My car broke down earlier.
The battery went flat and the car wouldn't crank to life. Peacefully and calmly, I called up the servicing agents - they said they'll come within half an hour and they did. A new battery was plonked in and I was on my way.
That's how we should handle all problems in life really - peacefully, calmly: take it on. Help and solutions will turn situations around and you'll be on your way.
Enroute, one faces traffic congestion. One faces careless drivers who have no regard for your safety. There will be green lights, red lights and to make decision making challenging; amber lights. There will be signs telling you what you should do, what you must do. There may be strangers who give you unqualified directions. Roads can be bumpy, roads can be rocky... sometimes traffic can be so smooth you can't believe your luck.
That's pretty much how living is like.
Today I inch another year forward in my journey of life - I'm pretty satisfied with what I'm doing. Of course there are decisions I wish I hadn't made, things I wish I didn't do and people I wish I never met. Nay... but, I cannot eliminate all misfortune in daily living, neither is it in my agenda to do so. I believe in integration and embrace. But on the whole, I'm pretty pleased. And I look forward to more good years ahead, more good years to spend much more good time with all of you, and you :)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Aggravation, what a motivation!
An interesting thing happened at my Remedial Training earlier. During one of the 400m interval runs, the instructor challenged us: If you can make this round in 1min 40 seconds, we'll end your training early.
I made the 400m round in one minute flat.
Previously, they had similar challenges: be the first 15 to return. I ran in third.
Once upon a time, in Primary 5, my Chinese language teacher said I could never, ever pass my Chinese no matter how hard I tried. I scored Bs. (comparatively, I always flunk badly...in the F regions).
Before I went to London, Edmund said I'd never survive there...and that I'd return in a few weeks. I spent a few years away.
The thrill of beating a challenge and proving someone wrong creates a fine environment for me to be at my most productive. Now, all I need to do is to find out how to re-create this in my everyday work.
I made the 400m round in one minute flat.
Previously, they had similar challenges: be the first 15 to return. I ran in third.
Once upon a time, in Primary 5, my Chinese language teacher said I could never, ever pass my Chinese no matter how hard I tried. I scored Bs. (comparatively, I always flunk badly...in the F regions).
Before I went to London, Edmund said I'd never survive there...and that I'd return in a few weeks. I spent a few years away.
The thrill of beating a challenge and proving someone wrong creates a fine environment for me to be at my most productive. Now, all I need to do is to find out how to re-create this in my everyday work.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
When I Ruled the World
"Once you were gone, there was never an honest word..."
So halfway through the raspberry, Edmund came by and woosh, we were off to have a drink.
So halfway through this drink, this song played, and I listened.
So halfway through this listening, I felt a little sad, for reasons I can't explain.
And halfway through feeling sad, we went home in preparation for another day.
And life goes on... until it stops, halfway.
"People couldn't believe what I'd become, Revolutionaries wait, For my head on a silver plate, Just a puppet on a lonely string..."
7.30pm: East Coast Park, Starbucks
The writer takes a bite off his raspberry brulee cheesecake... mmmm....
This is how every Saturday evening should be - creamy, savory and with a hint of cheese. I've been looking forward to this quite evening for a long time now. As I sit here in Starbucks, East Coast Park, I thought about my KFC dinner earlier and contrasted it with the Remedial Training I had about an hour before that.
Remedial Training my dear friends, is what we Singaporean men have to go through should we fail our Individual Physical Proficiency Test (or lovingly called "IPPT" for short). Depending on your age, an IPPT test consists of meeting 13 mins in a 2.4 km run, snuffing 40 sit ups in a minute, polishing off 5 pull-ups, sprinting 100m in 9 seconds and clearing a 180cm jump (or thereabouts). Should you fail to achieve this, you receive 20 sessions of Remedial Training (or RT for short). An RT session lasts about an hour and a half, and the festivities almost always include a bout of running and two bouts of static training. You're paid a daily allowance for coming down and, well...it sure beats paying for gym membership.
I'll let you in on a secret: I love to eavesdrop on the little conversations that my fellow soldiers have. Once I heard two chaps who (probably) also are going for Japanese language lessons, I hung around them trying hard not to laugh too hard when they started translating exercise commands into Jap.
