Past. Present. Future

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

week summary

well it turns out i worked one more week for dp. angelene was so kind to arrange a series of site visits dis week for me so i decided to stay. mon was the orion condominium at orange grove, orchard rd. tues, s’pore flyer. today was republic poly, n tmw i haf to b at work at 730am to attend a meeting wif michael graves in ny via video conferencing n all the big shots in the sentosa ir project. a very fruitful week dis week is. it was realli an eye-opener visiting n touring the construction sites n loading the guy bringing me around wif endless questions. nothing beats the experience finding out how the s’pore went/is going to go up. a feat of engineering. n there’s the priceless experience of chatting wif all the contractors n engineers over kopi-o lolz. realli changed my impression of these pple, which i actually found to b very approachable. rp campus today was quite interesting. i liked the concept of the angora (dis huge main hall in the centre of the campus. simply breathtaking), the courtyards, n the sports hall. generally, i found the campus architecturally too cold n minimalist for my liking though. good but not great. but the way pritzker prize winner mr maki showed sensitivity to the ensemble of the surrounding area n the way he devised an elegant n compact solution to the challenges of the site r a masterstroke.

had a great weekend. dinner at jumbo seafood restaurant wif my godfamily(if there’s such a term), n slept over at their house. sun afternoon went to join the st ignatius pple to do some community service. attended tamil mass at our lady of lourdes church. quite something. almost felt like i was in india. exotic experience. then helped serve food to over 200 indian migrants in the church canteen after dat. wished i cd do dis kind of charity wk more often. makes me feel good!

a lvl results r coming out soon. hope for the best. i always told myself i tried my best n i wd accept n b happy wif my results wadever the outcome. but 2 days b4 d-day, i’m wondering, r u realli sure dat u won’t b disappointed by bad results? hope results r something to celebrate. at least make merry b4 army takes u body n soul la.

tomorrow will b my Real last day at work haha.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

boxes of stuff

dis post is like a collection of stuff i've been wanting to say for quite some time, but never found the time, words, courage, or occasion to say them.

its been said dat a blogger onli chooses to reveal as much he wd like to reveal on the blog. sometimes i haf written entire paragraphs flowing straight from my train of thought, onli to decide to delete them afterward for various reasons. n there’s the issue of words. words. Words. no matter how powerful ur command of the language, sometimes u can never find the right words to express wad ur experiencing or feeling there n then. the most words do is rationize a sensation n then try to inspire a similar feeling, or they can describe the experience, but they ultimately stop short of recording something in its entirety.

tomorrow’s my last day at work. though i did not get exposed to the variety of experiences in the firm as planned, it still adds up to a learning experience. n i wdn’t say dat its a waste of my time. even when i’m stuck in office wif no proper seat wif nothing to do, my colleagues eud, dorothy, geok chu helped enrich a stale activity n made time fly alittle faster. n i sincerely thank angelene for providing me dis window to experience a different life. zhiwei for his dedication, patience n inspiration. i’ve realli learnt alot under him, n he’s probably the onli team leader who actually entertained my nonsense. actually bothered to pose challenges to me everyday, n saw me thru the whole process. under him, i caught my first glimpse of the tenets of architecture, something i’m realli grateful for. he’s someone i’ll rmb yrs after i leave dp.

these weeks, i’ve realli missed godbro. i don’t realli noe how to elaborate on dis. its one of the things dat i’ve said, words can’t realli express. its a combination of so many thots, feelings n memories all cham cham together in an instant. its amazing dat we r experiencing totally different lifestyles during the week but yet we can still find something to talk abt when we meet up on weekends. sometimes the weekends seem too short. or too long when u're looking forward for the next weekend to come again. the awareness of his absence is a recurrent thot these days. sometimes i miss the silly things we used to do. i guess it just means dat we’ve grown. its part n parcel of growing up together. sometimes i think of how content we r just wasting time together doing nothing. sometimes, i just wonder, wad is he doing now, at dis moment. its 1040 now. he probably lights out already somewhere in tekong. must b real quiet there now, save for the buzz of mosquitos n the song of the crickets. here, its realli quiet too. real quiet.

its not something painful, nor is it me in emo mode. i see it as one of the many experiences we r privileged to go thru sooner or later. n i guess dats wad makes life so meaningful. u’re like presented a salad full of weird flavours n interesting tastes, n every mouthful tastes n feels different. the sour juices make the sweet sauces taste sweeter but they both enrich the other. some tastes r so foreign dat u don't noe where the hell it came from. some tastes r an initial turn-off, but they grow on u after awhile. n when u finally clear ur plate, u go, ‘wow, dat was quite something.’

Monday, February 19, 2007

cny thots

there’s something special about the blood dat courses through our veins. it draws people to congregate under one roof, at least once a year. we meet up so rarely dat we almost become strangers even though we watched us grow up. its a funny feeling. we don’t noe one another as well as we wd like to, but yet we share an unchanging spiritual bond dat was forged the moment we stepped into this world. to me, the family is a constant in a hectic, changing world. its magical, almost sacred. u can quarrel wif a friend n call an end to the friendship after dat. fight wif ur brother today n he’ll still b ur brother tomorrow. i guess dats wad we mean when we say blood is thicker than water.

cny in our family is not wad many wd consider very happening or exciting. our reunion dinner is a small affair, not exactly a reunion of sorts actually. i don't find myself caught up n busy wif all the food n house preparations. we don't burn joss-paper for our ancestors, nor do we set up offerings n burn incense on an elaborate table in front of our house, unlike many chinese families. on cny eve, we don't leave all the lights on til past midnight. we don't do house-hopping (as in visiting 5 or more houses a day).

its all quite a simple event for us actually. in a way it can b said dat the disappearance of alot of chinese traditions in our family haf inevitably made cny less flavorful. but i can b thankful for a gd year n a gd life. when celebrations like cny or christmas come around, it is a time for me to treasure n celebrate the small n big things in life dat i've been blessed wif.

yesterday cycled to ntu at midnight, n enjoyed getting lost in the huge campus. cycling around the deserted ntu campus is very relaxing n surreal. its very hilly. n its dam shiok going downhill. wind ringing in ur ears, n u get just speed out of ctrl coz u practically own the deserted road.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

tanjung pinang fotos

at dear gloria's request...

ha! our pollock looks much classier in pics right?

