1234

Well since yesterday we remember the 123rd, why not go one more number further. Anyways i thought that this was pretty cute.



And so is the original video upon which this was based. Feist kinda reminds me of a saner, more coherent version of Björk. Sway your hips like she does there at your own peril...

123

The best is yet to be,
But only now are you 123...

Happy birthday, absence makes the heart go fonder...

week in review

At the end of week one i've somehow managed to get up at 5:30am every morning thus far (and at 5:31 have each morning then muttered to myself that i won't be able to keep that up in the long run), have already been on two learning journeys (and at the least have learnt how to better jaga very energetic and restless students), and have yet to eat at the purported best thing about being posted to the particular school (though on the plus side even the fare in the school canteen already beats that at nie).

This upcoming week will feature my first (of so many) attempts at conducting lessons in this school, and to that end i was racking my brain trying to think of interesting ways to lead up to a compo for monday's lesson (and no success yet). Somehow though doing up lesson plans now seems less of a chore than it did all of two weeks ago. Maybe cos this case they're done with a tangible audience in mind (and maybe also just cos this is not nie). Thankfully the people at the school (at least thus far) have been real nice and welcoming, so things are hardly as daunting as i thought they might have otherwise turned out to be. Workload has also (again at least thus far) still been manageable. Still a long way to go, of course, but at least it's a promising start :)

at long last

I was pleasantly surprised to read this news a day or so ago. After having written more than one's fair share on Filipino Americans, including if i remember correctly one whole chapter on the veterans' fight for proper recognition of their efforts in WWII, it was heartening to see that whoever still is around got what they deserved. Almost makes me want to write a follow-up paper (just kidding!). Pity the more than sixty years it took for this to happen and thus also the tens of thousands of veterans already dead and therefore unable to claim these very belated benefits (and of course relatives of the deceased aren't eligible...). US$9000/15000 isn't exactly a real big amount of $, though maybe when factoring in inflation it may differ, i dunno...

And while initially i was not too thrilled with the fact that this distinctly non-economy-boosting measure somehow figured in the so-called stimulus package that was just signed into law, on the other hand i suppose this provision simply needed to be tucked within this much larger package, where many of the lawmakers would not have been afforded the time to look through each and every of its constituent components, if it were to have any hope of being signed into law in the first case. Well i suppose those who will benefit will take it whatever way it comes, even if the way in which it did come really screams for lots more articles to be written...

the bane that is boon (lay)

Coming not a moment too soon, yesterday was the last time, for a while, when i'll have to go on a long journey to the west, and certainly not on a daily basis for a longer while. The past seven or eight or so months of taking the mrt, more often than not during peak hours, has reminded me of the sheer inconsiderateness (this word exists?) of many S'poreans, and hence needless to say has been quite the test of my patience.

There have been the pesky youths who receive texts or calls but after taking out their phones hold them up for the whole train car's worth of passengers to hear their already loud and jarring ringtones at least until more than half the tone goes by before finally reading the text/answering the call. Along the same line, those who find it within the kindness of their hearts to compensate for the lack of tv mobile (the bane of my sbs bus-sitting existence) by broadcasting their own selection of choice (read: crap) music for the listening pleasure (read: where's my earplugs when i need them?) But worst of all, the motley crew of passengers awaiting entry into the train who either are color-blind (oops i'm an English teacher now so i must use the British spelling eh? - make that colour-blind) and hence cannot see the yellow arrow markings on the floor, or just don't care for anyone apart from themselves. Hence they form a crowd immediately outside the train door and hinder the way of those trying to exit, and even worse, attempt to push their way past the alighting people. Must have mentioned this before. Anyways, it annoys the hell out of me. This problem is especially prevalent in boonlay in the morning, which has let me to the uncorroborated conclusion that people in the far west are just about the S'poreans most lacking in social graces. One day (must have been a bad mood day) i lost enough of my patience to not only push back at one auntie who were trying to worm her way in to get a seat, but also scold her (in Chinese, no less) and then scarper before she could react. Not my finest hour, but well at that moment i felt that it was warranted.

