How bad can it get?

Its Monday and I'm on leave. Besides waking up lack and acting like a sloth, I got plenty of time for myself today doing my own stuff. How ever the day started from small misfortune to bad.

I went to get my car brakes check out and while the mechanic was reversing at the front of the workshop, my car hit the workshop customer vehicle. Damn!!! Luckily no damage is done, just some minor heart attack on my part. Almost become a second case of vehicle damage by car mechanic (the first was a ripped door of my Mitsubishi Eclipse back in the US day). The mechanic was very apologetic and I am very sure it was just a mistake of a very experience and knowledgeable guy. Minor misfortune.Turn out my car brake pads are almost totally worn out. No wonder all the squeaking sound coming from the front wheel. Ended up with a S$135 bill and a little lesson learn about rendering of paid services to customers....


Headed back home and met my brother for early dinner. Business is bad and seeing my dear brother coming back from work early is a bad sign. Early off from work= Poor business. Sure hope things pick up for him cause the big day is coming. And it was because of the big day that I need to get a video camera ready to capture every beautiful moments of it. I pick up my mobile and sms MK for he is the only friend I knew who got a video cam. Ask to borrow the video cam on the 22nd Feb and in respone he said OK but reminded me that "FYI. the 40km cycling event is on the 22nd Feb". Hot damn!!! I paid S$58 for the early bird registration of OCBC Cycling Event. Eager was I last week that I overlook the dates. Headed home and contacted the event management to cancel my registration. Got to wait till tomorrow to get some answer if I could at less get some refund back. Misfortune.

Back home again to continue on the "Zhao Yun" model kit. Its the final touch up of a layer of UV protection clear coat. However it turn out to be a disaster!!! The layer of spray actually create a white frosty layer on the existing colors. I was totally shock and 不知所错. Really at my wits end to scew up the work at the final stage. Wanna cry but no tears come out, wanna bang the table in frustration but no table in sight. In the end called Bernard of M Workshop for help. Turn out that I did the spray painting right after the raining day and also the fact that I did not warm the clear coat canister before spraying. This cause the frosty appearances. Took some instruction from him to salvage the pieces. Got rid of the frosty appearances, salvaged the paint work but due to some panicking hands, I sprayed too thick a layer of clear coat and cause some hand painting I did to smudge. Arggggghhhhh!!!! What a big misfortune!!! In the end, my creation turn out to be a warrior that just came out of a battle.

Than something really sad happen in the middle of all this frenzy. "He" called again to borrow money. I lost count the number of time "He" called but the frequency is at less once a month. I am very frustrated that as a man living by himself, a very stable job, earning at less SS2500 a month with no family obligation... why is he always getting into financial predicament each month? Sometime I just wanna break all relationship with "him" but yet again it will be very bad on my part. At less I got to appreciate the effort he made many years ago. Yet again I am in the dark about how he handle his money. Gambling? Women? There can only be a few things that make someone poor every month. Gambling... Although the money was always return on the pay day but this cycle is getting vicious... today he is asking for S$500!!! I have decided... I will be compassionate again this time but I will use my wisdom. Can't always make myself a convenient avenue of cash flow him, it will only get worst. I am going to loan out only S$300 this time telling him this is all I could fork out. Sad... it really brings me to the lowest point of my life for the day. How bad can can it all get???


In school days, my teacher will put an X on my test paper for the wrong answer. Everyone can understand about the cross because we see it often for street signs. Its about rejection, prohibition, error, mistakes. Its a big "NO" sign.

and the teacher will give me a tick for the correct answer. How can one explain the tick sign than? Think hard.... it turn out the tick represent success, correct way, achievement and the tick sign explains it meaning in a pictorial way. Its like life. Life some time deal as the poor hands, the screw up, the hardship, the challenges and the misfortune. Its the downhill slide of your life and its the beginning of how the "tick" is drawn, going downwards. No matter how hard you try or how much time and effort you dedicated, it goes down. How bad can it get? If its not bad enough, it will be worst and it comes to the point at the very very bottom of your life, and its the bottom of the tick sign. What happen next? All the accumulative effect of the effort and dedication starts to pay off and everything picks up from there. All become better and life brightens up like the upward stroke of the tick. Thats success and achievement in a nut shell, it does not come easy.

I like to think of every new things I learn to be like the tick sign. Bunch of mistakes and screwup in the process but lots of things learn from the down hill struggle. Its all there, to be accumulated as energy and experience to bounce me back up when it hits the bottom. I'm not advocating stocks and shares speculation or the bulls and bear market, I'm just sharing an ideology of life.