Take life at a slower pace

by Whitney Stock

I found this from The Snapper:

"What is wrong with the people today? Why are we always in such a rush? Sometimes it seems I am rushing my life away. When I finally stop to take a breath I realize I am missing all the little things.

Everyone knows what I am talking about. We constantly hear ourselves say, “I cannot wait until the end of the week,” or “I cannot wait until the end of the year.” There is constantly something we cannot wait for. In the end, when we look back, we are going to realize we have wished our lives away.

I have realized that in all my rushing I have missed so much. I have always wanted to live my life and look back and have no regrets, but I do have them. I lost someone very close to me not so long ago. After she passed away, I realized how much time I could have spent with her if I was not always on the go. If I had it to do over again I would not have been too busy to have lunch to talk on the phone or to just sit around the house and veg out.

I would have spent more time just wasting time with her, instead of just rushing out the door. It seems that all I wish for now is to just have one more day with her, because I realized all the days I wasted, not taking the time to care. I will always regret missing the time I could have spent with her. If I just had stopped rushing, I would have seen that I could have gained so much.

In the midst of our busy everyday lives, we need to stop and look around us. It is the little things that are important, and it seems those are the things that we are constantly missing.

Think of all the things you could do if you were not always in such a rush. Think of all the little things that you would not be missing if you just slowed down.

You need to appreciate the time you have with the people you care about today, not when it’s too late. Do not wait, do not put it off until tomorrow, tell them and show them today that you care.

I heard once, “Even if you win the rat race, you are still a rat.” So think about it, what could you do if you were not always in such a rush?"

I found this article online after I absentmindedly keyed in "Pace of Life" in Google just now.. I don't even remember why I did that.... maybe it was because I'm still subconsciously frazzled by the health scare my sister had yesterday when she almost fainted after spraining her back badly the day before. After lunch, she turned all pale and started seeing flashes of white. I wasn't at home at that time and didn't get to know about it till much later. However, she had to be sent to the hospital as "all colour had drained from her face" and she turned ghostly white and couldn't even stand up. When I finally got home in the evening (thankfully she had returned and was better and resting), I spent the evening deep in thoughts....

For a relatively long time, I'd been so absorbed in what I was doing that I became stressed, irritable, and impatient with the people around me. Sadly speaking, it had been about me, me, me. I wanted to sort out all the insecurities and stresses in my life until I was ready to go out into the world and smile again. Soon enough, I stopped caring about the people around me. I wanted to run the rat race again, or at least to prove that I was still in for the running..

but now i'm starting to ask myself again: Is all the sacrifice worth it? Was everything supposed to be so stressful? Or was it supposed to be enjoyable and carefree? Challenging, yes, but endlessly hair-losingly stressful? No, I don't think so...

I think it's time to re-evaluate my priorities, before it's too late.... :|

a related article: Modern pace of life: is it killing us off?

International Women's Day - 8 March 2004



International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. Established in 1977 by the United Nations, this special day provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress made to advance women's equality, to assess the challenges facing women in contemporary society, to consider future steps to enhance the status of women and, of course, to celebrate the gains made in these areas.

It's a day to honour women! Let's celebrate, sisters! :)

links:

- International Women's Day Website
- United Nations History of International Women's Day
- United Nation's Cyberschoolbus

tested and proven

music on my blog can be a bane, till i figure out how to do it properly.. . so i'm taking it out at least for now..

but it was fun while it lasted.. haha..

for those who missed it, just imagine it's like music suddenly playing when you come to my site... it's a bit of a shock, really... when you least expect it..

thanks for the tips, michs!!

testing new stuff

just testing out background music to website...

umm... feels funny... in fact, it seems to slow down my page somewhat..

maybe i'll take it out in a day or two.. patience while i test drive it, ya?

oh well, trying out something new every day.. haha.. keeps me young?? :O

Word of the Day for Saturday March 6, 2004

pettifogger \PET-ee-fog-ur\, noun:

1. A petty, unscrupulous lawyer; a shyster.
2. A person who quibbles over trivia.

A more respectable-looking individual was never seen; he really looked what he was, a gentleman of the law -- there was nothing of the pettifogger about him.
--George Borrow, [1]Lavengro

The nitpickers, the whiners, the pettifoggers are everywhere.
--Bill Kraus, "Without Health Care Reform, Forget It," Capital Times, December 15, 1993

The case... opened my eyes to a problem that doesn't get half the ink lavished on unprincipled pettifoggers but is arguably twice as important.
--Max Boot, [2]Out of Order
_________________________________________________________

Pettifogger is probably from petty + obsolete fogger, "pettifogger."

The Story of Your Life

'When we are dead, seek not our tomb in the earth, but find it in the hearts of men.' - Jelaluddin Rumi



I walked out of master story-teller Tim Burton’s Big Fish yesterday feeling light-hearted and yet thoughtful, reminded in the two hours of the beauty of human existence, the richness of life’s possibilities, and the magical art of good storytelling..

Doubtless to say, whether subconsciously or otherwise, our lives are constantly surrounded by “bad stories” such as gossips, scandals, wars, fighting and lies, so much so that we forget that there are good real life stories to be told as well… even our own stories… We escape to the cinemas, eager to pay good money to watch endless movies churned out by Hollywood showing “everlasting love”, “one man saves the world” etc, so we can forget the real world for a while.. Yet, all the while, we firmly keep in our minds that these are but tall tales that are meant to entertain, nothing more… after all, wouldn’t it be “terrible” if we suddenly started to believe life could be “more than just the way things are now”? Wouldn’t it mean “uncertainty, self-doubt, fear?” or worse still, discontent with our lives and what we are blessed with?”.. So we shun these thoughts as quickly as they arise and carry on with existence the way we always knew how.. mundane but safe…

Yet, incidentally, after I read the story of the woman doctor who won the Young Woman Achiever Award for 2003 (in today’s Straits Times) for her voluntary medical work around the world, I was more than ever convinced life is an adventure to be lived, a story to be written and told, both to entertain and to inspire... in fact, making sure that our lives are stories worth tellng isn't just something we can hope for.. it's an absolute "must"...

As Mandy Aftel questions in one of my favourite self-help books, “The Story of Your Life”, “Every life is a story… Is your life a page-turner? A yawner? A clichéd story you’re tired of repeating?” She reminds us that “even ordinary lives have the elements of great literature, and we can revise trite or destructive story lines to craft a new narrative of courage, fulfillment and imagination.” Throughout the book, she suggests that the story of our lives doesn’t have to read like bad novels, filled with guilt, anger and hopelessness that “limit our understanding of the past and close off possibilities for the future”…

I wouldn’t say that everything that happens in our lives is within our control.. (and thankfully, that is the way!) But I do know, as well as anyone of us out there, that our decisions and our choices can make or break the possibility of our lives turning out to be more than just boring narratives or worse still, personal recounts with few elements of interest. Looking at our lives from the perspective of “story-telling” is actually nothing new… Remember how you once thought to yourself, as you were deciding whether to do something that required you to step out of your comfort zone, or to just “stay safe and give the experience a miss” and in the end, the deciding factor that won you over to courageously take the “road less traveled” was, amusingly, the simple thought that it’ll be a “good story to tell your grandchildren?” We all want to leave behind stories we can tell, not just mere recounts.

So we have two points here:
- How to retell our own stories, but with colour, action and imagination.
- How to create an “artful existence”, full of the richness of experience, complexity, insight, and excitement of a great novel

Writing our lives as fairytales...

Wouldn’t that be fun? :)

How Do You Get To Heaven? (via email)

I was testing the children in my Sunday school class to see
if they understood the concept of getting to heaven.
I asked them, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big
garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would
that get me into Heaven?"

"NO!" the children answered.

"If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and
kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?"
Again, the answer was, "NO!"

By now I was starting to smile. Hey, this was fun!
"Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to
all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me
into Heaven?" I asked them again.


Again, they all answered, "NO!"
I was just bursting with pride for them.
Well, I continued, "then how can I get into Heaven?"




scroll down...............











