"i kneel before you, not as a prince, but as a man in love.
i'll feel like a king, if you'll be my wife.."

"This is the story of my great great grandmother, the portrait hung in the university until the revolution. By then the truth had been reduced to a fairy tale, and while cinderella and her prince did live happily ever after,
the point, gentlemen, is that they did live."

Thankz Tong, Siok and Sin.
Sin>> funny, but i understood wat u wrote... but the line between being numb and realization is so thin.

--------------------------------------------------------------
it's jus embarrasing, to be telling the whole world what kind of loser i am. i've seen how people laugh at a person's blog before, just because he's rather naive and innocent (reflected in what he wrote)
if i was reading my blog as someone else, i would tell the author to get a life. Whinning wont get you anywhere, relationship won't bring you bread, love wont guarantee a future. Be pragmatic, that's the way to go, money will make the world go round and hardwork will earn you money. Life is as good being single, if not better...
i guess we're still seeing each other...
--------------------------------------------------------------
he came over that night, we had a chat... he tot i was feeling down because of my work and my tutor's error, wallowing in self-pity that my tutor's negligence had cost me my days of research.. Even after i told him i came back early because of what he said, he told me i always magnify the negative side of things and refuse to pick myself up..
wat can i say ?

he said we should have our priorities right, conc on our studies.. and that i should go home, take a shower and do my memo.. i replied "bye." and walked straight home without even looking at him..
--------------------------------------------------------------
matt told me - if you have an issue in the relationship, you guys can either solve it or succumb to it... i guess we've chosen to let our differences devour us, consume the relationship, leaving nothing.
you know what? if i choose to give up, i'm qt sure he'll agree to it. i'm just wondering then what am i holdin on for? although he still has feelings for me, i guess he's too passive. or perhaps i'm not worth asking to stay? or perhaps he has already given up? haha i dunwan to know.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

haha why am i complaining? i jus realised today, that my allowance is enough to support at least 2 people for a month.. there was the special report in TST featuring the poor in singapore.. i think i spend 3 times of wat one of them need to survive on a month, considering the fact that i don't have to pay electricity bill and my fone bill is enough to feed him/her for the month...
And here i am, studying in University, giving tuition, filled stomach, shelter over my head, complaining why is my life so sucky?
i'm disgusted with myself...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Love can be a many splendid things
joy it brings
dozen roses diamond rings
dreams for sale and fairy tales
it'll make u hear a symphony
and you just want the world to see
but like a drug that makes you blind
it'll fool you everytime

the trouble with love is
it can tear u up inside
make your heart believe a lie
it's stronger than your pride

the trouble with love is
it doesn't care how fast you fall
and you cant refuse the fall
see you got no say at all

now i was once a fool it's true
i play the game by all it's rules
but now my world's a deeper blue
i'm sadder but i'm wiser too

i swore i'll never love again
i swore my heart will never mend
said love wasn't worth the pain
but then i hear it call my name...

the trouble with love is,
it can tear u up inside
make your heard believe a lie
it's stronger than your pride

the trouble with love is
it doesn't care how fast you fall
and you cant refuse the call
see you got no say at all

everytime i turn around,
i think i've got it all figure out.
my heart keeps falling,
and i keep on falling,
over and over again.

the sad story is always the same-
me,
standing in the pouring rain.
it seems no matter wat i do,
it tears my heart in two - the trouble with love is...
-----------------------------------------------------

and now, let's concentrate on my work..
it's not so difficult to put ur emotions aside after a while.
i think i'm getting better and better at it.. ever since when was that.. hrmm...
well, love isn't all that bad, it has taught me something after all..
it doesn't pay, jus like crime.

dun give me that shit about "if loving you was wrong i'll neva wanna be right"..
i give you right, left, centre, up side down.

Sick. sick of things happening. Sick of changes, sick of pushing myself, sick of working, sick of love, sick of people, sick of thinking, sick of understanding..
i want to stay on an island.
i want to be alone, with the clear blue sky and deep blue sea.
no expectations, no need for comformity, no love, no hate, no feelings...

i used to wish for something that'll never come back to me..

just give me one day on the island.. then take me away, i'm weak...
--------------------------------------------------------

i tried, i really did...
i'll never be good enough for you.

i've always been me, i've never changed.
no one will ever know me, not even niang niang, not even kaiwei..
anyone who can say he or she does, must be lying
cos even i dunnoe who i am.

i tried my best to be the girl you want.. to make you happy..
i gues heaven forbids.
an angel can never be together with a devil.

i swear, i bitch about people, i'm not the kind of angel like ur sister is.
i'll never be that angel.

save ur love for the angel.

i'm no longer pure.

wr

the almighty one had done it again..
but this time, the difference is - i'm giving in.
i've conceded defeat.

