Next Step

Imagine life without a purpose. Don't you think it's a waste of time? Yet, we live everyday as if it's with a purpose, but is there? I begin to question my sense of purpose in this lifetime. I must say, it is clearer when life is less complicated and with only the simplicity of dealing with just oneself and perhaps, one's life work (or a career in modern term). Come to think of it, how sad it is. We have no longer have real control over our behavior, our actions as they somehow are being dictated by external forces. This forces is what I view as technology, life advancement, career advancement etc etc.. It's all the inevitable-s at this day and age. We just have to go with the flow.

I guess to deal with it is to break it down into pieces and trying to achieve what we set out to do. It is ok, if we are not answering to life's calling (which I presume is always a noble one) but having goals made all the difference. To be honest, I can only say, I want to be happy in this lifetime. But very small little thing makes me happy easily and is that it? Is that what life is all about?

As I mentioned, having goals are great. Now I'm aiming to complete my Diploma in Wine in the two years stipulation for the course. I can't wait for embark on this 2-year journey on advancing myself in a real challenging manner and finally able to rekindle the academic side of me. Yes, I may not have or yet to achieve a Master's Degree, but who knows, one day, I'll do that. As of now, I'm very excited on stepping my foot into the world of wines and spirits.

I foresee myself, being studious and being diligent in completing each task but I must forewarn the implication of that. I may not have a social life. But I guess, my love for gatherings and wine-tastings will be able to overcome the need to isolate myself. I guess, it is all about time-management and with a manageable career, I can't find a reason not to do this Diploma at this very instance.

I'm wishing myself all the very best and this entry serves to remind me what I have promised myself to achieve.. Adios!

My 2014

More than 1.5 years gone without a single entry to this blog of mine. What is my thought on this? I must say, it’s a mixed bag of feelings, torn between guilt and a sense of entitlement. Entitlement to feel that it is ok not to take action sometimes. Well, it’s certainly not a good habit of mine, yet, it’s a coping mechanism for me I suppose, to make sense of how much is actually going on in one’s life today at this day and age. Social medias, the constant bombardment of breaking news, 24-hour news feeds, never-ending Internet marketing emails… life can be exhausting! The mind is not resting properly, the body is not functioning optimally.

Hence it’s that how we should feel? I began to question the effects on the social “advancement” of our humankind.

Being me, I always let the issues that I learn and experience to affect me in one way or another. I begin to think of how I have progressed and I could not help but to break it down to my career, my wine journey, my love life, my family life and all this in no particular order. They all define me in one way or another. I can’t help but to be reflective when it comes this time of the year.

My wine journey so far has been a really kind one. I have had a plenty few of memorable bottles and flavours that I had savoured that open up a whole new experience. Chateau Simone and a bottle of Fronton. The scent of foxiness, the signature scent of Négrette, will forever ingrained in my memory. I must give thanks to the person who brought these bottles and shared them with me. Also, with two wine certifications, I can now add two sets of abbreviation after my name. And I vow to live up to that.  I also discovered that the effect of alcohol and fatigue is a deadly combination to one's health and one must always be mindful not to combine both.  Drink only when your body says I’m ready, not when I’m tired.

My career has also been a kind one for me. I am still enjoying the lifestyle perks of my job yet I begin to search for an answer to cope with fatigue.  I supposed no one is exempted from the wrath of aging and it is just a part of growing up and growing old. But the question remains in our popular culture on how to reverse aging, or to slow it down. My take on this is, keeping one fit physically and mentally and it’s always easier verbally than through action. Nonetheless, I must keep myself occupied in some ways or another by doing some sport. I think I should rekindle with badminton, which I grew up with. In my line of work, I have had some unfortunate incidents as well. I had one that affected me quite a bit. However, I have learnt to let go and it left me with a sweet note, a reminder to enjoy my life to the fullest, every moment, every heartbeat. I am just a mere mortal and there is so much that I can control, life and death is definitely not one of them.

I always ask myself, if I die today, will I die happy? My answer is always a yes.  My soulmate, my life partner, my best friend, my hubby has the greatest part to play on this. His reassurance is always the comfort to my soul and his love, my reason to live on. I have plenty to write about us, but there’s something in me that I felt, that it only belongs to us and not to be shared to the public. And I regard this as our very own sacred Steph & Dan. Something that is only felt and shared with your closest. I hope you have the chance to experience that in your own way.

I am also glad that I am always yearning to be with family members. And that includes friends who are family we have chosen for ourselves. I always thought that I can be an independent person, a loner but yet, I am most joyful when I am with the company of them. I guess, I am growing up and growing old.

