Don't Believe Everything You See

The wonders of make-up, lighting, and Photoshop...

Pachelbel's Canon in D

Ahh... Pachelbel... baroque era's one-hit wonder... Canon in D...

Grossly overplayed at weddings, advertisements, lullabies, self-help stress-relieve CDs, building pipe-in music, etc etc etc...

Anything in overdose just brings the puke out of a person...

The first time I heard this tune was during my college Guitar Ensemble days... my conductor walked in one day, bringing us a new piece of music to play... we had 3 sections in the guitar ensemble, guitar 1 plays the melodies, guitar 2 plays the supporting sub-melodies, and guitar 3 plays the accompaniment and bass...

I remembered we were all quite amused when all three sections of us received the same score... we couldn't quite believe that the everyone of us were to play the same tune...

But Mr A (my conductor) explained that the trick behind this Pachelbel's music is to stagger the starting time of each section... i.e. guitar 2 will start 2 bars after guitar 1, and guitar 3 will start another 2 bars behind guitar 2...

The magic and genius of Pachelbel henceforth unveils... the overlap due to the delay in the start gives this piece of music the full body and crescendo and grandeur... pretty amazing...

I used to like to play this piece of music a lot on the guitar... just the melody of course... but as I grew older, and the piece gaining popularity... over time, it begins to eat into me...

Almost like too much saccharine will cause diabetes... yuuucks!!!

Ground Zero

Well... my sore and dry throat has miraculously disappeared after I returned to ground zero, sea-level Singapore... For once, I'm so glad to be back in the humid climate of this tropical isle... a few of the irritating symptoms that I experienced in the dry, cold and high altitude Tibet are cured... No more breathlessness... no more tight-chested feelings... no more blocked and blood-clotted nose...

Amazing how a human body can adapt and adjust with 50% lesser oxygen... I wonder how my body is adjusting when I suddenly return to sea-level, with much more oxygen in the air?

Back from the Rooftop of the World... Almost

Now sitting in an internet cafe in Chengdu Shuangliu Airport, waiting for my flight back home at 8 pm... Long wait... Decided not to venture into Chengdu city after the plane from Lhasa touched-down at 12.30 pm... The sky is overcast, temperature is 7 degress celcius, drizzling, wet, cold... not the kind of weather to lug my 15 kg haversack and 8 kg camera bag around...

Shall just find some corner in the airport to while my time away...

Yeah!!! I've gone to the rooftop of the world... and back... the high altitude was demanding... thankfully, I only experienced mild Acute Mountain Sickness while I was there... Lhasa is 3650m, and it took me 2 nights before I could sleep well at night without waking up every 1-2 hours... but that acclimatisation process was disturbed when I ventured out to Gyantse (3950 m) and Shigatse (3900 m)... gosh... I had to sleep breathing through my mouth as I can't seem to breathe in enough of air at night... the result was super dry lips and dry throats... kind of reminded me of my trekking in Nepal...

Nevertheless, what's left of the traditional and mysterious Tibet is really amazingly awe-inspiring... I said what's left, because after China 'liberalised' Tibet from the 1960s onwards, much of the ancient Tibet has been mercilessly destroyed... A great pity and a crime to have detroyed such a great culture...

Anyway, shall elaborate more as I process the photos I took when I get home... Think I have shot over 1000 shots on this trip...

Closer to Heaven

In 7 hours' time, I'd be on the flight to Chengdu... and there on, will board the Qinghai-Tibet high altitude train into Lhasa, the rooftop of the world...

Weather forecasts predicts an average high of 10 degree celcius in the day, and low of -4 degree celcius at night... freezing... and I've been asked many times why on earth do I still want to go there in December? Why not June?

Cos' I don't want to procrastinate any longer... looking at my workload, it'll be a blessing if I could even go for a trip at year-end next year...

Tibet is the kind of place where the environment is so harsh that I better get there while I still have the motivation and physical tolerance... and even then, I'm prepared to be hit with some Acute Mountain Sickness, diarrhea, nausea, headache etc... with an average altitude of 3900 m plus cold and dry climate, I hope I've done enough preparation and preventive measures to reduce any physical discomfort...

Checklist:
- goose feather jacket (bought it in 2000 for NZ trip but didn't use much since)
- goretex water and wind-proof jacket
- fleece jacket x 2
- woolen jacket
- long sleeves shirts x 3
- chemical heat pack x 10
- fleece gloves
- woolen gloves
- Acute Mountain Sickness pills
- cold pills
- diarrhea pills
- pain-killers

But all these discomforts aside, I'm really looking forward to the amazing terrain and impossible beauty of the Himalayan Range... And I'm also looking forward to the spiritual journey as well... to redeem myself of all the bad karmas I've accumulated in my lifetime...

I'm a bit more wary this time round, as compared to my other trips to the more cosmopolitan cities... got more things to watch out over and not let my guards down at all times...

Okie... all's set... haversack's packed... time to begin a journey that I've been looking forward to for so many years... Look out for this space for the photos of Tibet... : )

浪子心声

I bought a 罗大佑 concert DVD last week and was watching it today... He sang an old song "浪子心声" from 1976 by 许冠杰 (Sam Hui)... A song which brought tears into my eyes...

This song was from a Hong Kong movie 新半斤八两, by the famous Hui brothers... I remembered watching this movie when I was little... My late uncle 司马光 used to whistle this song back then...

The lyrics to this cantonese song went like this...
难分真与假
人面多险诈
几许有共享荣华
檐畔水滴不分差

无知井里蛙
徙望添声价
空得意目光如麻
谁料金屋变败瓦

命里有时终须有
命里无时莫强求

雷声风雨打
何用多惊怕
心公正白壁无瑕
行善积德最乐也

命里有时终须有
命里无时莫强求

人比海里沙
毋用多牵挂
君可见漫天落霞
名利息间似雾化
君可见漫天落霞
名利息间似雾化

Essentially, the meaning of the song is about how life in a society is so difficult to understand and there's lots of wealth to entice people. But as the chorus goes, if something's destined to be attained, one would attain it anyway... and if it isn't, there's no need to crave too much over it... Live life conscience-free and do good and be happy...

A song whose tune that is so timeless... a tune that is so beautiful... a tune which brought back memories of my late uncle... a tune which resonates so much in me...

Dream Way to Parallel Park...

(click to see animation)
Just need to set aside 1 set of tyres every week and imagine how much time I'm gonna save in parking?

Found My Dream Car...

Visited the 8th Motorshow at Suntec Convention Hall yesterday...

And I think I've found my dream car... hahahahah :)

The Big O

As QD puts it on the tagboard on the side, this year really feels very very short... Time never seems enough... and it never will be... so we've just got to make sure we live it to the fullest...

The main written papers of the Big O will start in a little over 8 hours from now... It's time for all you guys and gals sitting for it this time round to show off what you've got!!!

Okie, shall be the last time I nag at you all... PLEASE REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING:

1) Have a good nite's rest before every paper... unless u are a genius, lack of sleep will do you no good as it'll retard your brains during the paper.

2) Calm down and steady yourself before the start of your paper... Those last minute mugging and squeezing in of the last few facts juuuuuuuuuust before the paper will not be 100% useful to you... All it does is it'll make your heart pound unnecessarily faster and make you panic...

Remember... a calm and collected mind will tide you over any obstacles during the exams...

3) Listen to the invigilators' instructions!!! Don't talk n talk n talk n talk n talk n talk n talk n talk.... u get what I mean... find your seat quickly, and steady yourself and get ready to what the invigilators need you to do...

4) READ the questions CAREFULLY!!! Don't miss out on important details/ facts/ information given in the question.

5) Remember this: Should you encounter any weird/challenging/unusual questions, bear in mind that all the necessary information will be given in the question... and most importantly, you already have all the concepts/techniques etc you need to know... try to identify which topic(s) the question is most probably testing you on, and quickly recall what you have learnt in that topic...

