And a few photos:

PS. We will post some more pictures and some spicy details about the operation soon…:)

And how COOL it is to receive one!

As well as how COOL it is to make a compliment…and see the other person brighten up and  feel better! (especially in these times, when sometimes people get too caught up in the economic crisis depression and forget to appreciate the nice things around)

This being said, here is our next challenge:

- for one week (until next Tuesday, 2nd June), make 5 compliments every day!

- share the impressions you get as comments to this post

But just before we begin, let’s clearly define compliment= an honest and genuine praise of somebody.

So it is not the intention to make compliments if you don’t feel like it. But I am pretty sure that during one day we can find at least 5 things that we like about people around us.

And if you want to spice up the challenge more, try it out with strangers!

PS. Here is a movie on the power of compliments:

When the MRT broke down last Wednesday, I was quite frustrated and I really-really wanted to meet my Dearie after the stressed afternoon that I had – to KK Hospital and Tanglin Police HQ .

…

I walked along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 (map below) and it was so crowded with people waiting for both buses and Cabs.

Apparently I heard that couple of MRT stopped at that station and leave the crowd stranded.

Now, I’m not complaining about this disruption as SMRT has been giving us excellence service all these while.

…

…

Back to my story, I’ve walked quite a fair bit from the MRT (with heels – which I just started to get use to) and I was getting tired.

The road that was full of people that day

There were like endless people waiting for the cab along the street (of Ang Mo Kio Ave 3) and it struck me – If each person is waiting for the cab, when will I get my turn to get a cab?

So I thought to myself, why don’t I share a cab with someone?

I was a bit reluctant to do this after I thought deeper about it (as Singaporean has long left the idea of sharing a cab with strangers). So…

…

…

…

“Hi Ms, do you want to share a cab?”

Looking at me – surprised and confused, “Oh, ok. I’m going towards Woodlands.”

“I’m going towards Admiralty. Do you mind sharing a cab with me?”

“Ok, why not.”

She was still looking a bit surprised and confused. I tried to lessen the tension by sparking some conversation but it didn’t seem to work (plus, my foot was being bitten by those small ants – and it was very itchy!)

After a long 45mins wait, I suggested to call a cab. Again, she looked a bit surprised. Not sure why tho. I called the cab and about 7mins later, we got ourselves a nice Confort Cab (as per above picture- where the cab stationed, that is where we got our cab) – which initially we were not sure that its ours. (I’ve actually forgotten the cab number! – Short Term Memory as my friend said).

…

Again in the cab, I started the conversation with her about the MRT and we started chatting comfortably. She said she had sore throat and flu – so I guess that’s why she didn’t talk much.

…

As I alighted from the cab, walking toward my Dearie’s office, I said to myself – “It’s not a bad idea that I asked – at least I don’t need to wait very long and spend extra money for the cab”.

…

­So, it doesn’t hurt to ask the question. (^^,)

Let’s think out of the box.

Let’s say we find about 30 creative ways to use a Tea Cup. Yes, I am a tea fan

We’ll do this until  Wednesday, 20 May. Then I’ll write a post and everybody will share his list of bizarre, unconventional, creative ways to use a tea cup.

Ready?

Let’s have some fun!

P.S : All the ones who get involved in this challenge will be rewarded with a Creativity Kit : online books, articles and many other cool stuff.

And so did the Break Free Group!

And since our mission is to challenge ourselves and others to break free from the ordinary, we could not have an ordinary celebration, could we?

So here are some glimpses of what we did.

11am - almost all of us met in Bedok Bus Interchange- 9 of us gathered (Basti, the Red Nose German; Smiley Ovi from Nepal; the colorful Hungarian girls Ana Maria and Bogi, Big Heart Maggie from Hong Kong, High on Energy Isabel from Netherlando- Phillipines, Best Photographer in Singapore: Yunyu, Excited Miranda from China, and Romanian myself).

This was the biggest operation in Break Free history! So far…

11.10am- the last one of us, Yasmine the Happy Egyptian, calls: “Guys, can you come and help me carry the helium tank?” (yes! helium tank!! :))

Basti,  demonstrating self leadership, rushed to her help. Alone.

That proved to be a mistake as the tank was as almost as heavy as a real army tank. We needed three people to carry it to the place of the operation.

11.15am- after a brief “How do we actually open the helium tank?!?” session, , we were ready.

Ready to make balloons to give to Mothers! And to their children!

around 12am- we got reinforcements- Jacqueline Wong and her two lovely children came to our help (BTW, Jacqueline was kind enough to sponsor us with the helium for the operation! SO, BIG THANKS once again!)

Thrilled and enthusiastic, Daniel jumped in the action straight away. His first target, a young mother: “Hello! I love you! Will you marry me?” (talk about being direct!)

The answer came promptly: “I would my dear, but I already have 4 children!”

Not losing heart at all, Daniel just went on spreading love and putting smiles on a lot of people’s faces. And was the youngest Red Nose on the day!

around 1 pm- wherever you looked over the big Bedok Bus Interchange (which is almost as big as a National Stadium), you could spot helium balloons colouring the horizons. That was when, after a good 2 hours of intense but rewarding work, the Break Free group decided to break for lunch!

