The self-made billionare and his wife

There is the guy, you must know him too, his name is Tiger Woods, he is the highest paid athlete in history, he makes more money than Michael Schumacher and Michael Jordan, and he is only 33! He marries a supermodel and lives in a luxury mansion 99.9% of us won't ever see the inside...

You know what he did? He has affairs... Not even with pretty ones, it is almost like the Hugh Grant situation, I don't get it. Have you seen Liz Hurley? She is smoking hot!

Here is another thing that was interesting, the whole thing came out because Tiger got into a "car accident" a few metres from the front of his mansion at 245am in the morning. We later found out he was trying to get away from a raging wife who was swinging golf club at him.

Most people found that ironic and funny. Think about it, Tiger driving away in his sponsored suv to escape from his wife, swinging his sponsored golf clubs. However, it wouldn't be funny if it was Tiger who did the swinging.

Also, why did this man's personal affair become an international news? He gets paid to play golf, and he is pretty good at it, why do we want to know who he sleeps with?

I guess society is still twisted in many ways...

五塊錢的幸福

幾天前, 和朋友吃飯的時侯, 聊到所謂的幸福, 好像定義不一樣, 尤其是對物質上的要求. 記得小時候, 零用錢並不多, 所以有時候拿到一個五塊錢, 就開心的不得了, 想的可能是雜貨店的乖乖, 王子麵, 冬瓜茶, 還是學校的福利社買蘋果麵包, 買包子, 還是跑去電動間打一次電動, 還是去漫畫店租本漫畫... 無限的可能.

往往手上的五塊錢, 握得滾燙, 都還是不能決定要做什麼, 但是對未來非常的期待.

現在年長一些了, 會自己賺錢了, 對物質的要求就增加許多, 要吃就要好吃的, 要玩就要最好的, 但我們對未來並沒有小時候那麼期待, 反而, 變得比較貪婪, 要最求更多的物質, 但好像變得更空虛, 感覺上, 還不如小時那五塊錢來的幸福...

The Fashion Sense

I have to admit, I never have fashion sense, I see them, but I am very very slow to adapt. Conservative is what I am aiming for, it takes years for me to switch from flat nose dress shoes to pointy dress shoes, from the non-shiny ones to the shiny ones, from fat neckties to skinny ones...

There are, however, weird fashion accessories which shouldn't be allowed to become fashionable again. For example, in tw, the baggy MC hammer type pants are making a comeback, I think they are ugly, and like MC hammer, they should stop trying to make a comeback.

Another more frustrating accessory for the season, is the big black plastic frame non-prescription glasses, almost everyone who wears them are wearing them without prescription, they wear contact lens underneath. If it is an accessory, it doesn't make one better looking.

Then again, I am slow to adapt, I might wear them when they become a norm...

看不見

在朋友的婚禮上, 女孩流下了淚, 她不是為新人開心, 而是難過, 難過是因為她看不見她自己有一天會和他在同樣的地方接受祝福.

是什麼原因, 她也說不清楚, 男生對她很好, 在一起也好多年了, 與對方的家人渡過了許多節日, 男生家的那條狗, 更是溺愛的不得了. 自己家人也把他當成家人, 未來的女婿看待, 以他們現在的年紀, 再走下去, 應該就是結婚了吧, 男生對未來信心滿滿, 但她就是看不見那個未來.

仔細去想, 只有覺得他沒有安全感, 年紀比自己小了一點, 想法還有點稚氣, 吵起架來, 就像對小孩一樣, 對他要呵護點, 要照顧點. 走到對女性來說的年齡十字路口, 有工作的壓力, 有結婚的壓力, 她覺得她反而想要一個可以照顧她的人, 一個她可以欣賞的對象.

好像, 要放下手上的愛, 自己需要再出發, 都是因為看不見...

二四六的便當

在台灣的時候, 不知道什麼時候, 父母開始自己分配我和弟弟的晚餐誰負責, 那時一三五好像是母親下廚, 二四六是父親負責. 父親不會煮飯, 加班也多, 大多是在外面買便當回來給我們吃. 我和弟弟小時候就比較期待二四六, 總覺得外頭的東西比較好吃.

