school reopening.
i swear i experience spurts
of delectation
looking at pathetic school going
kids in their
overwashed school uniforms,
defying the great inertia
to move school-wards and
dragging their overworked selves
towards the school of doom.
its wonderful to stare as all these happen.
i don't know about you
but school is never an
appealing place.
and university is commencing in
(what!) close to a month,
which means to say
i will need to bid
happiness goodbye, soon.
there's something frustrating
about being around too many
people from the same age group,
altho many tend to behave like they
belong to the lower ones.
mostly,
competition is draining and
usually upsetting.
in addition
choosing to enter business school
will be adopting a lifestyle of
absolute superficiality.
it might require me to sustain
high levels of enthusiasm
even in times i feel the urgent need
to fall asleep.
school will be about talking
to too many strangers and
not remembering any names.
on the brighter side of life,
university campus is finally huge
(trust me i know a thing or two
about puney campuses.)
and the libraries look really exciting.
hello to
new phase of life,
hello to extreme tiredness.
10:28 AM
Monday, June 25, 2007
i'll tell you something aboutvietnam everyday:)
Ho Chi Minh City:
overcrowded, bizarre traffic
( where getting to the other side of
the road is an extreme sport) ,
bustling, and with
overhead cables messily
hanging out.
motorcycles are the main mode of
transport -
there is no need for license for
the smaller bikes-
and none of the bikers have
safety helmets on.
Its a norm to see 3, 4 pillion riders-
which exhibits not only
the lax traffic regulations, but the
skinny-ness of the vietnamese. :D
(low caloried spring rolls)
most will ignore
pedestrains and traffic lights;
and the road is a game of
Who Dares Wins.
on Perfume River, Hue ( Central Vietnam).
many boat people
living on these houseboats.
they make their living by
fishing or by extracting sand
from the seabed.
not for the frailhearted ( or the seasick-proned).
not for the frailhearted ( or the seasick-proned).
halong bay, fruit kids.
hanoi city,
view from my hotel room.
the city is in better shape than HCMC.
traffic is equally spooky,
but decent shopping, and
better hygiene.
2 - 3 hrs drive from the mountainous
regions which offer
spectacular views.
( will post another time)
the french passed the arty farty bug
to the vietnamese some many
hundred years ago.
the sound of the
bamboo instrument thingy
has an uncanny resemblance to
our angklung, only less
shaky and brighter when striked.
beautiful.
every vietnamese girl
know their embriodery,
i swear.
12:30 PM
Friday, June 22, 2007
just returned from vietnam!
its an awfully spectacular country-
brilliant scenery, rich history
and vibrant culture;
i definitely NEED to return,
but to the mountainous regions on
the northern side- sapa,
where the many ethnic minorities
cluster.
vietnam is fairly young with
her tourism industry,
but i think she has,
quite quickly,
found her niche.
superficially she may seem
all too similar to her other
Southeast Asian counterparts,
but on closer scrutiny
you will see the characteristics that
define Vietnam.
due to the Pre-Dynastic Era and
French Colonialism,
Vietnamese culture has been
moulded by a unique
mix of east and west influence,
which is evident in the
architecture, crafts, customs and lifestyle.
i think its none like other,
how she gracefully embrace
both starkly contrasting cultures
to create hers.
it is a socialist republic
that is seeking to open her doors
to make herself more globally relevant.
she is in a time where
public housing and industrial plants are
sprouting out all over,
where the first branch of KFC has opened
in Saigon,
and where meritocracy is increasingly
valued, to help people out of city to
break out of the poverty cycle.
most importantly:
the resilience of its people.
prior to 1986,
the country was still in its
Subsidise Period trying to
get their act together after the
Vietnam War.
but now, Hanoi is in
pretty amazing shape-
with plenty of foreign investors
flocking in - Yamaha, Canon, Panasonic etc -
more cars on the roads,
and the tourism industry booming.
you have to admire how promptly
they picked themselves up.
the one thing that struck me is
how MANY of the vietnamese
are able to
converse in foreign langauges.
i am not referring only to those
who belong to the higher rungs of the society.
even the girl on the street
bugging me to buy pearl necklaces (imitation)
can do so in mandarin.
they pick up languages from
tourists.
i think they know the importance of this
to their livelihoods.
such is the spirit of the Vietnamese,
they adapt.
im beat.
SNEAK PREVIEW!
8:01 PM
Friday, June 15, 2007
to vietnam!
bye, wagg!
