Fresh

Before coming back, I thot I will have problem re-adapting. Turns out I am quite wrong.

Once I got back to Basel, back into my house, I felt as if I never went for a 4 weeks vacation back in Sg. Instead of feeling sad and miserable, I felt fresh.

Yes, the fresh feeling. The feeling of a new beginning. U know that kinda feeling u got when u went back to school after a long December holiday break? Like everything is so familiar yet so new? Like u feel so excited about the things coming ur way and u can't wait for them to start? That's the feeling I am having now.

Suddenly I am feeling so full of hope again and I am seeing everything in a positive light: Basel is an interesting place; Work is interesting and challenging and I can't wit for it to start; Reactions are easy and managable, and even column will be a piece of cake.

So why am I feeling so fresh? It's obvious that it's b'cos of the long vacation I had, which relieved me of the previous stress, and helped me consolidate and evaluate the experience for the past few months. Hence now, in a state which I am stress-free and more clear about the situation, I am optimistic about everything (which is a good thing).

I am not blindly feeling good about everything. I do know wat to expect, but being wiser and more experienced now, I think I am able to handle watever comes my way. It's really a quietly confident thingy. Things are jus gonna be better and better.

This is gonna be a good season.

The New Season

After spending a 4 weeks vacation back in Singapore, I had returned to Basel to finish up my business here.

Partly cos I was a bit homesick already and a bit unwilling to leave Sg, and mostly cos I knew wat was waiting for me back in Basel, I wasn't particularly looking forward to coming back to Basel. Throughout the 24 hour journey back, my mood was quite low. This was so unlike last Oct where I came to Basel for the first time. That time I didn't know wat to expect and that makes the idea of coming here so exciting.

However I had 7 more mths in Basel and I wanna be positive about it. So to see things in a more intereating way, I am looking at my stay in Basel as a drama serial, and me returning after a long vaction and just after Chinese New Year will mark the beginning of a new season. That kinda sounds interesting.

The start of a new season will usually have changes. The most obvious changes for this "season" is the "cast". Erhan had left Basel and returned to Singapore. His departure from the "series" resulted in the 1st "story arc" of the season, in which now we cannot afford the rent of our current house and need to move to a cheaper place. Then at work, Sarah had been transfered to another lab and this left K, Mike and me working in the lab. K is aiming to push for more results this year, but Mike is planning to take a more relaxed approach to work. I will be stuck in the middle, though I do have my own plans. With one less person working in the lab, and each of us having different ideas, there's bound to be tension (especially considering the type of person K is....) and drama.

Then, the changes in the "cast" (and possibly the move to the new aprt at the end of the 1st "story arc") will also affect the dynamic between the remaining "characters". Some characters will take up more importance, while others will jus fade away, or be completely "written off". The change in the dynamic will result in some events from previous "season" taking centre stage or the arising of some other new events. That's wat drama is all about, isn't it?

So now I am all set for the new season and am looking forward to see how it unfolds. What type of genre do I want this drama to be? It better be a comedy, a sitcom. So that I can laugh my way through this whole 7 months.

Keeping Score

Wun it be nice to own and drive a luxurious big car?

Wun it be nice to own a big private house?

Wun it be nice to wear high-end stuff, go to high-class places, and enjoy all the finer things in life?

It is all very nice, to be able to afford it all, and maybe to be able to spend like no tmrw w/o any worries.

But wat really excites me is to be able to accumulate wealth. To be able to see my bank account grow. To be able to see increases in my net worth.

To me, wealth, like many things in life, is not about wat is outside, but rather wat is inside. I prefer to have the knowledge that I have the spending power than to actually spend the money, cos once u spent it, it's gone. Spending money makes one happy, but it's easy. Accumulating and managing wealth need more thinking, planning and discipline. I prefer the sense of satisfaction and achievement derived from successfully managing my wealth and achieveing my financial goal than to the joy of spending money.

I like to keep score and my net worth will be my score card. It's not only about the money and not about getting rich. It's about keeping score. When the score is good, it means my gameplan works, my strategy is good and I will feel good.

So yes, it is like a game and it's fun cos it's real.

Forgotten Song

Aerosmith - Crazy


Finally! After 3 tries, I finally got this video up on the blog!

Ok, so this song completely slipped my mind. If not for coming across it on the on-board entertainment on my flight back to Singapore, I might had never remember it again.

There's nothing special about this song. No story watsoever. It's jus a song that I listen to rather regularly for a period of time in my JC days, and had not heard it since then(at least not that I remember). It's the song that I will sing at the top of my voice to the gal that I really like if I am feeling, well, crazy. Of cos, she might jus freaked out and run away, but it's fun. But if she doesn't run away, hey....

Which is why I always say, there are only two type of gals that will fall for me: either she is extraordinary, or she is simply mad.

Anyway, enjoy the song. And the video too.