How to create a hit song

1. Decide on a beat. Make it as repetitive as possible.
2. Make your lyrics as simple and minimal as possible. It doesn't have to be poetic or deep with meaning.
3. Come up with some phrases, make it as catchy as possible. Doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense. Repeat as frequently as you can without biting your own tongue when you try to sing it.
4. Recruit girls for the MV. The prettier, the better.
5. Dress the girls up in either sexy or quirky outfits. Teach them to dance, either provocatively... or funny.
6. Hire some dudes, dress them up in bright suits and make them wear weird glasses. Cue them to walk into the scene at appropriate time, do some out-of-the-place dance moves.
7. Make the video as random as possible. There is NO need for the video to make any sense, just like how the song will not make any sense.
8. Most importantly, have a simple dance move that people can learn while repeating the catchy phrase.

And you know you have created a hit song, when it has some many views on Youtube, with almost equal amount of likes and dislikes.

And of course, your song has to reach out to different age groups, from young to old. The young will know how to sing and dance, and the old, well, if they can't dance that well, they will be able to belt out that particular phrase as loud as possible at the weirdest timing.

Sometimes, I wonder why women want to torture themselves just for the sake of vanity.

A long time ago, women used to wear corset to make themselves look slimmer. I supposed it works, but the torture that the women go through, not being able to breath properly, cracked ribcage, and bruised waist. And guess what? Nowadays women are wearing tight clothes (perhaps not as tight as corsets), such as skinny jeans, that are not very good for the hipbones.

Long ago in China, women had to bind their feet to make them so tiny to appear more attractive to the men. The process of binding the feet is so painful, because in order to make the feet into the shape that is considered desireable, the bindings are done so tightly that the bones in the feet will break. And now, women are again torturing their feet by wearing shoes (stilettos, heels, pumps) to their legs and feet look desireable.

Thinking about it, it really makes me wonder if vanity is worth all this pain (though I admit the lure of a pair of sexy heels that will make your legs look amazing is pretty darn strong).

I remember some years back, when I first started saying this, my mum scolded me for being materialistic. I supposed, in a way, I do, but I don't mean it that way when I say this. I say it because I do believe that's the way it is, as harsh as it is.

Money makes the world go round.

A conversation with a friend over dinner tonight made me think about how important money really is to a person. No one can ever deny that money is a powerful force, but how powerful will you let it be? How much control will you let it have over you? How much influence will you let it have on you? How much power will you let it have in your life?

My friend was saying that she thinks that whenever money comes into play, it always changes a relationship, any sort of relationship (whether it is among friends, family, or business partners). It's more often than not, breaks the love and the harmony in the relationship, and taints the pureness of the relationship.

I can't help but think that though it is true, wouldn't the people play a more important factor in this? However you think of it, money is not the one with emotions, feelings and intelligence. They are not equipped with qualities that make them alive and succumb to change, so if money really does break a relationship, shouldn't the person be blamed instead of money?

Of course the saying "money is the root of all evil" has some truth in it, but I still think (in my humble opinion), if you are strong enough to hold on to whatever you believe in before money comes into play, money will never be the reason why a relationship changes or breaks.

She was an overweight glutton. She walked as though she had all the time in the world, and looked at you lazily when you talked to her. She was the happiest early in the morning because she absolutely loved breakfast.

I just came back from a trip, and before I could tell my sis all about my trip, my sis broke the news that Madge had died while fighting a poisonous snake that came into my house.

It was unexpected, because we all expected her to live forever. I know it's not realistic, as a dog's lifespan is around 10-12 years, but we didn't expect her to go in such a way. She always tried to play the heroine, barking loudly and attacking whatever small animals that invaded my home, but this time, the heroine died after saving the day.

Part of me was angry at her, for trying to be the heroine. I know that she wanted to protect us, that was why she did what she did. However, that doesn't change the fact that it broke our heart that she is now no longer with us.

Rest in peace, dear Madge, we hope that you have a good life wherever you are now, with no annoying fleas bothering you. You will always have our love.

I think... everyone needs a friend who will give you a pat on the hand and push you out of your comfort zone. Not because the friend is being mean, but because the friend believes so much in your potential that it seems a waste that you are hindering your own success by staying in the security of your comfort zone.

And even more importantly, everyone needs a voice in the head that will do just that, in case the friend is too far away from you to do that.

Sometimes I wonder, when a couple is in a relationship, and one of them (assuming) gets bored, or perhaps no longer feels as strongly in love anymore, is it so difficult to just tell the partner that this relationship is no longer working out? Or do the bored-and-no-longer-in-love partner feels... somehow noble, by pushing the other partner to be the one to raise up the issue of a breakup? And by pushing I mean, doing all sorts of inconsiderate things, like ignoring the partner, no longer care about the partner's life, etc etc.

Honestly, as difficult as it is to tell your previously loved one, "Hey, I don't think this is working out", it is better than to leave him/her in the dark, wondering and hurting why you no longer call or care. Because seriously, just because you push him/her to be the one to raise up the breakup, it doesn't mean that he/she will hurt any less.

A long conversation with my colleague made me realise that:

1. Having differences is not a bad thing. It makes you see things from different point of perspectives. So do hear the other person out.
2. Being idealistic is just being idealistic if you do not have the voice to make it heard. Speak up and make your voice be heard.
3. Self awareness is important. Without knowing yourself, you are a lost soul who confuses the people around you. Take some time to reflect upon what defines you as you.
4. Choose happiness. It's something that sounds so easy, but always trying to be optimistic and cheerful require a lot of practice. So do practice more, as it will come naturally once the practice makes it perfect. Let's not forget to forgive and not hold on to grudges.
5. Believe in love and faith. After all, there is a reason why all the religions preach that.

I am quite aware that sometimes easier said than done, but ah well... no harm in trying.