1st - my batchmate YJ
6th - my primary classmate MH
8th - my buddies SG and KC
10th - my sis YY
12th - my daughter KL
15th - my batchmate ZA
17th - my godsis KX and buddy ZX
18th - my junior CK
20th - my secondary classmate HC
21st - my karaoke partner HE
25th - my crazy badminton challenger LL

Happy Birthday to all!

Almost two weeks already since I last played guitar. It's not that I am lazy to practice it, but I left it at home (purposely) when I went back for CNY holidays. I don't want to carry so many stuffs back after graduate.

I was planning to learn more songs but the-not-so-musically-talented-me only managed to 'master' 11 songs in 6 months..namely,
Betterman - Intro (Robbie Williams)
Simple Love (Jay Chou)
Empty (Click Five)
Fall For You (Secondhand Serenade)
Love Me Then Don't Leave (Zhang Zhen Yue)
Regular Friends - Intro (David Tao)
Fine Day - Intro (Jay Chou)
The Love You Want (Penny Dai)
Dandelions' Promise - Intro (Jay Chou)
Spanish Romance (Autumn In My Heart soundtrack)
Rainbow (Jay Chou)


Without constant practice, I don't think I can even play Fine Day now.

Same for flying. I can only maintain my best performance for 5 straight days of non-flying. After that, it is going to deteriorate exponentially.

Today is the 4th day.

1st of January 2009..

1st post of year 2009..

Happy New Year, folks!

*and Happy Birthday to Huey Ni!*



--- 2008 was a great year! And a lucky one for me too! Happy with the all the things that happened to me in the past 366days. Just hope luck continues this year! ---

A Blog Posted by Singapore 's Youngest Millionaire

By Adam Khoo |

Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand and Suzhou ( China ). I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.

Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked. He asked, 'How come a millionaire like you is travelling economy?' My reply was, 'That's why I am a millionaire.' He still looked pretty confused. This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book 'Secrets of Self Made Millionaires'). Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit on first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the moment that earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.

The truth is that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster. Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky). I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking twice.

When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur's Organization) a few years back (YEO is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self-made thought like me. Many of them with net worths well over $5m, travelled economy class and some even drove Toyota 's and Nissans (not Audis, Mercs, BMWs).

I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers' and tycoons' sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is precisely the reason why a family's wealth (no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation. Thank God my rich dad (oh no! I sound like Kiyosaki) foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.

Then some people ask me, 'What is the point in making so much money if you don't enjoy it?' The thing is that I don't really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewellery or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last. Material happiness never lasts, it just give you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life.

Instead, what make ME happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see by companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries. What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired someone's life. What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this BLOG is inspiring you. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.

I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life's work (be in teaching, building homes, designing, trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product. If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a life of meaningless.


***********

Happy Birthday to Ee Wuen and Charlie Lim!! :)

Sunday is an off-day for us! Unlike in LGK, Sunday is just like a normal working day for flying wing. So I am at home here, 'riding' on people's WIFI to surf the net.

Happy Birthday to Miss Y Tan. Finally you've joined the Old People Gang! :P

More birthdays nearing the end of the month, namely:

Charlie Lim

Yvonne

Yenyen

Christina the Tigress

Tsing Yiu

Justin

And Happy Belated Birthday to:
Joanne

Steven

Janet


SF called to invite me for his birthday party though. Too bad I can't go to celebrate his 21st Birthday. Sigh.

2 of my batchmates, J and Y got calls to attend their friends' wedding next month.

Y: Do you feel the pressure when you see your friends are getting married one by one?
J: Nope. I don't understand why they wanna get married so fast!
Y: *Sigh* Of course you don't. You've got gf already!
J: They have no stable career. How to support themselves and the family? Better get a job first la.


What is your ideal age to get married? Career first, family second?

Women's stock market rises very high from 18 to 27 years old. Peak at 28. And then starts to decrease exponentially after that. While it's not true that men only look for beauties, but I dare to say that looks before character is the general thinking!

Men's market are kinda depending on their jobs. Low income=Low market value. I am not saying that the females are getting materialistic nowadays but we are just being realistic here. Who wants to marry a guy who cannot provide sufficient financial support?

However in the end, we still track back to personalities. Rich men with lousy attitudes are suckers. Ditto pretty ladies with only vanity in their minds!

If possible, we want the 'perfect package', right?

You and I know there is none in this world.

No one is perfect, but when two imperfect people be together, now we have The Perfect Couple!


PS: This is just my personal view.

I just realised that this month is full of my friends' birthday.

Soo's birthday which was two days ago. Happy Belated Birthday!

Today is Wanyin's birthday! :)

9th: Stephanie.

12th: Stella, Loochin and Huiting.

13th: Liting

15th: Suqin

16th: my dear friend SK.

25th: my batchmate Joe.

And lastly 31st is my long long long long long time friend, Weixi.

I saw Chew Hui's blog mentioned about her Chinese Lunar Birthday. I surfed all over the net to find a English site which can convert our birth date to Chinese Lunar Calendar.


Gregorian Date of your Gregorian Birthday Thursday, February 19, 1987

Chinese Date of your Gregorian Birthday Anniversary this year cycle 78, Chinese Year Wu-Zi (25), year 2008, month 1, day 13 (2008-01-13)

Gregorian Age today 21 years old

Chinese Date of your birthday cycle 78, Chinese Year Ding-Mao (4), year 1987, month 1, day 22 (1987-01-22)

Gregorian Date of your Chinese Birthday Anniversary this year Thursday, February 28, 2008

Chinese Age today 22 years old

Chinese Zodiac Sign: Fire Rabbit.

