A Good Horse never goes back to eat at the same Grassland

       We all have a limited time on Earth.We have our hopes and dreams and want to raise families with the correct values of honesty, thrift, courage, modesty and selflessness. Unfortunately we are thrust into this world where bigger is better, more is celebrated and beauty is aspired. Money or the love of it is the root of all evil. I couldn't agree to that more. 

      When opportunities come our way, be it in work, business or life. We look at it and apply both our intuitive and logical minds to it. After assessment, a decision is made.Once the opportunity is taken or not, its time to move on. It is the same in the Chinese phrase A Good Horse never goes back to eat at the Same Grassland.

       There are plentiful other opportunities out there but time like a river is ever flowing.

       Seize the Day. 

Tiong Bahru Market

Resilience is key to success

50 years in this world ; a celebration no less

oub 

         Last year 2012, we celebrated out 50 years alive. This was the St. Andrew's old boys all of whom  started Primary 1 in 1968 or 1969. Yes, I feel older, in the joints and bones department. However, some wisdom has been bestowed upon me through life expe    riences and we are indeed blessed to be living in Asian region which is wealthy and full of expectations.    

         I have had  several setbacks these few years, one being a business principal pulling out of our partnership. I am not bitter about the event as every cloud has a silver lining. The point is that I must show that you cannot keep a good man down for long, he will always come back and the return is doubly satisfying.  

Cognitive Dissonance

          I am currently reading a fantastic book called the Art of Thinking Clearly. This is by Rolf Dobelli, I believe is an Italian thinker and ha been translated into many languages. In it, he describes how the human mind works and its biases towards many things and its outlook towards life.

          One particular topic is fascinating, which is called cognitive dissonance, whereby he cites the fable from Aesop about the fox and the grapes. The fox is hungry around lunchtime and spotting the grapes hanging overhead from a nearby farmer's yard, he makes several attempts to jump at and reach the grapes.

         First, he envisions the grapes to be sweet as they look juicy and inviting. So he musters all his strength and jumps up high and far. Snap, he bites nothing but air. Argh ! he mutters, and puts in his all 110 percent to try again, he leaps into the air and slightly higher, but again, he is only chomping dry air.

         Finally, he gives it one last and best shot at it ; He runs from afar and jumps. Up he goes and Snap, again he lands with nothing but a bruised ego and a mouth munching at dry air.

        "Bah" he says. "they're probably not sweet and small. Its not worth my effort !"

         The fact is many of us when faced with failure, delude ourselves that the prize we have sought so hard to win is in fact not even good and worth it in the first place. This is cognitive dissonance ; we distance ourselves and put down the meaningful pursuit and prize as 'not worth it'.

         Push yourself to achieve your goals, once you fail, you pick up and press on again. You can and will achieve them !!!!  

Gender Bias

Socialite Jamie Chua

        I read a very enlightening book called Lean In by the COO of Facebook, Ms. Sheryl Sandberg. In it, she highlighted the fact that women in modern society face a negative bias when they are rich, successful and pretty.  They are always criticized for the way they look. If they look  really good, glamorous or sexy, other women (especially) will label them as 'sluts' or women of vile character  who use their sexiness to make that pile of cash.

        Terms such as 'bitch' , 'ah lian made good', 'back-stabber' and 'sleeping to the top' are bandied around as the reasons why they make it. On the contrary, the lady may very well be talented, speaks her mind, and seizes opportunities (just like any man) to make it. So why are  so hard on their 'sisters' she asks ?

        On the other hand, if a man has made it to the top of the business world and socializes with the captains of industry. Have you heard anyone claim that he 'slept his way to the top', 'slutty' or has a 'vile character'  ?  So why the double standards ?

        Men and women give women a doubly hard time to get there. Gender bias. It exists in our society and its time we changed our mindsets and let women 'come to the table' to talk,debate and even rule the organization.

ICC International Commercial Center Kowloon 100 stories tall

                                                 

View from 88th floor ICC building

Another development in China

4th tallest Building in the World ICC Tower

Malacca Part 2 - Holiday Inn

Fresh from a trip last month to Malacca, I stayed at this fabulous hotel (4 *) along the beach front next to Malacca Raya (or Main street). Holiday Inn has been open for about 3 years now, and it definately is value for money costing only RM 330 or S$ 132 per night on weeknights. I had a 2 day 1 night work trip and the hotel is located right next to the entertainment center called the Jetty.

