NEW BLOG ANNOUNCEMENT

I've got me a brand new blog at http://herkillerheels.blogspot.com


It's a little snazzier and sassier and...haha, perhaps a better representation of who I am now.

Dawnology.blogspot.com will continue to exist of course, but I will no longer be updating it.

See ya at my new blog!

Something old, something new...

In general, something nice (in my humble opinion) is in the works,
and it's ready for unveiling soon! ; )

I Heart Singapore

Teared while watching National Day Parade 2008 earlier in the evening.

It's a regular occurence every year.

The difference is, as I did not manage to catch the parade in absolute privacy (that is, within the sanctuary of my room) this year, I was less of a sobbing mess. The tears just sort of rolled around in the socket of my eyes.

Each year, the tears get especially bad when songs like "We Are Singapore" come on...when we are reminded of how we beat the odds by lyrics like "There was a time when people said that Singapore won't make it, but we did/There was a time when trouble seemed too much for us to take, but we did..."

I am just so so so proud of Singapore and all that she has managed to achieve for herself within the short span of a mere 43 years...that's a very young age, for a country. Especially one that is no more than a tiny dot on the world map, and one that is without natural resources of any kind. I am truly glad that I am lucky enough to be born a Singaporean.

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

The power to say "NO"...to myself

In the early hours of 15 July 2008, at precisely 12.30am, I did something that I wanted to stop doing for a long time, for the last time.

From now onwards, I want it to be out of my life completely.

And I want myself to be powerful enough to do that.

I know I can.

Congratulations to me ; )

我们爱你 II

今天是阳历7月5日。。。

就这样，你离开了我们整整一个月。

不知道为什么，感觉上，你像是离开了很久了。。。就是不像“一个月”感觉上那么短的时间。

感觉上，从你离开的那一天起，我们像是过了一世。

我已经不会动不动就流眼泪了。。。很多时候甚至还能够被某些事逗得大笑。。。但是，每天都会想起你好几回。。。一想起，心就会痛，就会忍不住叹气，就会有很多很多的遗憾。。。

很遗憾，你是那么那么那么的疼爱我，但我从来都不曾为你真正做过些什么。。。甚至到了最后，无论我怎么想，都不太想得起你爱吃什么。

很遗憾，你是那么那么那么的疼爱我，我却记不起这么多年里，在你还好好的日子里，我有没有对你说过

“我爱你”。

很遗憾，你是那么那么那么的疼爱我，我却来不及让你对我放心，为我感到骄傲。

很遗憾，虽然你的离开让我们大家学会珍惜，也因此几乎在一夜之间拉近了多年的距离，但这一切却来得太迟。。。你来不及参与。

不过你放心，虽然这些遗憾有时会把我压得喘不过气，但我会将这些遗憾转化为动力。

我会努力学习如何把自己人生的各个环节理好整理好，如何把自己做到最好。

同时，我也会努力学习如何好好照顾所有的家人和维系大家的感情。

最重要的是，我会学会珍惜。。。因为太多事都有可能忽然停止。。。只有珍惜过，才不会有遗憾。

我们爱你

一个星期过去了。。。

心情始终没有办法真正平复。。。

虽然知道你现在真的应该过得很好。。。

虽然知道你也很想我们每一个都能过得好。。。

但是，真的很难。

很难，很难，很难。。。

不过。。。请你放心，安心的离开吧。。。去好好开始下一段旅程。。。不要留恋，也不要挂念。

我们都会好好的。。。你也要好好的。。。

你永远都会在我们的心里。。。我们爱你。

My Breakfast Mistake - McGriddles

Its individual components sounded delightful enough - soft bread infused with maple syrup, and good ol' familiar sausage patty with egg and cheese.

In reality, it's a disastrous combo that ruined my breakfast.

Maple syrup is just wrong with sausage, egg and cheese.

Especially cheese.

To sum it up, McGriddles is the equivalent of tucking your sausage patty, egg and cheese between two slabs of soggy pancakes soaked with maple syrup.

One bite later, I was already wishing I had stuck to my usual order of Sausage McMuffin with Egg.

It's not just me - reviews online haven't been all that positive too.

I am thinking, it's not just my breakfast mistake...it might just be McDonald's as well.

Mafia pursued missing millions in Singapore

Over the past week or so, I have been eagerly lapping up the thrill and suspense in each page of John Grisham's 1991 #1 New York Times Bestseller, The Firm (which became a hit movie in 1993, starring Tom Cruise).