-----------------------------------
Facts of case:
Cinderella and prince charming wishes to have divorce.
yes, there's no such thing as "happily ever after". It was beautiful while it lasted.
The same old story, to fall in love is easy, staying in love is difficult...
Prince Charming can't take Cinderella's habits, Cinderella thinks its difficult to live a royalty's life. As much as Cinderella grew up from a well-to-do family, she had changed after her father's death. Her working as a maid at home calls for the need for a character change.. No longer can she be the lady who has million of people waiting on her, no longer can she live a life that a thousand envy. she has to survive, she has to live like the people ard her do.
Agreeably, it's no excuse.
However, it's a fact.
Prince Charming thinkz that Cinderella has changed, became someone whom he doesn't know at all. How long has he known her? a nite of dance. a glimpse in the day.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

the invisible one is trying to tell me something after 4, no strictly speaking 3 relationships..
the almighty one is telling me that i'm really not suitable for it...

---------------------------------------------------------------------
i swore today, in lecture. really hard, i shocked even my indian fren. i'm not surprise he's shocked.
why did i swear?
they wanted to show a video on law ball, my dear fren had to leave, presumably for something important. i respect them, i sat there, i respect my fren's decision, he really din have to be there.
he apologised when everyone stared at him. my admiration, a person who dares to speaks up in lectures is always under the scrutiny of the public.

the supposedly respectable law ball committee jus replied to my fren "it's ok, you're not in it"

with all the frustration that i've been goin thru since the last week, i had to, i could hold back anymore.

i guess he's embarrassed.
i guess he's shocked.
i guess he's disappointed.

i apologised.
i'm sorry i had to swear in front of him.

He told me "i dun think i know u anymore."

i took a cab home later.

---------------------------------------------------

i really dunnoe how to pick up all these pieces...
pieces are breaking into smaller pieces..

i have an assignment due on sunday, my tutor jus told us yesterday the issue i was working so hard on was a typo.
i have a law club meeting on friday.
i need to do a memo from scratch in 5 days.
I've got criminal law tutorial on Friday, my tutor is Alan Tan.

i dunno where to start.
---------------------------------------------------

i'm all out of love..
not jus thrown out of love, i ran out of it.

-------------------------------------------------

i wasn't feeling well, got better i guess..
nothin much, alot of work waiting to be completed.

Thank you paul, for accompanying me the whole day.
i really nid to learn how not to take things for granted..
i want him to be happy :)
need to regain his faith in me...

people say it's difficult to find the one out of so many zillion people on earth..
i agree..
because it's difficult to find someone who's willing to make sacrifices in order to stay in love with you.
are you willing to be flexible with your belief, to be with her?
are you willing to change your plans?
are you willing to make adjustments to your character, just so that both of you can communicate better?
sacrifices - doesn't mean giving up ur ultimate dream in life, a multi million paying job, or to betray ur frens, family, urself in order to be with your love..
it's the little things that make up ur life, they might not seem impt to you, but they're the first things that will affect your relationships..

if you tried, you failed, you walk away with ur head held high.
painful? yes
road to happiness is never easy, it's path with such painful experiences...
when you find contentment, you will find happiness..

more love, less quarrels.
you dun miss ur water until you lose it..


cheers

wr

It's new year, din really feel like it.. it doesn't feel like it..
it has been raining since the tsunami, death toll still rising, i'm still messed up.. there's nothin to be happy about this new year..
i can only console myself that, perhaps things can only get better from here.. perhaps..

i have a feeling he's leaving me as well.. i cant blame him.. i carry too much past with me, it's not fair to make him share the load with me.. it really has nothing to do with him.. why should he suffer with me?
i tried to walk of the shadow cast by the past.. just when i tot i was making progress, i lost the voice guiding me...

i told him it's tough for me cos of my past, he thinks i've yet to let go.. i really dun wanna cry like i did ...u tear even when u take the bus..
i guess he jus thinks that i'm being difficult..