6) Don't be complacent... CHECK YOUR WORK! There're a few ways of checking: redoing, recomputing, substitute back to check, use alternative method to confirm answer, ask yourself if the answer is reasonable, check the sign of the numbers, etc etc... Check and check and check until time is up... This is a make-it or break-it exam, so don't lose this chance to spot any possible mistakes...

7) No matter what, don't leave blanks in any answers... you'll never know how many marks your so -called 'not-sure' workings can fetch you...

8) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ENSURE that you SHOW ALL ESSENTIAL WORKING!!! Don't leave your working in any pieces of rough paper... The Cambridge markers can't see those in your rough papers...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess that's it from me for now...

ALL THE BEST!!
GAMBATTE!!!
加油！！！
BEST OF LUCK!!!

I want to see happy and smiling faces come next February :)

PS: If you're taking the Big O, and have read this far, it's time to hit right back to your books right now!!!

They Are Gonna Be BIG!

And I mean it literally...




The rest of the series is HERE.

Appreciation...

Went to Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Traveler's Clinic to get a couple of vaccinations and some altitude sickness pills today... Reached there just past 1 pm, and was told to return at 2 pm as it was lunch time...

So I loitered around and came to the main lobby of the hospital... and I saw this...


In March 2003, the deadly SARS struck the nation, and TTSH became the national centre for SARS treatment... All the medical staff became national heroes and heroines as they gave of themselves selflessly...

And thousands of support and tributes came pouring in and TTSH today, has scanned all the banners, cards, posters, letters etc into two huge posters and are hung up at the main hospital lobby...

And very anxiously, I scanned the huge poster for this:


It was a giant card which my Student Councillors made for TTSH back in 2003... led by enthusiastic and compassionate councillors like Weijun, Chun Jin, and Wu Sheng and gang, they rallied the whole school into writing messages on heart-shaped papers and pasted them all up onto the giant card...

When completed, we had to rent a mini-van to bring send the card to TTSH... I've always wondered since then (yes, it's been 3 years) what TTSH would do with so many of such tributes showered onto them... And I got my answer today!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in 2003, when Simpleville hadn't vigorously communicated the idea of being thinking and gracious, such acts of compassion and thoughtfulness for our community were already brewing and very much alive... Looking back, we did these not because we were told to do so, not because that's the direction of Simpleville, and not because it'll make us look good... We have students who had the heart to feel and to show gratitude...

I'm so very proud of Weijun and company... Wherever you guys may be right now, be it JC or poly, I'm sure you'll all still be carrying with you the same heart of compassion and spirit of giving... I believe I've told you all at some point in time during our most memorable days together, that 'the hand that gives, also receives'... This simple message has served me very well... I'm sure it will to you all too...

And here's my tribute to these group of beautiful people:

Tommy Emmanuel

8th December 2004
City Recital Hall Angel Place, Sydney, Australia
"Hi Tommy... would you ever come to Singapore to perform? I'm sure there're lots of your fans over there..."

"Oh Singapore. Yes... I was there a couple of years ago... Hong Kong right?"

23 October 2006
Victoria Theatre, Singapore
"It's great to be performing here in hot Singapore..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1997
NTU Hall 4 Block 27, Cedric's room
"Hey Choco... check out this CD... "Finger-pickers Rule the World" by Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel..."

That was my introduction to Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel... I was playing more classical guitar music and knew more about classical guitar than acoustic...

I first met Cedric in 1990, during a Singapore Classical Guitar Society (SCGS... not the other SCGS we all are so familiar with) camp for JC guitar club members... He was from NJC... was my room-mate then... he's a very talented guitar player already back then... I was only starting out...

Then we went NS, and I met him again in the School of Medical Medicine... He became my buddy in the platoon... He took the lower deck, while I slept above... Well, no more guitar playing in camp then... but NS and combat medic training added to our "something in common" list... no six-string instrument to play with... but we had a ball of a time poking each other's veins for blood infusion practice... yah, sounds a bit gory and sadistic... but who else is there to practice on but each other...

After the course, we were posted to different units... He went to 2 SIR, while I went to 20 SA... incidentally, both units were in Amoy Quee Camp... had another 2 years of contact as both our medical centres often work together to smoke through the army auditors when they come to do stock-taking... But I'm straying off from my story...

Then after NS, we both went to NTU... and we got into the same Hall... though not room-mates, we often come together at night for jamming sessions... well, being poor uni-undergrads, the instrument of choice were our battered classical guitars from our JC guitar club days... and beat our guitars we did... hell of a good time...

And we did that for 3 years in Hall 4...

And he was the one who introduced acoustic guitar music to me... and a few years after graduation, it was Cedric who introduced acoustic guitars to me as well... I was at his house in Bishan after watching a guitar concert... his wife, Dawn, who's my guitar club president back in AJC, played some drums while I played his acoustic guitar... and I was hooked on acoustics...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coming back to Tommy Emmanuel... there aren't many of his recordings in the 90s available in Singapore... but he's one of those acoustic guitarists who were influenced by the legendary Chet Atkins, the father of finger-picking... it's a genre which fuses jazz, country, blues, contemporary, and bluegrass all together...

TE's scaling on the fingerboard is ridiculously fast... hearing it on recording is one thing... watching him play it ridiculously fast live is out of this world...

I first saw him perform in a live setting on a DVD I bought online... I was blown away by what he did with his guitar... his Australian-made Maton guitar was so beated that the layer of finishing on the soundboard was already worn off... he played his guitar like the harp, snare drums, bass, electric guitar, piano, percussion... if you think you could only pluck or strum on the strings, he'll take your breath away with the amazing sounds that he could produce from his guitar... and it's just a normal guitar...

I was so inspired by his playing at one stage that I bought my grossly priced Taylor 714 grand auditorium guitar... but there's no way I could play like him...

I bought his CDs online from Amazon as I couldn't find it in the stores here... and it was sheer coincidence that I managed to find out that he was performing in Sydney exactly at the time I was planning to visit Sydney in December 2004...

And oh boy... I was like a little kid all over again... excited and mesmorised were understatements... seeing him playing live is well worth the air ticket to Sydney...

Couldn't pass the chance to get his autograph and speak with him then... and I didn't quite believe that he would consider coming over to S'pore to perform...

But he did last night...

Seeing him live for the 2nd time, the tunes were still familiar, but just like any great artistes, he never plays his tunes the same way every time... and that's the way I like it... breaking free from the form... freedom to improvise... and lots of surprises at every turn of the tune... could be a new synchopation, an additional slippery scale, some enchanting hammer-ons and pulling offs, new harmonics melody etc...

And I feel happy for the younsters in the audience last night... Reminded me of myself when I was still in JC... when my friends and I would catch those visiting guitarists brought in by Mr Alex Abishigenaden (yes, he's HER father)... Mr A, as we would call him, was my guitar club's conductor... he's another inspirational figure who sparked off my passion in guitars... but shall leave that to another entry...

Back to the young audience, I'm happy and excited for them because they finally get to see a master at work on stage... I could hear the audience gasp and cheer in amazement with every trickery and masterful exhibition of how a guitar could be played... And I'm very very sure that many will walk away inspired to play just like him...

I've grown out of such feelings of wanting to play like him... I'll never be anywhere near his standard... but I've grown to enjoy and devour such eloquence and immerse myself completely in such lovely music...

It's always a joy to hear great guitarists play live on stage... I get the same kind of blessed feeling at Tommy Emmanuel, John Williams, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and Martin Tayler's concerts... All of them are masters of their craft... They are talented... and they enjoy what they are doing...

TE said during the concert that it is very important that the guitarist, the guitar and the heart have to come together as one in order to play it well... He didn't have to fret over performing on stage because he was just being himself...

How true... In everything we do in life, how congruent and consistent it would be, if we could be doing something that is most natural from deep within our souls... And that's where greatness comes from...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amidst all the work related stress lately, TE's concert gave me the much needed breather and perspective... for over 2 hours, my mind was released of everything else...

