1/20/2013

When is Durian season?


When is durian season?


The main durian season in Singapore is from June - August, where supply increases and you can see makeshifts durian stalls set up in the neighbourhoods. However despite the convenience, the best durians are often obtained straight from the dragon head (i.e Geylang and Balestier areas)


You might have been thinking that why do we still see durians during off season periods? 

Well, the fact is, thankfully the fruiting seasons vary among the different places surrounding us. Thus, you can still enjoy a limited supply of (fresh) durians all year round.


And thankfully, we live in this tropical area where durian thrives. I lived for a while in the States and fresh durian is almost impossible to get. Getting frozen durians from local asian supermarkets were still possible, but at unreasonable prices though.


Thus in my opinion although you can get to eat durian all year round here in Singapore, the durian season is still the best chance to get quality durians at value prices.

1/13/2013

Setting a New Year resolution: Why and 3 Tips


Tips on setting New Year Resolution

Happy New Year! The first post of 2013 came a bit late as I went on a one month trip to Japan. I have lots of tips to share on the trip, but there will be in another post. As we herald the New Year, it is also the time we think about the achievements we have unlocked in the past year and also set new goals for the next year. I am quite surprised that a lot of my friends do not actually take time off to think about their new year resolutions, which I will highly recommend.

Why the need?


1. Focus


With so many things I am involved in: classes, work, love, family, business, friends, social causes, etc, it is easy to lose sight of what is really important to you. Thus it is important to take time and think about what matters you the most, what do you want to achieve there, and dictates how much of your very limited time to spend on.

2. Progress


Reaching your goal can be made much clearer by dividing them into a number of steps or milestones. Take for example in the study of a language, your mastery can be defined by passing the different levels of exam. Setting your resolution to complete your milestones within the year is very much the same logic how companies progress with deadline on tasks. 
In the year of 2012, as I witnessed how my fitness has clearly deteriorated, I begin to acknowledge the fast pace as well as the lack of time. Thus I do encourage you to take an evening off to ponder what you want to accomplish in your life – be it improving the lives of your loved ones, career advancements or anything- and make steps to achieve your goal.

Tip #1. Who Matters?


The very first step is to think about who matters to you. A very good way of visualizing this is that if you were stuck on an island, think about who are the people you want to be with you. They are the important people of your life. There are people who live for themselves. However, I believe that ultimately, people live for others, they desire, crave and fight for more ultimately to provide a better life for people around them. Even if the desire is for oneself, they will ultimately realize that all the wealth and power in the world mean nothing if they have nobody to share it with. So think about who matters in your life, what you want to achieve for her and think about the ways to get there.

Tip #2 Ask “What?” and break down your goals into actionable steps


Suppose your goal is to provide a better life for your parents. Now, the general idea is to describe the goals as detailed as possible, so you are able to grasp the steps to the goal. For example, a better life for my parents would be fulfilling their physical needs. So ask what are their physical needs? It could be a massage chair, a bigger house, and seeing the world. Now think about ways to attain them and assess their difficulty. Buying a massage chair is easier compared to buying a bigger house, while seeing the world can be broken down into taking them on a trip once a year. With that, your goals are broken down into actionable steps and easier to attain rather than a general statement of “provide a better life”

Tip #3 Review regularly your resolution


At the regular intervals of the year, take time to review how much have you progressed according to your plan. When I first started with my new year resolutions, I only recalled them at the end of the year, and only to realize by then I was so distracted with other stuff and failed to achieve them. Thus it is important to steer your plans back to what matters to you, and achieve them!

Focus and Progress on the people matters, Action and Review! Happy New Year!

Eufass