Limiting my choices

I recently turned vegetarian. I also recently bought my first Apple product. I don't have any mp3 player to date whereas my friends have bought their 5th generation iPods. I'm only using my second cell phone after 6 years, and that's because my brother insisted to pass it down to me and took my first cell phone, which was working perfectly alright. I didn't plan this actually. I wanted to try out how being a full-time vegetarian is like, I instantly made that decision one afternoon and that's it. Plus hopefully I'm executing the most effective way to stop global warming and stop killing animals. I feel good about it. Buying Apple is easy, I don't have to compare prices from the various PC vendors and choose from the oh-so-many models out there. I prefer not to spend that much time on the research and decision-making process.

Then I thought, hey, by being a vegetarian or buying a Mac I am limiting my choices! Don't get me wrong, it's a good thing. When I go out, I don't have to fuss about what to eat because there's only so many vegetarian options in one place. I don't upgrade my phone if it's still working. Now I'm starting to think if I can apply this to aspects of my life I would be a happier person than I am now. By limiting our own choices, we are sort of forced to take the very few alternatives that are available to us. Therefore, we stop worrying and start living. Going on with our lives. Once a decision is made and there is no turning back, it's like a burden is lifted off your shoulder. When you know you don't have other choices, you would resign and accept whatever path that lies in front of you. Of course people will say we always have choices, but what if we proactively limit our choices?

We can apply this in almost anything: careers, spending, food, schools, anything you can think of. Start building a habit of limiting our choices and we might just be on our way to be happier individuals.

Racism

Someone wise said: "If we could all laugh off racism jokes in the world, wars wouldn't be started and fights between people wouldn't happen."

Are we taking ourselves too seriously?

Oh human. We are sensitive creatures. Smart as we are, we are so easily manipulated. Mind controls are weak. Words can start a war. Words can also stop wars.

Exercise mind control and non-violence. Let us all be happy and peaceful.

Happy Sunday.

Nice

That's probably the most generic description of a thing out there. Not to mention the most overused of all descriptive words. I have to confess I use it all the time. What can I say?

On someone doing something cool: "That's nice"
On someone going on holiday: "So nice!"
On someone getting something cool: "NICE!"
On someone asking how the food was: "It's nice"

Kinda boring, isn't it? That's as safe an answer as we can get. For all it's worth, it allows us to not say anything else afterwards and the other party will be more or less satisfied with the comment. Genius!

Now I know

What a blue screen of death is like.

Annoying.

I think out of more than a decade of using Windows, I have never seen a real Blue Screen of Death. This isn't exactly sudden too, I kinda expected it, since I innocently put the login executable file in a virus vault due to virus alert! I mean, how stupid could one be?

Anyway, I'm left with no back up, no nothing. This is just perfect.

:D

Hypersensitive

With every heartbeat, I think it's earthquake. Recent years have been the most productive period for mother nature. Aih.

Memory Lapse

I wrote about my rapidly declining memory some time ago. I also wrote about buying the memory exercise book by Tony Buzan around the same time. With sadness I have to report that I have failed to read the book in its entirety. It was already lost in the midst of other abandoned books in my shelf. Why do I thought of this again? Earlier this evening, I was at shower and at one point, I reached out to grab shampoo. Suddenly I was lost on whether I had or hadn't shampooed my hair. I totally couldn't remember! If I had, it must have happened 2 minutes back. If I hadn't, I couldn't be sure. So unaware of my immediate past actions I took that I'm shocked. So unaware of my surroundings that I'm horrified.

I'm not very old. I shouldn't be having memory lapses like this! Why do we forget things? Why do we remember things? Consciously, we tried to remember certain things but can't commit them to memory. Subconsciously, we remember things that come naturally to us. Our subconscious play such an important role in deciding which facts to remember that I believe 99.99% of our memory are controlled subconsciously. I wish I can perfect the ability to control our minds fully. It'll make life so much easier.

Understated numbers

4.5 billion years.

10 to the power of -24 seconds.

60 billion light years.

26 dimensions.

I have to say, these numbers are truly beyond me. Even that is a great understatement. And by that, it's a terribly enormous understatement. And so on...

Human brain is not capable to imagine these things. It took us about 6000 thousand years of civilization to reach here. Yet there are tremendous other things waiting for us to be discovered or understood. I guess learning is never enough. Imagination never has a limit. Who knew this glob of flesh and liquid had the power to think? Great people like Einstein, Newton, and Hawking had the power to think beyond what normal humans can do, and that sets them so far ahead. We need these people, the pioneers who would propel us to (yet to be achieved) golden age. A friend once said, we only use a tiny little fraction of our brains and if we train our minds we could achieve so much more. Our potentials are so great nobody knows what we're capable of yet. In this fast age of communications, few of us really sit down and think each day. All we do is breeze through the day in work and random things. It's no wonder I had such short attention span. There's just so much things to do. Was there ever so little time to think?

