Archive for the ‘Quotes and Lyrics’ Category
I Never Told You
I miss those blue eyes, how you kiss me at night
I miss the way we sleep
Like there’s no sunrise, like the taste of your smile
I miss the way we breathe
But I never told you what I should have said
No, I never told you, I just held it in
And now I miss everything about you
I can’t believe it, I still want you
And after all the things we’ve been through
I miss everything about you, without you
I see your blue eyes every time I close mine
You make it hard to see
Where I belong to, when I’m not around you
It’s like I’m not with me
But I never told you what I should have said
No, I never told you, I just held it in
And now I miss everything about you
(Still, you’re gone)
I can’t believe it, I still want you
(And I’m lovin’ you, I never should’ve walked away)
After all the things we’ve been through
(I know it’s never gonna come again)
I miss everything about you, without you
But I never told you what I should have said
No, I never told you, I just held it in
And now I miss everything about you
(Still, you’re gone)
I can’t believe it, I still want you
(And I’m lovin’ you, I never should’ve walked away)
After all the things we’ve been through
(I know it’s never gonna come again)
I miss everything about you, without you
Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.
An interesting read. Speech written for the graduating class of 2008, by Adrian Tan, guest-of-honour at NTU Convocation Ceremony, author of The Teenage Textbook (1988).
I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.
My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.
On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.
Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.
And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument.
Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.
The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You’re done learning.
You’ve probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don’t you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.
The good news is that they’re wrong.
The bad news is that you don’t need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You’re in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.
I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.
You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.
Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.
So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you’ll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.
Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they’re 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy.
I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.
After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.
Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.
That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.
If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.
What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.
Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.
What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.
Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.
The most important is this: do not work.
Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.
Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.
There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.
People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan “Arbeit macht frei” was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.
Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.
Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.
I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.
So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.
Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.
Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.
In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.
I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: Be Hated.
It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.
One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.
The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.
I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.
Rather, I exhort you to Love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.
Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.
Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.
You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.
You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.
Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.
Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.
Cherie Disembarks with Grace
Day 5
0700, 10 Dec 10, Romeo & Juliet Restaurant
I plodded my way to the Romeo & Juliet Restaurant, a half pace behind Mui Yee. It was time for breakfast, and following that, it was time to say goodbye.
As we worked our way towards the Romeo & Juliet Restaurant, I relived the first time I had breakfast at Windjammers. I remembered how astounded I was at the sumptuous spread, and I remembered how excited I was, decking my plate up high with various niceties. There was no appetizer, no main course, no desserts – it was all one plate – everything and anything the plate could hold at one time. If only we could have breakfast at Windjammers today. A wistful smile spread across my face even as Mui Yee turned back.
“Cherie, they are all there already. Come let’s join them,” Mui Yee started.
I looked up at her, the same smile still on my lips, “Yeah, time for our last meal together. I miss sleeping with you already.”
“I am so gonna miss all of you.”
Mui Yee nodded as a sigh escaped her lips. Well I guess all of us had such fond memories of our shared moments aboard the Legend of The Seas and the tours on shore.
I settled into an empty seat beside Alvin and ordered the massive American breakfast platter which consisted of sausage, bacon, eggs and toast in addition to a dish of grilled herring and a platter of fruits to complement my hearty breakfast.
Everyone looked in a rough shape. I guess it must be a function of the ungodly hour that we had to congregate here at Romeo & Juliet Restaurant for our breakfast in addition to the activities we had over the last few days coupled with the constant lack of sleep thereof as we each whiled the nights away in the company of the OMY Group.
Even so, the mood was unusually somber this morning. As if in a waking dream, my mind drifted back to the beginning…
Thank you Royal Caribbean International and OMY for allowing me to partake in this wonderful cruise journey. “Cruise To Paradise” is specially written and dedicated to each and every one of you. I hope you like it ♥ We started off not knowing each other, then, we became friends that we can’t stand to be without. Like how I will always remember the times we shared together, I will definitely come back for more. How about a 7 Night Bali & Semarang Cruise?
Love,
Cherie
(^_^)v
Read all about my Royal Caribbean Experience
Legend of The Seas, Memories of a Lifetime
Cherie’s Adventure on High Seas
Day 1: Cherie Sailing Into The Sunset
Day 2: Cherie’s Caper in Kuala Lumpur
Day 3: Cherie’s Frolic in Phuket
Day 4: Cherie’s Castle on Blue Seas
Day 5: Cherie Disembarks with Grace
You Can Be Whatever You Want To Be
There is inside you
All of the potential
To be whatever you want to be;
All of the energy
To do whatever you want to do.
Imagine yourself as you would like to be,
Doing what you want to do,
And each day, take one step
Towards your dream.