Well hopefully those days at boonlay will soon be gone, now that the two new stations are opening and the western mob will be spread out to these stations as well. Inconsiderate S'poreans aside though, the trains are seriously getting too crowded for my liking. The other day, on the rare occasion that i headed to nie during an off-peak hour (3ish pm), the trains came at six-minute intervals, and needless to say, each train was packed to the brim. I've definitely taken the train before at those times, and the intervals were not so spread out as they were this time. What alarms me is that this nonsense is apparently the intention of SMRT, since Saw Phaik Hwa (the President and CEO) actually believes that packing as many people into the train is what our trains are important for. Something tells me she drives to work...

oh hush rush

This image was circulated in certain Christian circles (and remarked upon as being a pic which will never make it to the mainstream media) - thought it was somewhat heartwarming to see this taking place. While i have doubts with regards to the theology of the pastors/church leaders who are laying hands, it's a reminder nevertheless of the importance of praying for those whom God has put in authority, and for that matter whether you agree with them being there or not (which i think i should remind myself more of from time to time), rather than unapologetically and openly denounce them with unnecessarily harsh and partisan invective, and even worse, take pride in it. Speaks volumes about one's (lack of) humility and (abundance of) ego, and not to mention also reflects really poorly on conservatism to have such folk so highly esteemed among its ranks.

absolutely fabulous?

I chanced upon this article the other day, which started me thinking, and then the same topic came up in random conversation just now as well, and yup come to think of it, i wonder what comes to mind in the minds of foreigners when they hear or read about S'pore holding an annual parade called 'Chingay'. I've no idea what's the etymology of the word anyways, but surely you can't blame people for getting the mistaken impression that it's similar to more famous parades in places like Sydney or San Francisco, can you?

In any case that's about the limit to my interest in the parade. Especially since the route this year apparently impedes upon my newfound running route. Bah.

battle's at midway

This seven-week sem at nie has been, and will continue to be, very packed, and the amount of work to be done before it runs out and practicum starts is quite something. When you look at all the stuff to do, it actually isn't too big a deal. The problem for me lies in how all this is squeezed into such a tight timeframe, and this week (specifically, tomorrow) marks the midway point. Goodness knows the only reason why i've looked forward to cnys in years past has been for the break, but this year more than ever before, the break is pretty academic (in all senses of the word). Even though it's a total of five days long including the weekend and the free day, it doesn't seem like enough time. Not that i'm behind schedule though, but that's only because i didn't bother to set one...

As is the case in every cny, at least some point of the Aussie Open seems to be ongoing. I'm glad though that we don't subscribe to the sports channels at home though, since it would be a waste of $ as long as the grand slams and maybe college bball would not be showing, and all that would be on were just (imo) boring soccer, and also cos if this were the case i'd be even more distracted than i already have been thus far, which would be a disaster where attempts to complete nie work would be concerned. So as much as i'd have enjoyed seeing AI get thrashed and ND retiring (ok i'm mean), i guess it's for the best that i don't...

Three and a half weeks to my transport costs being halved...

revealed

I don't know how discreet i'm supposed to be about school postings so i won't say exactly where i've been posted to (for both practicum as well as for the final posting), suffice to say that i hadn't expected to be posted there, though in retrospect it makes sense distance wise (glad the road diversion has been done away with). That being said my previous place was far nearer to the school than my present one is, but then again, how many schools are there near to my place anyway? Anyways, it'll be nice to have to head back east again, even if it's not too far east...

At the moment, my main concern with this place is the same one i had with it when i was concerned i'd be posted there for my two-and-a-half week stint two years ago - that it'll be too much of a culture shock. Which come to think of it is a bit strange given how there were quite a few from this school in my previous church, so it's not as if i was totally clueless about the school culture. All (i.e. two) my short-lived church tuition stints were also with children from this school actually... But well i guess i had the same concern with the ese school, and that turned out fine. Could really see why the Lord brought me there, and in the same vein, i'm sure in time i'll see why He is bringing me to this new place ya...