Imagine if all 6 billion people sat down and think. Just like the Great Serengeti Migration, over a million animals move at one direction each year and they seem to know where they go when in herds. Leave one alone and it will be lost not knowing its way. Individual can absolutely be great just like the names mentioned earlier. Potentials of collective thoughts must be overwhelmingly greater.

I still can't imagine how long 4.5 billion years were. B I L L I O N years. Nine zeros. Goodness. Enjoy Sunday!

The Beat

One beat, it reverberates through your being.
One beat, you jump up with newfound joy.
One beat, it pounds like your heart.
One beat, you are back in your mother's womb.

Feel it.

For the first time in my life

I cried upon hearing a song.

I was shocked to the core. It sent me sobbing.

Love

What is love, really? Specifically, what interests me is how does a child "understand" the concept of love?

It is often said that all parents in the world love their children. I have no doubt of the truth of that statement. It is then presumable that the parents either say it verbally or say it with actions that we considered 'loving'. Love is a concept. It is - for the lack of better description, as quoted from my favorite source of knowledge Wikipedia - a constellation of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness. I am perplexed by how a child, a young child, if you may, grasp this whole concept of love.

Assume you say, "I love you", to your child every day. They start to develop language skills since 12 months old, but when do they start to understand concepts? I'm sure child expert can easily answer that question. I am not a parent, but let me try. I suppose, in child-rearing, when we say we will do something, it's very important that we do it. In fulfilling our promises, we gain the child's trust. They are observing and mimicking our every action. When we say we love them, they may associate the word 'love' with our every day actions, cuddling them, cooing them, playing with them, caring them (now 'care' is another vague concept), fulfilling our promises. In addition and perhaps most importantly, the intangible emotional connection with the child. I suppose love transmits that way, the accumulation of all our actions and our emotional relationship translate to love.

I may be completely wrong, this is indeed a curious subject to explore...

Happy Sunday.

Things I learn from traveling

- It's never too much.
- You discover things about yourself you didn't know.
- You discover things about other people you don't want to know.
- You also discover things about other people you would not know until you travel with them.
- You learn / are forced to learn the art of bargaining.
- You experience discomfort you don't expect at home, but you do that anyways.
- You learn to wake up early.
- You learn to be a bit more generous.
- You exercise.
- You finally learn how to pass your idle time meaningfully (or not?)
- You learn to appreciate your life.
- No matter how much you read up and travel in a country, you'll never know the real country. It's a myth.

I always knew, to know the real someone, travel or live with them. It's very very true.

I admire JK Rowling

I would like to mention other (I'm sure great) authors, like J.R.R. Tolkien, Roald Dahl, only I am not qualified since I haven't read their works. Harry Potter series, on the other hand, is the No.1 undisputed contemporary book in the world and have been read by millions of children and adults alike, yours truly included. When I read the books, the wealth of imagination confronts me like sudden ray of lights when you slide open your window in the early morning. Thestrals, Talking Hat, the moving pictures, animagus, Expecto Patronums, Polyjuice Potion, the list goes on (many many other books could be written on these alone)...it's like, "Wow!". Her imagination has no boundaries, she tapped into children's mind and adult's mind, somehow managed to pick things that appeal to both audiences and write a tremendously successful series of books.

She is now one of the wealthiest women in the world.

Wow.

I wish I had that kind of imagination.

Plus business sense.

Book deals + autograph sessions + Harry Potter movies + merchandise + licensing + spun-off books about the magical animals et cetera.

It doesn't stop there! She is now writing TWO new books, one of which will be published later.

I'm gushing too much. Will stop here.

UPDATE: Oh, I haven't read the last book yet. Heard it's good.

Choices: Barrier to happiness?

We scream and sulk when we're not given a choice to anything. "I don't have a choice", you've probably heard this line a million times over. Just like being forced to do something. A lot of people probably realize this deep down: choices make people unhappy instead.

Suppose you have a free gift of a key chain. Now the key chain has many varieties of shapes, you have a choice of bicycle, palm tree, monkey, crocodile, and key. The catch is there are five crocodile-shaped ones, three bicycles, two palm trees, 1 monkey, and 1 key-shaped ones. Let's say you're most attracted to crocodile-shaped key chain because the design is the best of the lot. At this point, the mind obviously wanted the most 'unique' ones (read: the least quantity), namely key and monkey - it reflects the demands of the market (what else explains the quantity of 1?). It's inescapable that we have a herd mentality, we follow the crowd. Four in five experiences of given a choice, I think people would hesitate, ponder, repeat the same process, and eventually would choose either the key or the monkey.

Choosing an outfit, choosing a footwear, choosing a travel destination, choosing a phone model...you name it, we've all been through it! I believe we also went through a process of narrowing down, eliminating the obvious unwanted alternatives first, then compare benefits of the remaining ones side by side. It's a tedious task and is rewarding at the end (hopefully). Yet I can't help but think, given just one path to follow, one gift, one travel destination, one university to go to, however unfavorable the 'offering' may be, we may be happier, knowing that there's no other choice. Acceptance comes easily at that point, and we move on. With acceptance, we cease to be bothered, we cease to spend time in comparing, we cease to have worries or troubles, we cease to ponder, and we begin to be 'happy'. I'm probably using the word 'happy' too liberally here, but you know what I mean.

