Christmas Story - Present and Future!

The title of the post already says what Christmas present is like. Yeah Eve been in a whirlwind of things to do that she has to write 2 chapters into 1.

This hardly feels like holiday to Eve. Eve has ridiculous deadlines even during this time and probably even more so during this period. But that's in preparation for good things next year :)

Well, let's talk about the present first.

Eve has found great friends this year. Eve feels blessed she has found like-minded new friends and found more meaningful friendships amongst people she used to be less acquainted with. To my friends who put up with me, thank you sooo much...

Eve is looking very much to taking better care of herself. A card reader said Eve tends to work and play hard which leaves little room for rest. You will not believe the amounts of money Eve is spending so that she can be more healthy again. Love your body!!

Eve is learning new things now. Eve can also speak a little Korean now and really hopes she can go back to finish on her bike license and maintain her muay thai training.

As one can see, Eve's life is quite full of things *laughs*

Frankly, Eve is under quite a lot of work stress currently and is looking forward to a real holiday next year...which brings us to Christmas future!

Ahhh future...2007 looks to be busy and exciting for Eve. A lot of things will be happening for the studio and Eve will be able to learn some dances she always wanted to learn *yay!*

Work wise, Eve has big targets to meet for 2007. Eve is pondering how to meet them but honestly, there is little choice for Eve. Eve hopes she can finish the unexpected business that popped up and focus on the things she really wants to do. Eve is praying to God for assistance.

Eve also looks set to be able to travel more in 2007. Eve is absolutely looking forward to a peaceful holiday in Koh Samui, a beautiful wedding in Mauritius and hopefully a short break in Desaru and a learning experience in Korea.

Eve is ABSOLUTELY looking forward to Bi's concert on 21 January!!!!!!!! He's coming! *jumps in happiness*

Eve is looking forward to meeting more people, making more friends and establishing more connections with people. According to a few readers, there are supposedly interested parties around Eve but Eve is not interested. Frankly, Eve can see none so there's no interest to speak of la. Let's see how 2007 goes...

Eve resolves...make that RESOLVES...to control her temper, be more patient, have better time management, take better care of herself and find more balance in 2o07. Eve will promise to try really hard ok?

Eve will be a good gal in 2007...she hopes. *grin*

Now for more music...I am not a fan of Se7en but this song grows on you...plus the HOT ending..

La La La - Se7en

Festive Ponder

Ahhhh festive periods, especially those at the end of a year, has this effect of making people ponder over their lives.

I hear about people saying they feel empty in their lives or unhappy etc. It seems like a modern syndrome to be unhappy. It is pleasantly unusual to meet happy people.

This is only the people who will even admit it.

Most people don’t even admit it or even realize it. It’s just “something bugging me, something missing” and dismissed off. The problem is, it becomes quite an irritating itch.
Eve is no guru because she is also guilty but Eve made a few observations. To Eve, emptiness and unhappiness comes from a few ways:

1) One does not have what one wants.
2) What one has is not what one wants i.e. settling for less
3) One does not even know what one wants.

Sounds cliché right? You will be amazed at how we humans fail to grasp the most basic and simplest of things.

The result is a state of unrest in the mind. Some people do something about it. Most live with it. Eve calls it the shipwreck analogy. It is like one after a shipwreck. One floats on a piece of wood hoping to reach shore. One will not die but the journey is not pleasant.

Talk about journey. I wrote about setting a goal and beating a path there versus taking a longer route where one can smell the flowers. The balance is always intricate. How does one get to where one wants to go, provided he or she knows the destination, and yet find space to enjoy the journey? Eve is trying to enjoy the journey more…”go with the flow of things more” as they call it.

However, Eve also realizes not all flowers are healthy. Some may look nice on the outside but poison you to no end when you take it in long enough. Eve does not doubt the need to stop and smell the flowers but one must know when the path itself may no longer be beneficial anymore. Sometimes one gets so distracted or poisoned that one loses sight of where wants to go.

