P90X3

On Friday 11 July 2014, I started my new programme P90X3.

I had just finished Body Beast a couple of days before. Body Beast took me 520-over days when it was supposed to be a 90-day programme.

I can't remember how many days I took to finish P90X because I didn't document it. I know it was more than 180 because I had tried doing it daily but I didn't make it past the first month when I was doing it every day. I had to restart it after the first try failed.

In addition to that, I didn't stick to the every other day schedule either, so it must have been at least 200-over days.

The first two days of P90X3 is promising. I don't know if it's because I had just come from Body Beast, which was very high intensity because of all the added weight used, P90X3, using mostly my body weight, has so far not been very intense. Coupled with my 4 P.M schedule, I am hoping to really make it consistent and a priority.

Saturday was a break because of date day, but it's just a rescheduling of the rest day once a week so I don't see a problem.

Here goes nothing.

Body Beast Completed

Today marks the end of my Body Beast journey, finally.

I started Body Beast on 30th Jan 2013. What was supposed to be a 90-day program turned out to be more than a year, or 525 days.

I took almost 6 times the intended required amount of time but I am glad I finished. I didn't take down my weight at the beginning but I vaguely remember that it should have been around the low 60s.

I know that Body Beast is a great workout which works because at the peak of my growth I was at 70 kg and could clearly see my gains and feel them in the way I filled my clothes.

However, I also realised that I lose muscle weight very fast. I am currently at around 66 kg. Somewhere in the middle I stop working for a month and I lost 5 kg and was down to 65kg.

Great as it is, Body Beast is really lacking in mobility exercises. I will come back to Body Beast when I intend to build some more, maybe with more consistency.

Now it's time to move on to the next program.

Crowdfunding

Roy Ngerng, the Singapore blogger who is being sued by the Prime Minister, is all the rage these days on social media.

His defense fund fundraiser confirmed what I always thought was possible; if everyone contributes a little bit, as little as $10 even, I only need 10000 donors to hit my required funds of $100000 for my flight training.

I mean, what is $10 to most people? We spend countless more each day wasted on unnecessary items like $5 coffees and $12 cigarettes or that extra taxi to save on 10 minutes of waiting.

So I hope my plan will take off!

https://www.facebook.com/helpweeloonfly

Being a better man - shine your shoes

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/06/01/30-days-to-a-better-man-day-2-shine-your-shoes/

Day 2 of becoming a better man asks that I shine my shoes. When I first read this post, I tried my hand at shining my shoes. Before that, I hadn't done it since my army days, so granted it was a little rusty.

I had to google Youtbe videos

Being a better man - defining values

I have been following this website, Art of Manliness, and reading the posts on and off. Though my best friend thinks that I have been reading too many of these crappy magazine advice and useless stuff than actually doing something proper, I have to say that I have found the articles on this website rather interesting and helpful.

But then again, I always reiterate that I don't follow everything blindly. I am more discerning than that. Some things don't apply to us, at the very least it's culturally inapplicable, but there are some things that are really worth thinking about.

Today, I am going to try something.

http://www.artofmanliness.com/category/30-days-to-a-better-man/

In this article, the author gave a list of 30 things that he felt make a better man. The number 1 item on the list is defining my core value.

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/05/31/30-days-to-a-better-man-day-1-define-your-core-values/

I have seriously tried thinking about this for a while, and it is hard.

What is a value?

value
ˈvaljuː/
principles or standards of behaviour; one's judgement of what is important in life.
"they internalize their parents' rules and values"
synonyms: principles, moral principles, ethics, moral code, morals, moral values,standards, moral standards, code of behaviour, rules of conduct,standards of behaviour
"society's values are passed on to us as children"

The author said to come up with as many as I want then bring it down to five. I thought long and hard and I came up with a long list:

1. Moderation
2. Family
3. Friends
4. Trust
5. Honesty
6. Independence
7. Gentlemanliness
8. Reason
9. Relativity
10. Self-reliance
11. Inner strength
12. Credibility
13. Reliability
14. Integrity
15. Self-improvement
16. Humility
17. Gratitude

Looking at my list, first I don't know if I got what it means to be a value right. Then I realised that I have no idea how to bring this list down to five.

