GeneralFebruary 12, 2007 11:45 pm

 
 
 

the artist when he is still young

 
 
 
The Blogger is back !
 
Sorry for being idle for a while.
I just came back on 23rd March and my internship started on the following Monday.
I have to cope with jet lag and working hours,
that is why I can’t blog so soon.
 
 
 

 
Anyways my 5-week holidays were great.
I have the chance to meet some cool bloggers like the cool Robb, Japanophileans kurokei and Reiko.

I managed to get some nice books on health and I have a nice time in Singapore.
 
 
 

 
The people in Singapore are not as nasty as described by many people, at least not so bad to a tourist like me.
Singaporeans are quite fashion conscious and that is something cool about them.
However, the law enforcement of the infamous nanny state is not something pleasant.
As I have said, Singapore is “dangerous” not because of criminals, but because of its weird law enforcement.
You will be sent to jail for two years for performing oral sex, yet prostitution is tolerated.

I think Singapore is a nice place to visit,
but not really a good place to live.

 
 
 

GeneralFebruary 10, 2007 9:52 pm

 
 
 

Unknown person

 
 
 
Taking a Break
 

My exam is coming to an end. I have a few more papers left and then I will go back to my hometown and enjoy my life there for about 5 weeks.
The message of this post is obvious,
I am taking a short break from blogging.
I shall be back at the end of March 2007.

I have a few things that I plan to do soon.

    1. I plan to meet some of my readers and bloggers in real life. If you are interested to meet me, I will be glad to drink tea with you. :)
    2. I plan to visit Singapore. I have never been there before.
    3. I plan to read more self help books and do some cool exercises. Most probably I will blog about them here.
    4. I plan to start a group blog soon. The details of this new blog will remain as mystery for now.
    5. I plan to complete my previous post on Italian food. I have no time to write about it now due to exam.

Finally, I wish you happy Chinese New Year.
Thanks for all your support. I am happy to have you as my readers.
I hope to see you soon.

 
 
 

Travel, Food and DrinksFebruary 8, 2007 7:20 am

 
 
 


 
 

although we are familiar with Italian food like pizza and pasta …

the dining culture in Italy remains mysterious and fascinating …

as I go deeper into exploring and revealing the art of Italian eating …

 
 

*      *      *      *      *

 
 
 

pizza

Here’s a pizza that I found in Venice, Italy.
I was surprised that it is very different from the pizza that we normally eat.
The crust is soft and thin !
So it is possible to take a slice of pizza and roll it or fold it sideways or like sandwich
and eat it in a nice and clean manner.

The pizza we normally eat elsewhere has thick and hard crust, which reduces the pleasure of eating.
But this pizza does not give the hassle of hard crust so that you can enjoy the main toppings on it.
Pineapple, salami and ham on a genuine pizza…. priceless !

 
 
 

First course

 
 
 

Second course

 
 
 

First course

 
 
 

Second course

 
 
 

Images, TravelFebruary 7, 2007 12:29 pm

 
 
 


 
 

as I sip a cup of Italian coffee…

the images of Italian streets emerge from my memory….

as I recall….

 
 

*      *      *      *      *

 
 
 

the grand passage of limitless imagination
Milan, Italy
 
 
 

the remains of an ancient city
Milan, Italy
 
 
 

the perfectly straight tower on a hill slope
Pisa, Italy
 
 
 

hmm… or you prefer it this way?
Pisa, Italy

 
 
 

painting the sky with an ancient pillar
Rome, Italy

 
 
 

a portion of an ancient “sports complex”
Rome, Italy

 
 
 

cat paintings in the city of arts
Florence, Italy

 
 
 

have a cone of gelato (Italian “high class” ice cream)
Florence, Italy

 
 
 

walking through the watery city
Venice, Italy

 
 
 

I had a romantic dream
Venice, Italy

 
 
 

Video, VoicesFebruary 6, 2007 2:33 pm

 
 
 

 
 
 
One day

 

Today I would love to share a nicely edited Music Video with you.
It is not original but I find it being made like a series of moving inspirational cards. I really like this idea.
The song One Day is not any typical love song.
It is a very motivational song, sung by Sissel from Norway, is what I would love to play over and over again to gain inner glow and strength.
I hope you will like the voice and video.

Click here for the video : One Day

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my readers for being so loyal and supportive.
That is the fun part of blogging, the part where readers and the writer are enjoying sweet interaction and understanding and love is achieved.
I am glad that some of you love the relaxing pictures and exercises here.
Some of you who tried the self help exercises here seem to benefit a lot from them, am I right?
I was quite happy when you guys told me that the honey lemon tonic helps you a lot.

I feel grateful for your support and I shall continue to blog with passion. Hopefully there will be more cool stuffs and exercises that will benefit you greatly.
We shall see about that…. one day.
Anyways, expect some surprises in the future. :)

I love you all ^_^
Have fun and keep experimenting. :)

 
 
 

GadgetsFebruary 5, 2007 4:17 pm

 
 
 

.
 
