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davidliu14
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Name: David Liu
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Birthday: 11/12/1984
Gender: Male
Interests: Westlife, The Script, Switchfoot, The Calling, Lifehouse, BB Mak, Ronan, Andy Lau, Sigur Ros, Manchester United, Music, Movies, Guitar, Singing, Texas Hold'em, Volleyball, Soccer, Final Fantasy, LOST, Suits, Modern Family, Prison Break, How I Met Your Mother
Occupation: Auditor
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
MSN: davidliu14
Member Since:
4/28/2004
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| Dear David, You have been in Auckland for the last 8 years now. You have been working for almost as long as you were in university. You have achieved success in academic grades and recognition in your career, so much so that young people look to you and say they want to attain that same level of achievement and more. When you were young, this is the stuff that plays in your mind. From kindergarden to primary school, from high school to college days, to university life to the professional world. The burning desire to be on top and drives you to strive for the best. To be in the social circle of the who-and-whos, make heaps of money and gain a respectable status. So you can lead a comfortable life, support those around you and experience personal satisfaction. Isn't this what most parents want their children to have? Isn't this why they try to send you to the best schools and enrol in you in tuition classes, so you will always be at the forefront of the competiton? Its a dog eat dog world, your parents worked hard so you don't have to struggle as they did. You are going to make them proud, aren't you? Relationships can wait, new friends can be made, and your family will always be around when you have made it to the top. Even God can take a back seat and be left on a Sunday, as there is little time for religious stuff. When you have made your millions, bought the semi-detached house and dream car, you will be in a better position to help those around you. The pursuit of happiness is quite straightforward! Yours truly,
The World. Dear World, Thanks for the piece of advice. Like you said, I am quite content with the success level and still striving for the best everyday. Feels like I have been a super athelete running an infinite 400m hurdle race - it just goes round and round. The finish line is an imaginary one; everytime I cross it, it resets to the same place again forcing me to keep running. Kinda tired now, lethargic actually. I've been a super mario jumping over hurdles repeatedly. Never been too big a problem but that last one, it wasn't a hurdle! Someone put a brick wall and I jumped smack into it. Had to pull out of the race temporarily and returned to Malaysia for treatment. There, I was reminded of how fragile and precious life is. I see my old man who used to be a cycling champion and swing around rings as a gymnast, having to support himself with crutches. He still walks and drives everywhere, not wanting to be dependant on anyone and it brought a tear to my eye admiring his gutsy spirit. I see my two beautiful nieces, young and playful, with such a genuine laugh and joy in their eyes. They are starting the same journey as me 20 years ago and academic success is even more important than ever - oh how I wish I won't miss out on their formative years. Amazing how they maneuver through technology so quickly, especially the one who is only 3 and a half years old - Apple better come out with a new concept soon as the Iphone will be obsolete. And I see my friends, both in Msia and Auckland, with their own personal battles and pursuit of happiness - education, career, house, car, gadegets, relationships, marriage, baby, bigger house, nicer cars and the list goes on. And the notion struck me that I was and am most happy when I spent time with people. Not just your daily interaction, but with a conscious effort to make time and engage in a meaningful conversation, or be a listening ear, or fooling around and poking fun, or buying them a gift/lunch and supporting your mates' business, or sharing laughters and even tears. I realised how happy I used to be being loved by someone special and having something to come home to. And I observed further that this happy-ness concept applied at my workplace as well - it was those days when I helped someone learn something new, or taking the time to listen to and if possible solve a colleague or client's problem, or being able to inspire someone to achieve their best, or receiving a sincere and heartfelt thank you. Sharing a Mocha or Jameson dry over a non work related topic is absolutely vital too. Those were the days which kept me coming back to work and not minding the overtime. It stopped being a 9 - 5 job or just a career, because knowing you have the potential to change someone's life becomes the happy-trigger. Oh, and the God part? Turns out He is the reason why happiness existed in the first place and why it continues to exist. If I believe that to be true, it would be quite hard to just leave him to Sundays, right? Otherwise, only Sundays will be happy days. I like my happy days, so I have to keep trying to get the source of happiness close to my heart. Last Thursday, I returned from work feeling the blues. It has been a typical long day at work and I knew I was running the 400m track again. The race does need to go on but I know I can pace myself and run, even sometimes jog or walk, with a silly smile on my face. I am a realist, thus I do know you also can't sustain a 24/7 smile, otherwise you will get facial cramps. But if I can have 23/7, I will take it. And yeah, money sure is important, but there are so many other things that leads to free happiness. So now, I have decided to write to you a reply letter to remind myself what the pursuit of happy-ness is. Happiness with a twist. Happ(y)in(busi)ness and (busin)ess. Cheers,
David | | |
| In the last couple of weeks, I almost crashed my Ferrari. Metaphorically. Driving at a speed of 110km/h approaching a sharp bend wasn't part of the plan, but I guess you do get lost in the exhilaration of life with all that happens around you. You start off with a nice cruisy drive, enjoying the scenic route, taking in the fresh breeze. You hum along to the songs on your stereo, gently muting the busyness of work. The engine is running smoothly and you think surely, this must be the best ride you've taken. We've all been on those fun joyrides, life's worries at the back of your mind. Nothing seems to bother you, its all sweet brother!
