Monday, July 31, 2006
The Amityville Horror
And so, the dreaded rush to get my modules for the coming semester has started again. Seems kinda stupid that you've to stress over this kinda thing don't you think?
I shan't complain but look on the brighter side of things... that you can actutally plan your timetable! Is this a pro? Hmmm... we shall see...
What I'm worried about though is that I may not be able to cope with school and work. Truth be told, I've never been someone that is prone to scoring As for his exams. Always been very average in my school work. But I think that by adding on work to my life would bring many challenges.
Let's see now... Hmmm... Why do I want to work? Maybe because I do really what to be independent of everyone else, that I can have some financial independence in my life...
But in anyways, I digress...
School is starting soon, and I can't wait to get back to that place... or maybe I'm just so sick with work!
On another note, just caught Amityville with Ling on Saturday night (or was it early Sunday morning)... shock horror show as usual... nothing fantastic... although Ling was all flailing and stuff... Hahahaha...
Take it easy, Keep it real...
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Grad Pics!
And here they are... pics from Ling's graduation that was held about a fortnight ago. Come this time next year, it might be my turn (hopefully!)...
She had a hard time just trying to keep her mortarboard up!
The proud parents... who does she resemble?
I seriously have no idea why Grandma is so grumpy... maybe she is just pining for her hor fun!
The Graduate (sounds like some cheesy reality show on StarTV)
I'm probably just playing it coy...
Take it easy, Keep it real...
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Grouchy!
I don't know why I feel so irritable today. Things just not feeling very right. Maybe it's the late night, or the lack of sleep. Or maybe it's an accumulation of all the things that are unceremoniously dumped on my head.
I think working life (at least this current one) is hectic, and I can understand why there are many who grouse that they work so much that they never seem to have time for the family. But I guess it's more of a question of how much you are willing to give and how far you are willing to go.
For my case, it's more of I am put in a position of envy; where others are envy of my relationship with my boss, yet they suppose that they can take full advantage of me because they know that I wouldn't want to complain about it less I'm accused of nepotism. Shit! I must learn how to say 'NO' in my own capacity.
Damn it! I just spent $55.00 on Quicktime Pro because of my stubborness to use Windows... Damn you Gates! Or maybe it's just an excuse to buy another piece of software that is just so Mac!
Take it easy, Keep it real...
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Bodybuilding.com
The supplements that I've been taking are just awesome! MuscleTech's Pump Tech and BSN's NO Xplode may just be the total package that I needed to get those extra gains.
Why am I so fanatic about working out (I repeat... CARDIO ain't workout!)? Maybe for me, working out is just a way of getting rid of the stress that accumulates within me over the day. Or maybe it's just an outlet for me to express myself. I can't begin to describe the feelings that go through my head whenever I touch a weight. I start to think about the various exercises that can be done just by that simple weight. Maybe to me, it's just a science (those who know this would scoff... since I never was a science person).
But isn't it true? Our human body is so complex that every movement is timed to the precise movement and moment. Beauty in the human body can only be found if we appreciate the mechanics and architecture of it.
Or maybe... I'm just working out to gain her recognition and respect...
My idol and the definition of perfection... Jay Cutler!
Take it easy, Keep it real...
Monday, July 17, 2006
Something off my chest...
The weekend seemed to pass on without much excitement, although I just came to realise that my mom might be favoring my sister a little too much for my good. I never thought about things that way before.
All the while, I just thought that maybe my mom treated us differently because one was older and the other younger. But making a comparison along the same age range, I do realise that there is actually a disparity. And whenever I bring this up as a topic for discussion, I'm met with the same response... 'You can't compare... Times have changed!'
For those that think that I'm jealous of my sister, think again. I can't be more proud of her achievements over the years. She has grown (like a weed, I must add) from a girl to a premature woman right before my eyes. Her accomplishments, be it swimming, music or even academics, have brought pride not just for me, but for the entire family. I think that given the laurels on her head, she SHOULD be rewarded with gifts and such. But not to the extent when I'm on the losing end. Why the hell would she need a $130/- pair of sandals (my mom explained that she needed it because of her flat feet, but I have them too! Does that mean I go around buying expensive slippers when there are cheaper alternatives out there?) Truth be told, we don't belong to the richest family around, and to that, I find it prudent that I should justify why I need to purchase certain things, especially when it's exhorbitantly priced. Which was why I compiled a list of reasons why I had to change my laptop in the first place (I had to pay it myself for your information).
But for my sister, damn! All she has to do is to open her mouth, ask and be given!
Is that the way she should be brought up? Won't this kind of treatment cultivate in her a materialistic mindset, when branded just seems so much better? Would she be used to the delusioned fact that that she is able to get whatever she wants just by asking? Dude! If she grows up that way, I can never love her the way I did when she was younger. If she grows up that way, I don't think I can ever look at her with the same eye ever again, and thus the growing coldness between us. Sometimes, I just dread communicating with her, because the image that forms in my head isn't that of my sister, but someone that is totally alien to me. Someone that I despise. A true life material girl...
And I love her so...
Take it easy, Keep it real...
iMovie!
I hate to say this, but iMovie kinda sucks! It's either that or I really need to learn using it.
Using iMovie to render is easy, but moving and navigating within the menus and functions seems to be more difficult than I thought it would be! Luckily enough, after I hooked it up and using the usual trial and error method, everything now is really a breeze... if you ask me to do anything extra, than maybe you've to wait a little...
But hey! Anything is possible with a Mac!
Take it easy, Keep it real...
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Resourcefulness...
Seeing Ling graduate yesterday at UCC was an experience to remember. But what brings to mind was what the Valedictorian said about 'resourcefulness'.
He claims that being an Arts & Social Sciences student has taught him that. Hmmm... What he probably means is that it affords us the training of using our initiative.
