All Rights Reserved: Nostalgia
For 43 years this sacred dust,
Has used its future to frame its past.
Will all that is never come to last,
Today, here, then gone, how fast?
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Short clips of my recent trips
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I decide on this photo because it was taken at the very place where I had the best smelly beancurd in the world:
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I will update more on these trips as and when I feel like it. Stay tuned if you're interested!
I like to take photos, but I don't like seeing myself in them. It took me quite a while before I could find those with me in them. Here I will share 2 photos that my friends had taken in Beijing.
I choose this first one because it features the greatest number of people among the photos that I have. Sad to say (but expectedly), I don't have any class photo with me.
I like this second one because it was taken outside the Beijing Zoo and we were on our way to see the super-duper cute pandas.
As for the photos for Taiwan, I upload this because it captures an unforgettable gathering that my Taiwanese friends and I had in Taipei. Hope to see them again soon:
I decide on this photo because it was taken at the very place where I had the best smelly beancurd in the world:I will update more on these trips as and when I feel like it. Stay tuned if you're interested!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Puzzling Paradox
Recently, I have been asked these questions over and over again:
"Why did you choose to do your Masters instead of work?"
"Don't you have dreams and goals in your life?"
I am not in the least offended. I simply feel tired answering them again and again. These questions, nonetheless, reflect fundamental differences in life philosophy.
To the peeps out there, studying was merely an avenue for them to get their degrees, find good jobs and achieve career advancements. I don't derive my perks from these "material" and "worldly" pursuits. While I agree that having a purpose in life serves to make life a meaningful one, I can assure you that such a purpose will always be an ongoing process and not an end state.
I don't do things for a purpose. Neither do I do things on impulse. I simply follow my heart. This is all that matters. My only interest is travelling. I will make it a point to travel as and when I can. It would be on the premise that I don't starve to death before then.
What a dilemma. Life is a journey of paradoxes.
Recently, I have been asked these questions over and over again:
"Why did you choose to do your Masters instead of work?"
"Don't you have dreams and goals in your life?"
I am not in the least offended. I simply feel tired answering them again and again. These questions, nonetheless, reflect fundamental differences in life philosophy.
To the peeps out there, studying was merely an avenue for them to get their degrees, find good jobs and achieve career advancements. I don't derive my perks from these "material" and "worldly" pursuits. While I agree that having a purpose in life serves to make life a meaningful one, I can assure you that such a purpose will always be an ongoing process and not an end state.
I don't do things for a purpose. Neither do I do things on impulse. I simply follow my heart. This is all that matters. My only interest is travelling. I will make it a point to travel as and when I can. It would be on the premise that I don't starve to death before then.
What a dilemma. Life is a journey of paradoxes.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
My Take on Money
Money stinks. Call me an idealist or a pretender, but I am not a commodity. I don't need money to prove my worth and existence in the world. I hope my deeds can match my words in due course.
I certainly don't fit the bill for a capitalist. Perhaps this is why I chose to stay put in my comfy zone of the academia and avoid the stench of cash loading in my face.
Money stinks. Call me an idealist or a pretender, but I am not a commodity. I don't need money to prove my worth and existence in the world. I hope my deeds can match my words in due course.
I certainly don't fit the bill for a capitalist. Perhaps this is why I chose to stay put in my comfy zone of the academia and avoid the stench of cash loading in my face.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Monday, August 04, 2008
Taiwan always brings a smile on my face.Saturday, August 02, 2008
Friday, August 01, 2008
Back from Taiwan
I'm back reluctantly, having spent every cent in my pockets. Taiwan had been my home for almost the entire month of July, but to me this was not enough. I wish to visit it again soon.
Here's a glimpse of my itinerary in Taiwan:
3-6 July: Taipei
7-11 July: Kaohsiung (my southern base; 10 July: Tainan, 11 July: Kending)
12 July: Taichung
13 July: Lugang
14 and 16-17 July: Taipei (my main base)
18 July: Keelung
19-20 July: Taitung
21 July: Hualian
22-25 July: Penghu
26 July: Taoyuan International Airport (sob...)
I need to thank Peggy and her friends and relatives for their warm welcome and hospitality, as well as my other Taiwanese friends who had forked out time to meet up with vagrant me. I seem to be the only free soul around these days, so it was only right that I embarked on this trip to visit them. To all my friends out there (especially Peggy!), sorry for all the inconvenience that I might have caused you during my trip!
