Expressing my gratitude to an old workplace of mine

Thank you SR, the place where my bartending and nightlife journey all started. The place where I met great customers and colleagues who made great mentors that guided me to achieve more in my life, and learnt so much more about myself. 

Walking through chinatown and seeing the signboard that leads towards ann siang hill always make me feel like I am going back home. The feeling never fades. The enthusiasm, passion and love to head to work back then still lingers every time I pass by the vicinity. It can't be put through in words, maybe it's the people there, maybe its the rooftop environment that made me fall in love, maybe it is just my comfort zone, or maybe the first is always unforgettable. 

I have always longed to go back. Back to being behind the rooftop bar where it all started. I wanted to continue the journey where I left off, but i never had the opportunity to. And I guess, I will never be able to as well. I gave up the opportunity to stay in the SR team back then, because I wanted to achieve more in the bartending field and I know I didn't want to stay put and achieve more as a floor staff. 

Now that I am offered better learning opportunity that could bring my bartending career further, I wanted to be back, back in my comfort zone, back to where I would call a home, back to screening room. 

Stepping back in SR today, I realized the place have expanded, the feel have changed.  SR is still the rooftop bar I have the most fond memories in, with the same table settings, same POS system, same environment with the same few people whom I will never get sick of talking to, but something just felt different, and it can't be put through in words. I guess everyone have been growing and changing through times, and I should stop looking back on what I have lost and what could be gained from the past and start working on what I have now. 

Given a chance to come back to this place where i called home, with the position i once yearned for, i hope its still all worthwhile even if it means giving up on my job now that have greater career prospect. And i hope it would bring me back the peace and joy that i used to have.

After all, I just want to be happy.
And i know even if i meet fked up colleagues and bosses, at least i would be happy to take it all for the few people i love in there. And now, its time to learn people management, and most importantly learning to handle myself and keep getting better.

First attempt cycling ECP to Changi Beach Park

Yay to Sunday! Thinking that it has been long since I cycled, originally planned to cycle from Pasir Ris park to East Coast park. But due to limited knowledge to how to park connectors work, I decided to head from east coast park to Changi Beach Park instead. 

Arrived at around 5pm and rented a bicycle at $16 for two hours (2 hours free 1) at the bicycle shop beside Burger King at Area C of east coast park. Basically grabbed a coffee bean before starting the journey and took some selfie with my girfriend while we waiting for the bicycle uncle to come by to fix our friend's bicycle because the chain came off. They actually got a replacement bike which I thought was pretty sweet. 

Selfie time ~ 

Basically took us around 30 minutes to go from Area C where we picked up our bike to reach Lagoon at Area E for our dinner. Grabbed some oyster egg, bah kut teh, rojak, satay and bbq stuff from various stalls and I have to say it was a really great meal. Will do some food tasting from each stalls in lagoon and post some recommendations to make choosing from all the stalls easier soon! :) 

For three, though I ate the most of it lol 

And so, I peddled on from Lagoon to Changi Beach Park. I would say it is a pretty straightforward route over, but it was a little challenging for me because it was already dark and I missed a few signboards and had a hard time looking at which split road to take within east coast park. After exiting East coast park , the way along the park connector was a easy ride. A straight route pass a long canal, and then cycling beside the airport, watching planes take off after planes. Really tranquil but approximately 6.7km long of park connector. 

Its around this distance after passing the canal

And my leg is aching by the time I am here 

 I guess I was really lucky because the heavy down pour only came just as I arrive at Changi Beach Park. I barely explored Changi Beach park yet as it was already 9.30pm when I reached and the sky was really dark. I would say it looks pretty much like East Coast park. But it feels like aeroplanes are flying above your head instead of watching them land from afar in East Coast Park. 

Braced myself to cycle in the rain when it got smaller as I had to return my bike back by 11pm. It took me around 1h 15 minutes to cycle from Changi Beach Park back to the bicycle shop without stopping and in a pretty fast speed while being already familiar to the route. Am thankful I did not be ambitious and cycle from Pasir ris to East coast park though, because just this to and fro distance was already killing me as a first time cyclist for such a distance. 

