Photo: John Fornander
“Oh wow, The 2013 Tax Handbook is here!” My colleague tore through the protective film and rifled through the tome. “I wonder what’s new this year.”
“Wait,” I said. “People actually read this? I thought it was only for reference.”
“Of course! You work in auditing and you don’t?”
“Uh, don’t we look up the terms as needed?”
“Shh,” my colleague said, holding up her palm.
“Oookay… I think I’ll go do some spreadsheets now.”
Continue reading
Photo: Sticker Mule
So you have writer’s block, or you could be behind on your blog-posting schedule. Your creative well might’ve run dry, or you’re just not looking forward to writing yet another article about the property market.
Well fret not then, because you’ve come to the right place. I’ve spent most of my life writing articles I didn’t care much about, with tight deadlines to boot.
Doing that taught me a very valuable lesson, and that is you don’t need inspiration to actually do the work. Also, writer’s block doesn’t really exist.
Continue reading
Photo: Joseph Frank
Do you ever look in the mirror and think you could stand to lose a few pounds? Or do you feel like a lazy sack of lard when you wake up a couple of minutes before lunch?
We all have shortcomings that trigger our negative feelings, and these moments of pain can be useful tools for improvement, yet the world’s managed to frame it as an enemy, as something to be avoided.
Continue reading
Photo: Sarandy Westfall
I’m going to join in on the pandemic whine-fest and say that it’s been a dull few months. My government can’t decide on its lockdown regulations, freelance opportunities are dwindling, and I just tore my abdominal wall.
So it’s a no-brainer that I choose to see how much my present days sucks and to reminisce on how much better everything used to be. If one thing’s for certain, it’s that I’ve been taking one too many strolls down Memory Lane.
Continue reading
Photo: Hailey Kean
There’s this saying that life only gives you what you can handle, and I’m compelled to think that that’s the case. After all, haven’t we all moved on from what we thought was the worst pain in our lives?
Now, I’m particularly lucky that my experiences of pain have been somewhat mild, comparatively speaking. After all, I didn’t have to live through wars or famine.
Heed this advice though: if you’re going through tough times in life, never compare yourself with others to decide if you should or should not suffer. If you’re feeling pain—both physically or mentally—then there’s probably a reason why.
Continue reading
Your Friendly Malaysian Writer 