Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Sometimes i really wish for holidays to be shorter. You think i must be mad. Who wants shorter holidays? Who in the right state of mind would ask for shorter holidays? But well.. that would be me. At least i wont be straddled with this 'burden' of scouring for a job to fill the lull in the holidays; the days where i have absolutely nothing on except staying at home. I hate looking for jobs, going for interviews, flipping through Classifieds, calling and getting rejected because of contractual dates and just a whole ton of poring over the newspapers( Imagine: Thick horn-rimmed glasses peering at the words in the newspapers... DISDAIN!)
How many interviews i have gone to: FUTILE. Not exactly rejected but rather its not suitable. What with cca timings and locations?
1. some tuition coordinator
2. telemarketer
3. travel agency
4. admin
5. (just the bulk of it all...)
So, after weeks of gruelling interviews, i just stuck out on this one finale: POPULAR BOOKSTORE. Well, at least its near my house and i save on travelling time and expenses. Just got to stuck it out for one month and so... And, ta-dah... i will have school to look forth to and a whole load of shopping to do. The shopping equates to a month of slogging. Why slogging? Because my work hours are like min 10hrs per day. YES. ok, granted at least its 5 days work, inclusive of weekends. BUT, the 2 off days i have: Tues and Fris will be spent in Woodlands CC for PSF sessions. SO, to put it all in words: I am so going to turn into a HUMAN MACHINE.
* Gears clunking, rollers pushing*
And, i think by that time... i will have less than half a wink a day. oh gosh!
PSF. The session.
Lovewaves 96.6 cancelled. Various reasons for this harsh decision. reasons we shall not dwell on. Yea, throughout this whole process, sessions got axed, morale took a dip and emotions got involved. But, at least things are straightened out after a session on tues. At least we hav a solid plan for the next acad year. A load of work no doubt but if everyone is committed to push it through, i guess thats the fun in it. So all hail to the next production!
Thats bout all. Will update if i can.. considering WORK!
... starting tmr morning at 10.
Beauty in the eye of the beholder;
Friday, February 16, 2007
A celebration of the 'pig' year, a season of fun, peace and prosperity. What comes to your mind when CNY is mentioned?
Red packets.
The allure of cold hard cash never fails to brighten the days of kids and adults alike. No matter how demure a lady you are or how 'buff' a guy you are, you will always fall prey to the RED gleam of red packets. Escastic is the word. Ang Pows are more of well wishes than the material meaning it carries nowadays. 2 days of chinese new year gone, let me see how many red packets i hav accumulated... Not much i guess considering i only have relatives at my father's side to visit as my mom's relatives are all non- singaporean. 10 plus plus.
In addition to the 'significance' of the wad of cash, the design of the red packet itself is also something to be applauded. From the traditional red with just some simple greetings engraved on it( or printed on it), it has since evolved into a commercialised agenda where businesses give away exquisite red packets with their company logos. Agenda setting? However, credit given to those designed for the purpose of the appearance itself and not any nonsensical 'master scheme'.
Togetherness.
It's a day for families to gather and embrace the joyous occassion. Over the past year, there might be time constraint and what's not resulting in... no meet-ups, no contact, and just seperate entity for each and everyone of the extended family. Yet, on this day, (well, it might be because of the public hols factor...) everyone comes together to catch up on the going-ons in their lives, gamble and just make merry.
Food.
Glorious food. Sumptous fare. Plush ingredients cooked in a not so regal way. The food might not be the swanky and ritzy cuisine in restaurants but the homecooked nosh we eat every other day. For me, every year on this day, i never fail to have steamboat. Its not exactly gruel nor is it swanky but at least its cooked by my granny! Sometimes, homecooked fares taste better than any other dishes in top-notch restaurants or so i feel.
What about the new year goodies? Love letters, kueh bahlu, box of ferero, cookies, prawn crackers, cashew nuts and BAH KWAH. BAH KWAH is a typical chow which you can see in almost every home you visit during CNY. People can queue for hours under glistening sun just for a few kgs of that in Chinatown. That is plain crazy since you can practically get that all over the island. I'm no food gourmet but correct me if i'm wrong, almost all taste the same to me! how different can it get?
Well, i guess that's about all to Chinese New Year excluding the nitty-gritty details to it all.
Beauty in the eye of the beholder;
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
February 14. Does this day ring a bell?
To a pair of lovers, it might mean a celebration of undying love, devotion and passion.
To a pair of married couple, it might mean a day to ‘humour’ their wives.
To a pair of young lovebirds in the early stages of the relationship, it might mean more blissful moments with this person.