I am glad to have left my footprints on much of Taiwan. If I am to include the places that I had covered in my SEP duration, I have been to about 80-90% of Taiwan. An overstatement? I need to undertake more trips to verify this.
Will my quest ever be completed?
I'm back reluctantly, having spent every cent in my pockets. Taiwan had been my home for almost the entire month of July, but to me this was not enough. I wish to visit it again soon.
Here's a glimpse of my itinerary in Taiwan:
3-6 July: Taipei
7-11 July: Kaohsiung (my southern base; 10 July: Tainan, 11 July: Kending)
12 July: Taichung
13 July: Lugang
14 and 16-17 July: Taipei (my main base)
18 July: Keelung
19-20 July: Taitung
21 July: Hualian
22-25 July: Penghu
26 July: Taoyuan International Airport (sob...)
I need to thank Peggy and her friends and relatives for their warm welcome and hospitality, as well as my other Taiwanese friends who had forked out time to meet up with vagrant me. I seem to be the only free soul around these days, so it was only right that I embarked on this trip to visit them. To all my friends out there (especially Peggy!), sorry for all the inconvenience that I might have caused you during my trip!
I am glad to have left my footprints on much of Taiwan. If I am to include the places that I had covered in my SEP duration, I have been to about 80-90% of Taiwan. An overstatement? I need to undertake more trips to verify this.
Will my quest ever be completed?
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Jacky to Medan
Time really flies. Jacky will be leaving for Medan this coming Sunday. He will stay there for the next 2 years, teaching English to the rich and affluent. He will also bag an income that an average Singaporean would covet. He is the man in black:
It has been 4 years since I know Jacky and my other USP friends. For Jacky, I knew him from my YEP experience in Thailand. A group of us went to a rural village in northern Thailand to promote AIDS awareness via forum theatre. We were trained to act and stage our performances to a village audience. Little did I know at that time that a juicy gossip awaits us. Jacky and his love-distance friendship. It came to nought. Personally, I had a great time there conversing with the locals in simple Thai and enjoying authentic Thai cuisine. I could understand what the cabby was saying to Boredin, and had built up my endurance for spicy food. Which reminds me: Yuting was a native of Chongqing. She had soup noodles and deemed them too tasteless. Right before us she threw in a potful of chilli sauce and the broth became a red, thick gravy. I applaud her powerful taste buds. That was my most memorable bowl of pork noodles.
Our USP clique with Jiayi and Jane met up last evening to gather with Jacky before he goes to Medan. He owes Boredin and Jiayi a treat for having been too smart a year ago. The gathering had been fun. We had dim sum and porridge. Jacky recently had his wisdom tooth extracted and bearing with excuriating pain, joined us nevertheless. We admire his tolerance and friendship. Jiayi and I had some drinks with Jacky at TCC before we could bear to part. Parting is hard, but our friendship will be "harder", more "solid"! As I swallow my last bit of tears, allow me to wish Jacky Bon Voyage and all the best to his teaching stint in a foreign land. We shall meet again. :-)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Response to comment
My dear friend Jacky lives in a world of self-delusion. He must engage the real world and confront the fact that Jacky Wu is indeed famous and popular. The truth is Singapore's retail outlets had imported his CDs and the CDs were all sold out. I was merely too slow to act. Nonetheless, I will be meeting Jacky soon to convince him out of his fantasies. :-)
My dear friend Jacky lives in a world of self-delusion. He must engage the real world and confront the fact that Jacky Wu is indeed famous and popular. The truth is Singapore's retail outlets had imported his CDs and the CDs were all sold out. I was merely too slow to act. Nonetheless, I will be meeting Jacky soon to convince him out of his fantasies. :-)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Some thanks...
