#POKER: Premium hands don't always win

In the months that I've been playing poker, I've learnt a lot. Especially after going through various threads on CardsChat. I know, even from experience, that premium hands don't always guarantee a win. And Aces, do get cracked.

I used to play recklessly. Because I was always enrolled in freerolls and that means no money involved in entering the tournaments. Slowly I upgraded to playing micro stakes games, $0.50 buy-ins or even lower. Hahah, I can say that I've learnt a lot and playing on two different sites also gave me greater insight and lessons on how I need to switch my play.

I was more of a passive player. I get bullied and intimidated really easily, always thinking that my opponent had better cards than I did or they flopped a better set or a straight or even a house. This was till I realized that I was being bluffed, a lot. I got pissed and played recklessly and lost before I even made it to the middle of the tournament.

I don't ITM, well, not a lot. Maybe a really small percentage. But each time when I get past the bubble stage and even min cash, I'm happy and proud of myself. Because I've really come far from the timid player I was before.

I don't look to these sites to earn or generate an income. I like watching people play, I like watching how the pros play. It's recreational and makes my brain work harder thinking about odds and probabilities and equities and the like.

Alright, my 4 min break is over and I have to plan out what to cook for dinner tonight.

#TEEVEE: The Heirs - Korean Drama

In my family, the ones who are watching Korean dramas isn't me. It's my parents. I came home one day to hear "Omma! Oppa!" and was wondering just what the heck was going on. They're hooked. I tried to understand the allure, tried to find appreciation but I remembered my first encounter with a Korean drama that left me quite emotionally crippled - Moonlight Sonata. Granted, that one was just one tear fest after another.

Heard about The Heirs from a girlfriend and she was saying that it was pretty good. I'm on to episode 4 and so far, I find it a lot more entertaining than The Carrie Diaries. Although it leaves me to question why must the rich girls always be so bratty and have such a laser mouth? It's as if nothing that comes out, is ever pleasant or nice. Specially when it's with regards to the lower class.

I don't know if the class system is really that big and important in Korea. On second thoughts, even in the real world it's the truth. So no happy lala ideal land here.

Is it just me that the men have really really deep voices? From what I remember watching on Western TV, the guys don't have such deep voices. If so, very rare or just very old. I doubt the actors are anywhere near the age of 30 (even as they play the role of high schoolers).

The girls do have great fashion sense. Quite envious. And the pale flawless skin. Makes me wonder why, when I am Asian, I ain't blessed with that. One does have to note that Korea is popular for quick-fix plastic surgery, so I'm not too sure how many of the actors and actresses actually look natural (in the way that God gifted them).

Is it just me or does Lee Min Ho (who plays Kim Tan) and Ikuta Touma (Nakatsu from Hanazakari, and is Japanese) look alike?

I think it's the nose.

#TEEVEE: The Carrie Diaries - Verdict

I'm like any other girl who likes watching chick flicks. I like Designs by Jane, thought it had a really good plot. Occasionally there was some cheesy dialogue (well... name one tv show that doesn't) and some of the stuff didn't seem to believable but I guess in Hollywood land, everything is possible.

Came across The Carrie Diaries. I didn't even know it was about Carrie Bradshaw (Sex and the City) and her childhood and the woes of growing up. I had the whole season waiting for me but 15 minutes into the first episode, I trashed everything.

Too predictable. Too... trite and cliched. I know I know that it's catered towards teenagers but really, you want to start off the series talking about sex and losing your virginity? Very good way of educating other girls out there that as a rite of passage into womanhood, you're expected to lose your virginity when still in high school.

Yeck.

That's all I can sum up. Maybe I should have given it more time, maybe eventually I might come to grow and like it. Nope. No way. Nada zilch. It's not about the sex bit, hell so many other shows that I have watched and liked and I did enjoy probably talked about sex quite a fair bit (but it is NOT the reason why I watch the shows). It's just that the series appears to be lacking in substance.

Yeah, I expect too much, have unrealistic expectations etc.

But I guess if you loved Sex in the City and it was like your go-to series when growing up etc, it might be for you. Just doesn't cut it for me.

The actress playing the lead reminds me of a younger Lindsay Lohan pre-drug abuse and alcohol. She does have unnaturally big eyes. Genetics or make-up?

#BOOKFILLER: Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Today I began reading Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta. A couple of readers on Good Reads mentioned that it was a pretty good book. From what I gleaned, there's something about fantasy, love, romance, adventure, heroism. The usual. A couple of pages in and I've decided that I will spend tonight finishing up the book. Looked and read as if it went right up my alley.