A five-year-old boy shouted out,
"YOU GOTTA BE DEAD."

dive season looms..

aiyah.. the dive season is here again ... i wanna go diving...

i want to see whale sharks, manta rays and all things big and beautiful and small and wonderful underwater...

:(

dunno whether got time anot... :(

No Pants Day





more such random stuff:

1. A 17-year-old boy jumped out of a second-floor window at Miami Beach High last week after betting his teacher he was strong enough to do it and not get hurt...

2. cartoon maggots... it's Korean and really cute.. but it does contain..err... comic poo... turn UP or DOWN the volume depending on where you are (i.e. home or office..)

3. Court orders mother to not expose child to "homophobic" religious upbringing ... just when you thought you could teach your kids anything..

4. see strange creatures of the deep.. including the long nose chimaera pup

5. and goody... "The Disney Company has signed a deal to co-finance and distribute a new film of CS Lewis's children's classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. "

6. and did you know that M&Ms come in some 21 different colours??



surfing the web.. that's the way i relax and unwind.. just in case you need to know..

so I belong to that 0.02% of all web users...

CNN.com - Study: Very few bloggers on Net - Mar. 1, 2004: "NEW YORK (AP) -- Despite the potential of turning every Internet user into a publisher, relatively few have created Web journals called blogs and even fewer do so with regularity, a new study finds. "

"Weblogs/Blogs

In this survey, we found that a mere 2% of Internet users in this survey reported writing a weblog or online diary. Earlier surveys and a follow up check in early 2004 indicate that between 2% and 7% of Internet users publish a ‘blog. Within this tiny group, only about 10% report updating their blog daily. Most weblog writers update their blogs once a week or less often.

Even though only a small number of Internet users are writing blogs, a slightly larger number of Net users are visiting them. Eleven percent of Internet users report visiting blogs written by others. And of these blog readers, a third report posting to or commenting on the blog entries that they have read.

Blog readers most frequently visit the online diaries of friends (56% have done so), strangers (46% have visited the blogs of people they have never met) and family members (a quarter report visiting family blogs). "

see detailed report by Pew Internet and American Life

Bunch of quotes

The grade, like the final score
of a game, never taught anyone
how to win or why they lost.

There is nothing noble in being superior
to some other person. True nobility is
being superior to your previous self.

they are both anonymously written... can't find the source..

Beware the Kalends of March

>> Interview With God

not the first time i'm receiving this via email but it's still nice everytime i see it.. thanks! :)

thus begins my first week of Teaching Practice with a week of intense observation followed by 8 weeks of teaching. as i wring my hands in a mix of mild anxiety and great anticipation, i have to constantly remind myself why i decided to go into this line in the first place and what i hope to achieve, which is not all that easy when everything seems so overwhelming at first..

all those eager faces keen to clear their doubts and confusions.. looking to their teacher, the seeming source of all knowledge and wisdom, backed no doubt by experience but also loads of hidden preparation work and hours of tireless thinking...

i'm suddenly feeling that rush of gratitude to my own teachers for having worked that hard in the past to make sure we learn something from every class we go to.. but also gripped by a mild fear that i cannot live up to the expectations of this vocation...

teaching... never been in a job that keeps asking me why i want to do it in the first place.. for the millionth time, i got another list of questions from my supervisor, among them one asking us "Why do you want to be a teacher?"... *ponder*

seems like today's the big day that Terence is launching his megaproject United Artist Network as well.... take a look... it's quite impressive... :)

The Bible says "Don't stress about tomorrow.."

Matthew 6 (NKJV)

Do Not Worry

25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or "What shall we wear?'

32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

the 1st of March brings with it much challenge... but let's thrive and enjoy ourselves cos things will be ok... :)

Discover what job suits best

this certainly would be too late, at least for now while i'm bonded to my job for the next three years, but it was still fun and interestingly quite accurate as well, with some being downright flattering! haha... still, like with all other such tests, take it with a pinch of salt... don't ever let any of these character analysis things dominate your life unless you are mature enough to handle them, ya?

try it yourself ... this is mine...

Ki System

Natal Year number: 8
Hwee Ling is a steady, responsible and reliable individual who dislikes change for change's sake. She is a solid family person who enjoys tradition, but is inclined to say exactly what she thinks. Such frankness can occasionally land her in trouble. Behind a somewhat ponderous exterior lies a deeply sensitive soul whose core is rarely exposed to public view.

Natal Month number: 1
Enjoying periods of time on her own, Hwee Ling's adaptable personality makes it easy for her to get along with others. She will examine fresh ideas in some depth, rejecting fashionable notions that fail to meet her substantive criteria. For this reason she should study philosophy, or one of its related disciplines. A perceptive individual who needs variety, and enjoys travel.

Natal House number: 3
With a high energy level, and ambitions to match, Hwee Ling will show early promise. Unless her tendency to expel this energy on too many projects can be overcome, a promising beginning may soon evaporate, giving way to anger and frustration. Hwee Ling is someone who enjoys a good time with an active social life, and needs the direction of more sober minds.

Comments based on Western Grid

11
Hwee Ling is a balanced individual who can understand and appreciate the views of others as well as her own. She can express herself fluently, and with persuasive conviction, whilst taking account of opposing views. This means that Hwee Ling will get on very well with colleagues at work, both senior and junior, as well as clients, customers, suppliers and external agencies.

5
Well-balanced, with an understanding and compassionate nature, Hwee Ling is a natural leader who can inspire others. But she needs a certain amount of freedom at work and at home. With a compassionate and caring nature, and with the ability to get on well with others, Hwee Ling will be a strong member of any team and will provide solid inspiration and support to her colleagues.

7
Hwee Ling will find life's lessons hard to learn. She will suffer from loss (of possessions or those she loves) before questioning the cause of that loss. It is likely that Hwee Ling will develop a faith of some sort, and although it need not necessarily be a religious faith, it will nevertheless be something that she holds onto against all the evidence. Potential employers need to find out what that faith entails.

8
Good with details and with a methodical approach, Hwee Ling nevertheless is someone who enjoys constant new challenges to maintain her interest. She is a methodical individual with attention to detail, but is inclined to leave tasks unfinished if her active mind alights on something of greater interest. Routine tasks that fail to challenge her intellect are at greatest risk, so Hwee Ling needs a job that offers variety.

9
Ambitious to improve her lot, Hwee Ling will constantly push forward to achieve something in her life, yet this ambition will be balanced by humanitarian ideals that will lead her to support causes that may demand self-sacrifice.

[The Arrow of Activity: the numbers 7, 8 and 9] Enjoying the outdoors, Hwee Ling is someone who will perform best by being busy. She dislikes confined spaces, and needs both physical and mental exercise. A good walk in fresh air is an intellectual catalyst like no other to Hwee Ling, whose need to be constantly occupied is an asset to any employer.

[The Arrow of Determination: the numbers 1, 5 and 9] Determined and persistent, Hwee Ling has the patience to wait until she has achieved her goal. She enjoys a progressive and enterpreneurial approach, and as such, will be an asset to any employer. If the number 4 (in the Western Grid) is missing, she will be inclined to lose her temper on occasions.

Comments based on Chinese Grid

111
Hwee Ling enjoys a positive and balanced approach to life and will be financially successful. If the Chinese version also contains 2 sevens, Hwee Ling is very fortunate.

2
Hwee Ling has an average mind, and without the numbers 4 and 9 in the Chinese version will not enjoy a creative existence.

4
Intelligent and logical, Hwee Ling is not someone who acts rashly on the spur of the moment.

6
Hwee Ling is family-orientated, and needs a pleasant working environment as well as a comfortable home.

7
If the numbers 3 and 5 in the Chinese version are missing, Hwee Ling is something of a perfectionist who seeks to achieve detailed accuracy, and has a natural instinct to unearth the truth. If the Chinese Grid also contains the numbers 3 and 5, she will be attracted to work in a spiritual or humanitarian field.

9
Although Hwee Ling is ambitious, her ambition is tempered with humanitarian ideals.

[The Arrow of Action: The numbers 2, 6 and 7] Hwee Ling has an abundance of energy which is best released in competitive sport. She is also suited to careers such as the Armed Forces, farming, and adventurous activities like rock climbing or mountaineering.

