Got back yesterday from exco retreat/advance - it felt kinda weird some of the time, as for the first time in just about year i was at a chalet hanging around with no real work to have to do, where the major decisions to be made are of the what-game-should-we-play-now variety.
So i guess this kinda marks the end of what has been a highly eventful year in exco - lots of ups together with their fair share of downs - but all in all, as i've come to realize is more or less always the case, at least in retrospect, an experience with much to give thanks for - a concrete display of what can happen if you just have faith that He will see you through.
Anyways, any more of that reflection stuff will probably turn all maudlin so i'll avoid that. Basically as it felt weird to not have any work per se to get done during retreat/advance, so now it feels weird that technically VCF is no longer my direct concern, so to speak. And being the kind who tends to focus on a limited amount of key things at a time (and having VCF be one of them over the past four years, and i'd say at the expense of church), to have one biggie come to a sudden endlike this is quite the surreal experience.
Of course, who's to say that i'm cutting off all ties from VCF - yup that's definitely not the case. But in lieu of my arguably special circumstances (which in short are that i really ought to be better rooted in church, especially now that there's no longer VCF), i've been thinking that i really should limit the amount of time i spend coming back to visit and all that, as satisfying an experience as that may be, as that would methinks to at least some extent just serve to perpetuate the frustration that is my current situation. Not that i'm taking time off from CF stuff and cfers along with that, but just that selectivity (if there is such a word) is key for now.
Was watching a short CNN report on James Blake just now - basically he's a top tennis player who a couple of seasons ago went through injury that caused near paralysis, the death of his father and a life-threatening illness all in one short span. What struck me about that is how he was dismissing the "why me?" attitude that perhaps is human nature when afflicted in such a way - he reasoned that people don't ask the same when they achieve success in some way, so why should we do the same when things don't go the way they so-called 'ideally' would? And at least for me, that makes perfect sense. I am not sure what Mr Blake's religious affiliations are, but in applying it to a Christian perspective on things, who are we to question how the Lord lets things go when they don't turn out well, when we welcome with open arms (occasionally accompanied by thanksgiving) the good stuff?
Of course in theory, that's easy to say and affirm, but in practice, ay there's the rub. Throughout the course of much of the past four years i've been struggling with the "why me?" thingy for various setbacks and what not that've happened, the most current one being the far-less-than-satisfactory church situation i'm in, and the long-term implications of that over the years, some of which have already become an occasionally painful reality for me. Guess that's just something that the Lord is still working through, with a more concrete conclusion to the matter still lying far ahead in the distance, if it exists at all. That's where grace and faith come in eh...
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Bummed about Burma
I was quite disappointed to read FM George Yeo's comments regarding disaster-hit states in the st today - and i quote - "we must respect the autonomy of countries and accept the fact that they know local situations better than foreign people ever can." Generally speaking, the statement certainly stands. But when you apply it to the current situation in Burma (i refuse to use the M-word as to me that signifies acceptance of the military junta there), surely common sense, aided by decades of experience in dealing with the government, has it that these wise words require deep re-examination.
Yes a country's autonomy ought to be respected - but should it be respected (and from the look of how ASEAN is dealing, or not dealing, with the situation, venerated) to the extent that we forget what a proven incompetent regime we are dealing with here in the first place? All this la-di-da diplomacy can only do so much, and i'm afraid that with reference to the regime heading Burma, it's far from enough - influential players like ASEAN and China really have to start pushing the boundaries of this "respect of autonomy" and show that they mean business to the Burmese government if the latter is ever going to wake up its idea, so to speak. Unfortunately, it seems that the allure of one's own economic gain, plus to a lesser extent, the concept of face, is preventing this from ever happening (cf. Yeo's remarks).