The ironical thing is, some even realize it’s not right anymore but continue to stay in the same place. It is far easier to stay than to change. Putting one’s foot down to say no is often much harder than it seems because change is almost often a challenging experience even if it is better for the long run. Eve has met friends who would rather accept bad behavior that will hurt them in the long run because they are not willing to wait.

Eve is coming to terms with this herself because Eve realises that by accepting bad things means this is how much worth Eve gives herself – little.

We often underestimate how seemingly unrelated or small regular doses of anger and frustration do to us. People always say childhood has an important bearing on one’s adult life. Eve totally agrees.

The same goes for staying in a state of unhappiness. The longer it is, the more poisonous it becomes and the harder for it to go away. I use poison because that is exactly what it is. It even affects one’s health. At this point, one can probably see what Eve is getting at.

Yes…settling for less, unhappiness, emptiness and all things alike…can be a comfort zone.

Go Weak In The Knees

Thanks to my friend who watches a lot of Korean variety shows, I get a lot of recommendations of amazing performances...

This guy has such an AMAZING voice...didn't expect his voice to be like that from his face...They are supposed to propose to the gals in this segment of the show and he used this song called "Go Hae"...Man I felt my knees go weak when I heard it...

Go Hae - Tei

Hwah!

I've always loved this song. It never fails to move me.

If you knew how tough it is to sing this classic by Stevie Wonder, especially with such sharp pronounciation by a Korean, you'd understand why I say "Hwah!".

I so wish I had a better quality version of this video.

Lately - Sung Si Kyung

The Man Within The Woman, Woman Within The Man

While everyone is enjoying the holidays, this is one of the busiest work periods for Eve. Eve hardly has time to check her emails regularly. Last night, Eve touched her bed and only managed this 5 minutes before going off to a full day again.

Eve is happy with her life as it is...purposeful busy-ness I call it.

There are things Eve misses though.

Eve misses time with family especially her little girl, time with friends and time for herself.

Eve doesn't mean to brag but sense of responsibility works Eve hard. Working often calls upon Eve to be masculine because Eve works like a man. In that sense, sometimes Eve doesn't feel very female much nowadays because there is hardly time to be that.

Sometimes, Eve misses being a girl...a woman.

The Eve Notebook - Ferran Adria

Time has nominated him to be one of the most innovative people in culinary arts in the next wave here.

Meet Ferran Adria, "The Wizard Chef of El Bulli in Rosas, Spain".

Here's a sample of his style of food: molecular gastronomy, a combination of food and science.

Word is, his disciple opened a restaurant called Aurum in Clarke Quay. I want to try!

Word is the bill will come up to $130 per person *gasp* looks like this culinary adventure will have to wait a little bit more...

Happy Life

There is something one woman said in the book "Why Men Marry Bitches" that I absolutely agree and believe in.

"If I'm married, I'm going to be very happy. And if I'm single I'm going to live a great life and be happy also. So it's not really a priority." This is precisely what a bitch brings to a relationship that an insecure "nice girl" does not. A joy of life...a joie de vivre.

Sometimes I ask my gal friends what is it about marriage or being in a relationship that makes them so desire for it that they aren't interested in anything else. If there is so much of life to live, why just these things?

All women have insecurities. However, if the search for someone is simply to fill a void in one's life, then maybe what one needs to look at first is not a relationship, but oneself.

Think about what it points a guy to think..."Does she really love me or does she simply want me to fill a void? What's wrong with this woman?"

As much as men hate to admit it, they are vulnerable. It is because they are expected to be strong that they become even more vulnerable because they cannot afford to trip. Ladies, as much as there is much male-bashing going around, we have to admit many women do make use of men- financially, emotionally and hear this, sexually.

Imagine if you were the one who was being used to fill a void in his life and you knew that he didn't love you...what does that make him?

Will you be the one who will cling onto a float when you drop into the sea or you will swim to shore yourself because you know you CAN swim?

BITCH in the making

My gal friend told me I had to read "Why Men Marry Bitches" by Sherry Argov.

She proclaims it to be her bible these days.

From a break-up to a possible long term relationship, it sure sounded like a must-read.

