7 months

Just came back home from little india. Showed my colleague ard the place, and did some shopping. It has almost been 7 months now. This year has been pretty happening. Dave came to visit me during CNY. Then Oscar came and we went to visit Dave together. Then Yuko came last month. Then Maggie and David came as well. And of cuz, Mansi, whom I was out with just now.

Went to Macau with family in Feb. Then Vietnam with Oscar in April. Then a short diving trip to Dayang for my certification. Then Bintan with Yuko. Then Krabi last weekend. Then going to Trip to Nowhere on Star Cruise this weekend. Then Bintan in Aug. Then Jakarta on the following weekend. And hopefully another location for Innovation InFusion in oct. And maybe one or two more backpacking/trekking/diving trips. It has almost been 7 months now.

Can't recall how I spent my xmas last year. Can't remember whether if I went to any countdown for the new year. Can't remember much about last year, except for late nights in my previous project. But I remember one thing. First things first. It has almost been 7 months now. But I still remember it.

7 habits has been a tedious book to read. Took me more than one month I think. Order of the Phoenix took me one day. I remember all of the habits, and bits of DA. So I guess life is fair. It always has been. First things first. This is the book which I started reading last year. Haven't finish half. Can't remember even a quarter of what I read. This was the book that ended my reading steak. I was reading, on average, 3 books per month then. This year, up to now, less than 10.

Case in point. Pyramid principle. Sex, lies and handwriting. Investment Fables. Valuation. Anatomy of the bear. Sun Tzu. Catch 22. Wisdom of the crowd.

Wanted to do my goal-setting for 2007, when I picked up ftf. Was trying to finish reading ftf before the end of 2006. So that I can do my goal setting for 2007. It never happened. Ftf is a tedious book to read. It is like a company manufactoring life vests with concrete, applying for ISO9001. It is like winning the competition for the Zen contest. (Read: what's the point? What's the point of moving forward when you don't know where is north. 0-15, 0-21, 0-4...) I still have the draft sitting on my table as I type. It has almost been 7 months now.

Without looking at the list, I look at what I have achieved this year, vs. what I wanted to achieve. Definitely not what I had planned. Traveling was not my priority. Life happens when you least expect it. How I wish these 7 months can be explained so easily.

Education is a wonderful thing. Yet, it is also a burden. Knowledge is not power. Applied knowledge is. Having knowledge means you have the obligation to apply it. Having the ability to apply it means you have to take responsibility for it. A module I took in Wisconsin introduces me to the Knowing-Doing Gap. A discussion with Prof Chai one afternoon leads me to understand the graph which continues to hide at the back of my mind. Combining these two, it helps explain these 7 months.

I know what I should do. Yet I didn't do. That's the knowing-doing gap.

As for the graph, let's just say that I'm not on the line that has a constant slope...



It has almost been 7 months. 5 more months to the end of 2007. Will I be able to figure out what I truly seek? Recalling a conversation with Khendy, nothing sums up this blog entry better than this diagram:



How to interpret the diagram? Simple. You are at the green dot. Your destination is the red dot. The arrow shows the path you take to reach your destination. Which of the 4 diagrams show the best path to take?


Knowing which path to take is the key to what I can achieve in the next 5 months.