But almost always, you're guaranteed that someone will be bitching about RT. "Aiyah, f**ing waste time leh!" would be one of the more gentle remarks you hear. Man, I totally agree. I try to convince myself that I need this exercise, usually that makes me feel better. And all I need to do to convince myself further, is palm my hands around my tummy. Oh yeah, that my friend, is the ultimate motivator.
I'll share with you some dark things from my life: I was an obese kid. Shhh... yes... today, my waistline is about 33 inches. Up until I was 13 years old, my tummy was also that size. I've always kept my size/weight in check up until before I left for London, when I arrived in England, I measured 36 inches and my cheeks look like a hamster who's keeping food in his mouth. However, I was not one to sit around to complain. I chanced upon this magazine insert sponsored by this company called "MaxiMuscle". Boy, that was a life changer (ok, waist changer). I learnt little tricks about how to keep fat intake to less than 15 grams a day, put myself on a 4 times a week exercise regime and went for little jogs even in the deepest of winter. The squirrels living outside my room looked curiously inside as I huffed and puffed and jumped and groaned on my workouts. My housemate in the next room wasn't amused.
In China, I continued my running. Worried that breathing in too much industrial pollution would cause my lungs to evolve, I kept up my regime on the treadmill.
So I ran and I ran...but I still cannot, for f**%s sakes pass my IPPT!During my last test, I failed my 2.4km timing by 30 seconds! As I wobbled my way back to the car, I was so infuriated I could have set a bomb at the test center. My friend, you won't know how sad it feels when you're getting gold standard for every other station only to walk away a failure 30 seconds too late :(
Now, your dearest writer sips his coffee and munches on raspberry brulee cheesecake. The window for my IPPT will open once again, will I pass it? Will I not? We shall see...
This is how every Saturday evening should be - creamy, savory and with a hint of cheese. I've been looking forward to this quite evening for a long time now. As I sit here in Starbucks, East Coast Park, I thought about my KFC dinner earlier and contrasted it with the Remedial Training I had about an hour before that.
Remedial Training my dear friends, is what we Singaporean men have to go through should we fail our Individual Physical Proficiency Test (or lovingly called "IPPT" for short). Depending on your age, an IPPT test consists of meeting 13 mins in a 2.4 km run, snuffing 40 sit ups in a minute, polishing off 5 pull-ups, sprinting 100m in 9 seconds and clearing a 180cm jump (or thereabouts). Should you fail to achieve this, you receive 20 sessions of Remedial Training (or RT for short). An RT session lasts about an hour and a half, and the festivities almost always include a bout of running and two bouts of static training. You're paid a daily allowance for coming down and, well...it sure beats paying for gym membership.
I'll let you in on a secret: I love to eavesdrop on the little conversations that my fellow soldiers have. Once I heard two chaps who (probably) also are going for Japanese language lessons, I hung around them trying hard not to laugh too hard when they started translating exercise commands into Jap.
But almost always, you're guaranteed that someone will be bitching about RT. "Aiyah, f**ing waste time leh!" would be one of the more gentle remarks you hear. Man, I totally agree. I try to convince myself that I need this exercise, usually that makes me feel better. And all I need to do to convince myself further, is palm my hands around my tummy. Oh yeah, that my friend, is the ultimate motivator.
I'll share with you some dark things from my life: I was an obese kid. Shhh... yes... today, my waistline is about 33 inches. Up until I was 13 years old, my tummy was also that size. I've always kept my size/weight in check up until before I left for London, when I arrived in England, I measured 36 inches and my cheeks look like a hamster who's keeping food in his mouth. However, I was not one to sit around to complain. I chanced upon this magazine insert sponsored by this company called "MaxiMuscle". Boy, that was a life changer (ok, waist changer). I learnt little tricks about how to keep fat intake to less than 15 grams a day, put myself on a 4 times a week exercise regime and went for little jogs even in the deepest of winter. The squirrels living outside my room looked curiously inside as I huffed and puffed and jumped and groaned on my workouts. My housemate in the next room wasn't amused.
In China, I continued my running. Worried that breathing in too much industrial pollution would cause my lungs to evolve, I kept up my regime on the treadmill.
