April is coming to an end, we are already almost in the mid of second Quarter of 2012, I hope you are progressing well so far in 2012. In any case, no matter what is your progress now, you can't change what you have already done (or didn't do), you should focus on the present and work towards your goal(s) NOW!
This is already the 18th sharing of my "Inspire It Forward" posts, hope you folks like it. Do share with me what other motivational and inspirational stuff you like to see in my blog and I will try my very best to accede to your request.
Keep Going and Keep Smiling!
1. Inspirational Video - Change Your Mind In Just 2.50 Minutes:
2. Inspirational Quotes (Original):
“Future is yet to come; Past is no longer exists; Live the MOMENT!"
Last night, attended the very last Wicked musical in Singapore, Marina Bay Sands Theatre with my wife. First, I need to confess that this is our very first Broadway Musical ever and thus we went into the theatre with half-hearted mind and soul (secretly praying to myself that it would not be a boring evening for us).
To our greatest surprise, Wicked is a very entertaining and fun musical, suitable for all ages. In fact, we overheard an audience next to us that this is the third times he watched it. With the super powerful vocals from all the main casts, the amazing props and smooth (or rather magical) scene changing effect… we totally immersed ourselves with the plots, the singing, the witty jokes as well as the meaningful and inspirational lines pop-up here and there.
Some of the lines/quotes from the Wicked musical which I thought are quite inspiring/motivating:
Line/Quote 1:
Elphaba: “You are the only friend I have”
Glinda : “I have so many friends, but YOU are the only one matters to me!”
Line/Quote 2:
Elphaba: “I am the tragically beautiful one!”
Line/Quote 3:
Singing: “I’ve changed…. for the better”
The only two "complaints" I have from this maiden Broadway Musical experience are as follows (and this is nothing to do with the play itself):
1. We were seated at the second last row of the theatre and thus can't really watch the casts clearly (lesson learned: will get the better seats in our next musical outing).
2. The theatre is quite stuffy and warm.
Following are some promotional materials from Wicked Musical:
Nope, I am not going to share any prequel or sequel of Rambo movie here (I said this as I have mentioned earlier that I am a movie buff! ;-)). What I am referring to is a meaningful action that I've intended to do for quite sometime: Blood Donation.
Finally, I've got the long awaited personal experience of getting my blood withdrawn out from my body. Seriously speaking, it's a pleasant blood donation experience.
My personal experience:
Is it painful? No
How long does it take for the donation? About 30 minutes max (including filling-up form and blood test)
Is there any side effect after that? Except a minor needling sensation and small blue black, nothing much and can go back to work afterwords as per normal.
In fact, I've learnt a few things from this experience in terms of blood donor's eligibility (i.e. not everyone are eligible) e.g.:
1. You must weigh at least 45 kg
2. Your blood haemoglobin level must be at least 12.5 g/dl
3. You have not had a fever in the last 3 weeks
4. You are between 16 and 60 years old
Encouraging message (sticker) for the first timer
Blood Donation in action
Self portrait after the donation
Minor blue-black after removing the bandage (the marks are caused by the bandage)
Thus, I was secretly pleased that I am eligible and the actual blood extraction time was merely 5 minutes! Ultimately, my blood might not be enough to save any live (as no one can control the outcome) but it sure will increase the chance of survival for the needy. I've pledged myself to be a regular blood donor from now onwards (at least twice a year), hence, my first blood but never my last!
For those who are keen to have your own experience of donating blood (your very own proud moment), do check out the blood donation drives near your place or visit the following sites:
Last week, two of the major global news that stole the limelight were the Major earthquake in Indonesia and the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook. These two seemingly very different events have something in common. Read on to find our why I say so....
Before I share their similarity, let's go through some background of the news:
Earthquake In Indonesia:
On 11 Apr 2012, two massive major earthquakes struck off the coast of Indonesia with a reported magnitude of 8.6. It sparks Tsunami fear in the neighbouring countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and even India. Tsunami alert were put in placed in these countries (by the Authority) and many residents were evacuated from the coastal area to the higher ground. Thank God, no real Tsunami attack were reported since and it's a non-event after all.
Acquisition of Instagram by Facebook:
On 9 Apr 12, it was officially announced Facebook will acquire Instagram for a mammoth 1 billion dollars. If you are still clueless about what is Instagram, it is a mobile social networking app that allow users to snap photos, filter it (if deemed necessary) and share it across the network instantly. This business deal definitely has it's pros and cons but it has set off the panic button among the existing Instagram users for fear of the potential integration of Instagram into Facebook as well as the data privacy concern, among other things. Thus, many authority sites/blogs have since published many posts on the Instagram alternatives (for the leavers). In short, it has triggered an virtual Tsunami alert among the users that something "bad" is on it's way!