perhaps i should let it go... i dun think it's fair to burden him like dat.. i notice the tone of frustration in his voice today.. the kind that you have when you stop loving someone.. i guess it's better to let it go now, than when he tells me he doesn't love me anymore.. than we argue till the point of no return.. frustration..
you should be with someone happier, purer, less angry.. together, both of you can see a beautiful future, be optimistic about things.. you were right, you shouldn't spend time analysing things.. life is too short to think about so many things.. i guess it's too late for me to be happier, purer, less angry.. it's not that i refuse to do it.. some things aft you experience it, your perspective of life changes.. i'm healing but after you understand certain things, learn certain things, it's not possible to unlearn it.. it's jus like newton found out about gravity, thereof people cannot deny it's existence anymore...

you should be happy. you shouldn't be made to go through this.. i'm sorry for the unhappiness i brought to your life.. i guess the happiness wasn't meant for me..

it's a new year..
it's a new beginning..
how come everything seems to be ending?

i din ask for much....

wr

Nothing much to update about..
jus did something really dumb yesterday, i have a meeting tomorrow and give tuition..
my fone is totally not working..
i guess it's about time i reflect about the past year and think about what am i goin to do next..
it is the last week of the year again...

i'll be 20 next year. how fast.
it just doesn't feel real.. everything is just flashing past..
yet every sec right now is so real.. you know you're doing something.. but looking back, what have i done?

every min now seems difficult to occupy, yet i still complain i don't have enough time..

geesh.

i look around again, a year changes alot of things...
i learn that it's difficult to plan what you want to do, because you neva know what will happen.. i guess it's ok to make general plans.. but not to details...

i actuallly have no idea what i'm writing.. jus mindless gibberish as everyone can see..
it's late at nite.. i jus dun feel like sleeping.
been thinking about alot of things lately.. mostly goin in circles.. seems like i've got the ans, yet later i'll be unsure..

life,
a simple four letter word.
yet it's so difficult to understand.
not to mention live it...

christmas.
wat's impt? wat's not?
do i love him? do i not?

i nid to talk to someone...
i dunnoe who...
my fone isn't working..
guess i'm alone to face this again..

argh...
i hate christmas..
my christmas neva turn out rite..
why?
is it only me?

痛恻心扉
如果可以选择，我宁愿从不曾拥有过。
是不是一定要这样爱过， 才算长大？
如果每一次的快乐， 会带给你十次的不快乐，我真的宁愿平平淡淡的。

Christmas eve..
if it's de last day of your life what would you do?

1) type a will on my lap top
2) go visit all my frens anywhere they are.
3) arrange teachers for my tuition kids
4) burn a cd for someone taking over my job in mc
5) call him
6) tell everyone who loves me i hate them, dun miss me.
7) donate all my organs that are still usable
8) donate blood first before i die, if it's healthy
9) burn all my diaries
10) listen to songs as i slip away..

So much for my happy ending
oh oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
Oh oh, oh oh, oh...
Let's talk this over
It's not like we're dead
Was it something I did?
Was it something You said?
Don't leave me hanging
In a city so dead
Held up so high
On such a breakable thread
You were all the things I thought I knew
And I thought we could be

CHORUS
You were everything, everything that I wanted
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it
All of the memories, so close to me, just fade away
All this time you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
oh oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
Oh oh, oh oh
You've got your dumb friends


I know what they say
They tell you I'm difficult
But so are they
But they don't know me
Do they even know you?
All the things you hide from me
All the shit that you do
You were all the things I thought I knew
And I thought we could be

CHORUS

It's nice to know that you were there
Thanks for acting like you cared
And making me feel like I was the only one
It's nice to know we had it all
Thanks for watching as I fall
And letting me know we were done

CHORUS X 2

i'm like that:
one day, i'm all hopeful, loving life, living it.
nez day, i'm all down, emotional, depressed...
i love my frens, yet i wonder why do we have frens...
i have dreams, yet i wonder why i have to live on earth for another day..
i work hard one day, nez day i don't even want to lift a finger..

thats me..
walking contradiction.

when you think you've known me enough, think again.

cheers
wr

it's christmas eve tml.. i dun have any holiday mood this year..
i guess it's another tell tale sign that you've grown older.. much older.. i feel much older than 19.. i neva fail to wonder how does it feels like to not know anything, to not go thru exp like my own.. to have a smooth sailing life till 19.. be spoilt, be provided for, be inconsiderate..
i want to be...
knowing too much and when you don't know how to handle the knowledge can be dangerous..