And yes local governments would know the local situation better than foreign people ever can. And Burma's rulers definitely know the local situation very well. Unfortunately it only seems to be in the interests of perpetuating their noxious rule rather than anything else. Their 'in-depth local knowledge,' if you could call it that, is employed only for their own security purposes, and not for the welfare of the disaster-stricken people at all. There's more than sufficient proof to show that the government cannot, or at the least, will not do enough to provide the necessary relief to the people in the vast Irrawaddy Delta area. Apparently a lot of those affected in these areas are Karen Christians, which (i won't go into greater detail here) methinks explains in part why the military is so reticent to even let foreign aid get to them, let alone help them themselves. And there are other reports that the military is taking credit for aid that does not come from them, and are even replacing some of the aid packages with inferior quality ones, keeping the former for their own needs. Disgusting.
I recall a conversation with an American on the plane explaining to him more about the situation in Burma - appalled, he said that direct intervention is needed - and it probably would have happened already had Burma been an oil-rich state. Invasion may be a step (or several steps) too far, but definitely more has to be done.
Yes a country's autonomy ought to be respected - but should it be respected (and from the look of how ASEAN is dealing, or not dealing, with the situation, venerated) to the extent that we forget what a proven incompetent regime we are dealing with here in the first place? All this la-di-da diplomacy can only do so much, and i'm afraid that with reference to the regime heading Burma, it's far from enough - influential players like ASEAN and China really have to start pushing the boundaries of this "respect of autonomy" and show that they mean business to the Burmese government if the latter is ever going to wake up its idea, so to speak. Unfortunately, it seems that the allure of one's own economic gain, plus to a lesser extent, the concept of face, is preventing this from ever happening (cf. Yeo's remarks).
And yes local governments would know the local situation better than foreign people ever can. And Burma's rulers definitely know the local situation very well. Unfortunately it only seems to be in the interests of perpetuating their noxious rule rather than anything else. Their 'in-depth local knowledge,' if you could call it that, is employed only for their own security purposes, and not for the welfare of the disaster-stricken people at all. There's more than sufficient proof to show that the government cannot, or at the least, will not do enough to provide the necessary relief to the people in the vast Irrawaddy Delta area. Apparently a lot of those affected in these areas are Karen Christians, which (i won't go into greater detail here) methinks explains in part why the military is so reticent to even let foreign aid get to them, let alone help them themselves. And there are other reports that the military is taking credit for aid that does not come from them, and are even replacing some of the aid packages with inferior quality ones, keeping the former for their own needs. Disgusting.
I recall a conversation with an American on the plane explaining to him more about the situation in Burma - appalled, he said that direct intervention is needed - and it probably would have happened already had Burma been an oil-rich state. Invasion may be a step (or several steps) too far, but definitely more has to be done.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
21 more to go
So at the start of the last sem i'd played around with taking various classes and realized that for once, at last i had the opportunity to end (exams) early, and real early at that, if i chose classes in the interests of fulfilling that end. And while i'd hardly advise the promise of an early holiday to be the main consideration behind the choosing of classes, i'm nevertheless glad that it worked out for me (eh or at least i'll say that until final results come out...)
But back to the story, actually even after settling classes and hence exam schedule, i had no ideas in mind as to what i may have wanted to do once exams ended. And then randomly one day i came across an online advert on cnn.com by SIA with the promo fare to Houston, and to cut a long story short, the very reasonable fares plus tanking US dollar were enough for me to finally decide to get tickets. Furthermore, the final destination was a place in the US i hadn't been before (which is always a key factor) - so why not eh?
Well i could list in detail all that went on but i guess that's rather self-indulgent and anyways i can't remember all the itty bitty details. In lieu of that will just recount random cool things that come to mind.