Plus 6.4km of connector to Changi Beach Park 

Ended my trip with a horlick dinosaur from the prata shop at marine cove as usual. Took grab car back to toa payoh at $24 as it was peak hour and I couldn't grab any taxi at that point in time. 

Am extremely thankful that my girlfriend helped me get out of my house to begin this trip though she had to leave early after the dinner. Learning to do things alone and this is the first adventurous trip around east coast park and I love how i conquer my OCD and decides to go with the flow and wherever the road brings me. 

It felt great to be stucked in the rain alone, and being able to leave any time I want because I know it was only for me to bear the consequence. It felt great that I did not have to consider if the person with me would be bothered if I get lost, or having to convince people to cycle in the rain. And finally, I am learning to enjoy my life alone. More great times of freedom to come! 

Promise yourself

Chanced upon a really good read that kept me motivated and I read it at least once a day to remind myself. Hope it makes a good read for all reader. Here it goes: 

PROMISE YOURSELF

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. 

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet. 

To make all your friends feel

that there is something in them

To look at the sunny side of everything

and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,

and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others

as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past

and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times

and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself

that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,

and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,

not in loud words but great deeds.

To live in faith that the whole world is on your side

so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

📝 Christian D. Larson

2017. A new start or an end?

Starting the third day of 2017. 

Reviewing 2016, its the year I lost myself gradually over time. I stopped doing things that I liked, stop believing in things that I used to believe, and unknowingly, I am filled with negativity and spreading negativity to everyone around me. 

2016 is a year where my greatest goal of starting a social enterprise is gone. I was enthusiastic, confident that I could make that small positive impact to the world while sustaining my daily life expenses. Only to realize when I started the enterprise that the world has became so dark. People no longer have faith in social enterprises, because there are just so many businesses that have been exploiting people's sympathy to earn more. It's so depressing to know how genuine social enterprises are barely making it there, and the big organisations are mostly running through government funds. 

Barely alive. That is me for 2016. 

Trying to please people because that's what will keep me alive in this society. Because people around me hope that I can be more patient, less crude, less negative in my words, and more politically correct. I tried not to, but without a goal, I don't know what am I trying so hard for. I am just like a walking zombie, counting my days, being alive just for the sake of it. 

Find a new goal in 2017? Nah. I will try my best to. I had one, which is to be a volunteer in a third world country, conducting classes and empowering young children with knowledge. And seemingly, this goal of mine made my mum broke into tears. I don't know why. 

But I want to be positive and bright again like I used to be. 

And I guess finding myself again and be strong is what I really need to do for 2017. 

Still, shutting down all my companies related stuff and dumping away all my stocks by end of this month. Let's see where this goes again.

Your No Bill Of Rights - 'The Power Of No'

Chanced upon this really great book 'The Power of No' By James Altucher and Claudia Azula  Altucher, and decided to start drawing out all the really good sayings from each chapter and keep it in track here. If you are a person who have issue saying no to things that are bad for you just like me, this is a great book to go for. 

No is an incredibly painful, brave word to say. 

But we have the right to say no. Here are some that I felt I really needed to know out of the listed 10 in the book.  

1. You Have the Right to Healthy relationships and Real Love

' We are entitled to choose our tribes, regardless what society impose on us. We decide who in our life drains us of energy and then purge them so we can soar. '

Yes. Pretty much for me, to start surrounding myself with positive energy and saying no to people whom I know is draining me off my positiveness. 

2. You Have the Right to Choose What Stories you Believe in 

'Humans are great storytellers. There are thousands of common stories that are baked into our societal mythology and that we believe are real. Like owning a home, having a cushy jobs etc. 

You are entitled to say NO to the stories that do not serve your own evolution, and yes only to the ones that align with your ability to manifest a fulfilling life. This protects you from the seven billion people who want to keep you in line. '

Yes. End of the day, there will be many people around you giving you different advice in all the different situations you meet. But end of the day, we are all entitled to say no to the beliefs people try to build into us that we know deep down isn't what we will agree to. 

