Justin Tripping

2011-07-10T21:06:00.002+08:00

To Forget is to Repeat, To Ignore is to Condone

2008-12-10T23:13:00.002+08:00

This is what I believe:
That I am I.
That my soul is a dark forest.
That my known self will never be more than a little clearing in the forest.
That gods, strange gods, come forth from the forest into the clearing of my known self, and then go back.
That I must have the courage to let them come and go.
That I will never let mankind put anything over me, but that I will try always to recognize and submit to the gods in me and the gods in other men and women.
There is my creed.

- D.H Lawrence

2008-09-27T23:10:00.002+08:00

"I know I have a pretty good sense for music, but she was better than me. I used to think it was such a waste! I thought, 'If only she had started out with a good teacher and received proper training, she'd be so much further along!' But I was wrong. She wasn't the kind of child who could stand proper training. There just happen to be people like that. They're blessed with this marvellous talent but they can't make the effort to systematize it. They end up squandering it in little bits and pieces. I've seen my share of people like that. At first you think they're amazing. they can sight-read some terrifically difficult piece and do a damn good job playing it all the way though. You see them do it, and you're over-whelmed. You think, 'I could never do that in a million years.' But that's as far as it goes. They can't take it any further. And why not? Because they won't put in the effort. They haven't had the discipline pounded into them. They've been spoiled. They have just enough talent so they've been able to play things well without any effort and they've had people telling them how great they are from an early age, so hard work looks stupid to them. They'll take some piece another kid has to work on for three weeks and polish it off in half the time, so the teacher assumes they've put enough into it and lets them go on to the next thing. And they do that in half the time and go on to the next piece. they never find out what it means to be hammered by the teacher; they lose out on a crucial element required for character building. It's a tragedy. I myself had tendencies like that, but fortunately I had a vey tough teacher, so I kept them in check."

from Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood, translated by Jay Rubin

2008-09-06T20:41:00.009+08:00

12

There are 12 stars in the European flag. Probably 12 eggs in the carton, 12 pairs of ribs in a human. 12 Zodiac signs. The 12th(twelfth night) is also the end of the merry and joy of Christmas. And it has been 12 months in Bloomberg.

That was probably the main highlight of my life. Getting started with my first job. So where am I now?

There's definitely many things going on during this period. And I really wonder how to summarise these experiences.

There was certainly loads of fun working in GCUS. Because there were loads of partying going on over the weekends. And it had sort of carry on over into the new year as I moved into Analytics. I can remember the nights partying over the weekend, the GCUS Pink Party, organising Bloomberg Sweatshop(Badminton session), having a go at bowling and more recently, the Office Awards(it's almost like Halloween in disguise).

In the midst of these, I manage to make some little trips, to Bintan for a weekend, Vietnam for a week, and soon Cambodia. I also had my open diving license in Tioman, Malaysia over a weekend. I would had pretty much wanted to go to a faraway and exotic place had I had the ability to take a longer break.

But that is also how work has became for me. It's pretty much lots of learning, I would classify them as market and product knowledge. And now, being in the desk. It's always very much difficult to take a breather, with questions coming one after another. It's challenging, no doubts about it, but I feel drop dead tired at the end of the day. It's like taking an exam, not a 3 hours one, but like the full day. Then I have to make some time for preparing my CFA now.

Well, out of all these, to think if I have had a fulfilling year, I would probably say yes. I have met a wonderful bunch of colleagues of which some became my good friends. Yet now, the goal after my graduation has been achieved and it's time to set new ones. In which, I am pretty quite lost, and disarray with stuffs happening. It's time to perhaps put all what is ahead of me and pick a new path to extend the career.

2007-09-20T01:04:00.001+08:00

"In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't."
- Blaise Pascal

2007-09-05T01:03:00.000+08:00

"If you're going to succeed, you need a vision, one that's affordable, practical and fills a customer need. Don't second guess your creativity. Avoid overanalyzing the new project's potential. Most importantly, don't strategize about long term too much" - Michael Bloomberg from Bloomberg by Bloomberg

2007-08-31T13:33:00.000+08:00

Touching... that's why I love Grey's Anatomy

Krista Vernoff on life, death, and "Six Days, Part 2"
Original Airdate: 1-18-07

The card at the end of this hour of TV that read “In memory of Bob Verne” was a tribute to my father. He died six years ago at the age of 56 after a very short battle with esophageal cancer. He called me one day at my office at Charmed and told me he thought he had the flu. A week after that he had surgery on a massive tumor at the base of his esophagus. Before the surgery he was laughing and celebrating with family. He had a profoundly positive attitude. After the surgery, he had a massive scar down his belly and was intubated and pale, and upon seeing him, I, who thought of myself as quite strong and educated and capable of handling that moment, started to shake and then hyperventilate and had to be helped out of the room.

