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Someone told me today, how she dislikes buying gifts for others when she went overseas, how she find it meaningless to receive gifts from others that she don’t like.

As for me, I think that it’s not whether if that gift I received is useful, or if I like it, or how much it’s worth… it’s that thought that counts.

I recalled the times when I myself am choosing gifts to buy for my friends back home.  Other than setting time aside to make that trip.. during the process of choosing a gift, I’ll think of the happy times we spent together, I’ll imagine their smile when we meet again, I’ll like to think they like the gift I chose for them…  So if I do all that when I am looking for gift to get a friend, I would like to think the same applies to whoever buying a gift for me as well. 

Nowadays, everyone’s always busy.  I have tonnes of friends I’ve yet to meet up with.  We communicate with each other via msn, sms, emails, but not in person.  Even if we happen to meet up, everyone maybe sitting at the same table but their mind is somewhere else (sms-ing another friends, chatting with someone else over the phone, etc.).  I guess I just want to say that I am glad, even for a moment, I was thought of by my friends. 

… It is only when the facts become clear and competing interpretations of them can be brought into sharp focus that opposing hypotheses can clash.  And only when sharply focused ideas clash can one of them be found wrong.  Being on the wrong side of an interpretation was unimportant.  The greatest strength of the scientific method is its ability to disprove a hypothesis.  Science proceeds by endless and ever refining cycles of conjecture and refutation.  One scientist proposes a new idea about nature and then other scientists work to find observations that support or refute this idea.

… the essence of scientific investigation - how to be speculative and imaginative in the creation of hypotheses, and then to challenge them with the utmost rigor, both by utilizing all existing knowledge and by mounting the most searching experimental attacks.  … rejoice in the refutation of a cherished hypothesis, because that, too, is a scientific achievement and because much has been learned by the refutation.

… I experienced a great liberation in escaping from the rigid conventions that are generally held with respect to scientific research… When one is liberated from these restrictive dogmas, scientific investigation becomes an exciting adventure opening up new visions.

Kandel, E. R., (2006). Conversation between nerve cells. In In search of memory - the emergence of a new science of mind (pp. 90-102). USA: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

I am a believer in the plasticity of our brain.  I believe that one can always establish new connection between neurons through constant explosure to stimulus.  The number of things I suspect that might hinder the speed of the output could be: a) the strength of the myelin sheath; b) interference that inhibit output.  But then again, don’t take my word for it, I know nuts about biopsychology, just a wild guess.

Recently I am hook onto this game known as audition, in which one needs to map the fingers movement to what was shown on the screen (left, right, up & down), and at the same time, hit the space bar at a constant interval depending on the speed of the song.  This game consists of various level whereby one can progress on, and each level demand a higher level of speed and accuracy.  As I struggled through the stages, I realized my speed and accuracy improved.  This game merely prove my point that we can always acquire new skills and knowledge so long we’re willing to put in our effort.  Nothing is impossible, and there’ll never be a day too late to try.  Ermm… maybe should excludes physically tasks, I merely refers to the affair of the brain.

I noticed also, that once our brain establish the connection, in terms of the manupulation of movement, the learned behaviour entered and became our implicit memory (memories with no necessary involvement of conscious awareness).  I performed faster the second time round.  However, my performance will be impaired when I tried to consciously attend to or process too many sensory input at one go - which is the auditory, visual and motor senses.  If I consciously try to match my motor output to my visual input, I exert more effort in completing the task and at the same time lost track of my audio input.  In other word, our consciousness can allow us to focus on one or two senses in a given moment at the expense of our other senses.  And at the same time, our conscious effort actually interfer with our implicit memory.  It’s like trying to make sense of something that’s already fine tune, the brain and the body reaction is not on par.  Hmmm… how should I put it, it feels like my brain don’t trust my reaction, so it has to keep checking or keep a watch over things, hahaha….  This I noticed in others as well.  When one’s consciousness is split between two task (e.g., talking over the phone and playing game at the same time), not concentrating on either, one can perform better on the game.  But overall, I still think a fair amount of consciousness are require to complete those tasks I’ve just mentioned. 

Our brain is such a powerful organ, we can actually amplify or dampen certain senses of ours to attain our goal.  We just need to learn how to, that’s all. 

No conclusion or what-so-ever, just my thoughts for today.

The way I see it, you’ve just got to accept certain things about people.  ….. You’ve got to accept people for what they are, not what you wish they’d be.

… All this insight wasn’t worth much if it didn’t change things for the better.

… What was therapy anyway, he’d replied, except professional friendship?

According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/platonic%20love, Platonic Love refers to:

- an intimate companionship or relationship, esp. between two persons of the opposite sex, that is characterized by the absence of sexual involvement; a spiritual affection.

