17 posts tagged “fun”

1. LNAT: Essay was terrible beyond words. Lord, my future is all in your hands.
2. Cleared up bedside + repacked and reorganised my shoes
3. Attended DBS Treasures Appreciation Dinner with daddy (in place of mummy). Very interesting experience, think I was the only person in the room with zero net worth and definitely the youngest. Well, learnt alot about the networking that adults do.

1

2

I Wish:
1. I had more courage
2. Less hesitation

Hi!! KL trip was fun!! :D Unexpected haha. This is the first time I've seen KL from a completely different perspective. My previous visits to KL usually revolve around KLCC, KL Ritz Carlton, and the city centre itself. This is the first time I've seen Daman Sara and Putra Jaya.

Thanks to Uncle and Auntie Lee, we managed to see Daman Sara CityPark, a new development. It's a completely gated, self-sufficient, enclosed community with smaller nuclear landed property estates within, each with their own guard houses (much like our condos in SG except it's all landed property). There's even a man-made central lake, shopping centre, a private hospital, banks, and an upcoming international school. I should say at this point that Daman Sara CityPark is NOT an actual city or town, it is a privately developed residential area built to be self-sufficient. In geographical terms, it is NOT a satellite town or a new town, neither is it a growth pole. The entire area is privately owned, privately developed and privately sold by a huge timber company in Msia. The entire land area is probably the size of Jurong including Lakeside, and that's only my guess (not even a guesstimate). Needless to say, with so many terraces and bungalows, most of the people who own houses here are foreigners/ rich people, much like those who live in Daman Sara Heights. And because land is abundant here (comparative to SG), the land area of a landed property is huge, and relatively cheaper.

Despite the luxury or the houses and the neighbourhood, I would never trade living in an opulent bungalow in Msia with a tiny flat in SG. Honestly, Daman Sara CityPark is the only place in Msia which feels like Singapore, where sidewalks are well-lit, and people walk around the neighbourhood comfortably in shorts and flip-flops without needed to be extra careful and alert, and that is only because the whole CityPark is heavily gated and guarded. Despite all the luxurious houses, the minute you walk out of the CityPark, your alertness shoots sky-high, sidewalks aren't paved and streetlamps are far apart. Here, security and safety is never taken for granted, unlike in Singapore. Sure, land area is so scarce in Singapore, and owning a landed property the same size as one in Msia can cost you 4 times as much, but nothing can trade for that peace of mind. Of knowing that you can walk on the streets at night in constant fear or being mugged, knowing that public transport is reliable and cars need not be the common mode of transport, and most importantly knowing that your police force is trustworthy and there to protect you.

Yet another thing that really strikes me is the social stratification in Msia that is really quite apparent. Chinese here don't send their kids to national schools but to Chinese schools or international schools. Gated communities and the residential equivalent of holland/bukit timah area in Msia is largely inhabited by expats, foreigners and Chinese. If you're from rural Msia, you will likely end up knowing minimal English (due to the Msian government's reversal of education policy), which will hurt your job prospects in comparison to those who studied English in school (namely, the Chinese). Meritocracy is something we deride and take for granted so often in Singapore, and even with criticisms of the rise of the elite class, the simple truth is that opportunities are in far more abundance to those who want to succeed in SG than many places in the world. Everything I have is a result of what my parents have done, which is basically wealth and assets accumulated within 1 generation, something that I have realized is unlikely to occur elsewhere.

Surprisingly, most of the landed property in Msia have solar panels installed on their roofs, quite unlike those in Singapore. Such green technology should be more widely installed in Singapore. The long term benefits are so great, and the returns will probably be many times more than the initial investment - judging by how much sun we get.

That aside, I learnt so much more about Msian politics than I did during the Sec 4 options trip. Some things are just unsaid and only locals will know. But it's really interesting, it makes me want to read up more on the politics of Msia, let's just say that I appreciate that there is transparency in Singapore, that corruption is the exception rather than the norm, and that integrity is the foundation of our judiciary. KL has been quite eyeopening for me, having seen and explored a different facet to KL

I've watched one episode of Little Britain and I WILL NOT WATCH ANY MORE EPISODES!!!! I cannot be distracted!!! (like House and Promos) No no no, will not be distracted (I blame you XT!). I want to watch 500 Days of Summer, Inglourious Basterds and Notting Hill (Julia Roberts!) ): ):

Today, we watched Rope by Alfred Hitchcock adapted from a play by Patrick Hamilton. And I realise that all a good movie really needs is a good plot, good delivery, intellectual suspense, colourful language (not in the vulgar way), and a premise/social observation that compels thought. None of many green screen special effects, CGI, action packed, sexual, shallow movies that Hollywood churns out nowadays. Furthermore, the movie in itself was considered one pinnacle of cinematography. Rope is one of the more stimulating movies I've seen in a while without exaggerated flamboyance, where the entire movie takes place in one set/scene. But beyond that, the premise is definitely one that I will continue to mull over during the weekend - always a mark of a good movie. I definitely want to watch Strangers on a Train (since I've read the book!) and Vertigo. But Mr A.F. is pure brilliance, I'm just blown away by how intellectually stimulating and knowledgeable he is. Honestly, I've never come across any teacher who is as well-read as he is, and is able to translate that intelligence into his lessons for us students (Mr CC in RGS was more of a fluke during lessons). I'm left in awe.