In the process, I have grown to become really intrigued by the Mafia and FBI.

Cocooned in sterile Singapore, the Mafia, in particular, is similar to what 'terrorists' meant to me before 9/11. That is, unreal.

Here on our sunny (and safe) island, underworld activities seem to be nothing more than a handful of small-time gangs that go by monikers in a range of dialects or a combination of digits, whose activities don't affect the majority of us relatively clean-living, law-abiding ones. Even when the existence of considerably more organised gangs was revealed to us sometime ago when an 'execution-style' shooting resulted in the death of a man in his flat, the picture of the killer suggests that he's not one with a good sense of style, nor one who takes pride in his personal grooming.

Not exactly glam. Not exactly Mafia material.

So imagine my, er, pleasant surprise when I read in The New Paper that an infamous Australian Mafia boss had trooped down to our land in pursuit of missing millions.

How exciting!

The Straits Times today even published a picture of him and his two 'mates' (a more friendly term for henchmen?) in Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore.

The Mafia! Posing for a picture for our local newspapers!

I am a tad disappointed by their dressing, though. According to my research, our main man, Domenic "Mick" Gatto, is known for his sharp suits back in Down Under. Over here, the three of them were dressed in a rather dowdy manner.

Perhaps they had simply noted the way local men were dressed and had adjusted accordingly to appear less conspicuous. Perhaps.

And one other thing.

Despite coming 'up close' with the Mafia, they still strike me as unreal - the boss's remarks in the the newspapers sounded way too...contrived. And melodramatic.

In the end, it all seemed rather comical.

And why the hell were they giving interviews and posing for the press? Gawd...they are supposed to be shadowy figures who are heard but never seen.

But well, at least now I get to put a face to a Mafia boss.

Anyway, in Singapore, with the Mafia concept being so foreign and unreal, they are not likely to be much feared. And, we too have a powerful backer - the government.

APOLOGY: Dear Mr Domenic "Mick" Gatto, if you are reading this, please, do not take this to heart. And do not hunt me down. I do not have much money nor the means to be on the run. By the way, you looked real good in the picture I found online (see above), our local photographer did you no justice.

The New Paper: http://www.tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,161791,00.html

TODAY: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/248026.asp

Wild Blueberries

"Did you know that wild blueberries lie dormant for more than a year between growing seasons?", asked the copy at the back of a box of Post's Blueberry Morning Cereal.

Nope, I didn't know that.

But it is a very inspiring revelation...talk about food for thought.

So I plucked that box of cereal off the shelf at the supermarket and dropped it into my basket, even though I had really wanted the Banana Nut Crunch flavour.

Happiness is a solid morning jog and a healthy breakfast

It's back to the running track bright and early this morning!

Or rather, I pounded the pavement around my alma mater, which has a 800-metre circumference. I did three rounds, which added up to a decent 2.4km jog.

It felt good to get the heart pumping hard again, but I will aim to do my jogging at around 6.30am the next time. The air was far from fresh this morning, thanks to the heavy morning traffic.

After the run, I headed home for a hearty and probably healthy breakfast...one which I had fantasized about since the night before:

• 4 slices of wholegrains toasts
• 2 slices of picnic ham
• 2 slices of garlic and herb cheese
• 1 glass of Post's Blueberry Cereal with 1 glass of fresh milk
• 1 glass of orange juice
• 1 Navel Orange

It was truly a lovely morning....*Burp*

Oops...excuse me ; )

Love at first bite

I developed a new addiction recently...Navel Oranges from California.

I need to have at least 2 every day.

This excerpt from an online article will probably explain why I fell rather madly in love with this variety of oranges from the first time I sank my teeth into it:

"Californian Navels can also get very juicy and sweet and are considered by many to be the best oranges in the world. They have a meaty flesh, their thick rinds are easy to peel, the segments separate easily, and they have no seeds. All navel oranges have a navel at the blossom end - an opening with a convoluted interior that looks, well, like a navel. "

P.S. I get my supply of Sunkist Navel Oranges from the FairPrice Minimart at Esso Station near my place. It's probably available at full-size FairPrice supermarkets too. Apparently, the season for Navel Oranges is at its peak now, and will last till May.

My Funny Valentine

I hated anything to do with mathematics since the day I knew how to count.