i look into kids' eyes
i see purity
i look into teenagers' eyes
i see hope

i see a chance to change their lives.. to help them to achieve.. to bring those to aspire to a greater heights..
i've never realised this before, i feel like becoming a teacher..
i see hope in them.
i believe when i invest enough time in these kids, i'll actually help them enough..
i guess it's much more than any amount you can earn..

this is freaking me out actually.

christmas eve.
i'm still wondering what am i doing on planet earth.
i'm still looking for myself, who am i?
i look up in the sky and ask what am i suppose to do?
birth of christ.
will i be reborn again on the 25th?

life goes on, much to my reluctance.


cheers
wr

my bf was back from thailand yesterday! after a 8-day trip, finally
hee heez. rather happy to see him today. he wasn't suppose to meet me on Sundays, cos it's a sacred day to be spent in church and for his family... haha but today is an exception, cos we haven met for so long..

k, enough about my bf, shall keep the excitement to myself as no one is interested in my love life. actually i wonder who's interested in what i'm writing here..

saw the farmer today.. gave my feedbacks to alvin and xiong about the camp.. i guess it was a bad idea.. cos tiong didn't go for the camp and alvin tan din have much to say.... guess they were a little left out. i could see that alvin and xiong were very passionate about the topic, their organisation.. xiong kept nagging me to write an email to his head, as he totally agree with what i said but his head failed to see these points...

anyhow, i've yet to mention about the camp>>
first, some facts about the camp:
Xiong was the camp master of this buddhist camp, hence the farmers took part. partly for a gathering purpose, partly showing our support for our dear brother. i also wanted to learn something about buddhism as i've always been interested, however, lack the chance to get to know about it.

upon reaching, i found out that i was one of the oldest campers ard.. most of the campers were 15 or 16 year-olds who barely graduated from secondary schools... i felt like leaving while we were registering for the camp as i felt like i was going for another orientation camp.. the feelin of signing a contract to give up my freedom for the nezt 4 days and 3 nights.. to act like clowns, smell like dirt and run like hell... i felt that i was too old for such things, there's no longer the kind of excitement that one would exp when they were 15,16... that's when i decided i'm no longer a teenager..

then we changed and prepared for the ice breakers..
i have to say that the games throughout the 3 days were very creative, the stories, the way they linked them all up, the point system which were actually money for the groups to buy ammunition for the race.. i was impressed, very. i wonder how many of the campers appreciated this effort.. the only little flaw in the games was that - they failed to bring out the objective of the games to the little kids.. for them to learn from the games..
for eg - there was a game where we had to protect the "virgin of purity" on a very dangerous journey for a precious scroll.. the groups had to come up with a strategy such that the commander and VOP will survive the journey...
there was a very funny relation of wat the 4 groups did by a really good speaker.. but i tot it would be much betta if the group leaders could have sat down and talked about how the group fare. what have they learn...
thoughout, there was much experience, but little learning.. the games that we played could have easily taught the campers about things that they'll never learn in classes.. about team work, about being considerate, about team building, about learning from mistakes, about decision making. the kids are still unable to really understand these underlying lessons that could be in any game, thus the camp could have been much more enriching, if time were set aside for such discussions... instead of chasing us all to bed for more action the next day. what is the objective?

yes, what is the objective of the camp? this was the question that bugged me ever since i attended the camp. nearly non-stop action without much rationale behind - gives me a feeling that the games were there to entertain the kids. they said it was to make the kids feel that buddhists can be fun loving, not just chanting everyday. the way i saw it - without the meaning behind the games, the games were merely to make the kids happy, like free gifts that comes with a product.. to market buddhism, to recruit more youths, they planned alot of games, to attract the youths. I'm all for it, i do not see anything wrong with that, i think buddhism can be fun, definitely, especially youths should be full of life. However, when they're jus playing for the sake of playing, the opportunity to learn is lost.
Perhaps i expected too much. i expected this camp to be something different.
好玩中带点严肃
not to squeeze buddhism into every little thing that one does in the camp, but learning.. i feel that such camps should touch the hearts of the little kids, to be a turning point for some of them, at least. thou 4 days 3 nites cant do much, but the learning could start to change the kids' thinking, like planting a seed in the kids' heart, hoping it'll blossom into a beautiful flower. to make them more compassionate, considerate, on the whole better persons... i tot this was what basic buddhism is about..