He promised that he'll come again next year... And till then, here's a sample of his greatness... In case you are wondering where's his band, he plays solo...

Random Thoughts...

1) 戴佩妮 - 时间快转
Heard this very nice song on cable TV just now... exactly my sentiments... if only it's that easy to do...

时间快转 它不停的快转
旋转我跟著旋转 失去方向我没有方向
迷失方向我模糊了焦点
想不通太多道理呀 就选择遗忘


2) Condemned England Team
First lost for Steve McClaren... England's loss to Croatia in the European Cup qualifiers sparked lots of questions... A new 3-5-2 formation was the main culprit... Even the best players get confused by a new formation... Unfamiliar job scope... Unfamiliar terrain... Unfamiliar players playing in unfamiliar postions around each other...

It was a necessary change... or so it was claimed... to break free from old shackles... to break free from old ghosts... to put one's authority over the tactics chosen...

And everybody seems to become an expert or authority to speak of the ills of the new team... everyone seems to have an opinion or two about how things could be better... and the pressure becomes ever so daunting for whoever's in charge...

So unfamiliar... yet so familiar in the way the new teams were formed around me...


3)Freezing Trip
Still yet to book my tickets to Chengdu and confirm with the Tibetan tour agent... there's rumours of the Qinghai-Tibet high altitude train stopping it's service from November onwards... keeping my fingers crossed on that...

It'll be winter in Dec... I'm a tropical person... I can't stand cold... I wonder if it's a wise time to visit the rooftop of the world... Somehow, I feel that I need to make this trip... the altitude and temperature is forebidding... isn't it so for any spiritual pilgrimmage? A test of my resolution... A test of my faith... What am I in my previous life? What kind of karma have I accumulated such that I'm living my present life this way?

Prince Sidharta renounced the world and left his palace to find his Nirvana... How many living Buddhas are there in the world today? How many of them actually know that they are living Buddhas? How long did it take for them to realise they are living Buddhas? Will I ever find my own Nirvana? I know what's holding me back actually.... the inability to let go...


4) Constant Nagging
My sis and bro-in-law are currently busy with their new flat's renovation... my dad seems to have extended his authority and opinions about what things to fix, buy etc a little too uncomfortable for my sis & bro-in-law...

Quietly, I'm heaving a sigh of relief for not taking the lead just this once over my sis... all these years, being the elder son at home, I get to do everything first... Well, not this time when it comes to marriage... I get to see some of the quirks and nuisance that my well-meaning parents will show during this period when my sis & hubby are preparing their home etc... Not something that I envy, I'm very sure...

And it kind of make it more inconvenient for me to reveal the fact that I'm going on a solo trip again in Dec... shall just delay breaking the news after I firm up everything... the naggings will come... but the trip shall go on... ;)


5) Scalett Johansson
There seems to be a flood of work lately by one of my favourite actresses... First noticed her when she was still a little girl in "The Horse Whisperer"... then a few other films made her one of the leading serious actresses... Lost in Translation, Matchpoint and Scoop were a few that I managed to catch... still to come, The Black Dahlia and Prestige... she's hot in Hollywood these days...

There's something about her acting... nothing excessive... something very close... can't really put my finger onto it...



6) Woody Allen
Never used to like or notice his works... But I think I'm beginning to see his genius...

Watched his latest work, Scoop... One of his quirky dark humoured jokes was this (something to the effect):
"I don't put on weight even after eating so much. It's anxiety. Anxiety is like aerobics. It helps me lose weight."



7) World Trade Center
The initial feelings when watching this film was the seeming lack of pace and intensity of the collaspe of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on Sept 11 2001... The focus of the film was just on the 2 lead rescuers...

But there's a good reason for this, I realised... the director wanted to focus the viewers attention, not on the gore, terror, panic and disaster of the collaspe... but rather, he wanted viewers to focus on the people who were right in the thick of the actions...

At the end of the film, the character played by Nicholas Cage said something like this...
"It's not about revenge... It's about how great people can be in helping one another..."

And how true... post 9-11 has been numerous calls for war on terrorism and numerous attacks in the Middle East in the quest to destroy the Al Queda... all in the name of peace and justice...

But the irony to me is: I can't differentiate the terrorists and victims after a few years... they all seem the same to me now... Ones' peace is attained at the expense of anothers' agony... What's peace?


8)He'll be Beck?
Still on soccer... Someone said Beckham should be re-instated back into the England national squad... of course, there's loads of theories and reason why he should or shouldn't return...

There's an article in today's Sunday Times on players who didn't perform in positions that's not cut out of them... Which brings me to ponder over something that's all so familiar in life around me...

Do we just deploy just because there's no choice? Do we just deploy a midfielder anywhere in midfield just because he's a midfielder? And for that matter, any defender or striker... Well, there are those players who could adapt... but there's many other contributing factors for such deployment to work as well... If players are deployed in areas of their strength, common sense will show that the whole team will perform as well...

But there are managers who work on the basis of convenience... managers who work on the basis of no choice... managers who work on the basis of personal gain...


9) And did I say that I heard this song over cable TV just now?
时间快转 它不停的快转
旋转我跟著旋转 失去方向我没有方向
迷失方向我模糊了焦点
想不通太多道理呀 就选择遗忘

Smells Like Tibet...

The local tour agencies in Lhasa, Tibet seems to be more efficient that I thought... Replied me within 24 hours!

It's beginning to smell a lot like Tibet in December already...

Day 01-Day 03 09/12-11/12 Arrive in Lhasa
Accommodation: Train/Shangbala Palace Hotel or Similar if late booking
You are supposed to take the train T22/3 from Chengdu (18:18-18:28, 48hrs10min). Our Tibetan tour guide will meet you at the train station and transfer you to your hotel in Lhasa. Upon arrival, just take rest for high altitude acclimatization.

Day 04 12/12 Sightsee in Lhasa
Accommodation: Shangbala Palace Hotel or Similar [B]
We will start from the spiritual center of Tibetan Buddhism - Jokhang Temple. Around the temple is the famous bustling Barkhor Street where you can get a close touch with local Tibetans.

In the afternoon, we'll visit the Potala Palace, the symbol of Tibetan people's wisdom and power. Beside numerous art pieces it stores, you can also have a bird-eye view of the whole Lhasa City and the undulating mountain ranges in distance.

Day 05 13/12 Sightsee in Lhasa
Accommodation: Shangbala Palace Hotel or Similar [B]
Today we will visit the great Gelugpa monastery - Drepung Monastery about 8km west of central Lhasa. It was once the world's largest monastery housing more than 10,000 monks. If we are lucky, we can enter into a dark columned hall quiet easily to see and hear the lilting, booming, chanting of sutras.

In the afternoon, we will visit Sera Monastery, about 5km north of central Lhasa. Here you can see the interesting "Buddhism Scriptures Debating" between Lamas.

And in the evening, pay a visit to a Tibetan family.

Day 06 14/12 Lhasa-Gandan Monastery-Lhasa
Accommodation: Shangbala Palace Hotel or Similar [B]
In the fresh morning air, we'll drive 70km to Gandan Monastery for its extremely delicate murals and sculptures. On the way, you can enjoy the beautiful countryside view of the high plateau.

Day 07 15/12 Lhasa - Gyantse
Accommodation: Gyantse Hotel or Similar [B]
Drive about 270km to Gyantse, a famous historic town in Tibet, crossing the Karola Pass (5010m) and the Khambala Pass (4800m) with a beautiful panoramic view of Yamdrok Yumtso Lake on the way. Upon arrival, visit Pelkhor Monastery for its superb Kumbu Stupa, a stunning architectural wonder in Tibet.

Day 08 16/12 Gyantse - Shigatse
Accommodation: Shigatse Holy Lake (Shenhu) Hotel or Similar [B]
It's about 90km from Gyantse to the second largest city of Tibet - Shigatse. Upon arrival, visit the foremost attraction there - Tashilumpo Monastery and then wander around the old town for its nicely decorated Tibetan houses, interesting market and bazaar...