Or perhaps since the day I was tasked to memorise those damn timetables.

Or the day I did my first problem sum.

Or the day the I realised I would much prefer playing with words to figuring out what is X if 3X + 1 = 10.

(The answer is 3, by the way. Hurray. And in the unfortunate event I am wrong, do me a favour...don't tell me.)

So you can imagine my surprise (it was shock initially, but I got over that) when I find myself eagerly anticipating the opportunity to work in an extremely figures-intensive industry. It has now gotten to the point when I am enthusiastically soaking up all that I can find on this industry and the details of the work on the Internet, from financial news to transaction formulae and anything in between.

I confess that the initial attraction has everything to do with the monetary prospects.

But the start and progression of this attraction is really not unlike that of a love affair.

You deem a certain type of men as Mr No Ways based on your knowledge of your personality and preferences. And then one of those Mr No Ways appear at a point in your life when you are no longer certain of what you really want anymore, and it doesn't hurt that he look good too, so he becomes Mr Maybe. Soon, even though the initial attraction has been purely physical, he turns into Mr Very Nearly Right when you become genuinely intrigued by his character as you get to know him better...and when you discover that your definition of Mr No Way is archaic anyway, since your personality and preferences have changed quite a fair bit over the years without you consciously realising it.

Like all love affairs, I am not sure right now if I will have the opportunity to explore it further. And if I do, I can't be certain at this stage if it will turn out to be what I really want after all. But well, like all love affairs, you need to just get on with it and give it your best shot again and again and again, before you know if it will end in a split, or total bliss.

I am hoping hard I will at least have a chance to find out ; )

Handicapped Handphone

Technically, my handphone is still working...but whether I can make or receive calls successfully depends a little on luck, and who/where I am calling.

Thanks to a very unfortunate slip of the hand, my Samsung U700 hit the ground from a 4cm-ish height (yea...just 4cm-ish) and it has been acting up since.

I can only hear the voice of the party on the other line if I slide out my keypad. And that is if I am lucky.

Plus, I can't hear anything at all when I dial any number that's a hotline...such as cab companies' numbers.

DAMN. DAMN. DAMN.

This is the 5th handphone in my life and the first time I actually damaged one.

DAMN. DAMN. DAMN.

And during a period when I need it most too, as I really need to remain easily contactable at this time.

DAMN. DAMN. DAMN.

Thankfully, a friend is going to lend me her spare phone for the time being...till...I don't know, either after I get it fixed or get another one. My spare phone is now my mum's and though she readily volunteered to pass it back to me, I have no intention of taking it back because there is no no no way I am going to allow her to get out of the house without a handphone...the worry of not being able to contact her when she's not back by a reasonable time each time she heads out will kill me faster than being handphone-less myself (she's not senile/irresponsible/'insensible' hahahaha...it's just me being an extreme worrywart).

A.R.R.R.R.R.R.R.R.G.H.

"여보세요"

Apparently, that's "Hello" in Korean.

In case you are wondering if I am packing my bags for Korea,
the answer's no.

It's just that I am starting to think I had been a Korean woman in my past life.

Because I can't come up with any other explanation why I CRAVE KIMCHI THAT BADLY EVERY TIME IT'S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH!

(LOADS OF) FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I love buffets.

But it's got nothing to do with my love for food...it has more to do with my love for variety.

Or rather, make that my greed for variety.

It's pure bliss to know that you can savour all kinds of cuisine and feast on any amount you like, and yet pay just one fixed price.

Sadly, these days, that blissful feeling tends to last only between the time of making that phone reservation to after the first few plates of food.

While hotel buffets have gone all designer decor and multi-station these days, their fare failed to impress.

At least, I can say that of The Line at Shangri-La and Carousel at Royal Plaza on Scotts.

The Line was ok, but for the kind of money one has to pay to dine there, I expected the food to be warm, if nothing else. But sadly, no such luck. And, service was pretty s-l-o-w.

As for Carousel, despite the many positive comments from friends and netizens, the standard of its fare really left much to be desired (though service was relatively swift and sharp).

It wasn't awful. It just simply wasn't good enough.

The seafood wasn't fresh enough, and the prawns were really overcooked.

The pasta prepared by a chef at the station upon my order was almost on par with those that I attempted to prepare on my own at home. Which is not good news.

