Initiative

...is what many employers look out for. It is also no doubt, a quality that will bring you far, but this note will be discussing how it is severely lacking in Singapore, as the writer perceives.

Case Study ①
-------- Crossing The Streets --------
Have you ever noticed how irritating it is that you would like to cross the road but just the traffic light never seems to turn red, and the green man is forever on the break? Look around a bit more, and it could just be your naughty fellow resident in Singapore getting bitten by the sloth bug. The largest group the writer has observed recently reportedly includes 11 people from all walks, and all ages, all waiting for our green man to start running, but amazingly, after 3 minutes of standing and staring at countless vehicles whiz by, no one bothered to press a simple button to signal the start of a fruitful waiting process - one whereby the light will EVENTUALLY turn red. The ending for this? 9 of them jaywalked (that would have been 9 x 20 = $180 extra for our public funds arising from fines) while I pressed the button after Ms-I-Am-Oversized-But-I-Li

ke-To-Wear-Revealing-Clothes jaywalked and moved away from the traffic light (she was leaning on it). There you go, even I didn't have the initiative to ask her to move away so that I could have pursued some corrective action. Oh, there was a freeloader who enjoyed the benefits of legally crossing when the green man came on. Yay.

Case Study ②
-------- Alighting from a Bus --------
Funny. It's highly amusing how Singaporeans seem to have a fear of Bells and Buttons. First, it was the traffic light button, and now it's the bell to alert the bus driver of a passenger wanting to alight. You could say it's reminiscent of the "I-Dodged-Last-Game", which roughly goes along this concept:
"A huge truck is charging towards you. To show how gutsy and courageous you are, dodge it only at the very last moment. The person who dodges last to safety is the UBER-HERO and he/she wins."
So the passenger who presses the bell last but still doesn't miss his/her stop is the coolest passenger I guess...but I always spoil the game for the others :( No wonder I keep receiving all the "You Cowardly Kiasu Loser!" dirty stares~~but at least the driver and mechanics appreciate the less frequent occurrences of jam-brakes, and hence repairs :)
Seen some passengers press 2 stops ahead of their destinations though, don't agree with those.

Case Study ③
-------- During Q&A Sessions --------
Ever made a presentation in Singapore and during Q&A, hocus pocus, no one has any questions? Well, there sometimes are questions but they might be grudgingly asked, or just for the sake of 'participation points'? Welcome aboard, cos you're not alone! Even at information sessions, it is sometimes alarming to the writer why people never bother to clarify their doubts and when asked on why they do not intend to apply to the company at issue, the response is many-a-time related to issues that could have been easily clarified during the information session. Perhaps our brains weren't working on a fine morning whereby our favorite football team had a tough match the night before, or perhaps we simply did not put enough thought into the prospects of the job on offer.

With no more ranting tonight, the writer hopes that by showing how Singaporeans have lacked initiative in 3 scenarios, they have effectively short-changed themselves, having to resort to breaking the law (Low Crime Doesn't Mean No Crime - that includes jaywalking, no?); facing the totally unnecessary risk of missing your stop; and to possibly miss out on a career prospect, or on a more general scale, being unable to clarify your doubt. The writer would also like to take this opportunity to propose a cycle, which consists of 3 phases - Initiation, Experimentation, Innovation, whereby Initiation is both the start of something new, and the start of improvement, thereby leading to value-add. Now, with "Productivity" being the latest word in town, wouldn't it be just about time to take more initiative?
Good luck and Good Night (before I catch a cold again...just recovered from one)

Molesters

Aeons since I've last posted. Yes, posting have transformed into Notes (on FB) and Nikki (on mixi). Anyway, here goes!

DISCLAIMER: In case some people think I have all the time in the world to write notes aside from doing FYP, I consider this article to be disturbing enough to take a break from work (yeah, more excuses: 8 points)

Recently, a friend alerted me to this piece of news...