Then you come to a fork, a simple one turning either right or left. You follow your gut instincts, choosing to head towards the safe sunny side. Before long, you come to another fork this time pretty unexpectedly. You take a hard right, cos thats always the preferred choice. A phone call comes in with some bad news, you're driving with one hand trying to comprehend whats happening. Another junction, another drastic right. You feel a bit lost now. And all of a sudden, your heart GPS decides to breakdown just as when you come to a roundabout - you grunt about how unfair it is but does it really matter?. You decide to take a U turn and try to retrace your path, but there's a roadblock. No turning back! Shites, its no longer a right or left, its a 9, 12 or 3 o'clock decision now. A bad ass car blindsides you and you're forced to take one of the exits.
The road is narrow and you can't even do a three point turn with all the oncoming traffic. Starting to get hungry now. A really annoying drunk driver chases you from the back like your work deadlines. It swerves from one side to another trying to overtake you but you remain composed, telling yourself I can keep the car steady. It continues accelerating and before you know it, you're driving at 80km/h.
Fuel gauge runs low, temperature gauge runs high, and it starts pouring. The sky gets darker. The radio is churning out some emo song about break ups. Oh goodness, the cliche-ness starts to hit you. The driver who looks like both your boss and client keeps honking at you, only pressing you to step on the pedal. Your eyes feel like the rain outside and you're pretty dampened. You want to stop but there is no where to do so on the single lane highway. You're still adamant, and move slowly to the gravel. Smack! There goes your side mirror, how did you not see the streetlight! Its like losing your left hand.
Speed bumpssss! Too late to brake now, the chasing cars will bang you from the back for sure! You close your eyes and take the hit. Like a rollercoaster going up and then down - feels awfully familiar. Your friend-ly stereo takes a big jolt and next minute, its dead. Like having your best companions leaving your side. No one to sing along with, no one to share your thoughts out loud. Your mind turns weary, your heart heavier.
The storm gets louder, the lightning bolt scares the crap out of you. Just as you thought it can't get any worse, you're driving downhill to who-knows-where. By now, you're reaching 110km/h, the momentum picking up a lot more speed. The temperatue gauge moves closer to overheat. You catch a glimmer of the sign to slow down, sharp bend ahead! Its so dark now you can almost see, both literally and metaphorically. With all the wisdom you can muster, you try to remember what you still have at your disposal. The lights! The God-given lights! Switch it on, quick!
Without fail, the brightest most amazing light illuminates the path ahead. It cuts through the storm, making everything clear as crystal. You see a gas station just before the bend. Screech! The car moves violently towards the side and you hit the brakes and come to a complete halt. Sigh of relief, you wipe the cold sweat and dry tears with your tired hands.
You turn the ignition off, step out and a big epiphany strikes you. All along, you've been driving your good ole' trusty Nissan... but the bright lights, they still work the same. Thank God you got that checked out every now and then. Time to rest, get some food in your system and figure out the direction ahead.
-written in Tangerine Bar, Wellington 5 days before Christmas-
David | | |
| It has been almost 6 months since I returned from my big trip to Dublin and the US, and the same constant feeling and thought have resonated in my life - 'Unsettled'. It can be quite frustrating not knowing where you should be, what you should do, why you are stuck in a moment you can't get out of, when something will bring more clarity to your situation and how you can make a change. On a bright and beautiful Saturday like today, waking up in the afternoon and finding yourself at home, you can't stop but entertain this gripping thought. All around me, I am seeing how big changes are happening to everyone else's lives. Two of my closests friends just became a dad and a mum (congrats :) still waiting to welcome Chloe in my arms); a couple of close colleagues are moving on to greener pastures and jumping on the OE bandwagon; my two best buddies have successfully opened bars in Wellington and KL (lots of fun and crazy Welly times J, lots more awaiting in Msia PL ;)); getting loads of wedding invitations, including one which requires me to be MC and another to sing; dad and a friend's dad had some medical complications (stable at the moment but still always praying); and even Westlife has announced that they are splitting and going their separate ways (thanks for the countless inspirations). I am honoured to be a small part of all your lives. I guess we have all sat at this terminal at some point throughout our lives. Waiting in the transit lounge at the Life International Airport. Looking eagerly at the departure board and listening intently to the announcement for our flight to only-God-knows-where. So you go about finding things to do to kill time - eat a meal, work on your laptops, chat on your mobile, listen to some music, read a book etc. Tasks of normality. Means of distraction. To take away the great anticipation and anxiety of reaching your next destination. It always feels great when you first reach the transit lounge because you know in the next 24 hours, you will be in a different city, in the presence of a new environment and the excitement is just buzzing. As you check in your suitcase packed with memories and experiences you have collected so far, you walk through the life detector hoping that it won't beep. If it beeps, maybe it is time to cut loose certain things which could be hazardous to you and the other life companions you will be travelling with. Then you start wandering around the stores, hoping you might find something that will make your journey easier or entertain you temporarily. You might even meet some new people, who you might decide would go on the journey with you.
