Long time ago, there was a girl called Ophelie. Ophelie lived up to her name. She was a wise and perceptive girl. But she has one shortcoming. She was a frank person. Too frank perphaps, for many people's liking. To close friends, her frankness is a virtue. To others, its a knife she used over zealously. She had a bunch of pretty close friends in college. One day, her girl friends started distancing themselves from her. She was appalled at their behaviour. She confronted them but to no avail. If she had offended them by accident, she had no idea abt that at all. Soon, her class started alienating her. She was deeply puzzled and unhappy at their sudden change of behaviour. Her close friends from her high school comforted her and tried to make her happy again. These friends accepted her like how she accepted their shortcomings as well. Her friends tried to get to the bottom of the matter by talking to Ophelie's classmates, but nothing was disclosed. The matter was not solved. One day, seeing Ophelie alone muling in a corner of the school, one of Ophelie's friend, Docilia went to talk to her..

D "hey girl, cheer up.."
O "thanks Cil, i'm fine.."
D "look, its their loss for not having a friend like you.."
O "well.."
D "dun think so much.. ur class has a problem man! i don't understand why they dun like you.."

O "no girl, i don't think so.. you see, when one person doesn like me, its her problem. when 2 pple don't like me, maybe they both have a problem. But when half the world dun like me, maybe its time for me to reflect on myself."






a true friend is someone who watches u change, let u change, accepts ur change. a true friend watches u grow. from one stage to another. u may leave his/her company in that period. bcos we all change. but, when u turn back, u'll realise that they've never left.







sTresseD? tHis guy is ultImate.. bUt i've sEEn wOrse actuAlly.. dUnno if u have read tHis b4 (or hav i posted it b4?) bUt anw, tHis is an interesting sTory.. enjoy..



The Carrot, The Egg, and The Coffee Bean
by: Author Unknown, Source Unknown

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the young woman replied. The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened! The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" the mother asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong but, with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?





when we study ER (employment relations/industrial relations) and HMT (history of management thoughts), how much of it do we really take w us aftr we finish the module(s)?

HMT(TB): Ethics, codes of moral conduct, have long been of concern in history, but pple still struggle to make the right decisions as individuals and this struggle is confuounded as they come under the influence of others in organisations. E'mic performance is necessary for the survival of the firm; compliance with legal bounds must exist; but beyond that the firln can choose to be responsive to the needs of its social environment.

ER: Chia Boon Cher,"Because we are not animals, we have the capability to think and choose our actions. We can choose not to react to simulus."

ever read Paulo Coehlho's "The Devil and Miss Prym"? its a part of a trilogy.. are we born evil or good? perphaps it depends.. perphaps its neither.. simply bcos we are humans, we get to choose.. to b a nice person or to b an evil one.. even if no one else bUt u, know ur deeds..

we choose who we want to be, wat we want to be and even whether we want to be wat society thinks we should be..

a mouthful? perphaps.. bUt no one ever said life was simple.





wanted to blog abt smtg i saw while revising ER.. but that can wait.. cos i saw something nicer.. smtg i jotted in my diary last yr.. got it fr somewhere i can't rem..

Life is about...

Life isn about keeping score. Its not about how many pple call you, and its not about who you've dated or haven dated at all. It isn about wat sports u play or which girl/guy likes you. Its not abt ur shoes, ur hair or the colour of ur skin. Its not abt where u live or go to sch. In fact, its not about grades, money of colleges that accept u or not.

But life is about who you love and who u hurt. Its about how u feel about urself. Its abt trust, happiness and compassion. Its abt sticking up for ur frens and replacing inner hate w love. Life is abt avoiding jealousy, overcoming ignorance and building confidence. Its abt wat u say and wat u mean. Its abt seeing pple for who they are and not wat they have. Most of all, its about using ur life to touch someone else's life in such a way that could never have been achieved otherwise. These choices are wat life is about.


bUT thAts wAt the autHOr thinKs.. hOw abt YOU? wATs life tO yOU? yR.. 2005.. 01 or 02 of July, a gp of my fELloW cAbiN cAmp insTructors aND i went tO vOl 4 youth day.. we walked all over orchard up and down, handing out balloons and asking youths "wat is life to you?" "wat are ur dreams?" "wat are u living for?" we collected feedbacks and to tell u the truth, many youths are merely existing.. not living.. i hoped those who were approached by us thought about those questions seriously.. start living.. not merely existing.. i know wat i'm living for. dO you?





Around the Corner
by: Henson Towne, Source Unknown

Around the corner I have a friend
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone

And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
She knows I like her just as well
As in the days when I rang her bell,

And she rang mine.
We were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow" I say "I will call on Jane"
"Just to show that I'm thinking of her"

But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner!-yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram sir-"
"Jane died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

If you love someone, tell them.
Remember always to say "what you mean".
Never be afraid to express yourself.
Take this opportunity to tell someone what they mean to you.
Seize the day and have no regrets.
Most importantly, stay close to your friends and family,
They have helped to make you the person you are today,
What it's all about anyway. Pass this along to your friends.
Let it make a difference in your day and theirs.

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wHen wAs tHe lasT tIme u tOld sOmeonE u cAre?





THE HAND

A Thanksgiving Day editorial in the newspaper told of a school teacher who asked her class of first graders to draw a picture of something they were thankful for. She thought of how little these children from poor neighborhoods actually had to be thankful for. But she knew that most of them would draw pictures of turkeys or tables with food. The teacher was taken aback with the picture Douglas handed in . . . a simple childishly drawn hand.


But whose hand? The class was captivated by the abstract image. "I think it must be the hand of God that brings us food," said one child. "A farmer," said another, because he grows the turkeys." Finally when the others were at work, the teacher bent over Douglas's desk and asked whose hand it was.


"It's your hand, Teacher," he mumbled.


She recalled that frequently at recess she had taken Douglas, a scruby forlorn child by the hand. She often did that with the children. But it meant so much more to Douglas. Perhaps this was everyone's Thanksgiving, not for the material things given to us but for the chance, in whatever small way, to give to others.


-Author Unknown


iTs the liTTle tHings tHat cOunts..





moved! =D