在seven還沒有全民大飯盒的時代, 離家最近的便當有兩間, 不是街角的牛肉飯或排骨飯 (這間到現在還可以在google map上看得見), 就是在遠一點港式便當, 這間已不存在的店裡賣的炒面就是那種在九記才吃得到脆炒面. 有時沒買飯盒, 就一起去餃子館吃二十個餃子加酸辣湯...

這情況不知道維持了多久, 直到我們出國...

有時回台灣, 父親還是會幫我買早餐, 但我有時就會幫他買晚餐便當, 有seven的全民大飯盒, 有在板橋買的特色便當... 前一陣, 不好意思讓弟弟的女朋友餐餐煮, 也是去外面買菜, 買便當, 有天晚上再排隊的時候, 想起當年父親買便當的時候, 也是在排隊的他, 那時不知道是什麼心情?

Nobody

Incredibly catchy tune, annoyingly simple moves, sorta like the male version of "sorry sorry" by that korean boy band. You have been warned, you will catch it too~

Nobody

Rain - Modonna

A very good song from last century, enjoy this on a rainy late Autumn day.

"Rain"

I feel it, it's coming

Rain, feel it on my finger tips
Hear it on my window pane
Your love's coming down like
Rain, wash away my sorrow
Take away my pain
Your love's coming down like rain

When your lips are burning mine
And you take the time to tell me how you feel
When you listen to my words
And I know you've heard, I know it's real
Rain is what this thunder brings
For the first time I can hear my heart sing
Call me a fool but I know I'm not
I'm gonna stand out here on the mountain top
Till I feel your

When you looked into my eyes
And you said goodbye could you see my tears
When I turned the other way
Did you hear me say
I'd wait for all the dark clouds bursting in a perfect sky
You promised me when you said goodbye
That you'd return when the storm was done
And now I'll wait for the light, I'll wait for the sun
Till I feel your

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say, never go away

Waiting is the hardest thing
(It's strange I feel like I've known you before)
I tell myself that if I believe in you
(And I want to understand you)
In the dream of you
(More and more)
With all my heart and all my soul
(When I'm with you)
That by sheer force of will
(I feel like a magical child)
I will raise you from the ground
(Everything strange)
And without a sound you'll appear
(Everything wild)
And surrender to me, to love

Rain is what the thunder brings
For the first time I can hear my heart sing
Call me a fool but I know I'm not
I'm gonna stand out here on the mountain top
Till I feel your

Rain, I feel it, it's coming
Your love's coming down like

Rain

Passion

Recent conversations with my friends lead to the discussion about passion, passion in life, passion in relationships, passion in work.

Is it necessary find passion in life, or should passion be your work, what if you cannot find that passion anywhere?

I guess that is a question for people in their 20s and early 30s. All of the sudden, you are working, you are wondering what is happening next, you wonder if this is the path you chose, or the path that leads to nowhere.

You start to doubt yourself, especially when you see the younger generation moving closer, your friends moving further ahead. You wonder, why am I not happy?

The answer for many is passion, they thought they are not happy because they cannot feel the passion in the stuff they do.

That is why many people in this age group are learning new things all of sudden, salsa dancing, drawing, playing tennis, playing golf, swimming, playing piano, playing guitar, pottery, pole dancing...

I thought passion is something that is easy to find, do things you like to do, and do them often, you don't even have to do them well...

Battle of sex - What gender is your computer?

Got this from my friend, pretty funny stuff...

A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.'
'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'

A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

btw, it is 'el computador'

八年紀念日

今天有個好朋友和我提起工作上的不開心, 我想起當年找工作的經驗...

2001年畢業的時候, 正逢高科技股崩盤, 2月的時候開始找, 那時還有2個月才會離開建教合作的工作, 還有4個月才畢業, 雖然時機壞壞, 但其實沒那麼緊張,畢竟有工作經驗. 哪知道那時的金融業真的難找, 在網上找了好幾個月都沒消息, 連黃頁投資公司的那幾頁都撕下打電話, 也是沒消息, 只有幾間公司的經理很禮貌的跟我聊幾句, 說是要更有經驗的人. 漸漸的, 信心從很多到完全沒有. 從做投資顧問找到暫時的門口接待, 還不請我...

那時渡過的時間的方式非常頹廢, 反正沒出門, 一件t-shirt, 前後穿,裡外穿, 可以穿四天, 白天就打電動, 那個夏天破的遊戲有十幾個吧, 晚上就找朋友來家裡組模型, 我一個夏天組了六台車, 一台戰車...

