Manage Life

I live in South Carolina, moving from Singapore and the Philippines. I face constant challenges in life and work and try to handle my anxieties with the use of self-help books, blogging and other creative tools like visual thinking.

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Wrong Focus

Feb 25, 2010 4:52pm

When I speak in front of a group, I always focus on my diction and delivery. I get tangled in knots trying to get these aspects right. I focus on the form rather than on the substance. I get stuck up on the appearances rather than the substance of the...

Vision for Philippine Novels

Feb 15, 2010 5:40pm

I have been reading the group emails from my old fraternity mates in college. There is an active exchange between alumni and current members. It’s funny to see the photos of these frat boys, me included, as they age through the years. They were preparing a collage of old photos...

Growing the Mind

Feb 9, 2010 7:25pm

‘He’s really a big baby, despite nearing middle-age,’ complained the wife. Usually this means the partner scattering his clothes everywhere, or watching too much cartoons or overindulging in candy or food. Or maybe the husband or partner is spending too much time with his friends for fun and drinks.‘She still...

Sound Understanding

Feb 8, 2010 4:01pm

Making sense of sounds into meaning requires a different mental effort as compared to reading. Out of sounds, the mind tries to assemble the pieces and make sense of what is being said. The main challenge is that the sounds are often fleeting. One can always re-read the printed page...

Winter Weather

Feb 6, 2010 4:44am

It is the most unique and strange winter this year most people would say. Nearby ski resorts claim that it’s the best time to ski as they have the best snow in 20 years.‘The snow is different here than in Colorado,’ said a Charlotte lady on the phone who moved...

On Paranoia

Feb 4, 2010 3:24pm

Yesterday I had a short meeting with my boss because my efficiency rate for the previous month was below par. It was a civil discussion and I admitted that I needed to do some improvements. I think it also raised my point that I am open to new work or...

Writing Therapy

Feb 2, 2010 3:07pm

I started to write in my youth mainly due to a psychological urge. It was an urge to settle thoughts, de-stress and achieve some sort of psychological benefit. Numerous articles state that writing provides psychological benefits like reduce stress and strengthen immune systems. I had stumbled into this avenue because...

Deconstruction

Feb 1, 2010 6:24pm

I watched a documentary on philosopher Jacques Derrida, author of the deconstruction philosophy. An interesting person though sometimes reading this type of work gives me a headache. He is a controversial figure based on the material in Wikipedia. But there are other articles that praise him. Looking at his performance...

Examined Life

Jan 25, 2010 7:29pm

I posted some pictures during the weekend to my social network site. It was the first time I posted pictures of my family. Previously most of the pictures I posted where about my work and colleagues. So I changed my privacy setting to allow only friends to access my profile...

Secret Sessions

Jan 22, 2010 7:18pm

It’s all about what you know these days. The way things are done on the remote sites, procedures to install, technical terms to use, people to speak to and so on. It’s the main challenge in the information age. There is too much information to understand, assess and internalize. All...

On Nothing to Do

Jan 21, 2010 5:09pm

Getting bored is the main problem one faces in a laid back place. At least for one who come from Asia where there is a lot of stimulation and distraction? Unfortunately, one finds himself in this position and wonders how is it that people could survive without much to do....

Different Thinking

Jan 20, 2010 8:12pm

Living in different countries allows one to understand the thought processes of the local people. Sometimes one would like to think like them to be able to assimilate faster or achieve better understanding. Sometimes a sense of chauvinism and bias arise which fools one into thinking that his logical reasoning...

Prose Stylist

Jan 19, 2010 4:32pm

A recent author is being heralded as the best American stylist living today. I wonder what the word means. Sometimes there are too many categories, distinctions and labels that one must be aware of in order to understand today’s vocabulary. Is this the result of the Aristotelian urge to organize...

First Year Club Meeting

Jan 14, 2010 3:52pm

Yesterday I was the meeting chairman in our club meeting. It was not the first time for me as I performed this role once or twice in the past in Singapore. But it was the first time for me here in the US. I was a bit apprehensive having looked...

West Coast and the South East

Jan 12, 2010 4:24pm

Comparing life in the Carolinas with life in California is like looking at 2 different worlds. California seems like a whole new country than a state in the Union. One state seems to aspire towards societal order; heritage and family ties while the other state to disruption, creativity and self...

California Vacation

Jan 9, 2010 11:32am

We spent two weeks in lovely California – split between Los Angeles and San Francisco. My boss said it’s the land of fruit and nuts (meaning ‘wackos’). My memories are of the Palm Beach Mountains where we played in the snow, riding sleds and going up and down the tramway....

Next Year Resolution

Dec 21, 2009 6:21pm

Yesterday I signed a purchase agreement. Previously I thought hard about the possible options and decided against the purchase at least in the short to medium time frame. But it all changed yesterday when I signed the agreement. Why did I change my mind and went ahead against my own...

Hokey Performance

Dec 20, 2009 7:04am

We had our Christmas lunch last Friday at the nearby clubhouse of an exclusive golf course. It was suppose to snow based on the weather forecast the night before. Instead, there was a cold rain in the morning with a bitter wind. It did snow for a minute and sleet...

Novelist Procrastination

Dec 14, 2009 6:14pm

The year is coming to a close and I had to complete my yearly assessment before going on holiday next week. We usually have an informal monthly meeting with my immediate boss to discuss goals but we have not been meeting for the past few months. I am not sure...

Getting Up to Speed

Dec 12, 2009 6:55am

Moving to another country with a family requires a fast track to the new home’s life style. For example, moving from Asia to America is a big leap. The attitudes and perspectives are miles apart that perhaps one could easily adapt if one spent his growing years feeding on Hollywood...

Asian Plants

Dec 7, 2009 7:47pm

My tropical plants are dying in the winter. I thought that these plants would survive using my example as a metaphor, hardy enough to survive the new environment. Actually I miss read the instruction which I thought indicated that it would survive the coming winter. It was doing fine in...

Investing in Financials

Nov 30, 2009 7:02pm

One can’t figure out the best place to invest these days. Keeping money in the bank is not enough due to inflation. With today’s prices in both stocks and real estates one is tempted to invest in both. On the other hand, ‘low’ prices actually mean that past highs were...

Road To Innovation

Nov 29, 2009 9:31am

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: Road To Innovation View more documents from Denise Caron....

Financial Innovation

Nov 25, 2009 6:49pm

The book ‘Fool’s Gold’ is the detailed story about those innovative financial products which caused the credit crisis. The book is written by Gillian Tett, an extremely competent writer from the Financial Times. She writes about those ‘exotic’ financial products with acronyms like CDO (credit default obligations) or CDS (credit...

Digital Life

Nov 23, 2009 7:45pm

(Pictures: Carl Sandburg's home.)Last weekend I updated my profile picture with an avatar. I am consolidating my presence in the Internet and having an avatar is a fun way to be recognized while remaining anonymous. Increasing one’s presence in cyberspace is something that must be done now. One must plan...