I have always preached moderation to people. After all, in this world there is no room for extremes because things are never black and white. Then I realised that I actually love to operate in black and white because shades of grey in the middle are too hard for me to navigate.

Friends and family are important to me, but if you ask my friends and family, I don't think they will agree that I have been living by my words, even though I am trying to do that nowadays.

I find trust and honesty sometimes conflicting, because that white lie is necessary, and because I realised people who say that they want you to be honest seldom can accept the honesty.

Independence is, finally, something straightforward to me and something I value, but that could be because I generally love doing things alone and want people to not get on my case.

Gentlemanliness is something I have recently started aspiring to be. To my dismay, I generally suck at it. Plus, it is so vague that I don't really know what it comprises.

Reason, I think makes the world simpler. If someone has reason, I usually find their actions and request (reasonable, hence the term) but I think that it against relativity because people seem to perceive reason differently. And in this world, there are so many unreasonable people that being reasonable is pointless. People are usually illogical.

Self-reliance is closely associated with independence. I like to do things on my own and usually find myself struggling and refusing to seek help. I just don't want to trouble others for my own problems.

Credibility and reliability are very important to me. They are the two values my father is very particular about. He is a man I want to be but sadly, I find myself falling short most of the time. He always come through for people (even if my mom disagrees).

Integrity is about doing the right thing, even when people are not watching. When I slack off at times, I think about what would happen if something were to see me. But this is not integrity, this is still because of consequence. I think if I could get away with murder in this world, I would be doing the wrong things all the time. I should change.

I don't think I have an ego problem. I always believe that there are people better than me, and there are things I can learn from them. As the saying goes, ‘三人行，必有我师。’
And because no one owes me a living, I don't take people for granted. I am grateful to all the people who have helped me. Even in failed situations, I thank you for having tried, as long as you were really trying to help.

OK. Inner strength and self-improvement don't seem to be values, per se.
Looking at that, I am left with these:

1. Moderation
2. Family and Friends
3. Trust
4. Honesty
5. Independence and Self-reliance
6. Gentlemanliness
7. Reason
8. Relativity
9. Inner strength
10. Credibility and Reliability
11. Integrity
12. Self-improvement
13. Humility and Gratitude

Tidying things up a bit:

1. Moderation
2. Family and Friends
3. Trust
4. Independence and Self-reliance
5. Reason
6. Credibility and Reliability
7. Integrity
8. Humility and Gratitude

A little chunking, I have eight. I should write these down somewhere and let them be my guiding principles.

On journaling and gratitude

Life is fraught with many things, ups and downs. I have never been one who has the best memory to note and remember every little detail in my life. Perhaps this is where a good journal can come in.

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/06/07/30-days-to-a-better-man-day-8-start-a-journal/

These past days have been a great challenge. In fact these past weeks have been a great challenge. I think sometimes in life, we are so caught up with the many trials and tribulations we forget to give thanks to the little things in life. Today, I want to use this opportunity to give thanks. Gratitude is a mysterious thing.

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/06/04/30-days-to-a-better-man-day-5-cultivate-your-gratitude/

There are many things in a relationship that I can give thanks for, but at the top of my head, after a quick thought, these are the first few that came to mind.

I am thankful for my girlfriend, for:

1) Sticking with me and standing by me at the beginning of our relationship, despite the many emails and harassment she received.

2) I am not the most emotive or expressive person. Such is my character that I often portray an air of indifference. So I want to give thanks to you for being so enthusiastic about us even though I often made you feel like I am not in it.

3) For being supportive of my dream to soar into the skies. Despite the many uncertainties that it brings, you have been my pillar and worry more for me than I do myself about achieving my dream.

4) For always calling my BS and wanting to motivate me to become a better person, for my sake, even if it sometimes lead to resentment and arguments.

5) For willing to accommodate to some of my demands, albeit grudgingly, such as soccer nights and someday me-times.

6) For being OK with my many gross and unbecoming habits that would deal a death knell in many relationships as being simply too disgusting. And despite so, still always telling me that I am hot.