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/caught_in_the_act/300696/4_men_harass_woman_at_countdown_party_but_no_one_helped.html

In short, a scantily clad woman was molested by 4 men (they look Indian, origin unspecified) at Singapore's annual countdown event @ Sentosa's Siloso Beach. Instead of offering any aid, the crowd merely flashed out their cameras and furiously snapped away (not sure if they had SLR), with some even taking a video of the incident and posting it online.

I'll like to think about and present my thoughts on a few points.
1) Did she deserve it?
2) Are the crowd's actions justified?
3) Inferences from this incident and a myopic glimpse into the future

Frankly, I don't think it's fair to judge if the woman deserved it. One of the first arguments to have surfaced was that her provocative wear invited the molesters, but that is seriously a huge farce. Note the name of this event "Countdown Party @ Sentosa's Siloso **BEACH**". In case you didn't get it right, it was conducted at a BEACH. In fact, if I were not mistaken, participants were encouraged to attend the event in BEACHWEAR, which would most certainly include "bikinis". Why should dressing up in accordance to the theme lead to molestations? So if the party theme was "Medical", one who dressed up as a patient would necessarily lead to an operation forced upon him/her? Therefore, in my view, it is not right to hurriedly (and conveniently) blame it on the woman. Nonetheless, having witnessed a woman being molested @ Zouk last year, I will not deny this possibility totally. That night, I saw a Chinese girl flirting (kissing, hugging, dirty dancing) with a group of guys, consisting of both Caucasians and Chinese. After going around the club looking for a spot for my friend and I, we unfortunately saw this group of people again. This time round, she seemed to have lost it, either due to excessive alcohol and/or drugs, and these men were groping her in an even more outrageous way than that you might have seen in the previously provided link, and they even started to unclothe her. I did not even attempt to help her, because in this case, I think she deserved it. Flirting with a group of guys and then indulging in excessive drinking/drugs is most definitely unwise, especially if they are strangers to you. Now, if they were your friends, I would consider it most sad that you have such sickening friends who would take advantage of you when you are drunk. Towering over all, it is your fault if you not only do not know how to take care of yourself, but even go on to invite trouble upon yourself. Let this be a warning to all silly girls out there who would go clubbing, like to drink, and to mix with a large group of guys - It is your fault if you do all the above and your modesty gets outraged.

As for the crowd, they are a disgusting bunch of creeps. The mentality is clear - there is a free show; I am not implicated; I do not want to invite trouble - so therefore, I sit back and enjoy this taboo action (molestations and crimes in general are somewhat regarded as taboo in Singapore) while being totally in the clear. What's better is that I can totally blame it on the atmosphere, booze and that I alone would be powerless since "everyone else is not doing anything" and that whatever action I take would be "overpowered". Allow me to summarize that into 3 adjectives: "Selfish", "Cowardly", and "Irresponsible". Note that "apathetic" is missing from there, because the above 3 adjectives make constitute the reasons behind the apparent apathy. Personally, I would regard even comments appealing to the crowd to help the woman since "you would not want that to happen to someone close to you e.g. your wife, daughter, girlfriend". It is probably an effective persuasion, but it is from a selfish perspective. Instead, isn't it human nature to help someone in trouble? You need a reason to hurt others, but helping others doesn't really require a logical, justified argument, does it?

If you go on to watch the various videos asking people for their comments, I suppose you will agree with me the general perspective is that...

For guys: She probably deserved it and I would not help. What is the big fuss anyway?
For girls: Eeewwww, sick. This is disgusting! People should really help her...oh but I can't help. You know, she might even have asked for all this.
Minority: This is outrageous. I would have gathered my friends and helped the poor girl out of the mess.

Myself? I would have helped, provided that she were not the cause of this. Like I mentioned, if she had already been flirting with these men - which reminds me, honestly, screw u assholes who even try to argue if the men are Singaporean or foreigners, cos this only tries to invoke discrimination and it doesn't change the fact that they're molesting the girl - and she had been a drink too much/drugs, I wouldn't bother. It takes two hands to clap, indeed. However, for those who've watched the video, she struggled and tried to squat down to escape from the clutches of these men. Based on that, I would have helped her. Not because I am a righteous hero, but just because it was some form of help that I could have offered to someone who needed it.