First and foremost, I must thank Derrick for getting my Jacky Wu CDs autographed in Taiwan! 8 in total! Very happy. I could not sleep on Monday! Jacky Wu leh! No small fry lor. I had tried to buy some of his CDs here in Singapore but failed, because they were sold out at all retail outlets. Haiz. 本土天王，人红可不是盖的！
Next, I must thank my Beijing clique for helping me out and allowing me to enjoy my TA stint. But Boon Boon will be leaving for Malaysia soon. 人生之无奈何其多啊！
And my dear friend Jacky will be heading to Medan soon. I must meet up with him, Boredin, Jiayi and Yuting soon before my Taiwan trip materializes. I have yet to book my air ticket, so my timetable for the time being remains flexible. Sad yet happy. How ironic.
First and foremost, I must thank Derrick for getting my Jacky Wu CDs autographed in Taiwan! 8 in total! Very happy. I could not sleep on Monday! Jacky Wu leh! No small fry lor. I had tried to buy some of his CDs here in Singapore but failed, because they were sold out at all retail outlets. Haiz. 本土天王，人红可不是盖的！
Next, I must thank my Beijing clique for helping me out and allowing me to enjoy my TA stint. But Boon Boon will be leaving for Malaysia soon. 人生之无奈何其多啊！
And my dear friend Jacky will be heading to Medan soon. I must meet up with him, Boredin, Jiayi and Yuting soon before my Taiwan trip materializes. I have yet to book my air ticket, so my timetable for the time being remains flexible. Sad yet happy. How ironic.
Pessimism?
The Massachusetts Constitution states that all men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness. Are men all born free and equal? Obviously the answer is negative, with the axiom as old as the hills that all people are equal but some are more equal than others. How true, and you realize it only when you come of age. Indeed, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau puts it, men are born free but everywhere he is in chains. There are rules and regulations to be conformed to, as well as duties and responibilities shouldered upon right from the minute when you were born. All in the mind? Then, may I ask, when will I ever break free of the shackles from both within and without? A social contract binds us together as communities, and powerful forces of inertia are supplements that foster the Prisoner's Dilemma between us. Selfishness eliminates all possible means of cooperation and hence change. A vicious cycle rolls and before anyone knows it, we are now lost in the abysses of space and time.
I can't go to Taiwan yet, for reasons too complicated to be explained here. I shall update on my recent China trip soon.
The Massachusetts Constitution states that all men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness. Are men all born free and equal? Obviously the answer is negative, with the axiom as old as the hills that all people are equal but some are more equal than others. How true, and you realize it only when you come of age. Indeed, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau puts it, men are born free but everywhere he is in chains. There are rules and regulations to be conformed to, as well as duties and responibilities shouldered upon right from the minute when you were born. All in the mind? Then, may I ask, when will I ever break free of the shackles from both within and without? A social contract binds us together as communities, and powerful forces of inertia are supplements that foster the Prisoner's Dilemma between us. Selfishness eliminates all possible means of cooperation and hence change. A vicious cycle rolls and before anyone knows it, we are now lost in the abysses of space and time.
I can't go to Taiwan yet, for reasons too complicated to be explained here. I shall update on my recent China trip soon.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Back!
I'm back from Beijing. Met new friends such as Charis, Davin, Eunice, Pooi Yean, Tian Boon, Wan Jun, and Yuan Ting. Seen old ones such as Jie Chun and Pei Fun. Very happy!
I feel old though. Overcome by fatigue as I struggled to type these words. I shall talk more about the trip in the days to come. Now that I'm back, away I hope to be! Taiwan awaits me.
I'm back from Beijing. Met new friends such as Charis, Davin, Eunice, Pooi Yean, Tian Boon, Wan Jun, and Yuan Ting. Seen old ones such as Jie Chun and Pei Fun. Very happy!
I feel old though. Overcome by fatigue as I struggled to type these words. I shall talk more about the trip in the days to come. Now that I'm back, away I hope to be! Taiwan awaits me.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Saturday, June 07, 2008
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