Written in the stars

Do you believe in star signs? That the way the constellations lined up during the time of your birth could potentially affect your belief and behaviour? That some genius could tell you apart and foretell your future by looking up at the stars?

I don't. I believe the man is made by his own hands. Though it is sometimes too uncanny how a certain group of people born under the same star seem to share similar traits. I think the people who write the tabloid horoscope columns are just very good speculators and social psychologists.

Do you know the Taurus? Let's just assume for a while that constellations are without a doubt truly about to tell what a Taurus is like.

Firstly, like its namesake, the Taurus is stubborn as a bull. If you try to move a bull determined to stay put, you are going to have a hard time. It will refused to budge and even if you eventually get it to, the result would not have been worth the fight.

Instead, it is better to use the carrot then the stick. Otherwise, use neither. Just be nice, a bull will move, albeit slowly a first, with a gentle nudge and some soft cajoling a lot more than stern words of displeasure and anger.

Secondly, if you have a bone to pick and you come waving a red flag, what you get will definitely be a raging, charging bull. Using the constellations as an excuse, this is just how we are. You are much better off talking nicely. A bull will be more apologetic than anything if it knows that it's in the wrong. But come charging, no matter for what reason, then that get thrown away. It's a reflex reaction. Moving red flag equals charge.

This is how a bull is like - it accepts the soft rather the hard approach. And it actually hates letting people down. When it lets you down, it is harder on itself than you can ever be. And it will bend over backwards for you, if you don't start a tirade about how let down you are.

If you have a bull as a friend or a lover, what happens is that resentment starts to build. The question that begets will be where is the love? Love of any kind means compassion and acceptance. If you get angry at a bull all the time, it will ask, "Am I not worth the oversight? You would rather fight over little things than let it go and just love?"

So, go soft, because the bull is hardheaded. Soft gentle words will get you so much further, because bulls are born fighters.

Leg Routines

I have finished the Build Phase of Body Beast and today is the second workout of the Bulk Phase.

Bulk Leg is a killer. Leg routines are always killers.

The leg muscles are already very strong, having been used all day, every day, to lug the body weight around. No matter you are skinny as a twig or obese like a sumo wrestle, your legs are undoubtedly one of the strongest parts of your body. Hence, it necessitate that in order to grow the legs, the workout must be extreme.

Perfect gift

Last Christmas I received a perfect gift.

It was a simple gift, but thoughtful nonetheless. After the many years on the ground, I took off again, albeit virtually.

The view from the cockpit, the many dials and buttons, the many checks and procedures, the way the control stick feels in my hands, the feedback from the machine - memories flooded back into my mind.

It reminded me of my plan to soar; the after-chat with the staff an invaluable lesson.

I have to go. I must. My place is not among the grounded mortals, but with winged angels through the clouds.

Thank you.

Build Phase

Body Beast is divided into three phases and I am at Phase 1.

I have completed 5 days of Body Beast and done 1 round of all the exercises of this round. Did Total Body and Beast Abs and the former is true to its namesake; the exercises gives a good one-round hit to all the major muscle groups.

Beast Abs are not much of a challenge for someone coming off P90X. The exercises are similar, though fewer and in different order. Beast Abs also requires fewer reps - 20 compared to P90X's 25 reps per exercise.

Today I am going to experiment with my first hybridization of exercise. Since warm-up and cool-down are the weaknesses of Body Beast and it's heavy lifting placing a lot of stress on the spine and a lot of muscle contraction, I am going to substitute the P90X Stretch routine for the Body Beast rest day.

First Three Days

Build Chest and Tris

Build Legs

Build Back and Bis

Build Back and Bis

Today is Wk 1 Day 3 on the schedule for Body Beast. In truth it was Wk 1 Day 6. So far I have managed to work on keeping to my schedule every other day.

As with P90X, I found it hard to work out every day as required by the program. So the next best thing I could do was to space it out with 1 day in between.