Now, what would you have done?

Walking down the wrong walk of lif

A month and four days since I've set foot once again in my place of birth. Can I say that I have rediscovered myself in this land? I guess not. Quite the contrary, I am questioning myself more and more frequently. "Why did it take me so long to realize that I am a social misfit in this land?" is the focal question I would like to ask myself, and with good reasons.

Having spent some 20 years (nearing 21 years) in this place, true enough, I did have many fits of anger and displeasure amidst some momentary flashes of happiness, but was I merely trying to suffocate my thoughts and live on like everyone else did? Or was I oblivious to all happenings around me? Or perhaps I was enjoying it all the while here until I went on an overseas stint?

Looking back, friends and people I have met during my thorny path would most likely reflect that I harbored and even voiced my displeasure at various points in time (frequently?). That rules out the possibilities of me being oblivious or that I perhaps enjoyed it here. So it must mean that I have been suffocating my thoughts, or perhaps the overseas stint made me face my judgments more directly.

Alarmingly, I have not laughed from the bottom of my heart since my return home. This is quite severe for I am known more as a fun-loving joker rather than a personification of a gloomy day. Is it the weather? I guess not, since it was equally, if not hotter, in Japan before I left. Is it the food? Possibly, considering I follow a very different (non-oily) diet from the average local here. Is it the culture? Definitely, I will mostly effortlessly classify myself as a social misfit here. Is it the people? Perhaps, but I see this as very closely linked with the culture rather than the nature of the people. To be most fair, I have marvelous people around me who really care for me from the bottom of their hearts and shower me with much friendship. Rather than their attitude, it is more the way the people here behave that really puts me on the wrong channel. Of course, the occasional evil person who wouldn't so much flicker when the opportunity to harm others for his/her own benefit arises still exists, such as the shame of a human being I've encountered in college sufficiently represents. So is my conclusion: Food, People and Culture?

Pertaining to the first factor, I have solved it somewhat by slowly adjusting to the local food, but more by preparing my own meals. It has taken its toll on me, doubtlessly, and one will merely need to steal a glance at me in person to realize that. My ribs are showing :)
But if, as I said, the people are nice, why am I not happy when I am with my friends? This doesn't make sense. Looking first at those who are NOT my friends, my simple solution stems from a mighty invention called the iTouch, complete with voice-blocking earphones and a pair of shades. Call it escapism, but the wise saying of "See no evil, Hear no evil" works miracles for me. Now for my friends, I guess it is a difference in fundamental thinking.

Take a look at project work. While my main concern is whether we will have fun doing the project, it seems rather that our successful factory-like upbringing has taught us to think the right way - choose projects that will get you high scores, regardless of your interest. If you can, match it to the grader's liking. Obviously, dignity is worth nothing, and a simple cost-benefit analysis can show u that, with tangible efforts as the criterion, sacrificing your dignity and personal interests in return for good grades and what you may refer to as an impressive education is simply the best option. First clash in ideologies.

Next up, a most paradoxical claim some people make about treasuring their friends. This is true alright, but what is missing is the term "new friends" instead of "friends". Some, if not all, of you reading this will probably give me a bashing on how you treasure your old friends as well, if not more, than your new friends. Fine. For now, just hold your anger and let me present my point. Personally, I treasure my old friends more (sorry new friends) and to express that, I am more frank towards this group of friends. While I may put on a false smile to make the atmosphere seem more comfortable with new friends, I will put forth my thoughts in the most simple of words, e.g. "I think you are extremely rude for not having consulted us beforehand as it shows an utter lack of respect" or "I don't mind if you like to sing, but not for this song cos you're gonna spoil it and I love this song", when I am speaking to my old friends. Many people, however, take old friends for granted and assume that by having known one another for an extended period of time, old friends are supposed to be more tolerant towards you and understand your every action and the meanings behind it. The answer is NO. My brother's known me for over 20 years and I will admit I am as much a mystery to him as he is to me. That's not because we don't talk, we do very frequently. In fact, it's because people are ever-changing and there are so many other factors...physical, emotional, tacit...that affect you at every moment.
I believe sincerity is the most importance criterion in a friendship. Old or new? It doesn't matter. Compare between these people: Someone you've known for years, but who has the cheek to question you "Why are you angry that people are late? Is it even wrong to be late when meeting others?" and who subsequently does not keep in touch with you for months (including not notifying you for his/her birthday party); versus someone you've known for an equal amount of time who would spend half a day on a weekend just to whip up a simple meal and have a nice chat with you. My point lies not in the exact content (activities) in these statements, but the underlying attitude towards the friend. Obviously, the former shows little or no respect and is, in my opinion, unworthy of a friendship; while the latter is a nothing-out-of-the-ordinary event you can enjoy with bout just any other friend out there, but which shows an uncomplicated mentality - appreciating your friend. Sad to say, there is some sense that quite some people here do not show much sincerity, or perhaps, what varies is the way we define sincerity.