So I ran and I ran...but I still cannot, for f**%s sakes pass my IPPT!During my last test, I failed my 2.4km timing by 30 seconds! As I wobbled my way back to the car, I was so infuriated I could have set a bomb at the test center. My friend, you won't know how sad it feels when you're getting gold standard for every other station only to walk away a failure 30 seconds too late :(
Now, your dearest writer sips his coffee and munches on raspberry brulee cheesecake. The window for my IPPT will open once again, will I pass it? Will I not? We shall see...
Sleep Debt
The past few weeks have been excruciatingly intense. Many, many long meetings led to late nights. Which in turn led to lack of sleep. What made it worse was I succumbed to peer pressure and stuck and smoked up a few sticks of ciggies. Not wise. Today, is a Saturday and it was fantastic opportunity to pay back some sleep debt, load up on fiber, go for a long-over due run and catch up with books. Maybe catching up with books at a nice quiet cafe will be good, we'll see how things go.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Quick thoughts before lunch....
I've spent some time
thinking about whether or not to open up this blog to public again. I
started this when I was 24 - which is a good many years ago from today.
I'm a slightly different person from who I was then, but it wasn't until
I read through the posts that I realized how little of me has
changed. There are core principles and desires that remain latent
throughout our lives and because of our environment and experiences, we
continue to shape into another form.
It was good to read some of my old writings, though some were written in moments of hot anger, some were downright embarrassing and some had all the trademarks of a young, haughty, arrogant and idealistic boy. All this reminded me of who I was, what I wanted and to stay on track with these things.
It was good to read some of my old writings, though some were written in moments of hot anger, some were downright embarrassing and some had all the trademarks of a young, haughty, arrogant and idealistic boy. All this reminded me of who I was, what I wanted and to stay on track with these things.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
thoughts thoughts thoughts.....
you can buy clothes,
but you can't buy style.
you can buy food, art, music,
but you can't buy taste and skill.
you can own the biggest house,
but you need to nurture a home.
you can buy gym equipment,
but you can't buy discipline.
you can buy slimming tea,
but you can't buy self-control.
Friday, November 05, 2010
Cyndi's reply.
I thought it would be interesting to post a reply from a Singaporean living in the UK.
"I like this piece and I agree that not all systems used in the preferred Western countries can be applied to Singapore. Lots of us don't have the mental capacity even if Mr Lee cho...oses to dish out freedom of speech tomorrow!
There may be lack of benefits in Singapore, but looking at the benefits system in the UK, I feel it is not a bad thing. In the UK, you see complacency and expection from the government. There is no responsibility for oneself or your loved ones. In reality, benefits and healthcare system works well when you are claiming for it genuinely. But in the face of an economic crisis, when there are fingers pointing in all directions, from cutting benefits, to cutting medical staff, to cutting transport budgets (when winter and ice are coming), you realise how fragile this system is. This dependent system who relies on the government for a lot of things is suddenly weak on its feet. This country who has overspent for the last few decades is frantically trying to claw back money from every department now.
What works well in Singapore, is puzzling to many in the West and even came to the attention of the UN. You can give Singapore the freedom of speech, but I feel what it is lacking now is real passion and eloquency. It is full of whinging people. But hey, people always have something to complain about. Lived and worked in a few countries and my conclusion is, there is no greener grass anywhere. Yet. It is all our state of mind.
A lot of countries don't provide benefits or freedom of speech. They grow citizens of strength. Just look at our parents and grandparents. They came from nothing and worked surely and quietly, content with their environment. It didn't hurt them or their children. Look at us now, a picture of discontent and lost."
"I like this piece and I agree that not all systems used in the preferred Western countries can be applied to Singapore. Lots of us don't have the mental capacity even if Mr Lee cho...oses to dish out freedom of speech tomorrow!
There may be lack of benefits in Singapore, but looking at the benefits system in the UK, I feel it is not a bad thing. In the UK, you see complacency and expection from the government. There is no responsibility for oneself or your loved ones. In reality, benefits and healthcare system works well when you are claiming for it genuinely. But in the face of an economic crisis, when there are fingers pointing in all directions, from cutting benefits, to cutting medical staff, to cutting transport budgets (when winter and ice are coming), you realise how fragile this system is. This dependent system who relies on the government for a lot of things is suddenly weak on its feet. This country who has overspent for the last few decades is frantically trying to claw back money from every department now.