UPDATE.

I just finished the book and I can say that as far as young adult fantasy goes... this was tame. The plot felt pretty straightforward. The flavour was in the twist, which was a nice pleasant surprise. You won't expect to be crying/weeping/sobbing like a lunatic as you read this story because well, it's got that vanilla ending that makes you go... Well, it was decent.

Not something I would re-read. Didn't find myself as pulled in as the Study Series by Maria Snyder. Maybe I'm just a different kind of fantasy reader. I would admit that there were parts that were gripping but the overall sensation I got was still a little lukewarm. I don't exactly know what I was expecting but at the end of the book, I can understand why it's called Finnikin of the Rock. Off to read Froi of the Exiles and hope that perhaps like Kristin Cashore, Marchetta's books gets better as the series progresses.

Didn't bother with a breakdown because I didn't really feel like I took much from the 400plus pages.

Rating: 2/5

#LIFE: Newfangled blogs, or Generation Z Bloggers

This is going to be a rant, of sorts. So if you're not into that, then you're better off waiting for my next book or game related post (though the latter might take awhile because I haven't had the groove nor desire to game recently).

Was simply browsing through local blogs and noticed a trend - that the more popular and famous ones are usually that of fashion bloggers or lifestyle bloggers. You know, the type where the posts are predominantly large pictures of the author in clothes sponsored by the thousands of blogshops in the market or pictures of food at a swanky restaurant they had been invited to or selfies. The selfies I just attribute to the generation of self-gratification and narcissism. It's always there just that it now runs rampant and some people think that more pictures of themselves justifies the substance of their blog.

Sad really.

I was reminded of time, years before (let's go back to say... 10 to 13 years back), when most blogs were really what they were - outlets of creative expression. The more active bloggers were the designers, because it was one way in which they displayed their design capabilities and prowess. I used to envy people like Yimun (who used to own the now defunct wire-d.net and Chun who was also a musician). I was friends with bloggers across the causeway (a time where our neighbours didn't always view us with distaste) and even across the world.

There were shoutouts, conversations, dialogues and discussion. We talked and shared our lives, our thoughts and our feelings. There wasn't any antagonism or rivalry. There was a lot of help when any one of us was down or in need. And of course, the command of English was really superior unlike the trash prose that's on all these newbie newfangled blogs. Granted they claim to be long-time bloggers (I'm talking about the new ones here) because they shot up in 2006 when blogsites like Blogger and LiveJournal became more mainstream. I think LiveJournal appealed more to the locals because of it's functionality - easy to use and start and if you wanted to be a bit more advanced, deceptively easy enough to manipulate the layouts.

But that's all ended. I miss those days. Where there weren't blogger outreach programs, where people didn't rush to get visitors and hits and then sell themselves out to the highest bidder or free stuff. There was no distinction between the 'popular' and 'less popular' bloggers because really, we were all equal and we all specialised in our own niche things that made us different and unique no matter how similar we were. Our individual personalities were what attracted people, not the pictures we spammed all over or the advertorials and sponsored or paid posts or even the ad space.

In fact, we preferred being a part of community blogrolls instead of narrowing on being the elite.

Times have changed. People changed. I no longer know where the old bloggers I've known before have gone off to. Since I left Facebook, that connection I have with them is lost further.

I miss the days. I miss the people. I miss the interaction and conversation. I miss the no-drama and the intense dialogues we'd have over books, anime, design, or anything else.

I miss the gorgeous layouts depicting anime/manga characters or even illustrations drawn by the bloggers themselves. And that's the thing, they were all somehow so amazingly talented with drawing.

It's why I'm quite content with my blog, with it's simplicity and lack of needing to please everyone or anyone, just me.

Pity the rest of the world no longer feels that way. Haha.

#LIFE: Bye bye East Coast Parkway

I know... We're a small country and we need to make use of every available square inch of land to develop develop develop. I don't know what else there is to develop. I don't see so much green these days. Everywhere I go, if it isn't a new condo then it's a new mall or a new industrial/office building, or just another construction pile of steel and concrete that's going to result into one of these few things.

I've taken the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) to the boy's house a couple of times before and the only thing I can say about it is... sad. It isn't pathetic. Yeah I understand that it's probably some amazing engineering and architectural feat or something (is it? I didn't bother much). The sad thing is that I'm missing the view. 