3. You have the Right to Be Honest, Above All, with Yourself 

' You are entitled to saying NO to wearing a mask in order to get people to like you. '

' You can trust the way you are is fine, that your honesty is what attract others to you, and that your truth is what lights your internal fire. ' 

Your honesty - Saying no to the lying - is what will bring the lost ships home. ' 

I live all this while thinking that my honesty is what killed me. Only for me to realise, it isn't me being honest that made me lose my job and the people around me. In fact, thanks to being honest, it helped me get away people who aren't good for my life to begin with. 

4. You Have the Right to Be Here Now

' You are entitled to say NO to time travelling. Angers and regrets are in the past. Anxieties and worries are in the future. Travelling to the past or the future will not help you now. 

You have the right to say no to what is not happening right now. It will never solve your future problems but will always sap your present strengths. '

Time travelling is what I am always good at. What will happen 5 years down the road if I get together with this guy? Why did I say that yesterday? What should I say to my colleague when I see him tomorrow about the incident? I never ever live in the present, I am constantly worried about what will happen tomorrow, and always regretting what I said and did the day before that seemed to make others unhappy yesterday. Then to be reminded what is done cannot be undone, worrying now don't solve tomorrow's issue. In fact, im losing moments that I can use to do more productive shits that can really make tomorrow better. 

5. You Have the Rights to Surrender 

' You are entitled to surrender even the ideas you have formed about yourself. This is the ultimate No: Saying NO to what you think you are. 

It means that you need to surrender to the road. You reach out and trust that a loving hand will grab hold of you and guide you to take that first step. 

There is nobody you need to impress. There is nobody who is judging you. And there will be nobody who can stop you. 

One step at a time, the journey will take where you need to go. '

 The paragraph that made me kept reading on. Totally what I needed. Stop planning for everything, stop being scared of taking the step forward, to ask for help, to allow people into my life to bring me where I should go. And most importantly, just go with the flow. And saying no to what I think I am or I should say, what I think I cannot be and believe that I am because I can. 

Swensens Ice Cream Buffet Review

So last Thursday, me and my mum had an impromptu dinner at Swensens Orchard Ion for an ice cream buffet since I had craving for ice cream since few days back. Since it is a weekday, the price was $19.90 per pax (exclusive 10% service charge and 7% GST) and would be $16.90 per pax if a meal is ordered. 

Update: Recent visit on early September 2016. Variations and settings are all still the same. Standard and variation of ice creams still great. Gelato station was down, not sure for the day only or permenant though. Maybe chocolate selection variety increased a bit. Still highly recommended till date :) 

FYI: To celebrate SG50, Swensens is giving out a $10 discount voucher for every $50 spent. No minimum amount required to use the discount voucher on next visit. 

Not wanting to go have ice cream on an empty stomach, we ordered one meal which was the grilled salmon and both me and my mum agrees that despite of the large crowd here, the food is really well done as compared to some other branches! 

Tender grilled salmon that was definitely not too dry! 

Moving on to our main target of the day, or actually is more of mine over my mum, is the ice cream! They really have a lot of choices and I failed to finish all which I aimed to (DUH). The service staff was fast and polite. Despite of the fact that she still needs to prepare the ala carte dessert orders, she was still very prompt to serve us which we thought was really nice! 

Like most reviews would have mentioned, they have this 'chop it up' section where the staff will help you mix the topping into your ice cream like marble slab does! Sad to say, you only get to choose from 8 flavours that they have listed on the small card for the mixing and not from all the rest that you can have. Still, having the ice cream neatly mixed with the nuts is really awesome! 

Toppings available is really a vast variety of choice! Its like a chocolate heaven for me with my favourite Kit Kat, Snickers, oreo mini and many more! They also have some fruit, cherries and whipped cream at the side of this chocolate topping which I failed to capture an image due to poor lighting condition (fine I was too eager to eat LOL). 

