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date/time Friday, March 30, 2007,9:14 PM
Intentionally Untitled
Spinning: Lily Allen - Smile
Well I'm in the process of editing my HK post. For now, allow me to indulge in a little self-reflection.
I've not been working for awhile now, and it's at times like these when I discover new things about others, and about myself. Traits that never surface under 'normal', even hectic circumstances. Or it could be that I never even had time to think about them.
I found a lack of ambition, a laid-back disposition as compared to the past few years, and - people are going to say otherwise - a bit of a loner in myself. I discovered all these in the span of 2 months. Don't be surprised, you will too, if you have too much time on your hands. And of course in the first place, you'll have to make an effort.
I'm beginning to dislike society's ruthless stereotyping. It's getting so hard to actually be ourselves, and getting increasingly easy to lose our sense of identities, because of what society expects from us. Yes, I'm being provoked by people around me. And it's unavoidable because wherever I go, whatever I do, I'm bound to meet them. And what annoys more is that they are people who matter to me.
I hate to admit this, but I have betrayed my own aspirations. And this is why I'm beginning to lose sight of what I used to be like.
Maybe I've reached some stupid mandatory crossroad. And that is made even more obvious because at this stage I'm being exposed to a TINY portion of what's ahead of me. And already I'm disgusted.
You know what's scary about what lies ahead? The thought of becoming one of those snotty executives who dabble in office politics all day long. What matters to them? Which floor they're on, which club they belong to, and whose boots they've not licked yet. In the end, it's not going to matter.
I know, this post is very fragmented. I'm confused myself, and I can't be bothered to organize my thoughts. I'm just throwing out thoughts randomly. I know some of these topics HAVE been mentioned more than a few times in this blog, but it is different this time. I feel even more strongly about them than ever before. You might not understand what I'm trying to get at, but never mind, it doesn't matter.
And, as a final thought - if you're a friend of someone, or even a sibling, a cousin, don't judge. Stop being judgmental. And stop questioning. If you don't know it yet, you're upsetting them.
Labels: musings, random thoughts
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date/time Monday, March 19, 2007,10:06 PM
Hong Kong, baby! [Part One]
Spinning: Nouvelle Vague - Confusion As always, I'm late with my travelogue. And this time there is no 'story' behind the attractions - if you can so call them. If you haven't ever been to Hong Kong, the fundamental premise is that it's a lot like Singapore in terms of its urban jungle concept, and its niche tourist attractions of shopping and eating. There are a lot of similarities - it's probably pointed out in your Social Studies/History/Geography textbooks- but during my time there I felt there were a few key points where HK really differed from Singapore. Both countries' housing layouts may at first seem like it's immensely similar, i.e, the build upwards, not sideways concept. But frankly, HK's estates are a LOT squishier.  Yup. In the words of my friend, who once did a show-and-tell/presentation on Hong Kong (yes, it was long long ago), you could practically reach out and touch your neighbour's window. And, in my opinion, you could probably say something like, "Hello Auntie Cheung! I see you! Do you see me too?" The vibe, too, is very different. This is very difficult to explain in words, and even pictures, but overall HK gives me a very 'messy' vibe, in a positive way. It is very ... nonclinical, despite its urban backdrop. Maybe the same picture above can paint a vague idea of what I'm trying to explain here. Of course, the weather is to die for. Any weather (except subzero, Antarctica-type temperatures) is better than a tropical humid one, anyway. It's hot, and what's worse, the air is overly damp. But I de-digress. When I was there, it was the transition period between Winter and Spring, so there were dry winds and a rather warm temperature prevailed. Basically, like outdoor air-conditioning. I say it's to die for, because the winds made me ecstatic. This was best reflected in Lamma Island, which, by the way, is one of my favourite pit-stops. The only regrettable issue: No Lammas on Lamma Island. :(  Lamma was windy. Oh yes it was. And windy makes us happy. Oh yes it does... so much so I wanted to 'da pao' some wind back to Singapore.  OK, so Lamma was nice, and it wasn't just because of the wind. It was also a nice break away from the noise and grit of the main island. Serene, and very much more slow-paced. Like a retiree's dream home. Actually, most of the island's inhabitant's ARE retirees, accompanied by their dogs who have FREE REIN over the whole place. They run all over like they own it. And worry not; they behave well.  Sadly, we were one of the few people who actually took on the nature trail. See, we practically owned the whole road.  Plus, Lamma had its resident 'Tau Hway' Auntie and Uncle. Masters of the trade I tell you:  And I can attest to the fact that it's really clean. Because I didn't have any stomach problems after that. Nor did Amande, Elke, Pam or Zhu.  