*Winks* J, C and M (Winks* You know who you are .hehe)

There’s a little story behind this video:

PART 1 of the Video:

In the beginning are some pictures of Singapore I have taken while I went to the Farris Wheel (Singapore Flyer) a little past last week. I stored it in the Flickr account and thought it would be nice to share it with you for those who haven’t visited Singapore.

Wanted to make more of them into a video but the file will get too big to upload.

Here’s the two sets of collections :

Pictures Taken around the Esplanade and Clarke Quay ( HERE )

Pictures Taken at the Singapore Flyer ( HERE )

Hope you will enjoy them!

PART 2 of the Video:

I pondered over whether to make a video of something nice and meaningful or of myself but the choice was made easy when I incidentally came across this little angel who danced along to the music near the Esplanade.

It was special to me because she danced to the music and cared little for the people around, it was a precious moment of freedom, or some call it social freedom, when the eyes of others do not matter to the self. How many times have we forgotten or willing to do that ?

It reminds me of Cathy’s words, to stop and smell the roses…I did this time, Cathy, this time It’s a really good and natural feeling, thank you Cathy for the reminder I much needed. *HUGS*

It also reminded me of an event which Maryanne once told me…the bird which could be heard amongst the traffic….you are right Maryanne, the precious little things are out there, we just have to look

Jeanie once told me too that there will be times when we need to recover and many times, the period of time is needed. It is true Jeanie, thank you Now that I have seen another perspective of life which has told me that whatever happens in all in our mind. Even the little girl knew that, what we knew once when we were little. We might have learnt too much in life to let go of certain events in life that clinged to us, perhaps it would be better for us to unlearn those things for a while and just let go… don’t think

What would Life be without you, Jeanie, Cathy and Maryanne

This is a short video but hope that you will like it!

Thanks for waiting for me to come out of the “Cave” again, it has been a most fruitful stay this time and much has been done. I really missed many of you but have to struggle and resist the temptation of coming back here. Yup, besides concentrating on work, it’s also another experiment on focus. ( Turns out that Benjamin Franklin has been carrying out life experiments in the past which mine are similar to! )

A few updates of what has been done during the stay away.

1. Modified and Created new themes for my blogs and websites, you can find one of the latest designs at my personal blog www.maynaschua.com , a more fun yet still professional kinda feeling. Being too professional doesn’t stand out, inspired by several sites.
2. Decided to turn my personal blog at www.maynaschua.com into a hub where I will direct both friends and contacts to.
3. Re-tweaked the business plan and took down some projects and sites down which have been put up for experimental purposes
4. Found out and learnt more skills in programming, essential when manpower is not enough or when just small changes are needed.
5. Engaged in the first phase of several product creations for new developments.
6. Set up a studio to take more professional looking photos
7. Tested and bookmark several Youtube videos for reference
8. Compiled a list of all the tools I need to speed up doing everything!
9. Planned out the next steps to take for the next few weeks.
10. Experimenting with mobile, video and podcasts functions ( abandoned mobile version of some websites as the functions haven’t been great)
11. Helped some friends who needed some assistance and morale support

It’s now time to clear some emails and reply to some messages which have been waiting for the past week! Be back later!

Finally have the skills to solve most of the problems encountered by users.

Some improvements includes:

1. Loading time would be reduced by heaps!
2. Mobile edition to be up! Yupz, anywhere everywhere!
3. ….much much more!

This blog would change it’s theme too!

So keep in sight the changes. Gonna be beautiful!

…and there he lays, emotionless and still,
as if life never happened and never will do,
yet he once was awake and the feeling was real,
and he knew how to hunt, he was no fool.

His pride was his group and his group was his pride,
And he led them to victories, from the little rabbits to the elusive deers,
but it brought some of his group no loyalty, for the jungle was cruel,
for there were some who hunted beside him, who have smiles of sharpen teeth.

Then came the day, the hunter was hunted,
He was asleep and soundly so, he heard a rustle but let it go,
and the paws came down on him, swiftly without mercy, heavy without fear,
with a peek of his bleeding eyes of red, he saw them whom he hunted with, terrible hunters.

After the damage was down, he was left to bleed, wounded but still breathing,
had he not faked death, he would surely be dead, for victims are seldom given mercy,
and there he laid, emotionless and still,
but behind his mind, are eruptions of emotions, why was he betrayed?