Le Cordon Bleagh

When i came across this, i was somewhat surprised that the backlash from the article was that sizeable. Initially when i read the article, i thought that it was quite a cool idea. Then i read that the guy actually was a perm sec, and started to get miffed. I, lesser mortal that i am, distinctly remember him being quoted as saying stuff like "taking five weeks leave is easier that you think". What a lack of foresight on his part, to say something like that, and of course, to disclose with so much pride the expensive details of his little cooking holiday to the whole of S'pore. A bit worrying that someone of his standing can be so aloof (but then again, it's not as if this is an isolated case, so it's not as if i was surprised).

Didn't expect it to lead up to this though. Didn't think it was that big of a deal (or at least that it would be allowed to become as big a deal as it has). Of course, i'm sure they only decided to reprimand the guy, or at least to make it public, cos of the larger-than-expected backlash, a kind of damage control measure. Can't help but feel a bit for the guy though - the timing of the silly article i suppose couldn't have been any worse, and whether done intentionally or not it sure seemed as though the writer/editor styled the story in such a way as to get as negative a reaction as possible to the holiday. I bet the guy wishes he'd brought his family to Shermay's Cooking School instead :p...

Thoughts on Gaza

During the time of intercession at church last Sunday there was a time of prayer for the current crisis in Gaza. Prayer for world events is something that i've become more passionate about (even if admittedly i still don't do enough of that if it's not a prayer led by someone else), so that was heartening for me.

By the end of the prayer however, alarm bells were ringing in my head. Cos (at least in my opinion) the prayer was clearly directed more towards Israel and less towards Gaza. No mention of the Palestinians whatsoever was made, and the closest there got to this was praying something to the extent of "for the families of the dead and injured". There however was plenty of mention of stuff like the protection of the Jews and the salvation of God's chosen people. Fair enough, but i thought that to include this without mentioning the Palestinians and the hundreds, if not thousands more (compared to the Israelis) of Palestinian casualties, including many civilians among them, wasn't right. I almost felt like i was in some church in Texas... No matter how positively the whole story is spun in Israel's favor, and how horrible Hamas may be, the fact is that both sides have a part to play in delaying a tentative ceasefire, which should at the least be a major, if not the top priority at the moment. Instead we see continued heavy shelling by the Israelis with even the UN HQ being shelled. To me, it's disgusting.

I must admit i have yet to understand full enough about how what is written in the Bible applies to the current Israeli state and the Israelis as God's chosen people. Is this purported 'act of defence' against Hamas (and by virtue of the density of Gaza, the entire Palestinian population there) really akin to the battles against the Hittites, Jebusites, Canaanites and whatever other -ites there are., lending Godly justification to what has been going on for almost three weeks now? I'm certainly not convinced, and am waiting to be convinced otherwise...

Public Service Announcement

I don't know why i don't seem to have anything better and less frivolous to do than watch the repeat of the Golden Globes on tv (although i'm at least trying to do some minor nie stuff in between)

Anyways, last week i happened to be in the library (a regular haunt, now that it's near enough to my place) and went up to the tenth floor, after seeing a sign below that advertised for a special exhibition on Lee Kong Chian and Tan Kah Kee. However, i was about five days too late, as it had closed with the year's end.

Instead however, there was this real brilliant, if still somewhat abrogated exhibition on the life of David Marshall, which i'd highly recommend, even if you're not a history buff. Anyways half the exhibition is on his life before the stuff we all know (or hopefully still remember) from lower sec history and is rather fascinating. Like apparently he was born just down the road from my place, in a house that (surprise surprise has been demolished) occupied the land where peace centre now is, and that his family came from Baghdad of all places.

There also is this even smaller but nonetheless interesting exhibition on the same floor on the origins of some road names in S'pore, and the short biographies of the people they were named after. Just so happens that two of the roads were named after my ancestors (my proverbial grandfather's roads, or more accurately, great great grandfather and great great great great grandfather). Not that it has any influence on my recommendation of course.

So if you're in the vicinity, do check it out (have no idea when they will end though, so don't complain if they're gone by the time you get there...)

E'pean musings

Now's as good a time as any to ramble on about the recent trip, primarily for the sake of my own memory (i.e. or else i may forget what i did), since that would be a likely thing to happen once nie starts again. And don't those credit card commercials always say that such and such costs so much, but memories are priceless? Anyways, i dunno how much time i may have to do that from tom onwards, and before i know it it's already been more than a month since i left... So maybe let me correct the first statement, it's not as good a time as any, rather, it's as good a time as any time before tomorrow.

