Home

Spring Break 09 was one holiday that I was truly looking forward to, and by golly did it not disappoint.
Being stuck overnight in Tokyo, the look of utter incomprehension on Liang's face, getting weird looks from a bunch of people in the NUS central library, chilli crabs at Palm Beach with the choir folks, hanging out with my 3 favourite people everyday, time spent with the family combating pollution in Hong Kong and not even being able to see the diamonds of bad fengshui on the Bank of China, father wanting to initial BS on his shirts, wanton noodles, dim sum at Lung King Heen and almost being denied entry into the states. All that in a week. I hope that answers all the questions pertaining to why I'm killing myself to graduate early.
By the way, I've added a new link on the left. The magazine is a British publication which defies categorization. This month, [Monocle] talks to Anders Fogh Rasmussen about COP 15, does a feature on Bildschöne Bücher and its exceptional range of design and photography books, and contemplates the future of the workplace. Awesome awesome stuff.

Charging By

For some of the best tempura in town, head down to Tenshin at The Regent. No one here does it like them. A cosy little place on the 3rd floor of the hotel, it sits approximately 30 or so i think, so do try to make reservations if you are thinking of heading down during the weekend!



Food aside, it looks like I've sung in my last awef for in the near and probably even extended future as well. =/ To the alumni there, thank you for the music. The night was really quite precious to me. So, 3 weeks more till I leave sunny Singapore for the shores of America to San Francisco and Indi-middleofnowhere-ana.

Typing this entry brings my memory back to exactly this time last year, when a whole other bunch of friends were about to leave for overseas and how we would mock and laugh as we read out their highly emotional 2000-word long goodbyes on their blogs. Surreal then, that i am close to having to eat my words a year down. But in the event that you are eagerly anticipating an opportunity to tease me, nuh-uh. This is not about to degenerate into that. This is about me reflecting on how fulfilling life can be when it is spent doing all of the items listed below
1) Not neglecting the bible
2)Having to work only one or two days a week, and for a period of 5 hours each time at that
3)Spending time with close friends before I leave
4)Getting to spend time with brother, although it might only have been for 3 days
5)Getting back in the mood of studying. Here's a list of books I have to clear before heading over
-The Guide to Understanding Financial Statements
-The Merrill Lynch Guide to Understanding Financial Reports
-Perspectives on Strategy from The Boston Consulting Group
-Payback, Reaping the Rewards of Innovation

Envy me-.-

Keyaki

It's now 10:08 pm. I am still dastardly full from lunch which ended at 2:30 pm, which goes to show how unhealthy i have been gorging myself. Keyaki was an absolute treat as always.I will miss the parentals terribly when i head over to the states in 2 months. The FOOD, the FOOD!!
No I kid. Of course, I'll miss them for other reasons than them wining and dining me.=)

t's just a pity that they no longer have the nice white lollipops with colourful streaks running through them though. Serving tootsie pops at the door really really does not cut it.(priorities in looking for a top-notch jap restaurant huh? the lollipops. =p)

Jap's out of the menu for the next 2 weeks or so for sure, but i do look forward to a couple more visits before I leave all of these behind me and live the life of a poor broke college kid in Indiana where I'll probably struggle to even find white rice, let alone decent robotoyaki. Perhaps the thing I'll miss most about the place? Ah Seng and his highly impressive knife spinning skills over the teppenyaki hotplate.


p.s. Ah Seng, if you do read this for some unfathomable reason, would you be so kind as to teach me how to spin knives like you do? I really don't half mind being a teppenyaki chef when i grow up.

On Thoughts After A Long Run

I was running along the beach today when i happened to run past the playground at Pasir Ris Park. It would be of no suprise that most of the structures have changed since the days of my childhood, but looking at the old trusty spiderweb brought back memories of climbing and climbing, but lacking the guts or sufficiently long limbs to get to the peak, succeeding which, one gained immortality and the right to incessantly taunt those below him.

How often is it, that one experiences a seemingly perfect union of both physical and mental states- the feeling that you are on top of the world, with your position of power established with every taunt and kick you deal to the poor soul below you.

Peculiar how some behavioural patterns don't seem to change over time as we supposedly mature and learn what it means to be people of stature and dignity.

In The Revolt of the Masses, 1951, Gasset states that civilisation is nothing else than the attempt to reduce force to being the ultima ratio. That might very well be the ideal goal of civilisation, but I posit that in an imperfect human society that strives to reach this ideal of civilisation for no reason other than because non-conformity, or the choice to pursue barbarism would result in absolute condemnation and the diminishing of one's status from that of person to animal, we have all just become masters at manipulating and creating facades that disguise the different kinds of force that we exercise.

How depressing it is then, to realise that from the womb to the grave, we remain equally inclined to being the basal subjects of our pride and human nature. There is then an acute need for a Savior if we wish to truly attain this ideal.

Oh and on the one other thing that doesn't change regardless of which stage of life you might be in - Mother worrying her head off and dealing out an interminable chain of advice as she sees you make your way to the top of the spider web.