Lastly, culture. Recently, I've found out via a rather truthful confession by a foreign friend that she does not enjoy life here, nor does she like the locals. Rewind to a year back, and I would have been most sad to have heard that. But, now. Now that I have seen more of the world, I can feel her agony much stronger. Boasting a world-class standard for cleanliness and hygiene, I see wet and dirty toilets almost everywhere. The noise pollution is horrendous, as I have confirmed via the fact that my hearing has deteriorated since my return home. Why is the situation like this? Has it changed while I was gone? No! I was merely oblivious to it, as I was part of it before (minus the toilet part, I am toilet-trained). What has changed is that I have learned to embrace a more truthful me in that I refuse to conform to what apparently goes against my beliefs.
Thinking back on how I had trouble finding a clean grass patch in school to lie down upon and enjoy the sun with the cool breeze like how I could do so during my overseas stint, it does not sadden me as much as the cold and hostile stares by the basilisks that hurried past me in school while I chose to instead enjoy the breeze seated on a chair. I pity these factory-manufactured robots who are unable to enjoy the simple things in life and who scurry all their lives. Another interesting observation is "locals gleefully walk in a line", no, not in a queue. Let me illustrate this
Local:
| |
|oooo|
|O |
Overseas:
|oo |
|oo |
|O |
Let o represent people of a same group, and O, people of another group. As you can see via my poor illustration, the local doves walk in a way that obstructs the flow while in overseas, the path is clear for a different traffic flow. Moreover, in the first setting, Mr/Ms O would have been stuck behind the four o, whereas he/she would have been able to move on if he/she was in a hurry and was walking at a faster pace than the four o. My conclusion is that this boils down to an absurd focus on the 'self', leaving no space for the consideration for others.

Having reviewed all these today, I believe my unhappy existence here is somewhat inevitable, and to a certain extent, uncorrectable. At this point whereby not even karaoke is appealing to me anymore, nor can happy cheers from abroad heal me no more, I shudder to face tomorrow. Wouldn't you just love to have a fast forward or rewind button like, right now?

News Nowadays

I like reading the newspapers. Be it electronic or in paper form, this is one way I stay connected to the world (or at least this is what I think it is ^^)

Reading the newspaper doesn't only let you know more about the world as in THE world, it also allows you to know more about YOUR world. Sounds confusing? In simpler terms, besides providing information from all continents, it brings you news about your surroundings, the very environment that concerns you. Perhaps you might be thinking that this isn't such a great deal, or even a point worthy of your attention and thoughts, but take a look at these.

