Pictures that Say a Thousand Words?

Azabu Sabo

2006-04-12T22:24:00.000+08:00

Azabu Sabo, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Okie we decided to go to a cousin's outing... at the newly opened Azabu Sabo at Marina Square! Saw the crowd? :p

Cousins

2006-04-12T22:23:00.000+08:00

Cousins, originally uploaded by crassus08.

There we are in the restaurant with all the nice decor and definitely a lot of people... and all looking pretty and one handsome! wahahaha

The Main Courses!

2006-04-12T22:22:00.000+08:00

Food, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Okie hope i din remember them wrongly.... Seafood Udon from left top hand corner, then Chicken Bento, clockwise down is Crab Meat Udon and the last one i forgot le... haha

Desserts

2006-04-12T22:18:00.000+08:00

Desserts, originally uploaded by crassus08.

And to couple off with desserts! the very thing we are in for... from the left top hand corner, Mango Ice cream from Hokkaido, Rum & Sweet Potato, Green Tea Ice Kachang and last but not least, Green Tea with dumplings!

Aroma Therapy

2006-03-26T21:22:00.000+08:00

screenshot, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Some Tips!

Tranquility at the MRT

2006-02-26T02:07:00.000+08:00

Tranquility at the MRT, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Waiting for the bus to come, the image in front of my eyes is a tranquil one. The blue sky is covered with fluffy clouds and the warm afternoon wind is blowing into the face... the grass are swaying and dancing, and a lone mynah flies into the crevice at the track... a very peaceful moment

View In Front of My Feet

2006-02-26T02:02:00.000+08:00

View In Front of My Feet, originally uploaded by crassus08.

蟋蟀的叫声，凉爽的午风，懒洋洋的周末下午，远离俗世的种种束缚……

YCK CQ 06

2006-02-20T21:25:00.001+08:00

YCK CQ 06, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Why are we made to come to the CC one hr earlier? wait so long!!!

aay we are being photographed! quick pose pose!

YCK CQ 06_1

2006-02-20T21:22:00.000+08:00

YCK CQ 06_1, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Heard there are a lot of teams joining the competition but then dunno why the organizer keeps calling me to confirm the figures...

Distances

2006-01-23T22:09:00.000+08:00

Distances, originally uploaded by crassus08.

A series of photographs that i have taken recently... work was so overwhelming that i had totally lost interest in everything... that is until today.

This is the best shot that i think was taken in the 80 over last sunday.

Soaring

2006-01-23T22:08:00.000+08:00

Soaring, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Exclamations

2006-01-23T22:06:00.000+08:00

Exclamations, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Friendship

2006-01-23T22:05:00.000+08:00

Friendship, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Surveying

2006-01-23T22:03:00.000+08:00

Surveying, originally uploaded by crassus08.

午后的课堂

2005-12-07T00:06:00.000+08:00

午后的课堂, originally uploaded by crassus08.

银河铁道之夜 -- 宫泽贤治

一午后的课堂

“各位同学，这条我们常说成是河，也常说成是奶水流过的痕迹，就是这条模模糊糊的白带子，你们知道那是什么吗？”老师指着挂在黑板前一张黑色的大星座图上，那道从上到下像是银河的白茫茫带子，问着教室里的同学们。
康潘内鲁拉举起手来。其它又有四、五个同学也举起手来。乔伴尼正想举起手，又慌忙打消主意。他曾经在杂志上读过那些其实都是星星的文章，可是最近这几天，乔伴尼在上课时总是觉得很困，不但没有时间看书，也没有书可看，所以他现在对什么事都感到迷迷糊糊的。
可是老师却察觉到他的动作。  “乔伴尼，你知道的，是吧？”  乔伴尼很有精神地站起来，可是站起来后，竟然不知道该怎么回答。坐在前面的查内利回过头来，看着乔伴尼，轻轻地噗哧笑了一声。乔伴尼慌了手脚，一张脸涨得通红。老师又问：  “用很大的望远镜仔细观看银河的话，银河大概都是什么东西呢？”
果然是星星。乔伴尼心里想着。可是他这次也是无法立刻回答出来。
老师面有难色，过一会儿，望向康潘内鲁拉，点名说：  “那么，康潘内鲁拉你说说看。”  刚刚那么有劲地举起手的康潘内鲁拉，忸忸怩怩地站起来，却站在那儿同样回答不出来。
老师有点意外地凝视了他一会儿，才快速地说了一句：“好吧！”接着指着星座图说：“用性能好又很大的望远镜来看这道模糊的白银河的话，我们可以看到很多小星星。乔伴尼，对不对？”
乔伴尼面红耳赤地点点头。不过他的双眼不知何时竟然噙满着眼泪。是啊，我本来就知道啊，康潘内鲁拉当然也知道啊，康潘内鲁拉的爸爸是个博士，我们在他家读过那本杂志的。而且康潘内鲁拉读了那本杂志之后，又从他爸爸的书房找出一本很厚的书，翻开银河那一页，我们还一直出神地看著书中那一整页全黑的，上面布满无数个小白点的漂亮照片呢。康潘内鲁拉绝对不会忘记的，他没有马上回答，是因为他知道最近我在上学前与放学后，都要拚命做工，所以在学校时都没精神和大家玩，跟康潘内鲁拉也很少讲话，他因为同情我，才故意不回答的。
乔伴尼想到这里，觉得自己和康潘内鲁拉都很可怜。
老师又继续说：  “所以，如果我们把这道银河看成是真正的河的话，那些无数的小星星，就好比是河底的小沙粒或是小石头。又如果我们把它看成是一条巨大的奶水河的话，就跟银河比较相近了。换句话说，这些星星，便是漂浮在乳液中那些细碎的脂肪球。那么，河中的水到底是什么呢？那是能够以一定的速度传送光线的真空，太阳和地球都是漂浮在这其中的。也就是说，我们都是住在银河的水中。当我们从银河水中望向四方时，就跟水越深的地方，颜色看起来会越蓝一样，我们会看见离我们愈深愈远的银河深处，聚集着更多的星星，所以才会看起来白茫茫一片。大家看看这个模型。”
老师指着一只里面有许多发光细沙的大双凸镜说：  “银河的形状就跟这个相同。里面这些发光的沙粒，我们把它看成是和我们的太阳一样，都是能自己发光的恒星。再假设我们的太阳大约在中央这里，地球就在太阳附近。你们可以在夜晚时站在中央这个地方，环视凸镜里面看看。这边的镜片比较薄，所以只能看到几粒发光的沙粒，就是星星。这边和这边的镜片都很厚，可以看到许多发光的沙粒，就是许多星星。比较远的地方，只能看出白茫茫一片，这就是今天我们上的这堂银河课的道理。至于这个凸镜到底有多大，以及里面的各种星星，因为下课时间到了，下次物理课时我再讲解给大家听。今天正好是银河祭，你们到外面好好观察一下天空吧。这堂课就到此为止，大家把课本和笔记本都收起来。”
教室内此起彼落地响起开阂桌盖和重迭书本的声音，过一会儿，全体站起来，行了一个礼，先后走出教室。