1) As much as i don't like the elitist bent of SQ (case-in-point: the changing of the direct to NYC/LA flights to an all-business class configuration in order to rake in bigger bucks), (at the risk of being cheesy) it really is a great way to fly - and after suffering through United Airlines to the US the past few times, SIA really is a revelation. The in-flight entertainment is really a cut above - i've this thing against paying the prices we have to pay to watch movies in S'pore, so to watch (allow me to recount) Sweeney Todd (not bad); Ratatouille (only thing i didn't like was the bad French pronunciation); Bee Movie (which is a D movie imho - don't watch it!); Juno (finally!); No Country For Old Men (creepy but good); Dan in Real Life (underrated); plus lots of good tv stuff like Pushing Daisies (wish they'd show it here) and Arrested Development (i miss it) for free (ok, not really free, but at least it seems free) was great. I almost didn't sleep both on the way there and back simply cos there was so much to do. Regret not getting a free S'pore Sling just to see what's the big deal about it...
2) Honestly, i expected New Orleans to be in a more depressed state than it was, in the wake of Katrina and all, but then again, i didn't get to go out of the tourist area, which was relatively less affected. All in all, it's a real interesting city, although the great nightlife is not really my type - the famous Bourbon Street there is dotted with strip clubs, which, to put it discreetly, make it clear in their storefronts what services it is that they provide. That's why i only went down there in the day and avoided it at night. Can't imagine how my father would have reacted if he was there haha.
3) And for all the good food that the city is famous for, unfortunately a lot of it has seafood (which i guess comes as no surprise since it is right by the sea), so didn't really get to sample much of that... Whatever food i did have was good nevertheless.
4) Never seen so many smokers as i did there - in the street, one really could not look in any direction without catching at least one person smoking. It seemed to me that people were either smoking or about to take a smoking break.
5) Wish could spend more time than just one and a half days in Houston - there's actually a surprising amount of stuff to do there. Thought i got a real good deal on the Hyatt there, until i realized that over the weekend, downtown is by and large a dead zone. Never really got out of the central area either. But ah well, it was good anyways.
6) Quite cool how an ex-NBA player ended up to be my cab driver to the airport - and a pretty good one too (three-time all-star) - and at least the minimal bball knowledge that i had was enough to get him really excited that this foreign asian dude knew so much haha.
7) The quick one-day visit to South Bend was really cool - i just like to go to places where the typical S'porean tourist would never go to - and this was one of them. Notre Dame has a real beautiful campus, the nicest i've seen so far, and the spring flowers were real pretty. Also, what cool timing that i was there during the primary elections, so i got to see the electoral process there close-up (during the midterms in '06 there was little action in Chapel Hill - and coincidentally the NC primaries were on the same day).
8) For the record, while i was there i became an Obama supporter :)
9) Even though i've been to Chicago before, and very recently too, am glad managed to go back - not just because there's quite a bit to do there, but also for the company. Think by now i can make my way around the city pretty well without ending up lost.
10) The highlight of Chicago was of course finally getting to watch Wicked (the soundtrack of which i'm listening to right now) - i dunno why i didn't watch it the other time i was there, but anyways, it was just a great experience. As many times as i've seen Defying Gravity on the screen, nothing beats seeing it in front of you on stage. And For Good? *tears* I wonder if it will ever reach here (and not with a third-rate Aussie production).
11) Ate so much there - portions are so big to begin with, and then i had to help my mother to finish up her portion most times (cos i don't like to waste food). Never dumped so many times and so much in a day before (ok wtmi i know)
12) And of course, for frivolity's sake, i also added three more new states to my list (Texas, Louisiana and Michigan) - so we're up to 29/50 now =p
*) Although of course that also meant that there was an awful lot covered in just ten days - oh what i wouldn't give for a nice, relaxed holiday unconstrained from annoyingly constricting S'porean timetables...
Hmm looks like i listed a lot of stuff in detail anyways...
Ah well, in any case, hope to go back again, and particularly back to NC, sooner rather than later. Yup Carolina still on my mind...
And of course what 17 May post isn't complete without a happy birthday greeting?