Japanese Elections.
Yes yes, we suppose half the world knows about how the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) has been in power for some half a century with only a break of 11 months from 1993-1994 and how its biggest rival, led by Mr Hatoyama, is ironically formed by defectors from the LDP. Reading the AP (Associated Press) reports online will give you an idea of how other countries view and want you to view Japan's political situation. Read Japan's national papers to gain a better idea of how they view the situation instead. A simple search on Yahoo! News will return several articles quoting interviewees' viewpoint that "While the DPJ is inexperienced, we would like to give them a chance..." and that "people have lost confidence in the LDP". I couldn't agree more, as these echo the political views of most of my Japanese (student) friends, who jokingly refer to the current PM as Mr Aho-Tarou ("idiot" in Japanese), or even Mr As-o (pronounced as ass-oh), a clever pun on the pronunciation of "asshole". Interestingly though, these do not seem to reflect the view of quite some Japanese friends of mine of a different age group, who are swayed by the LDP's stand that they are "best equipped to bring Japan out of the recession". Or if you would like to have another point of view, that is, most of my "young" Japanese friends don't really know the situation and they are merely following the views of the magazines and newspapers. So hooray for the DPJ, it looks like something is coming along the way for you.
What I find more interesting is how the news reflected in newspapers can deviate so much from the actual situation. Most reports reflect a rather one-sided view in which a point is over-emphasized. While figures such as "expected to win 2/3s of the seats" propose a exciting picture, or that "27% of the voters are undecided", I would really much prefer to know about how these people came to their conclusions. Something I don't really suppose I'll find in abundance in news reported by foreign countries :)

Singapore
A couple of months back, I read an article about how Singapore is N.Korea's 2nd largest trading partner, and recently, about how Singapore is supporting the UN resolution imposed against N.Korea for their missile tests. What a conflicting stand Singapore seems to be taking, don't you think, if it's based just on these reports? On one hand, it seems to paint a picture of a ruthless mercenary which operates based on profit; while on the other hand, it appears that righteousness and cooperation for the sake of the regional security seems to be the belief to be fighting for. More interestingly, I asked around most Singaporean friends and NONE, that's right, ZERO of them, knew about the former report. The reason given for this was that "it was not printed on the daily newspapers, nor was it reported on the news." That is not to say that we should accept news as it comes, because if the source is from a country with less-than-warm ties with Singapore, chances are it might just be the partial truth. On the other hand, this could reflect Singapore's tight control on press releases. As to what the truth is, frankly, I don't know it myself. The only thing I am certain is that I propose for people who do follow the news to open themselves to more channels while scrutinizing the sources. Remember, news can be discovered, and so can it be created.

Malaysia
I seem to be talking quite a bit on Southeast Asia today. Pardon me, it's just because recent happenings seem to have been circling around the region, especially rather saddening ones. I will provide a very simple summary a particular incident in Malaysia recently that has caught my eye.

Malaysian Muslims protested against the construction of a Hindu temple in the neighborhood, because it is comprised of a Muslim majority.

A disclaimer before I continue:
I am not against Muslims, and I happen to have Muslim friends who are really nice. I am just interested as to the wavering stands undertaken by the concerned parties in the incidents mentioned above. In other words, I wish to understand the motivations behind taking such actions.

Personally, I believe in religious freedom. What I would condemn, as the Malaysian authorities have already done, is the act of bringing a severed cow's head along to the protest(The cow is considered a sacred animal in Hinduism). While the claims may be valid, that the construction of a Hindu temple may cause discomfort to the residents, that very action disregards all religious sensitivity and is in a way, provoking a confrontation. Even when we do get into conflicts with our Muslim friends, it would be downright despicable to bring along a severed pig's head (The pig is considered unclean in Islam) as this will be insulting the roots of their belief, in turn insulting them as a person.

My point for writing this entry is such that people will read the newspapers more carefully, and to call for religious tolerance. I know people who have lived through fatal racial riots, some provoked by religious friction, and I really do not wish for any recurrences. Respect your friends. Respect those around you. Also, stop believing what is told to you blindly. Find out more, know that it is credible, and then, believe.

Back and hating it

Alright, haven't been blogging again. Don't blame me this time, cos I'm back home and I highly suspect I've developed depression (No, I'm not going to the Doc's cos all they want to do is leech and suck money from me, not quite to cure me).

Let's take a look from a chronological point of view.

