WOOHOO

I just finished backing up my whole BLOG! YES! And you should too! Don't assume that blogspot won't suffer from some virtual calamity! Backup now!

But that aside, I looked through a few of my past posts... And it looks like I still did and said plenty of crass things =/ Ah well. I think it was an improvement from two years ago.

Note: Blog about Corrine May's 'Fly Away'

First updated entry

I spent the larger part of my day engaging in the Disciple bible study course. It's tiring but I guess I am finding it enjoyable from the onset, as the people are friendly and the (rather cumbersome) book gives me a lot of fresh perspectives. I got to speak at length with my course mates, and I found it to be quite good! I've met yet another person with the same birthdate as myself: Hazel Loh, a librarian at NTU.

That makes 2 now:
Yew Hong
Hazel Loh
David (21st September, but close enough I guess.)

Tried ushering today as well, but I think that it was too uneventful to write anything about... =/ tired.

Irony.

'Please confirm that you're a human by typing in the words shown below.' And it asked me to recognize words that only a machine could. Ugh.

I just had a steamboat dinner with my family, and we had this amazing desert called coconut jelly! A young coconut is opened up and they fill it with konnyaku jelly and the sliced coconut flesh! This is the kind of desert for which I would take a trip out to eat. The jelly has a great texture which compliments the coconut flesh (two diff. kinds of smooth), and it makes for a light and cooling dessert. Delicious.

Aloysius got me an incredible book, and now, together with some other great books given to me by friends and family, I somehow have too much to read on my hands. Haha. Those of you who are interested should look for Will James's 'The Varieties of Religious Experience'!

Mom: Oh I think I will become most senile in my older years. I wonder if I'll become a fine target for swindlers and crooks.

Me: Don't worry, Mom. You can just leave all your money with me =)

Is ruination a word? YES!

I visited the link to ZeroPunctuation from Chris's blog, and was immediately impressed by his incisive wit and his keen eye for details in a game. I looked at his travelogue of a visit to Valve's headquarters; all I can say is that 'thinking out of the box' pretty much defines that company =/

I decided to enrol in the special term at NTU after some re-consideration. I think it'll be worth the time to matriculate early and get first-hand experience handling administration matters. It shouldn't be a bad idea to clear a module or two either. Looking through all the options and getting to know the system was interesting, and the person who assisted me at the Office of Admissions was very friendly as well... Now I have to contact my potential driving instructor and apply for my Singpass in February.



I surmise that--> surmise (verb)- to think or infer without strong evidence; to conjecture or guess.

'Give a man a match and he'll be warm for 30s. Set him alight and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.'-Kseen's msn nic

P.S.: Why are you laughing, Cai? In no words did I specify that it was You that I was referring to; I did not even make references to gender. Anyway don't be shy to ask, I'm willing to give you a massage/special/service anytime... ... Hmmm. That is unavoidably wrong(sounding).

This is the first time that I've bought a phone in two years, and the technology gap really got to me for awhile, but I'm really liking this No(ob)kia E51 more and more. I didn't understand the implications of 3G at first, though. It was only until my campmate explained it to me that I realized that I had to pay for every kB of those Nokia maps that I'd been downloading =(

My new laptop is sitting in a box in my room, waiting to be opened and explored. I don't have the time to open it though, sadly. I guess I'll do so on Monday.

My game fast is ending tonight. Having a glance at my records tells me that what I've done in 12-gameless days was not bad, but it wasn't near what I'd been aiming to do. Still, there's been a measure of success, and perhaps I shall go cold turkey again in the near future...

My music is nice to listen to on a rainy day like this one

Mmm.. Just arrived home from Plaza Singapura after meeting with Wanyi to buy presents for Jon and for others.. I had an enjoyable chat with her, as well as a meal which included a hotdog with tantalizing, wasabi-spicy mustard, a wonderful MOS milkshake, and one of Wanyi's cookies. You should sell those, lady. haha...