Today: I saw my J3 eyecandy in school (YJ!), had good company and conversations, bought a pair of heels (yay!), did some Chemistry, convinced my brother to study math and had a good day in school. The weekend is looking up! :D

Today was fun, but most importantly the company helped me forget stuff, things that I should not be thinking about.

Conversation with my Dad:

Ummm. Life is good, June holidays really gave me the time to think, reflect and slow down. 

The past few days have been a whirlwind of activity, and I'm feel the strain. Body aches, my recurrent back strain, exhaustion, sunburns, but above all, rediscovered appreciation, respect and zest for life.

Today was fun, it's the first day I'm actually chilling out after CTs1. We had team lunch, mediocre turnout but, you know, small group is not necessarily bad. I think we did many things to amuse ourselves :D But prata and ice cream is an extremely sinful combination (and lethal - think I might get diarrhoea). Afterwards, some of us watched Shopaholics, totally spontaneous decision.

Loved Shopaholics, although I didn't like that the deviated from the book a bit too much, I prefer the book a lot more. The green scarf was quite a disappointment, was too forgetful and completely normal, if I remember correctly, in the book the scarf had iridescent beads. The thought of shopping so much is horrifying actually - in the book it's just part of fiction, but on the silver screen, the whole concept takes on a realistic dimension that is quite eerie.

Ah well, training yesterday was a bit of a disappointment for me, but I'm really happy enough with the grades I've got for the tests that I got back. For once, I feel slightly more confident, slightly less doubtful about myself - it's difficult not to feel down when everyone did better. So to those who are struggling, or like me, constantly feel like they're struggling, keep you head up and focused on the goal. Honestly, this grades-induced euphoria I'm experiencing is nearly enough to make up for the pain and heartache that I went through the start of this year. Nearly enough. (Sometimes, boys are really not worth it, I shan't be in such a hurry to grow up)

Praise the lord!

note: have added 1 more post on night cycling below

I successfully stayed awake for 24hours straight, from 7am 28th Mar Sat to 7am 29th Mar Sun. I never thought this was possible for me.

Night cycling was SUPER CHAOZI fun, and eye-opening. I haven't done something like this in too long. I love the company, the conversations, the mindless games and jokes. I love the starry night sky, the flight of airplanes, the sea breeze in my face and the never-ending dark and spooky paths. The sound of nature, the proximity, was overwhelming - in a good way.

I am so ever grateful that I decided to stay on for Yconf this year, despite knowing my increased commitment and workload. In many ways, Yconf and the friends I make there are a breath of fresh air for me. I'm not quite sure how to put this, but it's like I live in 2 alternate realities - there's the first world that I interact with everyday, the one that I'm most familiar with, the one where I find stability in friends, family and routine. This is the world where, and I say this in all honesty with no malicious intent, I'm surrounded mostly by "elites", the "cream of the crop", the intelligent people with mostly decent or well-to-do backgrounds, the people who have opportunities presented to them without much fight. The people who occasionally display bouts of intellectual snobbishness that I am succeptible to. This world is comfortable, and we are sheltered from the uglier side of humanity. There's nothing wrong with being surrounded by "elites" and being sheltered, but at times, I find myself settling in and being too comfortable in this first world.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't want to be settled in my first world, it's just that being comfortable is not a state that I constantly want to be in. Then there's the second world, the one where I transit into everytime during Yconf. This world is where I'm faced with a totally different group of people, a group of people with so diverse backgrounds that are so different from my own. These are the people (let's call them "non-elites" ONLY for the sake of this post) to whom life may not have been very kind to at times, and the problems they face are those that I might never be able to empathise with. I find myself having to re-learn to learn how to take myself off from the "high podium" I'm on to interact on a different level, to learn how to be sensitive to things that I don't understand.

This is the world where I am exposed to the ugliest side of humanity, where I hear "horror" stories, stories that my family and friends might be shocked to realise that I know about, and stories that I will never repeat to anyone because they've been entrusted to me. But I still find myself enjoying their company, enjoying the perspectives that they bring, being intrigued by their stories. And I learn that despite their unpolished appearance, the friends I make have hearts of gold, are extremly street smart and quick minded, and have a huge compassion and desire to serve. Everytime I learn something new, everytime I open my eyes a little bit more to the larger society that I'm a part of, and everytime I have tremendous fun, and that just makes me want to come back for more.

It sounds like I'm a different person when I'm in my "separate" worlds, but that's really never the case. In fact, my completely different experiences and hence my different behaviours contribute to me as a person. My two worlds are never separate, what I learn from the 2nd world is brought into the 1st world and vice versa - I end up seeing things in both worlds in a different light, and hopefully become a slightly more aware person.

I still think that service and helping others is intrinsically selfish. There is always a motivation for someone to serve, regardless of whether you're aware of it. It's undeniable that some are just more fortunate than others - for someone to be really rich, there needs to be those are poor - but really what's so different about everyone? Isn't it all a matter of luck and God's will? Whether you're born to parents in Singapore or born to parents in Africa? So maybe if you were born lucky, you were meant to share your luck with someone less lucky. So yeah, this is me trying to make a difference to the community I'm in, me trying to learn more about others and what shapes their hopes and dreams, and me still trying to probe into why people serve others (or specifically, why I serve others).

Wow, I started with Yconf and ended up having a monologue. But this is the whole beauty of it.

I should be sleeping because I got home at 7am this morning!

I successfully stayed awake for 24hours straight, from 7am 28th Mar Sat to 7am 29th Mar Sun.

Night cyling was super fun :D