9 Aug
Arrive home. The only plus point is erm, I got to see my family. -end-
Cons? Thankfully, I didn't step out of my house until dinner...and I am appalled at what I saw. Bunch of people lacking in manners - kids running around and/or screaming cos they're not getting what they want; young girls and guys speaking crude tongues and thinking that's cool; violent girls hitting away at their friends and spewing vulgarities...the list goes on.
And...and...the food didn't taste good. After starving myself for some 26 hours, I finally mustered enough courage to swallow a plate of rice for dinner. You'll probably shrug and think little of that, but I personally find it amazing, considering I had 4-5 meals a day in Japan, with dinner being something like 3 bowls of rice with meat, soup, vegetables and egg. Oh, and a huge serving of tea.
May I also add that the air is pathetic, chemicals lurk in our drinking water (and the bottled water sold commercially; I even heard that the water we produce locally can be carcinogenic) and the food is extremely oily. Do we lack taste buds, hence the need for excessive flavoring, or are we simply unskilled in culinary chores?

10 Aug
It's a holiday!!! But I'm not too thrilled by anything.

11 Aug
School starts. FYP lectures start too. Not that I'm particularly turned off by that. But I certainly am turned off by the public. I simply do not understand - WHY IS IT SO NOISY HERE? (I am typing in CAPS because I am noisy).
The MRT (think of this as the metro) was simply deafening. We enjoy a fantastic melting pot culture here, which explains the multilingual dialogues happening all at once in the trains - English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Humans, PSP, Earphones, Ipods, TVs...name it. Oh, and our highly competitive society is reflected here too, for everyone is competing to be the loudest (wait, you mean I'm mistaken bout this?) Interestingly, it also accurately reflects our society as to who the eventual winner is - I'm pretty certain the MRT announcements were blasted at 100000 decibels (Ok, I'm exaggerating). How else can you explain the migraine I experienced after that was blasted in my ear? I am inching towards deafness by the day. No, make that by the hour. Minute? Second? Bah. Don't even mention taking the bus, which hosts our favorite TVMobile - Introducing Noise into your lives.

Bah, I've run out of steam to sustain the chronological approach. Let me rant about one more thing - physical fitness tests.

Some may know, bout some don't, I've been experiencing acute pains in both my knees just from even prolonged sitting in the classroom. I'm talking bout 5-10 minutes here. Now consider this scenario - me running. No, it's no joke.
Moving on, I am also feeling pain in my left elbow, left wrist and right shoulder. Perhaps this is what you can call a pretty-f***ed up physical condition, and I think you are pretty darn right to say so, but the professionals don't seem to agree. Having consulted specialists for years and having consulted one more today, I've learned (again) that my bones and ligaments are probably all right. Thank you, I am relieved (honestly, I am). Now, I want to know the reason behind these pains I am getting daily, especially some unknown pains that have surfaced recently like that irritating 8/10 pain I get in my elbow and shoulder every morning; and how I can get around curing...oops, fixing them (since I've been told time and again that there is no medical evidence to show that it is a problem, thus I should not use the word 'cure').
"Your pains are probably due to your loose joints, which are probably genetic."
"OK...doesn't this mean it's gonna be a recurring problem? How can I fix this?"
"You can train up."
"I've tried doing so. In fact, for the 2 years or so that I was put on physiotherapy, it improved slightly at first and then the pain intensified and became even more unbearable. I also tried to train up, but I always end up in a lot of pain. What else should I do?"
"You can find a trainer, get a training regime and get fit."
*sighs in exasperation. shakes hand and exits room*

Perhaps modern science does have its limitations, cos it doesn't seem to be curing me. Perhaps there are administrative loopholes, cos there seem to be plenty of unfit personnel out there who are able to perform activities such as visiting the gym thrice a week to do weights and play basketball once a week. These people are unfit and are ineligible for physical fitness tests, but some others who are experiencing so much pain that they do not even run after the bus are fit enough to be thrown into the battlefront and ace the physical fitness tests.