Saturday, February 10, 2007

update

now i’m trying to get out of the office as often as possible, n as soon as i can. its alittle routine after awhile, n i find sch life more fun. temps get pushed around real easy, especially when u r smaller than the smallest fry there. but i also meet realli inspiring pple too, which can realli make ur day. lolz got sianed of libeskind's skyscraper...i'm seeing buildings 24/7 these days so i need a break when i review my blog. as u can see, i replaced it wif a realli cool sunset shot i took in turkey.

yesterday was the last time i wd play for family mass b4 i enter ns. its been almost a yr now. n a very enjoyable yr playing for mass. i find it very relaxing. combine great songs, a passionate lead vocalist, n an inspired organist, n whoala, u leave wif songs dat keep on playing in ur head for the rest of the night. me n joe were treated to a surprising impromptu applause from the pple at the end of the mass. a rare occurence i’d say. was gd :) can't wait back to play again once i get more flexible book out hrs when bmt ends. i hope..

cycled past the cc just now n they were having a pre-cny karaoke event, wif ah peks n aunties going up to belt out golden era songs from yesteryr. stopped to listen to them awhile. cd onli understand the songs in bits n pieces coz many were in dialect, but the song itself, the showmanship, n the passion dat these pple put into the performance make them realli enjoyable to watch... some of them actually sound better than some of the supposedly more hip amateur bands i've heard.

coughing badly. planning to get mc n maybe get mon off work woot.

u noe if i had to describe my sji paintings in music, keane wd b spot on.

.....lolz wad a random n totally unlinked post haha

Saturday, February 03, 2007

turkey

yoyoyo! just came back from turkey! its 6 hrs behind local time, which explains the jet lag, n hence the farny time of dis post. i came wif no expectations, no plans, but as i sit here alittle tired, alittle sleepy from jet lag, it all feels very bittersweet n enriching.

a stereotypical image of a turk; asian looking man wif fair skin, brown eyes, black hair, moustache n a red ottoman hat. dis is not quite accurate as many turks r actually blonde. however, turks from the southern n eastern regions actually do look like dat. turkey also turned out to b more european than i thot. but aspects of their culture, the mosques, islam, images of sultans all make it also very middle eastern at the same time. dis is wad u get when u haf a country sandwiched between 2 worlds europe n asia.

put urself in such a context, n throw in belly-dancing watching, snowball fights (yes it actually snows there!), a hot-air balloon ride in the cold, a cruise along the bosphorous, memories of singing n making merry in the bus to pass away time coz a lorry in front of us froze in the cold n was blocking the entire highway r realli classic. there was also dis incident when our tour bus had to negotiate dis realli difficult n narrow turn in one of those hilltop villages n the entire village came out to watch! throw in my failed attempt at pottery demonstration, soaking in thermal baths, the bazaars....n the experience of entering mosques as old a time itself.. all make for one big unforgettable experience.

Istanbul. home to greek Byzantium, christian Constantinople and muslim Istanbul. if ankara’s the capital, the brain of turkey, istanbul is its heart.

along the bosphorous river.

i converted to islam there. i even bought a koran! taking my shoes off to enter mospques, eating halal food 24/7, waking up n to prayers blared from soaring minarets. it echoed throughout the entire city, as it did for centuries. i found it timeless n soothing.

exotic stuff u get to see n use at the spice bazaar.

grand bazaar. literally thousands of shops. almost all the shops sell almost the same stuff. if u don’t keep track of ur bearings, u can get lost one.

Bursa, one of turkey’s major cities. in the old days, dis was where the famous silk road ended.

our highly esteemed kindergarten logo on a power source? political incorrectness, from our perspective.

found a poetic moment one early morning. no photoshop here ok.

house of virgin mary. very peaceful place. the toilet dere is the most scenic one i’ve ever been to, n toilet entrance is free.

ruins of ephesus.

changing of the guard at ataturk’s musoleum in ankara. ataturk’s woshipped like a cult figure there. he's turkey’s first president, n is known as the founder of modern turkey. similar things haf also happened on a small, sunny island in the sun. ankara's quite boring. not a very happening place. modern town wif government minitries n dats about it. its quiet here compared to istanbul.

natural landscapes at cappadocia r unbelievable. no need to say much. just stand there n just....

my gay friend, our realli realli funky tour guide fatih

early christians used to hide here when they were persecuted. built underground cities, dug holes in the landscape which functioned as a natural fortress, n constructed hundreds of cave churches.

hot-air ballooning over cappadocia. feet were freezing cold but the views in the early morning...priceless la.

some of the food r realli exotic. alot of strange tastes. mostly not for s’porean tongues. but some r realli good. dis one is yogurt wif honey n poppy seed. die die must try

yep, dat just abt sums it up. til next time.