Pondering over simple things in life

The first quarter of this year is drawing to a close. So many things have happened, one of which is kind of a life-changing thing. It made me realize that life is too short, so enjoy it to the fullest while you are able.

Today is a day of inspiration.. Inspired by many beautiful things I chanced upon.. Namely three things:

1) The video of the duet "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Shania Twain

This has always been a beautiful classic love song. I loved it when Lionel Richie and Diana Ross sang it together. I love the upbeat twist to the new country version by Shania Twain and Lionel Richie.

When I saw the video on Youtube today, I was even more enthralled by the simplicity of the video yet the inner meaning it carried. The video starts off with Lionel dressed in offwhite in a monochrome and mostly white house by the beach; the furniture, the walls and even the grand piano are in shades of white. As he sings, little frames on the wall show a black and white Shania singing as she rides on a horse on the beach.

As the song proceeds, Lionel walks around the house, looking wistfully at the animated frames on the wall with Shania in them. The frames get bigger and as the song intensifies, suddenly, Lionel draws back the curtains and look out on the beach. The next scene shows Lionel leaving the house, with a change of clothes to black shirt and pants.

Shania comes riding on her horse up the beach, while Lionel walks excitedly towards her. The surroundings in full colour becomes obvious as the two unite.

I interpreted it that life was black and white when the two were apart, and Lionel could only see images of Shania in his imagination, such as the frames in his house. But when they are together again, life becomes more colourful and meaningful. This is very true, because what else can bring colour to your life except the one you love? :)

2) A picture of an old couple, with the words:
"How did we manage to stay together for 65 years?"
"We were born in a time when if something was broken, we would fix it, not throw it away..."

This hits me because as we face problems in our relationship, there may one day be a tendency for either party to just give up and walk away. I wish that day will never come, because I really cherish our happiness together.

In the olden days, people were poor and had to make do with whatever they had. If things broke, they would mend it instead of spending hard-earned money to get a new one. In today's world, the cost of repairing something that is broken is almost equivalent (or sometimes even higher) to the cost of getting a new one.

Consumerism has led to such a phenomenon; there is so much more wastage in this world. People have lost the ability to cherish, the desire for quality.

In a relationship, when there are problems, we cannot simply toss them away in the garbage. They can be fixed, and when they are, they won't be problems anymore.

In another perspective, when a relationship seems like it is broken, the two parties should not walk away or trash what they had. Instead, they should get together and try to make amends, try to fix what has been broken.

Very inspiring for our relationship, which has gotten into some vicious cycles of sort lately. I want to spend another 65 years with you :) so I want to treasure everything we have. I'm gonna stick this picture up in our new place pretty soon!

3) My roommate throwing away a bunch of food that seemed perfectly edible.

My heart crumbles when I see people throwing away perfectly good food.. To some, it may be stale/distasteful/gross to eat, but it may be a matter of life or death to some people starving to death. That's why I always finish up my food; and when I don't, I keep them away for later. Somehow, I wish those food that people/restaurants throw away can magically land up in the hands of the hungry so they can at least have some to eat. Every grain, every morsel counts. Cherish your food and think about all the hungry people in the world the next time you are about to throw away the leftovers on your plate.

Some say we can control how much we eat. But what about restaurants? What about amateur cooks like myself who cook more than enough sometimes? Even eating the pizza crust that you dislike will make a difference to not wasting food. Just remember, each time you waste a bite of food, someone else is looking at you, just longing for just one bite.

These are my ponderings for the day. All simple thoughts, but very impactful on my mind. Speaking of impact, my boss hates that word. HAHA!

Happy 2012!

Farewell 2011, you have been kind. Hello 2012, I hope you will be even more awesome!

2011 passed by so quick and many things happened so fast I can't even keep track of them all!

No. 1 highlight of the year: My JOB!

I was very fortunate to have found a job that I can proudly say I enjoy every single day! On my vacation days or the days that I have to miss work, I find myself yearning to go to work. Very strange indeed. Almost one year there now, hooray!

With work taking up most of my time, I have come to appreciate the little pockets of time on the weekends to spend with JS, who is forever swamped with schoolwork..

Was also busy studying for the CSC course which I have now passed!! Now I have all the time in the world to do my other projects I've been meaning to do!!

Most of the drama this year happened in the last two months.. New circumstances have changed the atmosphere of the house I was living at and has thus resulted in me moving to a new place.

Just pretty astounded by how low some people would stoop to get my money. Shall not say too much, but KARMA will definitely bite you back. I'm here in my new place, not yet loving it but will definitely get used to it ;)

Here's to an even better year ahead! Cheers!