[The Arrow of Intellect: The numbers 2, 4 and 9] Hwee Ling is intelligent, articulate and enjoys a first-class memory. She has a logical and analytical approach that suits her to the legal, medical or accountancy professions.

(via thE mOments...)

what was hammered home these past two weeks...

God truly works in mysterious ways...

Thank You God. :)

What is Your Heart REALLY Made of?



Heart of Crystal
brought to you by Quizilla

Word of the Day for Wednesday February 25, 2004

flibbertigibbet \FLIB-ur-tee-jib-it\, noun:

A silly, flighty, or scatterbrained person, especially a pert young woman with such qualities.

We discover here not the flibbertigibbet Connolly describes but a serious reader (Goethe, Tolstoy, Proust) who found her cultural ideal in 18th-century France.
--Martin Stannard, "Enter Shrieking," New YorkTimes, November 28, 1993

He argues persuasively that Millay's reputation has been harmed not only by academics who dread and fear her heartfelt "simplicity," but by the very admirers who wished to promote her as a kind of whimsical flibbertigibbet, a poetical Anne of Green Gables.
--Liz Rosenberg, "So Young, So Good, So Popular," New York Times, March 15, 1992
_________________________________________________________

Flibbertigibbet is from Middle English flipergebet, which is probably an imitation of the sound of meaningless chatter.

Trivia: Flibbertigibbet originally meant a gossip or chatterbox, but it soon took on the idea of a light-minded or frivolous person. Flibbertigibbet was also the name of a demon; it appears in a list of 40 fiends in a book by Samuel Harsnet and also in Shakespeare:

This is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet: he begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock; he gives the web and the pin, squints the eye, and makes the hare-lip; mildews the white wheat, and hurts the poor creature of earth.
--King Lear, iii. 4.

suggestive food



(from: Whip Me/Beat Me Shirt: ebaynham)

"Schools shaping elitist mindset"

Article: Schools shaping elitist mindset: STAR

an excellent article by Seah Chiang Nee, first published in Sunday Star, Feb 15, 2004, highlighting the ugly side of Singapore's school ranking system.

having graduated from some of these so-called "elitist schools" myself, i can fully understand how these misguided "elitist mindsets" might have come about. After all, when you are bombarded day and night, year after year, about how many As the school achieves every year, how many scholars the school produces, on top of achievements in other fields like science and maths olympiads, atheletics, and what have you, all that success can sometimes go to your head..

but fortunately, since i came out into the "real world" some 6 to 7 years ago, i now know something .... that a true mark of success in life is not what schools you come from, or what jobs you do, or who you rub shoulders with, or even how much money you have in your bank account.... deep down inside, what counts at the end of the day, what gives us peace of mind and a smile on our faces, is the quality of our lives, the relationships we have with the people around us, what we can give and have given to the people around us, what difference we have made, whether we can stay true to ourselves and what we believe in in this mad mad rat race, and above all, whether we can survive if one day, everything is taken away from us..... staying happy no matter our circumstances..

and i believe all that never had anything to do with paper qualifications.... not for me, at least..

Update: Found the forum with the "elitist-speak".. check it out.. 516 replies.. umm...

"Create your own South Park Character"



South Park Studios: Games: Create a Character: "Create your own South Park Character"

Discover the cultural treasures from the splendid land of Andhra Pradesh in India. Spicy curries, beautiful saris and exquisite crafts await you at the vibrant food and crafts fair. Specialty crafts including Bidri wares, filigree silver and Hyderabadi bangles are available for sale.

Not to be missed for fans of Shahrukh Khan is Chalte Chalte, a movie about the trials and tribulations of marriage.

Capricorn: Refocusing Your Intensity

since i am a Capricorn myself, i yanked this off Enid's website, though i'm admittedly not a regular reader of horoscopes (i've read only two in the last 8 years, including this one...:p)..

"Capricorn is one sign that enjoys working, and when faced with stress, their instincts tell them to work harder, longer and with more focused intensity. Your ruler, Saturn, causes you to take responsibility to heart. You value practical and realistic solutions, and having a cardinal quality, you like to get on with things. Certainly, you are action-oriented. Yet while tap-dancing faster can make you feel better, the danger is that you can get so lost in busywork that you lose sight of the bigger picture. Just be sure what you are working on so intently is worthy of that amazing Capricorn output! Also, if your spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend keeps complaining that you're never around anymore--that's a sign to rethink your schedule.

Capricorn is an earth sign, so you would probably enjoy taking a breather in the mountains more than at a seaside setting. A day of hiking, mountain climbing or exploring caves would make a new person out of you. Play a game of touch football or start a softball team with your pals (Capricorn rules teamwork), but be sure to bandage that trick knee of yours, the part of the body that gives Capricorns physical stress.

You are quite a social animal (which is why you eventually rise to the top of your field) but you don't like hanging out in rundown or cheap places. So when you book a lunch with an friend choose a restaurant in a club, or has a club-type aura, complete with wood paneling and fireplaces. The goat also likes heights, so a restaurant with a view is just your speed, but be sure it has a calm atmosphere. Be determined to talk about general things--not all lunches have to be major negotiations! Sports with social twist are good too, so you might think about taking up tennis or golf.

Most Capricorns like to play the stock market and make investing a hobby. Give yourself some time off to hear a lecture by an expert, surf the net for interesting financial sites, check out cable stations for good shows which tackle investments in depth. Other Capricorns might like collecting rare coins or stamps (or start a collection of new ones).

Since Capricorn likes history, you can relax in front of the Discovery Channel, check out the natural history museum or visit the historical society museum of your city. Many Capricorns enjoy browsing antiques. Auctions are another good bet, and even if you don't bid, you'll have fun fingering the valuable objects and documents--objects that are usually under glass in museums! Don't expect to chill out immediately. It may take weeks of vigorous fun to loosen you up!

Most Capricorns are close to one parent (while Gemini rules siblings, Capricorn rules parents). If this is true for you, tying flies with Dad in the workshop, or keeping Mom company in the kitchen as she makes an apple pie for you could be so wonderful. After all, they know you very well. You may be amazed how they say something which "hits home" and helps you out of a current jam.

Finally, renting a funny movie--either a new release or a golden oldie--could also be the best medicine. Other ways to tickle your funny bone would be to check out funny sites on the web like cartoon Dilbert (www.dilbert.com) or click into Comedy Central on cable. Tell a few jokes to your friends (if you can't remember any good ones, go to a comedy club and crib a few for friends and family.) Hang out with a witty, funny friend--or a dimwitted friend (you'll be the star). "

much of it is interestingly somewhat true, like i do tend to work even harder when i am under stress, to the point of overworking... action? i don't know about action, though some people tell me i am "animated".. haha.. but i like the mountains as much as i like the oceans, lakes and seas, so that bit is not really true..... social animal? umm.. i wouldn't really call myself that too, though i do like to hang out with groups of my close friends... but it's true, i love history and am actually quite interested in the stock market though i'm not really into investing at the moment.... close to one parent... umm.. i'm close to my mum.. and the last bit about hanging out with witty, funny frens or dimwitted frens.. hahaha.. that's so true!!

quote + photo project

i like this quote very much:

"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." - Robert Frost

and here's something interesting to do on the 29th Feb 2004 (a leap year doesn't come around so often...):

a day in the life : the leap day - Photo Project for 29 Feb 2004

photographic irony



this picture was scanned from a newspaper i brought back from India last year - The Times of India. Look at the guy I pointed at with the red arrow .. doesn't he look like he was just Photoshopped in after the picture was taken???

hahahaha...

had a good laugh the first time i saw it because it happened that this particular article was about an important photo conference called Photofair 2004 held by the All India Photographic Trade and Industry Association (AIP-TIA), supposedly "one of the three largest (photographic equipment) exhibitions in the world" .... "exhibiting state-of-the-art gadgets"..

hahahaha....

ok ok... sorry.. i'm so mean... :p

Siamese Bananas

while i was looking around me at all the yellow things, i noticed these Siamese bananas in the bunch hanging from one of the dining chairs.



they were different but i realised that's what made them stand out...

how strange but how interesting....

