Blindsided

Depression sneaked up on me this Sunday evening. An utter sense of helplessness and "poverty" consumed me and left me feeling completely wretched. Soon I was reduced to a teary mess and I am pretty sure this emotional breakdown is not due to hormonal imbalance that I can blame physiology for.
No, I am not in any form of debt but I am immensely impoverished in recent times. Perhaps it's a 'change in lifestyle' shock symptom. Maybe it's because my bank statement is translating into a bearish graph. Whatever it is, while people are moody over their pittance of an annual bonus/ increment, I bemoan the non-existence of these in my current situation. And it gets to me that I do not know when I will 'come out of the woods'. Or can I get out of it alive?
It doesn't help that Chinese New Year is around the corner and I am expected to distribute generous tokens of appreciation to the elders this year. This exacerbates my pain and I sink further into the quagmire of total despair.
Sleep has always been an amazing panacea. I hope this time, it does its magic once again.

An unforgettable liner

This statement is oh so true!

“Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.”
~Will Smith

Legalised Daylight Robbery

Went to watch Avatar with my husband in Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Centre because we were too impatient to catch it back in Singapore. Our decision resulted in forking out 100 RMB per ticket (20.50 SGD). It’s the most expensive movie ticket we’ve ever bought!
Which brings me to the point; crowds in China camp outside cinema theatres to buy exorbitantly priced tickets to watch a movie not in their native language. The average monthly income of an urbanite in China is 2800 RMB (569 SGD) but the population here spends money like they have lots of cash to burn. Prices of consumer products, food and entertainment defy the theory of relativity.
The million dollar question is: What’s the secret to leading this sort of lifestyle?

Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Centre

Crumbling down with Haiti

Call it coincidence. The day Haiti was struck with an earthquake, I was down with the dreaded flu. Throat infection, feverish, body ache, runny nose. I departed for home half an hour prior to after office hours. It was the worst flu I ever had and I was out of action for the entire week. I avoided watching television and stayed off the internet too. I was literally cut off from society.

The nose congestion persists and the flu is receding into an occasional cough but I got back to work this Monday.

I wish to be back in Singapore soon...

To Singapore and Back (Dec 2009-Jan 2010)

I returned to Singapore and managed to catch the New Year's fireworks on television. It was one of the loveliest and longest display ever. Looks like we are all set to usher in the new year with much aplomb.

I think as we age, the new year resolutions list gets shorter (or disappears altogether). Realism is a by-product of aging.

2010, I am forgoing a svelte figure (no gym bunny on the treadmill). I am also taking long-term goals off the radar for now. I will just have 2 items in the list. The rest of the to-dos will take care of themselves, just like work that needs to get done.

1. Commence script for "40 weeks"

2. Concentrate on Project 'Magnum Opus' and bring it to fruition

Sidenote: Most impressive fireworks to date: Burj Khalifa (Dubai, UAE). Over 800 metres (2625 feet), it's the tallest building in the world to date.