Wooohoo!!! Today completed my first half marathon... 2 hours and 25 minutes of gruelling run of 21 km...
fri life! got this section on running in singapore and apparently running is the number one sport in singapore. and today was a great proof. not only were there so so so many pple, there were ppl from all ages and both sex.
some of them are quite fast. my fren complained that he was cut by two aunties. i saw many elderly men, women and girls still going strong even at 18 - 20 km mark. they kinda motivated me to continue running and overtake them. bwahahaha.
while the run was tough, it wasnt really that impossible lah. q surprisingly, the 'climb' up sheares bridge wasnt the toughest part. there were many other up-slopes like the one from outram mrt to neil road. but as long as u see other pple going, you'll just follow along.
ahhh... my legs are aching now... and there are abrasion all over my body... didnt realise until i bathed and switched on the shower head. owww...
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Friday, August 18, 2006
Sophie Scholl and the White Rose
watched Sophie Scholl on tues with my navy frens. it's about a group of students, called white rose, who printed anti-Nazi pamphlets and distributed them. Sophie and her brother was caught, and most of the show was about e interogation and a short trial. not much action, but the acting and dialogue were powerful and thought provoking.
there was this part during the interrogation where Sophie and her interrogator were involved in a debate. he asked rhetorically, without law, what would decide who is right, who is wrong. what would prevent the chaos and establish order. Sophie simply replied, ‘conscience’. a bit cliche... but yet v philosophically true.
however, sadly, the group of students were executed in the end. while sophie hoped that their deaths would inspire other rebellions or protests, nothing really happened.
oh. this picture of the white rose memorial in munich, which i took when i was backpacking. the guy was a guide bringing us on a tour about the third reich (ie hitler’s regime). he was an artist and gave q a few artistic impressions of the monuments and architecture in munich. about this memorial, he was rather disappointed. he said the rectangular/cubic design of the stone was representative of the nazi regime. and the words on the stone (if u look carefully, it’s a copy of an abstract from a leaflet) were “scratched”, and they didnt seem to leave any impression. the memorial did injustice to the sacrifices of the youths. hmmm... a deep interpretation.
nevertheless, the movie’s not bad. can catch if you’re at cineleisure and if you’re a sucker for such historical films.
there was this part during the interrogation where Sophie and her interrogator were involved in a debate. he asked rhetorically, without law, what would decide who is right, who is wrong. what would prevent the chaos and establish order. Sophie simply replied, ‘conscience’. a bit cliche... but yet v philosophically true.
however, sadly, the group of students were executed in the end. while sophie hoped that their deaths would inspire other rebellions or protests, nothing really happened.
oh. this picture of the white rose memorial in munich, which i took when i was backpacking. the guy was a guide bringing us on a tour about the third reich (ie hitler’s regime). he was an artist and gave q a few artistic impressions of the monuments and architecture in munich. about this memorial, he was rather disappointed. he said the rectangular/cubic design of the stone was representative of the nazi regime. and the words on the stone (if u look carefully, it’s a copy of an abstract from a leaflet) were “scratched”, and they didnt seem to leave any impression. the memorial did injustice to the sacrifices of the youths. hmmm... a deep interpretation.
nevertheless, the movie’s not bad. can catch if you’re at cineleisure and if you’re a sucker for such historical films.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
made in singapore
today is national day! just watched ndp on tv with mika and read the straits times section about my singapore in the afternoon. yup. it’s the time of the year where we share our love for the nation and appreciate the blessings we’ve had as a singaporean.
for me, the one value that i immensely appreciate in singapore is that of meritocracy. cos without meritocracy and singapore’s emphasis on education, i would not have been able to here and wat i am today.
well i was born to a family with modest background. my parents were chinese educated and held only o-level certificates. they did odd jobs and hence our family income was not very high. but yet, through many bursaries, subsidies and a study award, they were able to see me through until tertiary education. and today i’m holding a university degree and enjoying a comfortable income. to me, this is not by chance or by my own talent (if i have any) or my effort alone.