I have still a long list of to-dos and must-reads and must-sees.. I am eager but in a more controlled manner, taking one thing at a time and breaking down stuffs into manageable pieces. Life is sometimes a mystery and most of the time, very real. We are what we feel and we are how we live our life.

Cheers to a brilliant 2015!

Life, thus Far..

It’s been awhile since I escape from writing but truly my escape is through writing.

Life has taken a wonderful, wonderful journey since my last entry.  If only I could bottle it up, to be savoured in the future, I can only be contented with those lovely memories built up on my mind.  Perhaps, by sitting down and recollecting, I can somehow make these memories stay more permanent. I have always been grateful on how my life has turned out to be. And Danny always reminds me that, it’s happened because of planning and thoughtful execution. Yes, always the rational-minded guy. 

Somehow, there’s this bliss that is felt, only through the blessings of the universe that everything would turn out the way you wanted it to be. Call it The Secrets, or call it God, there is certain mysteries in life to be discovered. Perhaps, it’s karma, that in this lifetime, I am blessed.

My profession has taken to another level. By learning to be leader, I can’t help but feel the need to inspire. In today’s world, we lead life without needing to really care for the next individual. We just operate as though division of labour is our ticket to work the work’s worth, without having to get emotional (something very human). Well, the benefits are obvious, however, the side effects are felt too.

Also, today’s youths are quite different in terms of motivation and the need to actually work for the wages. Hence, I am learning on how to penetrate their psyche to accurately stamp a piece of inspiration in them. I know it’s no easy work and I hope I will somehow figure it out through more experiences and learnings.

Family life is going great as people closest to me are moving up the ladder in life. I love to see progress and I love the fact that in life, one needs to work hard to achieve a good life. It is an old-fashioned value that I still hold on to.  I feel that, how can a person complain about his or her own life without actually knowing that he or she hadn't been giving his or her best? These people would just live life and pointing at others who succeed as being lucky. How oblivious and ignorant!

My question to myself right now is that, where do I want to see myself in the next 3-5 years time? Surely, I promise to strive to be a better person and wish people around me (if not, the whole world) to be equally blessed and happy.

My Wine Journey so far...

The essence of my journey in wine is to discover what wine means to me. To some, it represents a commodity as a means for profit, whether to teach it or to sell it. I have come across both. There are also some who write about it and their palate seem to be so trust-worthy. I have come across them too. The best known in the wine world, some believed. I have tasted hundreds of wine I believed, studied and got certified yet I am still unsure what to do with it. I supposed I admire some, who just enjoy drinking it, which I do too. And some who cellar it, hoping that the bottle will turn into a marvelous worth of time and effort. I aspire to do that too.

Another some, are people who work in the very production of wine. In the vineyard, they are the viticulturists, and the very skillful people who transform these precious fruits into joyful liquids, the winemakers. I have no exposure in this field of viticulture and vinification, and I always wonder how my life would differ should I live close enough to a wine region. In a vineyard, I imagine living the humble life as portrayed in some wine movies. Indeed, there is some magical goodness in wine that simply fills my heart with pure joy and pleasure. I have yet to find a wine that made me feel otherwise. Is there one?

I believe that if wine is a growing trend in this part of my world, I wonder what else is there to look forward to. I supposed teaching it, is one way or another I find, how I can associate with the retention of my wine knowledge as some said, through teaching you are retaining 95% of your knowledge. Is that true? Or just organize some wine dinners here and there as a means of escape to a pure fun-filled sharing of wine moments. I wonder, can a person live this life and maintaining it without a cost? I certainly find lots of potential in doing that.

Of course, there is also some who contribute and write freely about whatever they think of some wine they tasted. I find that rather personal and by a sheer power of the Internet capability, everyone can look or be made to look like a pro. I mean, isn’t it too easy to qualify to write about wine these days? Just like what I am doing now, disguising it in a form of blog?

If there is one more thing left for me to make my wine knowledge useful is to have more tasting sessions, simply discovering what the wine world has to offer today. Let’s not limit our imagination to the well-known labels or regions but do look elsewhere for new possibilities. When I visited Bhutan, a few years back, what stroke me was that, how come this place doesn’t produce its own wine? Well, it does now. And it's from grapes, not rice.

The endless possibilities is always a constant reminder that how much we do not know rather than how much we think we know. Salute!