Lives in Limbo

City of God (Brazilian)



Last Life In The Universe (Thai-Jap)



two incredible films in two days.

the Oscar period is a busy time for movie buffs..

Samuel Ullman's "Youth"

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.

These words, written by Samuel Ullman of Birmingham, Alabama at the age of 70-plus, are credited with inspiring a generation of Japanese citizens, businessmen, and government leaders who were faced with rebuilding their country after World War II. Ullman died in his chosen hometown in 1924 at the age of 84 never knowing that his poetic essay would be quoted by politicians and generals, appear in Dear Abby and Ann Landers columns, and be read and loved by people all across the world.

strange steps



Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan (India) December 2003

the ensconced moon

Look! The moon’s almost completely gone!! -->

"Women have a mystique, a reputation for never being exactly like they appear, much like the Moon who changes size and shape in relation to the horizon nightly."

have you ever heard about the mystic connection between women and the moon? here's one ... there are several others but i don't have time and energy to look them up now.. not that i'm much of a believer in this but well, what's the harm of a little knowledge of folklore and legends, eh? :)

some people even buy and sell stocks according to phases of the moon!

rather stressed

i don't normally blog about how i feel unless it's in superlatives..

but this is an exception... cos i'm feeling mildly stressed..

maybe i'm actually feeling really stressed but keeping everything under control to a certain extent so it isn't blowing up..

but ya, i'm feeling stressed... grr...

for some reason, i recall reading somewhere once that if something makes you upset (or stressed, i guess), you should pause for a little while and just focus on the colour "YELLOW"

search around you for things that are yellow. Do that for 10 minutes or so until you calm down.

should make you feel better..

3D Pavement Art

friends are sending me all these really amazing stuff via email...

check this out!! 3D Pavement Art

flat but doesn't look flat at all!!

wow!

did a quick search online... this other guy Kurt Wenner does it as well...

Update: The first set of 3D pavement art is done by an artist called Julian Beever.. his website is here

Clifford Pier



knowing this 71-year-old Singapore landmark on Collyer Quay was going to be demolished soon, i trotted down last Friday afternoon to shoot a couple of pictures of this retro-style place... there were only a few people there - the ah peks sitting around chatting, some cleaners and the occassional boatman returning from sea or tourists in twos and threes getting onto Chinese junkboat cruises... the serenity made it almost an oasis in the middle of Singapore's busy financial district..

sadly, we'll soon have very few of these historical places left.. places that the 70s/80s generation grew up visiting and seeing.. i remember especially fondly going with my parents and siblings to the "Satay Club" at the "old" Esplanade to enjoy satay and sugar cane juice, with the salty breeze from the sea blowing in our faces and a walk to the Merlion after dinner a definitely must... sigh.. simple joys of life..

nostalgia..

Update: I found some old photos of Clifford Pier.. so cool...

The Art of Bill Dan



a friend of mine was in San Francisco over the weekend and managed to catch a performance of amazing rock-balancing by Bill Dan - see more of the rock-balance artist's strange artwork here.

no glue! just some nimble balancing work!

pretty cool, huh?? :D

ascii movies

cool.... ascii movies - i love the ones on "The Matrix"

"To climb Mount Everest, you first have to climb Bukit Timah"

.. so said Mr Khoo Swee Chiow at the motivational talk i was invited to attend today, organised by folks from Cybercare (local charity) for a group of teenagers from around Singapore (I, of course, wasn't there as a "teenager" even if I wanted to pretend to be one.. haha.. was there to learn how to motivate young people.. :))... of course he said quite a bit else but I don't seem to be able to remember much of it now.. must have been the late nights.. haha.. oh ya, he also shared

1. How to train the mind... (this was really cool!) .. his method:

- run 20 km at East Coast Park (he started by doing this, which he achieved without too much difficulty)
- run 20 km on a track (400m x 50 - this was a lot more difficult as i imagine, as a runner myself, it must have been pure drudgery compared to running from pt A to B)
- run 20 km on the spot (i.e. treadmill!! i can't even believe this can be done! he was basically teaching about how, when you have to run for such a long time (literary) "on-the-spot", you have no choice but to "focus your mind" and concentrate on just "putting one foot in front of the other", a skill which came in handy on his long treks to the North and South Poles)

2. The importance of teamwork (he used the analogy of how he had to stop to wait for his teammate to "dump" on the snow while they were all tied together by rope on the way up to Mt Everest. He even had a picture of it to demonstrate his point - got the kids laughing.. haha.. but it's quite apt i have to admit)

3. i didn't listen to this one properly.. but it was either (a) Courage = "daring to do what has never been done before/try something new"; or (b) Courage = "daring to do something even if no one else believes in it"

4. Some goals take more than one attempt to succeed, i.e. the message of Determination (this was related to his 2 attempts before he succeeded in reaching the North Pole, the first time failing because he suffered from frostbite after only 9 days into his expedition)

i was quite impressed by how he managed to simplify his message to get it across to these 15, 16 year-olds..

i admit i was rather sceptical of him at first as well, particularly because of all the media hype that surrounds him everytime he embarks on yet another one of his new "adventures".. but after seeing how inspired the kids were at his talk today, i had a new impression of him.. he is at least someone who has given to others part of what he has been blessed with, proving himself to be much more useful to society than probably many of his critics..

see a pic of him on the mountains.

good friends, strange friends



this is Kai. i mean the one on the right (in case you are wondering..)

Kai is one of my best friends. And doubtlessly one of the strangest.

indeed, most of my closest friends are pretty strange, by conventional standards....

chatting over a cuppa at the new Jack's Place at Bras Basah this afternoon ala tai-tais, we chatted on everything from hopes and dreams, to personal mastery, to spectacular career moves, to travel, to art galleries, to correct pronunciation of "cheem" words, to ang mohs, to oral hygiene, to dead sea salt facial cleansers and toners, to fortune-telling using rose petals, to good gel ballpens, to health, exercise and vegetarian diets, to parents, and even to sex!! ok ok, we spoke about the harmful effects of sex in the media on teenagers, ya? don't get the wrong idea.. i've been doing research for my essay.. haha.. do you believe me? :p

anyway, random chatting is such fun!

everyone needs a good friend like Kai... :) thanks pal!

School Essay #2

Obsessive Compulsive Hoarding

this has got to be the most amazing real-life case of hoarding (also known in Singapore as "karang guni-ism") i've ever seen!!!

check this out - The Awful Forums - My mother is insane (~5M of photos)

blew my mind! hahaha...

School Essay #1

someone just sent me this via email. Is this for real??

Take Free Career Inventory Personality Test

Extroverted (E) 58.97% Introverted (I) 41.03% Imaginative (N) 61.54% Realistic (S) 38.46% Emotional (F) 55.56% Intellectual (T) 44.44% Easygoing (P) 58.82% Organized (J) 41.18% Your type is: ENFP You are an Inspirer, possible professions include - conference planner, speech pathologist, HR development trainer, ombudsman, clergy, journalist, newscaster, career counselor, housing director, character actor, marketing consultant, musician/composer, artist, information-graphics designer, human resource manager, merchandise planner, advertising account manager, dietitian/nutritionist, speech pathologist, massage therapist, editor/art director.

Take Free Career Inventory Personality Test

i've done the test THREE times before and I was always either an INTP or an ENTP. How did i suddenly become an ENFP?? Emotional/Feeling (F) rather than Intellectual/Thinking (T)?... umm..

project manzil website

did up the Sikkim Project 2003 Team Website with the weirdest colour scheme i could think of.... all in the midst of my busy-ness trying to complete a million and one other tasks..

Project Manzil (NIE-YEP Sikkim) 2003

haha.. believe it or not, i just picked colours off the web friendly palette randomly and didn't even bother changing them after that.. what to do? this is the work of an untrained web designer..hah..

uploaded quite a lot of photographs of the team before, during and after the project - they don't show much of the local Sikkimese culture, or scenary or flora and fauna cos we're reserving that for the other website our team is designing for them..

oh well, if you're interested, take a look.. at least the front pic of the 3rd highest mountain Khangchendzonga is nice (haha.. shameless self praise..)... :)

Irreversible - le movie



After watching Irreversible yesterday, I was asked by my movie companion "So what will you write on your blog?"

