In life, to survive, it's good to have high IQ. It's an advantage. But in love, to survive and be happy, EQ is essential.

At age 29, I think I have a clear definition of what partnership is all about.....love, support, care, patience, sharing your life, etc. Differences are inevitable in any relationship. The only key is good communication. Once you acquire this skill then that's the time you two can advance and move forward together otherwise, it's just gonna be a dead end street.

I grew up trained to always be aware of the words I use. To always be careful not to use harsh words that may hurt or insult other people. TACTFULNESS. It's something you can't learn from books. It's something you carry on from your upbringing. It is essential as we are part of a society which we need to belong to to exist in this world. But some people, no matter how very well educated they may be just lack this trait. They don't care if they say foul words, if they may hurt people, if what they say is already below the belt. I wonder what kind of upbringing they had. They must have had a lot of verbal abuses growing up. I'm grateful I didn't have to experience such. I came from a family who value empathy and compassion towards people's feelings. I'd love to pass these values to my children. For the tactless ones....I wonder how they'll be towards their children. I pity their children and what they will go through. And it's sad that these children will also end up just like their parents.

I just need to be appreciative...but at the moment I can't. How could I, when I'm not even appreciated. There's a fine line between knowing and showing it. At the moment I don't see it. All I could hear is just complains, complains, and more complains about anything I can possibly not do. It's as if he fills up my needs too. The thing is, I just couldn't complain anymore. Coz if I do, I will be accused of being needy, demanding and just simply nagging. I just feel I'm walking on a very thin line, balancing myself and really careful not to fall. Anything I may say or do might just upset him. But stupid as may be, I've always been there for him. He need not say so, I just know when he needs me. His birthday, difficulty with work, a boring weekend, etc. I don't know if he appreciates it. If he does, he never said thank you voluntarily. Actually, he doesn't need to, just an act of appreciation would be good enough for me. Or maybe re-paying it by being there for me too. Like on my birthday, when I was sick. Times when I need him to be there too. He may have the highest IQ but he would have one of the lowest EQ. The thing is, now I have trained myself not to run to him straight away in times of difficulty since I'm not sure how I may come across. But this is not how I define a relationship....if it's just gonna be like this, I might as well be single again. It works the same, I'm still on my own anyway.

My ideal man...

Someone who's sensitive
Who would go an extra mile to please me
Appreciates me despite my short comings
Warm
Expressive
Honest
Loyal
Tries to understand my background
Cool tempered
Intelligent
Shows his concern about me
Supportive
Financial doesn't matter, but moral support does matter a lot!
Adores my family or atleast interested to get to know them as to get to know them is to understand me better.

....all of these and the rest of you put together!

They say, it's either you think with your brain or think with your heart. Which is better anyway? If you think too much with your brain, you become too smart - - a smart ass! If you think too much with your heart, you become stupid - - a dumb blonde! I'd say, use both. A bit of brain and heart just to balance it all. But I think no one will dispute the fact that you may have read all the books in the world, studied everything you can think of, but at the end of the day, if you don't use your heart, then there' ll be no one with you who would stand by you through thick or thin. You may be the smartest person in the world but that doesn't matter when there's no one beside you. Your brain is full but your heart is empty. I'd rather have my brain empty than my hearty empty. A full brain can indeed give us happiness, but it falls somehow under superficial happiness. A full heart can give us happiness too...a deeper level of happiness and I think for me that's the real happiness anyone can achieve.

We will all die. And when we do, God will judge us not by the great knowledge we have in our brains but by the love, care, compassion, good deeds, everything that would have come from our hearts. He will measure what's in our hearts and not in our brains. Therefore, I think what matters most is to think with the heart as to do otherwise would be just too worldly.

Define happiness.....to each is own. As for me, mine is just superficial. I'm happy about having enough to survive life here in Sydney. But if you ask me about deeper happiness...I definitely haven't reached that yet. I wish I have.....lucky are those who have.

A year from now, I will assess things. From there, I'll decide if I have to think of another city, another country, another challenge.

Life doesn't always direct us to where we want to go. At the end of the day, it's our resilience that will make us survive in this cruel world.

From 2001, I definitely have gone so far! Hard work and perseverance really pays off.

Andre gives me so much happiness....I wonder how much more joy would I experience from my own child? I'm such a devote aunt....I want him to have the best. How much more when I'm a mum?!

Isn't it amazing how women are gifted with the ability to bear children? I'm not a mother yet but I am sure how much happiness and fulfillment a child can give. A child's love is the ultimate happiness one can have. Motherhood gives you a different meaning to life. It changes your perspective. It gives you direction and purpose to live. It's just sad how some women would resort to abortion or would even afford to kill their own children for convenience sake. I can't imagine how they sleep at night.

I envy those who feel complete. I want a purpose to my life, a deeper meaning. I know how I can have it but I don't know when I can find it. Life is not about material wealth but more of the abundance of love and happiness. Lucky are those who've got both. As for me, I am still in a journey towards it. I'm not even sure if I'm in the right path. But no one knows anyway. Life is a gamble. All I can do is trust my heart. Things happen because they're destined to happen. I just follow the road whereever it leads me to. Whereever that is, I know I'm destined to be there. My only biggest fear is if I discover that at the end of road, it is just me, myself and I.

The water's a lot calmer. Just a bit of waves. Hope the storm is over and never comes back.

I'm not a fan of Bush.....therefore, I make a huge difference!

It's up to you, either you describe a glass with water as half full or half empty. Some people, no matter how you try to be good to them, will always find something to say against you. Is it my fault to be optimisitic? Mind you, true, I may be very optimistic but that doesn't mean I'm blind to the real world. I don't need to broadcast to the world my insights about things that are happening. I know the world is fucked up, and so I am. Everyone is anyway. I believe, before you try to fix the world, you should fix your life first. That's what I'm doing. By living a good life and not stepping on anyone's toes, I believe I am contributing something to the world in my own little way. Like instead of taking public transport, I'd walk home from work, I recycle my bin, I save electricity, I save water, etc. I do my part. I know not enough but atleast I try. I'm not a super woman who can fix the world. I'm only human, just like any other who live in a world full of consumerism. This is reality, so stop being idealistic. We cannot avoid consumerism coz we are a part of it! As for me, I just concentrate on how I live my life and respecting how others live their own rather than ridicule people who don't conform to my standards. To each is own. No one's perfect so I wish some people will stop being self righteous. Mind your own life first, I'm pretty sure there are a lot to fix. My advice, learn how to see the positive side to people than focus on the negatives. By dwelling on how imperfect the world is, how things need to be fixed, how fucked up people are....I understand why some people feel miserable. This is the reason why I'd rather be optimist than a pesimist....it's too heavy to carry the world's burden, and you don't have to. It's hard enough to look after myself, how I'd survive. But that doesn't mean I'm indifferent, I just do whatever I can.