I've loved driving on the East Coast Parkway (ECP) because it's that long stretch with an amazing scenery. Coming from the West, I get to see the Central Business District (CBD) on my left and then Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and the Singapore Flyer on my right.  I get to see the Helix Bridge and even the floating stage. During the F1 season I got to see the bright lights at the Pit Building and even way out into the sea.

Now all I see is darkness. One long stretch of tunnel all the way to the KPE.

That's why it makes me feels sad. It's a compounding effect that already I live on such a tiny cramped island that's always developing and building and changing. I see more urban jungle than I do the real jungle. It breaks my heart to think that the very things, the icons and landmarks that I would have told my overseas friends as I drive them from the airport or to the East side of Singapore are hidden behind concrete and darkness. Better yet, sea water.

I've had so much memories on the ECP. It was like a rite of passage when I got my driver's license, if I could brave that expressway then I could brave through anything.

Today we were headed towards Sentosa for a wedding, coming from Bedok, and we wanted to see what really happened to the ECP. It all seemed normal and ok for awhile till we reached the Marina Bay area and suddenly the road got abruptly cut off and we were funneled through some odd and unfamiliar looking terrain before arriving in Shenton Way. 

I felt lost, disoriented. 

And most importantly, sad.

I wish I had taken more photos when I was a passenger and driving across the bridge. I had always dreamt one day that I would be able to take a shot of the amazing CBD skyline from that bridge. Guess not anymore.

Another dream shattered. 

Thanks government.

/sarcasm

#TEEVEE: Late night drives with Breaking Bad

I know I shouldn't be thinking so much, but the more I watch it, the more I find myself so emotionally involved with the story. I don't know why. I shouldn't sympathise or feel something for Jesse Pinkman, and yet I do. I understand that he deserved some of what he was getting but damn you Vince, you're making me like the guy because you're peeling the onions away and making me see that he's not just some meth crackhead.

That he is human, underneath the addiction, and that he has a heart. I'm at Season 2, no brownies for guessing which episode I just finished watching.

Walter White... I don't know what to say. Watching him in the show somehow makes me feel like I'm watching my dad. No, he's not a chemist nor a chemistry teacher (but he is a teacher who specializes in language) and he's not doing any of them illegal things. But it's just seeing the obstructions that keeps ambushing his path and how he's had to struggle and keep everything all locked up tight within him. I understand men and their egoes and pride and I can understand and see that in my dad.

Honestly, I feel so powerless and helpless each time after the show. Knowing that I am in a somewhat similar position and had I been rolling with the wrong crowd, I could be in the same position as him. It hurts to think that I can't confide in my family and that the silent treatment and cold shoulders are just something I don't deserve because whatever it is that I'm doing and the intense and imperative need for secrecy is all for them.

Sacrifices and anti-heroes. I think that's the main theme. Or that's the reason why anti-heroes are just the way they are. Because of the need for sacrifice, especially at their own cost.

I don't exactly know where I was going with this but tonight as I was on the drive back home, I felt that I wasn't going to wallow in self-pity and feel sorry for myself for believing that I am nothing and have accomplished nothing. I wasn't going to remain helpless and powerless. I know I can do things, I know I am capable of things and I just needed to be nudged a little in the right direction to get a move on, a kick start, and I know that I'm gonna be somewhere.

It took awhile, I'm a late bloomer, but I'll get there. I'll be the person I know I was meant to be, that I am capable of being.

So strangely, Breaking Bad has somehow given me a new sense of ambition, determination and drive. Funny how things work out.

New Look

Well, 2014 does require a couple of new changes. One of them being the blog's overall look. Frankly, ever since Blogger was bought over by Google and with it the change in its layouts and the implementation of HTML5, I've been rather lost. I used to be so familiar with creating layouts for Blogger/Blogspot, it was second nature and I knew the codes by heart.

But when HTML5 appeared and then the engine for the layouts changed, it gave me a terrible headache. I stayed away from ever attempting because the codes just seemed so intimidating and scary. In the end, I just kept cycling through the different generic layouts that were available. Deep down inside though, I had always yearned to overcome that obstacle and create a layout that was mine and mine alone.

I scoured the internet and came across a resource that had been immensely helpful in bringing about this layout. True, it is simple, but it's definitely a start. There were a lot of modifications and tweaks that I had to make and I know that I still have a long way to go before I can consider myself mastering the art of designing layouts for Blogger.

Still, there's always a first for everything.

Maybe in time I'll be able to come up with something far more colourful, complex and uniquely me. Baby steps. Baby steps.