it’s thanks to a national policy to provide for all, “regardless of race, language and religion”. it’s not just about money or subsidy per se. it’s about creating an environment whereby anyone who’s willing to work hard will be able to reap his or her reward.
when i was in ri, i felt q stressed out initially. not just that the guys there were smart or that they were rich. it was also that most guys there had a strong family support. they spoke absolutely powerful english because english was their “mother tongue”. they could do projects in a such wonderful manner because their parents are so knowledgeable and capable. to be frank, i was then v jealous and resentful. but the thing was that: i was not alone. i had many friends who were in the same predicament and this so-called “adversity” did not appear as difficult as it seems.
but it’s easy to take this meritocracy for granted. i was reminded of the importance of meritocracy when i was in kolkata, india. i was helping street kids there and through their stories and wat i saw i realised how precious meritocracy was.
the kids were born to parents who were practically unemployed. the parents saw no value in education (some would rather pay for a cassette tape than to pay for a pencil and paper for their child) and had little interest in sending kids for education. however, some kids do show interest and may perform well in the “communal” schools. but when these kids enter mainstream schools, they are usually isolated and ostracized and end up back in the slums. it’s a vicious cycle and it’s sad to see the lack of hope amongst some of these people.
and it’s during such moments when one appreciates things that we have at home. yes. sometimes our concept of “meritocracy” may be skewed to some “merits”. however, the existence of meritocracy had given opportunities to many pple like to benefit and grow. so, we must continue this spirit and perhaps spread it to other “merits”. we shall encourage and help our fellow comrades to live their dreams!
majulah singapura!
for me, the one value that i immensely appreciate in singapore is that of meritocracy. cos without meritocracy and singapore’s emphasis on education, i would not have been able to here and wat i am today.
well i was born to a family with modest background. my parents were chinese educated and held only o-level certificates. they did odd jobs and hence our family income was not very high. but yet, through many bursaries, subsidies and a study award, they were able to see me through until tertiary education. and today i’m holding a university degree and enjoying a comfortable income. to me, this is not by chance or by my own talent (if i have any) or my effort alone.
it’s thanks to a national policy to provide for all, “regardless of race, language and religion”. it’s not just about money or subsidy per se. it’s about creating an environment whereby anyone who’s willing to work hard will be able to reap his or her reward.
when i was in ri, i felt q stressed out initially. not just that the guys there were smart or that they were rich. it was also that most guys there had a strong family support. they spoke absolutely powerful english because english was their “mother tongue”. they could do projects in a such wonderful manner because their parents are so knowledgeable and capable. to be frank, i was then v jealous and resentful. but the thing was that: i was not alone. i had many friends who were in the same predicament and this so-called “adversity” did not appear as difficult as it seems.
but it’s easy to take this meritocracy for granted. i was reminded of the importance of meritocracy when i was in kolkata, india. i was helping street kids there and through their stories and wat i saw i realised how precious meritocracy was.
the kids were born to parents who were practically unemployed. the parents saw no value in education (some would rather pay for a cassette tape than to pay for a pencil and paper for their child) and had little interest in sending kids for education. however, some kids do show interest and may perform well in the “communal” schools. but when these kids enter mainstream schools, they are usually isolated and ostracized and end up back in the slums. it’s a vicious cycle and it’s sad to see the lack of hope amongst some of these people.
and it’s during such moments when one appreciates things that we have at home. yes. sometimes our concept of “meritocracy” may be skewed to some “merits”. however, the existence of meritocracy had given opportunities to many pple like to benefit and grow. so, we must continue this spirit and perhaps spread it to other “merits”. we shall encourage and help our fellow comrades to live their dreams!
majulah singapura!
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Must the world be in Black and White?
Today we were talking about some issues over lunch and it seemed that we were getting to no conclusion. Then my friend tried to force me to take a stand. Yes or no?