7:18 AM
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
i succumb to my frailties -i make cowardly, myopic decisions.
i don't love that about myself.
i have been thinking
about why i
opted for business instead of fass.
there is a tinge of disappointment
that i eventually won't been
doing Arts and Social Science-
its like some sort of betrayal.
to be truthful,
business was never something
i ever considered.
i love my bucks but i
always proclaimed my dislike
for over-engaging in PR esp
in the coporate world.
but eventually it
became the result of elimination,
since anything remotely sciencey or
engineery looked absolutely vulgar to me.
since i didnt mind public speaking,
and could tolerate donning
chic office wear for life,
i decided, might as well sail
down this taken-to-death route.
quite honestly
if i didn't fare as devastatingly
as i did for my GP,
i would go for FASS without apprehension.
but so i did how i did,
and it seemed like a sign,
like i couldn't, shouldn't, wouldn't
be able to manage.
maybe how i feel about my inclination
towards the Arts is just a delusion,
maybe i can't really delve deep into
issues and dissect them like
i think i like to,
maybe i don't make so much
sense after all,
maybe i just can't really use the
English Languge...
its tragic how attainable
this dream is,
yet at the same time,
so unattainable.
it is also annoying the sort
of commonplace perception of the Arts.
their semblances when
i/my friends
express interest in going to FASS,
it's as if im about to embark on
a suicide mission and a route
to unemployment.
they will question me about
what i would do with the degree,
or more colloquially
"arts come out do what?!"
with the same deep, bemused frown.
i do believe every course and faculty
will serve its purpose in the society,
and i dont suppose any
university tailors a
course to bring you down
your road to doom.
BUT
i do believe that to be employed,
you need to be at least,
competent in your field of study.
AND by saying that i chose
biz over fass as a result of
weighing the odds of employment,
i mean to say that i
am more likely to be a
competent bizgrad than an arts grad.
i may be wrong, i may not
be competent at all-
but it's what i see from
where i am, now.
i figure there's more
room in this society for me
as a mediocre business graduate
than a terrible arts/social sci graduate.
and so business is
the utilitarian and sensible,
yet grossly conventional,
option that facilitates my hope
to give my
parents their
early+unabashedly luxurious
retirement.
yeah,
the plan is to obtain my
music diploma and business degree
by the time i hit 22 (or thereabout).
then i'll figure what to
do with life.
meanwhile,
i am envious of all you people
who are on your way to
realising your dreams.
i wish i could be so
gungho but i can't be
since im so highly cynical and
imbued with my principles of
security and convenience.
PEACE TO THE WORLD!
1:33 PM
Saturday, June 09, 2007
thank you, people.your bags will change these:
happy kids,
will be happier with schoolbags!
10:17 AM
Sunday, June 03, 2007
| there's been far too much hurly burly regarding this year's uni admission. and in this respect, i do feel lucky that i never really bore huge, nobel aspirations, so much so that i would hit rock bottom if i couldnt gain entry into say, law/med school. the thing is, i probably know myself better than to struggle to fit into the elite class. yes, i tend not to put myself in a position where my dreams could be dashed. one way is to attain it, the other, is to minimize on wishful thinking. don't dream too big, the inconvenience and anguish could overwhelm. sometimes i look at the seriously brilliant elites and i wonder if they truly want what they want. certainly, they've worked exceedingly hard and they probably deserve to want anything that's highly coveted. yes, people make choices to feel good about themselves. it's surely pleasing to the ego to gain entry into coveted, prestigious courses because we can, not usually 'coz we want to. how many of us aren't guilty of that? if i were an accidental elite, i would certainly muster the audacity to apply for law. nevermind that it has never been the plan; i will probably do it, because i can. all of us who enter the interview room are all liars in our own right. and with the seemingly clandestine university entry requirements, we'll probably never guess why the "truly passionate ones" seeped through while the oscar-worthy ones lucked out. 'coz rly, we are all concerned about our standing in the society. we try to align our "passions" alongside some sort of security that we would not be occupying the not-so-high rungs of the social ladder. surely, if people looking to pursue medicine truly were in it to fulfil their deep passion for the medical field, or the calling to save humanity, why not nursing? why not social work? how many medicine applicants put nursing as a choice after medicine? but isn't it natural? pragmatism is about altering your "passion" a little to fit it into reality. life is really not about doing what you love but falling in love with the things you already are doing. god-talk people will say that God has other plans. its a comforting, albeit a lil ridiculous, reasoning. |
12:17 PM