#BOOKFILLER - Becca Fitzpatrick

Now I'm reading this series by Becca Fitzpatrick. Currently at the second book Crescendo. Stopping at a rather steamy scene when my brain hangs for a moment.

Isn't the lead a 16-year old girl? And isn't it a little too... What's that word... Immoral or skanky for her to be straddling some guys lap and having them do what pretty much seems like heavy petting? Yeah sure I know over the seas and in the land of the West this kinda behavior is typically normal. But please please, I mean, I would truly appreciate adults and young adults (meaning 20 and above) to have all the hormonally descriptive steamy bits. 

Call me a prude, but suddenly I don't feel so comfortable reading this book. And I'm 28-years-old!

#BOOKFILLER - Poison Study Series by Maria V Snyder

I had Maria Snyder's books in my library for awhile but had always forgotten about them or, like a child with ADD, simply got distracted by other pretty shiny things to read.

When I finally did buckle down to read, I ended up finishing all three books in the span of two nights. My attention span when it comes to books is notorious. If I demand peace and solitude whilst reading, it means that the book is worth nothing. That I want to detach myself from everything around to be thrown and completely immersed in the world drawn up and coloured for me by the writer.

The Poison Study series did that.

I can't pinpoint which element in it that had me hooked. The theme of discovering magic, of espionage and spies and the underdog who somehow beats all the odds, suspicion and intrigue and even the romance that somehow managed to weave itself in, always lingering but not made the primary theme and eventual focus of some other similar books I have read.

Truly, this series was a pleasant surprise from a few things I have read. I'm trying really hard to nitpick and find fault in this series.

Flow: 

The story flow in itself was good. It was realistic. You don't suddenly find yourselves going through a drama that you know in reality would have taken a month or so but only happened in a few hours (read: Romeo and Juliet). Time does pass, even if its in the pages of a book. And with that, it creates the perfect sense of urgency and at times, helplessness depending on the situation. Nothing here is rushed, even when the lead has a penchant for running into things and going into things without a solid plan, there is still a sense of time and placement that allows for the readers to feel the apprehension sink in as the characters do before they embark on their near-impossible task.

Characters:

I wouldn't say that Yelena is now my favourite fantasy heroine (because despite the months I still can think of Celaena Sardothien) but compared to Celeana, she seemed so human and real. Human and real in the sense that her struggles, though set in a fantasy land, is almost realistic. The beginnings of the story when she was first introduced reminded me too much of Celaena but I liked how Snyder didn't really make life easy for her. It's not a matter of continuous putting Yelena in bad situations and then manipulating the reader to feel pity just because of the brutalities and injustice that was put on her. You grow to admire her, like her initial rough and unpolished ways and then her determination and resilience in braving and upsetting the odds. In fact, I very much liked how magic didn't even become the central focus of the story and of Yelena's character till much later. The story stayed true to its namesake and made sense and at home in my brain.

Plot:

Wow. There's actually a lot going on here. It may seem like so many things are happening at once and perhaps anyone else may have felt that all of sudden, from one plot bunny we're thrown another right in our faces. It didn't feel that way to me and in fact, it felt more like Snyder was aware that introducing a new plot element too soon when her readers are just about settling with the introductions would be too rude and abrupt. Hence my comment on the story flow, smooth.

Action/Drama/Conflict/etc:

Oh there's a healthy dose of this. I'm glad though that Snyder didn't paint Yelena to be one of those dramatic girls who's somehow been typecasted and written to be clamouring for attention just because she's the heroine, the lead. Yelena strives to be unnoticed but of course we notice her so much because the story is written from her perspective and thus, we are always privy to her thoughts and feelings. I did half expect her and Valek to have more intimate moments but I get the feeling that Snyder respects fantasy for what it is and even if there is romance thrown into the mix, it shouldn't be made the primary focus for the story. Apart from the romance (which honestly isn't really a lot), there was enough conflict, drama and chaos to keep you pulled in and never wanting to put the book down. Dare I admit that even the solutions posed to some of the obstacles everyone in the story faced actually seemed pretty logical and realistic. And would definitely make sense as compared to actions taken by lust/love-crazed and infused main characters who can only think selfishly for their gratification.

Overall:

Really, I do love and adore this book. I think it's like an underdog for me to be caught and swept up in the story and even had to tell my boyfriend to wait until I was done with the last ten pages before he could talk to me! I'm trying my best not to spoil this book for anyone else (which I do believe is what people expect when reading a review - whether it's good enough to read or so bad you should trash it instead of spoiling the whole plot).