Amsterdam was where i landed, and was probably the place i went to this time that i was most familiar with, since i've been there two times before. The first time was seventeen-and-a-half years ago though, so that doesn't really count, while the second was for a choir trip in 2001 where we had a day tour of the city that can best be described as the exact opposite of free-and-easy (given the reputation that the city carries, and that the way the choir tours tends to lean towards the ultimate control freak variety, i guess it's no surprise that the red light areas were not part of the tour). I think we only did the token day tour cos we happened to land in Schiphol in the first place. And come to think of it, that my flight happened to be to Amsterdam was probably the only reason why i spent two days there as well. Well as it turned out it was quite an interesting and intriguing starter to the trip, and i'm glad i decided to go there again since i managed to see things that i had not seen before (including some stuff through some windows that i probably in retrospect should not have seen).

Amsterdam was the only place i actually experienced snow falling during the trip - it was at night in the hostel and i was prepared to go to sleep. It had been drizzling outside, but then i guess it got colder and soon some others remarked that the raindrops had turned to snow. Just for the sake of it i went outside to the fire escape and do all those things you'd expect a suaku S'porean to do like take pictures and stick out my tongue to catch snowflakes. Just as well in any case, since there was to be no more actual snowfall (apart from when i was in the train) during the trip.

I've always been rather obsessed with visiting as many countries as possible, and while i'd been to Belgium before, it was only a non-stop drive-through that just happened to pass through Belgian soil since that was what lay between the Netherlands and France. So saying i've been to Belgium before would have to come with an asterisk. This time i finally set foot on the soil for a change. Again, coming from S'pore, it was a refreshing change to go to Bruges and find that seemingly almost every building of note was older than S'pore itself. Talk about an embarassment of riches. If i'd any regret about Bruges, it would be that i knew of the existence of the movie "In Bruges" before the trip, but had conveniently forgotten about it while planning and during the trip itself, and then only remembered it again during my next stop.

I ended up traveling alone cos i figured i would not be able to find anyone who would want to do Europe, or at least at that time and in the way i would have wanted to do it. Over the whole course of the trip, the occasional thought like "oh you idiot why are you walking along this poorly-lit street at this time of night, you wanna get mugged?" came to mind but thankfully none of these came to fruition. It was actually pretty safe, come to think of it. Just had to make sure that i didn't do stupid things like count my $ in public and such and such. In fact, i thought that at the end of the day the only two drawbacks to being alone were 1) the usual how to take pix of oneself problem, and 2) feeling paiseh to step into a proper sit-down place for a meal on my own. So it was in Bruges that #2 came into effect, as even though there's all sorts of interesting Belgian food to try, i never got around to eating any of it, cos i'd have to go to one of the fancier sit-down places for that. So even though i was even prepared to eat stuff like rabbit, i didn't get the opportunity to do so (and just as well the other day i was watching this documentary which showed that some wild E'pean rabbits are infested with ticks).

I had randomly found out about couchsurfing through some newspaper article last year, and when it came down to planning for the trip i realized that it would be a real cool way to go about with things, for at least part of the way. So i managed to do that in both Maastricht (which i sorta randomly decided to go to, not knowing much more about it than that there was the treaty) and Luxembourg (see my obsession with going to as many countries as possible above). Turns out that it's a great idea, it really helps to know and understand a place better if you've people who stay there to bring you up to speed (and of course, the S'porean in me can't fault the fact that you technically don't have to pay for lodging). And it also so happened that these are places that are not quite as touristy as most of the other places i went to, so getting good reliable info from my hosts was quite neat. Basically (provided you get good hosts, which i did) it brings out the best in people :) Look forward to the next opp to do that (when?)...