You can also expect to find some well-baked crispy waffles here that is constantly topped up and made fresh whenever the waffles in the plate runs low. Not forgetting some brownie, bread and cookies! 

They have both white and dark chocolate fondue here that is kept neat and flowing. 

Personally prefers white chocolate and it pretty much taste alike to the ones I had in Santa's igloo, milky and chocolaty . 

They have six choices of cakes available at the time of visit and we tried a bit of all. Sad to say, their cakes wasn't really soft and fluffy and I will say that is is below average so do take one to try first and not have too many, unless you find dry cakes nice. 

choices of cakes

Though this is not a Groupon review, I would still like to give it a rating with my standard rating scale as a reference point to all of your who may be new to Swensens Ice Cream buffet like me! I would say that it is a really nice place to go to have some ice cream but not a good place to stay in for a long chit chat as the manager will be 'judging' you for hoarding their seats when the queue gets long! 

Service: 5  / 5  

Environment: 4 / 5 

Food variation: 5 / 5 

Food quality: 5 / 5 

Accessibility: 4.5 / 5

就这样，慢慢的长大

时光飞逝，如昙花一现：日月如梭，似弹指之间。而我已经从人生的起跑线出发，在这短暂的时光中却也经历了不少风雨，也收获了相应的的人生感悟。我将这感悟视作一笔珍贵的“财富”。在这风雨中，我就这样长大了。

成长需要坚持。都说万事开头难，但我想，坚持最难。我是一个三分钟热度的人，但不会冲动。凡事都还是会做好周详的计划才行动，却往往耐不住到最后一刻。总会在遇到生意中的瓶颈时放弃或转移目标，开始一些别的新鲜事。渐渐的才明白，没有坚持就没有成长，因为只有坚持才能让自己有所突破，让自己有机会看到跟多的人，事，物。只有这样，才会成长，而不会永远的在原地踏步。

成长需要担当。岁月悠悠，波光明灭。如今，我们已不再是从前那个稚气未脱的孩童了，成长的我们需要承担的责任更多了，面对这些责任和压力，是退缩?是逃避？答案当然是不。正所谓“天下兴亡，匹夫有责”，何况我们是国家的未来，身上背负着巨大的责任，老师和家长都对我们给予厚望，我们能放弃吗？一个人的成长不可能永远遇见彩虹，难免会有风霜雨雪。但是，雨过天晴后的彩虹更加灿烂、耀眼。所以，我们要以永不言弃的精神在成长的道路上披荆斩棘，带着这份信念，创造出一片属于我们的天，那会是我们的梦。

成长还需要放弃。拿得起，要放得下。正如鱼和熊掌不能两者兼具一般，许多人往往很贪心，既要鱼，也要熊掌，结果往往什么都得不到。我们要想取得好成绩也是如此，我们必须收起那颗爱玩爱闹的心，专注与学业。放弃一些玩的时间，坚持学习。一个好的习惯养成只需要21天，只要我们持之以恒，就能成功。童年已逝，为了不让我们的青春留下遗憾，现在，我唯一我能做的是把握青春的美好时间，不让未来的我去后悔，去遗憾。