Looks like Jon has joined the ranks of those people who will be flying off to other countries to study... It's true that I've fallen out of contact with him since secondary school days, but he's definitely yet another person who will be missed. Haha.. Well all the best to him, I'll be attending the birthday party on saturday... Should be a good time.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

A Robin Redbreast in a Cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage.
A dove house fill’d with doves and pigeons
Shudders Hell thro’ all its regions.
A Dog starv’d at his Master’s Gate
Predicts the ruin of the State.
A Horse misus’d upon the Road
Calls to Heaven for Human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted Hare
A fiber from the Brain does tear.

He who shall train the Horse to War
Shall never pass the Polar Bar.
The Beggar’s Dog and Widow’s Cat,
Feed them and thou wilt grow fat.
The Gnat that sings his Summer song
Poison gets from Slander’s tongue.
The poison of the Snake and Newt
Is the sweat of Envy’s Foot.

A truth that’s told with bad intent
Beats all the Lies you can invent.
It is right it should be so;
Man was made for Joy and Woe;
And when this we rightly know
Thro’ the World we safely go.
Every Night and every Morn
Some to Misery are Born.
Every Morn and every Night
Some are Born to sweet delight.
Some are Born to sweet delight,
Some are Born to Endless Night.

-William Blake Shakespeare, Auguries of Innocence

I'm not really sure what the meaning of the first paragraph (stanza?) is... That all these small things are precious, or that they reflect the nature of bigger things? Can anybody clarify?

HAPPY NEW THINGS!

Mmmm.... I got a new phone, I got new jeans... I learnt something new about gift giving. Never give people clocks because it's supposed to be bad luck (Another of those chinese wordplay things). Just an hour ago, I was blessed to receive a new experience.

I went with my Mom for a Thai Massage! Pure Pwnaaage... I just have to describe it. The lady who massaged me cracked my neck, my lower back, my upper back, and massaged just about every part of my body, even my fingers! 'Every part of my body' does not, of course, include genitalia, although she did come rather close to that area to massage the hip and pelvic joints... I got a head massage and a foot massage too, and I managed, roughly, to memorize some of the more basic (and less dangerous) techniques that she used. 45 Mins of massaging goodness in total!

Let me take this time to declare, with a loud voice, to all the cynics and the voices... opposed to good stuff... that I believe, from the bottom of my heart: 'The art of massage (honest to good ones)should be taught everywhere, and practiced everywhere too, between friends and lovers and spouses and families.' It's such a rejuvenating gift of time to the person who receives it, and it's a great way to communicate, and to communicate love and care, through 'physical touch' (One of the Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman) and the gift of that 5-15 mins of time you give to the recipient. It might not permanently correct back problems (as I had initially hoped), but it will definitely create a sense of relaxation and comfort, increase blood circulation, and tune muscles for the recipient.

Now, I know that some people, such as *****, will be probably be trying to think of some witty thing to quip or quote in the spirit of mockery and amusement at what seems to h** to be a ridiculous statement. Let me ask you something, don't you think that your mom might appreciate a massage after a hard day's work? Might it not surprise her that her child has spontaneously offered to rub her aching shoulders and offer 10 mins of time to her? Or perhaps if you asked her for one, would she not give it to you (unless she was not able), knowing how sore you must be feeling from all your studying and your chionging?

No, unnamed person(s). Do not quip, do not remark. Instead, take a few days to let the meaning of this wonderful message sink in... and then embrace it, one massage at a time, until the world becomes a better place. Really. Seriously.

Admiration is the furthest thing from understanding

I have this feeling that I titled a previous entry similarly/similiarly? ... I've heard this twice. First, from that supervillain captain from Bleach anime, and the second time from my (potentially) deeply cynical, and heretical friend in camp.


ad·mi·ra·tion –noun
1.a feeling of wonder, pleasure, or approval.
2.the act of looking on or contemplating with pleasure: admiration of fine paintings.
3.an object of wonder, pleasure, or approval: The dancer was the admiration of everyone.
4.Archaic. wonder; astonishment.

It sounds like it could be quite true, doesn't it? Wouldn't you lose the sense of wonder you had towards a magic trick, once the magician decided to reveal the way it was done? After all, behind the illusion and the misdirection lies simple mathematical principles and sleight of hand... But then you might say that you admire the magician for practicing until he reached that level of skill with his hands.