And though at times it may seem too
difficult to continue,
Hold on to your dream.
One morning you will awake to find
That you are the person you dreamed of,
Doing what you wanted to do,
Simply because you had the courage
To believe in your potential
And to hold on to your dream.
~ Donna Levine
Eat, Pray, Love.
People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.
A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave.
A soul mate’s purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master…
~ Elizabeth Gilbert
Would You Be There
If I were blue, would you be there for me,
And whisper in my ears that’s ok.
Would you stand by me, let me hold you tight,
And say you love me one more time.
If I feel good, would you slow dance with me,
And touch my lips with tender loving care,
Would you die for me, would you run with me,
And never look back..
Would you be there to love, to be with me?
Would you swear that your love is always true?
Would you say that you’ll always be the one,
to take my breath away?
Would you be there to love, to be with me?
Would you swear that your love is always true?
Would you say that you’ll always be the one,
to take my breath away?
Would you be there..
If I am away, would you still think of me,
And wished that you could hold me now.
Would you die for me, would you run with me,
All the way..
Would you be there to love, to be with me?
Would you swear that your love is always true?
Would you say that you’ll always be the one,
to take my breath away?
Would you be there to save my soul tonight,
Would you swear that your love is always true,
Would you say that you always be there,
To kiss my pain away..
Would you be there to love, to be with me?
Would you swear that your love is always true?
Would you say that you’ll always be the one,
to take my breath away?
Would you be there to save my soul tonight,
Would you swear that your love is always true,
Would you say that you always be there,
To kiss my pain away..
Would you be there…for me…
Mariah Carey – Bye Bye
This is for my peoples who just lost somebody
Your best friend, your baby, your man, or your lady
Put your hand way up high, we will never say bye (no, no, no)
Mamas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends and cousins
This is for my peoples who lost their grandmothers
Lift your head to the sky ’cause we will never say bye
As a child there were the times
I didn’t get it but you kept me in line
I didn’t know why you didn’t show up sometimes
It’s something more than saying “I miss you”
But when we talked too
All them grown folk thinks separation brings
You never let me know it , you never let it show
Because you loved me and obviously
There’s so much more left to say
If you were with me today face to face
I never knew I could hurt like this
And everyday life goes on like
I wish I could talk to you for awhile
I wish I could find a way try not to cry
As time goes by
And soon as you reach a better place
Still I’ll give the whole world to see your face
And I’m right here next to you
It feels like you gone too soon
The hardest thing to do is say bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye
And you never got the chance to see how good I’ve done
And you never got to see me back at number one
I wish that you were here to celebrate together
I wish that we could spend the holidays together
I remember when you used to tuck me in at night
With the Teddy Bear you gave to me that I held so tight
I thought you were so strong that you can make it through whatever
It’s so hard to accept the fact you’re gone forever
I never knew I could hurt like this
And everyday life goes on like
I wish I could talk to you for awhile
I wish I could find a way try not to cry
As time goes by
And soon as you reach a better place
Still I’ll give the whole world to see your face
And I’m right here next to you
It feels like you gone too soon
The hardest thing to do is say bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye
This is for my peoples who just lost somebody
Your best friend, your baby, your man, or your lady
Put your hand way up high , we will never say bye (no, no, no)
Mamas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends and cousins
This is for my peoples who lost their grandfathers
Lift your head to the sky ’cause we will never say bye, bye
I never knew I could hurt like this
And everyday life goes on like
I wish I could talk to you for awhile
I wish I could find a way try not to cry
As time goes by
And soon as you reach a better place
Still I’ll give the whole world to see your face
And I’m right here next to you
It feels like you gone too soon
The hardest thing to do is say bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye
Missing You
You come to mind morningly, nightly, and noonly,
I wish I could see you this minute or soonly…
So you’re probably right if you’re thinking it seems like
I’m taking this missing-you thing to extremes
:*)
Happy Valentine’s Day
There are so many things I would like to say,
But that would take me all day.
Now I wonder where to start…
There are times I don’t know what to do,
But I know I can always turn to you.
I’m so glad you came into my life.
Thank you :*)
Thoughts #7
If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.
If you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.
Thoughts #6
The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.
Thoughts #4
People are like teabags. You have to put them in hot water before you can know how strong they are.
Merry Christmas
“Without hope or agenda,
Just because it’s Christmas –
(and at Christmas you tell the truth)
To me, You are Perfect
And my heart will love you
Until you look like this…
Merry Christmas.”
Thoughts #3
“Staying with someone you really love even if you know you two can’t be together for a lot of reasons is like standing under the rain…it feels good, but you know it will soon make you sick.”