Day 09 17/12 Shigatse - Lhasa
Accommodation: Shangbala Palace Hotel or Similar [B]
Get back to Lhasa along the Yarlung Tsangpu River with in about 4hrs.

Day 10 18/12 Leave [B]
The guide will transfer you to Gonggar Airport and help you board the plane to Chengdu. Your wonderful trip ends.

Gotta book tickets to fly into and out of Chengdu, China, first... The rest, I'll have to trust that the local agency is trustworthy enough to connect me from Chengdu to Lhasa... Worse come to worse, I'll just stay at Chengdu and see pandas in the zoo...

Btw, I emailed PLong last night asking if he's got any lobang for Tibet... He told me that there's a few deaths on the Qinghai-Tibet high altitude train already... Gosh... I mustn't be another one...

Need for Pilgrimmage

Yes I do... am in need of a pilgrimmage of some sort... to search for some answers... to search for some meaning... to search for myself...

Messed up... indeed... lots of loose ends... lots of irony... lots of directionless pursuits... or so it seems...

Not seeking to escape from the agony... but rather, seeking to trace to the source of the knot...

I remembered I felt it once... up in the quiet mountains in Nepal... that feeling of being embraced and without being judged...

Always felt a need to be in Tibet... nevermind how commercialised it has become... it has become more accessible... and at the same time, become less myterious, less unbearing...

But I somehow feel that there's a place in Tibet where I would feel embraced... almost like going back to a place of origin... a place where it all began... a place where it would all end...

Am in need of a pilgrimmage... indeed... perhaps... I already am... on a pilgrimmage called life... there ought to be a reason... why it is as it is... it will probably be a solitary pilgrimmage... for in solitude, there might lie an answer...

Wonder what's evoking such thoughts... could be the mess I see in Taiwan, Thailand, Middle East... could be the death of a passionate crocodile hunter... could be the irritable misunderstanding in the surrounding... could be the constant need to reinvent oneself... could be the frustration of seeing people abandoning ship... could be my disgust at how people can behave for the sake of glory and ambition...

Perhaps it could just be the fact that I'm coughing so much that my abdominal muscles are getting more conditioning without having the need to do a single sit-up...

Perhaps... a pilgrimmage is due... to leave it all behind... to find out where it all began... and how it should end...

Courage to Teach!

Chatted with GZ briefly some time last week over MSN about how I missed my first batch of students from Simpleville who graduated some 3 years ago... she then promptly set out to organise something with the rest... and I finally met up with a few of them last night for dinner...

This batch of students have a very special place in my heart for many reasons... They were the first batch of students I taught even before I was formally trained as a Jedi... Our age gap is exactly one chinese zodiac cycle apart (that makes us all Tigers!!!)... They were the first batch of students whom I followed up every year till they graduated... They were my first batch of graduating students... They were the most well-behaved and responsive students I could ever ask for...

In the book "Courage to Teach" by Parker J.Palmer, which I'm reading now, it says that "Mentoring is a muatuality that requires more than meeting the right teacher: the teacher must meet the right student. In this encounter, not only are the qualities of the mentor revealed, but the qualities of the student are drawn out in a way that is equally revealing."

How true! I still remembered when I left my previous job in the private sector to join teaching, I wasn't exactly sure what kind of teacher I could really be. My very first 30 mins lesson in my teaching career was with an extremely notorious class... I could still recall that after coming out of that class, I sat in the staff room seriously wondering what have I got myself into? My energy was sapped... nobody in class bothered about me... I was literally ignored... and I couldn't manage their discipline problems without raising my voice...

I learnt gradually that I need to earn their respect...

Thankfully, the other class that I taught, i.e. the group of people in the above photo, were far more encouraging... They were the ones who lifted me up and giving me the self-believe that I needed before I gave up... They were the ones who brought out the teacher in me... They were still in Sec 2 when I first taught them... It's quite an unfortunate set up back then as their class kept receiving all the relief, temporary, contract teachers since they came into the school... When I first started out with them, I found that their foundations in Maths and English were really not up to the level that I thought they should. It was quite unimagniable, for an inexperienced and untrained teacher like me...

But what they lacked in academic abilities, were more than compensated for by their good attitude... I was so fortunate to have started out with them... they were extremely teachable... they responded to me, accepted me, and I literally grew up with them...

I had to leave them after half a year for training, and they gave me a card before I left. Those words of encouragement were extremely motivating for me and I still go back to that card whenever I feel down time and again because it just reminds me of the reason why I chose to teach...

I had the chance to return to Simpleville for teaching practice and I took over this lovely class again. They weren't assigned a permanent Maths teacher and hence I didn't have any trained teacher to understudy during that period of time... So I took over this class almost as if the postion had been left open for me...

After the training practice, I was posted back to Simpleville... I continued with them from where I left off... in fact, it didn't seem as if I've left them at all... after the formal posting, I told myself that I have to teach them well as I felt indebted to this class... I was untrained when I first taught them... I told myself I have to unlearn and relearn all the good teaching practices to help them perform better...

And I requested to follow up with this class every year... I learnt together with them... and I grew so much as a teacher with them...

This batch of students, till today, still hold the record for producing the best N level results, as well as O level results from a normal acad class. I remembered when I saw their O level results in 2004 Feb, I cried... it was tears of happiness... A 4-year journey ended on a sweet note...

But of course, our journey in life didn't end after their O levels... We still kept very much in touch... In fact, I'm very much amazed that some of the boys in the class are now serving NS, a bulk of them are finishing their last semester in polytechnics, a couple of them are already working...

I've always believed that the indicator of how well I've done my job is never the results of my students' O levels results... But rather, the best indicator will be how well they applied themselves in their own respective lives after they've left school...

And I make it a point to keep in touch with my ex-students, and I'm beginning to see some traces of the fruit of my labour... What works, and what didn't... I could tell from all my ex-students...

And I must say that they are the greatest source of strength for me... to see them grow up and mature and seeing them facing up to life's challenges... that's the greatest satisfaction...

After last night's gathering, even though not all of their classmates could make it, so much of their old school days were relived... from all those happy moments, funny moments, juicy gossips, to the lastest updates of how everyone is doing... I felt so blessed that I could bond with them so well, despite the fact that they claim that I was the teacher who scolded them most... ;)

With the latest announcement of how the teaching force remuneration package is going to be improved, I can't help but to wonder if these will really motivate me... The work of a teacher is so complex and unique and beyond a certain point of reward, it really isn't all about material motivation anymore...

For me at least, a gathering like the one I had last night is more than enough motivation and satifaction...

And to the 5NA of 2003, thank you for giving me the Courage to Teach... I am eternal thankful :)

Of Discovery, Nat Geo & Ani Planet

If I can only choose 3 tv channels to subscribe, I think I can survive just on Discovery, National Geographic & Animal Planet...

I was down with a little irritating flu and sore throat, and thereby gave me a grand excuse of doing nothing much but sitting in front of the TV... With my remote in my hand, toggling between channels, I found a pattern... I tend to settle down watching documentaries from these 3 channels...

I learnt so much about the world just from these 3 channels... from flora to fauna, to mega constructions to bike construction, to natural to man-made disasters, from religions to human culture... All nourishment to my brain...

Just as I'm typing, the show currently on Animal Planet is a documentary on the life of Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, who passed away yesterday, killed by a mantle ray's sting... such a great man whose contribution to humankind is in the conservation of the wildlife... And I respect and admire him for spending his lifetime doing what he does... I don't think he'd chose to die in any other way...

Last couple of days, there's a series on Tibetan Buddhism... on the reincarnations of living buddhas... The series intrigue me greatly... mostly because I'm extremely facinated with Tibet... and more importantly, right within the core of myself, I know I'll feel most at ease believing in the teachings of Buddha than any others...

