Life

You may not realize it, but this is 100% true.

1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.And always remember....when life hands you Lemons,

Ask for tequila and salt and call me over!

Happy New Year

Its a New Year Ladies & Gentlman and I wish everyone a great year this now 2007!

It is the Year of the Golden Pig!

For Clariza and I 2007 is going to be a huge year. Why?? ............ stay tuned

About me!

Have you done this before? How much have you done in your life? If it is in BOLD I did it!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
07. Walked through Pompeii
06. Held a tarantula
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Naked in a public sauna
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gone without food for 5 days
76. Earned a university degree
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a dog as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Ate Dog meat in Korea
144. Ate the worm from a bottle of tequila
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a Bouncer
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Steve Irwin "we will miss you"

I am really not sure what I want to put on paper about how I feel about the sudden death of Steve Irwin. I personally really liked the guy. A modern day "Crocodile Dundee" who was real, honest, funny, and as us aussies say, a bloody good bloke. He was the real deal. He was away from the camera the same as he was in front of the camera. Always loving life, loving his family, friends, and most of all the wild animals of this world.

A freak accident has taken his life, and I feel the world will miss this mate. He was in his prime, and was a great ambassador for our country, and the guy that most applauded for his honesty and sincerity in regards to conservation and wildlife. It is nice to see how many global tributes he has recieved, and I hope that his legacy lives on. Rest in peace Steve.

Read this

Found on the web:

cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgniegTHE PAOMNNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNIDAoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is tahtthe frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotlmses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, butthe wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh?The wierd thing is that I actually scanned the paragraph before I realized that every word was misspelled.

Bloggers Blank

have not been writing much these days, which does not mean we're doing nothing, rather we are just living day to day and also going through several issues. Together we are stronger, so we will get through them.

Other than the stresses we both have, the weather has really warmed up, and can wear short sleeved shirts outside now. Its about time. A few more weeks and we have been here a year! One more year to go! We're not on a countdown, but are very happy we have almost completed the first year.

Last night we went to the large Buddha Temple behind the COEX for the Buddha's Birthday festival. It was extremely nice with all the hundreds of lanterns. Not long after we got there it started to rain, and has not stopped for a good 12 hours.

Ok, will try to post more soon, but no promises.

BBQ Etiquette

It is important to refresh your memory on BBQ etiquette as it's the only type of cooking a real man will do, probably because there is an element of danger involved.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:

Routine...

1) The woman buys the food.

2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, & makes dessert.

3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils & sauces, & takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
Here comes the important part:

4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

5) The woman goes inside to organize the plates & cutlery.

6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her & asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with the situation.

Important again:

7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL & HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.

8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces & brings them to the table.

9) After eating, the woman clears the table & does the dishes.

And most important of all:

10) Everyone PRAISES the MAN & THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.

11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off."

And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women....

LOL everyone .. it's just a joke!

Coffee Time

I know it has been a few days since I have blogged but work has been very busy, as well as we are currently cat sitting two of our friends cats until they get an apartment. Also I just dont have that much to say. Do have 6 days left until I head to Thailand for a work / relax trip with a few rounds of golf!

Anyway below is good story to read. (Thanks Chef!)

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university lecturer. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups.""Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change." "Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

So folks, don't let the cups drive you...enjoy the coffee instead.

Seoul Orphanage

On Thursday Clariza and I joined the Charity Club from the hotel to spend the afternoon at an Orphanage in Seoul. We both thought that it would be important to represent the hotel, as well as a personal thing to be a little more involved in the community. I know we were both a little nervous going there as we had never been to an orphanage, and we did not know what to expect.

After a 30 minute drive in the lovely Seoul traffic we came to the orphanage. On the way the head of the hotel charity group explained to us that this orphanage consisted of around 80 children aged between 1 month old to 10 years old. All are normal children with no disabilities or problems, but were abandoned by their parents. Most he explained is un-wed mothers who dump the new born babies on the street, or in front of a police station.

So we entered, met the manager of the house, changed into something that look like a chefs jacket, but yellow (this helps the children identify visitors) and we had to empty all of our pockets.

The first hallway we entered consisted of two rooms, on the left side that house babies aged between 1 month to 18 months old. There was about 13 babies. They were taken care of by two ladies on a shift that work for 24 hours, 9am to 9am. On the opposite side of the two rooms were two bathrooms, and a small kitchen to prep the food. We hung out with the babies for about an hour holding them, trying to make them smile, and just giving them some extra human touch. It was so weird to be there looking at these babies, and holding them knowing that they have no parents taking care of them, just the helpers, and the volunteers that came to the orphanage like us. After an hour I treid to go into the room of the 18month old to 3 years old. When we entered the room, the 10 kids or so just started to freak out and once one cried almost all of them cried. I was not sure what to do, so I left and went back to the babies. I thought better to take on that room later.

