I recently visited a very interesting place. It serves homemade bread at a semi-alfresco (read: indoor dining, open space, no air-conditioning) premise. What got me here in the first place was the awesome view. It is not easy to find a café in Singapore selling good food, with such incredibly affordable prices, boasting such a good view. Today was also a luckily good day to visit, it was cloudy and made walking here and being here enjoyable.
What’s all this got to do with restart? Well, right at this place is also a place called Power Bank. Enough link yet? No? Right next to this open space, library-like studying place is a toilet, and at the toilet (which also comes with a tranquil pond-view, was this quote:
“过去的留不住，未来的难预测。守住现在，当下即是。”
The past is gone, the future is unknown. Seize the present. Now is the time.”
Bunny told me to be productive so I started writing all these. I’ve been wanting to write this post awhile now but hey procrastination is kinda evil isn’t it.. What better a time to start than now? So.. what’s restarting?
First things first, Singapore goes back to a relaxed Phase 1. This new Phase hereby written as Phase 1.5 is somewhere between Phase 1 and Phase 2. It is really the same for any country, whichever country you are in: relaxing social distancing measures can guarantee a resurgence of COVID19. The only hope left is vaccination, and we still don’t know how effective this hyper-tracked vaccine can be in really exterminating the virus. While we can conveniently say this came through Changi Airport, we will never know for sure. Back into semi-lockdown we all go!
Next is getting my fitness level back up. As usual, procrastination is happening here. Wanted to start from the start of the year but honestly, who are we kidding? My IPPT is due in August and why would I start then? So now that the date is booked at July, and we are already at mid May, it is really time to get my ass up and going. I’m proud to say I have been doing this a week now, and I hope to say the same a month later, but so far so good! Recording my first attempts here: 20, 38, 13:20. Target: 31, 45, 12:20.
My professional life is getting a restart too. Well not exactly but still one. Moving to a slightly different role with a startup (since any non-listed company seems to be calling themselves a startup), and moving from purely Implementation to a Technical Project Manager which encompasses client relations, onboarding, integrations. I’ve been taking life easy, playing the newbie card to the max, but honestly this card is not very effective in a startup. It soon begins to make you look like you’re not who you say you are. I need to kick myself awake and give myself some goals so that I stay on track.
And isn’t that true! I haven’t been who I am. I’ve been this other lazy self that has gotten that little bit (read: very much) complacent and satisfied with life. The hunger that used to drive me is now content. Something that is very dangerous! Steve Jobs said to stay hungry, stay foolish. I must remind myself of the bank balance of 0.45 and remember where I came from.
“勿忘初心，方得始终！不能忘初！”
The investment scene is also going through some sort of restart. Many big names are down close to 20% from their highs. Such a silly mistake I made, selling low buying high, just to consolidate my positions into IBKR. Past gains have kept me green, but recent bets have weighed me down as well. Is this time to buy back in again? Cryptocurrency is also in some sort of restart. The pattern from 2017/2018 so far has stuck though. Stocks reaching their all-time-highs, retreating into crypto, and then the alt-coins. Is the market crashing soon with the inflation fears and with COVID seemingly here to stay for the next 5 years? Where do I put my money? Recently came across a title, “Richer Wiser Happier”. Hopefully I can get my hands on the book and read it soon.
Comparison is indeed the thief of joy. But in this sense it is good. Much like how I could interpret “Seize the present” the YOLO way and wasted the afternoon away on games, comparing myself now with my past self is indeed stealing joy away. My aim is not to be anhedonic, but life is definitely a balance and I cannot yet afford to be hedonic.
Bunny is recently inspired to take GMAT, which honestly is a very brave thing to do. After working outside of academia for the past 5 years, going back seems really difficult! And you are now battling against computers that will assess how capable you are, so that universities can determine if you are worthy enough to be lectured by industry experts. Isn’t education and employment such an irony now. You must be smart enough to be educated. You must have relevant experience to be a fresh hire. It is definitely a restart to get back to school, but it is a springboard that will push one into greater domains!
Bunny came across this person’s life story. It is about this guy who artfully conveyed 2 truths. First that he is convinced that convincing someone is more effective via a story rather than via reasoning (basically he has an ethos of pathos over logos lol) and that one must be on a lifelong learning journey. Obviously the fact that I am featuring him here shows that he has successfully convinced me with both his ethoses (or ethe or ethea).
What a better way to end this post with something ever more so motivating, I would say second most motivational source in my life, my godforsaken dad. Apparently he has been dealing with loan sharks and now needs money to deal with the situation. What a restart in his life too. I can still remember those days almost 20 years ago.. I guess he has been an ‘inspirational’ dad after all, a dark figure that I must never degrade into. What was that he said when I cleared the housing loan debt for him a few years back? That he has never led us into ruin and never will? Hmm..
This seems to be my longest post yet! Is this what I will do when given an excess of time? Or should I be doing this more so that I get into a pensive state to collect myself and restart perhaps every week or every month?