I realised I didn't know. At least not yet.

After all, this movie wasn't your usual run-of-a-mill Hollywood flick, complete with cliched romances, tacky scripts and yawn-inducing plots. Or at best, good looking actors performing heroic but unbelievable feats to thrill and entertain. Instead, this 95min movie makes the audience walk out pensive, disturbed, disoriented or at the very least, deeply absorbed in their thoughts.. So I decided to wait a day or so before writing about it, mainly to find out for myself what I DO remember the following day. I reckoned, if anything sticks in my mind for long enough, it surely means something, whatever it is.

And sure enough, the movie was still clear as crystal in my mind this morning. The way the movie was filmed was enough to talk about - every scene executed to discomforting perfection, either to disorientate, or to set our pulses racing, or to raise us to intolerable anticipation. Not to mention the intensity of the visual and audio effects, the no-holds barred display of brutality and realism. I remember every scene as vividly in my mind as if I watched the movie only minutes ago.

If that was what the movie was supposed to do, I guess it worked.

One word: Powerful.

anti-valentine



these cards could come in handy.... haha..

something to think about...

"We have killed pigs. We have killed civet cats. We are now killing birds. We have also killed our sense of morality.

Impressionable children will grow up thinking that killing is the answer to any threat to our survival. Is this the future we want?

We should stop blaming other species for our woes. If only we had been less indulgent in our gastronomic pleasures, more compassionate in the farming of animals, and less arrogant and not think that we are the masters of this fragile planet, then perhaps there is still hope for this earthly home we share with other living beings.

We want to live. So does every other living being on this planet."

(excerpt from Dr Tan Chek Wee's letter to the Straits Times forum letter entitled, "Stop blaming civet cats and chickens for our woes")

What is your rating?

My BBFC rating is:



What does this mean?

Suitable for 18 years or older. This is real life. Anything in this category is considered to be of subject matter relating to adult life, that happens day in and day out. Walking down the street is an 18 certificate. You have a life, well done.

Examples: American Beauty, Scary Movie

See what your rating is!

(via michelle f10)

leech hop



turns out that taking leeches from the jungle is a crime!

received a helpful email from Siva, another potential member of the Singapore Leech Club (which I am in the midst of setting up), who works at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. He told me that "You are not supposed to take things out of the forest so technically you are guilty of poaching."

He shared with me this article he wrote several years ago, on leeches, which included this funny paragraph:

"It is always amusing to watch the scene enacted by a group of people travelling together when one member discovers a leech on his person. His reaction could vary from a helpless wail with ineffective attempts to flick the leech off to more dignified attempts like attempting to keep his voice steady while asking for help. His friends, however, are usually more interesting to watch as they go into a frenzy of checking with obviously worded faces. Once sure that they are free of bloodsuckers, the group converges on the poor animal to stamp on it, burn and/or hack it to pieces. This is done with a great deal of viciousness even by normally mild-mannered people."

i can so relate to this! no matter how calm and unfazed you are normally, leeches just have a way of throwing you off...haha...

... read rest of article by N. Sivasothi from RMBR

must be careful not to take things back from the forest next time, just photographs..

on another note, i caught Bud's Youth Theatre's energetic part musical-part play performance of Hip Hopera (written by Malaysian Writer-director HUZIR SULAIMAN - who first showed it to fullhouses in Malaysia) at Mox Cafe this evening... it features my coursemate and friend Badpuppie in the lead role!

a spirited performance by a bunch of young people...a good effort, doubtless to say.. last performace tomorrow, go grab tix if you wanna watch!

Flying Inkpot has a nice review of the performace..

Personality Disorder Test - Take It!

Disorder | Rating

Paranoid: Low

Schizoid: Low

Schizotypal: Moderate

Antisocial: High

Borderline: Low

Histrionic: High

Narcissistic: High

Avoidant: Low

Dependent: Low

Obsessive-Compulsive: High

-- Personality Disorder Test - Take It! --

so i score high on being Antisocial, Histrionic, Narcissistic and Obsessive-Compulsive... umm.... that's not good... see the Personality Disorder Information Page for info on these traits... personality disorders.. umm...

leeches & translations

i have a confession to make..

i brought back 3 leeches from the malaysian jungle... and here they are.. see picture of peter 1, peter 2 and sarah..

yep.. i know it's bizarre.. but before i decided to keep them as pets, i was planning to just show them to folks back home or, if i decided to keep them, to soak them in formaldehyde to preserve the bodies.. but these little creatures have proven to be a lot more hardy and they haven't died even after many days... and since i'm receiving more and more requests from friends to view them, i reckon i have to keep them alive for a while more, so i fed them with fresh chicken liver and they seem quite receptive.. haha.... jokes aside, leeches are really amazing to watch...they can extend their bodies to amaziing lengths (like ten times the regular size) when they move around... they don't seem popular as pets though, cos a search on Google for "leeches + pets" yields zero results.. umm.. still, my classmates were absolutely fascinated, albeit grossed-out by them..

ok, leeches aside, i caught Lost In Translation just now and think it's a brilliant movie indeed. gentle and subtle. absolutely delightful.

just like my leeches. hahahaha....

com'on, be open-minded! leeches can be pets too (as long as you drop the 's' in pest.. 's' being "scepticism"??)

jungle weekend



pics here

back from 3 days out in the wilderness of the Selai Endau Rompin - Johor National Park

what a fabulous weekend!

our simple wooden jungle huts were surrounded by towering trees, cool freshwater creeks, thundering waterfalls, exotic fungi, strange moths and butterflies, and medicinal plants. we tried out orang asli food, tribal puzzles and blowpipes.. many hours were spent relaxing by or splashing about in the river in the cool shade of the luxuriant forests that lined either bank of the gently flowing creek. at night, we slept with the windows open to the sound of crickets and water and the sweet smell of dew...

other than the pesky and frankly rather vicious leech attacks (of which there were surprisingly plenty) when we did a short trek up to the Takah Tinggi waterfall and even when we pottered around our jungle camp in our flipflops, the place was actually very clean, highly liveable, and (wow!) mosquito-free!

check out digital pictures here (please note: only one of the pictures can be clicked on)

oh dear!

Teacher admits having sex with student, 14 - JAN 30, 2004 - Straits Times

'Cap? Pas cap?' ('Game or not?')



taken just ten minutes ago... aren't digital cameras just so cool and convenient??... :)

finally caught French movie "Love Me If You Dare" this afternoon... leaves you thinking about how important fun and playfulness is in any relationship and finding that "soulmate" who connects in that special (even if sometimes crazy) way.. it's a bit idealistic but still, it's hard to find someone who wouldn't be touched by it, even if they are not die-hard romantics.. it's a quirky romance story, if i could put it that way.. great acting too..

seen it yet? if not, go see it! going to finish already!!

desktop support

inspired by valska's pic of her doggy wrist rest, i took a picture of my cat wrist rest and here it is, on my messy worktable, surrounded by boxes of my mounted slides:



sigh.. so much work and i'm playing away, taking nonsensical pictures... i ought to be scolded.... back to work.. grr..

i can't wait to go to the jungle and hide away.... heh heh.. endau rompin!!

Not Tonight, Honey. I'm Logging On.

Internet porn is everywhere; even “nice” guys are hooked. So where does that leave their girlfriends?

great read.

non sequitur thought: i've just noticed that a large number (maybe not majority, i hope) of regular bloggers are actually single.. or maybe they just happen to be the blogs i read... gulp.. any correlation between regular blogging and singlehood, anyone??

:p

a tale of many values

There was once a woman named Mei Ling who was in love with a man named Ah Seng. Ah Seng lived on the shore of a river. Mei Ling lived on the opposite shore of the river. The river, which separated the two lovers, was teeming with man-eating crocodiles. Meil Ling wanted to cross the river to be with Ah Seng. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out. So she went to ask John the riverboat captain, to take her across. He said he would be glad to if she would spend the ngiht with him. She promptly refused and went to a friend named Boon Teck to explain her plight. Boon Teck said he did not want to be involved at all in the situation. Mei Ling felt her only alternative was to accept John's terms. She spent the night with him and he fulfilled his promise and took her across the river to Ah Seng.