What works well in Singapore, is puzzling to many in the West and even came to the attention of the UN. You can give Singapore the freedom of speech, but I feel what it is lacking now is real passion and eloquency. It is full of whinging people. But hey, people always have something to complain about. Lived and worked in a few countries and my conclusion is, there is no greener grass anywhere. Yet. It is all our state of mind.
A lot of countries don't provide benefits or freedom of speech. They grow citizens of strength. Just look at our parents and grandparents. They came from nothing and worked surely and quietly, content with their environment. It didn't hurt them or their children. Look at us now, a picture of discontent and lost."
Sunday, September 05, 2010
So I haven't spoke in a while eh?
Ha, ha.... finally! I speak!
Here's an update so far: I've just cleaned up the studio, disinfected the floor and mothballed the entire place and sealed up the holes where the mice come in from. There will be no more rodents from today!
The old shop houses in Orchard are built during the 1915s, definitely prewar and the mice have had a good hundred years to reproduce and find little nooks and crannies for themselves. But after today, they will leave unit 20 Emerald Hill alone.
The studio now must look good for our clients and for me to show my work to potential collectors.
The studio has a few purposes now: on the one hand, we operate a creative agency that does wonders for the commercial world and on the other hand, I create the philosophical stuff for my collectors!
More on that later, for now, i'm just happy to be writing in this blog again!
(and if I stop updating, could one of you please just remind me? :D
Here's an update so far: I've just cleaned up the studio, disinfected the floor and mothballed the entire place and sealed up the holes where the mice come in from. There will be no more rodents from today!
The old shop houses in Orchard are built during the 1915s, definitely prewar and the mice have had a good hundred years to reproduce and find little nooks and crannies for themselves. But after today, they will leave unit 20 Emerald Hill alone.
The studio now must look good for our clients and for me to show my work to potential collectors.
The studio has a few purposes now: on the one hand, we operate a creative agency that does wonders for the commercial world and on the other hand, I create the philosophical stuff for my collectors!
More on that later, for now, i'm just happy to be writing in this blog again!
(and if I stop updating, could one of you please just remind me? :D
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Blackbird won't fly today...
dear oh dear... the first mainstage play of the year and it's to be postponed.
When i first read the script for Blackbird, i had serious trouble imagining the sequence of dialogue. It's hard, intense and very, very angry. Thus to see the play actually being done and how the actors worked the characters was of great interest to me. Although i haven't actually seen any of the rehearsals or sat for the reading, i could hear Emma and Patrick rehearsing and there's only one way to describe it: emotionally draining.
Turns out that Patrick had to leave the production a week before it's opening. Here's what he has to say: "“As a professional actor, this has been the most challenging role I have ever taken on. The dream role for many actors is to eventually play Hamlet at least once in their career, because of its complexity. Blackbird has the potential to achieve that kind of appeal for an actor. I am sure audiences will appreciate and enjoy this as well once they’ve seen the play,” says actor Patrick Teoh, adding “I am hugely disappointed in myself that I could not deliver a performance that would do both the show and SRT proud. I appreciate all that SRT has done to help me and feel bad for letting SRT down.”
Well, if the role is that difficult to do, I'm all the more curious how the production is going to look like in it's entirety.
The replacement for Patrick's role is very, very exciting - damn, i wish i could share some gossip here, but i have sworn a solemn oath over chicken blood and on pain of death by ping pong ball not to divulge industrial secrets (or spark off global rumors). You will find out in due time!
Meanwhile, i'm looking forward to Emma's next production in "A Singaporean in Paris"!
When i first read the script for Blackbird, i had serious trouble imagining the sequence of dialogue. It's hard, intense and very, very angry. Thus to see the play actually being done and how the actors worked the characters was of great interest to me. Although i haven't actually seen any of the rehearsals or sat for the reading, i could hear Emma and Patrick rehearsing and there's only one way to describe it: emotionally draining.