To a pair of ex-es, it might mean a day for sobbing your hearts out and being all lonesome.
To stags, it might mean a wonderful get together with friends at a bar.
To businesses, it might mean the windfall of a century, what with the gifts, roses, dinners and all.
Valentine’s day might mean the world to some but may just very well be the pitfall of the other. The symbolism of this day might be of extreme importance to some but on the other hand, it might be a whole commercialized hogwash that gets businesses all waxing lyrical.
So, to ask yourself a question: “ How do you want to spend this day?”
There are two kinds of attitudes towards this celebratory ‘festival’—the “ I hate the world for such a day” attitude or the “ I wish this day would arrive soon so I can express my undying desire to him/her” attitude.
For the first scenario, we can always expect stags, lovelorn characters, pessimists and those who just got out of a case of unrequited love to be the leads. They might get all mean and demented because of having to spend the day all alone while others are getting all lovey-dovey. Most of the times, they are just lonely-hearts waiting to delve into the next opportunity that knocks on the door. Granted, not all will act this way but a couple might.
They go around snubbing every couple in sight and turning their noses up at every Valentine’s Day decorations around town. They question the significance of this very day and go fleeting around from place to place trying to dissuade people from plunging into a relationship. The devils you call it or some might just say they are speaking from experience; a sage in love.
Either way, they are just non-believers of the existence of this chemical reaction called: L-O-V-E. I don’t blame them especially since this has evolved into a day of posh dining, bouquet of crisp-fresh roses and exquisite gifts. Businesses snap their fingers and did a low-down move on these unknowing folks and just look at how they lapped up the offers thinking these are godsend essentials to a successful Valentine’s Day. But, are these material gains equivalent to a halcyon day?
Now, moving on to the second scenario where the couple declares their undying love for one another. This scenario is typical for couples, for those on the brink of being a “twosome” and young married couples. Well, I wont rule out the possibility of friends getting together for a rave till the wee hours, because who states that Valentines Day is a day for LOVERS? Its just a day of showing love and appreciation to those who love and care for you.
The second scenario is what Valentines Day is all about: spreading the love around, having a great time with the people you love and care and just embracing the ambience of what the whole V-day is suppose to bring. It doesn’t have to be top-grade wine with succulent steak or some French cuisine with hard to pronounce names like Foie grass. It’s how you want to spend this day and the agents involved that matters.
That said, I guess its time to wish everyone in every corner of the world a happy valentines day. To the lovers, to the friends, to the ex-es, to the family and even to the grouchy one: Live it, love it and enjoy it. I sincerely wish that everyone in every corner of the world will be loved and love one another.
What’s the world without love?
Beauty in the eye of the beholder;
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Part 3: The agents...
T106. Hmm… though we are not exactly close-knit like other classes, I guess we are still a good bunch of people. People as different as two peas and people just like you and me. Despite the “ I think Ph should go first” s and all, I still think it’s a good brew of personalities and characters that we possess. The jokes that go, the fun in some of the classes, I can only say it’s ‘classical’. Nevertheless, glad to know you guys and all… (leave the soap-opera whines and sobs cause that’s not going to happen here! Haas…)
PSF. They played almost an integral role in my process of ‘self-actualization’ or rather just being here and fit in. It gives me the sensational fun, put the kibosh on a bad day and just grant me access to people who became such great friends of mine. It’s almost as if it’s a diamond studded privilege card to “The life” or “The boudoir”. Ok, I know I make it sound like this overrated imagination of mine but well … one can’t be blamed for having an active imagination on the overdrive, especially when I have so much time at hand without the technology of the e-world. ( And, I’m blabbering gibberish!) In conclusion, to break this bubble of yours and mine if you happen to chance upon this ‘miniscule’ post of mine, it’s just something MORE than “ It’s just a cca!”
Reality sinks in and Titanic sunk. (And, my mother is applying some icky ointment on my brother’s sprained foot)
After everything and anything. After the world decides to revolves and 365 days past, we are back to a SPANKING (mark the word!) new year, with new revelations and new resolutions (not the photography kind of resolution)!
New resolutions and new revelations: what about too many to write, too little to speak of? I guess what’s above will be able to constitute the months I have been through and the joy, laughter and ho-hum days of the contemporary.
Beauty in the eye of the beholder;
Part 2: Our last day!
