Why do we need to work?

I often ask myself this question, "Why do we need to work?". And I had a myriad of answers to that question, as follows;

1)To kill time

2)To do something useful with our lives

3)To give ourselves a sense of empowerment that we are independent and not dependent for anything

4) To earn money

5) To earn money

6) Money

7) Money

8) Money

9) $$$$$$$

Yup. Why do we work? For money!!. That's all. There is no other reason why we work. If you say u work because you enjoy the challenge it gives you. You might say that for a while, but over the long haul, it's strictly for the money!! We force ourselves to wake up early in the morning, force ourselves out of bed, put on some nice decent clothes and head to work and mingle with the colleagues and complain about a whole myriad of issues from the the jams on the public transport, to the bosses and other colleagues, etc and then head back home and continue what we were doing.

It makes you think. Why are you doing this exactly. To survive in this world, we need money to pay for our bills, food and so on. And this goes on till our last breath. One life is over. So with this approach, is life worth living? Maybe? No?

"Money is the root of all evil"

"Money is the root of all evil". What a quote. I mean from the minute I have entered the working world and joined many other individuals in the chase for money, one can go mad. It's crazy!!! Everyone needs money to live and more importantly, survive. But the extent to which pple would go to earn money, its crazy. It makes sane pple do insane things to get a bit of money. And you know what, earning money is one thing, but being greedy is another. Some fellas are so rich, and filthy rich that you wonder whether they will be able to spend all their money in this lifetime. I mean come on, how much money do you really need. Pple have made chasing money into a real race. I dont know but I am getting very disillusioned by this insatiable thirst that I see in the people around to get rich. My question to them, when do u stop!! I mean once you are able to buy for yourself a decent set of clothes, get a decent roof over your head and decent food on your table, isnt that enough? Haha. I guess not. They want everything that comes along with money; status, image, power, material goods and respect. I am sorry but in my book, life is not measured by how much rich you are, but how many lives u have touched, changed and improved. Be it a family member, relative, friend or a complete stranger. Life becomes much more meaningful and gratifying if you are able to do that. Happiness is doubled when shared with someone else whom you genuinely want to help from the bottom of heart.

It's been a long time..

I am looking to start a blog on Bollywood. Thats right. I had to. I am hoping to create an online community for fellow Bollymovie viewers to discuss their thoughts abt the movies they have just seen. I desperately need to, coz I would like to compare my views with yours.

So here goes.. www.bollywoodfilmreview.wordpress.com

The Conversation Starter

You know when you meet someone, let this person be Muthu and and you be yourself. Now, whats the first line you gonna tell Muthu.......... Let me answer it for you. Its likely gonna be one of the following.. 1) How are you? , or 2) How's it going? or How have you been?...

Now, when you ask this question.. you want to hear something positive like the usual "I'am fine" or " I am good" or " I am great" ...

Now even Muthu knows that he is not going to bore you by sharing his woes with you by saying " You know actually i got a bit of problem.. i got this muscle pull, and take care of my parents, and also u know, i got a bit of a flu and also my studies are not doing that great coz my lecturers dont speak good English, but other than that, i am ok."

Haha. Now you tell me, when you ask Muthu "How are you?, would you wanna hear the usual " I am fine.." or the whole list of problems.. So much so, that this conversation starter has to be phased out coz its really irrelevant and not important coz Muthu is not going give you an honest answer and you are desperate to hear the " I am good" answer....

So next time, dont bother saying "How are you?".. but rather.. try something new instead. Not too awkward and not too odd i say..

Hey Muthu, what happen to you la.. U look like you have been starving la..

Hey Muthu, how? have u been paying ur income tax on time..

If Muthu is a girl, then of course give it a feminine touch.. Like the following..

Hey Letchmi, Wow!! (Start giving applause and showering all kinds of praise on her).. Too good!!... Amazing.... Mind-blowing.... And then wait for her response.. She will prob walk away or if she really has a huge ego, say a thank you as well.

Give them a try and tell me how it goes la.. Cheers.

The M9 Excellence in Music Bollywood Awards..

With the year coming to an end, I felt that it would be a good gesture to recognise the few singers that have wowed me with their soulful and really mind-blowing vocals in the last few years. The ability to infuse the right amount of emotion into these songs is simply crazy. The manner in which they have sung their songs gives me the idea that these singers have gone thru alot in life to put so much of pain, sorrow and feel into the songs. Remarkable. So here goes..

