Quote of the day
Low self-esteem can really debase a person to a level which one does not rightly deserve. Let's not shortchange yourself anymore. You deserve the best.
A black-and-white image retrieved from my memory stream saw my French tutor posing an interesting question during one of those tutorials in NUS many years ago - "Why are cars and beer in French feminine and not musculine?"
"Maybe la voiture and la biere sounded more cool than le voiture and le biere", my classmate offered.
After a few non, mais c'est interessant, we were eager to find out the reason behind that professor's playful smile.
Because they make men crazy, he quipped, that smile still plastered.
Yes, they make men crazy. (You must be thinking "Huh!?.. 这样也行?" ..... 是的. 这样也行)
It was a night of cars, beers and women - the mood of F1 racing, the intoxicating beers and the beautiful companions all around in that little jazz bar that seemed almost forgotten by the outside world.... until much later in the evening.
Some went for the cars. Others had a revelry of beers and car feel. Still, the luckiest of it all had all three, particularly if one has a drop too much and relishing the chill of the evening wind but finally ending with waiting in vain for NR7.
But this too, will soon pass...
And so that evening of the 27th Sept 2008, the curtains came down in the usual fashion of a great play, concluding the magical moments of the evening that had transpired. Where what had been savoured that evening, only in one's dreams can they be revived...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Chinese Literature
小小词典 (Little little dictionary)
绝世: (verb) to cause the end of the world
美女: (noun) a beauty
Hence 绝世美女: the woman who causes the end of the world
黄蓉 (born in 1203, died January 31, 1273) is also a 绝世美女.
For the uninitiated, she is a fictitious character in 金庸's The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传), and is the the witty wife of 郭靖.
She is my most favourite character in Condor, and the reasons why this 美女 is so 绝世 are:
(1) A marvellously witty woman who uses her intelligence to support the man she loves - 郭靖.
When I was in primary school and reading Young Generation magazine, there was a story featuring a simple-minded fellow. He wanted to be intelligent, and was told to go to the mountains where he would meet a wise woman who would tell him where to get his brains. When he finally reached there, the old woman introduced him to a wonderfully kind-hearted and smart woman (who could be called a 绝世美女 in her own rights). Immediately, he saw it - marry a smart wife and you will be smart - (wonderfully meaningful even though I was a kid when I read this). So 郭靖 is lucky to have 黄蓉 who gives him advice in his darkest need and they always escape unscathed.
(2) 黄蓉 has strong 正义-ness. Which was why she was so endearing to 東邪 西毒 南帝 北丐 中神通. Despite her stoic feel, she sheds tears (e.g. when Hong Qi gong was injured) on occassions, and this reveals her woman-ness in her... her fragility yet her determination to overcome all odds (well, she found a clam that healed Hong Qigong) - simply charming.
(3) 黄蓉 is adept in 打狗棒法, and despite she being the first woman beggar leader in the beggar sect, she wouldn't mind running against conventions.
(4) 黄蓉 is super chio... at least in the eyes of both 郭靖 and the obnoxious 楊康 who wanted to taste the swan's flesh. But it may be aptly said that 楊康 learnt some 哈蟆功 from 歐陽鋒, so he is a quientessential 癞哈蟆 (sorry lame here)...
绝世: (verb) to cause the end of the world
美女: (noun) a beauty
Hence 绝世美女: the woman who causes the end of the world
黄蓉 (born in 1203, died January 31, 1273) is also a 绝世美女.
For the uninitiated, she is a fictitious character in 金庸's The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传), and is the the witty wife of 郭靖.
She is my most favourite character in Condor, and the reasons why this 美女 is so 绝世 are:
(1) A marvellously witty woman who uses her intelligence to support the man she loves - 郭靖.
When I was in primary school and reading Young Generation magazine, there was a story featuring a simple-minded fellow. He wanted to be intelligent, and was told to go to the mountains where he would meet a wise woman who would tell him where to get his brains. When he finally reached there, the old woman introduced him to a wonderfully kind-hearted and smart woman (who could be called a 绝世美女 in her own rights). Immediately, he saw it - marry a smart wife and you will be smart - (wonderfully meaningful even though I was a kid when I read this). So 郭靖 is lucky to have 黄蓉 who gives him advice in his darkest need and they always escape unscathed.
(2) 黄蓉 has strong 正义-ness. Which was why she was so endearing to 東邪 西毒 南帝 北丐 中神通. Despite her stoic feel, she sheds tears (e.g. when Hong Qi gong was injured) on occassions, and this reveals her woman-ness in her... her fragility yet her determination to overcome all odds (well, she found a clam that healed Hong Qigong) - simply charming.
(3) 黄蓉 is adept in 打狗棒法, and despite she being the first woman beggar leader in the beggar sect, she wouldn't mind running against conventions.
(4) 黄蓉 is super chio... at least in the eyes of both 郭靖 and the obnoxious 楊康 who wanted to taste the swan's flesh. But it may be aptly said that 楊康 learnt some 哈蟆功 from 歐陽鋒, so he is a quientessential 癞哈蟆 (sorry lame here)...
To 靖哥哥, she's his 蓉儿...