Could he hunt with another pack, if he lived?
The dangers of betrayal will always still be there,
paws which were meant to fight, turned against their own kind,
hunting was simple, the nature of hunters was not.

And then, he dreamt, of the deserts sand,
no lion could survive this barren hopeless, he thought,
but then it emerged, a pride of lions, they walked together to shelter each other,
the strong form the outer circle, the young form the inner, and then all was clear.

In times of need and peril, lions gather and protect each other,
for they then knew the value of integrity of a pride and pride,
when there is an environment which freezes their greed with the dangers of hunger,
they would be like family, even if they were not necessarily so.

And then, he dreamt, of the lavish jungles,
where each lion was fed till full and fat till lazy,
but then it emerged, a pride of lions, scheming behind the shadows of trees,
the shameless and weaker who wanted the lion’s share ganged up against the leader.

In times of abundance and much to celebrate, lions gather and plot against each other,
for they then knew the greed of more, pride was nothing, pride was cheap,
when there is an environment which fed their minds with poisonous possessions,
they would be like smiling neighbours, who stab us when we turned our backs.

And then, he dreamt lastly, of the mountains,
where each lion could survive if he hunted, difficult if not,
and then it emerged, a pride of lions, as friends who came together,
they gather their food from various places, meeting to share their stories and findings.

In times of freedom, each is given the chance to portray their worth,
those who hunt when needed, those who hunt early for the winter, those who think and grew,
for they knew the battle was not against each other, nor the excessive closeness of each other,
but the glory was to be won by overcoming themselves, himself over himself, that was all.

Rather to be a king of himself than a king among thieves,
Rather to be a teacher of many than to be a sage of his own,
Rather to be a friend than an enemy,
Rather to love than to hate.

Lessons which cannot be taught but learnt,
wounds that must be broken and healed,
never fully and never without scars,
ever necessary but never without warnings of them coming, blinded or with open eyes.

And there, the wounded lion peeks again, not in his mind, but with his eyes,
for there, he saw a puddle of water which shone as like a mirror,
he saw himself then, no longer as a dying betrayed, but as a recovering rebirth,
and the choice between laying still for death to come or to stand up on his legs was made.

Slowly but surely, the lion awakened, from his dreams, his hurt and himself,
Slowly but strongly, the lion licked his wounds, painful to the touch till numb to hurt,
Strongly but surely, the lion stood up again, walking towards a new home with hope,
Surely, the enlightened lion will be a lion who can now emerge as king of his world where happiness await…in the mountains…the middle lands of extremes…the balance of nature…the heavenly kingdom on Earth…

By Maynas Chua (Eric)
For those who need it, want it, read it, it’s for you.

Yesterday was the best Birthday I ever had in my 26 years of living, my 25th Birthday was the worst, so yup, this one rocks to the core

