No one can be that shallow! Can they?

On the way to find a power outlet

Growing up, I thought happiness only happens when you visit Disneyland or when you go on vacation or when you fall in love and live happily ever after or when you wake up on Christmas to find that Tonka truck neatly wrapped under the tree or when you find a coin in place of a tooth underneath your pillow or when you started going to school. My early exposure to happiness was limited and as the years passed and my dreams of achieving happiness seemed to be slowly slipping away, I grew more cynical and snide towards people who proclaimed to be happy.

Call it envy or jealously, but I seriously thought happy people were simply deluding themselves and this was before I discovered drugs. It may be due to naivety and ignorance towards something I have yet to fully experience but I honestly thought happiness was and is nirvana: unattainable and over used.

Even though my happy childhood memories and few and require less than one hand to count on, recent years have seen me recalling more and more happy moments in my life. Is my cynicism starting to crumble or I am simply becoming more aware and letting go of my ignorance?

Recent happy memories include: -

- The shimmer my first Cartier
- The smell of my first Louis Vuitton
- The adventure of my first ever holiday in 2003
- The warmth of my birthday dinner at Longrain
- The glare of my first precious metal credit card

The same emotion caroused through my body the other afternoon. It was a tingling sensation that made me smile no stop, giggle at the slightest movement and beam with every blink. I walked out of a store on Sunday carrying proudly in my arms my first Dyson vacuum cleaner.

I am getting that happy feeling right now as I gaze unrequitedly at my Dyson.

posted by tykang @ 4/24/2006 08:44:00 PM 0 comments

On the way to take out the trash

We had a casual Friday at work the other day. It is that one day of the month where everyone in the firm lets their hair down, hitches their skirts up and pulls their jeans down. It is the one day of the month where being the best firm in the world is made irrelevant with everyone couture. That one day of month where the Asia Pacific president resembles the sleuths that visit RSLs during the weekends.

For me, I loathe casual work days. The notion that you must feel comfortable to be productive is just a load of nonsense brought upon by sexually frustrated human resource executives who have nothing better to do than to motivate the company. For me, unless you look stunning every day then you shouldn’t be at work. To be the best firm in the world you must also look your best everyday.

So on that casual work day, I wore my freshly pressed black suit, my new shiny black shoes and my shimmering black shirt. I was dressed in full black, including my matching mobile phone, mobile phone strap, wallet and work bag.

I told everyone I was mourning the loss of self respect that everyone endured during that day. But secretly, my heart was aching under tremendous personal loss as for the night prior, I lost two of my most loyal, supportive and softest friends, who were in fact twins with one being right footed the other being left footed.

Their demise came in the most unelaborated of moments; they died taking out the trash. I spent that night in tears knowing that after being friends for more than 4 years we would not spend any more time together. The pain is still raw and I become emotional every time I think of them.

So it is time for me to say goodbye to my dear friends. Goodbye old faithful Haviana thongs.

posted by tykang @ 4/01/2006 04:20:00 PM 0 comments