Part of 4C

2005-10-23T22:15:00.000+08:00

Part of 4C, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Do well gentlemen!

Ah Pek Look

2005-10-23T22:14:00.000+08:00

Ah Pek Look, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Anyone wanna compete with me in being more ah pek?

MS Officers

2005-10-23T22:13:00.002+08:00

MS Officers, originally uploaded by crassus08.

The Award Winning Team!

Hard Rock Cafe

2005-10-23T22:13:00.001+08:00

Hard Rock Cafe, originally uploaded by crassus08.

The Officer Gang!

artistic

2005-10-23T22:13:00.000+08:00

artistic, originally uploaded by crassus08.

accidental production of "art"?

Paul & Pong Kenna

2005-10-22T19:51:00.000+08:00

Paul & Pong Kenna, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Oh goodness! Is it possible to extinguish a candle from blowing into a very long straw?

Apparently yes! Evident from the ultra fast timing taken that our officers are all with super lung power!

Tradition Japanese Restaurant

2005-10-22T19:44:00.000+08:00

Tradition Japanese Restaurant, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Just some of the recent eating places that i have been to... nice ambience.. though i can't so much about the food.. very traditional looking isn't it?

Europe's Work Climate

2005-10-03T21:52:00.001+08:00

EU Work Env, originally uploaded by crassus08.

This taken from Time magazine and i thought that its a good article to let us get updated of the world around us:

"Unemployment is a West European epidemic-or luxury. But in a global economy, old attitudes about work have to change."

This part i feel that all of us should read and ponder, as there is bound that we will tend to fall into this during one part of our lives... or so i think...

'The son of a single mother, Jensen grew up in the Danish town of Elsinore. When he left school at the age of 17, he had no intention of doing much of anything. "I had no plans, no ambitions," Jensen says. But the Danish government no longer allows people like him to coast. His social caseworker enrolled Jensen in job-training placement schemes and courses. Everytime he dropped out of one, he was put on another. If he didn't show up, he didn't get his benefits. One spell Jensen remembers vividly: he had to turn up every morning at an Elsinore job center to be give a series of mundane assignments that ranged from sweeping leaves to washing the gates of public institutions. "It was almost as if one day I had to move a pole of boxes from one place to another and the next day move them back again," Jensen says. "I often felt humiliated."'

It seems that even socialist countries like Europe are also giving way to the highly competitive capitalist society that we Singaporeans are so familiar with.

Our society is one such that we cannot survive if we do not work. For those who cannot keep up, we simply abandon them. So hypothetically we have dropouts who become problems to the society because of their way of life.

It is all about keeping in tune with the masses and be termed as successful if we could do it. Thus a degree or diploma is paramount if we should seek to hold a firm footing in our society, to be able to afford a house and also being able to rear children so that we can depend on them when we grow too old to work.

In other words, we are stuck to the economic machine. Time magzine reporter Peter Gumbel pointed out that "West Europeans regard the shift (work nature) as an outrageous attack on hard-won social advances gained over the past half-century."

Now its either to follow the economic robot or be left jobless and labelled as a parasite.

