One Day

This book is going onto my to-read list. Loved 'One Day'! and Jim Sturgess! Thought he was the perfect fit to play Dexter, and he did it really well. Caught it on the plane back from HK yesterday. Though i have to say, it's a sad ending - but i think that was what made the show this good too.

Aside from One Day, I really liked the other movie Lone Scherfig directed 'An Education' - blogged about it here. Hmmm...i like Lone Scherfig, will try to catch her other movies when i find time (:

The Joy of Quiet

I must say that i have been enjoying the last week! It's because i have been keeping to my New Year resolution of trying to attain a comfortable work-life balance. Not to mention it's a half day on a Monday because of some corporate event we had this morning (:

I don't believe that everyone has an equal perception of what constitutes a work-life balance but i think i might have found mine:

1. Leaving the office at 8pm
2. Not bringing my laptop home (Except on Fridays)
3. Not working on weekends except a quick check on email or when there's a need to send out an urgent email.

And i found myself rather free and i must admit, a little bored (oh the horror) yesterday.

Coincidentally, just a few days ago, i came across a very interesting article: "The Joy of Quiet"

Resisting the urge to copy and paste the whole article, here are some quotes i found that spoke out to me in particular.

Credits

"The urgency of slowing down — to find the time and space to think — is nothing new, of course, and wiser souls have always reminded us that the more attention we pay to the moment, the less time and energy we have to place it in some larger context. “Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for our miseries,” the French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote in the 17th century, “and yet it is itself the greatest of our miseries.” He also famously remarked that all of man’s problems come from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone."

"We have more and more ways to communicate, as (Henry David) Thoreau noted, but less and less to say. Partly because we’re so busy communicating."

"A series of tests in recent years has shown, Mr. Carr points out, that after spending time in quiet rural settings, subjects “exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper.” More than that, empathy, as well as deep thought, depends (as neuroscientists like Antonio Damasio have found) on neural processes that are “inherently slow.” The very ones our high-speed lives have little time for"

"Nothing makes me feel better — calmer, clearer and happier — than being in one place, absorbed in a book, a conversation, a piece of music. It’s actually something deeper than mere happiness: it’s joy, which the monk David Steindl-Rast describes as “that kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.”"

okay bye!

Credits

(actually not really, i'm still online on my ipad/bb)

That beautiful red dress

When i find the time to blog, i realise i don't have much to blog because all i worked all day - doesn't give me much inspiration, or leave much time for my mind to wander...

In any case, i saw this the other day and i just fell in love with the photo, the scenery, the dress, everything! i love the dress!

Src: Gary Pepper Vintage, one of the most amazing bloggers from down under.