Turns out that Patrick had to leave the production a week before it's opening. Here's what he has to say: "“As a professional actor, this has been the most challenging role I have ever taken on. The dream role for many actors is to eventually play Hamlet at least once in their career, because of its complexity. Blackbird has the potential to achieve that kind of appeal for an actor. I am sure audiences will appreciate and enjoy this as well once they’ve seen the play,” says actor Patrick Teoh, adding “I am hugely disappointed in myself that I could not deliver a performance that would do both the show and SRT proud. I appreciate all that SRT has done to help me and feel bad for letting SRT down.”
Well, if the role is that difficult to do, I'm all the more curious how the production is going to look like in it's entirety.
The replacement for Patrick's role is very, very exciting - damn, i wish i could share some gossip here, but i have sworn a solemn oath over chicken blood and on pain of death by ping pong ball not to divulge industrial secrets (or spark off global rumors). You will find out in due time!
Meanwhile, i'm looking forward to Emma's next production in "A Singaporean in Paris"!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Work in progress...
Sometime ago, inspired by wild and funky coiffure in glossy magazines that I was researching on, I decided to start a series on Mad Hairstyles. This is an unfinished work:
I ran into some problems shortly. Problems largely to do with proportions of the human head. Although these are not realistic renderings, there is still some challenge in getting the measurements correct. Today, although my skill in anatomy still hasn't improved much, i'm at least moderately pleased with what I have been developing. Thus, I'm continuing my work on my series of Mad Hairstyles.
Mad Hairstyles is also a foray into two interesting skills I'm studying: texturing and experimental colour combination. With influence from the world of vector rendering (I work a lot with Illustrator on the computer), I'm creating these pieces almost as if they were objects on the digital screen.
Well, good luck to me and I hope to present you the complete series soon!
I ran into some problems shortly. Problems largely to do with proportions of the human head. Although these are not realistic renderings, there is still some challenge in getting the measurements correct. Today, although my skill in anatomy still hasn't improved much, i'm at least moderately pleased with what I have been developing. Thus, I'm continuing my work on my series of Mad Hairstyles.
Mad Hairstyles is also a foray into two interesting skills I'm studying: texturing and experimental colour combination. With influence from the world of vector rendering (I work a lot with Illustrator on the computer), I'm creating these pieces almost as if they were objects on the digital screen.
Well, good luck to me and I hope to present you the complete series soon!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Contemporary Chinese Art
Was at an art gallery the night before and had an interesting chat with the gallery manager and an artist. The gallery carried works largely by Chinese artists and I just had to raise the subject that all their themes are by and large, the same: capitalism and mao. I think in the distant future, art historians will look back on this movement and call it "China-ism" - a period of time where Chinese artists either condemn or celebrate their newly found wealth and the proliferation of Mao.
Like many of the great movements of the past, in the West, artists of diverse skills and calibre have come to document the state of society around them. The Dadaists repulsed war. The Futurists were bullish about technology. Today, Chinese artists by their shear influence of each other have come to document what is happening to them immediately: China has become a get-rich-fast society, a society where you build up power and forget about everyone else.
Sexy women in seductive poses, posed with capitalist luxury goods. Medieval body armor pasted with dollar bills. Dark and ominous landscapes filled with luxury goods.
Look at these pieces by Feng Zheng Jie's famous wonky eyed women:
Disturbing aren't they? But at the same time his work try to capture the beauty of a good looking woman. What is he trying to say? Various interpretations, but there is a Chinese phrase that goes "Dong Jiang Xi Wang" - loosely translated this says, "the eyes look both east and west". In normal circumstance, it describes a person who's looking around for something. In this context, it can mean that a person is scanning her environment, scrutinizing the men, itching for a chance at seducing some wealth. (I'm not saying that this IS the interpretation, but it's a suggestion).
There is lot's to say about this new "China-ism". As yet, it's still very early in the movement (if there's a movement at all). But if you're a collector or investor, I'd say it's worth your money - as I believe that sometime in the future, art historians will recognize this as a period of time that's important to art history.
Like many of the great movements of the past, in the West, artists of diverse skills and calibre have come to document the state of society around them. The Dadaists repulsed war. The Futurists were bullish about technology. Today, Chinese artists by their shear influence of each other have come to document what is happening to them immediately: China has become a get-rich-fast society, a society where you build up power and forget about everyone else.