So the questions lies, how do we go about working to live, or are we just simply just living to work like many others are unconsciously doing so in the huge Economic machine?

Mayo Lobster

2005-09-06T01:08:00.000+08:00

Mayo Lobster, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Okie this is the lobster... grabbed from a special at Kushinbo's. There were only 20 of them to be snatched while they last.

The staff would play this irritating music cum announcement: "kushibo 123... bla bla bla"

goodness... made me lose all appetite from that and from seeing all the people in the mad rush for the goodies. Haha but then from another viewpt its quite fun la.. LOL

Snow Crab

2005-09-06T01:06:00.000+08:00

Snow Crab, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Okie so this is the really big snow crab from japan. But then i am allergic to seafood (gasp! omg u r so deprived ah?) Yes i am allergic but not deprived.. and not "robert" (carrot) ... oh well... i dun have the craving for it anyway...

so morale of the story? must come eat seafood dinner with me... cos u sure tan dio one... haha

Gayatri Restaur

2005-09-06T01:01:00.000+08:00

Gayatri Restaur, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Oh Wow! It's been since long that i posted another photo blog... so here it goes... haha the food is cheap for the ambience (it's aircon and the food is really a lot.. plus good service too.)

But then again i had better food in india in more posh restaurants... haha... courtesy of Arun who was there... thanks !

A Moment of Joy

2005-07-17T12:27:00.000+08:00

A Moment of Joy, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Finally a job accomplished where the journey has brought us.

A New Dawn

2005-07-03T00:47:00.000+08:00

A New Dawn, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Well i guess this is the 2nd time that i saw the sun rise from Kampong Noordin. The last time was many many years ago when i was still a CI.

I could still remember CI Rongfa talking to me about stars and about mornings at the old npcc campsite. Then minqiang was also talking to me about that when the npcc campsite got renovated into its current size.

I guess in those days we had more of such intimate sessions with our seniors, talking our hearts out about things and life. Maybe our unit were very small then... that permitted time for such things.

Things are so very much different now.. our unit is 100 over strong and it is not often that we get time to share about things in our hearts.

Will any of you come and talk to me about the things that linger inside?

Bracing Ourselves for the Rain!

2005-07-03T00:38:00.000+08:00

Bracing Ourselves for the Rain!, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Well you probably can't see it but the wind was howling fiercely when we were all gathered at a small hut at Noordin Beach.. . all the sand were blowing into my eyes and mouth afterwards when the thunderstorm came... lucky it was over after a short while.

What an experience for many i would say :)

Peering into Well of ..er.. dunno which

2005-07-03T00:33:00.000+08:00

Peering into Well of ..er.. dunno which, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Well fellows... this is the pic... its a bit funny isn't it? haha... was that a shagged cycle trip? Haha .. lucky got a few guests following us... if not its going to be faster somemore... .... haha got scared? .... bluff u la... so scared u guys get injured lor

Listening with ..... fear...

2005-06-03T23:07:00.000+08:00

Listening with ..... fear..., originally uploaded by crassus08.

So many engrossed in the ghost stories... haha until forget all about the time... but then it was running late... so we all had to go...

A great evening! But amidst the fun... dun remember to make use of the hols to study for ur Os! very very impt... must repeat so many times that you guys realise the importance ya?

Kissing?

2005-06-03T23:03:00.000+08:00

Kissing?, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Haha looks like a typical wedding dinner scene isn't it? LOL

anyway din get the chance to take pictures of the food. Things such as Yoshi's sandwiches disappeared within seconds...

Have to thank Dwayne's mum for marinating the chicken wings...

And many others who helped one way or another...

The bday cake was a very sweet thing to do... thanks ya...

Sneaking from behind

2005-06-03T23:01:00.000+08:00

Sneaking from behind, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Tried to catch people in the camera but so many ran away from the lens... oh well... make do bah...

the bday boi! haha

2005-06-03T22:59:00.000+08:00

the bday boi! haha, originally uploaded by crassus08.

A little but nice bbq organized by my beloved 4 Charles.. though not all was here due to one thing or another, we are all still very much a class!

Riding a Plane of the Desert

2005-05-26T22:30:00.000+08:00

Riding a Plane of the Desert, originally uploaded by crassus08.

The day was hot and dry, the light a blinding white, the sky clear and hanging with just a few clouds. We were supposed to be embarking towards sand dunes where we would be spending a night in, with stars decorating the evening sky.

Sandy were our meals as there were no water to clean them. (Sand was used to clean the plates after we used them. -- We didn't get diarrhoea though :p )

The rides was quite a cultural shock too. These camels walk and eat in between the journeys and the food always get regurgitated into their mouths to chew again. Imagine the smell that comes floating into your noses when the wind blows; a mixture of sourness and decay... almost had to hold my breath everytime it happens but always too late to avoid .. arrgghh...

And then the ride was bumpy... my friend told me that she was having so much pain that she eventually got down her camel even before we got back to the jeep to escort us back to the hotel. Luckily i could withstand the pain and held on till it was the end. Imagine the distance i have to walk for the entire few hours! Phew!