Then there's the American Chopper... it could be the boy in me, but I really find the customised motorbikes that this family of querky men produce extremely desirable... It's really inspiring to see this bunch of grown up men being so passionate and creative in having such great mastery in their craft... Really makes me have an urge to go learn how to ride a bike and own one chopper myself.

And of course, there's the Myth Busters... It's a series that really enjoy because this couple of weird guys go round testing and proving myths that common people are passing around for ages, but not proven... I like their systematic, methodological and scientific approaches to testing the myths... that's the way I feel many things in life should be, rather than just believing what others say...

Last night, as I was dozing off, I was watching a documentary on the Taiwanese singer, A-Mei 张惠妹. It was a documentary on the singing prowess of native minority tribe Taiwanese... And just before I swtiched off the TV and go to sleep, a song, which I hadn't heard for a while was played...

The song was of course sung by 张惠妹. It reminded me of a very good friend of mine back in my university days... She said the same of me as the song:

原来你什么都不想要
我知道这样不好
也知道你的爱只能那么少
我只有不停地要
要到你想逃
泪湿的枕头晒干就好
眼泪在你的心里只是无理取闹
以为在你身后
是我我一辈子的骄傲
原来你什么都不想要
我不要你的呵护你的玫瑰
只要你好好久久爱我一遍
就算虚荣也好贪心也好
哪个女人对爱不自私不奢望
我不要你的承诺不要你的永远
只要你真真切切爱我一遍
就算虚荣也好贪心也好
最怕你把沉默当做对我的回答
原来你什么都不想要

How apt... how ironic... how much I've learnt about myself... how much of myself that hasn't changed...

Of Cantonas Keanes and Rooneys

These were and are some of the greatest and most influential players who have donned the famous red shirts...

All of them are players with superb skills...

All of them are players with great guts and determination...

And all of them are players who are also very explosive and volatile at some point or other on the pitch...

Eric Cantona... who could forget his double-feet kungfu retaliation at a fan sitting beside the pitch?

Roy Keane... who could forget the most influential skipper in all of Man U's history who gets angry at even his own team-mates when the team don't play well?

Wayne Rooney... who could forget his ungracious antics during the World Cup 2006 in Germany?

Such explosive and tempermental players? A nightmare for any manager to manage... And only Alex Ferguson has the ability to re-channel their power, angst, energy and explosive passion into super productive performances on the soccer pitch...

Ferguson sees the greatness in all of them... He stood by them even when they flounder and disappoint their team-mates time and again by getting themselves into trouble... He believed in them and push them to realise their greatness...

And I have some Cantonas, Keanes and Rooneys in Simpleville too...

Explosive and angst-ridden characters... they don't conform to rules and regulations... they jump "double-footed" at anyone who antagonises them... they think that they are above everything else...

But there's also greatness in each and everyone of them...

My body is still aching from my badminton session yesterday... but such aches will go away... at least I know that my muscles had a good work-out and they'll only become stronger after they recover...

But there're some aches that's more difficult to recover from... Aches from knowing that these Cantonas, Keanes and Rooneys have gotten themselves into some kind of trouble again... These are aches in the heart...

How I wish I could be like Alex Ferguson... Motivating, developing and grooming his charges to become great soccer players... I've tried... And I'll still try... Cos' I see greatness too... In all these Cantonas, Keanes and Rooneys...

Yonex!

I'm really not a racket game kind of person... Soccer and basketball are more like it... But it's hard to find kakis to play soccer and basketball these days, with many of my friends already tied up in their families or are already sprouting bellies...

My sis asked me to play badminton today... My bro-in-law and two cousins came as well... Considering I'm not getting enough exercise already, and with the Sheares Bridge run looming, I went...

And to my surprise, my sis brought along my very first badminton racket!!! It was a racket which my grandfather bought for me some 20 over years ago!!! It's a simple Yonex racket, not one of those featherweight Carbonex carbon fibre rackets, but an aluminium one... Not super light, but not excessive heavy either...

My sis had restrung the string some time back and had changed the grip... And my very first racket is still working fine!!!

During my childhood, my father was the only bread-winner of my family... so he's very strict with us spending on things unnecessarily... I don't get to have many "good-to-haves" that many of my friends get... nintendo, game-watch, casio digital watch, toys, etc etc were all out of bounds for me...

BUT... I sometimes do get to have some nice things along the way... I've got my grandfather, uncles and aunties around... Just occassionally... not all the time...

And the badminton racket was one of those things that I could only 'convince' my grandfather to buy for me...

And I remembered that same night where I got my badminton racket, my father scolded me and chided my grandfather for buying something that might give me a chance to damage the furnitures and fittings at home...

Looking back and my childhood, and comparing with the cousins and kiddos in school, it's an entitlement for kids these days to get anything they desire...

Affluence allowed parents to buy many things that their kids want... but should there be a control over it?

I learnt the virtue of taking good care of all the things that I own... Many things that I have are kept for long long time... My 20 year old badminton racket is but just one of those things...

I'm also very gratified and blessed that although my father was so strict over us spending unnecessarily, he was never stingy when I wanted to buy any books to read... And I developed this habit and joy of spending time in bookshops, looking for books and keeping good books... And I still do now...

When I go downtown... the only locations where I don't feel out of place would be bookshops... even when I go overseas, I'd stop by bookshops to browse around...

There wasn't much distractions for kids back then... just TV and radio... I don't really envy parents today where there's simply too many things that their kiddos are obsessed with...

Times are changing... I don't think many people would keep their badminton rackets for over 20 years, and still use it anymore...

Serving the Nation

Was watching Channel 52 on TV just now... heard this song... a song which I almost forgot by 周华健, Emil Chau...

璀璨
每当曲终人散之后
眼看缤纷色彩变灰暗
我在等待那一份孤独的来临
还是等待那一阵寒冷的偷袭
不知道我永远不知道
冷冷清清我的心情
璀璨的所有已远去
精疲力尽我的声音
喧闹的回音却挥不去

Listening to this song, memories on the night of 4 Jan 1993 came flashing back...

It was the night before I was enlisted into my National Service...

Loads of uncertainty... loads of apprehension... loads of discomfort... loads of longingness...

I remembered I was figuring out the chords for this song which described my feelings at that very moment... I felt a choke in my throat as I tried singing this song back then...

I remembered the quiet dinner I had with my parents and sister that night... quiet... nobody knew what to say...

I was one of those few randomly selected ones who had sending-off ceremonies organised for us... Mine was held at Braddel Heights Community Centre. I can't remember which MP came to grace the event though... there was a little reception, before all of us enlistees were ushered up the 3-tonne trucks...

I remembered looking down into the crowd after I boarded the 3-tonner... I caught a glimpse of my father... I saw him waving back at me... his eyes were red... with tears... it was the first time in my life that I saw my father tear... a solid and hard character in my life tearing... but he still put on a smile... that was the last image I had of someone close before I was enlisted...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
2.5 years of National Service came and went... I firmly believe that without this uniquely Singapore experience that every male citizens go through, I would never be who I am today... much of my attitude and principles in life were shaped and developed during those 2.5 years... some life changing events happened during that period of time too... and looking back, I'm extremely gratified that I went through those days... even though there were many moments then where I had wished that I could get of NS quickly, those very moments really made me stronger than ever before...

I was reading with great intrigue on Clupsnap forum some days back, where a Junior College student posed this question on the forum: "Should NS be made optional?"

He proposed that NS is taking up 2 valuable years of a male citizen's life and such mandatory regulation imposed on us would only stifle our talents and contribution to the nation... And furthermore, NS actually was the main reason cited by people who chose to migrate...

Such ignorant sweeping statements... he doesn't know the price of peace and security... but he'll find out and grow up after he has served our nation...

Perhaps he's experiencing some pre-NS jitters, just as I did in 1993...

Singapore Fireworks Festival 2006

Team Italy

First show for SFF 2006...

