Wonderlust ♥

retrospectively it's so easy to see
i was trapped but now i'm free
nothing's ever going to be easy
but nothing's ever going to be too hard
not for me

you make me feel differently
i never can decide

found you in the unlikeliest of places
where I was searching for something else
from the moment I found you I was inexplicably drawn
like a moth to a flame
but what's a moth to do
when the flame is gone
just like you

This post took me some time to write but I told myself to get with it anyway.
When I don't write, I regress; and my goals start to seem further than they were yesterday. That's the power of motivation thrumming, making us feel alive; for what's the point in being alive without looking forward to life? Motivation need not be ambitious, broad or long term, it could be as simple as looking forward to completing a book, learning more about a particular subject or spending time with family.

Aha.

Here is another prime example of a paradox. There is power to be found in simplicity, yet most seek for more. And that's not a bad thing. It just means we know we are capable of more, and rightfully so. It doesn't matter if we try and fail, what matters is we manage to find it in ourselves to channel that drive to something else, eventually finding our calling.

When you are in the negative, standards are set to zero. When in zero, it's set to a positive and when in positive, the higher the number the better. So always remember, it is already a blessing where you stand and try to be grateful for what you have.

Some people envision the sweetness of growing old with someone they love. I double take and survey such words with an air of bewilderment. Being full of life now, contemplating a time when life is running out?

Still.

I wonder, are these the people, who find power in simplicity? It's funny, I would've pegged myself to be one. But once in awhile with my head in the clouds, I find myself contemplating existence in general, and then I suppose not. Existence is a strange thing, probably even more so for atheists. When you leave this earth, compared with when you came to this earth, what would you have left behind? Probably, the difference you make to someone else's. Hopefully, to inspire someone to be a better version of themselves.

Is this the reason why I'm still hung up? It's laughable how I can't understand myself sometimes. Perhaps I'm just tired and I just want to give up on things that don't feel right.

sailing into uncharted waters, my heart full, boat empty
capricious waters, safe harbor, boat full, my heart empty
too late, i thought i rather, my heart full, boat empty

for my resolutions, i'm on a roll with my monthly instagram worthy posts,
but i've feeling terribly boggled by foreign tax credit for the past couple of days.
after figuring it out (on my own- hey gimme some credit), i think i can come out with a better set of conclusions.

so, summary:

• generally compute based on gross basis unless company is in loss position
• pooling only applies if the foreign country's headline tax rate is at least 15%
• else do it seperately
• compare between 1. foreign tax paid and 2. singapore tax to be paid on the amount of foreign income
• of which the formula for 2. goes: foreign income / total taxable income from all sources x tax payable (before rebate)

there. here's my celebratory post. idk what this blog is becoming even. pardon, it'll past. the next thing i'll be blogging about would probably another game guide, mood boards, a cryptic post or something out of the world random, like this one. till next time :)

hello , it's me again .
purpose of this blogpost is to realign my goals and to be more productive .

first up though , i got to start studying for my exam upcoming in 2 weeks *shivers*
that starts at 4pm till 6pm , giving me about 15 minutes to complete this post and other miscellaneous things i would like to do .

so , it's a little late but here are my goals for 2017 !

i'm gonna set a target for at least one instagram worthy piece of art to be published each month .
i'm also gonna self-publish an ebook ; well , you know , an author was always one of my considerations and i got to admit that i need to work on my creativity . let's sayyy end 2017 or early 2018 ? i'll be reading up on investments as well , because i feel the need to broaden what i read so i don't stagnate . furthermore , you've got to have knowledge to apply perceptiveness to *ahem*

cheers and RIP my long weekends T__T

but what do you do ,
when you have issues ;
remembering to give up ,
remembering to forget ,
remembering it doesn't matter ,
remembering it shouldn't be present .

Wow . i'm actually pretty diligent with my once a month blog post . though it's such an abysmal figure , considering that gives us only 12 blog posts a year . still . it's quality over quantity wouldn't you say ?

ironically , i'm going to be writing about writing since i just completed a writing course .

nope , this isn't work propaganda . i'm going with categorization of fresh information for better retention .*shrugs*

for introduction's sake , although i have some aspirations to be an author in the upcoming future , i absolutely abhor writing in work context . it's terribly dreary having to draft , re-visit and re-write correspondences . and in all honesty , in my opinion , it's too much time spent when writing doesn't directly help with your KPIs , neither does it with your performance evaluation .

however , i admit writing is integral and imperative in getting things expedited and getting certain things completed , therefore it correlates indirectly to a certain degree .

so here's to getting rid of the negativity and trying harder !

for a start , i realized that my struggle with drafting replies and/or proposals arises mainly from lack of structure , and my style of writing , which sways more towards nominal as opposed to verbal .

starting with sentence structure , we went through the SVOCA model ; which broken down translates to ; subject , verb , object , character , adverb . the concept is pretty interesting and scores a plus point in helping me remember the meaning of verb and adverb , which are on normal occasions classified as technicalities i cannot be bothered with .