成长是一杯茶水，需要我们慢慢品，细细尝，才能品出其甜蜜，饮出其苦涩。在这甜与苦的萦绕下，我们就这样慢慢成长。

致， 2016的自己

2015 已成往事。 而往事只能回味。 

2015 年是一个又忙又很丰富的一年。

对不起，所有我没能抽空出来陪的朋友， 请知道你们还是很重要的， 

虽然我不常回简讯，但是请知道我并没有望了你们。

在2015 年里，很多重要的人都离开了我身边，

但我终于学会不去和身边的人计较一些鸡毛蒜皮的小事，

因为缘分这种东西是很微妙的， 断了就没了。

今天好端端最在你身旁的人，

明天可能就不在了。

你再想要跟他多吵几句，多陪他一点，

可能都没机会了。

与其和自己身边的人去计较， 还不如多付出一点， 

给自己和对方都留下一个更美好的回忆。

2016 年的开始并不顺心，也掉了不少泪。 

只希望自己能和去年一样， 用客观的角度看每一件事情。 

也希望自己能继续为别人的生命里多填一些色彩，

少填一些伤害。 

希望自己能比去年能够体恤他人，不论遇到什么，都能以积极的态度面对。

亲爱的自己，

不论2016年可能有多困难，请不要放弃。 

请感激所有伤害你的人，因为他们让你变坚强。

感恩所有爱你的人，因为要爱像你那么难搞，脾气差， 又男性化的你，

真的真的不容易。

请记得每个人都有自己的生存法则， 不要批评别人的生活/处事方式。

请尽量的了解别人背后的故事，有多一点怜悯之心。

请记得如果没有好话说，请不要说。也请不要吝啬与给予赞赏。 

请把多一点爱，多一点自己，献给身边又需要的人。 

但请记得， 

不要让伤害过你的人有多一次机会伤害你。

不要一味的索求别人的付出，让爱你的人，比你感受更多的爱。 

在你学习了解他人时，请也让自己身边多一些知足和懂得感恩的人，

因为只有把自己放在负有正能量的人身边，

你才会有源源不绝的正能量。

而若你决定把自己放在充满负能量的人身边，

请确保你有足够的正能量来感染对方， 而不是让他们把负能量转给你。 

你不可能满足每一个人， 

所以， 在把自己奉献给身边的人之前， 

学会爱自己，

把自己献给懂得欣赏你的人，懂得你价值的人。

这样才是真的爱自己，和爱你身边的人最好的方法。

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Singapore (Tips and What to expect)

Just got my wisdom tooth operation done near to half a month back at Khoo Teck Phuat and I thought I shall just blog about my experience so friends who are considering or about to go through the same experience as me can know roughly what to expect!

Before Operation Day 

 I had 4 wisdom tooth removed and 2 other extra teeth in front (1 grew behind my original tooth, and 1 is buried under my front tooth) all at one go. For that to happen, I had to go through general anesthesia so feasting 8 hours before operation time was required. I actually rescheduled my operation twice because I caught a flu the day before on the first appointment, and got chased back home on the second appointment because the anesthetist said that I can't go on with the operation when I still have phlegm. 

Tip: As much as it can be tempting to have all the food you want because you can no longer do it for probably the next 2 weeks after operation. PLEASE DON'T. 

I did that the first round and it was so torturous when I had to feast and I feel sick. So I would recommend you to start getting use to not taking in water after 12 midnight so it won't be too uncomfortable for you on the day of operation. 

During Operation Day

I think I am lucky that all the 2 times I went I got a staff with really good service for registration. So the registration staff checked with me about my Medisave and then lead me in to meet the staff nurse that is in charge of my surgery. 

The member involved to my memory are several staff nurses, the dentist, senior operation staff nurse and 3 anesthetist in the operation room. They will first get you to change into a robe and put on something like a shower cap. If you have drug allergy, you get a red one. Then they will start asking you for your name and why are you there for. The different group of member will take turns to come and ask you the same damn question which I think was pretty annoying, cause I swear I said the same thing more than 4 times. 

Tip: Just be prepared that they bombard you with 3 standard questions: 

What is your name and NRIC number? 

Why are you here for today? 

What are your drug allergies? 

*At least I see several people after me getting that as well LOL*

After the nurses made sure you are who you are, and that you know what shit you are getting yourself into, the dentist will get you in a room and tell you again what you will expect during and after the operation and the risks involved. Nothing new because they would have have told you when you had your review way before the operation day. 

Then you will meet your anesthetist and they ask you the same questions again and tells you about the procedure to expect and the possible side effect. Some side effects not written on the list of risk they gave me are things like, having dry blood in the nose if they have difficulty inserting the tube, or sore throat if they fail to insert a tube through my nose and had to put it through my throat and coarse voice. After telling you what to expect, I saw the thing I was most scared of. That damn iv line. 