But alas, we all eventually find a sit and almost always flip through our passports and tickets. Just to make sure, just to be certain we know where we are going and we can actually get there. And I'm pretty sure everyone looks through the stamps on their passports, to reminisce on the places they have been, the good, bad and bittersweet events which have brought them to where they are currently. It brings a smile to your face or a tear in your eye, but more often than not a combination of both. People might stop and stare thinking you are pretty wacky, but you don't care. Cos you know they have done it before too... Finally, the time comes. After hours, days, weeks, months or years of waiting. You see the 'boarding' word flashing. You get a bit nervous but this is a good nervous. And the best part? You don't have to wait in queue, because this is your private plane and you get to sit in first class. And you get to invite your family and friends onboard to go on this journey with you. We all know the plane arrives at the end. But all that waiting, gosh all that waiting can really be so challenging and frustrating. You hope some nails remain on your fingers after all that biting. And you
really hope you don't doze off just for a little while and miss the final call. Otherwise, you will still be sitting in the transit lounge with loads of 'what if' questions. God, please don't let me fall asleep in the airport!
David
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| Do we actually believe that everything happens for a reason? Well, sometimes they happen by chance, and most of the times they do happen for a reason. But do we know which is which? You do not know, and I do not know as well. Do we actually know until we realize that it did happen for a reason? Isn't it then easier to believe that it did happen for a reason and choose to believe in the bigger picture? Whether it was the toughest journeys or the happiest moments in our lives, if we stick to that same thought, wouldn't it make life more meaningful? Rather than think this situation sucks, maybe its better to think this has an impact on my life somewhere down the line. And more often than not, when we reminiscent about what has transpired in our lives, it did happen for a reason. The most stupid thing we did, the most careless mistakes, the worst decisions... they only bring us to where we are. If we start seeing the glass half full rather than half empty, maybe we will live a more fulfilled life.
Goodbye Welly, you have been an awesome host. Hope you like the memento I left on your carpet.
David | | |
| The story of David v Goliath is a famous one in the bible. It tells the story of how a little unknown shephard boy faces off against the champion of the enemy, Goliath, a ten feet tall giant who has the reputation of being invincible. Unarmored and with a simple slingshot and a pouch of stones, he defeated the mighty giant with a precise shot. I have always loved that story and it has always inspired me to live with that 'spirit of an overcomer'. Relying on the simple skills and knowledge he has been given, he had faith that God is able to enlarge, expand and use the most insignificant person to do great things. I had my fair share of Goliaths in my 26 years of living; sometimes I live up to my namesick, other times I chicken out on the battle and retreat. The Goliaths of this day and age come in many shapes and forms, but all share the same characteristics - a daunting obtstacle, a massive problem, an impossible task, an unsolvable equation, a nagging headache, an unescapable heartache...represented in work, family, friends, relationships, personal issues. Who can avoid them? And really, the most important question is, what do we say to our Goliaths? Even in the most basic activities of our lives, we come across a multitude of Goliaths. Take for example the football game I was involved in today - we had 2 men short on the pitch, missing 5 key players and our captain, a makeshift defence, and a really inexperienced team. Up against a formidable and organised team, with players that stood a head above me, and looked like Obefami Martins and Miroslav Klose. But we played our hearts out, frustrated their efforts and created a handful of opportunities for ourselves. It was leading to a story of the triumph of the underdogs... but let's face it, there was no Hollywood story here today. It was a narrow 3-2 loss, with the winning goal scored late in the game. But as we walked off the pitch with bruises and blood, I like to believe that the opponent saw the 'fight of David' in our team. Of course it would have felt good to win, or even draw the game. But as reality goes, you can wield your greatest strength, and pour your heart and soul into something but still not get the outcome you desire. Still, we can all continue to live our lives with a 'David attitude'. I always believe that the name I chose when I was a boy was no coincedence. I've got David Copperfield to thank for that. David | | |
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