When she told Ah Seng about what happened, Ah Seng cast her aside. Mei Ling turned to Tom with her tale of woe. Tom then sought out Ah Seng and gave him a good blow that sent him into the river.

Rank the five characters from one to five, one being the person you like the most and five being the person you like least.

Mei Ling, Ah Seng, John, Tom & Boon Teck

after you have done this, deliberate on why you made those choices. it's quite interesting how this little exercise reveals a lot about our personal values, and what we like and dislike most about the behaviour and beliefs of ourselves and others.

so who did you like the most and least?

the last samurai



"Nearly every set in the film was made from scratch by the production, under Kilvert's careful direction, from the thatched-roof homes of a rural Samurai village to the congested, modern Tokyo thoroughfare; from silk-shaded lamps and rice paper window screens to prop weaponry and period flags. They even made their own trees..."

maybe it was the attention to detail.. maybe it was the brilliant acting by the actors, or the plot, or maybe it was even just because i haven't seen a movie in quite a while.. anyway, i found myself enjoying almost every bit of the last samurai when i watched it this evening... even the pace was just about right (not draggy in the typical pseudo-epic way) and i was touched by several scenes of heroism and honour.. quite cool movie indeed..

go see.

gender stereotypes??

A French teacher was explaining to her College class that in French, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. House is feminine "la maison." Pencil is masculine "le crayon."

A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups - male and female - and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for their recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender (la computer) because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later review; and,
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine (le computer) because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and,
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

moral dilemma

one of our lecturers shared with us in class today this real life moral dilemma she faced several years ago while teaching at an all-girls secondary school. One day, she was suddenly approached by one of the girls' mother and told that the latter wanted to withdraw her daughter from the school. It turned out that this 15-year old-girl was actually already 7 months pregnant at that time! And the worse thing was, the "father" of the baby was actually her own stepfather! This was one of those typical all-girls' school where the girls wore pinafores and could hide their figures quite well as long as they did not wear their belts - which would be familiar to you if you came from such a school yourself - i did. in my lecturer's own words: "you can't tell who is pregnant and who is not".

with all the intuitive instincts of her psychology background, my lecturer figured that what really happened was the girl, since she was so young, had probably been raped by her stepfather. Her mother, in order to protect her husband and to hide the shame to the family, was now withdrawing the daughter from the school and was trying to keep everything hush-hush. In fact, the family had already decided to bring up the child as if it was the girl's brother and to keep the secret forever from the child. According to my lecturer, she found herself struggling with whether to report the case and finally decided not to, after pressure from all sides (even the girl herself was willing to hide the truth of what happened). What was most painful was that even the Principal of the school said that "nothing could be done" since everyone was willing to "cover up" on what really happened..

in retrospect, she is no longer sure if she had made the right decision after all. in some ways, she even felt like an "accomplice" to a misdeed..

is the responsibility of the teacher first and foremost to protect and nurture the child, above all else? what could have been done otherwise? umm... difficult situation, huh?

Pilot Crew - Globetrotters Alert!

"Arts central has been showing a travel documentary series every thurs 9pm, called "Pilot Guides". They have shown Beijing, Turkey etc. More coming up. Nice footage, and a pretty host."

Their website: http://www.pilotguides.com/tv_shows/pilot_guides

(via email - thanks!)

holiday mood extended

something today triggered a realisation in me that it is already almost the end of January and I still haven't started on any of my resolutions yet... and it doesn't look like i'm about to start on them anytime soon as well, what with all the existing projects and all that still remains to be done... grrr... the start of the year is always filled with anxiety... and of cos a lot of lethargy and procrastination too.. sometimes, i get the feeling that i certainly don't seem to be getting better at time management even as i grow older and time becomes more and more scarce...

oh well, anyway, i've got a short trip with the Green Volunteers' Network coming up soon! :) the small group of us (the first time i'm joining them for their activities) are going to Malaysia's second national park, ENDAU ROMPIN NATIONAL PARK this coming Hari Raya Haji weekend to experience the tropical jungle and the Orang Asli way of life. Can't wait! only problem is that i can't decide if i should bring my digital camera or my slr.. umm... definitely not both since i'm trying not to be burdened by my gear this time.. i'm there to have fun! :) this could be the start of (hopefully) some volunteering this year, if time permits, once i get to know this organisation better... see first lah.. must focus this year instead of trying to do a million and one things half-heartedly..

countries i visited



create your own visited country map

.. takes forever to download the map though...

always looks impressive - even though i visited only the capital of some of these countries, e.g. Tokyo (Japan) and Manila (Philippines), the whole country is still coloured in red.. haha.. makes me feel dishonest.. durrh.... just noticed Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe look temptingly bare.. umm... ..

fortune smiles on my family..

mum just won the lottery!... see latest Singapore Pools results.... not 1st prize lah! but she's sharing part of her windfall with me and sis! :D

i'm finally going to get my long awaited for.... Akarui 56L Electric Dry Cabinet! now my humble collection of cameras and camera lenses will have a dry home sans silica gel! have been eyeing it in Cathay Photo for over the last two years.. haha.. unbelievable huh?

popping down to the store second thing on Monday! (first thing being classes, of course..) woo hoo! yippee! :D .. hope they still have it in stock..

Happy Lunar New Year Everyone! :)



someone sent me this lovely Happy Lunar New Year link.. click this... it's so cute.. :)

according to my Chinese Astrology fortune telling chart , i am a Green Tiger and am equivalent to Wood. In order to "improve my luck", i have to increase my "deficient element", which is Metal.. amongst the list of things that i supposedly have to take note of are:

1. Winds or air coming from the west are good to you. (that's ok, i live in the western part of Singapore.. haha..)
2. It's good for your well-being to orient your body with your head toward the west while sleeping. (i have to adjust all my furniture in the room??)
3. When arranging the office desk, you should sit facing the west. (umm.. very feng shui.. )
4. A metal bed is good for you. (eee....)
5. Your lucky color is white. (er.. ok..)
6. You should wear white often. (easy to get dirty, no?)
7. You should use a white system (pastel colours) for decorating your house. (no problem.. typical Singapore home.. pastelly..)
8. Driving a white car brings your luck. (no car)
9. Wearing jewelry will bring you luck. (haha.. not in my character though..)
10. It's a good idea to wear golden rings. (gold ring somemore! so obiang!)
11. You will have better luck, if your name has an 'E' sound. (hweeeeeeee...)
12. You will have better luck, if your name is associated with a meaning of metal or gold. (umm.. don't have.. i should call myself Goldie or something?)
13. Spicy food is good for you. (yum yum..)
14. For your health, don't be sad or worry all the time. (sounds logical..)
15. For your health, don't be in dry weather too long. (sounds logical, again..)
16. Take care of your respiratory system - Lungs, Nose and Skin. (this is true..)
17. Take good care of your large intestine too. (burp)
18. A person with higher Metal score is likely to be your good companion. (drop me a note if you are metal, ya? :p)
19. Your job will be easier, if you choose a business something to do with Metal or money. Pertinent jobs include Jewelry store, Mechanics, Transportation, Driver, Judge, Engineer, Electrician, Financial staff, Banker, Stockbroker, Funeral business, Police, Guard, Martial art, Appraiser, Scientist, Machinery, Wood cutter, Automobile, Metal factory or industry
(oops.. wrong job?)
20. Activities: Martial art, Fencing, Shooting, Hunting, Exercise in gym... (martial arts... umm..)

The tiger's fortune for this year 2004 reads:

This is a year to unwind, re-think and reconcile emotions. If you attempt too much activity, initiating risky projects and starting up new business, difficulties could ensue. Best consolidate, plan and prepare. Discover and develop the inner realm of the imagination. The magic of the Monkey will contribute most to the artistic and spiritual side of Tiger. Ambitious nature must show restraint.

wah.... so cheem... anyhow, 2004 will supposedly be a difficult/complex year for Tigers.. brace yourself, my tiger friends! Or, better still, DON'T BE SO SUPERSTITIOUS!!! haha..