During the week we waited for him to recover, we learned that kidney function was of the utmost importance and I became obsessed, absolutely obsessed with his urine output. I checked that urine bag like 50 times a day.
At one point, the doctors gathered the family to tell us that my Dad had a kink in his breathing tube and that they might not be able to get a new one in. They told us we needed to prepare ourselves for the possibility that this was it. We stood out in the hallway and waited, holding our breath, terrified. There was another family there in the hallway, the family of a 16 year old boy who’d been shot on the street on his way home from work in what was feared to be gang related violence, though his family insisted that he was a good kid, that he wasn’t in any gang. They were as scared as we were as they waited for news of condition. We talked to them for awhile, made small talk, then fell silent. And after a long, pregnant pause, one of the teenagers of the family looked over at a member of my family with a very disturbed look on his face. And then he said “Dang. Somebody just farted. And I think it’s this old white guy right here.” My family laughed harder than we have ever laughed in our lives. And my dad lived through the reintubation.

He lived for three more days.

When the surgeon sat us down to tell us that it was time to let him go, he explained that Dad had come to him – behind our backs – on his way into the OR actually – and begged him to proceed with the tumor removal no matter what. My Dad believed, truly believed, that he could fight that caner, that he could live, if only they would remove the tumor. The surgeon did as he wished. And I have yet to completely forgive that surgeon for that decision. Because my dad’s body was riddled with cancer. Plus he had a liver condition and a heart condition. There was pretty much no way for him to recover from a surgery that traumatic. And the surgeon knew that. I believe in forgiveness, I do. I’m a fervent and avid believer that resentment, unchecked, leads to illness and spiritual misery. But I also believe that that surgeon cut my dad in half because he wanted the practice. It wasn’t the right call. He knew better. My Dad didn’t. The scene in which George yells at Bailey and Richard – that scene didn’t happen in my life. Writing and shooting that scene was wish fulfillment for me. What happened in my life is, we went into my Dad’s ICU and put our hands on his body and sang him Beatles songs while the nurses turned off the machines. When they pulled the intubation tubes from his mouth, my sister and I put our faces to his mouth so we could feel the last of his breath. And then he died. And I became a member of the Dead Dad’s club.

I know you didn’t want us to kill Mr. O’Malley. Believe me, I know that. He was funny and warm and kind and too young and too happy to die, just like my Dad. He had children and a wife who loved him and needed him, just like my Dad.

Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes, surgery sucks. (By the way, because Bailey and Richard are Bailey and Richard, I don’t think they did what they did for anything but the highest reasons. I believe they were persuaded by Mr. O’Malley’s plea. I believe they felt they had a responsibility to honor his wishes even if they thought it was the wrong decision. But still, sometime surgeons and surgery suck.) It’s been hard for me sometimes to work on a show that by its very nature idealizes Western medicine and surgery. I believe in both, but only as a last resort. Because I fervently believe (and statistics support) that surgery often does more harm than good. So, one of the reasons I haven’t written an episode since 302 is because I called dibs on this one. I knew which story I wanted to tell.
I’m sorry it was so hard to watch – but I believe that where there is darkness there is light. I believe that from death comes life. I believe that in the face of great pain, families become closer. Friendships become deeper. Life becomes sweeter. And I believe it’s important to be reminded of the loss of love so that we will value and honor the love we have while have it.

I hope you do that.

I hope, that if you were impacted by this episode, you will use it as inspiration to call your Dad or your Mom or a Grandparent or a sibling or a friend or a teacher and thank them for being in your life and tell them what they mean to you.

If you weren’t impacted by this episode, and you just want to write me hate mail that’s okay too. That’s your choice. We all get one life to live. Or, maybe we get reincarnated a lot of times, I don’t know. But like Burke, in my experience science isn’t enough. For me it’s about faith. Some kind of faith. Any kind of faith.
So maybe, while you’re calling your families or sending me hate mail, I’ll put forth a little effort and try, once again, to forgive my Dad’s surgeon…

All my best, Krista
(p.s. those of you who keep writing and begging for dirty, gratuitous Mer/Der sex? I have one word for you: porny. You have porny, porny minds. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing… : )
(p.s.s. Aren’t you glad little baby Laura is okay? I am. Because as you know I’m expecting a daughter on March 17th. And another thing that’s hard for me about our show is that by necessity, we tell a lot of traumatic baby stories and birth stories. I read a book that helped me undo a lot of the fear those stories had instilled in me – it’s called “A Guide to Childbirth” by Ina May Gaskin. If you’re pregnant or know someone who’s pregnant or are thinking of ever getting pregnant, you should read it. It’s so so so great. Okay, now I’m really done. Bye.)http://www.greyswriters.com/2007/01/six_more_days_w.html