generally , applying the concept of SVO is enough . meaning , you start with the subject , verb and end with the object . i.e. john saved a snail (sorry , i just read an article on saving snails that left me deliberating). C comes in when you use words to characterize the subject or object (brown) and A comes in as a modifier for your verbs (in a fit of empathy). you get the idea right ?

whereas for structure as an entirety , we went through the three factor approach , namely , strategic perspective (why), operational perspective (how) and events perspective (5 Ws + 1 H).
a simplified translation would be , start with why (purpose of letter), how (what is being done) and end with 5Ws and 1 H (small whats and hows).

it's implied that a more verbal style of writing is preferred when drafting replies whereas nominal would be more widely used it speeches (and novels i presume).

painful examples aside , i concur that these three tips may probably help you in a pinch .
although i suspect i lost you after SVOCA .
still , you're welcome .

well , hit me up if you are actually interested in this shit and i'll talk about it a little more .

sorry for the abrupt ending but i'm getting sidetracked so ...
i'll blog another one soon :)


happy V'day errbody !
xoxo

smoked a shitload of my love away
with tender feelings and cherries on top

I did promise to try and blog another entry before the year end so here goes !
psst , it's just a short entry so don't keep your hopes up .

Recently i've been obsessed over a new photo app - makeup plus , i used one of the filters for the above photo . Y'think ? I think it's pretty wicked , in terms of how the makeup application is reallly accurate , and there are so many styles to choose from ! As always with filters , you get to adjust the level required depending on whether you want a glammed up look or a milder one . Just try it and you'll understand what i mean .

I kinda wish cameras would up their filter game too , that would be totally awesome .
Cuz i also finally got myself a mirrorless camera that i've been eyeing on a long time coming .
Got it on Christmas day, so i'm taking it as a self birthday present and a christmas present in one :D

Presenting you the Canon M3:
I have to admit that this took some genuine consideration as i'm not sure if i would really use it .
Technically , a camera is bulky and phones are able to take really good photos as well .

What eventually moved me was my affection (HAHA weird i know) , as i really liked this model - it's similar to my copic markers affection . To have and to own as you may bluntly put it . Regardless ,  it's nice to put in some money (like fuel to a fire) to sustain your interests . no point hording such money amirite .

Anyhoo , i've actually come to terms that i am very much a cynic and i have to work towards slowly changing as it has been quite a struggle . in case you didn't know; believing that selfishness motivates human actions- yup, minimises selfless acts- yup, disinterested points of view- yup .

& in trying to effect a change , one must always initiate it .

So here's to working on views and family relations for 2017 :D

Cheers and have a belated Christmas and advanced Happy New Year xoxo

Hello there !

I've been away for sometime , sorry for neglecting this perfect personal space .

so I'm back here in cyberspace ...

Not gonna bore you with the whys and hows, but as always, my holiday to Korea was a blast .
Holidays are always a blast but then it's back to reality now .

See I try to make it a point to blog about holidays thanks to my abysmal memory (rather , abysmal memory regarding places , a correlation to the bad direction sense) . The Korea trip I had was from 5 Nov till 14 Nov , but we flew at 3pm (ended up in Seoul at 10-ish) , and our return flight from Seoul was at 9am , so we reached Incheon airport 6-ish/7-ish ?

Point being that after all the discounts , the holiday was actually only 8 days long .

It was Seoul from 5th till 8th , Busan from 9th till 10th , and back to Seoul again from 11th till 14th .

For Seoul , half the time was spent sightseeing- nami island , ehwa university , secret garden , and the other half shopping - myeondong , gangnam , underground shopping .

Whereas for Busan , it was sightseeing at the cultural village and taejongdae lighthouse .
I've got to say that Busan definitely feels more rural , yet despite the exterior , the hotel we stayed at in Busan was pretty classy and comfy and high tech . it's worth checking out (YTT boutique) if you are making a trip there - free advertising lol .

So ... being rural , there was much more exercise required , much climbing involved . the cultural village (kinda like Santorini) , made me re-evaluate the sanity of spending a few relaxing days holidaying in Santorini , which is one of my travel goals . well , along with Hawaii and Maldives .

Keyword being relaxing , because despite the mentally relaxing trip , it was almost physically exhausting .

Kinda miss the physical exhaustion now that im back in Singapore though . I feel unhealthy and less well rested cuz i've not been getting enough rest and exercise juggling betweem working , going out and pokemon sun :x

Well , it's already been a month since and i need to bounce back on track .