 
 
VARTA Charge and Go : It takes only 15 minutes !

 

Usually I don’t blog about gadgets and devices because on this blog I discuss about arts, self help and anything that makes us feel relaxed. Today’s post is a bit special because the gadget I am talking about has greatly eased my 2-month backpacking trip in Europe. It simply made my traveling experience more relaxed so I feel the need to share such a wonderful stuff with you.

VARTA is a well known battery maker in Europe. Its head office is in Ellwangen, Germany. It is just 15 minute ride from my place. Another famous company near my place is Carl Zeiss, the best optical instrument maker in the world. It’s cool to live near these big companies.

Recently VARTA has launched their new product called 15 minutes Charge and Go !
Self-explanatory, it simply charges their special AA and AAA size batteries in just 15 minutes !
The coolest part is that the batteries outperform similar rechargeable batteries that take more than 8 hours of charging. I am brutally honest here.
A set of such AA batteries can last for more than a day in a digicam for a backpacker like me.
I got this stuff quite early maybe because I live quite near to VARTA headquarter.

In my first backpacking trip I have to charge my batteries for many hours and that is quite stressful for a person who has to move about frequently. Today with these VARTA batteries, I just need to charge them while enjoying my meals. Everything is just so easy !
Now I just need to bring an army of 8 VARTA batteries in my backpack adventure.
I will never look back again. No regrets, no problem, and there is only comfort and satisfaction.

 

* Update
 

OK guys, I have found out that the price for the double slot AA / AAA battery charger (exactly same as in the picture) costs only 30 Euro (batteries included) and a pair of AA batteries alone costs 8 Euro. The full 4 battery slots charger cost about 70 euro.
If you live near Kuala Lumpur, I might get it for you, for a little bit of commission of ccourse :P

 
 
 

Images, TravelFebruary 3, 2007 6:29 am

 
 
 

the little horse reaches the roof
Bratislava, Slovakia Republic
 
 
 

have a closer look at the castle
Bratislava, Slovakia Republic
 
 
 

the great Danube river splits the city into Buda and Pest
Budapest, Hungary
 
 
 

one of the many mini castles
Budapest, Hungary

 
 
 

experience the magic and mystery
Cracow, Poland

 
 
 

the world’s largest and infamous Nazi concentration camp
Auschwitz, Poland

 
 
 

the golden glory of the past still shines today
Prague, Czech Republic

 
 
 

in the castle of Prague, showing off its glory
Prague, Czech Republic

 
 
 

ExercisesFebruary 1, 2007 9:11 pm

 
 
 

Budapest, Hungary

 
 
 
Effective Way to Deal with Anger and Stress

 
Dealing with explosive emotions like anger and stress is easy to say than to do.
How can we deal with them easily yet effectively?
Simply tap yourself over and over again.

The Chinese believe that emotions and body are closely related.
The organs and energy meridians in the body have emotional elements and how you feel will affect the body, and vice versa.
Therefore it is quite effective to deal with the emotion-body energy system to eliminate anger and stress.

Previously I blogged about Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) that effectively deals with emotions.
It has the function of triggering the emotion so that anger and stress can surface and manifest itself for us to eliminate, by tapping a few acupressure points that can get rid of them quickly and cleanly.
We can simplify the whole EFT thing to just tapping so that we can deal with our emotional problems directly.
The tapping itself is the main method to release emotional energy blockage and outburst, which is causing a lot of problems.

I shall outline some of the points to be tapped with your fingers (not nails) of both hands.
You simply need to tap each point rapidly for about 7 times.
 
 

    • top of your head
      Beginning of the eyebrows
      Sides of the eyes
      Under the eyes
      Under the nose
      Chin
      Collarbone
      Under the arm
  •  
     

    Here’s a video demo of the points to be tapped. (just skip the non tapping part)

    Although it seems ridiculous to get rid of anger and stress by just tapping but from the experience of many people it works quite well. Tapping for one round alone (tapping through the points mentioned above once) can greatly reduce the level of negative emotions.
    When you are really in bad mood from exam, work, annoyance or anything else,
    quickly do the tapping again and again,
    even though this might not seem to work at first but after many rounds (10, 20 or 30 rounds, which won’t last for more than 10 minutes)
    You will notice that the outburst is reduced significantly and the feeling of inner bliss is felt.

    Always choose to do tapping when you are angry or stressed.
    It is much better than hurting yourself, your loved ones and your valuable things,
    and it deals with the root of the problem directly.

    Sometimes anger or stress can be subtle so it is a good idea to do the tapping a few short rounds even though you are not experiencing outburst. The problem is there, it is just that sometimes we are not aware of it. It can cause muscular tension or dull feeling. So when you are taking a walk, waiting at train station or not doing anything, go through the tapping gently.
    You might even notice that you feel calmer and less tense after doing it as subtle stress is removed.

    I hope this simple tapping exercise will help you greatly to deal with your problems in life.
    Have fun and keep experimenting. :)