It seemed that my friend sees 'sitting on e fence' as a sign on indecisiveness. Probably thanks to some neorolinguists, phrases like 'yes, but...', 'perhaps', 'maybe' have become a big nono in e commercial world. Ppl must always have a stand! and sound so.
but things have always been in shades of gray and it is important to recognise so. not recognising this fact is rather dangerous.
one pitfall was pointed out by edward de bono. in the 1980s, he pointed out that our education system tends to focus on teaching one to think logically, but not perceptively (a way of thinking such that one considers different perspectives). hence, there’s a tendency for pple to state an hypothesis and find facts to support the argument in a logical manner. one exercise which ‘trains’ this tendency is the debates that a teacher usually involve the class in. one even more dangerous tendency is that one uses the argument ‘You’re wrong and therefore, I’m right’.
not surprisingly, many academics and politicians and entrepreneurs have probably fallen into these pitfalls (i use the word ‘probably’ out of due respect). probably, the crisis of the middle east is the result of looking at things in just black and white. not only are the islamic fundamentalists insistent that the west is debauchery and they must leave the holy land, the americans are also adamant that democracy is the only medicine and ‘birth pangs’ are inevitable. such views have resulted in the suffering and deaths of many. ironically, the deaths are also viewed from both sides as inevitable, and even necessary.
probably, buddhism teaches the wisdom of the Middle Way, where we do not accept wholly nor reject totally either view of the opposite polarities. this was reflected in shakyamuni’s path to enlightenment. shakyamuni wanted to alleviate the suffering of mankind and bring about happiness. when he was the prince, leading a luxurious life, he found that he could do nothing. then he abandoned his life as a prince and led an austere life. and inflicted a lot of pain onto himself. starving, freezing, etc... until he came to a near death incident, he also realised that austerities were not the answer. then he led a life of moderation and soon came to the enlightenment.
actually, the Middle Way has always been the logical way to go. you need no rocket scientist to tell you so. but somehow we have a tendency to go towards one way so as to achieve faster results, and to assimilate with others. learning to balance is a difficult act but we must learn to do so.
so, remember, no stand is a stand.
It seemed that my friend sees 'sitting on e fence' as a sign on indecisiveness. Probably thanks to some neorolinguists, phrases like 'yes, but...', 'perhaps', 'maybe' have become a big nono in e commercial world. Ppl must always have a stand! and sound so.
but things have always been in shades of gray and it is important to recognise so. not recognising this fact is rather dangerous.
one pitfall was pointed out by edward de bono. in the 1980s, he pointed out that our education system tends to focus on teaching one to think logically, but not perceptively (a way of thinking such that one considers different perspectives). hence, there’s a tendency for pple to state an hypothesis and find facts to support the argument in a logical manner. one exercise which ‘trains’ this tendency is the debates that a teacher usually involve the class in. one even more dangerous tendency is that one uses the argument ‘You’re wrong and therefore, I’m right’.
not surprisingly, many academics and politicians and entrepreneurs have probably fallen into these pitfalls (i use the word ‘probably’ out of due respect). probably, the crisis of the middle east is the result of looking at things in just black and white. not only are the islamic fundamentalists insistent that the west is debauchery and they must leave the holy land, the americans are also adamant that democracy is the only medicine and ‘birth pangs’ are inevitable. such views have resulted in the suffering and deaths of many. ironically, the deaths are also viewed from both sides as inevitable, and even necessary.
probably, buddhism teaches the wisdom of the Middle Way, where we do not accept wholly nor reject totally either view of the opposite polarities. this was reflected in shakyamuni’s path to enlightenment. shakyamuni wanted to alleviate the suffering of mankind and bring about happiness. when he was the prince, leading a luxurious life, he found that he could do nothing. then he abandoned his life as a prince and led an austere life. and inflicted a lot of pain onto himself. starving, freezing, etc... until he came to a near death incident, he also realised that austerities were not the answer. then he led a life of moderation and soon came to the enlightenment.
actually, the Middle Way has always been the logical way to go. you need no rocket scientist to tell you so. but somehow we have a tendency to go towards one way so as to achieve faster results, and to assimilate with others. learning to balance is a difficult act but we must learn to do so.
so, remember, no stand is a stand.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
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