – sounds like a dick! Or worst, a fat old panda. So that kinda influenced my birthday wish for this year – I wish I be 10kg lesser by end of 2007. Man, what a waste of wish!

Lunch took 2 hours. When I came back from lunch, I got a shock of my life! I saw a big bouquet of pink roses plus a teddy bear and another CAKE! Thinking it was a prank from the company, I looked around for suspecting face. I found a note within the roses … and it was signed off by Tracy and Meijie! I couldn’t believe it! I felt so pampered and happy. But why roses and teddy bear? I later MSN Tracy, she said "the flowers are for Felicia, the teddy bear is for Elkan and the cake is for tonight’s programme with Echo and Francis." So funny.

 

I started opening up all the gifts in office. What surprise me wasn’t the gifts but the content of them. I am such a blessed man. All my colleagues know me and bought me things that reflect my desire. Alicia bought me a PSP Game. Clare got me a SWISS Army Knife. Lisa, Daisy and Heidi bought me a designer’s display set.  Rebecca bought me an authentic "Journey to the West" comic novel. These are things that I like. They are perfect!

 
 
 

Over the next 2 hours. I have Scott, Kalinda, Cousin Leon, my neighbour Hong Ai, my insurance broker Angela, Auntie Amy, Cousin Yei, beautiful colleague Elle and Regina, client Christin and Sandy sending their wishes to me.

 

7pm, Dinner.

There were so many things to carry. Alicia helped me and carried these gifts back to my house. I remembered about Diane and Tracy’s gifts. I went into my room and opened up their gifts.

Tracy gave me a book on finance planning and 2 bottles of super-expensive health supplements. She knows I am feeling tired and getting haggard lately. She insisted that I eat and live healthy.  Yes, mdm, I will do accordingly to your bidding.

 

Coincidently, Diane’s gift is also a book – A Lonely Planet travel book with LucyD’s writings and signature sticker! Man, I love it!

10pm, Karaoke.

Echo and Francis fetched me to the Karaoke "CashBox". Elkan was extremely naughty. He didn’t really understand why adults sing and he thinks it is fun yelling into the microphone. He kept snatching microphones from us.

 

At about 11:50pm, I saw Echo "behaving strangely" outside the karaoke room. I told Francis and Felicia that Echo is bringing a cake in. The door opened and Echo stood there, smiling, empty-handed. Before I can react, Juliana walked in with the birthday cake and man, I WAS WAHHHH….Ohhhhhhhh my gosh! She is supposed to be in BEIJING! WHAT THE F*** SHE IS DOING HERE! I stared at Francis and Echo and Felicia ~ Guess I was the sucker this time again! They laughed at me. How can I not suspect this at all!?

 
 

Juliana wished me "happy birthday" at 11:59pm and I gave her such a BIG HUG. (Man, what was I thinking? Me hugging Juli..eeeee…heee)

 

Just when I was feeling so high about meeting Juliana, Echo brought out 2 gifts and threw them on my lap! I can’t believe it! She and Francis are such true friends. Echo brought me the "gift that I wanted for so so so long" – a mini remote helicopter. And Francis got me exotic refills for my fuji instant camera!

 
 

Felicia gave me the one and only self-made gift today. It was a mini wallet-size photo card of my little baby Elkan. Specially designed and layout, it melted my heart.

 

 

Can’t wait to download the photos and stories and share with everyone! My friends have given me so much love – more than I truly deserved. It was them who made 15th June a JOE’s DAY. It was them who engraved warmth and love in my heart all these while.

 

I love you all.

This is May Leong. A white-collar worker. Died of work-stress, long hours working.
For a mere $2,500/month.

 

Read her last words: http://pinkmayflower.multiply.com/journal/item/140
It is sad. Really. She was young and cheerful. And full of dreams and hopes!

People die everyday. What makes one’s death more notable than the other? It is the struggle, hardship and sacrifice one made at the final moments of his/her life. To be honest, it is happening everyday. Look around you, the concept of living isn’t as free as you think. Often, you are given tough choices in order to advance in your life. But what choices have you made so far?

 

It is a cruel social structure that dictates your life journey. It is a set of rules that you have to play; if not, you are out of the game. There is nothing fantastic about the American’s reality show "Survivor" when we are living by that very same competitive spirit – outplay, outlast; if not, you may be an outcast. We are dealing with so many personalities in this world, but there seems to be just 1 standard set of rules to play. It is a common city illness, a social culture and stereo-types still survive in this State.

 

Can you afford to take a break not worrying about your life later? Can you afford to make a choice that you enjoy most? Can you tell MOE that you wish to stay in the science stream despite your poor academic performance in science? Would you dare to quit a handsome-paid job and persue your dream…Tsk, tsk, very blue-sky, not down-to-earth, many would say.

