IF

I've never really liked the word "IF"..
I've always felt that the word "IF" carries a negative connotation..
How many times do we hear people or ourselves say

"If only.."

I try not to leave things to chance.. and I try to do my best so I do not regret when I don't get my desired outcomes.. so there's no room for "if only.."
but of course.. It's always easier said than done..

Then recently this really interesting person (who never fails to amaze me and bring a smile to my face) said this to me..

"Because of IF.. There is Hope"

Interesting way of looking at it, don't you think?

-- Ginseng Tonic Maker -- Even a negative can be positive..

My all-time favourite..

I'm looking at cars again.. Thanks to some bad influence.. *ahem*.. You know who you are haha..
Since I was looking at cars.. Can't help but went looking at my all-time favourite car again..
It's the Nissan 350Z... Also known as Fairlady (but nobody seems to call it as fairlady anymore)..
I juz absolutely LOVE it..
Even more than the more expensive cars like BMW's Z4.. and Lexus' SC etc..
Comparatively.. 350Z is considered quite cheap.. There was a guy driving 350z while I was in uni!! Can you imagine that.. It doesn't hurt to have rich parents haha.. (but i'm not discounting the fact that some undergrads have biz that are so successful they can afford one..)..
I do hope I will get to own one someday though..

HOPE because.. Being me.. I'd probably think that it's not practical to own a car like that.. And thinking about the costs.. I think it's more worth it to buy 2 cars haha..
Moreover.. being the filial son that I am *ahem*.. This car can't drive my mum around when/if i get attached/married etc..
But of course.. The ideal scenerio will be like someone I know.. a MPV for the family.. a sports car for ego trip.. and recently a JEEP for FUN!!!..
Imagine that!!..

-- Ginseng Tonic Maker -- Hot Wheels...

Apprentice is back..

Apprentice is back.. One of my favourite shows..
I don't usually chase any TV shows..
But Apprentice is one show that I've always been hooked on..
I'm so hooked on it that in the past, I would rush home from Tampines to my house to be in time to catch the show.. Or I would take a cab home after the show!

It's very representative of the real world.. How people work on tasks.. Office politics etc.. Thankfully I'm not in a office corporate environment.. Don't think I can survive all the scheming.. stab-your-back hypocrisy..
All I need to do is concentrate on my own work.. Thank Goodness!

-- Ginseng Tonic Maker --

Quote of the Day

"Success is not achieved with the absence of obstacles..
Sucess is achieved despite the presence of obstacles"

An original quote from yours truly..
Maybe one day I'll have enough quotes of my own to write a book or something haha..
I've always been fascinated with quotes.. Short and sharp.. Straight to the point..
Simple sentences that hold so much wisdom and truth...
Thought of the quote today on my way home..
After working the whole day today.. My mind was just racing non-stop on the bus..
Maybe it's the last quarter.. All the excitement and anxiety of the final quarter is here once again..
The excitement of the final burst and joy in achieving your goals and personal bests.. And the anxiety of not achieving it..

Sometimes it's so easy to give up.. Quitting is always an easy option..
Especially with what has happened in my life this year..
It'd be such a easy option.. I can just blame it on what has happened..
But thankfully I didn't.. And thankfully I'm not..
Althought it has definitely affected my plans..
I'll just have to keep on fighting as hard as I can..

Never quit people..
In life, there are always going to be obstacles.. Don't let obstacles be an excuse for quitting..
I'm not going to blame a failed relationship if I don't hit my goals this year..
I just have to blame myself for not being able to pick myself up fast enough..

It's easy to look at people who are successful and be full of envy..
And sometimes others like to say these successful people are lucky..
But they only look at the end result of success and hardly at the process..
Nobody looks at the shit these people went through..
But everybody wants to enjoy the success..
I'm sure there are those few that are really lucky.. Maybe it's the family fortunes.. Maybe it's lottery.. Maybe they just happen to in the right place at the right time..
But don't let luck determine your destiny.. Never Quit in the face of obstacles and go into self-pity expecting the sympathy from the world..
Coz I'm sure..

"Success is not achieved in the absence of obstacles..
Success is achieved despite the presence of obstacles"

-- Ginseng Tonic Maker -- A ginseng a day.. Clears the obstacles away..

I Need You Around.. To Remind Me What Not To Become..

Same-Same but Different

Recently just got some photos from my friends..
Friends who "owed" me the photos haha..
Looking through the photos.. It really brought back a lot of memories..
Some of the events, pictures.. I've already clean forgotten!..
But look at them and thinking back.. It's really very emo sometimes haha..
That's why I love looking at photos, letter, cards I've kept over the years..
Once in a while when I have the time and feeling emo haha..
Well.. Coz memories fade.. But all these momentos serve as reminders of happy (or sad) times in our lives..

It's really amazing sometimes.. How we'ver grown over the years..
From my long floppy hair when I was younger.. Then my dyed hair with goatee.. My ear piercings when I was younger.. And now my short hair..
Then from my sharp chiselled features.. fit and toned body.. to now when my weight keep going up and down (but mostly up haha).. When my friends meet me.. some say I lost weight.. Some say I gained weight.. I guess it depends on when they last see me haha..

Then the friends and company in the pictures.. Some you are still close with.. Some you are just thankful that you are keeping in touch.. And some you wonder what happened.. Coz they are out of your lives completely, regrettably so..
Unfortunately some groups of friends get smaller over the years for one reason or another.. But sometimes it's a good thing.. The ones that remain.. You can be sure.. are worth being friends with..

Sometimes.. Some friends.. Some meetings.. Some gatherings..
As the group size changes.. As the relationship changes.. At different stages of our lives.. The feeling.. Like a friend says..
Same-Same but different

-- Gingseng Tonic Maker -- Memories to last a lifetime..

It's a Tough Time

A friend of mine is going through some tough time..
Thanks (or no thanks) to relationships again..
Seeing her going through it.. Brings back some memories I would rather forget..
What she's going through.. Is almost a replica of what I went through..
Sometimes I wonder what the world is coming to..
I fear another relationship failure.. Or rather.. I fear another relationship failure in the same circumstances..
I think it'll be too much for me to handle.. And perhaps it is something that's really holding me back..

Dropped her an sms and sometimes it amazes me what I can come up with..
You guys can quote me the great philosopher in future haha..
"In life, shit happens..
But we need these shit once in a while..
Or life will be one big constipation!"

Was reading her blog when I saw something her friend told her which I find very true and interesting.. (edited version)
"When you find the love of your life in future,
you'll look back and realise how foolish you are..
to shed all these tears."

So my dear friend who's going through this shit..
Cheer up!.. Jio me for kopi or smthg..
I totally understand what you are going through.. Coz i went through the same shit myself! Haha..

Time will heal the wounds.. Slowly but surely.. And when you gain your senses.. You will be GLAD it happened.. Be thankful.. Once in a while, we need to clear some shit out of our life haha.. Moreover, better a breakup now than a divorce in future!..

"And when you start to miss me..
Remember..
You let me go.."
- As plagarised from Nickle's blog

-- Ginseng Tonic Maker -- Is love worth the shit?