After three days of Body Beast, I do agree with Tyler Robbins's review that Body Beast is wanting in terms of warm-up. One of the things I liked about P90X is that it takes care of your body. The warm-up in P90X itself took around 10 minutes. Because of that I feel that it was really designed to minimise injury. In addition, the warm was not focused on static stretching, which has been found to cause muscle weakness prior to exercising but also muscle imbalances, but instead it was focused on dynamic stretching that brings me through the range of motion required for the exercise or just getting blood pumped into the muscles.

One thing I do like about the Body Beast workout, though, is that it is short. Or at least shorter than the P90X workouts. Average length so far for the first three workout is about 40 minutes. I glanced through some of the other workouts on the programs and saw some that go for only 30 minutes. This ranks high in motivating me to press play.

When I was doing P90X, I sometimes hesitated because by the time I finished work and had dinner, it would be around 8. Letting my dinner settle before I plunged headfirst into a workout, I usually waited around 1.5 hours. That makes the beginning of my workout at 930. By the time I finished it would have been almost 11. A tad late in my opinion, and that does not include allowing myself to cool down, take in some post-workout food and clean up.

With Body Beast at half the time, the exponential effect is that I could get ready for bed by 11.

With that said, it doesn't make the Body Beast workout any less hard. Today's Build Back and Bis routine saw me sweat buckets. I had to keep wiping my hands and the stability ball just to make sure that I was working safely.

Now, I am definitely looking forward to sore arms tomorrow.

Beast up

So it's time for a change. I am officially announcing the end of P90X and the beginning of Body Beast.

I completed 12 weeks of P90X. It's supposed to be a 13-week exercise program but the last week is recovery and core work for people who actually managed to go through it 90 days straight. Given my lax tempo in completing the exercise in more than 200 days, I figured I don't really need the last recovery week.

Instead, I have moved on. I have moved on to a new regime. This one is aimed at growing my frame. The exercises are shorter. Instead of shelling out 90 minutes a day, Body Beast's videos are around 40 - 50 minutes each. Giving me a higher possibility of completing the exercise.

Today is Day 1. I have just completed Build: Chest/Tris. 

I realised that my left is so much weaker than my right. Naturally we all have a master hand which we are more used to and are stronger in. But I have always tried to consciously use my left hand to improve my overall dexterity. However, working on the video today, I could visibly see the difference. 

Many of the exercises were done to failure on my left side while my right side still had juice. I am going to use this chance to work on getting both sides of my body to equilibrium by keeping to the weights that bring the left to failure. I figured that if I constantly overwork the left and underwork the right, it's only a matter of time before both sides are levelled out.

Let's see if I can maintain the momentum to get pumped on a daily basis.

I am also still staying true to my commitment to be supplement-free, relying only, or mainly, on whole foods to get the required nutrition. We shall see if it works after I complete the workout. 

P90X

I first saw this exercise program on a Youtube video. I wasn't even searching for an exercise program at that time, just looking at other random stuff when the person in the video mentioned that he was doing his P90X workout. Having no idea what it was, I googled, as I always do.
What came after was finding a gem of an exercise program. It's so good that I have introduced it to friends and relatives and invested quite a bit of money in it. Okay, it's about 400 bucks, but for me, that's big money.