- a pure, spiritual affection, subsisting between persons of opposite sex, unmixed with carnal desires, and regarding the mind only and its excellences

I don’t quite understand the usage of the term.  Is it applicable only in circumstances that involve two individuals with huge potential to develop a sexual relationship?  For the definition sure makes it seem that way. 

So can I use platonic love to describe a relationship between a 50 years old woman and a 23 years old man, or maybe a 60 years old man and a 20 years old woman?

I would think that if an individual declares that his/her relationship with another person is platonic, it already violated the essence of platonic.  Why even try to qualify the relationship if it’s purely non-sexual?  Then I would question the existence of term at all.  If the usage of the term would reflects the opposite of what it means, then why use the term in the first place?

Come to think of it, I myself do at times declare to others my relationship with another is like brother and sister.  Although I didn’t really use the term platonic love, the meaning is similar right?  Hmmm…. now I am contradicting myself, hehehe…..  So does it means that when I am telling others my feeling for someone is purely non-sexual, I am sub-consciously aware that this relationship can be sexual?  Hmmm… could it be I am using this declaration to let the other party knows that the relationship between us can go no further than purely friends or I am restricting myself to develop any feelings for that someone?  This is getting complicated.

Would appreciate it if someone can share your thoughts with me on this, thanks ^_^

Juz discovered I’ve got a new neighbour.  She’s petite in size, single (I think? or maybe she’s discreet?), beautiful (to me), always in green (bet green’s her favourite color), and really hardworking (she’s currently renovating her own house).  I think I’ve fallen in love with her!!! 

I’ll stalk her, observe her openly, secretly, and even took pictures of her house, am I crazy or something?!?!  And I think she noticed me.  She’s wary of me, and she won’t go home if she saw me standing too close to her house, do I look so scary???

Can’t wait to get to know her better, and maybe, who knows, she might even allow me to snap a pic of her eh.  So for now, guess I’ll go on stalking….

Just got this crazy thought today…

Have never tried lying down chatting to a friend before, ermmm… maybe I did so in the past, when I am way younger, but not now.  Bet it’ll be fun if we just let go and relax…. find an open space(ermm… must be clean of cos) and just lay down and chat about anything everything. 

Or maybe we can try lying down with our legs pointing at the opposite direction, that’ll a first for me.  Our eyes will be at the level of each other mouth, a whole new orientation, new perspective, wonder how it’ll feel like eh? 

Good and evil are not absolute, but relative.

To work with a child, to learn and understand their behaviour, engage them in games that’s expressive of their inner thought, e.g., playing with dolls, toys, drawings, etc.

Don’t assume knowledge of what was presented before you, if you’re unsure, ask the child.

Question:

Dissociative personality disorder - arises due to individual inability to due with the trauma or stress he/she face.  These trauma or stress may threaten the existance or value of the individual and they can only cope through the incooperation of another being.  Like a defense mechanism or an instinct to protect oneself. 

1. Can disassociative personality disorder (DPD) be discover in children?

2. What about individual that display some symptoms of (DPD), but not the full range (e.g., did not lost track of time, swapping of personality through behaviour change and not cognitive change, etc.)?  Will they still be consider DPD?

I am sort of lost when I completed my postgraduate dip, not sure what I want to do, where I want to go.  That’s before I forced Siew to let me stayed over at her place for a week, oops… people now know I’m a bully, there goes my image (as if there’s one to begin with, hehehe…).

Ok, where am I….

Ermm… wanna thank Siew for her hospitality, I enjoyed my stay there.  The conversation we’d allow me to see things from another perspective, free me from the ‘box’ I’ve put myself in (hehehe… talking about the ‘box’, bet Ainul, Jason, Roy, Anna and Edmund now has this grin on their face, ermmm… at least I have).

Oh, the conversation is about choice. 

Remembered the last time I felt I’ve walked into a dead end, helpless, lost, confuse, unhappy, I thought that’s my only option.  However, that’s not true.  Believing there’s only one door available is to see the world with one eye close, I’ve forgotten there’s still another half of the world I am not seeing or refuse to acknowledge.  Hmmm… maybe not a good example, but it somehow fit my feeling.  When I choose to broaden my scope, to consider the issue on hand in a wider perspective, I can actually see the varies ways I can handle the matter, and with that realization, I felt free.  And at the same time, I felt responsible and take ownership for my decision and action, and that feels good.

So, got to remember this, there’s always a choice.  If you can’t see it now, walk away, take a break or do whatever to get your mind off the issue for a while.  When you’re ready to face the problem again, try looking at it from a different perspective, you might discover that there’re options available.  At the end of the day, no matter what your choice will be, even if it sucks, you’ll somehow feel better than when you thought you’ve no option at all.

Thanks Siew ^_^