New Year, Pull Your Ear

I got an epiphany!

I know this is probably the end-of-year syndrome where people tend to be more introspective. But being the thinker than I am (*ahem), I have all these random thoughts in my head after many conversations with the people around me. Of course, there will always be trash talk to discard and great perspectives to glean. I just want to put them down somewhere where people can hold me accountable for these *commitments* I am striving for this coming year. Yes, these are quasi-resolutions for the new year but I think they are imperative as beacons. So bear with me for my thoughts (or just close this webpage.. bah)...

Living overseas this year has shown me the importance of my family and friends. When things are so stark and close up to your face, they inadvertently become blurred. Yes I admit that I have taken these individuals for granted as I assumed them as a constant in my life.

Thousands of miles apart now, I truly value my parents' goodness, strength and love for me. The distance this year allows me to take a step back and see how wonderful they are. Sure they can be overly concerned of me at times, but I know the motivation behind those moments is genuine love. I just want to hug them now (awwww.....).

And I thought I would be losing my friends by leaving for a foreign land. While it is true that some became estranged (inevitably and regretfully), some friendships were strengthened despite the distance. Calling a spade a spade, there are friends for a reason, friends for a season, and friends for life. As I was reminded recently, people come into our lives for a reason, providing things that we can learn from, and fulfilling our social, emotional needs. So much of us is made from what we had learnt from them, so it is paramount that we have good people in our lives. And I think I have such people. These are people that I can be truly myself in front of, who hangs out with me not becos of my material possessions, and good looks (wahahah!), and will ... well ... still love me in spite of my many flaws and when I have outlived whatever the initial reason for befriending me is. I am extremely thankful for them =D 

I seek to live my best this coming year as I step into my 30s. I will try my best to break out of my shell and live out my potential. My friends would know that I am extremely driven as an individual and I do want to be successful in all I do. This is not limited to material gains of course. I had been reminded that money cannot buy you happiness. While it can buy one room to manoeuvre, unless one knows what to do with that space, it is futile. I want to realise that potential in me : that I am a unique and genuine person with much to offer - both professionally and in private. Being secured in oneself can be challenging and I know of many people who claimed to be secured but yet wear their laurels on their heads and assert themselves all the time, boasting their achievements and needing a stamp of approval all the time. That is probably the best demonstration of insecurity. They are not wrong; they just need to be treated with more kindness. I seek an inner peace and wholeness. That, to me, makes a person truly attractive (fwah!). I think age has this adverse effect of making me jaded at times. I crave for a renewed thirst for life, learning, wisdom (not smarts). And whenever I come across a bump, I want to be able to learn something, pick myself up and move on.

Finally, I want to be a good person this year, whatever that means. The old adage to be as sharp as a serpent, as gentle as a dove holds true. I think all of us has this ability to discern what being good entails. There are too many manipulative people in this world and I've always professed that while we don't have to be like that, we have to be able to identify that as a form of self-protection. It is easy to harm others for personal gains/protection/satisfaction. But it is a decision to do good. So I do want to show kindness wherever I can. I think my Mum has been a great role model in that aspect, so are some of my closest friends.

ok.. enough of the ramblings =D

I feel very blessed ...

GObama!

The long race to the White House is finally over. It is fun to be amid the action during this historic period. I even went for a house rally and an election party! It is interesting to see the amount of participation the US citizens put in for their beliefs in their candidate of choice. It is inspiring to see how they feel their vote can make a difference. It is regrettable that my own country has yet to progress to such political maturity.

Throughout the campaigning, I found it super amusing to see each candidate taking potshots at the other. It is even more amusing to see how candidates used misleading information over and over again to uninformed communities to confound their decision-making. It is most amusing to see Sarah "I-can-see-Russia" Palin as a VP candidate.

I am not gonna to deny that my ideal choice for president is Hillary Clinton. But since she was ousted by Obama, oh well. While it is true that there will never be a perfect candidate for presidency, it is appalling to hear in the aftermath of the results Obama's critics saying that they can do nothing now but sit back and see how he is going to run (or ruin) their country. What happened to active citizenery? It sounds crazy that McCain supporters are just going to wash their hands off affairs that will impact them. Isn't it all the more important to support Obama and help steer the new government towards an administration that works? I don't see how this pettiness or divisive-ness is going to help matters.