Thanks to anyone who's willing to read through such a boring post full of rants.
I'm turning in, and while I won't be naive enough to hope for a better tomorrow (not over here, at least), but I'll hope for a faster tomorrow :)

how long has it been?

yes, i suck. i know that. i should have updated this blog more often. not that i wouldn't like to, but i've been spending quite a bit of time working on my 8 reports to submit (boooooooooo).

its been almost 3 weeks since i last updated this site and i'm sorry to all my friends who bother to check it out. honestly!!

alright, let's move on to a short summary of what's been happening.

besides the usual PROJECTS, i've pretty much been preoccupied with KARAOKES. yes. u saw that. due to all those pressure i've stored up, i had no choice but to turn to karaokes for frequent stress-relieving sessions (cough cough, realli??). just in case u're wondering, i'm in a few karaoke circles, and i'm usually the youngest of them all o_O
now THAT's a huge contrast to the situation in sg whereby i'm usually the eldest...no intended implications though :p some examples of karaokes i've been to are...
1) normal solo karaoke
2) normal karaoke with normal people (5~6)
3) no-genre karaokes with erm, not-so-normal people (60~65 pax)
4) KOBUKURO-only karaoke with FANTASTIC people (~40 pax)
5) super high level karaoke with people who've been singing for years (~15 pax)
6) karaokes that offer vibrato sessions by pros (60~65 pax)

don't u think these sound awesome? especially for 4), whereby the focus aint so much on personal singing skills, but rather, harmonization. u just gotta try it to understand it. like a friend put it, "good harmonization by the other guy makes singing the song easier". i kinda agree with that, but i think it's beyond that. it's like when u sing alone, u are the lead and u paint the whole picture of the song. but when a good partner comes in...he more than makes up for what u lack and while u may be scoring 100 for the song usually, a good partner delicately helps u achieve a score of 120/100. i say delicately because a beautiful partnership will mean that there won't be any clashes while u sing together. for example, a good partnership can result in a realli strong and attractive voice to first make others stay mesmerized and want to listen on. following which, the hidden voice (harmonization) helps to make the singing more complete, in that one will not get tired of listening to you. my way of looking at it is like sushi. let's take for example, the ootoro (fatty tuna belly) sushi. by itself, ootoro is extremely sweet and melts in your mouth, leaving a lasting impression and its extremely high quality can make people save up to savor its heavenly taste. however, it will never taste so great without wasabi. the function of the wasabi is to clear away the oily feeling u get when u consume fatty foods, though as we all know, fish fats are good for us. pt is, the oily feeling makes u get sick of the food, so u can only consume a limited amount. thank goodness for the heavenly combination of wasasbi and ootoro though, because besides that functionality, wasabi also offers a refreshing fragrance that u simply cannot resist. its also really interesting to observe that wasabi alone is almost inedible for most people; while ootoro is fantastic by itself but no real gourmet will recommend for u to eat that ALONE. mmmmmmmmm

ok no more food talk. i don't even know how it got to food. perhaps it's cos Prof Ito of Kwansei Gakuin gave me a treat to really nice food tonight, and i'm getting kinda touched.

off to bed, i be. a fantastic new day awaits!

alive and kickin'

I'm ALIVE!!!
It's been another 2 or so very fruitful weeks. Living life to its fullest (as usual)!

The not-so-new part is that I've been bucking up and doing research. CONCRETE WORK. Woooo. That's a new QL to many of my friends out there. Friends eh...*coughs*

Realizing that we only have something like a month left, Shing Lam and I decided to throw aside our stingy habits (instantaneously, that is) and taste Japan like all good food-loving humans should. And so we did.
MMMMM. Legendary Japanese KYOHO Grapes. Kyoho can mean GIGANTIC HUMPS and well, you can probably have a glimpse of why these grapes are "gigantic humps". Seedless, juicy, HUGE grapes. Oh, they taste like wine too :D
One good way to describe the feeling one derives from eating these can be as follows.
"I carelessly grab a grape and toss it into my mouth. As my teeth penetrates its first barrier of defence - the skin, I felt a strong resistance as it pushed back against my teeth. Excited like a pirate having found the treasure chest, I relentlessly exerted more force via my teeth and as the grape kingdom collapsed under the great pressure, a sweet spring of grape juice broke free from the walls that once stood and gushed into my mouth. Greedily, I drank the sweet juice as though I had not drank water in days, only to find myself yearning for more. My heavy pants become more frequent and harder as I uncontrollably crushed every inch of the grape that remained in my dark dungeon of a mouth. The luscious fragrance that first dragged me by the nose once again appeared mischievously, as though to bring out the ruthless streak in me. It was too great a temptation to resist, and before long, I have been brought into the world of the grape. Alas, temptation has gotten the better of me again."