Sonu Nigam, Soniyo. This song is one of Sonu's finest I must say. The fella sings like he means it.

Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Nephew of the late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Another fella that is world-class. What a voice. Amazing. This song is titled Main Jahan Rahoon. Too good.

Mohit Chauhan. A new entrant. This song that he sang, Tune Jo Na Kaha. No one couldnt have done a better job than him.

And of course, for a dance number, we have Neeraj Sridhar. One of the better dance numbers, straightforward, alot of solid beats and of course, a good voice to complement the beats.

Thats all. Look forward to more songs from this top notch singers. Besides these few, there is also Atif Aslam who has done well although the originality of his songs are questionable. Then there is also Adnan Sami and Kunal Ganjawala. For the ladies, there is definitely Sunidhi Chauhan and of course, the lovely Shreya Goshal.

One thing is for sure, Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik have had to take a backseat in the past few months. They have been around for so long and have sang so many songs that it gets too stale. Take a break la. Chak De!!

When the ref is not looking...

Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Thierry Henry. These 3 sports stars were the 3 key individuals signed on for the Gilette ads. Using the usual marketing trick of getting star names who were stars in their own sports category and drawing the shaving crowd to Gilette. Well, I guess these stars have taken a beating recently.

Henry famously stopping the ball with his hand, and using another touch of his hand to bring it into his stride before laying off the pass to another French mate to score the goal that sealed the World Cup spot for France. Now, Ireland will feel hard done by. Considering that they were the better team in the 2 legs. But I guess, if the referee didnt see it even though the whole world saw it, its still a goal. Zidane was not so fortunate when he headbutted Materazzi at the World Cup Final. Henry apologized after the game and went on saying that FIFA should have a replay and all. Haha. All bullshit. Pple will do anything to attain more success, pride, fame, medals and glory. Henry did just that. I say Henry just shut up and work on his shaving ads. But it makes u wonder abt how u can get away with anything on the field as long as the referee does not see it. Because the REF cant use video technology, well thats for football only. SO here are my list of things that a footballer can do..

Pull down the pants of another footballer when he is not looking.

Pee behind the goalpost when the ref is not looking.

Have a smoke when the ref is not looking.

Open up a drinks stall at the corner when the ref is not looking.

Give a call to the wife when the ref is not looking.

Have a full body massage when the ref is not looking.

I say u even pull down the ref shorts when he is looking the other way.

To deny another country a fair chance of progressing to the World Cup when the ref is not looking.

Apparently, Sepp Blatter says u cant change 124 years of football tradition. OK.

Football is a funny game.

What it means to have a conscience?

Conscience? What does that mean? Apparently, if you go can kill someone, as in hammer the fella and throw the fella down a cliff, and then u carry on life as per normal. Then yeah, u dont have one. Haha.

Thats why I never bother finding a seat when i take the public transport. I find a nice solid seat on the bus or on the train for that matter, and then at the next stop, a old fella steps up. And then, sort of looks in my general direction and then yeah, i have no choice but to just stand up and regardless of whether the fella sits on my seat or not, just go to the standing section. Yeah, so just dont bother finding a seat. Haha.

Meeting an old flame

The guy chanced upon his first love, almost 3 years after he last saw her. You can imagine the emotions going thru him. Whether she can still remember him, whether she even remembers his name. He thought she was running towards him but alas, it was not to be. As she ran towards her kid, picking him up from play school.

The scene I guess is well-directed, but what makes its a really solid scene is the music and the vocals of the singer, Mohit Chauhan. The manner in which he infuses the emotions the moment required and his lazy style of singing is remarkable. Makes you think that he must have gave gone thru the same situation as the actor in the movie. Too good.

Birth and Death..

Life is fragile. That quote was said to me by my GP tutor back during my junior college days when he received news of one his relative being involved in a car accident in Australia. I couldnt agree more. Just look at the many ways death can be "achieved".

You read abt the papers on how a fellow individual died in a natural disaster(tsunami, earthquake, cyclone, etc), or a man made disaster(bombing, fire, car crashes) or even a personal attack on one's self(suicide and so on).