The night sky and the sand dunes were our rewards and was they beautiful! Really enjoyed the entire sky of stars and the fine desert sand. The hemisphere was practically making the stars change their position and we could see constellations in the vast night sky. If not for the wind and cold, i think we could have stayed outside throughout.

How nice if there were a few more friends who came along. Enjoy the solitude from the urban city, enjoy the fresh air and enjoy that indescribable feeling!

Desert Safari!

Lovetorn 2

2005-05-13T21:29:00.000+08:00

Lovetorn 2, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Oh seems like she is troubling for more than one person... and it is written on exam day as was observed on the graffiti.

What can be so troubling that is so worrying over exams which are supposedly the most important for a student? Or even of someone of seemingly a young age?

Lovetorn on SBS Bus

2005-05-13T21:16:00.000+08:00

Lovetorn on SBS Bus, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Take some time to read this graffiti... sorry about the graffiti or undesirable content but i have no wish to pretend that such things don't happen...

What do you think the feelings of the girl were? Wonder if i can post the 2nd picture up too... it tells us more about the feelings on the 1st picture.

Blue City, Johdpur, India

2005-05-04T01:42:00.000+08:00

Blue City, Johdpur, India, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Standing at the top of the blue city, it seems that history was not too far away then. The skyline wouldn't have been too different, the people should have changed little in their ways of life. Whatever has industralization done, it did not seem evident in the majesty of the fort that we have came to land our feet upon.

It does seem a bit lonely at the top. We came across a singaporean who was travelling on his own when we were at the fort that day. He quit his job to travel 3 months in india all by himself. A very scary idea if you were to ask the average tourist. But yet it doesn't seem to undermine him in any bit. He was without a camera, and he was tanned and very weathered; in many aspects untypical of a singaporean. He even told us that he was generally taken for as a nepalese on travel!

But what was the most admirable was the very spirit of discovery, whether it was for seeing the world or to find his inner universe.

How many of us can really let go when we were given choices? How many of us can face up to the test when we are put through it?

How many of us can make the one most important decision?

2005-05-02T03:32:00.000+08:00

Wish you guys all the best in the exams.. ganbate!

==================================================================================

Now playing: 止战之殃　－　Jay Chou

Catching up! Charging up!

2005-04-30T00:05:00.000+08:00

Was threatened to be severed all ties by a friend recently. He proclaimed that we are all not valuing or treasuring the friendship of 5 years and thus the threat. So another friend made a last-minute effort to gather the group again to meet up for coffee 2 days later just to "save" the friendship.

Its really sad that we are so weighed down by work that we "give up" on friendships and bonding in our bids to discharged our duties. I talked to my colleagues and many are managing not really well in their work either. I wonder if students nowadays are doing as badly? Do we have time to play? Do we have time to catch up with friends we hold so dear? Have we lost some of them in midst of our work?

Really need to go up to the mountains and recharge myself again; to breathe in the fresh air and clear up the mind with the simple but majestic sight. Sometimes the feeling can be really spiritual when you are standing at a veranda at the edge of a huge mountain. The surrounding is silent and the air is light; calm is all around and you feel really really relaxed.

Can i go trekking in the mountains anytime soon?

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Currently listening to "Fantasia of the Wind" - Kiseki No Umi, "Don't Explain" - George Shearing

Relevations

2005-04-27T08:37:00.000+08:00

I realised that many a time people are only concerned of your product and not of what you are going through. Deadlines are set and it is up to us to fulfil. You perform and it is deemed as performing up to the mark and thus even tougher challenges. You do not perform and you will then be classified as incompetent. Regardless of the turmoil that you go through, you are still expected to be as you are deemed.

So how do we make amends? How do we strike a balance?

Annapurna Base Camp

2005-04-26T15:29:00.000+08:00

Annapurna Base Camp, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Firstly this is not a picture that i have taken. But well i did come up to this place in 2002. It was a big group of us and we were really low morale when we reached the base camp.

It was terribly cold; there were raining sheets of ice and the wind was chilling to the bone. I was wearing my long johns inside my trek pants and down-jacket already and i was still feeling cold! The gloves weren't doing much help as i had to grab on to certain places when i had to climb, and well those places felt wet! Thus wearing those gloves were like burying your hands in ice?

Haha but were we so glad when the Bunsen burner was switched on beneath the tables in the lodge. Then SZ surprised all of us with Bak Gwa from Singapore! Wow! Was really a morale booster.

Then after sharing with everyone, including the guides, there was nothing left. So it was my turn and i took out snicker and Toblerone Chocolate! Haha then they said that i am really like Doraemon.. bag so small but yet contains so many things... and everything needed was like all coming from me.. heh heh..

See how it helps if you know how to pack your stuff? :p

Lake Matheson

2005-04-26T15:03:00.000+08:00

Lake Matheson, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Well we went to this place, i think in 2004. Woke up early in the morning around 6 or 7 am and prepared a walk into the lake to catch the scenery. Lake Matheson is situated en route from Franc Josez and Fox's Glaciers if i remembered correctly... but well.. it was not this clear when we were there. This picture was taken by one of our friends who was there at another date.