And the desserts were either way too sweet or way too sour. Either way, I shuddered involuntarily in shock at first bites.

I heard Melt at Oriental Mandarin is not worth getting excited about too.

Anyway, I think I will stay off buffets for a little while. Pleasant or otherwise, I have already gotten the cravings for buffets out of my system with the two recent experiences at The Line and Cayrousel.

Or perhaps not. As I was typing the last sentence of the previous paragraph, an image of a Champagne Brunch session flashed before my eyes....me sipping bubbly and tucking into loads of brekkie/lunch fare in a sun-drenched dining hall over the
lovely late-morning-early-afternoon period.

Hmmm...now that's indeed food for thought.

I had read and heard some pretty good reviews of Champagne Brunches at Ritz Carlton and Beaufort Hotel (or some other hotel in Sentosa...I can't be certain which).

And in the event those reviews turn out to be disappointing again food-wise, at least I am sure the free-flowing bubbly from good labels will more than make up for it.

HMMMMMMMMMMMM...let me know if you are keen.

Counting my lucky stars

This is one of those nights where I feel particularly emotional.

For no real reasons. Not that I could think of, anyway.

Except perhaps, it's that time of the month where hormones gleefully wreck havoc on my psyche. Or it could be the rose wine that my friend brought me as a gift when she passed by the duty-free shop on her way back to Singapore from Shanghai for a visit during the Lunar New Year.

But perhaps, that's putting it too simply.

Deep down, I know it's probably a cumulation of everything that's going on in my life recently.

Anyway, back to counting my lucky stars:


I am grateful for my destiny
I am grateful to be born into this family. Though there had and have been turbulence aplenty, but still, it's a normal family with its typical ups and downs (even though certain 'downs' had been pretty bad and lasted a long time). And at this age, I have gone through enough and am old and 'wise' enough to realise that I am extremely blessed, regardless of whether I compare myself to many others who went through worse. Though our family life is not as charmed as some friends', but it is good enough by the time I have arrived at this stage. And as for how good life for my family is going to be in the future, I know that's entirely up to me. Depending on how one sees it, it either puts the pressure on me, or it puts power in my hands. I choose to see it as the latter. It's empowering.


I am grateful to be my mum's daughter
Through her, I realise that a person's achievements in life needs not necessarily be measured by career success, material gains or the figure in the bank. In fact, some captains of industries might have less to be proud of than they thought. My mum doesn't really understand English, she was only educated up to Primary Six level in Malaysia, and that was back in those 1950/60s days. She is also not as savvy about the written and unwritten rules of socially/politically-correct conduct as I would like her to be when it comes to communications with others or public behaviour (though she is indeed trying and learning, as I am always on her case with a good deal of seemingly disrespectful chastising and eye-rolling, for her good...keke).

But she is strong like a rock. She keeps the family together. She probably have gone through more than I ever will in my entire lifetime. Yet she remained positive and strong throughout every tough period in the past, where some lasted for years with no end in sight, where she seemed to be the only one keeping everything together while things just kept falling apart. Instead of being jaded, cynical and beaten by life's trials, today, she is as keen as ever to offer a listening ear and advice to anyone in a spot of trouble, empathizing with them and encouraging them to face their issues bravely and look forward to better times. Those 'anyone in a spot of trouble' includes me too. I had been her strongest pillar of support during one of those tough periods which we went through as a family in earlier days (which I later realised through a newspaper article that I could sue her for a category of child abuse hahaha), but she is the one who continually gives me the vote of confidence and unconditional love and support in every way as I negotiate through life. I love her to bits because she fully deserves my love, and she loves me to bits too (it shows in a variety of big and little ways), probably because I fully deserve her love too hahaha.

Her zest for life has grown with age too. She has been going to English and Internet classes for a while now (though she has little result to show for it, keke), and she has been taking singing lessons for many years too (this she's quite good in). Not the karaoke, Teresa Teng type, but the soprano-ish type, almost like those of English opera. Some had passed remarks that she's wasting her time and money since it's not like she's going to get a job where she really needs to be fluent in English or be well-versed in Internet skills. And since she doesn't even like performing on stage, there's no point in her being so serious in her quest to sing well. But she just brushes it off. Because what matters to her is that she knows it makes her feel good to pursue interests that promote self-improvements and, most important of all, make her happy.