Tip: Don't be too nervous. Choose to lie down over sitting up. If your veins collapse while the anesthetist inserts the iv line. She will take it out and poke again. It sucks. I had to do it 3 times, so I know. HAHA.

 

After they get the iv line in, I was ask to lie there and wait for my doom time to come. 

HAHA. Kidding la. I was just lying down gossiping with my mum and scrolling my phone, taking useless snaps on snapchat lol for about 20 minutes before I was called in. 

When I get into the operation room, I see my x-ray projected on the screen, like a super big one and also my throne and all the equipment. So I lie down and the anesthetist put something in my iv line and okay, it hurts and I still don't know what it is cause I did not sleep right after so I guess is not the anesthesia? They also stick the things on you to track your heartbeat and stuff. So after that one gush of pain, the anesthetist put this oxygen mask over me and I just breathe normally. After breathing like a minute or two of it, the second anesthetist then inform me that he will be putting the anesthesia in and I my feel something warm or a bit of pain. Okay. I felt nothing HAHA. 

After surgery 

The next thing I know was nurses calling my name and tada, I am on the recovery ward lo!

I had a moment of confusion on if I even consciously went in to the operation room which my memory came back after a few minutes of recalling. So no big drama that I thought on the confusion, like if i would remember my name etc. The nurses will just check on you if you feel any sharp pain and I feel super drowsy. But the nurses was talking so loud that I can't sleep again so yea. I stayed awake hearing all their gossips till I get back to my ward. 

Conclusion: General anesthesia is good! I felt no pain throughout and I don't have to go through all those torturous drilling shit and seeing what they do but not feeling it. I just have my best sleep and continue being able to have a good sleep every now and then for the day HAHA. So if you are worried like I was, don't be! 

Before I was able to leave the hospital, they checked with me if I had any sharp pain and also gave me one painkiller and bite on the gauze for about an hour plus. They then gave me some apple juice and water and i swear it was damn hard to drink because I felt like my lips was swelling like sausages but it is not HAHA. Its just because of the anesthesia that did not wear off yet.

Discovery: I read a lot online that we cannot suck on the straw after the operation and I was quite stunned when the nurse gave me a straw to suck the apple juice. After checking with the nurse, they said that only some patient that have special cases like the place connecting from the mouth to nose is empty cannot suck on straw as the drink will come out from the nose. So I can't be sure if the dry socket thing really applies these days but I was recovering well though i drank from straw 1 hour after operation so I guess its okay? 

For the rest of the day, I had 1 yogurt and soya bean milk. No pain felt probably thanks to the local anesthesia that remains. Continue taking my painkillers as instructed and finished my antibiotics though it gave me quite some rash, but continued with it since it wasn't that serious.

This was roughly all for my day of surgery removing 4 wisdom tooth and 2 extra tooth at the front! I think I was over paranoid before the operation and it really isn't as scary as I thought it was. Am thankful for the nurses and hope that this read can clear some doubt for locals who are about to go for wisdom tooth operation since most information I manage to get last time are more from other countries.

Will blog about my food diet and the recovery of my wisdom tooth and the level of pain to expect on the subsequent days soon. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any things you wanna know about the operation and I will be more than glad to share my experience with you! 

Networking for the Opinionated and Direct Individuals

'Your network is your net worth'

This is a cliche saying that many will find it familiar and relatable to. 

Despite knowing the importance and benefits of networking, I am never a fan of networking. Technically, I HATE networking.
Networking event to me is as simple as going to a gathering filled with fake ass people who never fail to put on that smile, shakes your hand and nods their head like they have never been any less interested in you, sugarcoat their words and just 'be nice' or just as nice as they can portray themselves to be (sorry to maybe the 20% of the people who are genuinely nice for assuming this).