But the scenery was still great even when it was hazy. We could see Mt Cook near the back of the ridge lines and the air was just superb.

Now thats what i call a real holiday :)

The Point of Taking Exams?

2005-04-25T14:51:00.000+08:00

Okay so it is the last week before exam starts. What is your take on them?

Exams are here for all of us because it is supposed to serve as a gauge on how much we have learnt. However it evolved to become an indicator of excellence; that you are labelled as a success if you perform well in one.

An exam does not give any indication of the character of the person taking it and neither does it show any signs of personality in a person perhaps except for the handwriting that the testee produces.

In ancient China exams rose to become a standard whereby officials are chosen to run the country based on a set of books written by famous personalities such like Confucius and other philosophers or learned men.

The West followed suit and soon examinations became the universal measure of capability. True enough, there are success stories of people who did not manage to meet the standards, and most often than not they are huge success stories that can be so easily quoted by word of many. But how many of the fallen have actually made that take?

Moral of the story? ---- Unless you are really sure you can make it out big without a good educational qualification, the best is still to stick within and excel.

That is my take on examinations.

Today is NPCC Day Parade

2005-04-24T17:04:00.000+08:00

My friend says that my postings are generally very ideological and fuzzy. This may not be a very good thing to be done since i want to share my thoughts with people around me, especially for 4 Charles. So i guess i might have to write simpler things that can be easily understood.

Today i seemed to have seen a glimpse of myself many years back. It was also NPCC Day Parade and i was right at the same place. Many trainings had taken place before that and each training was itself a gruelling experience. Our entire squad was in the Guard of Honour Contingent and some of our secondary 3 juniors were also with us.

However i had failed to march in the parade square on the actual day.

I was suffering from a really bad cough and each time i coughed, my body would shake uncontrollably. Thus i had to make the painful decision to let another reserve to stand in for me. I took over the camera and i took down shots of my unit marching off in the TRACOM parade square.

It was a mix of emotions when i saw them march off at that time.

It would be my last parade in the unit, and very soon I would have to leave the juniors of whom i had grown to love. They seemed all so ready to take over then. I was leaving. My squadmates are marching off in their smart no.1 uniform. I was holding the camera. The crowd was cheering. We are the no.1 Gold Unit. We sang the school song proudly and loudly in front of all the people at the place. We... ....

Why would i sacrifice the chance to be on the parade square? Especially when i had not missed a single training session? Even if I was subjected to tremendous pressure to be leading the entire sec 3 and 4 squad every time to the training sessions? To pull it through the trainings even if my fellow peers might be sabotaging now and then through not attending trainings or just plainly making things difficult?

It is now that i realised, I did not want to walk the last distance. I did not want to experience the final glory that would lead me to my exit from a place and from people whom i have grown to love so much.

But wish as i might, time does not hold still for anyone. So treasure it is that we must do for the things that we love and sacrifice for what we hold dear. I have chosen this CCA to be a commitment, and as commitment it shall remain.

2005-04-24T03:10:00.001+08:00

What is the Marist Spirit?

It is when we feel as a community. I saw Mr Kwok the other day in the hall asking for volunteers to go support the badminton players in the hall and was led to thinking: why isn't Maris Stella the way it used to be?

We used to have very a strong basketball team and the whole school would take the day off when they managed to qualify for the final round with Mayflower Secondary. The school was virtually roaring when we were at Gay World Stadium then. We would cheer and we would give them thunderous applauses.

How about us today?

Why is 4 Charles so individualistic in all of our thinking? Why would there be people telling me that he feels closer to people of other class when it ought to be his own class that he should feel the sense of belonging to?

Perhaps i have not done enough to gel the class? Perhaps people do not realise the importance and the preciousness of a sense of belonging? Of how literally miracles can happen if the class can gel together? Of how it can feel if you classmate comes to look for you when u are not feeling well or in the hospital? Or that someone offers you a comforting pat on your back when u feel down and out? Or maybe someone just to keep company and study together?

Let's take up this challenge and make our class a better place to study and play, and most importantly a place and experience that we can fondly think back many years from now when we are really alone out in the cold cold world.

Let's create miracles.

2005-04-24T03:10:00.000+08:00

3 Iron

2005-04-17T15:50:00.000+08:00

If it was that a man could go against all the norms of society and live a life he want to be, it would be a terribly lonely world. Kim Ki-duk could be thinking of this society as a place whereby people are generally unhappy about life, acting about their daily lives in a mundane manner, or even just plain boring folks going about their lives in the same way day after day.

Perhaps a change in the monotony by going on a trip, and getting back angrily because they might be doing something that they are reluctant to do subconsciously? Or that damaged things are just left as they are because everyone is too busy to do anything about them. So is there that certain someone who will just clear up the mess?

How about being totally unseen by anyone? How about getting back at seemingly important in their own psyche, in their very sanity? How about differentiating between dreams and reality? Is the world really as what Kim Ki-duk puts it out to be?

Selling ice cream .. ...