Gourmet Hawker Food

with a bit of imagination and a spirit of adventure, friend and i turned our casual alfresco meal at Lau Pa Sat Market tonight into a pseudo-"gourmet" dinner, comprising dishes either one or both of us have never tried before….

instead of:

chicken & beef satay, we decided to order duck & mutton satay

plain mee goreng, we had cockles mee goreng

bbq stingray, we had bbq sotong (ok, i admit this is not exactly an "upgrade".. haha.. )

plain popiah, we had sole fish & crab meat popiah

and i had my two bottles of India's national beer, Kingfisher Premium Lager, well-chilled in the fridge - brought back carefully from New Delhi, to accompany the meal so we didn't have to buy the all-time local favourite Tiger Beer from the beer aunties prowling (no pun intended) around in their blue polo tees, tight skirts and track shoes...

we couldn't find any substitutes for the usual staple bbq chicken wings so we just bought that anyway... as well as teh tarik from the bored teh tarik man who could probably perform his amazing tarik-ing stunt blindfolded after doing the same action a thousand times a night.. this guy is so straight-faced he wouldn't even smile when you greet him!

nothing disappointed.. yum yum.. never knew eating at a hawker centre could be so much fun .. definitely the way to go to eat well and eat cheap in Singapore.. :)

for all the meat we had tonight, i strangely had one random thought mysteriously come into my mind for (i believe) the very first time in my life... that maybe i should try being vegetarian for a while this year.… for a month or two… to detox or something.. umm…. THAT would certainly be a new experience indeed…. :p .. haha.. better not overestimate myself here.. umm...

The Decline of Fashion Photography

The Decline of Fashion Photography | An argument in pictures. | By Karen Lehrman

good read.

sunrise surprise



Wah... today sunrise very nice.. (*this must be spoken with a distinct Singaporean accent)

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reflecting on the new year and my coming of age



These past two weeks have been mentally and physically exhausting.. on top of being dreadfully busy getting back into the routine of things (waking up at 6.45am to rush for classes is a lot harder than I thought), and working on the follow-up work from the project in Sikkim, I’m trying to sort out my hundreds of slides from the India trip before I lose my momentum and these colourful little squares end up in dusty little stacks; unseen, unevaluated, unloved…

add that to the fact that the start of the year also sees me (since I’m a early-January baby) coming to the end of the 25-29 age bracket earlier than most of my same-age peers.… yes… it’s the last year I can put a little tick on application/survey/contest forms that indicates that I am in the two-decade plus category.... I know you folks who know me tend to imagine this is not something that will bother me that much.. but even when I met up with some of my good friends in little informal gatherings this past week, one way or other, we always end up discussing it... it’s an unavoidable topic… and, like it or not, the feeling of anxiety starts creeping sneakily into our minds.. we realise (and keep reminding each other sadistically) that it’s the last 365 days or so of our lives before we hit the big 3... the age that most 20-something females (and even the handful of vain males) dread to think about, even if they do not admit it.. it’s like, there’s this list of stuff (personal dreams?) we always thought we would do before we turn 30.. learn a language, master a musical instrument, establish a career, run a marathon, start a business, get rich, get married.... whatever.. and now, finally, there’s only one last year to complete them... suddenly, time is finite.. so so finite..

for me, I know it’s not because I feel the pressure to keep up with the rat race and unaccomplished in that sense… I think I’ve long been left on the “career sidelines” anyway.. or worse still, disqualified....(haha).. still, the desire to use my time well has never felt stronger... In retrospect, last year’s pace was frightfully but pleasantly fast, and (praise God) things turned out on most counts better than I expected, despite a number of unexpected and significant personal changes (including even a career/job change).. by the end of eventful 2003, I felt a small but real tinge of accomplishment, even if it was by my own humble standards.. I guess that’s why I find myself reviewing my 2004 resolutions again and again these past two weeks, wondering if they are good enough to at least “keep up” with those of last year’s... sounds a tad bit silly, huh?..

anyway, point is, I think I’m not ready to start the year yet... thankfully we have CNY just round the corner.. :) … grrr.. I need to hide away for a while and pretend it’s still 2003… umm.. maybe i can swtich to the lunar calendar instead?? :p

la la la.. getting back into the swing of things

umm.. just discovered someone nominated me for the Asia Weblog Awards 2003 (Singapore category) last november... wow.. i'm flattered....

ya, btw, i've put up some of my digital india pics online so you can have a look at some of the stuff i saw... (click on the link under gallery "india 2003") a small selection for the time being.. too many to sort out... i see until i blur.. don't click unless you are on broadband 'cos the files are unimaginably huge!! hahaha.. don't blame me, blame your slow internet connection..hahaha..

first day of NIE today.. i'm trying to run away from all the work that needs to be done but realise that i can run but i can't hide.. (hahahha).. not forever at least.. . in addition to the terror of regular course assignments (cos we don't have exams, so they've come up with another way to torment us..), I've still got a whole bunch of post-expedition tasks to complete from our project to Sikkim (including revamping this 2nd-generation website.. haha) and the deadlines are awfully tight .. worse still, i don't have all my resources yet... (gasping for air..).. never mind, shan't frighten myself further.. let me talk about.. my most interesting module this semester:

Facilitating Sexuality Education in Secondary Schools!

remember how when we were young (primary school?) and the principal separated the boys and girls one day after morning assembly? each group went for a separate talk on the birds and the bees by two different teachers. i don't know what the (usually male PE) teacher told the boys but the girls were told about the female adolescent growing up process and (sudden but always shocking) biological changes to their bodies.. thereafter, we were reminded/warned Never Ever to talk to the boys about anything that we learnt... haha.... anyway, i don't think the kids know that little nowadays with the Internet and all.. the concern now is really whether the information they get (from whatever sources) is accurate or safe.. i do feel kids need to have an avenue to ask questions and receive answers, especially if their parents are awkward about it themselves. my parents never told me anything, so i'm still wondering how i came to having any knowledge at all about the topic .. we didn't have Internet at that time.. and certainly no books for that matter.. peers? umm.. trashy novels?? haha, no, i'm not a fan of Mills and Boons... umm...

oh well, anyway, this will be quite a challenging topic to teach if i'm ever tasked to do so by my school next time.. to me, i feel that the challenge is really about not imposing my own biased values on the students but rather teaching them more universal values such as personal responsibility and respect for others so that they can think for themselves what is right and wrong, and guiding them as much as i can..

yes, spoken like a real teacher.. hahaha.. got to zzz already... (it's much later than what is stated but i faked the time so no one would ask me if i get any sleep at all.. I do, btw.. durrh.. hahaha.. why do i bother...?? i'm nutz..)

The Sacred Rats of Deshnok Temple



rats enjoying milk from a large wok-like pan at the Deshnok Temple in Bikaner

this was one of my personal highlights - not because i really like rats or anything.. just that this was one place i've always wanted to visit after seeing it featured in a BBC documentary and in some movie i can't remember..



and because we saw this very very rare white rat, we are expected to have "good luck" ... heh heh...

there is even a website for the temple... www.karnimata.com... cool...

till we meet again, Adios India!!



reflections on the India trip

In so many ways, India is a challenge to even the most seasoned of travellers, particularly those who meet it for the very first time. Most of us come from places that are so much less crowded, where something such as privacy and a certain measure of personal space exists, and where animals and people live in existence quite apart from each other. For us, a "no" usually means a "no", a nod means "yes", and toilet business is carried out, as much as possible, in obscure places.

Hence, India is most definitely shocking! No, it is more than that.. India culture and society is also infuriatingly hard to understand and penetrate, difficult to conquer and almost impossible to truly love, especially if you have only seen it for a short while (yes, even 45 days isn't long.. believe me..).. nonetheless, no one who has experienced India can deny that this country is fascinating...