Well, okay, so it does look somewhat ordinary. But it tasted otherwise! It's actually made with the usual sweet syrup, and the twist in the recipe is that it's served with a dash of ginger (mixed into the syrup of course) and some gingko nuts, I believe. Back to the main island though. Stanley ranked near the top of my favourite places in HK. It's one of those quaint little towns, almost like an enclave because it's quite far away from the crowded Mongkok. Just think Holland V, only much bigger. So anyway, we were so pleased with it, we left our marks behind:  I hope you didn't take me seriously. Because we would've just drawn stick figures. With random speech bubbles sprouting all over. We're incapable of graffiti. Nope, not even amateurish ones. So there we were, acting like crazed monkeys on the loose, flitting from shop to shop and bargaining with them in our smattering of tourist's Cantonese. We butchered the language, actually.  Talking about shopping, we er, did a lot of that. For the first time in my travelling history, I actually used up 98% of my funds in HK. I was left with a meagre 5 Sing Dollars (That's 50 HKD for you) by the time I touched down. Yes, we shopped in the HK International Airport as well. So anyway, Pam sneakily caught a shot of us sorting out all our goodies in the hotel room. Yep, this was the most annoying part. Having to pack and pack and pack after a long day out in the streets.  Not much photos of us shopping, and this would make perfect sense as well, since we were all busy bargaining and sifting through the good and bad stuff. Half the time, it was also so crowded that no one dared to whip out their digi-cams for fear of pickpockets. We also went to The Peak one night, or Victoria Peak to be more specific. It was a pretty foggy night, though, so we couldn't really see much. It was clear enough to have a vague idea of what HK's skyline looked like, though.  And on the last night of our stay in HK, we went on the 'longest cable car ride' - or so they claim. Whatever it was, I quite enjoyed it because it was pretty high up (and you all know how I love the feeling of being far away from certain things, just like in the Kuantan Caves!). And safe. And cooling. And the best thing was? I was stuck a thousand feet in the air with a bunch of crazed friends. We laughed and waved at people randomly.  Thereafter, we rushed down to the fabled Disneyland. But I will stop here for now, because this post is simply getting too long, and I know people don't like to read overtly long posts. We're all busy people, eh? So okay, I'm gonna split this into two posts. And the first part shall stop here. Coming up soon will be Disneyland (which was the funniest yet most frustrating part of the trip), and random shots of us just having fun.
Labels: friends, hong kong, photolog, travel, vacation
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date/time Saturday, March 03, 2007,2:24 AM
Oops
Spinning: I Believe - Sophie Ellis Bextor Whoops. I have neglected this blog again. It seems that I turn to blogging more frequently when I am busy and I have something to rant about. That's bad; I never intended for this to be a rant blog. But anyway, I'm insanely free now, and having received the results (finally), life goes on as per normal. But seriously, anticipating the results was one heck of an excruciating wait. So here it comes, that obligatory thank you, you, and you post. I know, I know, it's not the Oscars. But I am feeling grateful, okay? Firstly, thank God. And I'll thank my tutors, who have patiently guided my classmates and I through two obscenely jam-packed years. And thank you, my study buddies Marilyn and PN. Mugging was never fun to begin with, but you guys made it a lot less torturous. I can't forget the days where you people dragged yourselves to my house with stacks and stacks of unorganized notes, plopped yourselves down on my creaky metal chairs and just mugged together with lazy me. And there were those theories found in Geography that we chanted over and over again to each other, and in the case of Marilyn, we waxed lyrical about Measure for Measure together. And in the case of PN, we 'arghed' and 'hmmphed' our way through Vectors and Statistics. Without you people, I would probably never have studied the way I did for the 'A's. And to whoever whom I called up and bothered with a typical "Wa lao, I can't stand this anymore!" Cheryl and Mabel were the worst-hit, I think. The only regret I have is that my Dad isn't here, and isn't going to be here to share my joy. Part of my motivation for this was him, because his only wish for me (other than the mandatory good values, principles and a good heart) was to see me get through the A's. I wish I was born earlier so he would be here to witness it. Or, even better, I wish he had lived longer. You see, I never really did anything that he'd be proud of. I'd bamboozled my way through the 'Os', and for some strange reason, which I can only narrow down to divine intervention, I managed to claw my way into Temasek Junior College. In any case, I just wish he was here. Guess I'm 4-odd years too late. I'm still thinking about what course to do, of course, and am very much torn between Psychology - my interest, and something else supposedly more 'practical'. Bah. That word has hounded me for years now. In quite a while I will update about my HK trip, which is, er, a little overdue. Labels: dad, school
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date/time Thursday, March 01, 2007,8:31 PM
'Tis the longest night
Tonight I am a bundle of nerves. Sometimes I try to deceive myself and say it's no big deal, but in reality, I know it matters because I've worked for this. If I hadn't cared a hoot about this and not put in any effort, I won't be too affected regardless of the result. I have had dreams. No nightmares thus far, thank goodness, but unsettling dreams for the past few nights. Tonight, my only hope is that we can all sleep well and prepare for tomorrow. Good luck, especially to my squadmates, and 35/05. Labels: school
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21 year old student still trying to find her way around the world; like any other :)
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