And it's so true. In the faculty, it is immensely difficult to leech of others since most term papers are individual ones and not a team effort. Not too mention your inept lecturers who probably do not know the answers to your questions anyway. Truth being said, even if it was a team effort, there is no guarantee that your team members wouldn't be trying to take advantage of you. I think what he meant was that the faculty teaches us to question boundaries imposed upon us, and with those questions, we are spurred to find avenues to make that change.
This is a very important skill. In every organisation, nothing really happens if everyone just tows the line. You need someone who is bold enough to find problems and loopsholes, and not be afraid to make changes. Everything in this world is questionable. It's those people who dare to question that make a difference.
All in all, a great ceremony (though sitting there for 2hrs to wait for Ling's 5 sec of fame was quite a bother... Hahahahah... Maybe when it comes to my turn, we'll just hold a quasi ceremony in my home.
Take it easy, Keep it real...
Monday, July 10, 2006
Head Butt...
This was probably the dumbest ass thing that Zinedine Zidane has ever done in his soccer career... and to think that it was his last in a French uniform!
Go figure... using your head as a projectile... that's probably why he's bald!
Take it easy, Keep it real...
Yellow Box
I thought about blogging about this for a long time, but never got around to do anything about it. So ladies and gentlemen, here we have it: the public places smoking ban!
I frankly have no issues with the government wanting to clam down on smoking in public areas. Let's face it, who wants to eat with some dumbass blowing smoke into our faces? It'll just leave a bitter taste anyhow. However truth be told, the smoking ban has suddenly just become some witch-hunt to discriminate. Simply put, by marking out boundaries in the local coffeeshops and eating houses, they have effectively managed to brand all smokers as outsiders to the larger society.
Let's not kid ourselves the purpose behind the ban. Isn't it just a covert way of saying: 'Hey kids, look at all these 'things' that are seating within that box. They are all baddies!' How would you like it if we had boxes for all the other minority races? Singapore has come so far in combating against racism and discrimination, yet we are unable to translate that to our social graces.
Some of the smokers that I've spoken to feel rather maligned. They respect the various amounts of money pumped into research that concludes that smoking is all bad and how second hand smoke harms the repiratory system etc etc... However, what they don't understand that even though they have made tremendous effort to blow their smoke away, walking away from the crowd when they smoke, not smoking in front of infants and children, they are still being branded as 'baddies'(this was something actually overheard at a coffeeshop). I'll be the first to admit that this bunch of people are just the minority. Most of the smokers out there don't give two shits about it.
The problem therefore lies with the social graces of the society. Singapore cannot be considered a first class country and state if simple social graces are absent in everyday life. Having a first class economy doesn't translate to first world citizens. I don't see the Japanese government drawing up lines everywhere, marking boundaries for smoking. Yet the people of Japan know their social graces.
If we Singaporeans need a 'yellow-box' to keep us in check, doesn't that say alot about ourselves? Hell... you can draw and demarcate however you want, but if the people do not change, then the entire action of doing it (I must admit, with a goodwill purpose in mind) is useless.
We must educate the general public and inculcate within them the gracious habits and manners of a modern society. And it's only through that can we say that we are first class and world class. No number of boxes can ever give us that.
Take it easy, Keep it real...
Friday, July 07, 2006
Mr Brown Suspended...
For the benefit for those that aren't in the know, Mr Brown is a resident columnist of the Today Newspaper, and he has a reputation for his off the cuff remarks about the Singapore political scene and his ability to convey the grouses of the general public in a light hearted manner. Recently he raised the ire of the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts (MICA) with his article 'S'poreans are fed, up with progress!'(read the article here and MICA's response here).
I guess it'll seem weird to our foreign guests to read of something like that. Probably in Western countries, journalists (I admit Mr Brown isn't exactly a journalist since he describes himself as an accidental author of a popular website that has been documenting the dysfunctional side of Singapore life) are suspended because of some boo-boo that they make whilst reporting, but Mr Brown was probably taken off because of his outspokeness over national issues. Any thoughts?
I can't help but feel responsible for the way Ling is feeling right now. Maybe if I'd shown my support on the onset instead of waiting for everything else to happen, it might have turned out differently. I'm definitely overwhelmed by the basis of her decision; a decision based on the strength of our relationship and nothing else. But seeing her so downcast like affects me as well.
Father, give me the strength to carry Ling as she goes through this difficult patch.
Nothing else can be said that hasn't been said.
May you uplift us as we find Your purpose in all these seemingly unfortunate circumstances.
Lord, we know that You love us, amidst all our ineptness and weaknesses.
Sometimes we misread Your intentions only because of our foolish nature.
May You allow us to grow as we blossom as a couple.
Give us courage to face one another to confront the tests that You've graciously put in front of us everyday.
Teach us humility to accept Your will each and everyday of our lives.
And above all, O Lord, teach us to love one another as You've loved us.
Teach us to invite Your commanded love into our lives. For without You, everything is worthless, and with You, all else become beautiful, just as You've created them.
Ling, just remember that you're never alone, for I'm standing behind you and supporting you every step of the way...
-mbeki-
Take it easy, Keep it real...
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Growing Up Confirmed
I think that I've finally understood what it means to grow up. Many see growing up as a form of transition, a movement from one point to another. Some see growing up as a recognition of your own independence. Either way you see it, it denotes a maturity within the self, where you move from being a selfish individual to one that considers everything and everyone around you. In short, I've stepped out from my skin.
I think what is at issue here is that we must always take the perspective of the other and not be autistic and myopic. Especially so when the person in question is your loved one.
Make your point with love, accept with love, and encourage with love. For this is the Christian way... Everything started becuase of L-O-V-E...
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Eph 5:25)
Take it easy, Keep it real...