15 Reasons Why my 26th Birthday Rocks

1. Had the first 100+ Well Wishes for My Birthday ever!

2. Had the first mini Birthday Present given to me by two of my best friends! A cool Flickr Pro one year membership account! I thought it would be really nice to have $24.95 chipped in to get the mini present and within 2 hours plus, my birthday wish came true and they chipped in almost twice that amount!!! OMG, how cool is that? Thank you! HUGS * You don’t know how much that meant to me…more than you can ever imagine.
   • To J (mystery person), HUGS, you have been the greatest inspiration to me this year because of what you meant to me and your bucket list which you recommended to me. It made everything seemed so right from then on. You really made a difference my dear friend, lotsa love and thinking of you always! Enjoy your summer and hope to see you again soon!
   • To C (mystery person) who inspired and believed in me once again. I am getting there! *Winks* Hope that you will be proud of me soon! I still have the previous present inside my account, haven’t used it yet. This extra $20 will be used for making the name cards and stuff for setting up the business Really hope to rise up to expectations soon
3. Had a really nice birthday celebration at home with my family in Singapore. Many Photos! I just placed them in my new Flickr Pro Account and you can see the photos here. I have to clip some of them off because my family members are Internet-photo shy. lolz. I think I will make the best use of the Account and put those with my family and friends online as private and open them to my really close friends such as J,C and M. hehe. Hopefully I will have enough to print into a book, that would be mighty fine! Come take a look at the photos here!
4. Have some very nice and great friends who called me from overseas, especially Suz from Australia. She’s so lovable!
5. Have one of my best friends called me personally to wish me happy birthday before he leaves for a business trip to China on Thursday!
6. One of my friends did me a big favour two days before my birthday by accompanying another good friend of mine to Gold Coast. She went to Australia on Holidays. Thanks Jz! You rock!
7. My Dad gave me a Nokia N95 mobile phone which has 3G functions…haha that means I am now able to work anywhere in the world which has internet access, on the go! Thanks Dad!
8. My Mom gave me a gorgeous suit. This is my second one and I am wearing the top jacket in my birthday photos as above! Thanks Mom!
9. My Sister gave me a Kinokuniya Privellge Card which gives me a 10-20% off the price of the books from that fantastic book store. haha thanks Sis for the card, will save me heaps and heaps of money this year. haha thank you for the cake too!
10. My Brother got a PSP, haha it’s supposed to be shared since his birthday is close to mine. lolz. ( might show a clip of how cool it really is later this week!)
11. Many many MANY sms messages from my friends, old new everyone!
12. My favourite and most important teacher/ lecturer and supervisor in my life from University sent me Birthday well wishes and a very very nice message and encouragement, vote of confidence and even a very special gift! Thank you Sir!
13. My favourite mentor/supervisor and friend sent me a very nice message to me too and superb encouragement and a vote of confidence.
14. Had my friend shipped over my last year’s present ( a laptop backpack and a wallet) from Australia to Singapore. Wooohoo!
15. Felt that the world changed and things will be super well from my birthday onwards My friends from Singapore are sending me 4 name card holders from Flickr’s MOO on Air Priority mail direct from USA , gosh. I can’t wait to see them!

As mentioned in the Flickr Pro account mini birthday gift post, I’ll create and post a special video for you! hmm let’s see what should I post . hehe

Stay tuned!

Once again thanks everyone!

Thank you everyone, you know I love you all and really appreciate each of you very very much.

Without you, I might not have recovered…and I believe that I have now become a much stronger,better and daring person who will shine in this world because I feel that I have a much better understanding of what truly matters in this world and I am determined to live and create a life that matters.

Dinner

Yesterday’s 26th birthday dinner was just nice old pizza, not any fancy or expensive restaurant putting the head on the chopping board price. Total of 35 bucks instead of the usual one or two hundred dinner for the whole family on such occasions. Thoughts have changed. I thought that the best decision was to have home delivery pizza so no one has to rush home or to rush out to have dinner.

What matters is that we are all relaxed and happy.that’s what I wanted. It’s my bday so it’s my choice anyway, haha. We had a great time celebrating the birthday cake cutting after that. I think this is the best birthday EVER. Hehe considering I had the worst one last year. I feel that my 26th birthday,the first day of my new year will be the year where I can and will become great and show the world what Maynas Chua is all about.I want to shine because of my capabilities, not just my potential.

More on my birthday and thoughts tomorrow. It’s 5.25am now and my thumb is going numb typing this on my mobile phone. haha. Good night my friends!

Thank you my friends for visiting my personal blog on my birthday. hehe.

I always believed that the more birthday wishes one gets for his or her birthday, the luckier and more blessings he will get for that new year of their lives. So I am creating this post to collect the well wishes and blessings! *Winks*

I’m hoping to collect 100 well wishes in the comments below. If you see this, please do leave one, it will definitely make my birthday a much happier one! Thanks in advance!

Want to make this work? Spread it around in Twitter, Digg, Stumble Upon and to your friends. WOW. That would break a world record too. hehe 

A Mini Birthday Present

Want to make me really happy?

One of my birthday wishes is to get a Yahoo Flickr Pro account.

Some of my friends from Singapore have already ordered MOO mini namecard holders as presents for my birthday so this Flickr account will really come in handy as I will be able to print my first set of namecards for my business that I want to set up soon and also do lots of fantastic stuff like publishing books, posters and many many wonderful things….including VIDEOS

Haha, hey how about this? I will make a Special Birthday Video as thanks to you when this Mini Birthday Present wish gets fulfilled. And lots of cool stuff to come too resulting from this mini-birthday present How cool is that ?

THANKS! My birthday is over and thank you for (you know who *smiles*) who contributed to the mini birthday present! HUGSSSS!!! This is really a very special birthday!

Please note that this event has ended and is a major success!

Gosh, it went over more than required! THANKS!

Thank you my friends, let’s make it work now, shall we? (Big Smiles) 

IT WORKED!