Being a hero

In Gulliver's Travels 3D, Horatio told Gulliver that because he hasn't done anything valiant, he cannot court the princess.

Like the valiant knight who slays dragons for his princess, we men can show our partner that she is our one true love.

The whole point, it seems to me, of being a hero, of winning a prize, is to have someone to win for. a loved one with whom to share my success long after the tumult and shouting dies. Someone to offer us lasting applause. that, I think, is what makes he effort worthwhile and complete.

The cosmic truth about fathering

The card attached to the present goes:

"To my baldy dad

Don't be sad

Be glad

Because you've had

A very merry Christmas

Love your lad, ACE"

Having ACE has taught me a truth as cosmic as any that I can find on a mountain in Tibet: There are no absolutes in raising a child. In any stressful situation, fathering is always a roll of the dice. The game may be messy, but I have never found one with more rewards and joys.

ACE and I

Heart of a relationship

Papers and webpages are filled with articles on "memories of 2010"

I now know that the heart of a relationship is memories; and if the 2 of us happen to have the same ones and can savour our reruns, then our relationship is a gift from the gods.

There are no rules; we just have to wing it. A wing and a prayer, that's what a relationship is.

As Browning said: "Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be."

Keeping mind fresh and clear

"Happy belated birthday. I am too old to remember how old you are," the text message from Chris Diamand cracked me up.

When I was 15 and ignorant, I once heard some really old people in their 40's telling each other how their minds were playing tricks on them. But now I know that at my age - a tender age of 46 - the fog can make our mind like London at dawn.

The lesson for us middle-agers in this piteous tale is clear: I workout, blog, travel, read, trade on ebay and whatever that makes me happy. Because doing things that I enjoy keeps my mind fresh and clear

Scheduled people

"It's funny how everyone wants to live long but no one wants to grow old," a comment was posted on Squidoo.

For my parents there is great security in predictability, order and routine. This is not new for them. It's their nature. It feels safe for them.

Like using the opposite sides of a pair of binoculars to look at the same thing, what they see as enormous and looming, I often see as small and inconsequential.

When I interact with my parents, what I have come to realise is that to understand them better, and to be more tolerant, I have to try to put myself in their place. And sometimes, as I look ahead at my own life, that's a little scary.

Never too old.

"Isn't she a bit too old for the job? You can't teach old dogs new tricks," Michelle sms read.

Most companies want young people who will make a career with the company. Somehow, for management, youth becomes equated with longevity, energy, openess and willingness to learn.

Studies have shown that young people are no more or no less willing to learn than their older colleagues and the likelihood of longevity may be even less because they have not thought through their career choices.

Simply put, it is not how old a person is, but who that person is.

Don't let others rain on our parade

"I don't let it upset me. I simply ignore him," Michelle revealed her secret.

Many people deny their partner's importance by remaining unaffected by and uninterested in their partner's activities or feelings. For example, when we're excited over a project we're working on, is our bubbly enthusiasm met with a cool response or shared enthusiasm? When we're feeling frightened or distressed over something in our lives, do our partners talk about what is upsetting us or just tune us out?

Most of us hide our hurt, fear or disappointment when our partner has done something that upsets us; we have learned not to let others see they have the power to hurt us.

If our partner is not affected by us, we will probably conclude that we are unimportant.

I welcome respectful challenges

Today is the 2nd day of EIBTM.

My professional life has been devoted mainly to making my teams/organizations successful.

Most team members initially saw me as intimidating and authoritarian. But most grew to realise that I welcomed respectful challenges, especially when someone could make a strong case that I was wrong.

I hate wasting time. I run tight, agenda-driven meetings. Meetings focused on exchanging information and decisions.

from right: Eunice, Gerald, Shirley, Yung, Elizabeth

Keeping in touch when apart

"My laptop was stolen 2 days ago. I need to buy a new one. I can't live without emails, skype and chat anymore especially when I am on the road," Noraini admitted.

Keeping in touch when we are apart from each other can bring us closer together. I think that women believe that they think of their partner much more often than their partners do of them.

If we guys let her know we do think of her, she'll feel more confident of our mutual relationship.