Cleansing Weather

~ A Picture I took Outside My Window in Australia ~
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I have always loved this sort of weather. Grey skies, heavy rain, light wind. I feels so cathartic, so refreshing, so cleansing.
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I like to hide under a big umbrella and walk in the rain. I could not care less if my feet soaked in shallow puddles or if some renegade raindrop decides to take an awkward detour to my face. I love the rain.
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Everytime the elements add up, I feel like taking a picture, a picture of what my eyes see at that very moment, but no camera of mine has the ability to capture the scene perfectly. I attempted a few times at different occasions but failed. I stopped trying to capture it. I just decide to enjoy it and hope that the next 'perfect weather' will come again soon.
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Every now and then, God comes along and reminds me that this perfect weather is His gift to me. It's kinda nice, makes me feel special.

The One That Got Away

I experienced 2 "Firsts" yesterday.
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It was the first time I experienced one of life's melodramatic moments - "The One That Got Away"
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Initially, for the better half of the morning, I kept telling myself that I ought not to be too saddened, after all, I did not invest any emotions to begin with. Nevertheless, I was sad.
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It was the first time I expressed delight in my corporate career, after peering through the mountain - literally - of unfinished work on both my physical and electronic desktop. I just dived into it, attacking it with a vengeance, to numb my emotions, to compartmentalize my feelings, after all, work required no emotions, just facts, logic and common sense. And so, for 16 hours I just immersed myself in an ocean of meetings and mind-numbing work. Flat out.
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At the end of those 16hours, I was tired, tired and hungry, more tired than hungry, so I focused all of my remaining energy on the final task for the day - getting home to the comfort of my room, to the comfort of my bed.
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So this morning, it is with a clear head that I'm penning my thoughts down.
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I realized that I feel a certain degree of sadness - for the one that got away - because I did invest a certain part of myself. I realized that the moment I felt a potential for furthering our relationship, I had nursed a hope. I had invested a hope. That's why I felt sad. I do not feel that sad anymore. I'm happy she has found the courage to enter into another relationship after her previous one ended on a low note. I'm happy she is moving on. I'm happy for her. I can still be a decent friend, her decent friend, that much I can do, that much I will do.
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So to my friend with a penchant for luminous round objects, I wish you well, I hope you find happiness.

Email Warfare

I have reached that point. An epiphany if you will. Being nice to certain personalities will seldom - if not never - get the job done. So now, the time for coffees and chit chats and cajoling are OVER. I've officially entered into what I call email warfare.
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To: X
Cc: My Manager, Manager of X, Vice President of X
Bcc: My Vice President
Subject: Action Item
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I know I will make enemies. It is unfortunate but I enlisted myself to become the necessary evil for the sake of getting things done - as management loves to call it - yesterday. I believe that those people involved are well aware that I have made every attempt to play softball with them, but since they chose to be jerks, I had to take the game to the next level.
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I have become very diplomatic to the point of being outright pretentious when I'm writing emails nowadays. Shoot one person down while cradling his boss' gigantic ego. I don't like the person I transform into whenever the need arises but in all reality, being a nice person really only gets you that much closer to your goal, sometimes, you just got to kick some ass.
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True enough. X came back to me the very next hour, and all his future correspondence became shall we say... more polite.

Dilbert Says it Best

I wanted to vent out some of my frustrations about current management but nah ... why should I when Dilbert describes it best.

Living Christianity #6 - The Partial God

I have always had this question in my mind but never brought it up. It seems to be a bit of a taboo subject. I sometimes feel that if I thought this way, then my faith is very shallow and I'm indirectly saying that God is a bad God.
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"If a non-believer were to execute certain instructions written in the Bible, will he be blessed by those benefits associated with that said instruction, or are those blessings reserved for believers only?"
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For example. Tithing.

Malachi 3:10 "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it."
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So.
If a non-believer gives a tenth of his income to God, will he be blessed?
If a non-believer does not get blessed despite executing the wishes of God, it is reasonable to say that God is a partial God?
If that is true, then can it be reasonably said that God shows favoritism to certain people - i.e. believers?
Then if it is true that he shows favoritism to believers, then can it be said that the Bible is only applicable - in terms of rewards/benefits - to believers only?
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In many ways, I want to feel exclusive, to feel that I will be rewarded because I act in accordance to His instructions and because I love Him. I believe that I will feel a little jealousy if an unbeliever got blessed as well if he too does certain selective instructions as well. If that be the case, what's to stop anyone from picking and choosing what he/she wants to execute to get the corresponding rewards? Is my thinking warped? Any comments Bambi?