The whole of the second half of the trip was spent in France. Initially i'd looked forward to the trip mainly as an opportunity to finally go there after having (allegedly) learnt French for five whole years (the only other time i went there being the same seventeen-and-a-half years ago trip). Then, once i got to French-speaking parts in Belgium and Luxembourg, after the luxury of being able to get by with English before that, i realized that i was somewhat out of my depth, and that my so-called French was really really that bad... You can therefore imagine my euphoria after i carried out my first successful French coversation , even if it only consisted of two guys asking me if the train at the platform was headed to Luxembourg and me replying "je ne sais pas" (i dunno). I also chickened out of reserving my train tickets in France at the local ticket counter, as i had spent at least two days trying to figure out all the vocabulary and grammar that i might have needed in my head, but still came up short (so instead i went up to a ticket counter while i was still in Luxembourg, straight up asked "Bonjour, parlez-vous anglais?", and heaved a huge sigh of relief when she replied "yes").

Well, over the course of the week i was there, things did get better and by the end of the trip, i thought i could get by pretty well, such that on the Air France flight home, i made sure i still spoke to the cabin crew in French (even if all i had to say was oui, non, jus d'orange, and le poulet, s'il vous plaît). Along the way there were petty little triumphs, like when i went for lunch with a Brazilian friend i met at my hostel in Paris and i was able to get by ordering for the both of us and explaining to him what was on the menu. One thing i realized though, my ability to speak French drops drastically in cold weather. Since speaking French involves making a lot of mouth-contorting sounds that are not present in English, i realized that when i had to speak French outdoors (say when grabbing a meal at a Christmas market), i'd be hard-pressed to pronounce a lot of the words properly cos my face would be numb from the cold. Still managed to get by thankfully...

I was also amazed by how the Lord was working in my life while i was there. Since i was going by myself, i'd initially envisioned this trip as some kind of personal retreat, something that i knew i would need after last sem at nie (and will need for this one :p). However, when i got there i may have gotten carried away with (and again i blame the S'porean in me) the desire to see as much as possible within the limited time that i had. So basically that meant 1) i must have walked an average of 5km a day, if not more, which works out to more than a marathon's distance covered while i was there (not to mention aching feet and knees every night), and 2) i was perhaps a bit too distracted for my liking. It turned out though that through a guy i met at my first hostel in Amsterdam (the Christian one in the heart of the red-light district), i received a contact of someone in Strasbourg, who when i was there brought me to a charismatic evangelical home cell group. It was such a blessing to even just be there and be encouraged by the believers there, even if everything was conducted in French and hence i only understood about half of the conversations that were going on. Incidentally, one of the ladies there even remarked that the French that i could speak was spoken without an accent (something that i attribute to regularly watching TV5 Monde), which was somewhat affirming to hear heh... At the end of the day, i think i've been inspired by this trip to improve my French further, with the aim of having it eventually surpass Chinese as my second-best language (and that shouldn't be too hard eh?)

So all in all, i'm really glad for the opportunity to go for this trip, and i definitely learnt a lot. Look forward to the next trip, which hopefully will come within the year. I'll definitely need it, from the looks of things...

Grinning and Bearing it

After about half an hour or so of trying to reacquaint myself again with the nie virtual learning environment (which carries the very misleading moniker of "geNIEus"), i finally found what i had been quietly dreading all holiday - this upcoming semester's timetable. Actually, now that i take a second look at it, it's not too bad, but i guess after the strangely student-friendly (or more accurately, anyone who does not stay in boon lay-friendly) three/four day timetable last sem, anything else was bound to look bad. And so while i still may entertain lingering thoughts from time to time that nie must be in collusion with the folks at smrt and sbstransit, planning their timetables in such a way as to maximize bus and train revenue collected from those poor things like me who stay far away, again i guess i shouldn't complain so much ya, even if it were not anything to do with starting the new year on a fresh foot kinda thing.

Going back to nie after a good break was never bound to inspire much enthusiasm in me to begin with, though i must admit already in the run up to it starting again on mon, i've already been rolling my eyes aplenty and then some. I'd so love to elaborate, but i don't think that would serve any useful purpose (maybe to vent pent-up steam that i may otherwise save to vent in the face of a prof?). We'll just see how things go in the next couple of weeks ...

Creatively Nauseating Yusheng

The thing about Christmas in S'pore (apart from that it's too warm, especially after coming back from far colder places) is that it segues into CNY way too quickly. As i've said before, i really don't enjoy CNY apart from it being a holiday (and a long weekend this upcoming year too :) and usually once the new year comes, i avoid stepping into the supermarket for fear of hearing more awful CNY music.