How abt birth? There is only way to enter this world, and that is the natural way. You dont see fellas entering this world from other worlds. Now that scientists have come up with a cloning model, things might change in the future.

Taking a break

I think its abt time I take a break from blogging. Have lost the appetite to speak abt random things happening in this random world of ours. But I will be back. On a random day, at a random time to speak abt random stuff once more. Life is random, keep it that way.

It's been a while..

Living in a flat definitely has been a real adventure thus far. Random fellas doing random things at random times of the day. When you look out the window, you are always bound to spot something that is out of the ordinary. Be it a lady trying to figure out whether to cross the pedestrian crossing until a car approaches and signals her to cross, or to see the same old 2 uncles at the void deck having a discussion abt how their life will pan out in the next few years..

There are food joints everywhere. Facilities are within a few minutes away. And for someone who enjoyings figuring out why pple do the things they do, its been a real challenge thus far with so many tough ones to decipher. Haha.

Well, looking forward to making new friends at the Harmony Hub as they call it. Realised that the 2 soccer courts are under utilised. Lets hope things change once I start playing there.

Well the F1 extravaganza is back. And I must say this, the noise those engine makes is probably the closest we can ever get to a war. Those engines really know to whip up a storm. If I didnt know the F1 was in town, I would prob think that my country is under attack. Haha. Oh well, enjoy the second installment of the 5 year series. Cheers.

Traffic Offences to think abt.

Now we all know that the traffic offences are extremely stiff in this country. With money fines for almost anything else you do besides driving in the car. Lets put one particular offence in the spotlight. Using the phone while driving. Now the fine is a steep 1000 bucks and 12 demerit points. This fine has been put in place due to a case that happened a few years back which caused a driver to ram his car into a bus stop while using his phone( if my memory serves me well). Anyway, the reason why the traffic fellows do not want you to be using the phone while driving is simple. You are not giving the road and your fellow road users your 100 percent attention. So I say lets save a 1000 dollars. Use the wireless headset. How bout dancing while driving? Haha.

IF you dont buckle up in the car, you get a 150 dolllars fine and 3 demerit points as well. Wow. If your passengers dont buckle up, you still get the points.

Driving in the bus lane can put you back by 600 dollars. Wow. Ok.

So as a driver for the past 3 years, I guess its time to give a damn for all these offences coz of the money involved alone. You as well. Lets not give the govt free money la.

Michael Jackson..

MJ died a week ago. I grew up listening to songs like Jam with the glass breaking intro, Black or White, Beat it and of course, Dangerous. He is someone who stole the hearts and minds of many. Somehow while watching the various videos of his performances around the world, its not really what he does on stage that captivates me, the audience and how wild they go. They go into a trance. But you cant fault them, MJ was unique in everything.

His ankle length pants, his glittery glove, his white socks, his black flat hat, his Moonwalk, and of course, he had the beat in every song. Beats, expressions and whole of desire to express himself led him make me feel that yes, there are singers out there who are not trained to sing, but are born to sing. Such talent doesnt come often. MJ, you rocked the world!!

One thing is for sure, all those MJ wannabes, have found the stage to let the MJ philosophy live on.

M9's Top Song for the Week

It's been a long wait for the next song to make it to No.1 of Manish's Top Ten list. Well, the wait is over. This song has a good tempo to it, the lyrics are rather decent, but the emotions and variation of pitch that the singer packs in the song is solid as well as the beat and use of instruments. Here goes...

National Day is coming up and for the third year running, I dont have tickets once again. If you are not going for NDP, pls do forward your tickets to me. I need my NDP dose.

To possess a passion for living..

Passion for living. That's something special for anyone to possess. Regardless of the situation one is in, the kind of condition, financial condition, family or friend, to take everything into your stride and work on the negatives and thrive on the positives.

There is no way one can plan their whole life out. Be prepared for plenty of changes along the way. Laugh and live. Possess the passion for living.

IMAGE..

IMAGE, IMAGE, IMAGE. Thats what people are chasing every minute of their life. To get noticed. To be known. To be seen. They get a great high from chasing these possessions. You know why, coz there isnt much to shout about in their life. So they fall back on these possessions to propel themselves into social limelight.

