Paul Coelho...

I am simply amazed by how Paul Coelho writes about the mystery of life... I have finished 2 of his books, namely: (1) Veronika Decides to Die and (2) By River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept... I shall let the sypnosis do the talking... =)


Veronika Decides to Die

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything — youth and beauty, boyfriends and a loving family, a fulfilling job. But something is missing in her life. So, one cold November morning, she takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up. But she does — at a mental hospital where she is told that she has only days to live.

Inspired by events in Coelho's own life, Veronika Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Bold and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity.

By River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept

[A Fable About Opening Your Heart to Miracles]

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept tells of Pilar, a frustrated scholar looking for some greater meaning in the endless cycle of her days. When a childhood friend contacts her, she is surprised to learn that her former playmate is now a charismatic spiritual leader, someone revered as a miracle worker. She is even more astonished when he reveals that Pilar has always been his great love.

Confused by this sudden opportunity for a new chance at life, Pilar gradually comes to realise that the man she loves is being called upon to choose between her and his spiritual calling. As the suffering lovers travel through sacred sites in the French Pyrenees, the difficult choice they face offers a startling revelation about the divine and the redemptive power of love. Full of warmth and wisdom, joy and unexpected sorrow, their story is a magical celebration of the endless possibilities that life has to offer, and a fable about opening your heart to miracles.

A poetic story that reflects the depth of love and life

Rarely does an adolescent love reach its full potential. What happens when, after eleven years, two lovers come together again? Pilar has become an independent and strong woman. Her childhood friend has become a handsome spiritual leader. She has learned to bury her feelings, while he has turned to religion as a refuge from his inner conflicts.

Together they embark on a journey that is initially fraught with difficulties, as blame and resentment resurface after years of being hidden. But by the River Piedra, in a small village in the French Pyrenees, they discuss many of life's big questions ad reevaluate their own special relationship.

After 11 years, two people who once loved each other come together again to embark on a journey that is initially fraught with difficulties, as blame and resentment resurface after years of blame and resentment resurface after years of being hidden. But by the River Piedra, in a small village in the French Pyrenees, they discuss many of life's big questions and re-evaluate their own special relationship in this poetic and transcendent story that reflects the mysteries of love and life.

Kosmos from SPAIN!

Managed to catch the Kosmos performance at the closing ceremony of Singapore Arts Festival outside Lot 1 last night... Here's a few "clearer" pictures, I am afraid the nicer ones are in videos formats... It is always not easy to take night photos with minimum fuzziness... Flash is forbidden lest the performers will be distracted and lose their balance... I can only describe the wold performace in one word: SPECTACULAR! The entire team was hauled up in the metallic sphere by a crane... At some point in time, they were performing death-defying stunts at a height which is tallers than the condominium at the back drop....

Yea, it was a good attempt to bring arts to the heartlanders... But it will be quite sometime before the maturity of the arts scene in Singapore will match up to those on the international arena... But with the immense resources directed to invite award-winning performers to perform in Singapore... Perhaps it is time to invest more in our own local arts... We need to have our very own Singaporeans hanging up there in the metallic sphere!!!

Confluence 2006

Confluence 2006 - the inaugural Ministerial dialogue session & corporate networking fair held at the Raffles City Convention Centre Swissotel on Saturday 19 August 2006 is a jointly organized cross-Atlantic event for Singaporeans studying all over the world.

The highlight of the event will be the keynote address by Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean followed by a Question & Answer session where the audience will be able to engage the members of a panel consisting of several prominent Singaporeans in meaningful and constructive debate on national issues concerning young Singaporeans such as ourselves.

Concurrently, there will be an all-day corporate career and networking fair where numerous multi-nationals and organizations from the private and public sector will be in attendance. The networking session will be an excellent opportunity for students to mingle and find out more about the various career opportunities available from the organizations. Representatives from various fields including sectors such as law, banking, engineering, management consultancy, accounting and the civil service, will be on hand to interact with the students.

During the networking session after the Q & A session, a buffet will be served at the reception where all attendees are welcome.

So people, sign up for the conference!

Ending of the Mulling Period...