But back to the story, actually even after settling classes and hence exam schedule, i had no ideas in mind as to what i may have wanted to do once exams ended. And then randomly one day i came across an online advert on cnn.com by SIA with the promo fare to Houston, and to cut a long story short, the very reasonable fares plus tanking US dollar were enough for me to finally decide to get tickets. Furthermore, the final destination was a place in the US i hadn't been before (which is always a key factor) - so why not eh?
Well i could list in detail all that went on but i guess that's rather self-indulgent and anyways i can't remember all the itty bitty details. In lieu of that will just recount random cool things that come to mind.
1) As much as i don't like the elitist bent of SQ (case-in-point: the changing of the direct to NYC/LA flights to an all-business class configuration in order to rake in bigger bucks), (at the risk of being cheesy) it really is a great way to fly - and after suffering through United Airlines to the US the past few times, SIA really is a revelation. The in-flight entertainment is really a cut above - i've this thing against paying the prices we have to pay to watch movies in S'pore, so to watch (allow me to recount) Sweeney Todd (not bad); Ratatouille (only thing i didn't like was the bad French pronunciation); Bee Movie (which is a D movie imho - don't watch it!); Juno (finally!); No Country For Old Men (creepy but good); Dan in Real Life (underrated); plus lots of good tv stuff like Pushing Daisies (wish they'd show it here) and Arrested Development (i miss it) for free (ok, not really free, but at least it seems free) was great. I almost didn't sleep both on the way there and back simply cos there was so much to do. Regret not getting a free S'pore Sling just to see what's the big deal about it...
2) Honestly, i expected New Orleans to be in a more depressed state than it was, in the wake of Katrina and all, but then again, i didn't get to go out of the tourist area, which was relatively less affected. All in all, it's a real interesting city, although the great nightlife is not really my type - the famous Bourbon Street there is dotted with strip clubs, which, to put it discreetly, make it clear in their storefronts what services it is that they provide. That's why i only went down there in the day and avoided it at night. Can't imagine how my father would have reacted if he was there haha.
3) And for all the good food that the city is famous for, unfortunately a lot of it has seafood (which i guess comes as no surprise since it is right by the sea), so didn't really get to sample much of that... Whatever food i did have was good nevertheless.
4) Never seen so many smokers as i did there - in the street, one really could not look in any direction without catching at least one person smoking. It seemed to me that people were either smoking or about to take a smoking break.
5) Wish could spend more time than just one and a half days in Houston - there's actually a surprising amount of stuff to do there. Thought i got a real good deal on the Hyatt there, until i realized that over the weekend, downtown is by and large a dead zone. Never really got out of the central area either. But ah well, it was good anyways.
6) Quite cool how an ex-NBA player ended up to be my cab driver to the airport - and a pretty good one too (three-time all-star) - and at least the minimal bball knowledge that i had was enough to get him really excited that this foreign asian dude knew so much haha.
7) The quick one-day visit to South Bend was really cool - i just like to go to places where the typical S'porean tourist would never go to - and this was one of them. Notre Dame has a real beautiful campus, the nicest i've seen so far, and the spring flowers were real pretty. Also, what cool timing that i was there during the primary elections, so i got to see the electoral process there close-up (during the midterms in '06 there was little action in Chapel Hill - and coincidentally the NC primaries were on the same day).
8) For the record, while i was there i became an Obama supporter :)
9) Even though i've been to Chicago before, and very recently too, am glad managed to go back - not just because there's quite a bit to do there, but also for the company. Think by now i can make my way around the city pretty well without ending up lost.
10) The highlight of Chicago was of course finally getting to watch Wicked (the soundtrack of which i'm listening to right now) - i dunno why i didn't watch it the other time i was there, but anyways, it was just a great experience. As many times as i've seen Defying Gravity on the screen, nothing beats seeing it in front of you on stage. And For Good? *tears* I wonder if it will ever reach here (and not with a third-rate Aussie production).
