.:: Arctos' Corner ::.

It's been a long while since I've last completed reading a book in its entirety but "The good, the bad and the PSLE: trails of an almost kiasu mother" by Monica Lim had me hooked from page one and I completed it in a single day. I did not know that we have such talented writers in our little island and in this book, Monica Lim takes a light hearted look at the stresses of surviving the Singapore education system through the eyes of Ling, a typical Singaporean mum, with her two children who are as different as night and day. The copy I picked up from the local library is the paper back edition by Epigram Books and the font used was nice and large with good spacing, making for easy reading. I also loved the style of writing used, with simple and short sentences in keeping with the light hearted tone throughout. The section on Ling's family trip to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea was especially lovely as it describes my own experiences much better I could have ev...

With the release of FFXV, I dug up my old copy of Final Fantasy VIII for the PC to reminisce on the good old days and boy was Triple Triad (TT) rules a pain to manage. Why bother with TT? The real rewards for it are on disc 4 when you want to power up your characters, assuming you have completed the CC group side quest. From Vilurum on GameFAQs : Your most time-efficient sources of each stat-up are as follows, so without being able to multitask as you'd hoped, you should really only focus on the Minotaur, Eden, and Irvine cards: HP Up: Buy 100 Giant's Rings, GFAbl Med-RF to 10 Gaea's Rings, Forbid Med-RF to 10 HP Ups. (This is faster than refining Ward's card 3⅓ for 10 HP Ups.) Str Up: Mod Eden's card for 3 Monk's Codes, Forbid Med-RF to 3 Str Ups, reclaim from left Diamond. (Better card to Str Up exchange rate than you get with Zell's card.) Vit Up: Mod Minotaur's card for 10 Adamantines, Forbid Med-RF to 2 Vit Ups, reclaim from left Diamond...

为了您好，请您坐好，用心听好。 钱多钱少，够吃就好。 人丑人美，顺眼就好。 人老人少，健康就好。 家穷家富，和气就好。 老公晚归，有回就好。 老婆唠叨，顾家就好。 孩子从小，就要教好。 博士也好，卖菜也好。 长大以后，乖乖就好。 房屋大小，能住就好。 名不名牌，能穿就好。 两轮四轮，能驾就好。 老板不好，要忍就好。 一切烦恼，能解就好。 坚持执著，放下最好。 人的一生，平安就好。 不是有钱，一定会好。 心好就好，命能改好。 谁是谁非，天知就好。 修福修慧，来世更好。 天地万物，随缘就好。 很多事情，看开就好。 说这么多，明白就好。 人人都好，日日都好。 您好我好，世界更好。 总而言之，知足最好。 这条资讯，真的很好。 不发给您，是我不好。 This passage in Chinese was making its rounds via messaging apps and I thought I'll note it here for future reference when I need a little mood booster. For those who do not understand Chinese, here is my feeble attempt at translating: Please take a seat and listen well for your happiness. It doesn't matter if one is rich or poor as long as there is sufficient to eat. It doesn't matter if one is a plain Jane or pretty as long as they are not an eyesore. It doesn't matter if one is old or young as long as they are healthy. It doesn't matter if the family is poor or rich as long as there is harmony. It doesn't matter ho...

Look up, look up at the night sky. When was the last time you looked at the stars and felt how small and insignificant you are?

Tongues of Flame Creative Commons image by Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P., on flickr We all have a little flame. It comes in varying shapes, sizes, and colours. Some have a dazzling flame that burns so bright, it touches and warms all those who comes near it. Others have a smaller flame that is cozy and gentle, yet no less precious. Some will protect their flame carefully while others let theirs go out at the slightest bit of wind. Some with their flame snuffed out get upset that others still have a flame. Others willingly extinguish their flame and try to destroy others' flame. But those who protect their flames are the ones who let it burn brightest. With their flame they can relight the flame for others. What is the size and colour of your flame? Are you protecting it well and using it to spread warm and light to others? Or have you been neglecting it while watching the flames of others' enviously?