2005-04-17T07:50:00.000+08:00

It was the ringing of the bells that brought me to the ice-cream man; the flavours in the tub hasn't been changed for decades past but yet these flavours could still withstand the competition of many a brand that come onto the market. The ice cream flavours did not change but change does time, but it has been said that a single scoop of an ice cream would require a 2.4 km run to digest -- that consuming ice-cream is a really bad thing to be doing.

I chose to ignore that particular opinion.

I walked towards the vehicle, and i saw the face of the ice cream vendor and i heard him say:"wow now thats a big one for you. Are you sure you can finish it?" The little boy seemed a bit perplexed, perhaps not expecting the vendor to make a statement, or whether to answer the question or not as he handed over a dollar to him.

I greeted him with a smile, and he took my order and to which i went home through the faint sound of the rain. I thought, how could this ice-cream man understand the 2.4 km digestion process? How could he think of ice-cream as the source of health hazards when it is his very own livelihood? How can it even be branded as a bad thing when he was trying to ask the boy if he enjoyed his ice-cream?

Are certain things really as bad as what we make them out to be?

A Blossom of Yellow...

2005-04-15T14:55:00.000+08:00

A Blossom of Yellow..., originally uploaded by crassus08.

Stepping onto a sea of yellow as i walked into the seldom-travelled part of the long corridors... a picture of serenity in the midst of mayhem... a resting place amongst the chaos... a wonderful sight

Blossoms of Red

2005-04-15T14:40:00.000+08:00

Blossoms of Red, originally uploaded by crassus08.

What a burst of flames, the sparkles dancing upon the green surface of leaves; the little sparks linger on the edge, making it a myriad contrast of red, orange and pale-ish white...

Hanuman Shrine

2005-04-13T14:20:00.000+08:00

Hanuman Shrine, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Hmm and so the journey goes on.. though this time it into the annals of time.

Hanuman, or Monkey God as it is affectionally known, is originally an Indian God recorded in the ancient Hindu scripture Ramayana whereby Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu play important roles in the creation, destroying and peservation of the universe.

Later Hanuman got "transported" to China through means of trade and exchange between the 2 countries and sunsequently ended up in the famous novel classic "Journey to the West".

Isn't that strange? Two entirely different entities playing a myriad of roles in two countries of distinct culture?

Family Bliss

2005-04-03T09:21:00.000+08:00

Saw this scene on the tv when i passed by the tv set in the living room:

Husband: "Are you afraid of being a pauper?"

Wife: "No, i have been through worst times, whats being poor to me? I am just worried over my daughter-in-law, of the overwhelmming bills that keep piling every day, and it makes me so sad to see my son and you to be taking the burden."

Husband: "But we are men and it is our responsibilities to carry such a burden, your own savings should be left for your own use."

Wife: "But i cannot sit back and do nothing while i see you taking double jobs, our son looking ever haggard by the day, his wife in a comma, and that the unborn baby not be able to come into the world... ..."

Husband: "Well i have never been poor and so i do not know how it feels to be poor, nor to be afraid of it. But what i am afraid is of the fact that my wife is sad, my son is suffering, my daughter-in-law never wakes and that my grandson never gets borne -- See the people rushing on their own ways in the streets? Why are they rushing?"

Wife: "I don't know."

Husband: "Well they are rushing off out of the cold streets into the warmth that their homes are preparing them for."

Practice Makes Perfect

2005-04-01T15:56:00.000+08:00

Read this somewhere:

They all say members of a softball team are all fanatic playing the game that they forget the training of swinging a bat is such a repetitive and boring chore.

Does it sound like the learning of reading and writing? Seems like the purpose of doing such things are completely useless if we don't see the meaning behind them all. Why do we have to learn english and chinese, maths and sciences, humanities and projects, and test after test?

Practice makes perfect, the champion on the field of a stadium of softball fans seldom see him practice the thousands or perhaps millions of swings that took him to become a champion player on the field. He should have played many a time before a big audience -- a kind of preparatory training before his very big match. But it would never be effective if he did not always put in his best.

Doesn't class tests and exams sound all the same before we all go through the very big exam that's coming our way?

Should we not try our very best each time?

Darkness

2005-03-28T15:26:00.000+08:00

Here comes another brainwave...

Went into the kitchen to wash a cup just now.. and it would seem so normal if not for the absence of light on a 10 plus evening. The only light was from the stove, boiling water with a blue-ish flame and all else was dark.

How mysterious, this darkness that we all grow to be so unaccustomed save for the time when we go to sleep. How many of us actually get the chance to walk in total darkness doing things that was supposed to be in the light? Walking from point A to B? Simply to get to the other side of the corridor? Strolling under the moon light?

Its a total different world when we get to do that, you feel that you are challenged, you are put into the vulnerable. You feel different because it is different.

Remember this junior of mine asked how it is that i am not scared walking alone in the middle of the night from the staff lounge to the toilet at the ava room, and i was unable to give him a very good answer. Today it dawns upon me why so; because it is simply different. Accept the darkness and not imagine it to be what you perceived it to be and the experience will develop.

How about trekking in the middle of the jungle or on a mountain? It is exactly the same feeling. Still remember doing night navigation when i was in OBS and when we paused for a rest, the darkness was so serene. Stars in the night sky and everyone all looking at it at the same time.. it was magical.