11) Ate so much there - portions are so big to begin with, and then i had to help my mother to finish up her portion most times (cos i don't like to waste food). Never dumped so many times and so much in a day before (ok wtmi i know)
12) And of course, for frivolity's sake, i also added three more new states to my list (Texas, Louisiana and Michigan) - so we're up to 29/50 now =p
*) Although of course that also meant that there was an awful lot covered in just ten days - oh what i wouldn't give for a nice, relaxed holiday unconstrained from annoyingly constricting S'porean timetables...
Hmm looks like i listed a lot of stuff in detail anyways...
Ah well, in any case, hope to go back again, and particularly back to NC, sooner rather than later. Yup Carolina still on my mind...
And of course what 17 May post isn't complete without a happy birthday greeting?
Sunday, May 11, 2008
reverso
Yuppers so i got back from a good but nevertheless very rushed trip yesterday, will talk more about it later while progressively uploading pics on fb, but for now am just biding time until going for dinner...
So people who've been reading this for some time may recall my saaa-ness-induced shirt incident from two years or so back. Well, a similar incident just had to take place one more time before leaving nus, and on my final day of all days - ok the background to this story is that due to both an affinity for walking around plus a desire to cut carbon emissions, i'd taken to walking back to pgp from school at the end of each day. Unfortunately, given the @#$% heat and humidity that we have here (one of the things that annoys me most about S'pore btw), by the time i reach back to my room, my shirt is usually sweat-drenched (but still wearable), so i'll hang it up, turning it inside-out in the process.
And then the morning of my first (and last) papers, i just took one of those shirts (and i suppose you can see where i'm heading with this one by now) and wore it and headed out. Bumped into a classmate at arts canteen and sat there for a while before heading to as7 for my 9am paper on (hooray) Malaysian history. Paper itself was ok, everyone was happy to get through it (and perhaps very apt for the occasion, shouts of Merdeka rang out). And i turned around and asked my friend behind me how was things - then he asked me if i wore my shirt the wrong way - i checked and - oops, so it was inside-out.
My only hope is that he noticed it only because he had spent the two previous hours right behind me and hence had ample opportunity to notice the label sticking out from under my collar (it was a polotee). That's highly likely i guess, or at least i hope, since no one else seemed to look at me strangely - hmm come to think of it, maybe one of the invigilators did... Oh well, in any case needless to say the first place i headed to after that was the washroom to invert the shirt... Whee. I'm such a toot.
So people who've been reading this for some time may recall my saaa-ness-induced shirt incident from two years or so back. Well, a similar incident just had to take place one more time before leaving nus, and on my final day of all days - ok the background to this story is that due to both an affinity for walking around plus a desire to cut carbon emissions, i'd taken to walking back to pgp from school at the end of each day. Unfortunately, given the @#$% heat and humidity that we have here (one of the things that annoys me most about S'pore btw), by the time i reach back to my room, my shirt is usually sweat-drenched (but still wearable), so i'll hang it up, turning it inside-out in the process.
And then the morning of my first (and last) papers, i just took one of those shirts (and i suppose you can see where i'm heading with this one by now) and wore it and headed out. Bumped into a classmate at arts canteen and sat there for a while before heading to as7 for my 9am paper on (hooray) Malaysian history. Paper itself was ok, everyone was happy to get through it (and perhaps very apt for the occasion, shouts of Merdeka rang out). And i turned around and asked my friend behind me how was things - then he asked me if i wore my shirt the wrong way - i checked and - oops, so it was inside-out.
My only hope is that he noticed it only because he had spent the two previous hours right behind me and hence had ample opportunity to notice the label sticking out from under my collar (it was a polotee). That's highly likely i guess, or at least i hope, since no one else seemed to look at me strangely - hmm come to think of it, maybe one of the invigilators did... Oh well, in any case needless to say the first place i headed to after that was the washroom to invert the shirt... Whee. I'm such a toot.
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