Rating: 5/5

#TEEVEE: Breaking Bad

I love this shot of Walter White (Bryan Cranston, you did a swell job!). It does reminds me of Gordon Freeman, the protagonist in Half-Life (who doesn't know this?). In fact when I was looking for a nice picture to accompany this review, I came across quite a number of photo edits of this shot superimposed on the Half-Life poster.

Still. Walter White is badass, especially when he shaved his head bald.

To be honest, I didn't really want to watch Breaking Bad. In my head I just thought it was a guy show too much like NCIS or CSI (I do like them but wouldn't want to watch it religiously) and it would soon enough bore me to death with its typical and cliched storylines.

But I'm done with Season 1 and I have to confess, I'm quite hooked. And why it's got me hooked is because I felt like I could identify... no. Not identify, but rather, that I completely empathized with Walter White. In some ways, he reminds me of my father (looks a little even) and the struggles that he goes through really struck home. Thank god that my dad doesn't have a terminal illness but the main overarching theme of finance and monetary issues really did get at me.

Who doesn't understand that or who wouldn't be able to empathise with that? Granted, cooking up drugs isn't really the way to get all your problems solved but I know what it means where desperate times call for desperate measures. Found myself tearing quite a fair bit at certain emotional parts and of course, I've whooped with unabashed joy when he went all bad ass and somehow just managed to triumph despite the odds.

Will be on to Season 2 in awhile but still, just thought I felt that I needed to jot this all down. I guess they (meaning the Interwebs, critics and friends) weren't wrong when they said that this really was one of the shows of the century and I'm amazed that I stayed away from it for so long (I think the main reason I did was because someone recommended I watch Burnt Notice and I thought it was crap, but that's just me).

Hoping for more Walter White bad-assness. Even changed my profile picture on some sites to this mug shot. Randomly, he does remind me of Patrick Stewart.

And oh my god, I just realised, once again he's an anti-hero. I think I have a thing for anti-heroes. Fare thee well knights in shining armour. You lot are just too... pretty and shiny and unrealistic in a world that's filled with so much cynicism.

#BOOKFILLER: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

I remember a saying that things get better with time. Or maybe that was just a reference to wine and people that in general we kinda get better or wiser or whatever the hell it is with time.

I read all three books by Kristin Cashore although they weren't in the order that they were meant to be. Should have been Graceling followed by Fire and then finished off with Bitterblue. As it stood, I read Graceling, then Bitterblue and finally Fire. Though it doesn't really matter because Cashore did a pretty good job with the two books after Graceling where even if you mixed up Bitterblue and Fire, you still understand what's going on.

It did help that Bitterblue was very much in line with the events that transpired in Graceling and thus when I read it, I didn't feel as if I had fallen far off track and was missing out on key events or pivotal moments. Fire did seem like it was a filler or one of those complementary stories to help flesh up Graceling a little bit more.

So anyway, this review is about Bitterblue. I did think it was the best out of the three and it did a great job in showing Cashore's growth as a writer - the evolution of the characters in terms of their personalities and individuality, the flow of events. There were some parts that I did find lacking but it didn't destroy the overall experience I had with the book, which was generally good.

Without further ado, I present my short review that was up on Goodreads (because I hate rehashing unless I find that there's more that I should be adding because I forgot it the first time round).

I read Graceling and then Bitterblue. I should have read FIre right after Graceling but silly me was too stupid to bother taking note of the numbers on the book.

I don't think they were very obvious... were they?

In anycase, whilst I found Graceling a little flat, probably because it was the introductory story and laid the foundation to the whole concept and storyline, I absolutely adored Bitterblue.

It's hard to imagine having lived a life with an insane delusional father. And that you were drawn and made to believe that his delusions were true because of his gift (I'd rather put it as curse). The struggles she faces seems obscenely unreal especially for someone of her standing and age. But hey, that makes for good drama. I did find that the love romance thread between her and Sage was a little lacking. Maybe expected more fire and passion because this is young love we're talking about!

Katsa and Po has more fire than their young love and possibly adulthood love will ever have. Tis sad. But I guess it's just Katsa's and Po's thing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot twists and turns. At one point I was expecting the shapeshifting girl to be the culprit, the true thief mastermind but instead, it was that seemingly innocent servant girl with that fearless grace.