However, in that same way, you might say that there is little to understand about a mother who takes care of four children, and yet you admire her for having the strength and perseverance to take care of all four of them. Hmm. I think I have to go and think about this some more.. But I guess that admiration carries a sort of underlying meaning, that it implies 'looking up' to a person with wonderment and a feeling that that person is perfect, an idol to be mimicked completely.

Note: Does the word 'respect' carry with it the suggestion that the respect-or is roughly equal to or of similiar standing to the respect-ee?

090108: Perhaps our sense of admiration towards a particular person's qualities is lost when we recognize what desires, needs, and environmental factors (things and situations present in all human lives) led the person to develop that particular talent or trait (anything from martial arts to good relational skills). It is lost, but is replaced with an approval for the person because he made a positive choice, as opposed to the negative choice in the situation that he found himself in.

I believe that determinists would say that he has made no choice at all... But that is something else altogether.


NOTE: The dynamics of the debate for 'This house would condone cosmetic surgery'? I saw a match between 3 women from a Korean University and a mixed team from Cairo University. It made me think about it again, haha. (Will update this post when I have time. For now I must write about my massage.)

Proposition:
-Everyone's choice to pursue both inner and outer beauty
-Cosmetic surgery has been used to help accident victims who have been disfigured, and its techniques extend to other fields of corrective medical procedures.

Prop. bonus point: The opposition is from Korea, but many Korean stars and even the president use cosmetic surgery. Haha. The Korean ladies were using make-up on the show, too. Haha. Big blooper there.

Opposition:
-People are too obsessed with outer beauty and should treasure their inner beauty more, especially for women, who are the traditionally the ones to alter their looks to please men.
-They do this in spite of the inherent risks of the surgery, which can have sizeable failure rates depending on the country
-The definition of outer beauty has always changed with the times (e.g. small feet in old China, long necks in Africa, fat women in some European states). It shows that beauty is only skin deep.
-Surgery to correct disfigurement from accidents is a given and should not be a part of the debate. Recovering something that was lost is fine. The debate at its core is about the excessive and obsessive pursuit of beauty through surgical procedures. You should treasure the looks that God gave you from birth.

Proposition:
-People have a natural and understandable love of aesthetics and outer beauty, as can be seen by our love of beautiful scenery or flowers. As long as people continue to treasure and foster their inner beauty, it is ok to pursue outer beauty if you have the means.
-Success rates differ with every country, and naturally if you go to a shady place for the procedure, you're bound to get a bad deal. That has to do with the poor decision making of people, not cosmetic surgery procedures as a whole. The process will only continue to progress and perfect itself, as time passes.
-If your newly-born baby had a birth defect that scarred the entire right side of his face, and you had the means to correct it with surgery, then would you do so, in spite of the fact that he was BORN with it? Would you honestly tell a person, whose natural looks make others shudder to look upon him, to forgo the surgery and spend the rest of his life convincing others of the superiority of his inner beauty? Perhaps you say that these are special cases, but as you also say beauty is subjective according to the times, who are you to say that people born this way Deserve the surgery, and others born slightly less ugly, do not deserve to take it? People should be given the right to change the way the look, as long as they continue to treasure their inner beauty. They should not have to be handicapped in societal relations just because of the way they were born.

Opposition:
-Cosmetic surgery is a branch of medicine available only to the affluent. By condoning it, you are giving the rich the opportunity to have-it-all: money, the best schools to foster good brains, and now the best surgery for good looks. Some of the poor are able to marry out of poverty with their good looks. Some day you will have a society cleaved into two parts: One part with people who have nothing, the other part with people who have everything.

Proposition:
-The rich will likely continue to marry pretty poor girls/guys. Some of those rich will hold opinions just like yours, that they don't have to change their outer appearance for the sake of others. Hell, they're rich, they don't need to! Things will remain roughly the same as they are now. All you are proving is that outer beauty DOES severely impact the quality of one's life.

Note: It is hard for the opposition to put across the idea that obsessive pursuit of outer beauty inevitably has an impact on one's inner life, or that this even carries weight when placed against the possibility that you will be less well-accepted in society because of the way you look. Perhaps it can be argued that many of the great thinkers and achievers of history reached the heights of their knowledge because they were not distracted by goals of societal acceptance, that if they'd been born prettier, they might have become too distracted to invent etc etc etc..