Italy is one of the leading fashion nation in the world... Rightly so... It's a nation rich in style and great taste in the arts...

And it's reflected in their fireworks display too...

I felt immensely happy while shooting the fireworks... Tapping my feet to the music during the high tempo moments, and admiring the colours and synchronised explosions while Pavarotti's singing was played... Fast, then slow, then fast again... My feelings were driven entirely by this majestic display...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Team New Caledonia

3rd display of the SFF 2006...

New Caledonia... Debutant of the SFF... Where on earth is New Caledonia?

It's actually an island lying somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean... to the west of Australia, somewhere near Papau New Guinea... It actually a country belonging to France!!!

It's a country similar to New Zealand, with it's unique species of flora and fauna due to it's isolated geography...

And this very display was inspired by mother nature...

I thought I saw a tropical isle with swaying coconut tress and palm trees... I thought I saw flowers of different colours in full majestic bloom... I even thought I saw chinese calligraphy painted in the night canvas... It's absolutely calming and unique in it's choreography...

This is in fact my favourite show among all 4... It might not have the glorious colours of Team Italy... But it's artistic depth becomes more apparent when I began to realise what it was trying to portray...

Simply amazing...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Team France

Last show of SFF 2006...

The organisers tried to save the best for last... It's a French Encore... After a splendid display and popularity last year...

Lesser colours than last year... Deceptively so... A quick count and there were only 3 major colours throughout the entire display... And this is where the mastery of the French Team becomes most apparent...

Like last year, the French has the knack of keeping things unhurried... indifferent... and in an enticing and teasing manner even... the display slowly built up to a climax... an extended climate even, when the entire night sky was littered with golden explosions after golden explosions... and just when I thought there's only so much the night sky could contain, the French just kept them coming...

What a glorious ending!!! So typical French... No wonder they are the best lovers in the world!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Team Singapore

Team Singapore's display was reserved for the eve of the nation's 41st birthday...

All I can say is that the team has been there, and done that... nothing more...

It's a display that shows that Singapore has the technical expertise to produce a fireworks display... But it stops just there...

In all the other shows, I could feel... I could feel what the choreographers wanted to portray... My feelings and mood were driven and led by the fireworks... And these foreign teams have raised fireworks displays into an artform... I do not feel like I'm watching a technically perfect execution of pyrotechnics... There was a soul behind each displays...

That's exactly what Team Singapore lacked...

In our pursuit of excellence in every aspects in our nation building, our pursuit of artistic excellence has not been able to keep up... We still lack a bit of soul... We still lack that ability to express artistically... We can boast to the world with our magnificant Esplande where world-class performances are presented... But how many of our own productions are world-class in standard?

Technically, we are almost there... Soul-wise, 41 years of nationhood is still considered at its infancy...

(My whole series of the SFF 2006 is HERE)

Warning!!!

Decided to go jogging yesterday...

And I thought some universal constants have gone disarray...

My shorts seemed to have enlarged by a scale factor of 0.8...

Gravitational pull seemed to have increased to 12 m/s^2...

Oxygen level at sea-level seemed to have gone thin as if I was at 3000m altitude...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apart from trekking to Bt Timah, MacRitchie Reservoir, walking all over Kyoto & Osaka carrying my camera bag, I havent'been jogging since I don't know when...

I used to be able to bank on my youth and was able to regain my fitness rather quickly after a few workouts... but I now can feel the drag...

Maybe I've been zipping around too much in my RSP... gotta enforce some discipline to regain my fitness quickly once again... Sheares Bridge run and another don't know what quarter marathon run are coming up...

I don't want to be unfit!!!

Breaking Out of the Cocoon

A man saw a cocoon where a butterfly was about to break free from. Upon seeing the butterfly struggle so hard and appearing to be having a lot of difficulty breaking out of it, he decided to use a knife and cut the cocoon open to release the butterfly within...

To his horror, the butterfly did not survive long after being released prematurely. The butterfly didn't develop enough strength to fly because it didn't have the chance to go through the process of struggling and breaking out of its cocoon by itself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I constantly remind myself with this story... I was reminded of this story again today...

A young padawan of mine requested that I cut open a cocoon prematurely... I'm very proud of him for having such great compassion and displaying such great friendship. I'm very touched in fact...

However, just like a little chick using all its strength to break out of the egg shell, the butterfly needs to do it himself... All we can, and should do is to give the butterfly all the encouragement that he needs, and await the day when he will break out of his cocoon, turning into a beautiful butterfly... That will be the day where we will all cheer and celebrate his rebirth... a new beginning... putting the past behind, and looking forward to greater success and achievements...

I am most humbled... I am looking forward to that day...

Jedi's Day 2006

Posted this last year... Jedi's Day...

Come 1 Sept 2006, it'll be the 7th Jedi's Day for me...

Time flies... so unconciously... especially so when I find myself waking up everyday doing something I feel passionately about...

The past Jedi's Days were very fun for me... I always get to assemble groups of talented Padawans strutting their stuff on stage... Jam bands, boy bands, modern dance, skits, break dance, songs... Still remembered having to rent guitar amplifiers out of my own pockets for a group of guys who loved playing in a jam band... Those were guys who liked pretty much nothing else in school, but jamming in a band... Miss those guys...

Then progressively, other jam bands came up... Most enjoyable band I worked with was the one made up by Joakim(lead vocal), Melvyn (lead vocal), Jainthan (bass guitar, Andra (electric guitar), and Shawn (drums)... and I really enjoyed all those late afternoons/evenings in the school hall jamming and scolding and correcting some of the songs they were gonna perform... Don't know if they found me irritating, but heheh, I kinda enjoyed that... ;)

There was only one guiding principle that drove me on organising those concerts... to showcase the talents of these Padawans... They need a stage... and all I need to do was to give them that stage... And they fly...

Jedi's Day's coming in a months' time... Some padawans asked me to play in a semi-formed up band with them... But I'm kinda rusty already... been a long while since I played my guitar seriously...

Maybe it's time to pick them up again...

(JEDI's Day Website)

Simply Inexplicable!!!

After these few months, finally managed to get tickets to watch Joakim perform live again...

What an experience it was...

It's been about 10 years since I stepped into Mediacorp's Theatre again (the last was a charity concert back in NTU Hall 4)...

It's such a joy meeting some of my ex-Padawans who have grown taller, wider, prettier, "handsomer", smarter, more mature, cheekier etc... very nice indeed...

It's just so awesome to realise just how organised the supporters for Joakim are... Huge posters, banners, dancing monkey placards, printed T-shirts etc... all held/ worn by every of his supporter in the theatre...

And I got to hold one of his poster as well... very nice one... and if anyone would to wonder why they couldn't see me on TV, look out for Joakim's posters... I was behind one of them...

The screaming, shouting, cheering, wildness that were all around during the show was simply earth-moving... I couldn't help but join in the support... And the moment when it was announced that he's now in the top 9 was simply magical... Great fun it was :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I guess the only logical explanation as to why I am behaving in such a 'silly-fan' manner, supporting an SI contestant when I've never quite believed in such shows, is just very plain simple... I'm supporting a talented boy whom I've seen him grow and develop into such a fine young character who has a special place on the stage... I'm so proud of him... There need not be any other reasons why I'm supporting him...

Some of my friends and family members and people around me may scorn at my behaviour, but I don't think they quite understand what it means to me... It doesn't matter anyway... It's just plain simple and pure support for a boy whom I've always believed in...

Red Swift Pod

Read from somewhere that in the US, the car insurance premium for RED CARS is higher than cars of other colours... Reason being that statistically, the probability that the owners of RED CARS will speed, and therefore involve in accidents, and therefore cause insurance companies to receive claims, are higher...

I drive a RED SWIFT POD...

So do I have a statistically higher probable tendency to speed?

I must admit that I do enjoy taking long drives at night after work along quieter expressways/ roads... I find such drives therapeutic... Relieves me of the stress and agony of the day... Blasting my audio away and shielding myself from the outside world with the sound waves...