View of the Infinity Pool from the Gym

          The gym on Level 3 is right next to the spa which offers both Balinese and Shiatsu massages for couples, families and single travellers. I did my 5 km after driving almost 220 km on the road, so in total it was 225 km for 220 for the car and 5 km for the legs !   

Infinity Pool on 4th Floor 

      

             Breakfast is on level 2 and starts from 6.00 am till 10.00am, serving Intercontinental Halal food (no pork and according to Muslim rites). All in all, it is a perfect getaway for a couple of nights from the hustle and bustle of the cosmopolitan cities like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. I understand, on weekends the town is packed with 'tourists' from these 2 cities plus many international travellers from Asia and the world over. 

             This is a modern business hotel with all the amenities for the business traveller plus holiday makers who want a classy short holiday. 

Malacca, West Malaysia, just 2 1/2 hours from Singapore.

The Resort Hotel next to Holiday Inn by the beach

Just 2 and a half hours drive from Singapore is this World Heritage town (small city) called Malacca. It was once a fortified port of first the Portuguese settlers and then the Dutch. It is roughly half of the way by car from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore by the North South Highway and is a gem of a town with a decent beach (not too good for swimming)facing  the Straits of Malacca, one of the world's most populated waterways linking West to the East.  On a clear day on the high floors of the hotel, you can see Indonesia island of Sumatra in the distance. That is how close the 2 countries are.

The Infinity Pool on the 3rd Floor of the Hotel

Malacca is famous for its Portuguese food, in the Portuguese settlement. It also is famous for its Peranakan (local Baba Chinese, this is the intercultural Malay - Chinese) food featuring classic dishes such as Ayam Buak Keluak (Chicken with the spice Buak Keluak in currry), Item Thim (Duck in Giam Chye soup), Otak Otak (Fish mackerel spicy cake wrapped in banana leaf), Babi Ponteh (braised Pork stew) amongst others.    

          Most of the Peranakan food restaurants are located along the main street called Melaka Raya. There are easily 10 such joints from the famous Ole Sayang, to Bibik Neo to Makro. Each has their own special offerings of Peranakan food, and many Singaporeans who are retired take the time to make a 2 days 1 night trip by car just for the food, away from it all feeling and decent shopping at the Malacca Raya mall.

          

          Historicallym there is the St Paul's Church which has some ancient cannons. to protect the city. The Stadthuys (or Red building) is the old administrative center when the Dutch where the rulers some 300 odd years ago. There is also a Portuguese Man-o-War warship museum docked by the riverside. Cruises along the Malacca river are also popular for the tourists.  

          The cultural mix is very similar to Singapore as there are majority Chinese, some Malay and Indian citizens living in the vicinity of the city. Give it a visit, you will be pleasantly surprised !

4 months till the Marathons silly season

      
          It will only be slightly more than 4 months till the Silly Season of the year end Marathons for me. This year, I promise it will be different. I want to be fit enough to run 2 or even 3 marathons, some of them overseas. So I am prepping myself physically and mentally to get the body conditioned to be able to run the whole 42.195km for at least 2 times this year.

        Provided I take care of my limbs, have the daily supplements, and not over-exert myself, I believe I can achieve this goal without too much of a stretch to my system. I recall today while running, that 10 years ago around this time, I was getting on the road to my physical peak of my 40s (that was in 2006 - 2007), so this time 10 years later, I am again trying for one last hurrah - in my 50s. So 2 marathons this year would be my target. Normally the body would then indicate to my it was overstraining itself, and naturally I would return to my lazy self.

     If I can maintain my fitness level at this peak for about 6 months after the year end, there are 2 wonderful marathons I would love to try 1. Paris (April each year)   and 2. London (May each year).Then I would really have the bragging rights to say I have run International marathons !!

     Boston, Chicago and New York would then be achievable goals.  

     I believe I can achieve it with the correct planning, determination and resilience as before. 

5 km run is my Constant

         This morning, I finished my second back to back 5K run in the early morning. It is a whole new world for those who remain sound asleep at 6.00 am in the morning, dead to the world.  I normally start my day by waking up at 5.30 am, do the toiletries, drink 2 glasses of lemon infused water and off I go into the darkness.