Now, its not a matter of whether its right or wrong to be showcasing ur goods. Its your money, its your decision. Rite. Ok its fine. But u gotta carry urself well. If u wanna tell the world, i am the richest fella around who wears all the spanking new goods adorned all over my waxed and manicured body, but u dont possess the capability to carry it off. Forget it, just shut up and go. Donate all ur stuff to some charity. Just forget it. Some pple have the ability to present themselves in such a manner that you gotta admire them for it.

Style, keep it simple. The aura will follow.

A Bollywood Moment..

Its not everyday you get to be in the middle of a Bollywood scene. And I was stunned for a moment la when it happened. Here goes..

I had gone to the POSB Atm near my place to withdraw some cash for myself after alighting from the bus at the bus stop just a short walk away. Now as I inserted the ATM into the card, I noticed a white wallet, looked rather faded and the first thing that came to my mind was to pick it up and look around for any takers or claimants. But no one came rushing back, so I put it back on top of the ATM box and proceeded to withdraw my cash.

Ok. Cash withdrawn and placed into my wallet. By then, I decided since no one was coming back to the ATM to claim her wallet( I was quite sure that it was a ladies wallet by the looks of it), I felt this was my moment to just take it and bring it to the nearest police station, and just feel good abt it and hopefully, i will get a call from the owner and she will say all nice things and all.. So i picked it up and turned away from the ATM... and there she was...

This young lady, white top that reached her knees and black tights got out from this white car which was just a few metres away from me. She looked in my direction and started running towards me la. Ok la. Thats it. I was looking for the background dancers to just jump out from the trees and the hospital nearby and get the song going. She was getting closer and her strides were getting faster and still no background dancers. Stil no dancers and song la!! Ok. I lifted my hand carrying the wallet and sort of gave her the indication "Are you looking for this ?". and she gave me a few nods while still in her stride. OK la. Then she slowed down and came to a halt just a metre away from me.

Ok la. Lets pause a moment to check her out la. She looked Indian, prob abit Arab. and prob in her late teens.Looked dressed to impress as well. And then she let go a whole string of "Thank you, thank you, thank you sooooooo much". Grabbed the wallet and turned back la and ran towards her waiting car. That was it la. Bollywood moment over. No background dancers, no long hug and embrace as seen this clip below.. Haha.

Check out this Youtube clip below for a re-enactment of the scene. Any resemblance to any person is purely accidental.

Well on a final note, to her credit, she did not stop there and started checking her wallet whether I had the courage to swipe anything from her wallet. Well, I didnt and it wouldnt haven been a Bollywood moment then. Cheers.

Are you Singaporean enough?

Born a citizen of this country, grew up in this country, got an education in this country, served my NS commitment to this country and yet , I still have to tackle the odd question every now and then, either due to one's ignorance or plain lack of awareness. And the question goes? Where are you from?

I mean, this is where you maximise the opportunity to fool them and put these fellas in your pocket. I was trying to be nice and sincere abt it. But you gotta milk it for its worth la. Seriously, saying I am from India or Malaysia is rather straightforward for them to believe. Gotta come up with more imaginative answers. I come from the Red Indian tribe in the Aborigines in Australia. At times, you cant fault them, the world is such. Globalization has taken over. We are working for another country's economy and GDP. Blah blah blah. Heard it over and over again. Its no longer a country specific talent pool. You are competing with the global talent pool for a job in your own country. And thats a judgement I find hard to argue against. My workplace is a rather minor example where u got malaysians, china ladies and filipinos. But this is very common. I dont really get to work with fellows from Down Under, the West and of course, the Africans. At least I dont have to say I am a Singaporean all the time. Cheap thrill I know, but when work gets so boring, these cheap thrills get u going la. Haha.

Work and Life Balance..

Human Resource professionals have their own porn website titled www.personneltoday.com, where they go and read up about the latest HR trends being observed in the HR world today. I have a HR policy of mine abt a WORK LIFE balance.

The more one works, the more compelled and entitled one should go, relax and chill. Have a drink, spa and massage. Rock the world. Yeah. Guilt free!! Now, if you are not working or doing something to finance YOUR own consumption, then u shouldnt do all this stuff. Rite? Yeah i guess so. I mean opinions and perceptions differ definitely. But for now, this is my stand on taking a guilt free break.

CHAK DE!!!