Yusaku-san replied

First of all, thanks for Yeqi's well done Xmas card. It is rare that ppl handmade cards these days. Will post the pics tml..

Couch surfing should be fun....my indian online friend is having a great time hosting ppl from all over the world!~ Vonnie, you may want to try when u r in Japan,,,lolz.. Today i went to the ntuc near my house and i saw they have 3 rows filled of curry and local flavours seasonings..the selection is big. I think Mustafa's is bigger coz Japanese like to try out other types of curries. I think Japanese who didnt try original curries before would think their curry is the only curry in the world (yes, some of them are in their own world.....eg "Asia = Korea").

Yusaku-san replied this afternoon. His pc is down, so can only receive and reply via keitai. I think he said many shops in the neighbourhood had closed due to poor biz (tried translating using the software but cant figure it out). We went to one of the X concert together in march,,so funny,,he said "last year",,so fast he is in 2009 liao,,lolz... the soup is my parents host gave his family. Ive sent 6 assorted herbal soup packs,,2packs were the A1 ba kut teh soup pack.

Ｂｅｅｈａｒ－ｓａｎメールありがとう。去年はライブ楽しかったです！ご心配頂いた店の方はまぁまぁですが、近所の店は不景気で閉店するところも多いようです。また、スープも送ってくれてありがとう。また、メールします、ｓｅｅーｙｏｕ('-^*)/

Ya,,i think i remembered there is ya kun kaya in japan,,and also the Jumbo chilli crabs. It was a food joint venture with a japan & Spore company but i dunno where it is..lolz..must be costly like mad.

Vonnie, dont be too panic about the future. Must relax so you can hear what your heart is telling you. I remembered i got my 1st job after graduation by going to the employment agency....the job just fall on my lap but quit after 1 month coz it is not wat i enjoy. It was working in an engineering firm as a Customer service rep, co-ordinating with factory and overseas clients. After 3weeks there, i dont even know what im doing.. it was a struggle between the good pay and my heart. In the end, i decided to follow my heart coz if i have the $ but not happy, then it is not worth it. I dread waking up going to work and worst,,take the company provided bus..felt like im a part of the flock of hens or something,,lolz

After i quit, went to work in retail...many of my classmates sneer at me coz they work in office,,9-5pm, alternate sat and off on sun and public holidays.

Remembered one of my classmate told me said these to me when she saw me at work. She said 'why u work here when u can be in an air con office, dun need to serve ppl,,just do paper work and go home on time every day. U like tat waste wat u learn,,,waste ur talent and time working in retail line.." Haiz,,,tat time was really demoralised coz my mum also dont like i work retail coz sometimes i reach home,,it is already 12am plus. Then one fine day when i came back late and she nagged at me again, i simply told her "u want me to 1 year change 3 jobs or 3yrs change 1 job?" From tat day, she stopped nagging at me. I also dunno why i will say this too her.,it just came to me naturally,, Looking back now, it is soo true..like a "ming yan".

Im glad ive done retail. It was an eye opener coz have a chance to come in contact with many different kinds of ppl, locally and internationally. It is an experience you cant get when you do office jobs. I learned alot about inter-personal skills. This is the most important survival skill in society. No matter how much qualification you have but lack of inter-personal skills, you cant go far, unless you confirm you want to be an Otaku.

Once read in the straits times about a young man (in mid 2o's i think). He is a hawker, selling fish porridge. He start work at 5am and off work at 2pm. Everyday after 2pm, he just do what he wants..he went to enriching courses etc. He makes more than enough living this way..lived in condo and drives a mercedes. I believe he focus at doing his best fish porridge, tats why he got his results today. Perhaps initially when he started out as a hawker, his classmates also laughed at him. Now, he had the last laugh...

It depends on what you want and it is not easy to find out coz im still searching. Experience or money/prestige? Adventurous life or Routine life? Challenging or Mundane? I think some people never thought of such questions at all..like LP and 47yo. Maybe to them, living in own La-La land is safer and worry free. Sometimes i wish i could settle for such lifestyle.

Incidently, saw LP at outram park today...zzzzz. Will meet her next week coz her sister bought SID's pamphlet..

It is not easy to do what you want when ppl around you are merely following the crowd. It aint easy to swim against the tide coz you are one lonely fish... It takes alot of courage, persistance and patience.