Yesterday's ST was thus slightly worrying in the sense that it's not four days since Christmas day itself but already one of the food write-ups was on where to go for different kinds of fancy yusheng. (Seriously, Sichuan spicy ox tendon yusheng with blueberry sauce or abalone yusheng with rojak sauce? *gags*) Yup they didn't even leave room for the usual "what to do with my Christmas dinner leftovers?" article this time - maybe some overly-creative chef should have created a roast turkey and ham yusheng with cran-apple gravy *bleah*

Noël, know well?

I forgot where exactly i read this (i thought that it was in the ST this morning but now i can't find the quote, perhaps it was a dream?) but well it said something to the effect of "around 2 billion Christians around the world celebrate Christmas, along with millions of other people". That was quite a striking statement, as evident as it is. I mean, already among those 2 billion, i wonder how much of the seemingly elusive "true meaning" of Christmas is actually reflected upon, rather than it merely being an opportunity to take a break from work, eat possibly copious amounts of unhealthy food, and catch up with friends and/or family. Not that these are not in some way (some more than others) linked to this true meaning, but perhaps at the end of the day the actual meaning is overshadowed by all these these peripherals and incidentals. And if it's like this among us 2 billion, what more for the millions more who observe/celebrate the holiday but (generally speaking) don't go beyond the commercial/social aspects of it. For example, how about how in some places Christmas is promoted for its perceived (and very real as well) commercial benefits but any religious bent on it is strictly out of bounds.

And as i normally do, let me make the disclaimer that perhaps i too sometimes fall into this trap. Perhaps year after year of celebrating Christmas since childhood has made me take it for granted to some extent, when it really has become at times nothing more than a time to take a break, pig out, and receive presents. Even the wide array of carols that we sing all become appreciated more for their melodies rather than the richness of what their lyrics mean to convey to us all.

But well, i guess the cool thing in this case is that the Lord has made it such that at least where religious holidays are concerned, Christmas is perhaps the most observed (or at least recognized) by non-believers, which is in a way a real neat opportunity for outreach, more so than perhaps any other holiday. Yup so while sometimes we may lament as to how Easter is perhaps more important to our faith than Christmas is and yet is lesser recognized, or as they do elsewhere, complain about how in the interests of religious freedom/sensitivities and what not, "happy holidays/season's greetings" has become the pc way to go rather than "blessed/merry Christmas", hopefully that will not get in the way of simply seeking to spread the message about what we believe Christmas to really be about...

Why go?

As last semester at nie was going by, it became more and more clear to me that i would not last another one (even with a month-long break in between it, and around half of the next one being spent at a school rather than at nie itself) without taking a good long overseas holiday during the aforementioned break. I figure that i'm the kind that needs regular holidays abroad to retreat, reflect and recharge. This being the last confirmed opportunity i'd have to do something like this since i dunno how things may be like next time, i felt i had to make sure that i'd make something out of this one. And me being me, i had to do it in some far away ang moh-inhabited place, and not something in the same continent. Granted that i've already had the opportunity this year to go on one of each of the two types of aforementioned trips for a reasonable amount of time, but i reasoned that hey i don't really spend on much in S'pore anyways (i'm set to match last year's record of one movie watched in a cinema in a calendar year), and i guess the money saved from that could go into a good far away trip.

Initially, i was thinking of doing the US again, maybe hit the magic 30 at least. But then again, i already went there earlier this year, and have been there pretty frequently in the past too. So i thought maybe that can wait for another time, especially when i can find others to go with (and maybe drive around for me :p). And since i was (and still am) getting so frustrated of the heat here, which meant that i'd to head somewhere in the northern hemisphere, the only other option would be somewhere in Europe. And since i'd be going by myself (cos while i didn't really ask around, i didn't get any "i want to take a good, reasonably long holiday in some far away ang moh country and i'm looking for others who want to do the same" vibes from anyone), i figured it would have to be in a place that i would be able to survive reasonably well enough. In other words, i'd have to go to a place where i can manage with at least one of the languages commonly spoken there. That meant English and (God willing,) French [Mandarin would be out unless i would be doing a tour of Europe's Chinatowns, sampling the Singapore Fried Noodles of the Chinese restaurants in each place...]. So after a heck of a lot of surfing of sites like expedia, momondo, and eurail, i managed to find a really good ticket on non-crash-prone carriers (SIN-AMS, CDG-SIN) and a suitable rail pass for Benelux and France. For the latter, since it was the last year i could take advantage of the youth pass (until 26 years old) and train travel allowed me to be more flexible in my travel plans (since i'm so last min), as well as less polluting, while affording the convenience of traveling to/from train stations which are often near/in the city center as opposed to airports at the fringes, i thought that it was a no brainer to get a rail pass compared to choosing to fly from city to city.