Or talking about the things in the deepest depths of our hearts when we have friends who would share with us at the magical moment... we pour forth our emotions and we talked about the things that really mattered... sometime the darkness can be so....

So how was your darkness? How do u deal with it?

Bonsai Hill, Mount Ophir

2005-03-27T09:07:00.000+08:00

Bonsai Hill, Mount Ophir, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Think this is the place that gave me my slipped disc.. but well its a good place for an excellent workout. Always enjoyed trekking in the mountains; the air is fresh, the scenery immensely breathtaking and the experience beyond description.

Little Conversations

2005-03-26T16:32:00.000+08:00

Had a long talk over dinner with one of my uni frens this evening... its amazing how a simple conversation can trigger thinking in the brain sometimes. A lot of times in life we get so settled down in our comfort zone that we are afraid to take the plunge: I was talking about a close person in my life who is ever so afraid of being a part of society that he literally gave up on himself and lived a decadent life ever since.

He knows what he does is wrong but his choice was to continue with it. At many a time, parents out of their great love they have for their children can never bear to do the punishing to let their children change for the better.

But these are normal phenomena that we humans are unable to transcend because we are afraid to come out of our comfort zone. We want the short way out, we want to be gratified instantly.

I asked a teacher of mine how it is that she could stay so long in her job given that it looks so ungratifying at times, or even depressing at many instances. She hesitated for a moment and told us that it is for the belief that she believes what she believes, that what she was doing was worth doing, that she is willing to take the plunge and surrender herself to the unknown or the ungrateful.

I think that is an admirable feat; and it is well-worthy of my respect. How many of us can actually live our dreams, our beliefs, against all the odds?

It is through the little things in life that we do such as we discover the extraordinary-ness of life.. and it is precisely going through such little conversations that we see the meaning out of them all....

Little conversations.... .. ..

Forgotten Memories that seemed an age past

2005-03-24T14:38:00.000+08:00

Was looking through friendster when i saw the testimonials that some of my juniors wrote for their squadmates in NPCC; those words really brought me back to the time when i was around that age, and bonds were so strongly forged then. Used to remember that i would wake up everyday and go to school early in the morning just to see my mates.

We would always go back to the CCA room to play carrom, listen to then-oh-so-good 98.7FM (now i think it has became so trashy), play basketball (though i was not good at it), chinese chess, cleaning up the room and imitating dance groups... ah... those were the times...

Still can remember that we used to stay till 6 or 7 pm or so and then slowly walked to the bus stop to await the bus home.. sometimes it would be walking through How San avenue, singing songs as we pass, joking.. talking... Weekends after training will be makaning at Kovan till 9pm and it was oh-so-fun then....

Then i become a senior and began to put in lots of effort for my juniors. Trainings for competition would start at 2pm and end around 6pm almost everyday when finals were near, through the sun and the rain, through the good and bad times.. and i was ever so willing to sacrifice time -- it went through the time when i was in army and finally they graduated.

Would never be able to forget the tears in particularly 2 of them when it was the night that they would say goodbye to me in an official event (POP concert). One of them made me a grasshopper and a note, to which i cherish so much even till today. I would cry if i could but i did not.. and perhaps they could have forgotten the bonds that we shared then, or the tears that they shed.. but it would forever remain in that special place in my heart, keeping it going even if the times should get too tough to handle... .. .

If time could turn back.. what would i have wished again? Those forgotten memories that seemed an age past... ....

Very tiring!

2005-03-23T13:59:00.000+08:00

Worked from 6am to 6pm today non stop! Never felt so tired in my life before... was virtually sleeping while marking in the office and have to entertain the many students that i made stay back for not doing work and doing revision properly.

After 2 days of torture, both for the students and myself, i think it is high time that i take a step back and leave them to their own device. Dun see much of a progress in their learning (saw a little progress for some) but i guess maybe they will forget again when they go home?

I guess perhaps i have done enough? Maybe its time to call parents already. Its really too taxing to be going after the kids one by one. Did not do much marking and projects are piling one after another. EPMS review to be done (and still hiding in my bag), Chinese week preparations to be done, Learning journey for chinese department, 2 new students to prepare separate work, lesson records to input, workbooks and worksheets to be done.... the list goes on... really wonder if its possible to finish them at all?

Guess it will be another saturday to clear up a whole lot of mess again... so no life rite? hiaz... oh ya still got sports day, house matters, catholic envelopes, booklets.. oh goodness... how come there are so many things to be done?

Doing Dyeing

2005-03-23T13:45:00.000+08:00

Doing Dyeing, originally uploaded by crassus08.