Wonder if 蓉儿 will travel from Tampines to Joo Chiat to buy durian puffs, then to Boon Lay for 靖哥哥??
I have to ask 靖哥哥 to see if he is lucky enough! This lucky bugger!!!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Mamma Mia! The Movie - Money, Money, Money
Quote of the Day
"If my ideal girfriend is 100%, then she is 200%."
This song rocks! You should watch the movie and see the fantasies accompanying this song!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Mama-Miaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....
Quote of the Day
"You don't really have to apologize if you lead me to the wrong way. Right or wrong way, I am spending precious moments with you. To me this is all that matters."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Terrific! Mama mia has been a play which I have wanted to watch but the price tag of the seat seemed too prohibitive... at least that was the situation many years ago as an undergrad. Thus when the movie came out, it sent me on the high. But the evening and accompanying confabulations at AMK Hub with SL LLG ended rather late for us to watch it by the time we realise it was on screen. So that was a no go.
Almost like a blessing in disguise, Sharapova asked if I would be the beholder of a second free ticket. Had one dangle a piece of juicy meat over a starving bulldog, one would get the same reaction that I exhibited... only difference is that I don't bark. I merely bit meekly, but tightly... as the opportunity came.
The ABBA music in Mama Mia blew my mind. Chic, classy and cool.
On the same day, Sha gave me a book by Nicolas Spark - The Rescue. Since then, I have been swallowing it in my bus ride, train ride and idling thing. Painfully protracted in some scenes, the reader is rewarded with breathtaking relief towards the end.
Thanks Sha.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Sing to the dawn
The computer screen revealed what I was looking for, and a smile came over my face.
"Slack like shit", I mused. "That's precisely why the words slack and shit begin with the letter S."
There were those occassions when I groaned under the towering weight of assignments in Semester 1, only to reap the profits later in this semester. Classes were so obscenely minimal that strangely, you just felt somewhat derisive of the whole thing.
But sing to the dawn it gave, for this opens a whole new world of possibilities with what I could do with all these free time. Naturally, gunning a driving license came to my mind.
Going out with friends also become a more easier affair, with BBQs, lunch and steamboat dotting my calender. Careful to watch the waist, cardio exercising is also dovetailed into my schedule.
Alas, "all these would soon pass", and to cite one of the timepiece advertisement, "不在乎天长地久,只在乎曾经拥有". Once the real working starts next year, all these good times would be a footnote to my life history.
"Slack like shit", I mused. "That's precisely why the words slack and shit begin with the letter S."
There were those occassions when I groaned under the towering weight of assignments in Semester 1, only to reap the profits later in this semester. Classes were so obscenely minimal that strangely, you just felt somewhat derisive of the whole thing.
But sing to the dawn it gave, for this opens a whole new world of possibilities with what I could do with all these free time. Naturally, gunning a driving license came to my mind.
Going out with friends also become a more easier affair, with BBQs, lunch and steamboat dotting my calender. Careful to watch the waist, cardio exercising is also dovetailed into my schedule.
Alas, "all these would soon pass", and to cite one of the timepiece advertisement, "不在乎天长地久,只在乎曾经拥有". Once the real working starts next year, all these good times would be a footnote to my life history.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Mindless
The working world with its worth of exotica and discovery never fails to impress me with how much financial freedom it would confer to its participants. Having flirted with penury just last year with the bank breaking to pay for quite a few large ticket items, I had resolved to fattening my piggy bank the moment i started work this year. And save I did, and plans for a holiday this December seems to be impending.
For some strange reasons of sort, I felt wildly disorientated.... And I shall attribute it to the one week long school break that had seen the fully stretched elastic rubber being loosened almost too abruptly - I had a few mad weeks of dissertation writing and evening exams to take in concurrent with my teaching stint... with my workload dropping off a precipice at the end of August when all deadlines have been duely met... and culminating in teacher's day celebration and this proverbial one week break.
And perhaps that is because during those mayhem days, I had really intended to meet up with all friends and sms-ing them to say "hey bud, long time no meet. How's life. Hope all's well... and let's meet up sometime in Sept yah. Take care and cheers!".. giving the reasons that once the storm is over, I will be ready to meet them up over a meal for catching up to see how each others' careers, love lives, plans have taken to...
....and then I shudder to think that mine has been almost as stagnant, bland and insipid for the past few months with no news to gush forth, and almost fearful to hear that this friend is expecting and ready to become a first-time Dad/Mum, or that friend has just completed his scholarship bond and is manumited. I am just not ready for all that... I just felt I am what I was a year ago, save with a few extra pounds in my piggy bank. Nothing... absolutely nothing had moved forward. I have become rather predictable.
A breeze of bewilderment came over me. Sure, I have the financial might to pick out the IKEA furniture I fancy on with SL LLG to adorn my aesthetically-overdued bedroom... and I do savour the delectable meals at places I barely frequent, but for some reason not ready to take on the adult world by storm and confront all the responsibilities and customs expected of a typical Singapore urban male.
But I have to.