Loved the pace of the book, had quite a number of feels at certain points of the story. I do believe that maybe because this was the last in the series and Cashore had a better grasp of her characters and her ability to evoke emotion in her readers and get them to empathise with the characters, even be pulled into the drama and action of it all.

I came reading this with little and no expectation and was very much pleased at the end of it. Of all three books. It's one of those things that gets better with the sequel. 

#BOOKFILLER: Asylum by Madeleine Roux

To be honest, I don't usually read horror fiction. Mostly because my imagination is really fertile which sometimes leads to rather horrifying nightmares and sleepless nights because of it.

So me, reading this book, came somewhat as a surprise. I did have a nasty feeling that it was going to be chilling and creepy, just by looking at the cover, and I'm not quite sure what compelled me to read this today (and finish it all at one shot) but perhaps sheer and utter boredom.

Or that I was waiting to get Breaking Bad Season 4.

Anyhoo. What can I say about this book? That it's about 300 pages on an iPad and I finished it all in one day across the span of... hmm... 3 hours. Even my boyfriend was shocked when I told him that. To save me the agony and mental brainfreeze of needing to rehash what I thought about this book, allow me to copy and paste my review on Goodreads.

The title is creepy and the illustrations that followed it, creepier still. Normally I don't read horror fiction and not quite too sure that only boredom would compel me to do things I normally don't. 

Of course, I usually start off reading books with very low expectations. Especially from authors I'm not familiar with. I have to say that Asylum was an interesting piece. In my brain there were parts that seemed as if they were a little haphazardly fleshed out. Rushed here and there with sudden leaps from one scene to another, but that could just be me. The chill was quite real and I felt my hair stand at some parts. Where the flow is concerned, I would say it was pretty decent and had a nice build-up. I did wish that there was more research that went into the depth and foray of exploring the history and background of the Asylum and the lead's connection to it. Sure enough that bits of it filtered out at the end like slow-drip coffee but there were still so much questions that I wish were answered. I don't believe there's a sequel to this book and perhaps if it was longer and allowed for a greater exploration into the connections and histories of the different characters, I would have been happy. At some parts, I did think that the sudden appearance of different characters seemed too convenient, as if just thrown in for the sake of ending off the book.

I do have to applaud Roux for writing a compellingly chilling horror fiction that even got me writing this review (why bother writing reviews on something that isn't worth it eh?).

Now to read the others.

If horror fiction with twists (although I do believe that most if not all books have twists) are something you dig, try reading this. Could be finished in a day or two. I'm sorry I'm a fast reader but it means something when I do finish the book in one seating. Because it means that despite some of its shortcomings, it was still riveting enough to catch my otherwise flighty attention.

This means I keep quiet and don't bug my boyfriend whilst he's online and busy with stuff.

Hello 2014!

This post should have come way before the new year I guess but in any case, Happy New Year!

So much happened in 2013 that I think it's one of the reasons why I didn't want to write a reflective post. There were a lot of personal stuff that I don't want to share with the public because duh, it's personal and really, I should think people come here to read about my awesome book reviews and bumblings through games.

I would say that I am thankful for a lot of things that happened. I am thankful for myself, for still being alive and struggling and surviving. Sure the struggling bit can be really tedious but I'm not a quitter and I foresee 2014 being a year where I'll just keep going and going because I think sometimes that's what I can be good at (sometimes even to the point of being annoying).

This year I turn 29 and I've had a couple of setbacks and downswings because of what I've felt and perceived what success and achievements are supposed to be like when you're at this age. But then after a talk with old friends I learnt that the most valuable thing I just need to remember is that I didn't live an empty life - I lived one that was filled with such a variety of experiences that coloured and changed and shaped the way I saw things, handled things and processed things.

I pray this 2014 goes smooth sailing. The main thing I want to be is just happy and content. I'm tired of the rat race and really, tired of needing to prove to myself or to anyone else. As long as I'm happy, as long as I have the bare necessities, I am ok and I can survive.

I wish everyone else a great new 2014. If you didn't discover yourself in 2013, it's ok. I didn't till it was too late and even each day, it's a discovery for me to see how far I can go, what my limits are and all. Just remember to be happy, that's important and of course, to love those dear and close to you and even those you think the least who need loving.

Ciao!

P.S Games have been put on hold because we've moved back and I need to work on my new business (which I hope to launch February latest) and the fact that I sold off the TV because I was strapped for cash and thus have no moolah for new games - PC or PS3. So don't ask me if I'm getting the PS4 because I'm broke for luxury but fortunately, able to survive with the bare necessities.

:)