         I am not blessed with good cholesterol levels, my HDL and total LDL levels will scare even the most experienced of heart surgeons. So I take my medications (Lovastatin 20 mg) faithfully, every evening before bed, and with the buzz of my sportswatch at 5.30am, I am up and preparing. I intend to continue this regimen, hopefully every day except Sunday (when I have my 1 1/2 hr Karate session at the CC). 

        This is my constant, every thing else may change around me, the business model, the children growing up, the family and friends aging, but 5K is still 5 K. Nothing else matters, it is the fixed distance whether you are in Frankfurt, Paris, Budapest, Rio de Janerio, Luxor, Cairo, Shanghai, Chongqing or Delhi.

       Respect it. 

Friend or Enemy ? Your Phone

Downhill somewhere in Tomamu, Hokkaido

          The world is experiencing massive changes in very short time periods. Product booms and busts are going from 10 years to 8 to 5 to 3 to 1 year.  Computer hardware like PCs and Laptops are like  throwaway cameras, use it for 1 max. 2 years and out into the trash can. PDAs (Palm Pilots), SLR cameras, pagers, fax machines, voice recorders, CD and DVD players have long since died. The list of dead or dying products is growing steadily. 

          

           Your phone is not just a phone, it is your digital office, your entertainment center, your access to the world. People put up what they had for lunch, where they had their party, or finished something mudane, or significant all through their Bluetooth, 4G enabled wireless phone - organiser - bank ATM - TV - social media platform. Everything is an app nowadays.

           So, people like me are befuddled by the new media, and connectivity. Use it and be connected, but people can then trace your every desired activity, hobby, purchase, location where you had your holiday or dinner. Its Orwellian 1984, but without the unwiedly cameras following you at every turn.

          Your phone is your best friend and your greatest enemy. Like fire, it can be controlled and used to good benefit, out of control and it will ruin your life. 

'Mutt Dou Chee' and 'Mutt Dou Oi'

                                                With my then manager and friend, C.H. Teo 

        We all have at least one such friend who is a Mr. or Ms. 'Know it All', the Cantonese Phrase for this is Mutt Dou Jee. They are the little irritating but generally nice people who happen to know the exact value of Pi till the last 20th decimal.  (pi = 3.14xxxxxx).  

         These people somehow stay up late at night mugging about any useless details about when the next fun runs to get goodie bags and where the best char kuay teow, lor mee or bak kut teh  and prawn noodels  stalls are or when the free $4 coupons come available from the Shell stations. They are by no means penny pinching, but looking out for the best deals.  
        
          In short, they are the Penny Wise people. Good for the details and small numbers. Useful to have around and makes life interesting for Big Picture folk like me.

         Mutt Do Oi are people who want everything in life and more. Again I know my fair share of these people. They scrimp and save and eat the cheapest hawker foods, only to then invest in multi-million dollar properties and continue investing in them ad nauseum like there is no tomorrow.

       I want everything and more. Free is better. 

      Again, they irritate me, but then they are harmless to me.

     To these people, do learn one thing, you are not rich till you start to spend on your family and friends.  Life is indeed short.

     Seize the Day.

       

'At the end of the Day' and other Useless Expressions

          A good friend of mine, James from Australia is very fond of using the phrase 'At the End of the Day'. This in short means, "so".  I have resisted rebutting him as he finds comfort or solace in uttering this phrase so that he ends up sounding like an archaic professor in life.  But when I do get to retort him, it will be either of these 2 below, but I do not want to spoil his
satisfaction from saying it just yet, so I politely listen : 

a) At the end of the Day..... it becomes Night

b) At the end of the Day..... everyone dies 

      Here are a list (not exhaustive by any means) some more of these meaningless phrases of words which are used by people unknowingly as time fillers or wanting to sound learned.
The effect on me is the exact opposite, as it gives me the impression that the person  is trying to sound like and failing to impress the listener. Here goes the top 10. They can be replaced by one singular or two words and I have added them at the end of the sentence.

1. At the end of the Day  ..................   so

2. To be honest  .......................  frankly (you mean to say, everything else you said 
    beforehand was  Bullshit ?!!) 

3. After all thats been said and done ...... finally

4. Let me say something ...........     (man, what have you been doing all this time ? Sleeping)

5.  Lets be clear ..........................  (this is a very common phrase used by lawyers and   
                                                          politicians when they want to fudge something, 
                                                          hopelessly ending up trying to sound articulate.
                                                         This ends up confusing more people, and leaves us the 
                                                         viewers feeling stupid,whence in essence, the onus is on
                                                         the speaker to speak clearly in the first place.

