It has begun. The ASEAN Tourism Forum, that is. I'm helping out so let's hope I have the stamina to keep up with the programme! So far so good...come this time next week, I should be a happy bunny. Peas oot.

Poem of the Day:

Time to take It Slow.


I think it's time for you to move on,
Time for you to let me go.
Time for your heart to beat again.
And time for me to take it slow.

I'm sorry for being such a fool,
I'm letting go...
It's no use trying to piece back together what was never whole in the first place.
I think it's time for me to move on.
Time for my heart to beat again and time for you to take it slow.

Those long kisses and warm embraces.
I wish I'd never let you let me make the first move.
We ended up
Nowhere,
It was all lose-lose from the get-go.
I think it's time for us to move on,
Time for us to take it slow,
and Time for our hearts to beat again.

Tim'07

Choonage: Song for Kelly Huckaby - Death Cab for Cutie

One long moment, over California Maki and Green Tea. A moment made up of dinner and some of the best chat I've had the chance to experience in a very very long time. Some of the most refreshing viewpoints were to be heard as I forgot who I was, thinking all along that I could have sat there all night, just listening, just breathing, just taking it all in, every single word, as they came forth from her lips.......of course, reality kicked in soon enough and I had to get back to my car (the parking coupons had overrun their stipulated timing ever so slightly) while she had to meet up with others who were in need of her chat. Chat that I'm going to be thinking about until I see her again.

Choonage: Clean Living - RJD2

So far so good, I've managed to stick to my resolution of drinking less by drinking nothing....I'm beginning to get well acquainted with the mocktail scene and although I find it a bit silly to pay $12 for a drink that's essentially a fancy combination of juices, I think my liver is generally happier with me these days....still, sooner or later, I'm going to want a stiff G&T. *grin*
On a different note, I've just finished a 3.5 day workshop which, although tiring, left me with a new perspective on the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) industry and, more importantly, stirred something close to passion (I think)within the depths of my heart for the job! So, I'm looking forward to finding out more about the industry over the next few months and bringing about as much positive change as I possibly can!
I also think that it's about time to start bringing into play some of the other resolutions I made. For the sake of not counting my wee chickens before they hatch, I'm not going to give too much away but let's just say that I'm in a happy place right now and I'm looking forward to feeling even better soon, assuming that I stick to my guns and get sorted....MON THE DONKEY!!!

Choonage: Saturday Night Forever - Pet Shop Boys

Having been ill the past few days (there is nobody to blame but myself, really; binge drinking over the weekend leading into New Year is not a smart thing to do) and in somewhat low spirits, I've realised that I've not entered 2007 in the most auspicious manner. Starting the year ill is rubbish and I was going to put off blogging about my resolutions because of the way I've been feeling (I've also observed that, for reasons unknown to me, having New Year resolution(s) doesn't seem to be a very big deal here in the Pore).

And then, I came across a fantastic article in the International Herald Tribune (big ups to Mistah Moon for getting me hooked on the IHT!) which was very quoteworthy and I now leave you with a few choice quotes before I go into blogging about my resolutions proper:

1. "In declaring resolutions, if possible before witnesses, we nourish the illusion that changing our lifestyles will change our lives: "This year, I will read Proust." "This year, I will not invade Iraq." "This year, I will be faithful to my wife." "This year, I will reduce unemployment in France." Or, more prosaically, "I will exercise three times a week, I will finally try to stop smoking, I will cut back on sugar," etc. It's a sort of collective drunkenness for people to make vows that nobody expects to keep." - Pascal Bruckner in iht.com

2. "If the end of the year brings a flood of resolutions to change, it is because we are faced with an existence that is invaded by the routine, by the rush of demands. We can't bear it. We know that another life exists, more beautiful, more passionate, one that laziness and apathy keeps us from attaining.

I have to break with time to overcome my obstacles, to rediscover myself, to be myself in all innocence. I can change my life, at least in some small way. Making resolutions demonstrates optimism, the desire to make oneself better, a faith, naïve and beautiful, that declarations can spontaneously become actions, that saying means doing.

Knowing that you can change your behavior, even by an iota, is essential for holding yourself in esteem. We're often cynical about how resolutions are never kept, but we shouldn't be. Resolutions are perhaps lies, but they're lies of good faith, necessary illusions. As long as we can make them, we are saved, we can control the chaos of destiny; it doesn't matter that we break them and that others view us with skepticism. Every resolution is good simply because it is declared. It is a comedy, perhaps, but it keeps us sane." - Pascal Bruckner in iht.com

Ordinarily, I would never quote so much of another person's article but this is no ordinary blog entry. This is about RESOLUTIONS! I know that people here think it's funny that I'm placing so much importance on something as seemingly inane as a list that will govern my life for the coming year but I couldn't care less. Having at least one resolution to keep to each and every year has provided some form of direction for me in the past few years and this year shall be no different. If anything, I've had a fairly decent track record with my resolutions; I got the grade I was aiming for along with my degree, I got that job, I quit smoking and kept to it....the list goes on.

So here it is, my list of more important Resolutions for 2007:

1. Drink Less. 4 years ago, this was the least of my worries! Now, I aim to cut down on my weekend alcohol intake. I'm not even going to include weekdays because it's more or less a given now that I don't drink from Mondays to Thursdays (Fridays obviously don't count cos that's when the weekend starts *winkwink*)...after the last few hangovers I've suffered (and boy, have they been debilitating), I now realise that the older I get, the worse the hangovers affect me. Looks like 2007 is the year that I find out what it's like to have a quiet drink again. Or at least, learn that I will survive if I don't drink/drink excessively on the weekend. Whatever it is, it's about time I learnt some self-discipline (or learnt that mixing drinks is not a good idea and that no, I don't need that last drink!).....dear readers, wish me luck. I'm going to need help with this one!

2. Find a suitable girl. I know that this seems like a perennial problem but with God's grace, it just might happen. The search goes on in the mean time. Oh, aye.

3. Get fit. Gotta keep up the fitness regime.
4. Continue the non-smoking. So far so good.
5. Do some form of social work or other.
6. Attempt to maintain the PMA (Positive Mental Attitude), as taught by Comrade Potato. This goes hand in hand with the "MON THE DONKEY!!" Philosophy.
7. Make my way back to the UK for a short visit at some point this year!!

And that, dear readers, ends this rather long blog entry. I'm sorry for that but it had to be done. I hope you've made your resolutions. May 2007 bring more joy, more happiness, more feeling, more soul, more chunkycrunchy beats and more booty-shaking,body-popping, dancing with wild abandon and positive vibes than you could ever have imagined. Peas Oot.

Choonage: From Dusk Til Dawn - Lexicon Avenue