Memoirs of an Accidental Undertaker I: Tis The Season To Be Wary

Chinese New Year 2013!

In Singapore, people here celebrate the Lunar New Year and it has been tradition for extended families to gather and celebrate it together. It’s really just a reason for every one to catch up with one another and for some ego sizing. The Lunar New Year is an auspicious time of the year for the chinese and hence it is customary to greet each other with blessings of good fortune and luck.

I am faced with a challenge. Imagine me visiting a relative and after the initial greetings, they pose the following question: So what are you doing these days?

Memoirs of an Accidental Undertaker

Over the new year, a twist of fate occurred and thus I have plunged into a new career. Dear friends and readers, fret not! For I am still helping people, well in a different kinda way. I still do counselling for clients and conduct talks, I just happened to have added a new profession to my repertoire.

I am an undertaker.

How Did I Go From A Biology Major to an Actress? Lisa Kudrow from Friends

Thanks Kaye for sharing this really inspiring speech from Lisa Kudrow. This speech was taken from the Vassar College Website. I think this deserves sharing, happy reading!:

Thank you, President Hill, for inviting me to speak, and thank you to the Class of 2010 for not protesting…seriously.

John Grisham The Plumber

Do you know John Grisham? He’s the author who stole many hours of our lives as we immersed ourselves into the worlds he created with his pen. We know of his writings, but do we know how they came about? I chanced upon this article while I was preparing for a program. If your life has taken many interesting ups and downs, you may find this article soothing. Every wrong turn may turn out to be the right one.

Originally published in the New York Times on the 5th of September 2010, written by John Grisham:

Goldman Sacks

This is easily the best article I have read on banking in quite a while. The original article is on the NYTimes page. This is a repost. It was written by Greg Smith.

TODAY is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the firm — first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years, and now in London — I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.

15 Unexpected Lessons From Depression

This is an excerpt from a really good article by Noch Noch featured on Tiny Buddha. The problems she faced are so similar to what my clients described to me. I am really amazed by her insight into her problem. Just like her, most of my clients are normal people like you and me who live a normal existence. We work, we strive for goals, we party…yet some of us just feel that strange feeling once in a while. 

The Real Experts Talk

This is a repost from The New York Times. Its a really great article summarizing the findings based on research about aging. It covers many broad topics like aging, marriage, parenting, regrets and happiness and gives nougats of advice that are really simple to follow. Great article coming up:

By Jane E Brody

At 17, I wrote a speech titled, “When You Come to the End of Your Days, Will You Be Able to Write Your Own Epitaph?” It reflected the approach to life I adopted after my mother’s untimely death from cancer at age 49. I chose to live each day as if it could be my last — but with a watchful eye on the future in case it wasn’t.

My goal was, and still is, to die without regrets.

The Lumberjack and The Forest

Taken from Asiaone

If you follow the news about SMRT, you would find much information about how that day of unexpected delays happened. Having spoken to friends who work in SMRT, the picture they painted wasn’t pretty, no doubt the trains would hit a point of critical mass. This inspired a story, one about SAW-ing too, well sawing trees that is.

The Yip and The Yap

This story was originally by Dr Seuss but I just can’t find the title or the original book. I only remember the crux of the story. It was written for kids but it applies to us adults even more. This story is truly about communication and this is my adapted version:

The Calligrapher

Every one wants quick results. Yet sometimes when we don’t get the results we want, we grow disheartened and lose heart. Most of us simply pack our bags and look elsewhere. Yet is there another way? Maybe this story will help. Inspired by the book Mastery by George Leonard.