It was 10 days ago that I received a email from Mille, Area manager for communication from NIRAS... It goes:

Dear Ryan,

This week, we had a meeting of the panel of judges and I had hoped
for a decision then, but alas or hurrah, your essays provoked a lot of
discussion. I hope to get a final decision this week and will let each of
you know the moment I have it confirmed!
...

Next 10 days was a "mulling period"... The decisive email finally came last night (which is Denmark's afternoon) and informed me that I was not one of the two winners of the essay competition... Some excerpts of the email are:

...

All the essays were of a very high standard and it was very difficult to make a decision. That also explains the prolonged period before we could contact you again. The judges spent a lot of time discussing the essays. All of them were thought provoking and that is certainly meant as a compliment!

...
Let me thank you for your professional and personal efforts and your enthusiasm. It has been a rewarding experience to read your thoughts on the future and your very different approaches...

There was a tint of disappointment definitely, even more so when sacrifices were made to complete the essay by the deadline... But I felt more of relieved coz I do not need to live in the anticipation of "unknown" anymore... It has been really unproductive for the past 10 days... If the clock would have reversed back to last December when the competition was launched in universities all over the world, I would still have taken part and put in my utmost effort to complete the abstract and the final essay... Despite not being one of the 2 winners, I have learnt a lot in the process of writing this essay... I have learnt that information overload is undesirable and to excel, one have to be like a laser and focus on your niche area... I have even played with an idea of publishing a book which give a pictorial perspective of life... That is using photographs I have taken and relaying the lessons of life through my them... I will email Thomas L. Friedman, author of "The World is Flat" and provide him with my perspective of a future global knowledge society... After connecting the "dots" back to its sources, there is always a reason why things happens... =)

I sent a email back to Mille, expressing my gratitude for her help rendered throughout the entire writing process and also mention when I go Denmark one of these days, I will love to visit "The Little Mermaid" and of course NIRAS Consulting firm... And yea, she replied and said NIRAS will be sending us a copy of the NIRAS 50th anniversary publication which will have all the 10 finalist essay published sent to us when they are ready... =)

我们的天空

You should be able to redeem this "dan qu" which comes along with i-weekly soon... One can also hear this song on FM 93.3...

Shiyu is one whom I have seen to persistently pursue his dreams... And I am really glad that he is fighting for what he believes in... With his talent in place, nothing can stop him...

Annalakshmi (Delayed)

Good Food accompanied by nice indian art...

Marina City Park (Delayed)

Look... There can be rainbow even without rain! If you are the rainmaker, rain can even be pumped up from the ground level! Haz...

Is the World Cup Season...

It is the season when most guys all over the world will be glued to the TV... Watching 32 teams pit their soccer skills on the international stage... I am not a passionate soccer fan but I do feel there is a lot to learn from the game of soccer...

Lesson 1: There is no short cuts to any where worth going, each and every player (including substitutes) in each of the 32 teams have put in their fair share of determination and hard work to stand on the international stage for soccer...

Lesson 2: Injuries and accusations (you get yellow cards from a seemingly harmless act) are inevitable as you work towards your destiny.

Lesson 3: Law of polarity is always at work. When one team wins, its supporter will cheer while the opponents will jeer.

Lesson 4: Fair Play. No matter what you do, always be graceful towards your opponents.

Slept almost the whole of today... Time to get some work done tomorrow...

Ciaoz.

Changing Landscape..

Went to Marina City Park over the weekend with XXX... Went across the entire Benjamin Sheares Bridge... Nothing changes much except that I can see constructions going on some distance away... The 8 statues are still there; and it has already been there for more than a decade... But the real eyesore is that a "line of trees" which camouflague the park away from the main road is gone... And yea, Bus 400 do go to the end of Marina City Park... We saw a Mediacorp filming some kids program there... A couple was smooching not far away and I think they are definitely not part of the tv shoot...haz... The rainbow across the lake made my day... (Note: Not pics as I have lend my card reader away; will be back soon...)

Dinner was at Annalakshmi which advocates "Eat What You Like, Pay As You Wish"... To LJ who do not believe that such a place exist, I will bring you down one day... Meanwhile, you can visit its official website at : http://www.annalakshmi.com.sg

I had a tiring past few day... Is time to retire to bed to prepare myself for the squadron run in the morning tomorrow... Ciaoz...