This trait of her has rubbed off on me too...the self-reminder to be confident and determined to not be easily affected nor ruled by what others think, simply because you know what you are doing and why you are doing that. Even if it won't yield significant or the 'right' results in the short-term - or ever, according to others. I am not only referring to her interest classes, but also to the way she dealt with certain tough issues in the past. She was faced with the pressure of much condemnation and a lot of those 'see, see, told her it wouldn't work' comments from an assortment of important and non-important characters back then, when the situation didn't improve or even worsen for a while. But she held on, because she knew what she was doing...even if others didn't see things her way. Though the line that separates confidence and foolhardiness/sturbborness is a thin and indistinct one, her decisions then were never about being foolhardy nor stubborn. She is always someone who will sincerely consider all opinion and feedback, and will think long and hard about each decision.

She is far from perfect, nor will she ever be anywhere near perfection. Just like me. But she loves me as I am, and I love love love her for who she is, and I am eternally grateful to the fact that I am so so so lucky enough to be her daughter.

Note: We scream and yell a great deal. But that's because we love each other too much, hahaha. The thing is, we recognise that's bad, and we both have been making a conscious effort to be more civilised and controlled in our mutual communications...hehehe.

I am grateful to have a nice number of really good friends
I may not be so marvellous at networking that I will bump into acquaintances at every turn or amass hundreds or thousands or ten of thousands of friends on Friendster or Facebook. But I am truly grateful that I have enough true friends to last me for a very long time, some perhaps forever. Friends, in the sense that we really understand and admire one another at a real personal level. Friends, where we know we can count on one another for quality company in good times (even when all we do is talk nonsense that isn't even funny), and emotional support in lousier ones.

A good number of these friends have been the balm to my frazzled soul in various ways in various stages of my life thus far.

Some have also been my most steadfast cheerleaders. In fact, I sometimes feel they have more faith in me than I do myself. It makes me seriously wonder if I have somehow misled them...hahaha.

Rosy as these friendships seem, misunderstandings and cold-wars etc will inadvertently rear their ugly heads every so often. But well, those are part of the package for all kinds of relationships, I guess. And when handled right, they draw us closer.

Anyway, as we 'age', most of us have learnt not to sweat the small stuff. Because we know they will lead to big blow-ups. Which will just lead to unnecessary 'heartache'. I think we have all become more grown-up now.

Oh shit. We are grown-ups.

I love my friends...hehehe ; )

*********************************************************

There are many more things in my life that I am grateful for...but now, sleep is beckoning.

Speaking of sleep, I will be grateful to enjoy a relatively dream-free rest tonight. My sleep had been interrupted by way too many stressful dreams lately...they included thriller, horror and action-packed sequences. If a dream-free state is too much to ask for, I would gladly settle for a more chick-flick kind of storyline too.

It would at least be better than waking up feeling all drained out from running around to solve mysteries, running away from ghosts or running on the top of covered walkways a la Jackie Chan.

Goodnight, and sweet dreams.

新年快乐！恭喜恭喜！

门迎平安福 户纳富贵春

May this brand new year bring new happiness for everyone!

Let's all look forward to a fresh start in life!

Cheers! ; )

Apologies

A series of freelance work had resulted in a series a cancelled/missed appointments with a number of dear friends over the past weeks.

For that, I am truly deeply sorry. Especially since a couple of friends had actually took leave and reshuffled their work schedule in order to keep those appointments.

And another was due to head back to Perth for the long term.

Believe me, I would much prefer a eat-drink-make-merry session to a marathon work session anytime. However, work is work. There is no two ways about it. Full-time or freelance, I have a responsibility to deliver what I am tasked to do.

If you happened to be one of those unfortunate victims whom I bailed out on at the last minute recently, please accept my sincere apologies.

I am truly happy and honoured that I have friends who are keen to meet up with me hahaha...and I honestly did not choose work over you. It's just that I really didn't have a choice on those occasions.

Still, I am sorry...please forgive me : )

Dreams

Dawn's To-Do List:

(1) Keep myself and my family in the pink of health via loads of healthy food/habits/naggings and regular full-body check-ups

(2) Take over the revenue-generation and finance departments of the household completely

(3) Give my flat an extreme facelift with drastic renovation works

(4) Take my parents on vacations to any country/place they like to visit

(5) Learn to be an even nicer me/daughter/grand-daughter/sister/niece/cousin/aunty/friend/neighbour/guardian of Winnie & Ron/whatever

(6) Learn to waltz, as well as to play classical piano and the guitar

(7) Learn to cultivate an obscenely obese bank account



So much to do...so little youth...