For the uninitiated, P90X is a full-body, all round exercise program, and it is big in the States, reportedly having millions of enthusiasts and supporters.
There are many things I like about this program. Firstly, it really is an all-round program. It targets upper body strength from shoulders, back, and chest to the core muscles from the nipples to the knee, and carries on working the legs from the quadriceps, hamstrings and the calves. Basically everything.
Not only that, integral to the program are also cardio exercises such as Kenpo, plyometrics, and most importantly, Yoga and a stretch routine. These exercises makes all the difference in getting some real pump, unlike vain gym junkies who only want to look good, this part of the program brings you real health and fitness when used together with the resistance training. The yoga and stretch routine have really helped with my flexibility and are what I turn to every time the modern life throws me a bad back and some serious aches.
It takes care of every part of my fitness and health that I no longer need any other fitness program. In addition to that, there is a nutritional guide for people who wish to eat better, because there's a saying that goes 'You can't out-train a bad diet.'
Today, I write this not to advertise this program; it doesn't need more advertising. I write this to share how wonderful it is and also how I modify it and what I thought of it after doing it for a while. So that whoever sees it can learn from my experience and get down to doing it, because it's good.
In all its goodness, however, I find this program requiring some modifications to suit my personal use. Firstly, it's a 90-day program of about 90 minutes each day. This is the first thing I hear people lament about every time I introduce to them to it. It's true. It's hard to squeeze out 90 minutes a day when you lead a crazy work life here in Singapore. I work from 630 to 630 every Monday to Friday. After that it's dinner. Considering that I have to wait a while after eating to work out, I usually work out almost at 10 and finish off just nice for bed, or I do it before dinner and end up having dinner at almost 9, which is not suggested either. Despite Tony Horton, the creator, always chanting 'Keep pushing play, just turn up' or 'Do your best, forget the rest,' sometimes it's just not possible, not on a daily basis at least.
In addition, despite the science saying that you get more energised after working out, doing it every day was just too hard. I had tried completing this exercise program three times; I had never moved past the first month. By the first month I was so knackered, I couldn't bring myself to switch on my laptop.
So what did I do? Instead of a 90-day workout, I made it into a 180-day workout, choosing to push play every other day. Sometimes I would fall sick or have other engagements like girlfriend or boys' night out or family dinner and I would skip a few days but I would always get back to it. I am currently at Week 11 out of 13 weeks and it's been more than 180 days but I am really looking forward to saying 'I did it!'

Compared to some other exercise programs, P90X requires some equipment, but it's not crazily equipment heavy. A pull-up bar is essential. I got one of those door-mounted bars and it works. It is essential because the majority of the back-building exercises are done on the bar. At the beginning of the program I could pull about four and I continued trying but I realised that I wasn't going anywhere. So I did some research and found that I could set a higher number, in my case 15, and used chair-assisted methods to pull myself up and overtime it increased, instead of just pulling what I can, which yielded little improvement.

Other than the bar, weights are also very important. In the video, there are always modifications for people who want to use bands. I bought a set of bands in the beginning because I thought that bands would give me sufficient resistance and are useful without having to shell out a lot of money. Not only that, they are easily kept and take up next to no space. However, after more than half of the program done, I felt that the bands are just not giving me the workout and pump I wanted and could get from this program. I looked around for some real weights and were still slightly hesitant because I live in a tiny little space and really have no space for a rack of dumbbells. Furthermore, I really didn't know which weight range to buy because I had no idea how much could I could lift. More googling later, I decided on a set of adjustable Bowflex 552 weights. These take up the same space as a pair of normal dumbbells but could go from 5lbs to 52.5 lbs. Cheaper adjustable weights are available but I also needed the ease and speed of change required by P90X and these still make a better choice. They became the most expensive piece of equipment I had to buy.

P90X also helped me discovered yoga. I had thought yoga was slow and methodic and though it required me to put myself through some awkward positions, it wasn't hard. Boy, was I wrong. The first time I did the yoga, my heart was racing and I sweated a ton like I was running a marathon. Having not worked on my flexibility for the longest time, I also had troubles holding some of the positions. Originally I only bought the mat and tried using books and other stuff to support myself. It was defeatingly difficult and I gave up the stubbornness and forked out a little more and got myself a cheap little block. That made all the difference.
I also don't like the Kenpo X routine. For me, that is the only routine that I have a problem with. Yes, it makes the heart pump, but the moves in the routine feels nothing like martial arts. Because I do Taekwondo and have interests in Wing Chun, I substitute it with my martial arts practice instead.

Arsenal

Today I witnessed another abysmal result from Arsenal.

In today's footballing world, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger's philosophy stand out like a sore thumb. Yet it is refreshing at the same time. No big-money-bought victories and financial prudence and youth development remain an integral part of the management and success of the club.

However, Arsenal is not playing like Arsenal, at least not at the moment. Yes, they still pass the ball around. But nobody pulls the trigger. A typical Arsenal game goes like this - pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, lose the ball. Repeat indefinitely. It's like the players don't dare to shoot for fear of some grave repercussion. I could almost hear the thoughts in their heads - Oh my, I have the ball, better pass to the next person quickly.