I love this book!

It's funny for one thing. I giggled while reading it from ackowledgements to where I last stopped at. I stopped only because I had to do other things like teach and work. You won't want to put it down because it is very practical knowledge written in a satirical and humourous manner.

Here's a few favourite excerpts:

"When I use the word bitch, the woman I am describing is not cruel or mean.....The term is intended to be satirical, and does not take itself too seriously. I use it to describe a strong woman who has her own identity and is secure with who she is. She is plenty happy giving him "space" because she enjoys having hers. She is clear about what she will or will not accept. She'll back away at the slightest whiff of disrespect, and this makes her more exciting to a man, not less. That's the woman he dreams of marrying."

"I don't have time to be classified as difficult, and I don't have time to care." - Kim Basinger.

"Is she a warrior? Or will she be din-din? Before he becomes your knight in shining armor he wants to know, "Is she even worth defending?" "

BITCH stands for Babe In Total Control of Herself.

You gals should really read it for yourself. My personal take on it after giggling, seeing the things I used to do and the things I came to acquire myself and will do now even more so after reading it, is that the main theme is really about self-respect. Respecting oneself so that others may learn to respect you for that...and not bending over for someone who doesn't even think you are worth taking care of. I think even men themselves may not be aware that while they proclaim that they like nice women, they would be inevitably drawn to a "bitch". It's easy. Think about the bad boy syndrome with women.

I do not subscribe to the the idea of simply "creating" a life for oneself so as to prove to any man that one has a life. The men can probably tell when we are just playing hard to get versus "woah this gal really has a life she loves". The idea is to really become the woman who loves herself as well as her man. The lady with a REAL life.

I have had men who told me in the face they would appreciate it if the women knew how to take care of themselves and had the courage to stand up for themselves. They respect these women. If the man doesn't appreciate it, then get a man who does because they do exist.

I realise how anything that could have possibly gone wrong with my last relationship (if u can call it one) happened. Whatever I got right, I did it wrong then, Whatever I got wrong, I did it even more wrong. I was completely out of myself.

No more.

So ladies, get bitchy..get very biiiittcchhyyy heh heh heh

I Wanna Feel The Dance

There are times I feel bored or should I say emotion-less in dancing partner dances.

Not because my partner isn't good. In fact, they are often technically sound.

It's the feeling I am missing.

I have to agree a part of it is my responsibility. I have to let it out to feel it but how to let a flood of joy, passion, strength out when your partner is not reciprocating with the same amount of emotion?
How does one feel the true joy of dance and music if one does not fully feel the depth of the music and the passion of the dance?

Please do not be mistaken. This is not my idea of getting a man.

I used to like fast partner dances. Now I like to slow it down and be able to feel the music. Sometimes, I don't even do the technically sound stuff but I enjoy the music and the dance. I enjoy it even more when my partner is relaxed and indulges in the music.

Like actors often say, it is exciting to have a co-star who can bring out your potential and make the script come alive.

I am looking for partners to make the dance come alive...like this clip. Raw, fierce and brings out the story in the song.

Will there be such a day?

Do you have $31 Billion To Give Away?

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity.

Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

1) He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
2) He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
3) He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
5) He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
6) His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.
7) He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.
8) He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.
9) Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
10) Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.
11) His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself.

Sound words of wisdom! Well I only made point 11 - I don't have a credit card. As for the rest....well.....

Karmic Education

Eve just discovered she may have a talent she never knew she had.

Guess what? It seems Eve may have a talent at educating ex-boyfriends to be better to their NEW girlfriends. Read: Eve does not benefit from it. Eve doesn't even get paid by their new girlfriends.

Eve doesn't know if she was such a bad girlfriend or a good enough one for the men to learn how to treat women properly AFTER her.

Ex-boyfriend S used to be unsettled. Now, he's in a stable relationship with a nice girl. Even he himself admits he didn't treat Eve properly when they were together. He told Eve he learnt a lot from her.