Death by chocolate

I have just gobbled up half of a 15.5cm x 9cm (200g) Van Houten - Whole Fruit & Nuts chocolate bar in one sitting.

And instead of getting on a sugar high, I am feeling miserable.

I can't seem to get this overwhelming taste of chocolate out of my mouth. And there's this sickening sensation somewhere between my throat and my chest.

My lactose-intolerant stomach is not really getting along very well with all those milk cream too.

I need to offset this post-chocolate trauma with a big bag of savoury chips.

Bug-Eyed Bling Bling

Went to the dentist today.

Was prescribed a dose of antibiotics and warned that allergy reactions might occur.

Got home, had dinner and took antibiotics.

Morphed into Bug-Eyed Bling Bling with multiple itchy-and-painful mozzie-bite-like swellings around both eyes.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH.

Hmmmmm...

According to the observations of myself and some of the people around me, I am looking radiant these days. Not 'extremely' so,
but just good enough to inspire comments from others.

This is in sharp contrast to the days when the same group
of people 'accused' me of looking like the living dead.

However, I've been falling sick quite often recently. Nothing really major...just bouts and bouts of flu and assorted blocked/runny/
non-stop-sneezing nose issues, but I noticed those bouts of flu
made me feel worse than how flu typically made me feel in the past.

Right now, I am in the midst of one such potent bout of flu,
and I've been experiencing a general sense of malaise the entire day.

I expected myself to look like death warmed over. Yet, my mum just told me that I looked kinda radiant. And the mirror confirmed it.

I wonder why...

Here today, gone tomorrow

I did not expect to start my first entry of 2008 on a sombre note.
Yet, the sudden demise of a local artiste set off a good load of serious thoughts about life and the unpredictability of it all.

MC King, a well-known comedian in Singapore, passed away early this afternoon (4 Jan) in the hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties at home in the morning.

It was not known if he had been suffering from any medical condition, but according to news reports, his co-workers and friends had always had the idea that he was perfectly healthy, though he had always been on the heavy side.

A day before his passing, a friend of mine had just bumped into him at a carpark. He was well and alive then, and yet, a day later, he's gone.

It's scary how fragile and unpredictable life is.

We all know the saying, "Live everyday as if it's your last, because one day, it will be". It's a very wise saying that's meant to urge us to appreciate each and every day because life is extremely unpredictable by nature...it's not meant to encourage us to live in constant paranoia that we are going to die in the next 24 hours. And as I progress in life and lived through more experiences, this saying is starting to etch deeper and deeper into my consciousness.

I guess to me, at this stage, the joy or regrets of living to a ripe old age or dying before my time has little to do with what I have managed to achieve for myself in this lifetime up until my expiry date, but more to do with what I have managed to do for my parents. Upon his demise, MC King left behind his mum. It's not hard to imagine the kind of emotional turmoil she must be going through now...and most likely for a long time to come. I hope he had done well to shower his mum with love and concern and had taken good care of her in every way all these time - so that he would be able to leave her with fond memories, and for himself, leave with less regrets.

For the rest of us, I guess it's time we take stock of our lives, count our blessings, and learn to be really, really, really appreciative and grateful that regardless of the sort of challenges we are up against now, we are at least alive and healthy. We have to recognise that as long as we are alive and healthy, we have no real problems at all.

************************************

I did not manage to accomplish any of my resolutions last year. However, that's not going to stop me from putting together a list of resolutions this year.

Some of my friends do not believe in making resolutions. But I value resolutions - the importance do not really lie in me sticking to them and actualising them. The importance lies in me taking stock of my life at the end of a year and evaluating the areas that need improving. Didn't some wise man say something along the line of "Knowing your enemies is half the battle won?" Most times, the toughest enemies are ourselves.

We can make resolutions any time of the year, of course. But I suppose the ending and starting points of a year will help to turbo-charge our drive for changes in ourselves.

After all, it's unrealistic to expect a better new year if we continue to live in the same old way, with the same-old self-defeating thoughts and actions.

************************************

Life's unpredictable...but while we still possess relatively good health and a heart that's still beating, let's resolve to make the best of it.

I hope I can at least stick to this particular resolution in 2008... ; )