Wine, Wine, Wine

My journey in wine was being initiated by sipping a light yellow liquid in a local restaurant in Brussels some years back. At least it was how I remember it. I remember loving it and with my cultural upbringing, wine is associated with luxury and the only encounter I would have had with wine, would be in a Chinese wedding dinner. Although wines were served along with beers and whiskies, I did not have the luxury to taste them as I was way too young. Somehow, alcohol was negatively associated by the way I was brought up.

The little restaurant in Brussels opened my eyes to the pleasurable side of alcohol. What great joy a wine can bring when enjoy with nice food and nice company! I was then, a fairly innocent young person with little engagement to the wider world, but thanks to my job, managed to bridge that for me. I was feeling so at home with the whole European setting and sipping the liquid I was told is wine. I did not get any dizziness from drinking it but a slight feeling of being lifted, a state I came to know as the "godliness" state, where life can just end with that sip and feeling fully content with just having that sip, as the last moment of my life. From there, I know I enjoy wine.

Every now and then, having wine with meal would be such a treat and has always been a highlight for me. When I resigned from my job, I brought this little learning with me that wine should be enjoyed in happy occasions which I gladly shared with my close friends even we weren't earning much for a living. How excessive it may sound, but that's how wine portray itself, a pleasurable indulgence. I remember how happy we felt to discover how nice Ernest and Julio red wine tasted, a bottle my hubby brought home. Most of the time, it was order by the glass whenever we club, pub, dine or simply chilling at hotel lounges for a good relaxing live music. I truly enjoy those times thanks to my ever-supportive hubby and the company of my dear friend. I was enjoying wine, but I didn't really know about wine.

Coming back from my stint in acquiring a bachelor's degree, I was earning again and I was glad to have more opportunity to learn about wine. I started by buying a bottle that I could afford, mostly German Rieslings in Penny Mart, Frankfurt and then gradually began to explore generic Bordeaux wines. I had no idea, the difference between a St Emilion or Medoc. I was a typical non-informed, under-educated wine drinker. Then, there was this gentleman who formalize my interest for wine when he said, palate can be trained and there is so much to learn about the world of wine. I began studying for WSET exams and miraculously, I passed each time I sat for the exam. I must have some really keen interest in wine then.

To date, I have yet to taste a lot of wines but hopefully, I am on the right track of training toward becoming a Sommelier, a credible one, I aspire to be. I still love browsing through wine shops and each time, I began to feel more at ease, instead of looking cluelessly like how I used to be. There is never-ending learning about wine, just like any other field. I just wish I could learn as much as I can and I will.

Good Night, Mr Jobs..

I am now in New York City again. As I was browsing through the windows of the shops on Fifth just now, I was actually making my way to the Apple Retail Store. Early in the morning, you will be glad to see the store as it is open 24hours a day. It never sleeps like the city itself.

As you already know, Steve Jobs had gone, at the moment so timely with the launch of iPhone 4S. I speculated that because of Steve's death, they held back the launch of iPhone 5 which was greatly anticipated and almost had become a reality to many. Well, I was saddened by the news of both, the passing of my favorite technology/business figure, and the fact that I have to wait longer to hold another evolutionary or revolutionary (I hope) device.

As I was watching the many tributes to Steve Jobs on the news channels, I could not help but reflect on his greatest gifts to the world. Was he a great technologist? Was he the greatest marketer?

I am a Mac user myself since early 2004, and I instantly fell in love with my iBook G3 then, when I first got it. It is not only nice to look at and touch with your fingers, it was absolutely reliable and almost idiot-proof. I did not feel intimidated at all but somehow pride myself to be somewhat different from the masses. In my mind, the illumination of the Apple logo whenever my iBook starts up, says it all. The best advertisement ever, I still opine.

Just outside of Apple Retail Store in NYC, the famous glass cube is all covered in white now. As I entered the store, I descended through the spiral stairways and around me, it was covered in white. I felt as if I was going to a funeral. I could not help but felt a little sombre. I have to see the iPhone 4S, I told myself.. but it was no where in sight or on display.

I took another look outside of the store again and tried to read the little messages that Steve Jobs' fans left him. A lot of apples and candles offered to him with his signature quotes on them. I felt that, Mr Jobs' legacy will always be with us, very often when we use his signature products. Steve Jobs is never really gone, it's just a good night and tomorrow, who knows will change the world again.

p/s : I credit Mr Jobs for caring the right-brainers and put a meaning to what the world has arrived into, the conceptual age..
Also, remember the moments unboxing your newly purchased Apple products? Only Steve would had thought, it was worth it!

Going Really Gaga