6. Specifically .............................. (sounds impressive, but just get to the point)

7.  So as to achieve ..................... (again another impressive, but leading to some lofty ideals 
                                                          which 99% of the persons hearing it would have some 
                                                          vague or no idea what these ideals are or stand for

8.  More or Less ..........................   its More or its  Less. Not More or Less. Argh ! 

9.    Can I ask a question ? .....................  hey you just did. Next question please ! 
                       
10.  Cut to the chase.................... (what in heaven's name is that, an American poorly made 
        movie cuts to the chase, when the plot is hopeless and hence have to make do    
        with the mandatory car chase, which gives everyone some satisfaction that $11 goes 
         to see some heavy metal getting crunched - its a mind numbing but somehow 
        hypnotic feeling watching cars flipping and getting crunched, and inevitably exploding 
        into a gazillion million pieces with fire, sound and oh so handsome lead actors and 
        voluptuous actresses walking away and fire in the background. 

        So you mean,when I speak, you want me to cut to the chase, and what ,feel satisfied ?

        Americans are so painfully stupid in expecting a car chase or machine mangling scene, 
       so much so it is called a Blockbuster and it has creeped into our everyday language. 

        If it was a period piece with only witty dialogue and some scenery, it would be called a 
        Mind Bender          




         

Wooloomooloo SteakHouse at Raffles City, Singapore Aug 10th 2013

Wooloomooloo Steak 250 g

        On the 3rd Floor of The Westin Hotel, Raffles City, nestled in the corner is a gem of a steakhouse called Wooloomooloo Restaurant. Based on a suburb of Sydney (I am told by a gracious gentleman, Mr. KC Boey), it serves great mouth watering steaks which frankly require no condiments or sauces. We had a fine feast last Saturday 10th August to 'celebrate' the National Day holiday the day before. We ordered 3 steaks and had the Crab Cakes and Scallops as starters. 

                                          Crab Cake with Mayonnaise and Tartar Sauce

      This was my second visit with the family to Wooloomooloo and the experience was just as wonderful, to be absolutely honest. One would think that this restaurant originated from Austalia, but no, this was formed about 8 years ago in Hong Kong, taking the Australian (and American) Black Angus, Wagyu cows as their staples for the steaks. And they did not disappoint. The best of the 3 steaks was the Ribeye, (picture 3 below) flavourful, when done Medium Well, ie. there is a hint of the blood in the center of the 2 inch thick chunk of meat. For medium or even medium rare, be prepared for blood ooozing out once you cut into the steak. 

      Ribeye 250g is good enough for a large person to handle, in my opinion, but as there are 4 of us relatively small eaters, 3 steaks were good enough to fill us, together with starters which incuded 2 servings of French Onion soup. This soup was nothing memorable, and one might be better off ordering the oysters freshly air flown from Australia instead of the soup. The flavour of the Ribeye is one of slightly smoky and salty beef, but with the marbelling (fat), the meat melts in your mouth. Osu !! 

Scallop wrapped with Bacon

2nd favourite (anyway by me) is the Wooloomooloo, which was another Ribeye but done with the Ranch style barbecue flavour which oozes out with every bite. Again, another fantastic steak which requires no condiments or steak sauce, and can fill any large person's stomach quite nicely. The condiments are the mushroom sauce, mustard, red wine, we used them sparingly, such was the quality of the meat. Side dishes would be french fries which I felt was rather small and not bite sized. There are numerous sides such as baked potato in their skins, mashed poatatoes and even some long grained rice for must have rice eaters. 

                                                         Ribeye Steak 250 g 

      The Filet Mignon was the 3rd steak had by us, and it was with little fat, so all lean meat. I would say it is good for people who want a 'healthy' steak. This, we ate with the condiments and sauces.  Portion is 200 g which is also a decent sized one. Flavour was not as tasty as the other 2, because it was lean meat, but a good steak nonetheless. 

My son Andrew and I 

Finally, the house wine (I had the Shiraz) was palatable and the dessest was their signature upside down Brown Cake with ice cream. This was the ultimate in terms of calories, so we ordered just 1 and shared by the 4 of us. Then our weighing scale would not complain the next day !

     Damage for the 3 steaks, 2 starters with 2 soups, 1 wine and dessert came to $440 or roughly US$ 350 for  4. Its pricey but well worth the experience. 