Ex-boyfriend C is well, not very good at being devoted. Friends of Eve do not like him and honestly when Eve thinks back, it's amazing how Eve hung on. Now he's also devoted to one and says Eve taught him how to put women on a pedestal and love her which allowed him to win the heart of his current girl.

Ex-Boyfriend Y was quite reserved. He was not for affection in public and not such into social activities. Now, apparently Y knows how to show affection in public and probably parties even more than Eve.

A friend of Eve jokes maybe Eve should write a book about this.

What is it? Was Eve so terrible that they can only learn to give proper treatment to people after her? If so, why is it the lessons they learn don't seem to be so terrible?

Eve is tired of educating boyfriends for other people. This education is paid for with nothing else but Eve's heartache, tears and pain. Eve is trying to think of it as accumulating good karma.

Good karma for an educated man please, thank you.

Heavenly Voices

This is one of those songs you listen to in a quiet environment because it is so beautiful and peaceful...discovered it by accident in the album I bought and it certainly is a pleasant discovery...

His Eye Is On The Sparrow
By Big Mama

Strong Women

Society has moved on from the ages where men ruled the society. They still do in many areas but the women have fought their way and made their place in society. Women today are far more independent financially and perhaps emotionally and mentally.

No doubt, we are far more able to buy our first diamond ring ourselves, earn that top position in the company and decide for ourselves than compared to our grandmothers who would have probably done equally well if given opportunity.

We start to see well-groomed, well-articulated women with a swanky title rising as the stars and models of female success...in a public view at least. We admire the woman who made her way to be CEO of company X, CFO of company Y. They are often sharp and strong...to many who see them at least.

It is true, one has to be of certain strength to make it there. Yet, many seem to forget they are women too - REAL & HUMAN women with real tears, pain, hurt, pride and fallacies.

I have seen seemingly capable professional women make sad and questionable choices in their personal lives. While they may be out smoozing and making deals, they are also staring at the messages sent from their questionable relationships with sad, helpless eyes right round the corner. Behind that million dollar smile may well be much more pain and tears than most people know.

There's nothing wrong with these women. They are gorgeous, smart, kind and caring. So what's wrong?

Is it loneliness? Is it the price of success? Or perhaps strong women are really not as strong as they seem?

The modern woman dilemma is always the balance between your work and your responsibility to the home, a responsiblity shaped by the patriarchial socety. One can be the top manager at work but still keep the home spick and span. It's not just men who expect this of women. Even women expect this of themselves. Many, at least.

This trickles into the mentality behind a modern woman. No human likes to be vulnerable. In today's environment where women often have to fight amongst tight schedules, politics and scarce opportunities, women have gained a certain sense of independence and aggressiveness traditionally associated with men. Even the women themselves sometimes forget how vulnerable they can be.

Perhaps suppressing has caused our vulnerabilites to be even more than so. I have been wondering about this for a while and as I see more of it, I began to realise that it is often true...it is the strongest women who are also the most vulnerable. Friends have agreed with me on this and also that the seemingly vulnerable may not be as weak as they seem.

Strong women want to find their own personal happiness too... because end of the day, they are human too.

Woman

by Big Mama

It was hard for me to live

because I was being hurt by the painful and sad separation

I wanted so much to love again

Because I'm a woman looking for a place

where my delicate and worn heart may rest

If you love me, I don't ask anything of you

All you have to do is embrace my cold heart

Don't ask me, like a fool,

if I've already forgotten the seperation that was buried so deep.

Because I want to forget,

I'm trying to fill up my empty heart

that's been wounden by abandonment and been gouged by love.

If you love me, I don't ask anything of you

All you have to do is embrace my cold heart

Don't ask me, like a fool,

if I've already forgotten the seperation that was buried so deep.

Afraid that the tears that I've swallowed might gather in my mouth and burst

I can't answer you when you ask if it's okay to love me over and over again.

If you love me, I don't ask anything of you

All you have to do is embrace my cold heart

Don't ask me, like a fool,

if I've already forgotten the seperation that was buried so deep.

I don't care when and who

Like a habit, all I have to do is cover my tears.