Hmm so that's a really long preamble to the actual trip itself, long-winded as i am... The rest will come soon...

No Country for Corrupt Men

So it turns out that the time i was in Amsterdam was the only time i had the opportunity to put something here. And well, now that i'm back (oh crap), i can say that it was a real nice trip that i had, and hopefully far from the last... But i'll talk more about it in detail another time (though of course i said the same about the election and look what's happened - i'll make sure it happens this time)

Actually, i just realized that i've some lingering nie stuff to do before the new term (hence the "oh crap"), so this will be short. On a semi-election note (so at least i still keep to what i said earlier), and in light of recent political happenings, i recalled that when i was in Chicago during fall break while on exchange, i came across this sign (the guy was running for a second term) and took a picture. And i remember sort of inferring from the local press that he was rather inept. And yet at the end of the day he still won by a 9% margin over his Republican opponent, who was the last Republican elected official left statewide at that time (hence now there are no more...). The Illinois GOP must really stink, really bad... Anyways, whatever it is, i like how this sign shows how much things can change in one short election cycle...

gone dutch

hmm don't have long left on my 1.50 Euro internet so here's the short of it:

am now in Amsterdam
flight non-eventful
staying in red-light district
but in a Christian-run hostel
so they cancel each other out (?)
already got offered weed and mushrooms on the street
love the weather
could be colder
you should visit Anne Frank House
and i'm out (not from the weed and mushrooms)

window closed, window opened

(Fm: MINDEF)
Congratulations. You have cleared your IPPT for your last IPPT window and your new IPPT window has been opened. Keep up the good work.

Amidst all that has been happening over the past week or so, i almost forgot that i had taken my ippt until i got this text earlier today. Hah. Well anyways, after the very limited prep (token runs, climbing up the 143 steep steps to my place every weekday) that i was able to do, due to both busyness and of course, laziness, i'm glad that things managed to pan out enough for me to be able to clear it - if but barely. I suppose i relied upon sheer motivation to not have to kena remedial training (which would entail going back to an army camp for two-ish hours three times a week). So well, that's another year down, and a new year of telling myself to start exercising earlier so that i can take the next one at an earlier date so won't have to do a last-min rush again but prob ending up doing the last-min rush next year. I suppose if there's anything good about turning twenty-five, it's that it brings one to a slightly slacker standard for passing IPPT (Cat X to Cat Y - one pullup less, four cm less, that sorta thing).

Am watching sky news coverage of the attacks in Mumbai (only because CNN is showing A Tribute to Heroes and BBC World some IT program). Interesting that the correspondent on site at the Taj Hotel isn't even missing a beat with each of the successive grenade blasts going on behind her - i can only imagine how long it's been going on. Such is the fairly unique nature of this particular series of attacks (i.e. ongoing over a sustained period) that i wonder how much these news networks ought to divulge live on air about what the police/military intends to do - surely, although they keep on saying that there's no electricity etc inside the buildings, there is a possibility that somehow the hostage-takers may be able to figure out what the next move of the police/military is and act accordingly. Of course, there also were people trapped in their rooms who somehow came in contact with some networks via their mobiles and were interviewed live literally just as they were huddled in darkness in their rooms hiding from the hostage-takers - at the least i hope they did not divulge their room number. Already, i read that one British yachting tycoon who has been confirmed dead had earlier been interviewed by the BBC, where he had said something to the extent of them moving from the restaurant to the ballroom to take shelter from the hostage-takers. I can only hope that there's no correlation between the two.

Oh well, hope all this ends very soon...