The feeling after a hard run

     I have just finished a 5 Km run around my estate. I started at 5.03 pm and finished at 5.35 pm, roughly 31 minutes and 40 seconds later. I am recording this down for people who have never experienced the 'runner's high'.

     Firstly, as I approach the bend towards my home, every muscle, every sinew, and my heart, mind are pumping and fixated at the end point of the run. The focus is 110 %, sounds of cars and buses rushing by (the last stretch is by the Main Road) are dimmed, and I am enclosed in my own little world of self motivation, every thought is now on the words "Come On, go for it !!:"  as if my life depended on running this race, as the Best Race of my Life.
I am not sure why, but I drive myself this way, every run, except when I am running with little children, will ultimately end up with me pushing every sinew, every breath to reach the finish line with a great intensity.         

      Once I have reached the finish line, (an imaginary line just outside my house), I realise that my heart is beating like 160 beats per minute, I am gasping for air, and I have discovered  how to make a smart retort to some debate on a point on Facebook. Every sinew is aching, loose, and then I realise,   

     " I am alive, This is me. I have done it "

     The endorphin chemicals start to kick in around 10 minutes after the run, and the feel good aspect of relaxing muscles, more brilliant colours around me, and sounds more acute, make me realise that hey, my five senses are suddenly stimulated to the point that 

     It feels Very Good. 

    Every care or concern of the day or the week has dissipated, and I am transported back to the Carefree days of my youth. No pain, no worries, just happiness and warm fuzzy feelings. 

   At least for a few hours anyway.

    This is the feeling I experience after a hard or long run, especially around 10K or longer.

       

View from Eiffel Tower ; La Defense

                                         The View of Paris from the Eiffel Tower, only building is La Defense

      I read some years back, this wonderful story about the German Governor, General Dietrich Hugo von Chiltitz, who was in charge of defending Paris (during Germany's occupation of the France during the 2nd World War), in 1944. Once D - Day came on June 6th 1944, the Germans bid a hasty retreat and sometime in September, the Allies troops were within capturing distance of the city.

      The SS (or Secret Police) had ordered the General to burn Paris and all its monuments, so that the victorious Allies would be left with the hulk of the city. The General, actually disobeyed the instructions and withdrew. It was disputed who actually delayed the planned explosions, but my guess is that the French Resistance and American Allies were busy negotiating this so a major catastrophe had been averted.

      So the title of the book "Is Paris Burning ?" was very apt.

     Paris, the city is full of iconic structures. France probably was once a Great Power during the 1600 -1800s during the Renaissance Period, however, many of its economic and political powers have been much reduced in the last 50 years rendering it to be like a Third World Country with slums and poverty all around. Paris has seen better days. 

     However, as a Fashion Capital, it is still right there at the top. All the brand names, Hermes, LV, Givenchy, Giorgio Armani, Jill Sander, Prada, Balenciaga etc. all have their flagship stores of Europe right smack at Georges V, or Avenue Champs Elysee. The real estate rents or sales are probably in the millions of Euro per month.   

     I find the city quite charming, and the French cuisine is practically the best in Europe. French people can be very welcoming, provided you speak their language. English is a language best reserved when mingling with the shop assistants in the branded boutiques.

     I found this anecdote quite amusing. In 2008, my wife and I went to Paris for several days, and we arranged to meet for lunch at the Printemps rooftop. I had 'learnt' some basic French (French in 1 day), so was using it for all kinds of interaction with the people. I found them quite approachable, back to the lunch, so when we decided to order, I chose the steak and fries and placed my order in French. The chef, was responding to me in kind, in French and even grinned and me. Next behind me, came this burly American, and he ordered the same thing in English. The French chef put on a dour face and handled his order quite rudely, and dumped the steak on his plate !

      In Rome, do what the Romans do, in Paris, same thing, speak French and be treated like a guest of a Once Great Power. Act like a dumb American and be prepared to be insulted !!

     Seize the Day.  

            

I need to do 2 to 3 x 10 K runs from now on

                                          Before my 25 K run at ECP, in 2010, Newton Run

      This morning, on National Day (Singapore's Independence Day ; 48 years old), I did my 10K run at Dalvey Eastate Road. Nothing spectacular, nothing out of the ordinary, but I remind myself ever so often, " time is running fast away, life is now today today, Up and On" from our School Song. I am 50 turning 51 later this year. So every opportunity to do the things I love to do, like running, I will make time for.  