Don't tell me that I love too easily and that in the end I'll be the only one hurt.

translation by: Jungie (aheeyah.com)

Brother and Sister

I wonder if anyone ever noticed I do not usually talk about specific people or post pictures of people here. Most of the time it's for privacy or security features.

Today, this post is dedicated to two people.

Firstly, to the person whom is like the younger brother I never had. Most of you whom I been talkin to will hear about Gary at some point because I work with him on the studio. Gary is one of the nicest, sincerest people I know. We do not always agree and there are times we certainly argue. However, grudges are forgotten and friendship remains. It is the commonality in vision and dreams that fuel our work for the studio.

On a personal front, I will never forget when I met with a personal event that made me sad and he made the effort to cheer me up in the middle of the night or the times he understood I needed time out or simply couldn't put on a smile anymore. That is something I appreciate greatly.

I have many sisters in my buddies. After all these years, she still knows how to tell me how she feels when she doesn't like certain things. She knows how to do it in a way that doesn't leave me feeling like pulp. She knows how to tell me without the scene getting emotional. We know how to say sorry to each other and that's why the friendship lasts. That's why I still proudly tell people she is my best buddy in the whole wide world because she really is. I wish for nothing more than grand happiness for her.

OK before the others get jealous, I do have a few best buddies keke but today...the glory goes to Pammy :)

The Day I Missed

I was really looking forward to attending the wedding of a good friend. It was the first time a good friend was getting married and I really looked forward to it. When we were young, we kinda promised to be at each other's wedding. I wanted to witness her going into the next stage of her life.

I had set aside that day free because I wanted to be sure I could be there.

Suddenly, a big show comes on the same day. I had to be there to ensure everything could run smoothly.

Still, I planned so that I can go.

The day came.

Client wasn't clear about one of the items. Changes were needed. My people were new. It was understandable they needed more time. Stress built and time came close for me to go.

Time came for me to go but I couldn't because if I went, the show may not be clean enough for public viewing. The job was my responsibility...one I could not drop and go...because I can't let my people go out looking bad and our name to be tarnished.

I made a call to say I can't go.

I was so sad. I really was.

I cried.

I felt like I missed out a part of my life too.

I am sorry babe...I will never take a job on a day like this again.

Christmas Story - Christmas Past

I know Christmas is around the corner but I didn't really feel it sink in till I found myself staring at a fruit cake in Cold Storage. I like fruit cakes :)

There's always this story they like to say at Christmas...the good old Christmas story about old scrooge and Christmas past, present and future. Here I will do my own version of Christmas past, present and future. Why don't you try it for yourself too?

I will focus on Christmas Past first for this chapter.

The things I could have done better this year. I could have been more patient and controlled my temper more. I think it's a bad habit I got from a older friend of mine *ahem*. I should be more lady-like *laughs*

Having to drop things out of my life is not easy. Having to drop anything or anybody is not easy for Cancerians. Not even if it is for the better.

The things I like about this year include the studio, paying more attention to my health, having a god-daughter, finding new friends who are very passionate about their lives, finding very hardworking team members in my studio and performance team. Dancing a lot more nowadays too :)

The lessons I learnt this year. Too many. The last few years taught me so much.

I learnt to take good care of yourself because there really are things that money cannot buy. A lot of my failure in taking care of myself when I was younger showed this year. Some effects remain and may well be for life.

Learning to say no. I realised it is often when you don't know what you want that you say yes to anything and everything. There are exceptions of course. There are also instances when one should be open to options. However, one will innately know the times when one is saying yes because one does not know what else to do as well as the times when one is simply open to exploring more. I realised it when I said no to some offers which I believe I would have said yes to one year ago.

Learning that one should do the things one WANTS to do because it makes all that small big difference. It really really makes a huge difference when one does something one wishes to do because one will fight for it to make it happen. Lack of interest = lack of action = no result = waste of time =why do it at all? We are all guilty of it at some point including myself.

What is your Christmas Past like? After this chapter will be Christmas Present and Christmas Future because we all like to end on high , forward looking happy notes :)

Next chapter : Christmas Present.