In a free tarot card reading session offered as a prelude to dinner last Thursday, I dismissed the part about what the cards say about my romantic path, but concur almost with no doubt what came out in the cards for other respects.. particularly of my plan when I hit the golden age of 30. The reader summed it all up neatly - While "this" is your comfort zone, better deals beckon. Go for it as you have always believed."
A smile came over my face. But underneath, a torrent of thoughts came forth. In probability theory, one would always assign a probability to each life event. If A happens with this probability, plan B might be shelved, and what happens after plan A is plan C and plan D. But how hard should I pray for plan A to happen if I do cherish plan B as much, but which I know plan C and D are equally important? But I was quickly reminded that this is tarot card reading after all, and as The Leap Years put it quoting William Shakespear, "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves", I remain... somewhat optimistic, albeit in a subdued manner.
For some strange reasons of sort, I felt wildly disorientated.... And I shall attribute it to the one week long school break that had seen the fully stretched elastic rubber being loosened almost too abruptly - I had a few mad weeks of dissertation writing and evening exams to take in concurrent with my teaching stint... with my workload dropping off a precipice at the end of August when all deadlines have been duely met... and culminating in teacher's day celebration and this proverbial one week break.
And perhaps that is because during those mayhem days, I had really intended to meet up with all friends and sms-ing them to say "hey bud, long time no meet. How's life. Hope all's well... and let's meet up sometime in Sept yah. Take care and cheers!".. giving the reasons that once the storm is over, I will be ready to meet them up over a meal for catching up to see how each others' careers, love lives, plans have taken to...
....and then I shudder to think that mine has been almost as stagnant, bland and insipid for the past few months with no news to gush forth, and almost fearful to hear that this friend is expecting and ready to become a first-time Dad/Mum, or that friend has just completed his scholarship bond and is manumited. I am just not ready for all that... I just felt I am what I was a year ago, save with a few extra pounds in my piggy bank. Nothing... absolutely nothing had moved forward. I have become rather predictable.
A breeze of bewilderment came over me. Sure, I have the financial might to pick out the IKEA furniture I fancy on with SL LLG to adorn my aesthetically-overdued bedroom... and I do savour the delectable meals at places I barely frequent, but for some reason not ready to take on the adult world by storm and confront all the responsibilities and customs expected of a typical Singapore urban male.
But I have to.
In a free tarot card reading session offered as a prelude to dinner last Thursday, I dismissed the part about what the cards say about my romantic path, but concur almost with no doubt what came out in the cards for other respects.. particularly of my plan when I hit the golden age of 30. The reader summed it all up neatly - While "this" is your comfort zone, better deals beckon. Go for it as you have always believed."
A smile came over my face. But underneath, a torrent of thoughts came forth. In probability theory, one would always assign a probability to each life event. If A happens with this probability, plan B might be shelved, and what happens after plan A is plan C and plan D. But how hard should I pray for plan A to happen if I do cherish plan B as much, but which I know plan C and D are equally important? But I was quickly reminded that this is tarot card reading after all, and as The Leap Years put it quoting William Shakespear, "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves", I remain... somewhat optimistic, albeit in a subdued manner.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A chapter has closed. Another one opens.
Last weekend sent a torrent of emotions - from maudlin to relief to forward-loooking and to nostalgia. For last Friday officially marked the last day of practicum in school. What can be more befitting to celebrate this occassion than having a wonderful teachers' day dinner on Thursday evening with colleagues as a school function, with the day only duly completed when some of us chilled out till wee hours of the night at IndoChine near Clarke Quay.
The following day was hardly any less eventful. After all, it's that judgment day for teachers - either rose or rues. It's that day among that 365 days where teachers sit to watch concerts, receive compliments (or don't receive) them and reminisce how the past few months have been. It was the same day that I had to lugged my goodie bags in the fashion of a slimmed and healthy albeit equally ruddy Santa Clause to my four classes, doling out my farewell gifts to them and made.. what else a farewell speech.
Equally well received with lots of gratitude were gifts and cards from my erstwhile students. What made them special was that they encapsulate both gratitutes (as teachers' day presents the opportunity) and farewells... with languages only reserved for those last days.
So merciful was the one week holiday that I had the time to read the messages they had left for me, and to do some pigging out of what has long been overdued. Below, I was feted to a wonderfully fashioned cupcake given to me by a Sec 1 kid until I realised I should take a shot of it. With a little bit of imagination, recreating the cupcake in your mind's eye should not be too difficult
Of course, I'm also paying tribute to those students who have given me some encouragement in my teaching stint, either through asking questions or just a wonderful smile along the corridor.
I said the holiday was a gratefully received one because the following Saturday I had to wake up in the early morning for a durian tour in JB! Being an absolute die-hard durian fan, no fatigue can stop me from this escapade to taste one of wonderful God's creations on earth - the spiky art of nature that mellows your heart when you finally manage to crack open it and savour its greatness.. Ahhhhh.... Seems like for the first human who came across this this durian, the tenacity to find flesh of treasures inside certainly pays off!
Indeed it didn't disappoint. Thus was my resolve that was made that I shall make this yearly pilmigrage to the durian plantation in JB... and stopping for a Thai body massage at Jusco shopping centre later!
To quote Great Eastern - Life is Great!
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