For those willing to be shaken and shocked, to scratch beneath the surface of grime, smog, dried up spit on the walls and pavements, and weeks of uncleared garbage, to look past the outstretched hands of the hordes of beggars, the moth-bitten skins of sacred cows standing in the middle of busy road junctions, the bloodily exposed scalps of emaciated stray dogs, and the devious scams of autorickshaw drivers and mendacious tour guides, and to set aside any biasness that may have built up from listening to one too many horror stories in the past, something special always emerges..

At the end of my 45 days in India, one thing that I can say for sure is.. I can never say anything for sure - not about people, about situations, or whatever.. Indians are both the most highly developed (they almost never ever get angry - read: zero road rage) as well as the least civilised (they spit, pee, poo, puke and drop litter on the street without care) people I've ever met. They are (or appear) highly religious and spiritual (most are vegetarians, throng temples, and amulets and statues of their thousands of deities can be seen everywhere - on themselves, their vehicles, street corners, under trees), yet find absolutely nothing wrong with scamming foreigners on a regular basis (we are walking Rupee signs). They scrub and clean themselves and their own little tiny domains obsessively, yet have no qualms stepping on dung and others' fresh puke and spit on the streets. They are meticulous about money (they never ever miscalculate - we were charged for a dollop of butter on our plates.. grr..) yet spend much of their waking hours sitting around drinking chai and chewing tobacco sold in little silvery packets. They devise the most elaborate scams, yet look at us with naive and innocent big black eyes..

I've only touched the surface of this culture even after more than a month of travelling in this country.. but I?m definitely entranced.. haha.. I guess I'll be back then.. this time speaking Hindi, definitely!

back from India



these are the Sam sand dunes near Jaisalmer.... this pic came out looking like it was taken in the 60s with Lawrence of Arabia in front.. haha.. only have my digital pics for now. i'll show a few more of my digital pics over the next couple of days..

yes, i've returned!!

after 45 days in masala land, i finally have a chance to eat my hainanese chicken rice, my laksa and real vegetables!! you know, the only "veg" they seem to eat in India are potatoes (aloo), mashed up spinach (palak), peas (mutter), beans and tomatoes!! i need kailan and chye sim - the way my mama cooks them!! anyway, came back only this evening cos the plane was delayed for more than 11 hours due to fog...grrr... spent the past few hours washing the grime and dust off everything.. you wouldn't believe the number of pails of murky water i created!!

too tired to blog more now.. you shall hear more of me once i recover from.. err.. jet lag?? hahahah..

Magic Masala

a great merry christmas to all!! (a few days late) perhaps?? how's your plan for the new year countdown?? :)

we'll be heading on to the pretty lake city of udaipur tonight (our final "new" destination before we start on our return leg) and enid (travelmate) and i are definitely going to have beer (indian national beer kingfisher??), my favourite indian dessert gulab jamun (brown sweet glutinous ball soaked in sugar... yummy.. :)), ice cream (if we can find any), maybe tandoori chicken (luxury dish), my fav palak paneer for dinner, hopefully at a nice restaurant overlooking the lake to celebrate the near completion of our great Indian adventure!

stuff we managed to do since the last time i blogged:

- visited the sacred rat temple (managed to get enid to go in though she practically freaked out at the entrance... she even started counting the number of rats to see if there were too many and panicked when she lost count.. strange girl..)

- camel safari to the desert (we saw three camels in the distance.. suspected there were either terrorists or the three wise men.. sat with an excitable Indian family and watched the stars while enjoying beer and curry and gulab jamuns.)

- saw sand dunes ala Sahara desert.. nice.. :)... took back 1 litre of sand.. durrh... hahaha..

- visited two very beautiful cities (Jaisalmer and Jodhpur) with their cobbled streets, quaint shops, and pesky children.

- shopped shopped shopped

that's all for now..

Desert Land Story

It turns out that Indians in India are every bit as kiasu as Singaporeans.. or maybe even more so..

we took this full-day tour of the pink city of Jaipur today, which covered all of these ten touristy attractions (something which i usually hate to do...) somehow, package travel to me feels a lot like i'm being herded around like cattle.. grr.. give me independent travel anytime!.. . anyway, have to admit it saved us a mighty lot of time and gave us a certain amount of immunity against touts, cheats and indian ah bengs for a day.. haha... anyway, managed to see the amazing Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) in the old city of Jaipur - it's this flat pink building with more than 900 windows! pretty cool..

anyway, we realised that the day tour was filled 90% by these rich Indians from other parts of India, with their suits, expensive looking punjabi dresses, dangling jewellery, well-clad children and all.. however, their behaviour was pretty obnoxious.. we spent pretty much the whole day being pushed and shoved around by them in every place we went to. Indians appear to have no sense of personal space. In a positive way, it means that they are not shy in approaching us to talk. They were usually chatty and friendly and extremely curious. But negatively speaking, even now, there's this guy standing behind me.. grr... it seems that there's constantly someone looking over our shoulders.. this is probably how they can survive in a country with a billion people.. gulp...

after this big city, we'll head to a smaller city tomorrow, Jhunjhunu, to look at wall drawings from long ago and hopefully spend Christmas in the desert in the town of Bikaner afterwards.. maybe we may even see the 3 wise men??? hahaha.. the town of Bikaner has a temple of sacred rats which i'm still trying to persuade my travelmate to go with me to... Seems like they'll even run over our feet when we are inside.. heh heh.. so fun!! :p what a story to tell the grandchildren..

ok, enough updates for now.. till i find another cybercafe in the land of masala! take care and keep healthy!!

oh ya, btw, this is.. err.. Day 27 of my 45 day Great India Adventure.. be back on the 9th Jan (yep, a day after my birthday.. :p), just in case my friends need to know that.. tata!

India Odyssey

i'm convinced India is only for the very brave... or the very insane..

for one, Delhi is one incredibly crowded place.. there's people EVERYWHERE!! and cattle, auto-rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, fruit sellers, masala tea stalls and people trying to sell us saris and shawls.. the constant cacophony rings in our minds even when we go to bed at night... the number of touts who are trying to rip us off in a million and one truly imaginative ways makes it really hard for any traveller trying to travel independently to believe in anyone here at all..

but anyway, we've seen Taj Mahal! Yippee! And i tell you, it has to be seen to be believed - solid marble .. it's really beautiful.. besides, it's an oasis in the desert of touts, postcard salesmen and argggh!! never mind.. got to shut them off ... we've started telling anyone hassling us that we are from Sundaland (so we can stop them saying we are from Japan) and a few of them actually reply "oh Sundaland! Yes, we have many tourists from Sundaland!" ???? these people are unbelievable!!

after surviving Delhi and Agra with our souls and minds intact, my travel mate and I are finally venturing into Rajasthan, the land of colour, architecture and deserts. Today, we visited the UN Heritage Wildlife Reserve Keoladeo Ghana National Park near this dusty town called Bharatpur and saw the most amazing population of storks, egrets, kingfishers and numerous other bird species. A day away from people.. what a relief..

check out the fiesty entries on my travel mate's blog - i'm not missing Singapore as much as she is though.. heh heh.. may spend New Year's Eve in the Thar Desert... see first..

okee, will update again when i can.. take care all!!

Hello from Sikkim



i've seen the world's third highest peak Kangchendzonga after trekking 5 days through some of the lushest temperate rainforests i've ever seen.

i've been through temperatures ranging from 10 degrees to -10 degrees celsius, camping out in tents surrounded by dogs, yaks and horses.

the snowy Himalayas from Sikkim are stunning. the children of Sikkim look Tibetan and are extremely adorable and trusting. the village is peaceful and we've so far attended one funeral and one wedding. from the scenary here, i'm beginning to believe that this could indeed be the Shangri-la that the world has long been searching for. Photos will never do this place justice...

we're done with our project helping the folks at the Conservation Committee with compiling information and taking photographs and will begin to help them to build their website in a while to come to show the world what this place offers..

my knees and thighs are still aching from all the climbing.

i'm overdosing on puri, masala tea and dhal.

wish to say more but the internet connection is way too slow...

all else, i'm fine and will begin the second leg of my trip through Rajasthan in 2 days time. can't wait! :)

missing all and will write again soon as i can. love you all!