We’ve talked about maximizing your strengths on the previous post, now what do we do with your weaknesses?

We all have our bad times. Or perhaps some of us are already born with the certain disadvantages that put us a notch below the others. But actually, who is it that is there to determine what is normal or success? And how do we weight ourselves, is it from your heart, or is it from how others see you?

After watching this talk by Aimee Mullins on TEDs, I guess she gave us a very simple but powerful answer.

“It is not so much about overcoming adversity as it is opening ourselves to it, embracing it. Grappling with it. Maybe even dancing with it. Perhaps as we see adversity as something natural, consistent and useful, we’re less burdened by the presence of it. “

Dancing with adversity, making it your partner. Now that’s some new idea that we all can use.

Aimee Mullins: A Living Miracle

Image courtesy of Rams Sports Performance

Aimee Mullins was born without fibulae in both legs. In other words, she had to amputate both legs off when she was 1 year old, and theoretically she will have to live on a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

That’s what the doctors think.

And of course, as of all stories of all great people in this world, she did not buy that idea and made a miracle out of her adversity. She learned to walk using prosthetic legs by the age of two, and went on to do all what other “normal” kids will do — walk, swim, play, and run.

Oh yes, she can run really well. With her specially designed prosthetic legs she had set World Records on 100 meter, 200 meter and the long jump during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. No, she did not compete with the other “handicapped” group, she competed with the “normal” bunch who had meat on both sides of the legs, just like you and me.

Oh, instead you’re wondering why she looks so pretty and hot, she did model for Alexander McQueen back in the late 90s. Yep, she’s a model. A hot one at that.

And that is determination. And of course, she did what she preached in this video: to embrace your weaknesses and dance with it.

I am a huge fan of TEDTalks, and this video is another reason why you should watch them.

“The Opportunity Of Adversity”

Accepting And Embracing Your Weaknesses

Well, I’m sure not every one of you are patient enough to sit through the 22 minutes of the video. Let me just summarize the story for you here.

If you have a weakness, or at bad times, accept it to be part of you, embrace it and turn it into an opportunity to do great things.

A lot of us know that we have our own problems. It may be a physical, mental or spiritual problem. And a lot of us chose to just nod our heads at it, and decide to tuck them under the bed or the old dusty chest of the unknown in our hearts and hope we’ll never see them again.

Wrong.

Running away from your problems will not make them go away. They are still there, and they will be back to haunt you no matter how hard you try to hide them.

And if the problems won’t go away, why not just accept and embrace it, and make it a part of you to be proud of?

I personally have problems of my own too. I have been living with the pain of arthritis for the past 15 years, and still counting. I do admit that sometimes I will feel that I can’t achieve what many others can due to my own problems, mostly physically, but I know that I can excel in other parts of life if I work hard (and maybe smart) enough.

Aimee Mullins achieved what many has deemed “impossible” and became a living motivation for all of us. Now, I am passing on the motivation love to you. :)

Turning “Disable” To “Poss-able”

At the end of the video, Aimee shared her version of the word “Disable”, different from that from the dictionary:

Disable, (verb)
To crush a spirit, to withdraw hope, to deflate curiousity, to promote an inability to see beauty, to deprive of imagination. To make abject.

Ant. To make poss-able.

Someone with problems is not disabled until you crush their hope. And you are not disabled until you have lost hope.

The day you accepted yourself as a whole, the day you have gained so much more. Perhaps more than many others in this world will ever find, because everything about you, including your weaknesses and problems, are special to your own. Keep them.

Choosing a server is like choosing a girlfriend or a wife. They come in different packages with different functionalities.

First you have to consider the server type.

Whores are shared hosting servers. These servers are shared between 20-50 users or more. They give limited attention to you, because they have so many others to please. Thats why they’re the cheapest. If you’re just a player, yeah, these are for you.

A long distance girlfriend is like VPS (Virtual Private Servers). You control them from a distant place, they will do their best to please you whatever you tell them to, and God knows what happens to them after you disconnected. But then, it also means total freedom on your side too. Woohoo.

Women Are Like Servers

Want to get partly committed? A girlfriend with affairs is semi-dedicated servers. They serve 2-4 users at the same time. They do better than VPS and Shared Hosting as they has lesser people to serve, they still give part of their attention to you, but the other parts are given to people you’ll never know who.

A great girlfriend or wife is a dedicated server. They’re totally 1-on-1 players. They give all their attention to you, provide you all their resources, work at their maximum for you and you can always rely on them anytime. Yurp, they’re the best you can ever get. Only for serious people.

Then consider the operating systems

Girls who run on Windows are pretty to look at, easy to understand, crashes all the time, and they will turn blue on you for no reason.

Girls who run on Linux are a tough nut to crack, speaks gibberish but once you know how to control them, they can be the toughest, practical and longest-lasting one you’ll ever get.

Girls who run on Mac are the perfect breed, the sleekest of them all, the best of brains and brawns, you can’t ask for anything better. Oh wait… do they exist?

The Server Specifications

The faster the processor, the faster they think.

The higher the ram, the more things they can handle at the same time.

The more the hard-disk, the more things they can remember.

Hmm… sometimes these things on a girlfriend isn’t that great, hmm?

So what kind of a server are you running on? ;)

The above idea came from a twisted lunch discussion at the workplace. So much for working in a web hosting company!

In case you’re wondering, the girl on the picture is my manager Jacelyn. She’s happily taken and definitely a dedicated server running on Linux. Want her? Fat chance, guys. :P

If the idea of a drunk, arrogant, fierce and cute Thai girl kicking some hard ass for 2 hours with Muai Thai, breakdance fighting and drunken fists interests you, then Raging Pheonix is your movie.

