KEANE

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN HOW TO COUNT

The distance can be so great, but I believe it won’t overweight the amount of love we share each day.

So I’m here down under, and you’re all the way up there. Google said we’re about 10284.04 miles or 16550.10 kilometers apart. Wow.

I used to hate the distance. Or maybe I still do. But that won’t change anything. I miss you, love!

MON AMOUR

Well, these past weeks have been crazy. Like literally, I went crazy and ridiculous. My mind was a disaster, with those anxiety and insecurity feelings crashing down on me. Feels like having a PMS all the time, physically and psychologically. Until I came to a realization that I’m the foolish idiot who can’t be grateful for what I’ve had so far. I’m so lucky to have a man, a real man by my side who can always make me smile, or furthermore, think rationally.

I found a song by Adele called Daydreamer, that I love so much, and it reminds me of my boyfriend. So much. Here it goes:

Daydreamer, sittin’ on the seat
Soaking up the sun he is a real lover,
makin’ up the past and feeling up his girl like he’s never felt her figure before.
A jaw dropper
Looks good when he walks, he is the subject of their talk
He would be hard to chase, but good to catch
and he could change the world with his hands behind his back.

You can find him sittin’ on your doorstep
Waiting for the surprise
It will feel like he’s been there for hours
And you can tell that he’ll be there for life

Daydreamer, with eyes that make you melt
He lends his coat for shelter because he’s there for you when he shouldn’t be
But he stays all the same, waits for you and then sees you through
There’s no way I could describe him
All I say is, just what I’m hoping for

But I will find him sittin’ on my doorstep
Waiting for the surprise
It will feel like he’s been there for hours
And I can tell he’ll be there for life

I feel so blessed. And it has been almost 11 months and I can gladly say that I’m still so much in love with him. More precisely, I’m crazy for him. Maybe you’d say that I’m just so lovey dovey but I don’t care. When you find a man who can make you feel alive again, I bet you’d do the same thing as I’m doing right now.

xo

JUIN

So it’s june already, yea? I can’t believe time flies by so fast even though I’ve been complaining about this and that all the time. I thought it was just yesterday when I wake up and packing my bags for my Paris trip early this year. And now it’s been 5 months past and I’m now entering my 5th semester exam period.

Honestly, I’ve been very nervous and anxious about the coming exams. I feel like I’m somehow unprepared even though I study almost everyday and I tried my best to focus on things that I don’t understand. Will my hard work pays off by the end of the semester?

Nothing is so interesting lately. Mom’s coming tomorrow, she’ll stay with me during the exam, and on the 18th, my dad will be here, and they’ll stay until the 30th. Exam is starting next week, and maybe we’ll go to some places for a day or two after that.

I’ve been losing weight since early last month, maybe it’s due to stress, lack of sleep and food. I don’t know. I don’t care.

So yeah, let’s see what June has for me. It better be good, I warn you.

xo

A NARCISSISTIC APPROACH

THIS IS LIKE A FLASHBACK!

I remember this time last year, exactly last year, I was struggling with my assignments and I was worried sick about the upcoming exams. I used to take my car key and took a long drive on princess highway. I would let my window open and let the winter breeze stroke my cheeks and just take a cigarette from its pack and I would find myself smoking it, kept on driving and not until I finished my third cigarette, I won’t go back home.

I was lonely, and I still am right now. The great difference maybe between last year and now is now I have a boyfriend but it’s a long-distance relationship. Period. Well, I used to love driving alone in the middle of the night and releasing the fever from the academic stress. I can’t help but wonder why I don’t do that anymore? It actually felt good.

Some people said that what I’m feeling is actually the ‘winter blues’. Or the S.A.D, seasonal affective disorder. I don’t want it to sound so depressive so yeah I choose to call it winter blues. As the days become shorter and the night gets colder, I can get a little down some of the time. It’s sort of like PMS but it happens during winter. So imagine if I have this and mix it with a PMS? You might want to call my boyfriend and ask him how to deal with it.

So this winter blues come with a mild depression, lack of motivation which I strongly hate because it’s exam period for God sake! It also comes with the lack of energy, this sometimes give me an idea to make an excuse for myself and whatnot. But hell yeah, it’s winter. It’s time for some cool coats and awesome boots. It’s time for a major makeover. That doesn’t mean that we can’t go out in style during winter. Try shopping online and buy some new stuffs the put on sale. This is a benefit of having winter in Australia because everything cool from the northern countries are on sale when it comes to our winter!

I was actually going to say to everyone who’s deeply suffering with their winter blues, just go and catch some sun whenever it appears. That way you’re going to value sun more than anything during winter. And also… just go along with it. They’re only here for a few month each year, maybe except in Melbourne, the winter breeze seems to come whenever they feel like it, so it doesn’t really apply here. However, just try to embrace the season. If you feel like sleeping in on the weekend, doing nothing for days just because it’s getting too cold outside, then do it. No one will expect you to stay active 24/7.

I write this as a reminder to myself actually, I want myself to stop on whining and complaining about the weather. The bad weather. I should say, they’re not bad, it’s just winter, what do you expect, dumbass? So yeah, just try to see winter in a positive light. I’m not saying that you’re going to like it, but yeah, at least try, will ya?

xo

ON WINNING CHARACTERISTICS

When you are working with a group of people and you have a project to do, the last thing you wanted is to fail. A team with numerous characters and abilities have their advantage in excelling in things that an individual is not able to achieve.

Mind, body and spirit, are the three parts that consist characteristics of a winning team.

Mind

The first core quality of winning teams is directional. The team needs to have a winning mind: a clear, positive vision and goal of what we are working towards and what we want to create, and the most important thing is to believe that we can achieve it. Without it, people are less will and capable of investing themselves fully and giving the effort necessary to make it happen. A winning team should sustain a clear and positive focus. The members should communicate the intention in mission statements, goals and role description. Trusting in the vision and the power of leadership is essential. Remember, winning teams focus on, and take pride in, themselves and their teammates to perform well. That’s how winning teams think, that’s who they are.

Body

The second core quality involves the ‘doing’. The winning team consist of a unified focus on personalities, skills and experience. They know what to do, how to do it and they are committed to doing whatever it takes to perform the best of their ability. Commitment is the willingness to do what’s necessary to accomplish one’s goal and objectives. It’s paying the price in effort and self-sacrifice. The winning team pays the price. The basic philosophy is to work hard and smart. Know the job, do the work, do it well and of course, persevere.

Spirit

The last fundamental quality is spirit. Spirit should incorporates the team’s purpose, commitment, chemistry, and identity. It might begins with a purpose that has heart, one that captures the values of the individual and the team as a whole. It also involves on surrendering our personal ‘I’ for ‘WE’ and working a plan together with passion. Synergy is always needed here. It’s about the energy flow between the people working together to create something more than they could create on their own. Sharing a common vision, belief and trust is inspiring.

This text is written to help members of my team to reflect on what they have been working so far. Do we have the quality of a winning team? Do we work hard enough to achieve it? And the most important thing, do we believe in ourselves that we can actually achieve the things that we want to achieve?

xo