Sexy women in seductive poses, posed with capitalist luxury goods. Medieval body armor pasted with dollar bills. Dark and ominous landscapes filled with luxury goods.
Look at these pieces by Feng Zheng Jie's famous wonky eyed women:
Disturbing aren't they? But at the same time his work try to capture the beauty of a good looking woman. What is he trying to say? Various interpretations, but there is a Chinese phrase that goes "Dong Jiang Xi Wang" - loosely translated this says, "the eyes look both east and west". In normal circumstance, it describes a person who's looking around for something. In this context, it can mean that a person is scanning her environment, scrutinizing the men, itching for a chance at seducing some wealth. (I'm not saying that this IS the interpretation, but it's a suggestion).
There is lot's to say about this new "China-ism". As yet, it's still very early in the movement (if there's a movement at all). But if you're a collector or investor, I'd say it's worth your money - as I believe that sometime in the future, art historians will recognize this as a period of time that's important to art history.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Room On The Broom!
I've just caught Room On The Broom last weekend. A really delightful piece - puppets are brought to life, catchy music and a innocently silly story.
Witch goes for a ride with her cat to slay the dragon, witch picks up some friends along the way, cat get's jealous of her new friends, disaster strikes, cat saves the day, everyone lives happily ever after.
What really impressed me was how they simulated flying on a broomstick, tossing and turning through the air, landing and taking off...without the luxury of special effects and mechanisms! The actors looked like they were having so much fun jumping, wooshing and dancing for an hour!
I haven't seen a lot of children's theatre (although I'm sure my job will introduce me to a lot more), but there is one interesting observable difference in the behaviour between children and adults.
There were a couple of scenes where the actors were looking up in blank space, in the void behind us. Being adults, we know that they were just simulating a scene where they see a witch flying through the sky. But the kids... they all turned around in such earnest and the little gullibles actually thought there was something flying behind us!
Such is the mind of child... malleable and will believe everything you tell them. I have heard that the minds of children are not able to tell the difference between fact and fiction and as yet they are still incapable of independent thought. Sometimes it pains me to learn that the children we have are undergoing such a low quality of education faced in our schools and kindergartens. Let’s face it: the teachers in PAP kindergartens and public schools aren’t what you would call “excellent communicators”. Granted, the syllabus has been tried, tested and replicated with success: no problem with that. But in such a public environment, you don’t know the ideologies, beliefs and culture the teachers are unknowingly spreading to your child. Imagine dragging a piece of tissue across a seemingly clean desk.
It’s observable – look at the behaviour of children between public and private schools, now tell me that there isn’t a difference. Quality of education equals quality in communication. I am ashamed to admit that most of the teachers I have encountered in my life had such a poor command of linguistic skills. They don’t teach kids to stand-up for what they believe in, they don’t teach them to speak-up for their own defence, they teach them to avoid conflict, they teach them to shy away, they teach them, especially, to do as their told and not to question authority. You may think that it’s easier to manage them then, but give them a few years when they gain independent thinking, you loose all their respect. We’re raising generation after generation of sheep. Sheep who lead miserably mediocre lives and do nothing to contribute to the progress of culture, nation and human-kind.
So yes, Room On The Broom – lovely production, it’s over now in Singapore but do catch it if it comes back again!
Witch goes for a ride with her cat to slay the dragon, witch picks up some friends along the way, cat get's jealous of her new friends, disaster strikes, cat saves the day, everyone lives happily ever after.
What really impressed me was how they simulated flying on a broomstick, tossing and turning through the air, landing and taking off...without the luxury of special effects and mechanisms! The actors looked like they were having so much fun jumping, wooshing and dancing for an hour!
I haven't seen a lot of children's theatre (although I'm sure my job will introduce me to a lot more), but there is one interesting observable difference in the behaviour between children and adults.
There were a couple of scenes where the actors were looking up in blank space, in the void behind us. Being adults, we know that they were just simulating a scene where they see a witch flying through the sky. But the kids... they all turned around in such earnest and the little gullibles actually thought there was something flying behind us!