We then went upstairs where there was about 5 rooms and 5 helpers with children aged between 3 to 7. Most of these rooms were conducting classes with their helpers, so apart from one room where we played with one or two kids for 30 minutes, we really didnt hang out with the others. On this second floor there was about 40 kids.

We then went over to another house behind the 1st building which housed the older children. It was a nice house with communal sleeping area and kitchen on the second floor, and 1st floor was where there was like a games room and study area with computers. The head of the charity club explained that last year the hotel donated 20,000,000 won ($20,000) to redo the entire interior of the house. It looked very nice. Anyway here we were attacked by about 10 kids aged between 7 to 10. We went to the play room and the girls kind of kept to themselves, but the boys stuck to me like glue. They wanted to sit on my lap. hold my hand, throw them around the room and more. I could so feel how these kids just wanted to have some affection and attention which I am sure they could not get much of.

So after an hour of exhausted work with the boys we went back to the babies and the 3 year olds whom I freaked out before. This time I played with a baby outside of their room door, and they just watched me through the glass. I figured if they saw this they would realize I was not a threat. So after 15 minutes I put the baby down and entered the room. They were very hesitent, but I just moved to one corner of the room and sat on the floor. I pulled faces at the kids, and clapped, and made funny noises. Finally after a few minutes one of the older boys ran over and jumped on me. From then on the tension eased, and over the next 45 minutes some of the others warmed up to me. During the time we fed some of them dinner with the helpers, and at 6.00pm all volunteers had to leave, and we bid our farewells.

Clariza and I have discussed this experience a few times since then, and we plan to go again next month, the third Thursday of every month. It was a powerful experience and I will never forget it. I think it could be very hard for some people, but I think it is a humbling experience to take yourself into such a differant world and try to make a small differance to these children. Sorry for the long message, but I thought it would be nice to share the experience.

Management Philosophy & a blonde joke

I had a 5 hour meeting today! Can you believe it! Some people work 5 hours... I have one meeting for 5 hours! Anyway, have a few pics attached that were sent by a mate in Dubai, and the blonde joke comes from a friend at work. And hey, dont shoot the messanger on the joke ok!

And now for the blonde joke ........................................................

Subject: A jigsaw

A blonde calls her boyfriend and says:
"Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle and I can't figure out how to get started."

Her boyfriend asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?".
The blonde says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a rooster."
Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle.
She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.

He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says,
"First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a rooster.

He then takes her hand and says:
"Secondly, I want you to relax..... Let's have a nice cup of tea, and then....." he said with a deep sigh "........ Let's put all these Corn Flakes back in the box."

Have a nice day!

Happy New Year

Kong Hei Fat Choy

Year of the Dog!

1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006

People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people's confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues. Dog people make good leaders.

Clariza and I are born in 1971, so we are the year of the pig, or boar.. whatever you want to call it. We celebrated this long weekend, by just really relaxing. Today we never left the house until 6pm, then had a lovely Japanese dinner in the Hakone Restaurant in the Hotel. So sad.... back to work tommorow! Can't I win the lottery!

New Orleans Disaster

Hurricane Katrina!

I think the Hurricane is long gone now, but was has happened since then is the most tragic and devastating thing I have ever seen.................. in America.

Is this a wake up call to the Americans?, or should I say the American Government? I don't know about everyone else, but sitting back watching CNN over the last few days has just overwhelmed me. Bureaucratic runaround, everyone pointing fingers at each other, everyone telling everyone what should have been done, but still nothing is been done. I think they got troops quicker to Iraq than they did to New Orleans.

I just cant understand how the so called most powerful country in the world, can just sit around and watch the devastation unfold right in front of their eyes! And again I direct this to the government. I am sure people all over the USA are sitting back also watching this and I hope also angry about how this is being handled by their government. It sends you to tears seeing these old people and small children just sitting there in the streets with no food, no shelter, no water, and no f....kn safety or security. Sure there are some heroes down there trying to do their best, especially in the hospitals, but why didn't they send the military in earlier????

All I can say is I cant believe this has happened in America, and I hope this is a wake up call to the US government to start taking care of their own rather than everyone else.

I lived in the States for 8 years and so many of my dear friends are American. So I hope they understand my feelings right now is not against the people rather the government and the way this has been handled. I just hope the people of Louisiana are taken care off, are able to go home soon and start re-building their lives. But reality is, life will never be the same for them. I send my sympathy to them and pray for their strength to continue.