I need to get this entry out so here goes ! will try to blog another one before the end of this month :)

mull over in the quiet
counting minutes keeping time
coming up empty
when the heart rejects what the mind accepts

Gonna ruin the moment but the above was sitting in draft since awhile ago so imma just go ahead and post it . makes do for a september entry anyhoo .

probably since i'm often filled with hate i cling on to any semblance of happiness with a sort of desperation , knowing all too well it's ultimately not what i'm looking for . yet knowing and feeling are two different things in which mind over matter doesn't apply , and only time will solve . funny how no matter how many times i conclude it's being remarkably silly the ache still remains . i  guess it's the process of pulling apart and separating the sentiment attached to a person , seeing that they are very much just two different things in the end .

eventually my heart will accept that it's just pinning for a concept , a figment of imagination that doesn't exist .

perhaps taking a chance isn't the brightest idea (although it is the fastest and easiest fix it solution)  , but who's to say . it once in eons anyway . even if it ends up in flames , at least i would've gotten rid of the hate .

i know i shouldn't be having such thoughts , but i guess a logical conclusion is i need more faith, love or time , or maybe all .

i got my hands full
and this one's gonna own me

Apparently quoting song lyrics and writing bad poetry counts for some form of relief , so humor me please . I'm back to black ! or ash brown / grey if we are to be so specific . Looks black in photos though so black works really .


i'm constantly stuck in a perpetual sloth state and therefore require a constant reminder ;
time is not infinite , and when penning goals down i expend a more sustainable amount of effort achieving them so here goes:

-to getting my tiger painting , harley quinn sketch and card designs settled by month end or mid september

this long weekends have been a blast though !

albeit a little unproductive but i relish lazing on my bed .

HAHA - side note , i've more or less settled my expenses , finished a novel , and re-doubled my culinary efforts .

i made a really huge rosti on saturday using a total of 5 potatoes and here's half of them in the frying pan:

it was surprisingly easy , although slightly troublesome but mostly importantly , a success .
... which reaffirms my opinion that i definitely make a much better cook than baker .

haha anyhoo you only need potatoes , butter and oil to make a rosti
topped mine off with a sunny side up and sour cream and used this recipe

excerpt from the site (cue recipe link above) :

2 medium-sized waxy potatoes
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp goose fat

1. Parboil the potatoes in salted water until just tender, but not soft. Allow to cool, and chill for at least a couple of hours.

2. Coarsely grate the potatoes and season. Heat half the fat in a small, heavy-based frying pan until sizzling, and then add the grated potato, allow to cook for a couple of minutes and then shape it into a flat cake, pressing down as lightly as possible. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, then gently shake the pan to loosen the potato.

3. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes until golden and crisp, then place a plate on top of the pan and invert it so the cake sits, cooked-side up, on the plate.

4. Add the rest of the butter and goose fat to the pan and, when hot, slide the potato cake back into the pan the other way up. Cook for another 10 minutes, then serve.

i did it without the goose fat and without chilling (step 1) for a couple of hours . i chilled them for minutes tops . also no shaking of the potatoes (step 2) nor plates on top of the pans (step 3) . eheheh , well , verified that it still worked regardless .

okay gtg . bai !

Some try to give me money , they don't understand
i'm not broke , i'm just a brokenhearted man

Rushing for an entry for July on the last day of the month , can you tell ?
HAHA *shrugs* what , i made it anyhoo .

this entry is gonna be to you a probable mass of idiosyncrasies , but feel free .
perhaps this is what people call a quarter life crisis .

it's kinda supposed to help me with what i want to do with life, though i don't think much people will correlate .

to be honest ,  i grew up expecting myself to build a frugal life , what with my upbringing and with most of the people i date , cue , not as well to do . and to be perfectly honest , i feel that people conspire against me , with the studying or marriage pitch , to get more and have more .

and still , this ideology hasn't changed .

granted , when i say frugal , i mean enough to get by comfortably , not scrimping and struggling . though my standards have also risen comparatively ,  they haven't risen excessively .

i don't have any intention to further my studies as what i have now sustains this life i want . i don't want to trade cost and comfort for something inconsequential . and although i wouldn't mind studying for the sake or pursuing my interests , it puts a wedge on my lifestyle .

in conclusion , if i decide that i should ever start studying , it's going to be self taught .
it's of no secret that i want to do something with my art or publish a book , even books . self study would mean i take my free time to get more practice in , explore more styles and read more .

marriage doesn't work either as it doesn't make sense to rely on someone else , get used to a lavish life and having to re-adapt thereafter , were anything to happen . though it would be different if we are talking about someone we could trust completely , but given that my choice in life partners are cheats , liars or con-men , i don't feel the idea sane . i could pick someone i'm not as drawn to , but , what would be the point ? it makes my head spin but i figure i'll get there eventually .

so yup , once i'm ready i will start my personal developments in terms of field of expertise and get in more exercise to stay healthy .

on a side note , it would be good if people all minded their own business and don't betray your trust , but looking around , politics and backstabbers are everywhere . so sometimes , i wonder why i keep up my moral compass because it's always a struggle when i get hurt , but ultimately , conscience always prevails ; well mostly . it's kind of like controlled chaos .

ok , the proverbial word vomit is over . hopefully it makes for a decent july entry :)