Back to the question of whether I have a tendency to speed... Ermmm, my pod is small... very small... how fast could it go anyway???

Ermmm... Do I really need TWO???

Bought TWO (2) copies of THE OFFICIAL SINGAPORE IDOL MAGAZINE today... It's says it's the COLLECTOR'S EDITION some more... so must be good right?

I don't usually behave like this...

But just felt that I needed to... One copy for flippin', and one copy for keepin'...

Just have to do it...

GO JOAKIM GO!!!

Solo

Redang 2003 => Solo

Sydney 2004 => Solo

New Zealand North Island 2005 => Solo

Japan 2006 => Solo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm getting more and more used to travelling solo...

My pace (or lack of) and itinerary (or lack of) will irk any travelling partners should I travel with any...

I can stop for hours at a location just to observe and wait and rest and enjoy the moment and then shoot as much as I like, before I move along...

I plan my trip on the fly... I just need a broad itinerary, and I will always work out the details as I go along...

That's the way I function best... that's the way that I'll enjoy my travelling photography best... No stress of not following any plans... No stress of irking anybody else... No stress of hurrying my photo taking...

I'm not ready to travel with anyone at the moment...

Not yet...

Man in Blue, Red & Yellow...

Yes... The favourite Man of Steel in blue, red & yellow is back...

And I thought I've grown out of it...

The moment the by now famous and oh-so-familiar John Williams composed theme music came on at the start of the movie, that awe, respect, admiration, nostalgic, back-to-being-a-little-boy feelings came rushing back...

It's still the same feelings... the very first time I watched Superman I, with Christopher Reeves as the original man of steel in the movie version... Superman must have been the first English language movie I watched at the cinemas... I was still little... Parents brought me to watch it at the then President cinema (the present Balestier Cinema)... Those were the times when long movies were shown with an intermission in between... Superman, as well as Jaws, were considered long movies back then... I wonder if Lord of the Rings would be shown over 2 days if it was made then...

Superman Returns retained many nice moments from the Superman I to III... The new Superman even looks like the original Superman...

Who cares if the story is cliche and our super-hero will always win the day... Superman, compared to many other super-heroes, is the most wholesome among them all...

And our world today, DO need a Superman... a Superman who'll always be around...

Blue, Red & Yellow... All primary colours... the only colours needed to spin off all other colours we can ever imagine...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I stayed on to listen to the entire Superman theme music again... as the credits rolled out, I saw these:
"This film is dedicated with love and respect to
Christopher Reeves and Dana Reeves."

Indeed... Christopher Reeves epitomised what Superman really is... a courageous fighter who lived on despite the horrendous paralysis... A true Man of Steel...

(EDIT: It was brought to my attention that the primary colours are not blue, red and yellow!!! See HERE for detailed explanations... Gosh... like that also can... I need Superman!!!)

Lesson with STUDENT

Met STUDENT at a photoshoot yesterday... I've always had high respect for his passion in photography and the manner in which he pursue it is simply inspiring...

He shared his journey of learning with me while we were having a break yesterday... He had his very first photography lesson with an established and well-known photograher in France a few years ago... This was what he learnt:

- the teacher brought STUDENT to a beautiful beach somewhere in France.
- the sunset was gorgeous.
- the instinctive thing a photographer would do would be to whip out his camera and start shooting the spectacular sunset.
- STUDENT almost started shooting the sunset when the teacher stopped him.
- the teacher said: if you've seen enough sunsets, all sunsets would probably look almost the same. That's not what a photographer should shoot.
- the teacher further probed STUDENT:
=> where are you now? (ans: on a beautiful beach with a spectacular sunset)
=> how do you feel? (ans: I feel that the sunset is spectacular, obviously)
=> and how does that make you feel deep down? (ans: I feel so previleged to see this sunset, coming all the way from S'pore)
=> and deeper still? (ans: and I feel that mother nature is so amazing>)
=> and? (ans: and I feel that I so small and powerless in this great big world.)
=> and? (ans: I feel lonely on this beautiful beach...)
=> Good. Use your camera now and shoot this lonliness that you are feeling now...

It's an amazing lesson that I learnt too...

Photography is not just about getting the technicalities and acquiring the best gears that money can buy... To really know photography, one must know oneself... Listen to oneself.. Know what one wants to express.. know how one feels...

Photography is expression... Expressing what one feels deep down... Expressing one's current state of mind... current state of feelings...

There is no absolutes in photography... no absolute rights... no absolute wrongs...

But shooting without reaching deep into oneself, the dimension and depth of an image will be missing... in other words, the SOUL of an image will be missing...

STUDENT's story sets me reflecting on my pursuit in photography... There's more yet to learn... More yet to discover... More of myself to know and explore...

I've leant... from a STUDENT...

Cheapo MTV

I aint't got no videography skills...

I ain't got no music editing skills...

But I've got my ixus and my... whistling skills...

(Paihia, New Zealand North Island)

Learn to Teach... Teach to Learn

From this...



To this...



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've never been an instruction manual or 'follow-step-by-step' kind of learner.

Give me a guitar, or a camera, and I'll fiddle and play around with them and I've always been able to (with these two passions at least) get the hang of them and very intuitively learn how to use them well...

I never had any music theory background when I first learnt how to play the guitar when I was 17... everything fell into place very naturally and being a very aural person, I just knew how to do it... be it chords, tempo, expression, reading notes... somehow I'm just able to do it...

My early exposure to photography was with my late uncle... he'd do the setting of the aperture and shutter speed for me... and I just do the composing and framing and fire away... I just knew how to frame a nice looking photo when I look through the viewfinder... It's when I finally was able to afford my own photography gears that I really took this passion to a higher level... But I'm still not a technically masterful kind of photographer... As with playing the guitar, when I look through the viewfinder, I just know what will turn out nice... Very intuitive...

It's only on occassions where I'm stuck with some chords, some phrasing of notes, some Photoshop processing techniques etc, that I'd go back to some instruction manuals, listen to guitar recordings over and over, search the internet for information and generally read up to clear the bottle-neck that I'm faced with... Then I'll be back fiddling my way around...

That's the carefree and semi-unstructured manner in which I pursue my two greatest passions... I somehow know that I'm doing what many instruction books out there are already prescribing... I somehow know how to...

It's hard to explain... it's somewhere within... intuitive... gut feel... having some sense of what sounds good, what sounds right, how a piece of music needs to be played and expressed, how a photo should look like...

Even though many people around me sees me as a logical person, when it comes to guitars and photography, my senses take the lead...

I prefer it this way... music and photography are ways of expressions... I just can't imagine some guide-books telling me how I should express myself... It's not longer art of expression... I've heard technically perfect pieces of classical guitar music... I've seen technically perfect photos... But these do not very often reach deep into my heart...

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But I've come to a stage in my life where I now need to share and teach others how I operate...

And that's challenging...

Because I do things from my heart...

Because I don't usually think through the exact steps and procedures that I play a piece of music or take a photo...

I now have to articulate and make explicit, steps which I take intuitively...

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In my pursuit of Teaching, I'm continually Learning... I'm Learning how to Teach...

I now have to articulate and make explicit, steps which I take intuitively when I Teach and interact with the young Padawans...

Ironically, just as I do not refer to guide-books at the onset as I feel they are hindering my efforts straight from my heart, I can't help but feel that if the heart is not at the right place, no amount of guidebooks will help one become a good guitar player or great photographer...

Maybe they're better off keeping collections of guitars for keepsake or pursue the latest and most advanced camera equipment money can buy...

Land of the Samurai... Here I Come...

I'll be on my flight to Osaka in 2.5 hours time...

Apart from having planned my route to Kyoto after reaching Kansai Int'l Airport tomorrow morning, I've no idea where my itinerary will bring me to for the next 5 days...

But that's the way I prefer... getting lost in a country where the language is so quite alien... simply perfect...