The outcomes after two hours: more than 400 balloons, 50 “I love you Mother” hand made cards and 50 origami flowers were given to young and not so young mothers and their smiling children

And the biggest satisfaction we got was the one of putting a BIG smile on a lot of people’s faces. Not matter of their age. (especially the old aunties smiles when getting a balloon or an origami flower were worth millions).

As well as challenging people’s mindsets. We heard a lot of comments like: How much do we need to pay for the balloons? What are you selling? What are you promoting?

And some of the people found it hard to believe that we had no sales intention. And that our purpose was to prove once again that it is easy to have fun while breaking free from the ordinary. And making other people smile in the process!

PS. You can find all of the pictures here!

We were invited in “The Living Room”, where we had the pleasure of chatting to smiley Stanley Leong about our lattest mission, The High 5 Operation

Here are some pictures:

As for the story of the interview and some fun happenings, read more here:

http://livingroomscribbles.blogspot.com/

PS. Soon to come, our next mission: Mother’s Day!

How to Live a Remarkable life in a Conventional World

In this article I want to recommend you “A brief guide to world domination” - by Chirs Guillebeau. I read it few months ago and I really enjoyed it.

Some excerpts from the manifesto that explain its purpose:

“learn how your own personal goals can be directly related to helping other people. While you are pursuing your big ideas, you can also make a difference in the lives of others at the same time. I’ll tell you a few stories of ordinary people who have been doing this in very unique ways, and help you get started with your own plan of attack.

I should warn you now that this report is not for everyone. In fact, it’s probably not for most people. Instead of writing for the general public, I spent about 35 hours writing these pages for a small minority of people interested in living life on their own terms while making a dramatic, positive difference in the lives of others at the same time.

In short, I wrote it for people who are serious about ruling—or at least changing - the world. ……..

That path is paved with safe lives, middle of the road monotony, and little chance of failure. But where’s the fun in being like everyone else out there?“

The 2 main questions

For me, this manifesto offers a different approach than other articles on topics like “your mission in life”.

It makes you think about the following two questions:

#1: What do you really want to get out of life?

#2: What can you offer the world that no one else can?

“For far too long, we have failed to recognize the importance of EACH of these mindsets together—doing what you really want, and radically helping others.

The problem is that in the prevailing logic of our modern age, these two perspectives have traditionally been viewed as opposites. You can do something good for yourself, or you can do something good for other people. You can make money, or you can change the world. “

A few words about Chris Guillebeau

He is writing on his blog about travel and life.

His goal is to visit every country in the world by April 7, 2013. CURRENT STATUS: 107/197!!!

“I have been self-employed for my entire adult life and have never had the dreaded “real job.” I recently turned 30 years old, so I figured that since I’ve made it this far, there’s no sense in looking for one of those real jobs now.

In 2006 I returned to the U.S. after spending four years as a volunteer in West Africa. During that time, I lived in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and six other African countries, helping to improve access to healthcare and clean water in the world’s poorest places. I worked with everyone from presidents to warlords, and learned a lot about unconventional living in the process. The four years I spent in Africa was by far the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had, and I only left it behind to enter a graduate program at the University of Washington in late 2006.

The conversation about world domination started earlier this year when I was getting ready to finish my master’s degree. A couple of friends asked me what I was going to do next, and at first I didn’t know how to answer. I went through the list of “normal” responses to that question—maybe I’ll start a new business, enter a Ph.D. program, go back to Africa, etc. But after thinking about it for a long time, I started telling people, “I’m going to start my own social movement.”

So, you can download the free manifesto here.

PS.  If your read it, please share your thoughts here.

I never thought about attending a singing class. Not because I was awful at singing (I think I have a quite nice voice). It’s more because I didn’t see the purpose of learning how to sing. I only sing to entertain myself (aka under the shower).

Besides, singing is not as social as dancing and you don’t have the chance to practice it so oftenly: when you go to parties you are supposed to dance, not to sing.

The list of reasons  could go on…

So, as dancing was more important for me I planned to attend a tango dance lesson (my first one ever). BUT : as I didn’t payed  attention to the announcement it turned out that the dance was actually …. music.  A tango music class

I was with a Egyptian guy and he was looking like he wanted to kill me for bringing him there to sing in Spanish!!

During one hour we practiced our singing skills on a beautiful Carlos Gardel song, repeating over and over again.

In the end, we both had lots of fun and were really sorry that it ended so soon!!

I learned that singing is relaxing and very positive for your spirit. It’s a very simple expression of feelings delivered in a beautiful shape.

So, I strongly encourage you to try  something you think you don’t  like or you believe you’re not good at! Explore!

Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try.

Here is the new BREAK FREE challenge for this week:

Walking Backwards!

If you have never done it before, here is the step by step procedure:

1. While you are walking normally, STOP!

2. Simply REVERSE!

TIPs:

a. it is okey to look behind!

b. every day practice makes perfect

The purpose of the challenge is to get us out of our comfort zone. And challenge us to do things differently. While having FUN!

The challenge is ON from this Wednesday until the next.

Let’s see who comes up with the best place to try it!

PS. Remember to post the experiences! Sharing is Caring!