Source: http://www.asia-home.com/china/cncaps.php



I googled more about the meaning of Chinese Year Wu-Zi and Chinese Year Ding-Mao.

Wu- Earth
Zi- Rat
Ding- Fire
Mao- Hare


I am not really sure what's the use of our Chinese Birthday. It seems like it has something to do with marriage or health. Maybe fortune-telling?? I don't know. I DID NOT really believe in fortune-telling until one day my family went to this very famous fortune-teller. I forgot the location but it's down south. He lives in a small house. His source of income is from the donation of people who come to ask for his advice. He only attends to a limited number of people a day. I think it's 10 if I am not wrong.

Below is a summary according to what my parents told me. I was at here already when they paid him a visit.

The queue was very long during the first day they went. Nearly 10+ people when they reached there at 7am. Numbers were already fully booked for the day but lucky enough to get the second day's numbers.

Those who got the numbers are invited to sit in the small hall awaiting their turn. The Q&A session was done in the center of the hall itself, so that everyone could hear.

Due to my serious memory loss, I am unable to recall the questions they asked. Haha. But I know that my parents shifted some of the furniture here and there. And, things started to get better!

I guess even some of the "side effects" are spilling to me too! Not in terms of finance, but for health, yes! At least, the illness is not coming back until this very second.

As for love....hmmm..we shall leave it for another day. Time to have dinner! :P

Happy Birthday to YW in advanced!! Another guy to join the 21st League!! It's time to win a few rounds at Genting Casino, dude! :P

It's Father's Day! Yes, to those who claimed to be filial, what have you prepared for your dad today? Bring him out for a dinner (and then he pays the bill)? Or you gonna cook some dishes for him? Or, make him a present? Or, you are just too lazy but still wanna show your filial piety, how about buy him a present instead, say, a Breitling?

Or, you are far far away from home and you can't do all the things listed above, but still wanna show him that you love your dad?

A call or sms will do. It's the thought that counts. That was what I did.

Anyway, today is also Alvin's birthday! Happy Birthday!! =)

For many days my sorties were cancelled due to weather, so I didn't blog at all for that period. Yesterday my batch leader told us that there would be a meeting at the common room at 2000hours. So after dinner I went straight to the room, still in my full uniform, and waited for others to arrive. 15minutes passed and no one was to be seen. Batch leader came and told me that it was postponed to 2030hours. I went back to change into my full uniform first. While changing, I heard there was a commotion outside my room (my room is just next to the common room by the way). After changing, I went straight outside. As I opened the door,


*Baappp* An egg was smashed on my body.

*Piiaak* Another one on my back.

*Bllaapp* Another one on my head.

I was like !#@$#!@. What the hell are you guys throwing and smashing eggs on me?!! And they shouted back: Happy Belated Birthday!! Hell broke loose.

Haha. Now I know why. They were planning all this while was not for meeting but it was to celebrate me and four other friends' birthday. Not just me the only one were thrown with eggs, other birthday boys faced the same fate too. Haha. Some were given 'flour shower' too! It was damn fun, running away to evade the egg attacks and at the same time running after the others for revenge! And of course, the common room and our corridor turned from clean to...ermm..you know how dirty a place can be after egg war. Haha.

My batch mates bought a cake, some snacks and drinks. We had the party at the same place and took a group photo too (still in our dirty clothes)! =D After that we cleaned up the place but the common room IS still smelly. Haha.

The birthday celebration at here is very different to what I had last time. Last time back in secondary school, we would beat up the birthday boy. At here, we throw eggs on them. Haha.




Anyway, today got a big accident happened. One of our trainer aircrafts encountered with an engine failure and had to make an emergency landing at a nearby swamp. My friends and I rushed to the scene as soon as we got the news. Just wanna be a busybody sometimes. Both the instructor and the student pilot are safe and sound. Thank God. The plane was damaged quite badly, especially the left wing. The left wheel was 'tercabut'. The firemen found the wheel at the other side of the swamp which was pretty far away from the site. Why the engine failed during flight, I can't give any answer for now because it will be more appropriate to wait until the relevant authorities release the investigation result. Maybe tomorrow's newspaper will have a report on it.

Seniors said that the hangar should be closed for at least a week to allow for investigation. But hey, now I see got students doing night flying. Haha. I thought I gonna have a week holiday! Hopes dashed. I am scheduled to fly tomorrow. One sortie with instructor and two solo sorties. All three in the late evening. Haizz. I am afraid my sorties have to be cancelled again. One, weather is getting hazier due to the paddy farmers conducting open burning. Two, rainy season. Three, more aircrafts are under maintainance. Four, many big airlines are coming in and out at late evening causing my delays.

With so frequent engine problems happening to the single engines aircrafts, I can't deny that I am feeling a little scared when I go for flying solo. You know, I start to wonder whether I can safely land the aircraft in case of such emergencies happen to me. Haha. I have been practising emergencies simulation in my mind every time every day. Just to prepare myself mentally first and don't want to shit myself out at the critical point of time.

Well, if I can't make it, I suppose I can't do anything but to leave everything to god and pray for the best.