It was in India when we were brought to this carpet and cloth dye factory whereby the process of dyeing was shown (with the hint that we should buy something of cos), and it was quite an eye-opener. Didn't know that dyeing comes in layers whereby they change colours as layers were put on top of one another, such as the one shown above :)

We got to keep the cloth of cos.. courtesy from the factory boss :p

Treetop Trail

2005-03-22T14:39:00.000+08:00

Treetop Trail, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Okie those 2 of are my friends that u see in the picture... and we are in the middle of Macritchie, somewhere between Pierce Reservoir and Macritchie Reservoir. The air is really fresh, think i think ought to go more often than to suffer in the smoke-filled city environment, so that i will be able to live longer :)

Picture taken in the morning of 20th March 2005 (yeah i got out of the house ard 7plus am.. i know its crazy... haha)

The 1000 year old buddha

2005-03-20T19:09:00.000+08:00

The 1000 year old buddha, originally uploaded by crassus08.

Walked into a thousand year old cave digged into a mountain. Probably belonging to the King Ashoka period, these works of art were a great testament to the power of human determination -- or perhaps cruelty?

Little Q

2005-03-20T17:26:00.000+08:00

Little Q, originally uploaded by crassus08.

"Whueak whueak....So what treats am i going to get for today? Mmmm.. the pet feed is getting a bit boring.. but nevermind, at least it fills my stomach for the time being.... whueak whueak..."

Who is Who har?

2005-03-18T08:02:00.000+08:00

AIyo can dun spam the board too often.. sometimes when u wanna read back also difficult rite?

and who is who har? i wouldnt know who is who by reading the nick ritE? that is unless i am a seer... but then i am not a seer. So boring have to mark books in the afternoon when everyone else are enjoying themselves. Can ask more pple to share and read the blog leh? add comments? if better do posting.. then even better.

how about friendster? add me leh.. haha

ok la i gotta be back to marking and u guys better go back mug books... Ganbate... make good use of the holidays.

(P.s: now i realise that compo of the class is quite badly written... or is it the topic?)

Falling into Place?

2005-03-17T11:55:00.000+08:00

Was talking to Mr Goy about 4 Charles when he suddenly told me that the students will finally make effort to study very hard on their own when the O levels are due. But then as the form teacher it is not easy to just let go and let them do it on their own right?

How can we be rest assured when students in general can just pick up their books and read in november when the exams are due in dec for papers like Chinese? Does it sound familiar to you? Do people really do that? I think if i were to only pick up the book at the last minute, a B or C is the most probable grade that i get.

Nowadays it is not just Bs that can get people through like in the good old days. Top notch results are the only desired ones in the market and i think that is no easy feat to achieve to get A for every subject.

Frankly speaking i think good habit is the key to getting very good results for studies. There is no better way for most of us out there since we are all not geniuses. However in midst of all these hard work and effort, we must not forget to play and to exercise. And i am already trying to maintain one such lifestyle.. so how about you guys? What are the good habits you should start cultivating and are you also starting today?

Worries... ...

2005-03-14T17:37:00.000+08:00

Really worried about a few students in my class; they dun seem to be very worried about their own studies, and i dun seem to be able to find a good way to convince them that hard work is the key to success.

Thinking back of how it was when i was a student could be a way to understand how they feel.. maybe.. but when i studied, i studied very hard as i understand that if it were bad results, i would not be able to make it to JC. Then all of my mother's hard work would have gone to vain. It was not simply understanding that it was my responsibility to work hard. It was the very going through of such an ordeal of working day and night and experiencing for myself the typical schedule of mum that really pushed me to the limits.

I would study day and night when exams were near, and without getting any sleep i would go straight into the exam hall and attempt my papers. Come thinking back into what i had done, it would even seemed not human. How could i have achieved that?

Come 2005 and its an entire different setting. The class has 35 individuals and each of these 35 people are all unique. I cannot simply put a single sentence to them and expect all to be able to respond. Yet it cannot be my excuse to not say anything at all and pray that all will just go well as they should. So what should i do? What could i have done?

A Fresh Start

2005-03-14T15:48:00.000+08:00

okie finally feeling secured to post blogs for the people ard me le... before that was feeling very insecure. And i think a fresh start deserves a new beginning... was thinking over the things that i share with the people ard me... telling them that the world is already a very sad place to be. But actually its not that bad given that we stay in such a stable society such as singapore.

There are not too much pollution, as i have seen in places like india, and the people here are generally nice and big hearted. All around people are kind and helpful and its really a fortune that i am born here.

So stop thinking that life is unfair and that we are born to suffer, cos we ain't and we are never going to be so unless we allow ourselves to be this way.

Life is full of surprises, and as forest gump always say, "mama says that life is like a box of chocolates, u never know what u are going to get."

Always look on the bright side of life!

p.s: martin pls stop pestering me to change the skin, me ain't got so much time for that okie?

About life?

2005-02-21T13:59:00.000+08:00

Dunno why this blog cannot display chinese characters, but i guess it is no longer that important? In fact a lot of things in life are not that specific, if you were to put studies into perspective in this instance.

Many people in the society nowadays are not as happy as we all feel in the world that we think it ought to be. Some people marry to get happiness, some think of marriage as a trap in which to slog our lives in. Some fear marriages but yet also fear the day when they grow old and with no one to take care of.

So what is it that we humans really want? Is this a really negative thought of life? Some religions say that life itself is suffering and some that we are sinners already when we come into the world. Then what is exactly that our mission in life is? How do we achieve happiness? Will we be ever denied of the happiness that we all feel we should get?