From a fan's point of view, I have some suggestions.

1) Arsene, please field the players who deserve a run.

Theo Walcott has been the livewire of recent games. He deserves a first team position. Even if you can't play him at his demanded centre striker role. I am sure the first team position would do well to persuade him to sign the new contract. He is at his peak. If he still gets treated like a fringe player, I don't blame the lad for wanting out. A footballer's shelf-life is too short. It will be only downhill from here.

Chamakh's goals at Reading during the League Cup proves that he has the skills and ability to score goals. Since his arrival, he has only played so many games and frankly, at a time when the rest of the strikers are not working, why not give him a run. His style of play is also that of a target man and a out and out fox-in-the-box, something we seem to lack at this moment.

Arshavin, someone once so integral to your attack has also been frozen. I don't support forever using old guards, so some other red-shirted teams. It stifles the young ones and prevents them from having a chance to have a go and blossom. But he still has some juice and he should be used more often. I enjoyed seeing his runs at defenders.

2) Arsene, please drop players if they are not performing at the moment. You have no lack of quality players.

Good job on dropping Gervinho. He was ineffective and selfish.

Ramsay is no doubt a good player, and young too. But he is average in our team and has not been pulling the strings in midfield like he should. There is no reason why he should be ahead of everybody else all the time.

3) Please work on your defence during set piece. I cannot even begin to count how many goals we have let in from set pieces. Every time the opponents get a free kick or corner, my heart skips a beat.

We are not the biggest, but we are by far not the smallest squad in the league. There should be no reason why we are losing out on every single header, every where on the field.

4) Yes, passing football is beautiful. There's nothing more entertaining than a team who can string their passes together and keep possession, then open up the opposing defence to draw the blood. But that is not the case at the moment. See second paragraph.

I am sure the players have enough shooting practice during training. Please get them to shoot. At least there's a chance of scoring when the trigger is pulled. Current there's nothing. You won't score if you don't try.

5) Please knock some sense into Giroud. He is a good player, I have no doubt, but he is just not playing to his strength. He is easily Arsenal's biggest and strongest player on the field but he is playing as if he is Santi Cazorla or Theo Walcott, like a player with lean physique and a small build, and he is running around like a headless chicken. I admire his work rate and his willingness to chase after the ball, but he should really be using his strength to take on and hold off defenders.

Today, during the Fulham game, I finally saw ONE single glimpse of him getting it right. He received the ball, turned, took on his marker, and simply shrugged the defender off even though he was being tugged and pulled. Then he unleashed a screamer. Although it didn't go in, it wasn't far and it really showed how defenders are useless against him when he plays it right.

Arsenal is a top team and I am proud to have supported for over half my life and since I started watching football. But last week when I watched them against Manchester United, it felt like watching a Championship side take on a Premier League team. We can do beter.

Metal teeth no more

I've had braces since Apr 2009.

My teeth weren't in a bad shape but I was well into my first job since graduation and I was earning a steady income.

So after basic needs were met, I guessed it was time for some vanity.

The three and a half years of life with braces was uneventful. Luckily for me, I had only one of the usual problems, stuck food, and none of the others: ulcers; pain.

I took out my braces last month and it's from the pan into the pot. I now have retainers for a year. It's even more troublesome than the braces.

Most important lesson I have learnt though, is that brushing does shit for your teeth. I've never flossed in my life. Once or twice I did but it was never part of my oral hygiene routine.

However, because of the retainers I have started flossing. And boy was I appalled to find the amount of food still stuck between my teeth after a bout of decent brushing. I even bought those expensive electronic toothbrushes.

So anyone out there, if you do not floss, I suggest you start now. It really is no hassle after you get used to it, but you will be disgusted by what stays in your mouth after brushing.

Rich Dad's Guide to Investing

I am glad that I've managed to start reading again recently. I walked, unintendedly, into Borders and came back out with more than a hundred dollars worth of books. Of the books I bought, one of them was Rich Dad's Guide to Investing. Having read Robert Kyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad some years ago, I knew that he would do me good and I wasn't disappointed.