後來, 連futureshop都不請我的時候, 911事件之後, 2001年的11月, 終於有了轉機, 找到我第一份工作, 雖然在保險公司, 雖然做的是雜物翻譯的工作, 雖然只有不到$1300的月薪, 但起碼還是份金融有關的工作. 熬了許多年到今天, 剛好是八年, 終於找到自己當年想要的工作, 終於有點成績, 看有些朋友在自己工作上的不開心, 我覺得我真的很幸運! 祝我的朋友們工作順利...

沒有夜夜笙歌的日子

最近在msn上遇到朋友最多的問候是, 你怎麼週末/晚上在家? 怎麼沒有出去, 詢問的次數為B list的朋友問最多, 因為A list的朋友都出門, C 或 D list的朋友不怎麼用電腦...

碰到朋友也是, 都會問, 阿你怎麼沒有約會... 阿你待會要去哪? 通常A list的不會問, 就算出去也大多是跟他們, B list的會用有點諷刺的口氣問, C list的會用有點忌妒的口氣問, D list的會用有點羨慕的口氣問...

其實, 我並沒有夜夜笙歌的日子, 下班之後, 只有一天運動, 一天學吉他 (大多是同一天), 其他的時間不是看台灣的綜藝節目, 就是練習吉他. 週末的時候比較常出去. 加上我屬於被動的social 型態, 所以有許多朋友以為我一直都很忙, 也不常找我, 生活單調的很...

所以歡迎隨時來電...

You know Melinda?

Melinda Lou, youngest of 4, was like every 8 year old kid, curious and loved candies. Her dad, Dave had been in Korean War, worked as a mass sergeant feeding 2000 soldiers at a time. After his honorable discharge as a Staff Sergeant, Dave worked with Colonel Sanders at his restaurant famous for fried chicken, KFC.

At age of 37, Dave wanted a change in his career, and decided to start his own restaurant. One day, he looked at Melinda, and said "I am going to name the restaurant after you!" Melinda, 8 at the time, still cannot pronounce her own name properly, so everyone nicknamed her "Wanda".

You see, the restaurant is Wendy's, and her dad is Dave Thomas, the founder of the 3rd largest burger joint of the world. Now, you know the rest of the story...

Curious Case of Benjimen Button

Have you ever had the thought that maybe one day, you will wake up 10 years younger, you will go back to mend the problems that made you regret?

Benjamin Button doesn't have that problem, he grows younger...

I have received this movie on my bday (very fitting, may i add), I never had the courage to watch it by myself, 'cause I know it will be a sad story but a good story. So, I watched it tonight with my brother and his girlfriend.

It is almost like watching Forrest Gump. When times change, the characters blend in with the changing time as well, you will see historical moments in the movie. Unlike Forrest Gump, however, it is more about Benjamin and his experience, his fear.

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are good actors, storyline is pretty interesting, somehow, something feels amiss, at least, I don't feel as struck as the time I watched Forrest Gump. Maybe, I am getting older now, I can't be moved by movies easily now... I still remember the time I got so moved by simple Disney Movies, and it doesn't feel that long ago...

瀟灑走一回

上星期招待同事去唱KTV, 幾個較年長的同事點了葉倩文的瀟灑走一回, 1991年的老歌, 好像還是我國三要出國時的歌, 那時學校還教所有的學生唱這首歌, 應該我最早學的K歌吧, 現在看歌詞, 十幾歲的小朋友哪了解字裡行間的意思?

天地悠悠　過客匆匆　潮起又潮落
恩恩怨怨　生死白頭　幾人能看透

紅塵啊滾滾　痴痴啊情深　聚散終有時
留一半清醒　留一半醉　至少夢裡有你追隨

我拿青春賭明天　你用真情換此生
歲月不知人間　多少的憂傷　何不瀟灑走一回

7 deadly sins of breaking up

As a regular reader of 24 (it is free after all), I like to read Sarah Rowland's column, Dating Chronicles, she writes about relationships, especially from females' point of view.

This is what she wrote on Friday,

7 Deadly Sins of Breaking up

1) Causing a Scene
2) Denying Closure
3) Sh-t Talking the Ex
4) Avoiding the Exchange
5) Encouraging Goodbye sex
6) Holding onto a Grudge
7) Ego-stroking Rebound sex

It is always hard to be broken up, I still have lots to learn...