So, choice, or no choice?

Service that blows your mind

I once stayed in a hotel / resort in Ubud region of Bali. It was by far the most amazing service I've ever had in a long time. I'm waxing lyrical of this resort for a real good reason, I'll tell you why:

- The moment you arrived, the staff came out and greeted you with the trademark Balinese smile and the hands in front of chest gesture (namaste). First impression does count.
- It helped that the reception area is open-air. The lobby is adorned with nice soft sofa coach and a simple wooden desk for the receptionist. No grand entrance or impressive chandelier (nothing against these - it's just different)
- The staff sat you down, served you a nice cool glass of juice and walked you through every single thing you should know about your stay. Probably it's their protocol to tell the guests about their facilities and all. They're ready to answer every single question that you may have or address whatever needs that may arise.
The manager himself came out and talked to you.
- If you asked for it, they will give you the villa with the best view (it's really amazing) overlooking the Oos River. Directly across the river from the villa you can see the beautiful paddy fields which images you often find in guide books.
- Staff that is available any time of the day to cater to your needs. They're just a simple phone call away. Actually I found a roach in the bathroom but I guess with a place built among trees and plants, it's inevitable these smart creatures will find their way in sometimes. The service attendant came immediately armed with broom and dustpan and smiled apologetically as he left.

This is more on the resort facilities itself:
- Serene and tranquil villa - with CD player, magazines, private veranda, private pool, open concept bathroom the size of two bedrooms in my house, with huge stone marble bathtub. Magnificent.
- Wonderful selection of Indonesian and Balinese cakes for tea time. Aaah~ The manager and the owner came by to ask us how we're enjoying the stay so far. Quite attentive.
- A library of books and CDs that you can borrow during the course of your stay.

I suppose their planning is meticulous down to details of room arrangement, selection of breakfast and cakes, and most importantly, great staff training. Suppose all the hotels in the world can match this, it would be ideal.

I highly recommend staying in Komaneka Tanggayuda in Ubud the next time you go on vacation to Bali.

Day 4

I'm on vacation. Today is the day I really feel I am on one. Time just stood still and it's perfect.

Saw this on TV

I thought this is so COOL. It's quite long, I would imagine the sponsor is either very loaded-slash-passionate-about-the-environment or just jumping on the bandwagon of 'Green Earth' these days. As always, I can count on Youtube to deliver what I want.

Utter bliss (almost)

Let me start by asking you a question, what is utter bliss? Your own version.

To me, part of my imagination for utter bliss involves beach, waves, sun, bluest sky, and ocean wind. The other involves picnicking with your family and little children playing in a park. Another is bumming around the house and the neighborhood doing nothing. There could be zillions of other scenarios. Yet a complete bliss (for me, at the moment) is one without any thoughts.

At all.

Now that's hard. Meditation is something that's really new to me. Thoughts crossed my mind at all times; my palms have the most lines among the people I know. A fortune teller once told me that I'm prone to depression. I could be swimming and have already been thinking hundreds of thoughts in 1/2 lap. Okay - this paragraph is depressing.

Well, I'm sort of doing the third kind of bliss, bumming around with nothing to do. It's a lovely time so far. Yet as human being, I can't escape these thoughts; memories, worries, what ifs, regrets, what I should do today... To be able to clear my mind, thinking nothing, is utter bliss. It happens - maybe for a second, for the mind to bounce right back. The onslaught of thoughts just kept attacking. I shouldn't be complaining, maybe I should. I have to escape duality and let everything in. One thing for sure, it's lovely to wake up late on a Monday morning.

I wish you a pleasant week.

Oh well

I love Google Reader, it was my first RSS reader and I've been using it since it (almost) started.

Today - disappointment sets in. Never have I been disappointed in Google's products until maybe last month. I woke up, switched on my computer, checked the discussion forum page on the problem last night, and found that it has completely disappeared. No trace, no nothing. Note that it was the first topic on the board last night, and we were posting furiously. They didn't reply to my message either.

Yeah, it has all come down to this. I'm still using Blogger. If they take my blog down too, say something please. Hahaha.

Let's hope for a good day ahead.

Update

I'm participating in an almost real-time online discussion group and sent a message to the Reader guys.

Kinda good, this online problem-reporting thing. Reminds me of the things I deal with every day. So far I found out that problem is on my ISP and on Google Reader security feature. Hope they reply soon.

Fifth time

This is probably the only time I've posted more than 2 entries a day. I just can't resist.

Apparently, somehow, non-magically, all those emails seem Singaporean, as in the problem might probably lie in the ISP side.

Searched through the Help Discussion forum and fortunately I'm not the only one complaining, someone else logged the same problem a few minutes before me. They're all Singaporean users (no surprise there).

Hmm...