Jija Yanin, the star of autistic debt-collector in Chocolate (2008) is back on Malaysian cinemas. And damn right I did not regret watching this movie, in fact I don’t mind watching it again.

Raging Pheonix -- Jija Yanin

Thai action movies are famous for their hardcore fighting scenes with little or even no stunt doubles, CGIs, wires or any other safety precautions. Every single move looks painfully real, and it pains me even watching the actors taking in the pain. Ever since Tony Jaa’s Ong-Bak stormed the world with Thai’s version of action movies, Thailand has been cranking out a steady number of action movies since.

Raging Pheonix -- Poster

Jija Yanin made her debut as the new Thai action movie female star in Chocolate(2008). Action movie fans will be delighted with Jija’s new movie, Raging Pheonix. She plays an arrogant and stuck-up girl who is bound to be kidnapped by some gangsters, only to be saved by Sanim (“Kazu” Patrick Tang), revealing a series of plot that explores why girls disappear in Thailand all the sudden as a result of being kidnapped for various (even obscure) reasons. I will leave the rest for you to find out.

Like any martial arts movie there must be a training period when the heroine undergoes a certain training period to learn some badass moves, in this case some breakdance fighting (no, it’s not capoeira, it’s BREAKDANCE), Thai drunken fists and Muai Thai, of course.

Don’t believe me? Watch this!

Raging Pheonix -- Fight scene

Yeah, when they said real pain, they really mean it. You’ll be squirming in your seats every time they make a punch. Make sure you don’t skip a heart-beat.

Of course, the plot is a bit cheesy, but well who cares, you just want to watch some ass-kicking and asses kicked, no?

Other than Jija, the leading male actor, “Kazu” Patrick Tang deserves a thumb up too. He’s a French/Vietnamese martial arts champion, so you know what to expect during his fights!

Raging Pheonix -- Kazu Patrick Tang

Malaysia did not advertise this movie much due to its 18PL nature. But it’s definitely a movie not to be missed. If you’re into real actions for action movies, support Thai action movies. Like, WOW!

She must be a real charm to inspire one of the most popular Bossa Nova songs of the century.

A Brazilian song written in 1962, The Girl From Ipanema (Garota De Ipanema) continues to fascinate us even today with its sweet tune that evokes the gentle breeze of the beach, the sounds of the waves and of course, the beautiful girl that crosses in front of you.

Time to take a break from the blaring radio hits and chart toppers, and come here for some chill music.

Girl From Ipanema by neloqua

Remember the time when you seen a pretty girl walking down the street, and when you see her you can’t help but just go, “Ahhhhhh….”?

This song tells you just that. No high pitched shouting emoness, no crazy banging drumbeats, no hardcore dying for anything. Just light, sweet, and makes you go “ahhhh….”.

This version of Garota De Ipanema is sung by Lisa Ono. She is a world famous Japanese Bossa Nova/jazz/samba singer that made Bossa Nova famous in Japan and everywhere else in the world for the past 2 decades.

Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes goes – ah
When she walks, she’s like a samba that swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when she passes, each one she passes goes – ooh

(Ooh) But I watch her so sadly, how can I tell her I love her
Yes I would give my heart gladly,
But each day, when she walks to the sea
She looks straight ahead, not at me

Tall, (and) tan, (and) young, (and) lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, I smile – but she doesn’t see (doesn’t see)
(She just doesn’t see, she never sees me,…)

Girl From Ipanema by neloqua

Bossa Nova is a musical form advocated by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and João Gilberto during the early 60s. They are also the composers and the performers of The Girl From Ipanema. While Bossa Nova found its roots in Samba in terms of musical form, it is much more downbeat, cool and “chill” than Samba. Singers whisper the tunes as if telling a secret, and unplugged acoustic instruments such as the guitar and the piano are favored for its simplicity.

The Girl From Ipanema is a classic example of Bossa Nova music. And I love it so much I go “Ahhhhh…” every time I listen to the song.

Compare Lisa Ono’s version with the singing of João Gilberto, the Bossa Nova advocate. Things have changed over the years, but it’s still definitely as sweet today as it is 40 years ago.

Of course, there’s The Boy From Ipanema version. Girls can’t have all the attention now, can they? ;)

Diana Krall, The Boy From Ipanema.

Boy From Ipanema by neloqua

Ahhhhhhh….

Images courtesy of neloqua on Flickr. She lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, and she captures the beach moments at their best. The beauty!

There’s something about Vietnamese ladies that makes them special. And very, very pretty.

No kidding. Everywhere you go, there must be a pretty Vietnamese lady somewhere at a corner.

They’re beautiful, no doubt to that. But they’re strong and independent, yet being gentle and sweet at the same time.

And most importantly, no make-up at all!

Pretty Vietnamese Girl

It must be a culture thing. The Vietnamese ladies had always been known for their sweet and gentleness for centuries. And the flowing dark hair, the petite body shape, the almond-shaped faces, the sweet smiles.

Then came the Vietnam War. All the men are sent to die at the war, and all the ladies are forced to do all the laborious works, from farming to construction, and even to fight at the war. With the straw hat on their head they fought their way to gain a special place in the Vietnamese society. They’re the Yin to the Communist country’s Yang.

Perhaps that’s what gave the Vietnamese girls the beauty and the confidence.

Little Vietnamese Girls

The young girls are pretty, the school girls are pretty, the worker girls are pretty, the brides are pretty, and even the dolls are pretty!

So we couldn’t resist but to camwhore with them.

Camwhoring with the Girl

Everyone loves beautiful things! Let alone beautiful people!

Perhaps this is why the Vietnamese lady image is the unofficial mascot for Vietnam. Come back tomorrow and see how Vietnam uses the Vietnamese ladies as their strongest identity and iconography, literally everywhere.

Well, talk is cheap, so see for yourself!