How to save your own life

Good read by Michael Gates Gill

P26

The other day I made a list of a few of the places where I have found unexpected joy

1) In the surprising satisfaction of working really hard to clean a toilet and making a bathroom sparkle like a new car
2) In the song I happen to overhear that sends me singing out loud as i walk down the block
3) in the warm sun of an early April day that catches me by surprise when I spent sio many months getting used to the cold gray days of winter
4) In the delight of going to bed on a rainy afternoon with a good book
5) in the deep enjoyment of spending time with my children - simple lunches in the city or long walks in the country - as I observe and marvel as they create their own remarkable lives
6) In the feeling of gratitude in waking at the beautiful first light of dawn
7) In the simple act of sharing a smile or a joke as i serve others a good cup of coffee
8) In walking home in the soft blue dusk of summer and seeing a full moon rising in the sky

Wisdom

The Dalai Lama was asked what surprised him most, he said "Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."

Part III of my life?

My very first blog in 2011! Amazingly how badly I have neglected this blog since I graduated from LBS (the very reason why this blog was started).

I am currently serving two months of gardening leave before I start on my new job. Having time on my hands, I started to read my own blog, its kinda of a journal, highly interesting (at least to me!) and that is what prompted me to update this today.

So what am I going to do/have done in this two month break?

1) Kuala Lumpur: I have went to Malaysia to visit my sister, saw the largest book fair in the World. Very impressed and again inspiring, I really should set up my own business, soon.
2) Hong Kong: I just came back from HK last night. Had a really good time, stayed at my friend's place at New Territories. Really nice place which is just next to the waters. Saw a side of HK which I never did. We did hiking at Sai Kong (much tougher than I thought, and I thought I was quite fit from my daily jogging, guess I was wrong, time to increase the intensity of my exercise regime). Its a really nice place where there are properly organised public buses to fetch you after you are done as well as little villages where you can take a break, enjoy a ice cream etc. We ended up at a nice little beach before heading back to eat seafood, fresh seafood that they just caught from the waters!
3) Taiwan: heading to Taiwan in Dec. This will be our second trip. We want to cover those places which we missed the last time round (Alishan, Yushan, YangMingshan, Hotsprings at Yilan, and a couple other places in Taipei(and nearby)
4) Exercise, Exercise, Exercise - the idea is to continue when I start work, either with a quick run in the park or on our elliptical cross trainer machine. Started Yoga,. its really fun! Will want to resume the tennis sessions soon!
5) Tailored a whole bunch clothes - no more poorly fit shirts and pants!
6) Cleaned, packed the whole house - its been close to 1.5 years since we moved in, chandeliers are tarnished (metals!!), I found things which I lost long ago! Even managed to clean the aircon using a DIY kit!
7) Met up with long lost friends! Friends are important to remain in contact!
8) Reviewed insurance plans for me and esp wife, probably will set up a will, met a really good independent financial planner, she has this sense of abundance and spirit to help people which is amazing, I really want to know more people like this
9) Found a really good stock portfolio excel online - will enter the market soon if this is an opportunity
10) Got a new sofa (hope the cream colour leather will not be too challenging to maintain), thinking of getting a new dishwasher
11) Last but not least - finally did Lasik, totally well worth the risk! I have perfect eyesight now (only downside is a little dry on some days, best part is that its getting better all the time)