To prevent a repeat of his story; forgetting what his lessons were in the first book, I've decided to write down what I gathered from his third book.

The central idea driving his book is the 90/10 Rule; the notion that 10% of the world's population controls 90% of the wealth. The objective of his book is therefore to help the 90% join the 10 and change the balance of wealth in the world.

One of the most important thing is to first want to get rich. It is a problem of mentality. Very often we are unable to get rich because we think like poor people. The rich looks very differently at the world and one must start thinking like the rich in order to get rich.

However, having understood the issue with mentality, it is not necessary to pen it down here. I intend instead to make this post a reminder in the future of what I should do in the future should I forget the more practical steps to get rich.

More practically, here is what I think he taught us to do:

1) Get more financial education. All the riches in the world is useless if one does not know how to harvest it. Financial education allows the person to learn more about the avenues to get rich and the ways to grow wealth. Financial education also equals control. Having more financial knowledge ensures that all endeavours are calculated risks and going blindly into investment makes the so-called investor a gambler and nothing more. Hence, the chance of winning or striking it rich is no higher than buying the lottery every week. Almost zilch.

2) Know the difference between asset and liability. Anything that makes you more money is an asset and anything that makes you lose money is a liability. Before buying anything, make sure that it will make you money. Do not waste money on anything that does not bring in an income, like a yacht, or a car, or a million tons of other luxury items. However, keeping this point in mind, it is entirely possible, I realise, to make a liability into an asset. For example, we often say a car is a liability. However, if that car is a useful tool that allows one to make more business and clinch more deals, then it is not a liability but an asset because one was not able to make those money without a car.

3) Know good expense and good debts from bad expenses and bad debts. Money spent is not a bad thing if it is money well-spent. Do not be unduly attached to money because it is only a tool that should be working for you. Too much importance placed on money makes one a slave to it and lose the bigger picture of being rich. If one earns $1000 and half of it is put in a business and other investments and one is left with barely enough to spend every month, one could still be getting richer. For me, this means that I need to very soon go and start investing my money in stocks and shares and other vehicles even if that would make me seemingly very poor.

4) Prioritise properly. To be rich, one must put in order of importance this way:
a. To be rich
b. To be comfortable
c. To be secure
However, to carry out the plan, first make oneself secure. Buy insurance to cover all areas of need such as accident, hospitalisation, illnesses, disability and death. Insurance is something necessary to have but hopefully never to need. Do not see it as an unnecessary waste of valuable money. After that is covered, make plans to be secure, put money with financial advisors and fund managers to ensure a reasonable return on money put in that could guarantee a comfortable retirement and life in case of inability to work due either to old age or other reasons. Again, these expenses are good expenses.

After these grounds are covered, now make plans to invest. Here it is the best to start a business. One does not have to be able to afford more assets if his business can afford it for him. Start businesses or investments which will yield income and use the money earned to buy more assets and let the money roll itself in.

5)Make plans. Always make plans. Make plans to get rich, make plans for if those plans fail, make plans for if those plans succeed, make plans for when you suddenly become poor and make plans for when one suddenly becomes rich and think of how to re-channel those money into making more. When there is a plan, one will also be able to become richer and richer.

6)Money is not needed to start rolling in money. Ideas, rather than money, are what earns money, and ideas are free. With the advent of the Internet, it has become ever so easy to start a business.

After writing so much, I still think the points are not empirical enough. Even more concretely, this is what I am going to do.

1) Watch out for any financial classes I can join and attend them. Learn more, the more I learn, the more I know, the less risk I have, the more I can adapt to ever-changing ideas and economics.

2) Call my financial advisers and insurance agents and make sure I have all my bases covered in terms of insurance and security coverage.

3) Ask those same people to suggest financial and investment plans. Look at all of them, listen to what each has to say, and start buying. And when the next income tax comes, make sure I know which ones can be used for tax deductions. The rich use their money to buy investments and then get taxed on the remaining income which usually is not much. That's why they get richer. The poor gets taxed and is left with little before they can even think of buying anything, that's why they remain poor.