Everyone who knows me would have know that I am direct, opinionated and really frank (Like REALLY FRANK). I totally couldn't picture myself in such an event, having to hold back my thoughts on how mismatched someone's outfit is, to agree on perception and beliefs in life that I really feel is wrong, and still BE NICE. Like OMG, how to be nice when everything of that person just sucks (to put it literally).

If you are like me, who hates networking, because it is just not in you to be nice about things that is inverse of your beliefs and perception of life. I would like to share about some facts and tips that I learnt from my Startup Academy master program today, that may help you look at networking in a different light like I did.

Here goes:

Everyone has their own strength.
 Being opinionated, honest and straightforward are no doubt strengths of any individual since you can deliver your beliefs strongly across and attract the right crowd into your social circle. But it also seem to be the biggest barrier in networking since it is obvious that there is no way to build a good rapport with the other party in a networking session if you just throw a solid hard stone in his/her face telling her that she sucks, or her mentality sucks, like as though she has lived half of the life the wrong way, just because she don't live a life that you THINK is right.

The greatest and hardest lesson I feel honest, direct and opinionated people who face the same issue as me need to learn is that just because things isn't done in the way we think is right don't make them wrong.

End of the day, everyone has their rule of survival that they live by, and in Chinese, we call it 生存法则. Food for thought is probably that if they are still alive now, talking to you, generally means that their rule of survival worked. Regardless how much you can't believe that it did, it still did. Henceforth, there is no need for you to throw a solid hard stone in their face to let them know that you don't agree to what they believe in or living by.

This does not mean that you do not deliver your belief across just because you know that it is different from the other party. In fact, the tip I learnt today's Startup Academy program is to avoid using 'But' and 'no' in the sentence during a conversation which can increase the chances of the other party being more receptive to your opinion.

DISCLAIMER: Facts are not real. Just an example.

Example of a conversation with 'but' and 'no': 

A: I like oranges because they are sweet and full of vitamin C. So it is really good for health.

B: NOOO. You know uh, oranges are actually very sour one. 

C: Oranges are full of viatmin C, but, it is also filled with sugar lei. So it is good for health in a way but also not very good la. 

If the conversation have no 'but' and 'no': 

A: I like oranges because they are sweet and full of vitamin C. So it is really good for health.

B: Oh ya, oranges can be sweet and I am just in the luck where I always get sour ones so I don't really prefer oranges. 

C: Oranges can be filled with Vitamin C and it also comes along with quite some sugar, so if you have diabetes, you probably can consider xxx instead. 

You will probably see a significant difference in the tonality (hopefully my example is relatable enough) for the same context by just removing 'No' and replacing 'but' with 'and' in a sentence when you try to get your different viewpoint/belief across. In this way, you are still being honest with your thoughts but in a more refine manner where the other party is more likely to accept your idea as well!

Regardless how hard we try to have everyone to agree to our viewpoint/idea/philosophy, it will never happen. And it is absolutely cool to have different viewpoint and it doesn't kill to know more perspective of life since there is not really a right or wrong. 
And so, it doesn't mean we have to be nice but not showing our disagreement but we can definitely do it in a less hostile way which can allow us to better carry our point across as well than to sound offensive and build a bad rapport with people.

End of the day, what you ultimately want to achieve in a networking session is attracting the right group of people into your life. And so, the most important factor is to be genuine and just be you (in a socially smart version) and so you can attract like-minded individual into your circle of life whom can understand you and provide help in the most beneficial manner for you!

-猪安娜/Jenna
Credits: Startup Academy 

Disclaimer: This is a essay contains my personal insights and 

understanding which Startup Academy is not liable for. 

