Keynote Address given by the Prime Minister of Malaysia at the Second East Asia Congress on 21 June 2004.

Posted on June 22nd, 2004 by jl
Filed under: Regionalisation | No Comments »

To everyone who ended up consulting Jonathan Cainer on a regular basis, thanks to my (earlier) repeated quotation from his site, you might want to read this article (thanks to a friend who alerted me to it).

I’ve stopped quoting him because some of you just don’t seem to understand, despite my repeating myself, that I read him not because of his predictive value, but because he writes well, he’s witty, and he dishes out sound and good advice in wonderful prose. The fact that he sometimes, though not always, uncannily hits the nail on the spot is a bonus. If you don’t like him, that’s your prerogative, but if you think I’ve sold my life to a bit-rate tabloid astrologer, then you’re wrong. Cainer’s not bit-rate at all!! *wink*

So there!
* tongue *

Posted on June 21st, 2004 by jl
Filed under: lost blah blah | 5 Comments »

… you’re old enough now to know you cannot demand perfection from the gift of love.
- The Bride Stripped Bare

It’s that time of the month again.

I’ve just finished “Elegance” by Kathleen Tessaro and have begun on “The Bride Stripped Bare” by anonymous. They’re both rather similar in storyline, then again that could be said for most of the chick-lit - women finding themselves - though different in tone, “The Bride” is so much more depressing. It’s also hitting a lot closer to home. It’s not helping my monthly cycle of emotions.

Courage, I keep telling my female friends. I wished I listened to my own advice sometimes. I’ve got lots of good ones. No, modesty isn’t a quality of mine, at least not on this blog.

You’re living your days at the moment how a sheep grazes, meandering, not engaged with anything much.
…
Your adulthood has been a progressive retreat from curiosity and wonder, an endless series of delays and procrastinations. You wanted to be so much once, but life kept on getting in the way. … You settled. Shunned creativity, flight, risk, never had the courage to give a dream, any dream, a go.
…
The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.
…
So many ways to live like a prisoner.

But a resolution, to find a way back into a happy life. Although God knows when the fury will soften from you.
- The Bride Stripped Bare

Posted on June 20th, 2004 by jl
Filed under: Notable: Personal | No Comments »

Updated
“An emerging branch of economics has begun to examine the empirical determinants of happiness. This paper continues that avenue of research in a different sphere. It focuses on the - still relatively unexplored - links between income, sexual activity and wellbeing.”

That has got to be one of the most, if not the most, interesting first paragraphs to have been published in an academic document in a long time.

I read this article in today’s Star newspaper which led me to the original working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (US) - Money, Sex and Happiness: An Empirical Study!

Posted on June 17th, 2004 by jl
Filed under: Interesting Reads | 8 Comments »

I was very good today.

I saw a beautiful suit and I resisted. It was grey with subtle light pin-stripes made of a soft and light fabric. It’s all synthetic, but of the better quality that could have passed off as of natural fibre. The jacket sat very nicely and naturally on my frame; and it was cut such that it reflected and flattered my silhouette. The trousers was light and very comfortable, however it was a tad too wide at the waist and would require minor adjustment by a tailor.

I’ve been eyeing it since Sunday and I finally tried it on this evening. But I resisted. Despite the fact that I could have earned double points on my credit card for the purchase. Despite the fact that I could have gotten free parking at KLCC for the purchase. It was almost perfect. It was a beautiful suit, but it was not gorgeous. So, I decided to be uncharacteristically prudent and to think about it some more. Especially since I have just spent close to MYR1000 on a whole new range of skincare! And especially since I might soon be buying a Crumpler bag for my Canon digital SLR camera, an iTalk for my iPod, and a few hundred ringgit worth of books from AcmaBooks simply because they are giving Maybank customers a 30% discount!

See… I’ve been good today.

Posted on June 15th, 2004 by jl
Filed under: lost blah blah | 8 Comments »