 

Very often, you are given very little time to prove your worth. You are pressured by time, competition, peer-pressure, social-demands to perform and excel.  

 

What is a good environment? It is a State of Mind where you break free from those social cliche, chains, M-Prison and social-pressure. Give yourself a chance to live freely. Other sceptics will say it is very difficult – how to survive and take a break when you have little savings, high bills to maintain? Question is, why got yourself lock in a situation? Is it HDB, credit companies, the telecos or your car-loans? How many other contracts you have on hand that lock you tight?

 

Call me a naive thinker, but I do believe my money should work hard for me and not vice versa. Enjoy to the max of what you can earn. And not earn to the max of what you want to enjoy. If the job here is cruel and demanding, look outside this tiny island. With our professionalism and qualification, you can find a decent job anywhere. Question is: Will you be happier?

 

Is Failure that important? The fear of failure forces our mind and body to push through our limitations – at times, at the expense of our family and even our own life. Heed the grand old classic advice from Spider-Man 3 – "You can make the choice of your own". And it is okay to fail.

See, Singapore isn’t bragging any more about being 1st in Airport, Airline and whatever crap? Why? Cause we have been taken-over by other nations. Does losing that Number 1 Spot hurt our nation’s pride? No. We can always do better elsewhere.

 

May Leong wasn’t that one exception case for us to reflect a lot of things in our life. She just set it in a perspective that "shock" you off your chair and let you ponder about the extreme end. It is a preventable end but question is, how many of us are able to "walk out" bravely without the worry of how others look at us? Will we be seen as losers, quitters or freedom-fighter? Maybe our teachers and parents should reflect the kind of teaching we have for our next generation.

My mum gave me the best advice ever: "I don’t expect you to be first or top in anything. Just out-better yourself constantly." Since 9, I have been improving myself gradually, out-perform my own-self. Running my own race. Yes, you may say I am running at my own pace. But given the freedom and encouragement to run, I look around me, who care about the losers behind me or the winners ahead of me. The only person who care most – could be me myself. It is all about self-comparision to feel good and right. Humans need such comparision to win back ego, confidence and social security. To be honest, who cares!

 

Her death sparked off a nation-wide outcry. Just like the boy who committed sucide over PSLE. Or the mother who died of fever just because she wanted to save $20 for her son. Or the taxi-driver who juggled 3 jobs per day to see his son to university.

 

It is just news. And very soon, we forgot about it. New sad tales will fill our void of concern.

 

Have you done something to change your life or encourage someone to make that choice?

 

Remember. May Leong’s death is preventable. It is the choices you made or help made.

It takes a baby about 150 days to crawl, 300 days to walk and 450 days to run. It takes a man about 65 years of walking before his legs give way to his heart and mind. That would leave him 5 more good years on wheels and 2 years on bed.

On an average, we walk about (4000 steps) 2km a day. That is about 730km a year, 45,000km a lifetime – which is slightly more than the distance around the earth on the equator (40,074km). 

 

A baby does not learn to walk. Instead, he walks to learn. The ability to walk marks the evolutionary difference between man and ape. It changes the world, shaping Nature and conforming "destiny".

 

There are currently more than 6 billions people walking (at a rate of 3 new births every second). Each path is different, rarely you find 2 parellel paths of the same length and origins.

 

Since young, I have been advised by many to plan my path. The road to success is very much formulated, tested and predictable. First, you walk here, then you walk there and after this, you walk ahead. Bingo! Your road should be smooth ahead, all you need to do is keep walking, walk safe and you be there. Sound familiar, isn’t it?

 

To be honest, I never plan my destination. I tried but all my pre-walking plans never really work for me. I just keep on walking and I was lucky – every new step yield refreshing sights, extraordinary adventures. I am never sick of exploring new turfs. I just keep to my own pace, never too fast or too slow. But I do not know where I am heading next.

 

There will be a time when my walk will cease. Where would I stop, I don’t know. How many more steps, I wish I have the answers too. Is there really such a "must-visit" place where I must visit? I guess it doesn’t matter where I am heading but who I am with…i supposed.

 

I always believe I have many more steps ahead. But nature could force me to end my journey any day. And by then, will I regret that I never been to these "must-visit" places? Or will I regret that I never take this walk with them?

 

There are some roads that I have to travel alone. And some worth travelling with others.

 

The weather and terrain never stops me from walking. It is the fear of death that makes me ponder about my next destination. There are roads that I love to travel. But I guess I need to remap my path again. For I have been taking this lonely walk far too long.

 

It takes a baby 300 days to walk. But it takes a man one lifetime to learn the true meanings of his walk.