Campfire's Burning

Tis' the base of our "The Return of the NPCC Flying Fireball"...

The first time I saw a flying fireball lighting up a campfire in Simpleville was the first year I joined the NPCC as teacher-officer... It was still the old Simpleville building... A few resourceful and creative ex-cadets taking the lead to tie up the guide-wire... That was 6 years ago...

This method of lighting up a campfire was never attempted again since we started shifting into the new building... no suitable location was found... or so we thought...

This could be the last year in which I'm running the NPCC Annual Camp... My CIs were gungho and resourceful enough... All I needed to do was to give them the necessary encouragement and guidelines to work within... And the seed was sown...

We just tried out the guideline for the fireball... Worked smoothly... Tomorrow night's campfire will be something very special...

I've always enjoyed working with these young people... I was told that there'll be close to 50 ex-cadets returning for the annual camp's campfire... This is something that I'm very proud of... The connection with their alma mater... Just like the kind of connections that I feel for my own alma maters and Hall 4...

It's inexplicable and hard to put a finger on, how this feeling is... Tomorrow's campfire gathering for these ex-cadets is a home-coming and gathering to a place where they once grew and mature and learnt useful lifeskills... A safe santuary for them, after leaving the school, out to the more hectic world...

I can tell it means a lot to them... Exactly like how I feel everytime I return to Hall 4... Many of them continue to return to school to help set up the campfire, cos' they too, want to keep the NPCC tradition burning... I always feel very proud when I see how much they've grown and becoming more sensible... Many of them have become very fine youths... They are all excellent role-models for all my current cadets...

The nicest thing about it all is that I'm stil able to connect with the very first batch of graduates (graduated some 8 years ago)from Simpleville... I've not taught some of them before... But thanks to the very fine introduction and first connection that a very respected predecessor of mine made for me, I've been very priviledged to work with all these fine youths over the past 6 years...

Like I said, this could be the last year I'll run the annual camp as I need to take on other responsibilities... It's now time to pass on the same connection to my new colleagues... Really hope that they'll continue to involve and invite our fine youths back to Simpleville to spread their passion and commitment...

This'll be something that I'll miss... seeing young people grow, and most importantly, that they didn't forget the place that groomed and moulded them into the youths of today...

Safe Santuary For My Heart

Tis was a rainy afternoon...

Technically not a fantastic day to do any photoshoot outdoors...

But still took a long drive back to NTU... Not sure what exactly was the reason... But the thought just came into my head, and I just felt like a homing missile... No explanations were needed...
Chinese Heritage Centre

Hall 4

Hall 4

Hall 4

Returning to NTU is always a very heart-warming experience... 3 years of my youth was spent here... 3 great years...

Much of my life's vision and principles took root and were shaped here... It's not just a place where a degree was earned... It's way more than that for me...

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Hall 4 & Nanyang Lake
Nanyang Lake has a special place in my heart... I remembered in Year 1, one fine night, a few of us freshies were invited to our seniors' room for a birthday celebration... It was loud, rowdy and good clean fun... But never at the back of our minds did we realise that straight after the singing of the usual songs and blowing of candles and blah blah blah, the common ritual in Hall 4 Block 24/25 was to dunk the birthday boy/girl into the famous Nanyang Lake... That night, the few of us freshies received the block initiation of sorts... We were dunked into the lake together with the birthday boy...

Of all the fun we had at Nanyang Lake, I'll never forget the incident at the beginning of my 3rd year...
Hall 1 Tree
It was the 2nd day of the Orientation Camp for Freshies... We did something no one in the Hall had done before... We constructed our own Flying Fox across the Nanyang Lake...

I was the Ex-Officio for the camp... Just wanted to be sure that the obstacle course could work before any freshies went onto it... So up I went...

And straight down I came...

It was the most excruciating pain I've ever felt in my life... Crashing straight into the green metal railings by the side of the road, instead of "Flying" across the Nanyang Lake...

Looking across the lake today, I could still recall the accident very vividly...
"I curled up my legs... up to my chest... my shins hit the railings... my glasses flew out of my face... pain... great pain... my body was tensed... tensed up in hope of making the pain less hurting... and the pain did go away after a while... only to be taken over by numbness... my lower body turned numb... my friends came... shouting my name... footsteps... running footsteps coming closer to me as I stayed motionless... I was unhooked from the safety line... my friends didn't want me to look at my wounds... without my glasses, I only saw a patch of white over on my two shins... thought it was just superficial cuts... was sent to the NUH... realised that the skin on my two shins were torn apart due to the impact... the white I saw were the bones of my shins..."

Looking back, the accident changed the way I looked at life... things could have turned out nastier... apart from the open wound, no fractures...

Great lesson learnt... take risks, but don't take your life... Life's short... listen to your heart and do what you believe in...

The most beautiful thing that happened from this incident was that it further affirmed the kind of friendships and bonds I had with my Hall 4 pals... Throughout the entire afternoon I was in NTU today, lots of images filled my head... all the late night suppers, block suppers, chit chat sessions, playing-guitar-in-corridor sessions, JCRC meetings, prank calls to disturb upstairs girls, water fights, unhappy security guards, flip-flapping sounds of slippers along corridors, roof-top gatherings, lantern festivals, mooncake festivals, darts training, CNY steamboat re-unions, Mao Mao, feeding Mao Mao, catching Mao Mao, rescuing Mao Mao, searching for Mao Mao, talking to Mao Mao...
Block 25

Seems like I spent more of my time having fun than studying...

But all those, ironically, shape the minds of undergraduates... And that, is truly what Education is all about...

Many of my social skills were learnt during these 3 years... Networks were formed, visions of our future were formed, values were incalcated as well...

85% of my 3 years unversity life was spent in the Hall... happenings about a decade ago still stays in my mind even as I drove around in NTU today... I get this feeling everytime I return to NTU... I thought they'd fade away as time goes by... But it doesn't...

In fact, whenever I'm back in NTU, I felt safe... Safe because I feel like I'm shielded from the fast-paced world out there... Feels almost like returning to a mother's womb... where precious nutrients were received before we went out to the society to contribute whatever we could...

But more often than not, the world out there is quite unforgivingly harsh... and sometimes we forget why we exist...

Today, I was reminded of my purpose in life again... the lessons and experience right here in NTU were the beginning of my journey of contributing to the society... and at this point in my career, it's a timely reminder...

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I remembered the night when I packed my last bag out of my Block 25 room after my final exams, walking along the corridor, away from Hall 4... I was crying...

Today, driving away from NTU,I felt a little uneasy again... I felt like going out into the wild safari...

But I felt recharged... my heart is warm again... It's such a wonderful feeling knowing that there's this safe santuary out there in the far west that I can always come back to to recharge my soul...

The buildings and surroundings in NTU have changed drastically... but these aren't the only things that warms one's heart... It's the people whom I have the honour to know and live with for 3 years in our lives that completes the beautiful picture...

Hey Hall 4 guys and gals... it's been some time since we last 'da you' liao right? It's also a long long time ago since we last heard our Block Song too right? How about coming back to NTU for our next gathering? Bring your kids back too... show them where their daddy and mummy had all the fun...

Too bad we don't have a recording of our Block Song... so the second best option is to read the lyrics and sing it in our hearts...

Cougar's Roar...
"Solidarity Forever (x3)
For Block C Never Die.

Block C in Hall 4 is the finest in the land,
Even though we may look like a sleazy drunken band,
But if you ask us nicely we might jump in without fear,
We'll help you drink your BEER!!!
(Give that man a TIGER!!!)

Solidary Forever (x3)
For Block C is the Best.

We'll scratch (*ape) your women,
Scratch (*ape) you men,
And then we'll bong your cat,
Then we'll burn you block down while we finish up you BEER,
For never will you find a Block so divinely Blessed,
For Block C is the Best!!!

Solidary Forever (x3)
For Block C is the Best Best Best!!!"