Such is the mind of child... malleable and will believe everything you tell them. I have heard that the minds of children are not able to tell the difference between fact and fiction and as yet they are still incapable of independent thought. Sometimes it pains me to learn that the children we have are undergoing such a low quality of education faced in our schools and kindergartens. Let’s face it: the teachers in PAP kindergartens and public schools aren’t what you would call “excellent communicators”. Granted, the syllabus has been tried, tested and replicated with success: no problem with that. But in such a public environment, you don’t know the ideologies, beliefs and culture the teachers are unknowingly spreading to your child. Imagine dragging a piece of tissue across a seemingly clean desk.
It’s observable – look at the behaviour of children between public and private schools, now tell me that there isn’t a difference. Quality of education equals quality in communication. I am ashamed to admit that most of the teachers I have encountered in my life had such a poor command of linguistic skills. They don’t teach kids to stand-up for what they believe in, they don’t teach them to speak-up for their own defence, they teach them to avoid conflict, they teach them to shy away, they teach them, especially, to do as their told and not to question authority. You may think that it’s easier to manage them then, but give them a few years when they gain independent thinking, you loose all their respect. We’re raising generation after generation of sheep. Sheep who lead miserably mediocre lives and do nothing to contribute to the progress of culture, nation and human-kind.
So yes, Room On The Broom – lovely production, it’s over now in Singapore but do catch it if it comes back again!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Kranji Countryside!
As some of you may already know, I'm busy preparing press and communications material for the farms at Kranji for a really big event in August (this is secret for now, but remember, you heard it here first!)
Well, after writing so much about them, I'd like to really encourage you guys to go down and pay them a visit! It's one thing to enjoy your food, but it's another to understand how your food comes about....and really, it's just so romantic to buy your food right from the source.
You'd really want to check these places out:
Hay Dairies (the only goat farm in Singapore that gives you fresh goat's milk)
Jurong Frog Farm (yes, now you know where your frog's legs come from)
Bollywood Veggies (lot's and lot's of delicious organically grown vegetables!)
Kin Yan (my secret outlet for buying wheat grass...wheat grass actually does keep for very long, so it's worth while getting them in bulk here)
Gardenasia (after all that, just come here, sit down and kick your legs back while you have a delicious steak whilst admiring a view of their pond)
More about them next time....as for now, I need to get back to work...(yes, yes, it's 6pm....)
Well, after writing so much about them, I'd like to really encourage you guys to go down and pay them a visit! It's one thing to enjoy your food, but it's another to understand how your food comes about....and really, it's just so romantic to buy your food right from the source.
You'd really want to check these places out:
Hay Dairies (the only goat farm in Singapore that gives you fresh goat's milk)
Jurong Frog Farm (yes, now you know where your frog's legs come from)
Bollywood Veggies (lot's and lot's of delicious organically grown vegetables!)
Kin Yan (my secret outlet for buying wheat grass...wheat grass actually does keep for very long, so it's worth while getting them in bulk here)
Gardenasia (after all that, just come here, sit down and kick your legs back while you have a delicious steak whilst admiring a view of their pond)
More about them next time....as for now, I need to get back to work...(yes, yes, it's 6pm....)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Kermit and Rainbows
Heartwarming isn't this? I miss the Muppet Show and it's sad that things on television aren't as wholesome or easy to digest as this clip here anymore.
Sometimes I think my heart is stuck in the 80s.
ding dong!
i'm back!
gosh, it's been a while since i posted anything haven't i?
well, yes, i'm lazy - but above all, i've been so engrossed with so many things in my life ever since i got back! gosh, 2008 seem to have gone by in a blink of an eye!
Well, it's a beautiful Sunday evening: i'm in my bed on my brand new MacBook Pro typing this. There's so much I want to update, so much I want to say - but ha, the atmosphere this evening is too chilled out to do anything too serious!
All right, i'll have to leave at this and go back to my banana milkshake!
gosh, it's been a while since i posted anything haven't i?
well, yes, i'm lazy - but above all, i've been so engrossed with so many things in my life ever since i got back! gosh, 2008 seem to have gone by in a blink of an eye!
Well, it's a beautiful Sunday evening: i'm in my bed on my brand new MacBook Pro typing this. There's so much I want to update, so much I want to say - but ha, the atmosphere this evening is too chilled out to do anything too serious!
All right, i'll have to leave at this and go back to my banana milkshake!
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