4) Work full-time but start a business part-time. Think of an idea or improve something that someone else is already doing. Ideas don't make to be new, they just have to be better. Save on start-up cost by thinking of something that can be done using the Internet. Find my friends and join forces.

Consumption

For the past year and more, I have been consumed by one thing, and one thing only.

I no longer write about other areas of my life; that, is not right. We must never be consumed only by one thing.

I must pick up my pen again.

The pen writes words.
Words express ideas.
Ideas come from thought.
And what is a man, if not his thoughts?
For Descartes has put it succintly: Je pense, donc je suis.
And from those thoughts, will arise actions.
From actions, we have the future.

Of mentalities, ambitions, world views and interests

There are many things to iron out.
I know now is not the time.
I am not saying or asking for anything.
This just happens to be the thoughts that came to mind when you said that we are so different.

What does it take for two to come together?
Should they be the same?

If we seek to find someone like us,
Would we be the best mate for ourselves?

I never thought that we could only be together,
if we are like each other.

We should be different.
We are two different people after all.
I don't want you to become me,
And I certainly do not wish to become you.

We should have different ambitions.
You want to study and I want to fly.
I actually want to study too,
Though I don't know if you want to fly.

But I would use my flying to support your study.
Therein lies the beauty.
When two people come together, it is not about being or becoming the same.
It is about being true to self and support the other in whatever the other wants.

I know we have different interests.
I also know we have same interests.

We both love riding,
So let's ride together.
I may have never ridden dirt before,
But I think it's gonna be a lot of fun.

I don't know you all that well,
But if there's something you do that I don't.
Would you please, for my sake, show me the world?
Just like how I now like some of Tori Amos' songs.

If I still don't like it, you go on ahead.
I'll be waiting for you at home.

I would do the same.
If there's something I do that you don't.
I'd love to show you my world.
If it's not your cup of tea,
I'll be right back.

We view the world differently,
Because we have seen the world differently.
I want to know what you think,
Because I think my view of the world is quite narrow.
Would you, for my sake, enlighten me?

I wouldn't say your view is wrong.
Maybe we just see things differently.
Our views may converge,
or they may stay different.
I think it's all right.

We can agree to disagree.
Isn't that what you do in school?
Nothing is truly the absolute way.
As long as we back up what we state,
With thorough understanding and evidence.
We are entitled to our views.

Of course, things can't all be different.
How can two person ever get along if everything is different.
No matter big or small,
We have to meet somewhere.

You wouldn't want to live with a slob.
You wouldn't want to be the one doing all the housework,
while I sit down and have a coffee.
You wouldn't want a very successful person that brings home the dough but is never around.
You wouldn't want a person that talks to you and tells you what to do like you can't think for yourself, because you are a very smart woman.

For two people to be together, they at least have to want to be together.
Where it matters, but they are different, they compromise.
Where it doesn't matter that much, one can give in to the other.

I am a fool.
Sometimes I am not that sensitive,
But I do know that I want to be with you,
And it's not because of the baby.

Where I can, I will give in.
Where I can't, I will explain.
Though I think you don't agree,
But I think, for most things in life, I am very easy-going.
I have a few broad ideas, but for the most part, the nitty-gritty isn't that big of a problem.

But if you don't agree, I'll be happy to listen.
I just hope that I can explain myself without sounding defensive.
And we can talk without being agitated.
And no, I mean us, not picking on you.

Stopper

There are many complications.
But there are many solutions.
Some of them are not the best.
But they work.

What's stopping them?
You are.
You are the one making all the decisions now.

I know the circumstances are such.
But there are ways out.
You refuse to take them.

You are sick and I can't do anything.
I can do many things.
I can come over and take care of you.
I can bring you to the doctor.

You don't let me.
I can go against your objections.
And you will hate me more.

You are not stuck.
You don't want to budge.
There is always an excuse.

But if you really want to.
Nobody can stop you.
You are so headstrong in everything.
Including plunging deeper into depression.
Grounding yourself more and more.

Nobody will ever be able to pull you out.
When you don't let him.
It's not that I can't do anything.
You won't let me.

You keep saying things are bad and getting worse.
If staying still is getting worse.
Take the step and go.

But, no.
You refuse to.