Point is, try it some day, friends :)
This picture was taken with some of my fellow exchange students at Tokyo Institute of Technology :) We went on a visit to Asahi Breweries and of cos, we had plenty of (free) beer. Notice the white tee-shirt? It cost 500 yen and it was an impromptu decision for each of us to get one and make it THE YSEP t-shirt :)
Just to add on, I met up with Jerry and Grace and but of course, we went on a good food hunt. Check out the smiles on their faces (hehe, I was smart enough to not barge into the picture. ain't I a good friend indeed?? :P) Oh, and their hairstyle even looks similar!
This setting was in a Tonkatsu shop in Shibuya, where almost no one is under-dressed. Back to the object that we're all concerned about. Jerry ordered a CHEESE Tonkatsu, Grace got a ROSU Tonkatsu and I got a NIBUTA Tonkatsu. They all held the key to a different world, to be fair to each of them.
It's like, the ROSU Tonkatsu, when blended with the sauce and the cabbage salad, became a wonderfully orchestrated piece of work with you tasting the juiciness of the pork, the immense fragrance from deep frying it and the slick, sophisticated function of the salad.
However, the CHEESE Tonkatsu painted a picture of "East meets West", in summary. Deep fried to a golden crisp, its mouth-watering appearance was suffice to lure any person to sneakily steal a bite. It's aroma however, surpassed its appearance and was so lethally attractive a vegetarian could bang his head against the wall and curse his decision to shun meat!
The REAL deal (in my opinion) comes in the form of the NIBUTA Tonkatsu. Broiled first before getting a new layer of crumbs and then getting deep fried, this is indeed a work of the Devil. Ironically, it is so near perfection it strongly suggests a trace of divine intervention from above... Fighting through the pain brought about by 3 ulcers, I sunk my teeth into the juicy piece of meat... *CRASH* The dam has been released, and the senses have come flowing in!!! The first thing I MUST emphasize, is that it really MELTS in your mouth. YES. You've read that correctly alright. It MELTS in your mouth. BUT!!! That is not all! As it melts, it forms an ultra flavorful layer that envelopes the other food and it is as though a neverending stream of goodness and blessings has just come our way. While you are experiencing this tide of flavor, having been tossed as high up as the heavens and flunged as violently as would Zeus throw a thunderbolt, the taste lingers in your mouth, as if it were the epitome of eternity.
Oh, before I end this section. Jerry and Grace got me a present!!! And with my newly developed doggy-nose, I correctly identified it as Warabi Mochi (Adeline's gonna hate me if she reads this). Yes, MORE WARABI MOCHI!!!!!!
Yay~~~~QL loves Jerry and Grace for getting him what he likes.
Proceeding to the last section of this entry...it is PARK'S birthday today! (ok it's a few hours past his birthday actually). We surprised him with a "Rare Cheese Cake" (it is REALLY known as a rare cheese cake) and some snacks :D
Park is an exchange student from Korea who goes to karaoke with us sometimes. To be frank, we sometimes still have language barriers and we weren't sure if it would go well. Thankfully, the joy on his face and his constant proclaims of "Oishii" and "Arigatou" were more than enough to assure us that he had a great time. After all, it is his first bday celebrated away from home and while we thought the longing for home might overcome him, he instead found companionship in us and appreciated it. I think that's what friendship feels like. Appreciating one another.

Oh, and I've come up with a short chorus for a song again. Yay. Perhaps I should give up studying and concentrate on this eh? *smilez*
NOT