There were two aspects that frustrated me for the past months.

First was how McCain ran his campaign. I have huge respect for him for being a moderate Republican, going against policies that were just nonsense. His experience and courage for being 'maverick-y' (wahahahha) are worth saluting. However, I am surprised how he allowed his campaign to be designed for the final months. I feel that there were a lot of manipulation and misleading information. Compared to President-elect Obama, McCain had fought a campaign that is less than honourable. Yea yea, it is all politics but resorting to fear tactics rather than relying on the merits of your own plans looked really desperate.

I also don't like the fact that at moments, the race card was played. When Obama was asked if his race will be a an impediment towards the White House, he refuted that and said the only factor would be his own failure to articulate his vision for America. TOTALLY AGREE! Yes, Obama is not white (only half-white). I hope people voted for him becos he is a better candidate with a clear plan for the current situation and can bring about a positive change for the future.

Anyway, the inauguration is in Jan and all eyes will be on him from now on. Lots of expectations.. I am not sure if that is a victory, given the inheritance from Bush.

Picking up a brush

It has been many many years since I picked up a brush to paint something. I wanna use the excuse that I am still recovering from my junior college art class experience *shudder* where my tutor scarred me for life. LOL!

Anyway, been so bored in Tampa and decided to paint a picture to jazz up my apartment as the walls looked really plain and boring. I am too cheap to buy a real painting anyway. Hence I bought some paint, canvasses and brushes and created my own art. It would be great to hang behind my bed.

Decided on the colour scheme because I thought an enlongated white canvass (3m by 1m) would be nice in my dimly lit bedroom. Red would be a stark contrast to the tint of grey on white. And I wanted to do something chinoiserie as it would be a good representation of my "oriental roots"..wahahahha!

Anyway, it is not as easy as I thought it would be and I grew tired (and lazy). Here is the finished product. I just need to figure out how to put it up on the wall now...

More About Food

Loads of Drama

Everyone is raving about the F1 races in Singapore huh!? Oh well, I am glad people had fun there. I am sure they are going to be inspirational to some impressionable youths who will now want to "mod" their Nissan March or Toyota Corolla to look like some racer, complete with the relevant tacky decals.

I am curious to see how the Marina Bay area looked like though during this period of time, being all 'pimped out' for the rest of the world. So if you have picts, pls post them online so that I can see them (and die of envy).

The past few weekends had been wonderful staying in Tampa, and catching the various independent theatre groups' performace. The first was Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. Excellent excellent excellent. It chronicled Oscar Wilde downfall years and I like how Wilde challenged the legitimacy of the various definitions of beauuty, art and morals. Very provocative and the cast members were great.

The second is Blackbird - story of a confrontation between a young woman and the man who molested her when she was young. I did not like it as much as I thought the art direction was kind of awkward even though the acting was good. It was 90 mins without intermission and very antagonising to watch. Nonetheless, it provided a great conversation topic at the post show drinks.

I caught The Wild Party on Sat. Based on Joseph Moncure March's narrative poem about a decadent party that ends badly, it is supposedly metaphorical of the 1929 stock market crash (gulp.. think 2008 Wall St crash). It was done in a similar style to Ah Gong's Birthday Party - an interactive setting where the cast is amongst the audience. Performed at a art gallery in downtown St. Petersburg, the location has been transformed into a Jazz Age pleasure dome, furnished with sofas and chairs. It is like a real party. Audience members mingled and schmoozed, sipping wine or beer or soda (you pay of course), munching cheese and crackers.

I really like the Wild Party. While I am only partial towards a few musical theatre where people burst into songs while having a conversation or walking or whatever (e.g. Les Miserables), this one is pretty intriguing. It is really really stylishly done. You are fully immersed in the play. The characters cajoled with you with their drinks (sometimes spilling some on you). The cast is really superb and all of them sing really well. I found out later that quite a few of them are performers in the amusement parks like Disney and Busch Gardens.

I love the fact that while the various groups are not that well known (at least not yet), they contribute to a really vibrant arts scene here in Tampa. The support given by the community is overwhelming too. At least you get people who are interested in arts here. While I await with abated breath for Sg's arts development, I will enjoy what I have here in Florida.. hmph!