永远达不到的‘满分‘

步入20岁快一个月了，总觉得今年的自己有那么一点的不一样。

是长大了吗，还是经历过太多的失望，而开始体会绝望。 

总觉得自己开始学会了以自我为中心了，

是因为我已经厌倦了替别人着想的生活方式，

还是因为我明白了，

放下自己，全心全意的为别人付出，换来的只有背叛.
留下的只有遍体遍体凌伤的自己。
还是因为我明白了，
人永远都不会知足，给予的永远不够，像永远填不满的黑洞一样。
但人真的会去回想你一路来给予了多少吗？
还是只会因为少给了他一片饼干（好处）而耿耿于怀。

我想我学会了，其实没有所谓的把自己的100%拿出来。
因为100%的定义太广了。100%的定义也会随着个人欲望，奢求和贪婪而不断增加。
谁说100%就永远是100分。
6岁的时候，我们的考试，满分是10分。
8岁的时候，我们的考试，满分是50分。
10 岁的时候，我们的考试，满分是100分。

这和人与人之间的期望和要求是一样的，
刚开始，对方只要求10分，
你能满足他前10个要求，为他改变，为他付出，努力的达到他的‘满分’。
但你最终将会发现，每一次你在心里暗自高兴的喝彩你得到了他指定‘满分’，
‘满分’的定义好像又变了。
怎么他好像没注意到我已经为他改变了呢？
怎么他好像还是不开心呢？
怎么他和我说，其实他还有不满意的方面呢？

就这样，发现了，每个人得到你的好，就很自然的想要更好的。
人往往不会记得你达到的每一分，
只注意你没拿到的那些分，那永远达不到‘满分’。

-猪安娜

希望你不会有达不到的满分

找个会为你没拿到零分而开心的人

而不是因为你没拿到满分而生气的人

Blessed 20th Birthday (Carousel)

Continuing where I left off, my next birthday dinner is at Carousel on my actual birthday with Chin Yue. Before the dinner begins, it was a eventful morning as well since I get to go into Domino pizza kitchen with my playgroup kids and get to make my own pizza! Though it is not made by myself from scratch, am still thankful to see how they make their pizza and how they coordinate as a team to make sure they can deliver the pizzas to us on time. 

In the late noon, before we head down to carousel was time to cut my birthday cake with Pam, Jos, and CY. Prettiest cake of my life since I ever start to choose my own cake for birthday by MissGoob and I am so loving the design! The minion is like so adorable with the super tiny strands of hair with its short leg and hands. Of course, good quality red velvet in the inside. 

Happy girl from having a minion cake and the companionship of my girlfriend, head down to far east since we had time and Carousel is just beside it. Been long since I had time to take a walk in Far East and it always feel so good to have a break from work. 

Entered Carousel at 6.30 and love how they have a utensil rack to rest our utensils neatly. 

They have a vast variety of food like most international buffet does and the food quality is good too! Comparing Carousel to other international buffet, I would say it is a little overrated for the price as it is almost similar to most of the other international buffet at equivalent or even lower price. Service of the staff are good though their uniform is really a little mismatched to the environment to me. 

So here are some photo of the food that you can expect to find at Carousel: 

The best surprise I had from Carousel is not the food but the fact that they actually have house cake for diners who have birthday on the day which definitely not much international buffet restaurants provides! Thanks CY for the effort to make a trip down to Antoinette to get their best selling cake and making my experience here even more unique. Of course, thanks for the bouquet of sunflower that you took much effort to make sure it isn't bigger than the ones my mum gave me. The roses in between the sunflower are really pretty too! 

Ended my day perfectly upon receiving a new ted from JG that is 2x bigger than my original one. YAY. Jumped with joy when I opened the box and can't stop hugging it since then. Sorry that I am unable to be home to receive the gift from you and thank you in person since I did not know you're coming. Still, thank you for making a trip down specially with the super big box and giving me my own space and time to celebrate my birthday in my own way without expecting much from me yet giving so much! 

Good end to my 19th and good start to my 20s all thanks to people who made this day so awesome! Especially CY who spend some much time and money travelling around to make sure all my gifts are in place so that there are no hiccups throughout the day! I forgive you for being 10 minutes late that day HAHA (technically I was 10 minutes early). Really appreciate everything that you have planned and the day is perfect. Thanks Pam for specially making a trip down just to help me take photos and I did not even had one with you (sorry lol).