2007-08-29T22:09:00.000+08:00

I never felt so good since the period of job hunting. My confidence was probably shaken since. I had Ben & Jerry this evening. It felt good. I felt happy. I can smile over it. It reminded me of the time when I was in New York last year. I had my Ben & Jerry at 103 St., just outside my hostel. I felt I was at the center of the world. Center of all activities. I think the NY experience is difficult to describe. But now I know why everyone wears the T-Shirt with the big logos I Love New York.

2007-08-28T02:02:00.001+08:00

" I don't like violence Tom. I'm a businessman. Blood is a big expense"

- Sollozzo from The Godfather

2007-08-28T01:44:00.002+08:00

Ok, So much for no more regrets. The tide has turned. Probably for the better. I got to thank this so much to yaya woo. He made me swayed my decision. Without him, I would have ignored the invitation from Bloomberg for their interview session. And look where am I now after two weeks? I am offered for their position in Financial Sales. Some great stuffs.

Three rounds of interviews in all. At the end of the first round, I was crossing my fingers that they will still call me up. At the end of the second round, I thought I had nailed it with an hour shadowing one of the GCUS staff. I didn't know that there was one more round. At the end of the third round, I was shivering in fear when I left the lift. I was controlling so much of my disappointment. I knew I fumbled nervously. I knew I wasn't prepared for the change in tone of the interviewer.

He said "I am not convince" once. Then he said "I am still not convinced". Then I put up a desperate pitch, which I have probably been complaining in my blog all along. "I am a hard worker. There wasn't a point in my life that I have it easy going. When I was in my secondary school, I had to climbed from the bottom 20% of the cohort to be the top 10 student at the end of it. When I was in JC, I had to manage my studies with my responsibilities. I was selected under the potential scholar scheme. I was pushed to lead my table tennis team, my class and go through leadership camps. When I was in the army, I was doing reconnaissance. My army regimental life was strict. Each time, I put my best end and pull through each and everyone of them. My internship was in a SME company. I had to work alone through days and nights over the weekends for more than a month. Whereas my peers are enjoying their weekends. But my supervisors observe my work and performance. I rolled out my Sony Intranet project for them. I was commended with an 'A' for my internship. Life has never been easy for me. But each time, I work hard. Fortune favours those who put in their effort. Fortune favours those who are prepared."

It kinda sounded nice now. Maybe I edited alittle. But that was the gist that I have said. It had flowed out just nicely as I threw out my life learning experience along. A little success have come along each way but life has never been easy on me.

2007-04-20T00:21:00.000+08:00

Oysters open completely when the moon is full; and when the crab sees one it throws a piece of stone or seaweed into it and the oyster cannot close again so that it serves the crab for meat. Such is the fate of him who opens his mouth too much and thereby puts himself at the mercy of the listener.

-Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519

2007-04-02T00:12:00.000+08:00

"Don't think about what you've left behind," the alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert. "Everything is written in the Soul of the World, and there it will stay forever."

"Men dream more about coming home than about leaving," the boys aid. He was already reaccustomed to dessert's silence.

"If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of star, you would find nothing on your return."

from The Alchemist, Paul Coelho

2007-04-02T00:01:00.000+08:00

The desert was all in sand in some stretches, and rocky in others. When the caravan was blocked by a boulder, it had to go around it; if there was a large rocky area, they had to make a major detour. If the sand was too fine for the animal's hooves, they sought a way where the sand was more substantial. In some places, the ground was covered with the salt of dried-up lakes. The animals balked at such places, and the camel drivers were forced to dismount and unburden their charges. The drivers carried the freight themselves over such treacherous footing, and then reloaded the camels If a guide were to fall ill or die, the camel drivers would draw lots and appoint a new one.

But all this happened for one basic reason: no matter how many detours and adjustments it made, the caravan moved toward the same compass point. Once obstacles were overcome, it returned to its course sighting on a star that indicated the location of the oasis. When the people saw that star shining in the morning sky, they knew they were on the right course toward water, palm trees, shelter, and other people.

from The Alchemist, Paul Coelho

2007-01-18T00:36:00.001+08:00

The battle is won even before it started. It's Muhammad Ali's 65th birthday. Though his battles were fought even decades before I was borned, I got to say, I really admire him. I think there's more than thrill to the fight he gave. He provokes people to think. To me, he is like Aristotle with a pair of boxing gloves.