Category Archives: Musing

The Day the World Changed Forever

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Today is the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center in New York. The attacks by the Al Queda which saw two high-jacked planes forced to crash into it changed the world as we see it today. It was a day of the loss of innocence and faith in man. I think this was one of those days where for the rest of your life, you remember what you were doing when you heard the news. I was at home watching TV – the local comedy Phua Chu Kang in fact – when the news scrolled across my TV. I was riveted by it but didnt realise the magnitude until I read the newspapers the next day.

Post 9-11, the world as we know it has changed. We all have changed. Travel has become difficult and most importantly, the level of distrust has dramatically increased. We fear foreigners and unknown people now. The world has in fact become a worse place to live in.

Hindu Mythology has something called Kalyug. This age of vice is the last of the four stages the world goes through. People say when it is time for this Kalyug, the world becomes bad and evil and hence many people that the world is currently undergoing this. In the epic Mahabharata, a discourse by Markandeya identifies some of the attributes of the Kalyug. These attributes are:

In relation to Rulers – Rulers will become unreasonable: they will levy taxes unfairly. Rulers will no longer see it as their duty to promote spirituality, or to protect their subjects: they will become a danger to the world. People will start migrating, seeking countries where wheat and barley form the staple food source.

In Relation to Human Relationships – Avarice and wrath will be common. Humans will openly display animosity towards each other. Ignorance of dharma will occur. People will have thoughts of murder with no justification and will see nothing wrong in that. Lust will be viewed as socially acceptable and sexual intercourse will be seen as the central requirement of life. Sin will increase exponentially, whilst virtue will fade and cease to flourish. People will take vows and break them soon after. People will become addicted to intoxicating drinks and drugs. Gurus will no longer be respected and their students will attempt to injure them. Their teachings will be insulted, and followers of Kama will wrest control of the mind from all human beings. Brahmins will not be learned or honoured, Kshatriyas will not be brave, Vaishyas will not be just in their dealings.

If you see the above as a guide, we are well into the age of darkness. So what do you think? Also where were you and what were you doing when you heard the news about the 9-11 attacks?

Singapore in second spot in WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012

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So Singapore has jumped one spot up and is now second in the recently released World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012. Switzerland has retained it’s top spot while Sweden has moved one spot down and the USA has also fallen one place to come in at number five this year. Finland is at number four and Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and the United Kingdom round up the next five places. Japan has fallen three places since last year, but other than Singapore it’s the only Asian economy on the top ten which has been dominated by mostly European economies. China stands at number 26 while India is halfway down the list at number 56.

Well what this means to us will probably be the justification of the PAP’s foreign talent scheme and no end to our respite! This also means that more foreign talents will enter Singapore and the country and it’s resources will get more and more crowded! I am quite ambivalent about this whole thing – on one hand as someone who has majored in Economics and Finance, I know the importance of getting in foreigners who can do the tasks who can’t or won’t do, but on the other hand, I worry constantly if the country would not become so filled with Foreign Talent or FTs for short that we become a foreigner in our own land. I also worry for my children – 10-12 years down the line, when they are ready for university, will there be space for them here or do they have to become FT in another country?

Singapore has always been shaped by foreigners, most Singaporeans today are the descendents of someone who came into the fledgling country. The original inhabitants of this land – probably the Malays no longer count as the majority of the population. Hopefully the situation is not as dire as I see it – but then I have always been a worrier.

Monday Morning Blues

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What is it about a Monday morning that makes pretty much everyone want to snatch a few more hours of sleep and not let the weekend end?

I tried to find out what exactly was the Monday Blues and found differnet theories. One of the more interesting ones, said to be scientific in nature said that within our bodies, our internal clocks naturally operate on a day that is longer than 24 hours. By the time Monday rolls around each week, we’ve built up a sleep deficit of at least an hour. Of course, the weekend revelries and facing another work week don’t help matters. For tips on how to beat those dreaded blues, click here.

I had originally posted a cartoon I got off the Internet, then decided to change it to an original photo from my iPhone. This photograph was clicked at the Singapore Flower Show last year.

What about me you can ask? I do suffer from Monday blues, but I think it’s a bit more deep-seated than that. More on my analysis of what’s going on in my head later….

Quote of the Day

When ever I can remember to do this, I’ll leave you guys with a quote. Here’s today’s quote which I get from an iPhone app called Inspiration

“Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.” ~ Dale Carnegie

I..Am..Back…

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Welllll, I’m back!! After nearly nine months of procastinating (So what’s new?), I’m back to blogging!

It’s my birthday today and I turn 38 (Ouch!) and the past few days I’ve been pondering on myself and what have I achieved! The news is not too good – I am overweight and underpaid and that my firends is not what and where I saw myself in grad school.

So I decided to resseruct this blog and document the following. By the time I hit the big four oh, I want to do the following:

1. Have a much better career than what I currently have

2. Lose roughtly two thirds my current body weight (The target for this is Sept 02 2012)

3. Run at the very minimum a half marathon

So how am I going to achieve this?

For point one I did take a step – I moved away from my previous toxic environment and have joined a new place in a flexible working arrangement. I work from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm on weekdays. So it’s time which will tell if I made the right choice or if I just jumped from the fire to the frying pan!

For point two, from today, I will using the treadmill at home. I am going to start with 20 minutes of walking initially and then move on to 60 (eeks!) minutes eventually. Wish me luck!!

For point three, I’m going to go with the flow. If I manage to achieve point two, three should flow from there….

This blog will help me document whether or not I meet my goals!!

So what sign are you now??

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Credit

There’s a new sun sign in town and it’s name is Ophiuchus…

This article in MSNBC, says that over the last 2000 years since the time astrology came into being, the stars and their position relative to the sun on a particular day and time have shifted and now the traditional horoscope signs are off by almost a month! Also apparently the ancient Babylonians discarded the formation Opiuchus, because they wanted 12 star signs and not 13!

Also one 2006 study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences used data from more than 15,000 people and found that there was no relationship between your date of birth and the personality you have. Actually I have proof of this at home – D&P are born 2 minutes apart, so according to astrology, this means that they should have very similiar, if not identical personalities, but they are so dissimilar!

Well according to astronomers, here are the new dates for the various sunsigns:

  • Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.
  • Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.
  • Pisces: March 11-April 18.
  • Aries: April 18-May 13.
  • Taurus: May 13-June 21.
  • Gemini: June 21-July 20.
  • Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10.
  • Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.
  • Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30.
  • Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.
  • Scorpio: Nov. 23-29.
  • Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17.
  • Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

This means that I move from Virgo to Leo, D&P remain Virgo and S moves from Capricorn to Sagittarius.

Here’s a confession – I believe in all this astrology and read it online quite regularly. My take on this is that this is an emotional crutch for us – we want to know if things are going to get better for us and quite frankly, I turn to astrology mostly when I am unhappy with what is happening in my life. After all, who doesn’t want to know that tomorrow is going to be a better day!

A question to you – Are you in the sign you thought you were in or have you moved up/down? Also do you use believe in astrology and use it as a crutch or are you a non-believer? Drop in with your comments, I’d love to hear them….