Two semesters later…
Change is inevitable. Though I feel I have not changed much, both mentally and physically? In terms of age-wise, I guess that’s kind of obvious since everyone grows one way or another. But, I feel that I’ve learnt a lot over this period, two semesters. All that I’ve came across: coursework, internal ‘politics’, professionalism, rivalry, friendship, tears, backstabbing, laughter, teamwork and lots more. Every little thing that happens, every other person you meet is there for a reason. Nobody is just an extra in your life. Nobody is non-existent because non-existence is something in itself.
The aunty you pass by on your way out. The curry-puff seller who sells curry puffs at the MRT station everyday. The friend you smiled at. The person you knocked into. EVEN the bird (Egret) you see everyday by the same drain is there for a reason. You never know. It might save me from a group of baddies one day by pecking at them relentlessly.
Hoots
So, yes. The semester draws to a close. And, it ended on a high note! The day our radio assignment was due was definitely an EVENT-full day for the three of us. It’s “events full” and you would better believe it. We cant finish our radio assignment on time due to various reasons: people ‘eating’ into our timeslot (well, though its our fault for not asking them to leave), computer went bonkers on us, not having envelope and having to ‘hiked’ up to SIM to buy, the printers everywhere suddenly decided to play truant and we have to beg and plead a guy from IS dept to help us (that is after being rejected once and running all the way to LSCT to no avail) and finally rushing to level 7. Yes, we have to thank Mr.felix for helping us. Though I have this bad omen that we might be marked late? We’ll just have to cross our fingers and hope for a time reversal of some sort? Or leniency. But, thank you anyway.
And, the adventure doesn’t end there.
We accompanied Dorcas to the library to print her stuff and I wonder if it’s this spur of a moment thing but we ended up taking the uber-slow glass lift. And, this great idea came from yours truly I think. Anyway, we got STUCK mid-way. Yes. It’s true. The lift practically hung in mid air, like a resigned old fella. Ok, and as I have mentioned earlier, it’s a glass lift so imagine if SOMEONE tries to hide while everyone is staring, sniggering and all. Who’s that someone? Hmm… I wonder. But lo and behold, a comrade of ‘soldiers’ saved us from the tyranny of the ‘lift gone berserk’ by pressing the button from outside and commanding the lift to go up. The master and the slave. So, yes. Thanks to this group of saviors (though we forgot to say thank you).
It still doesn’t end.
We had no cashcard on us and good think we met Kash. Kudos to you for lending us that. And, after that we went through a series of cashcard problems which I would elaborate no further if not its going to turn into a novel named: “A series of SPANKING events”.
And, it ended with us taking the train back. But, that’s before us rushing into the cabin just seconds, milliseconds before it shut its doors on us, barring us out. So yea. A bang indeed!
So, ended!
Beauty in the eye of the beholder;
Part 1: Pondering...
End of semester.
End of 2 semesters, which are equivalent to one year of poly education over. I wont elaborate on all these “ Time passes so fast” kind of stuff because I guess everyone and everywhere you will hear people say the same thing or something similar. So what’s the novelty in it? NOTHING. So, shall just proceed by reminiscing about the days in campus.
Notice the difference? I used the word ‘campus’ instead of ‘school’. Tertiary education is no longer known as a school but something more like a campus, with all the avant-garde stuff that you wont ever chance upon in a secondary school. I’m not gonna get all waxing lyrical about these little differences that these cafes, canteens, studios, labs, radio station, multi storied library make because I guess the picture of a campus wont be painted just by the mere descriptions of it all. For everything, the visual element plays a part in bringing out what the writer is trying to convey. So, why bother painting a luscious portrait of the campus when the truth could be unveiled in a matter of “being there and experience it”?
So, that brings us to the topic of “Being there and Experience it”.
Before embarking on this bohemian path of studying in a polytechnic, I once thought JC environment would be my way. I admit that memorizing textbooks is part and parcel of my life in secondary school. The chunks of text. Blocks of historical remnants. Lines of formulas and what’s not. Tell me you don’t memorise any of these? That’s a lie. Nobody ever gets through secondary school education without the ‘memorising’ of text. Unless you tell me you are the genius and I will probe no further. So, yes. The Jack of all trades, the master of none.
And, since I’m neither prodigy nor the master of any ‘conventional subjects’, I veer towards the doors of poly education. An education, which I feel I will enjoy instead of being forced into. An education, which needs not as much tests and exams. An education that requires not only the brains and wits but the perseverance and exceptional high amount of interest. That’s an education for me.
I doubted whether I will even survive in the world of “hands-on” and projects. Considering the previous universe I came from; the “memorizing world”, where books and memorizing power (a little of understanding too… for application questions) outweigh almost everything else, I guess there’s a reason to worry.
Beauty in the eye of the beholder;
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