So, what is the similarity between these two events?
They have both triggered the Tsunami Alert (one physical and the other virtual) and created psychological fear for uncertainty among those who have affected. However, ultimately it might not be as bad as it seems to be (like in the case of the earthquake in Indonesia), thus, let's not press the panic button too hard and cause disruption towards our normal routine. As it is, life itself is already full of uncertainty, as long as we live our life to the fullest by preparing for the best and expecting for the worst, we all will be just fine.
Do you agree with my view and what is your takes on the future of Instagram? Do share your view here.
By now, I am sure you folks have come across (one way or the other) the multimedia releases of the forthcoming blockbuster movie “The Avengers”. Be it the teasers, trailers or even the movie posters, the only response that I can muster is “Wow!”. I truly believe that the movie will live-up to its hype.
If you are still clueless, The Avengers is a Super Heroes comic-book adaptation movie. Following the like of Spiderman, Batman etc… the major difference is that there will be many more heavyweights super heroes appearing in this movie to share the limelight. To name just a few: Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and a few others. So, besides expecting the marvellous special effects, do look out for the great performance from the lead actors/actress (I means the super heroes).
Among all the super heroes, my favourite is Ironman, it is because Robert Downey Jr. has portrait him inch perfectly in The Ironman 1 and 2! Following are some media I've extracted from the web for your viewing pleasure:
Today, I met an University classmate of mine whom I've not in contact for n number of years. What trigger the meeting is actual THIS blog! Yes, I meant the blog that you are reading now. It is a pleasant surprise to me that this friend of mine has been reading my blog and was inspired by what I've written, especially during his challenging year in 2011 and thus he has initiated the meeting to share with me his thoughts.
We shared quite a fair bit about our good old days, our life so far, kids (even though I don't have one ;-)) and how we see our future. I've learnt that he has been through a difficult and life-changing year in 2011, both his personal life as well as his business. All a long, he strikes me as a man with good mental strength, a tough guy, if you like. But after his heart-to-heart sharing, I find that he has his weak point and thanks god, he managed to pull-through all these challenging obstacles in year 2011. Now, he is regaining his confident in life and restarting a brand new chapter of his journey of life.
What made me even more pleased is he shared with me that the inspirational stories in my blog provides him with certain strength (positive energy) to face life during his low point. I am deeply touched (and secretly happy) as I didn't expect my WORDS can be so powerful. The original purpose of my blog to Inspire it Forward seems to yield it's fruits. What makes it even more meaningful is the recipient is someone I know.
John: This post is for you. Life is a series of obstacles meant to cross and you've crossed many of them now, don't give up and you will never failed!
Good Friday has just ended and I am sure most of you are having a wonderful long weekend ahead of you. Some of you folks might not start work until next Tuesday (10/04/2012), if you are vacationing in a foreign land now, enjoy yourselves. If you are not going anywhere due to family or work commitment, do take life easier and continue to enjoy the moment!
This is already the 17th sharing of my "Inspire It Forward" posts, hope you folks like it. Do share with me what other motivational and inspirational stuff you like to see in my blogs and I will try my very best to accede to your request.
Keep Going and Keep Smiling!
1. Inspirational Video - Best Motivational Video Ever:
2. Inspirational Quotes (Original):
“Bad Move Is Better Than No Move as you learned something out of it! No Move will keep you guessing the outcome forever!"
Today is April Fool's day, before I start my sharing, I would like to wish everyone here a happy April Fool's Day!
By the way, my following sharing is NOT an April Fool's joke! ;-)
This week marks an unfortunate week for me as I've lost something very important, completely! After few attempts of rescue operations, I've failed to recover all the important data in my PC and have no choice but to restore it to the original factory position. It means that it has reborn as a brand new baby, a total blank sheet! As I do not have the habit of backing-up my data regularly (my last back-up is probably one year ago. I know, I should have done it more regularly, but I didn't), the lost is deemed unrecoverable and permanent.
In life, such thing happens, I am not overly bordered by it and actually quite happy that I can learn something out of it. What I've learnt from this experience are:
Remember to back-up all my important data more regularly from now on.
Unfortunate event happens anytime anywhere even when you least expected it. So, always prepare for the best and expect for the worst.
The best thing to do in any such situation is to keep calm and focus on the solutions (instead of dwelling into finding the causes) and move on from there.
It is NOT the end of the world
Now, my new "baby" is up and running again, in fact it is running faster than before!
The last thing that we should do is to start the blame game as there is no benefit whatsoever in blaming yourself or others for such unfortunate event, it will only help the doctor as your blood pressure is sure to go up!
Do you have any unfortunate event/experience to share and how did you react to it? But no April Fool jokes please! ;-)