      I also reflected on some of the articles written years ago by the great runner writer Dr. George Sheehan, and how he would dutifully put pen to paper, and write down how he felt after each run. So today on 9th August, I have again put electronic pen to virtual paper and write down how I am feeling after today's National Day Run. 

     I guess I have been running every National Day for the last 11 years now, when I took up running as a serious hobby. Some were great like today, some were just way too hot, like the time I ran one in 2010 and nearly passed out at East Coast Park.

     Every run is different in the sense that I think about random things, which float into my mind. So today, I thought about my committment to my serious hobby and how in the last 3 marathons (2010 - 2012) I have slowed down from a 4 hours 45 minute marathoner to an over 6 hours 5 minutes marathoner. This is inenvitable, I thought. But, when I pulled out my dairies from the earlier years (2009, 2010), I realised that my timing from those years and the timing now is about the same for 5 Ks and for 10Ks. So what is the problem ? Is it slowing down due to age ?

       I do not think so, it is lack of motivation and insufficient training. I have been cruising these last 2 - 3 years in my training, so much so that it reflected in my run times. I take comfort that the gentleman who was pictured during the Boston Marathon in May (he was on the ground just near the finish line) was a ripe 78 years old. His finishing time, was just over 4 hours.

     What ?   If at 78 he can run slightly below 4 hours or thereabouts, what about a young spring chicken like myself !!  I am 27 years younger !. 

     Its time I picked up the pace of training and achieved much better body conditioning. 

    I will need to do at least 3 - 4 10Ks per week and build up the distance from there. I have barely 4 months to my goal early December. Starting today. No excuses. Just pure endurance and persistance. 

    Let me do it again. 

Goodbye Mr. Jansen 1951 - 2013

                          
                                                A great loss to Singapore's Rock Music Scene

    I read yesterday that Mr. Atwell Jansen, the frontman for Singapore's foremost rock band, Heritage, passed away from a freak accident, a fall from his bicycle in Bukit Panjang Nature Reserve on Wednesday 7th August.

    I do not know him personally, but some years ago (2009), I had the good fortune of visiting a pub in Duxton Hill, and with my German friend Frank Rigley, my Malaysian Sales Manager Kannan, we witnessed some awesome rock music from the band Heritage. I was totally blown away that such an iconic band from the 60s and 70s heydays were still plying away at what they do best, making good music. And we had a front row table ! I remember writing a blog post about that visit too.   

   They did fantastic covers of Eric Clapton, The Who, even Queen. Atwell was either on the electronic Violin or played the harmonica while his brother, Jorden was the lead guitarist.

    What a loss, at a relatively young age of 62, 

Argyle Sweater

    
        This is one of my favourite cartoons, called Argyle Sweater, it is featured every Sunday as a single strip cartoon, so the punch line must be made in just one panel. I have 'got it' most times, maybe 8 out of 10, but one needs to be quite conversant in common English phrases and quotes to realise it is a play (occasionally a pun) on the phrase or even a word.

       In this case, this cartoon above is a play about the phrase 'selling like hotcakes' which means to sell so very well it does not need a dedicated salesperson. In Arnie Winkler's case, he has these cartons upon cartons of hotcakse and he can't seem to sell them, hence the title "World's Worst Salesman".

       Geddit ???

This song is for Mr. Everyman

                      Here's to Us.

      Let's face it, maybe only 5% of us end up as 'winners', the ones who have made that pile of cash, found the love of their life and retired by 40 or at most 50. They are the ones who are out in the Caribbean (or South China Sea) in their 72 foot yachts sipping on Mumm champagne and tanning their (bum) cheeks. Holidaying or globesetting is serious living, or so it seems.  

      The rest of us minions, like the song typifies, have to slog it out, day in day out, 40 to 60 hours a week living from paycheck to paycheck, raising families, coping with issues on relationships, family crises , business disasters, health costs, and rising costs of living compounded by an increasingly complex and expensive world. Retire ? You got to be kidding, seems to be the mantra I hear from everyone around me.

      Anyway, Mr. Everyman who struggles with job uncertainty, business failures, aged parents issues, growing children needs on a daily basis can take heart.  You are not alone. 

We must be resilient to weather any crisis and be stronger for it.   Our attitude  and our vales will determine whether we will be winners or losers in life.   

As the Song Says, "Here's to Us" . Seize the Day