An Uplifting

I had some great encouragement today.

Sometimes I don't really know if there are people reading the stuff I write here. Well it turns out there are :)

A friend told me she was inspired by one of my entries that was written sometime back. She suggested to me to pursue writing in a more serious manner. When I asked her what she thought about the entry, she said it made her think about herself and struck a chord in her. It was also presented in an interesting manner.

Even if she were the only person who thought so, I wouls still be happy to hear it because that was the purpose behind Eve Code - to perhaps make people think a bit more about themselves and what goes on around them that we so often ignore.

Thank you for reading :)

New Look

I am so glad Blogspot has finally decided to add a new template and add more flexibility to page management.

My previous page was a little too depressing and boring for my taste.

I like this a lot better :)

Tears

Call it animal instinct. I hate to show weakness in front of people and maybe I have been trained by men to think of tears as a sign of weakness.

I hate to cry in front of people.

What I hate even more is to cry in front of my ex-es even if it's not related to them. Nobody including me needs to remember past visions of me crying over a broken relationship.

I came back home yesterday and thought about why I chose to give up certain chapters of my life. If it was so apparent to me, why couldn't I communicate it?

Maybe I was so upset at that time that it didn't come out right. I came back home and thought about it.

I still decided I had made the right decision. The reasons are so many I won't even attempt to bore you.

I would say this much though:

I realised if we really wanted something, we'd fight for it and make it happen even if the odds were not all clear. Not having the heart to fight probably means we 'don't want it enough or want it at all.

I'd rather be dead tired and happy than to be dead tired and dead unhappy.

Eve Notebook - High Society

Eve remembers she once told someone she could do without a TV at home, but not without a Hi-Fi system. In fact, she would like to have a Nakamichi or B&O or Bose thank you.

Yes Eve is an audiophile in the making and probably would have grown much more if given the budget. Eve thinks it’s linked to her dancing. In fact, it is probably because of the innate natural response she has to music that expressed itself in dancing.

Eve has come to the conclusion that she has a strange affinity with That CD Shop at Pacific Plaza. Call it fate but that shop seems to have the uncanny ability to play the songs she’s looking for. Eve remembers the first time she was looking for a tango song where she had no idea what the title was or where to find it. Just as she was troubled about it, she stepped out of a cab at Pacific Plaza to find That CD Shop playing it. She went in to buy it at once of course. This was not the only time.

Eve has been listening to Bond’s version as well as Grace Jone’s version of Libertango pretty often recently due to the need to perform it for a couple of shows. Today as she walked towards Pacific Plaza, they were playing Bond’s Libertango. When she left the building about an hour later, they were playing Grace Jone’s version. Eve could not help but notice the coincidence *chuckles*

Talking about That CD Shop brings Eve to the title of this entry: High Society.

Eve is not talking about the privileged group of people who have loads of money to thrash around in or the music that is only for the privileged. In fact, you can buy it at That CD Shop.

High Society is a music collection conceptualized and released exclusively by That CD Shop. Herry, the boss of That CD Shop, certainly has good taste. Some true audiophiles may or may not agree with me, but I certainly love this collection of music. Each CD comes with its own little satin bag and is kept safely in a pretty and smooth box adorned by stylish pictures as album covers. The entire collection could sit as a display item on your CD shelf. Open that smooth box and you will find even smoother music.

What Herry has done is to take a collection of well known and not-so-well-known songs spanning across different genres including jazz, pop, disco, classical in different languages such as English , Mandarin, French and Spanish, give it a stylish modern remix twist and serve it in high quality HDCD recording. The result is luxurious and certainly deserves a good Hi-Fi system to go with it.

One of my many indulgent dreams would be to own the entire collection of High Society CDs. It would set me back a pretty neat sum given that there are 40 titles in the main collection now. That’s not even including the sub-collections. Best part is, they are constantly adding more titles to the collection.

I sure would love to own the whole collection one day. If you ever ask me to choose between a highly coveted LV bag and the entire High Society CD collection, the choice would be easy for me.

I would take the High Society CD collection please, thank you. :)