the spiritual component of the camp came in the form of Dharma Talks conducted by the head of the organization.. i have to say that i fully enjoyed the first session, where i was given the opportunity of asking questions about buddhism. Even thou it was a tiring day and i had a really bad headache, i was wide awake after the talk. i had so many burning questions after the introduction to buddhism, partly to see how much they know, partly because of my curiousity.. however, subsequent sessions were disappointing. they were long and i found it difficult to actually remember everything after a 2 hour session.
i agree with alvin that we have to give the speaker credit for trying to bring Dharma to a more comprehensive level for the kids.. however, it was obvious that there were little interest among the campers as they failed to see the rationale behind the talks... to them, they were merely sessions for them to catch up with their sleep.. he could have been more prepared with the lessons, some visual tools like writing on the white board. Also, i had difficulties understanding the points he wished to bring across, sometimes trying to recall the point that led to the stories. Thus the importance of a notebook, to be brought along for every talk. whether they keep it after the camp or not it doesn't matter, what matters is that they've written some notes and it'll stay with them better..

after the camp, i felt that there will always be a tension to promote buddhism and to recruit more members by the way they run the camps... because they have mistaken fun to be the only factor to recruit members..

fun, will only be able to keep them as long as they think the organization is fun.
teach them how to learn, make them feel that the organization can improve their lives, to learn more about buddhism.. once you touch their souls, teach them what they can't learn from school, you've reached out to them, their souls, then, they'll be there for you for as long as they believe. these are the people i would want to recruit.
leadership can be trained.
悟性却须要一点缘分

my two cents worth.
thank you xiong for introducing me to camp. i've learnt alot, seriously.
thank you alvin for being such a good group leader. caring and def the potential of a great leader.
the organization has much potential, having successfully organized 9 camps and goin on strong...
i wish it can touch more hearts in future, spread buddhism among the youths.

cheers

wr

I've been a selfish all along..
i've complained about my partners being irresponsible, not keeping me updated, not taking the time to talk to me, to pacify me.. actually the person that i loved the most was myself.
i tot i knew how a relationship should be like, i knew i was abit more dependent, but i tot all that was reasonable..
until the camp.
love in most relationships are conditional..
when one fails to meet up to the expectations of the other, it makes the other feels upset.

a scientific research shows that when a person sees another whom he or she likes, the body gives out a chemical that makes one feels good...
so the nez time you want to meet your partner and he can't turn up.. you're feeling upset cos you cant feel that good, instead of not being able to see him.

i hope i can rem this.
keep this in my mind, so i won't get angry, upset with him so often.. when it's really not his fault..
when he really have things to attend to..
i guess i'm more of a burden to him right now than a partner, who can help him on his journey..
he had to take time off church, sch, social life.. jus for me..
love is about sacrifices ? i dun think so.
if i dun expect him to be with me so often, he doesn't have to give up so many things.. and i dun see myself a sacrificing anything..
i'm loving someone and being happy.

living meaningfully and dying joyfully- Ven Ajahn

i'm grateful.

wr

after a whole morning of trying to change the look of my blog, to learning how to make webpage... i guess i din accomplish alot..

i read my sister's blog.
gave me an insight to how she feels... how she view life..
picking up the pieces she left behind then.. she's picking herself up..

what about me?

i feel lost in time.

I'm wondering..
wonder when did i start to lose my close frens,
wonder when did my life only revolved ard me, my bf and my family,
wonder when did i start to feel that i cant go on without working,
wonder when did i become so reclusive...
almost alone.

how much do i noe about kw, niang niang?
hadn't we been meeting up?
how much do i noe about siok, hui-u, yj, yd?
how long was it since i really talked to them?
how are the farmers?
since when did i lost them as well?

how much do they know about the me now?

i still talk to eugene thou..
one person that i can say everything to..
haha somehow he doesn't have much to tell me..

things will change.
things always do.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
for all whose paths crossed mine somewhere in my life:

i'm glad our paths crossed.
may it always overlap.. may i always have the honour to have you in my life...
但是若从此以后，我们只是两道平行线，
may it be fond memories that i left you with...

你我的相逢，
是缘分。
离别，
却不一定是悲伤的。

好朋友，
到了天涯海角
还是知己。
一个眼神， 一句话
你会了解。
你最近还好吗？

Wouldn't it be nice if you get to choose what you want to remember instead of being forced to rem them.. as clear as crystal?
i guess it's as good as saying we should get to choose how we look, our parents and all that...
but i jus cant help wondering..
there are things that are so difficult to get out of ur system as hard as u try..
time will change these things.. from being painful, irritating to something of a neutral nature...
i prefer to see it as time changing me... from being vulnerable to such memories to becoming used to it.. de-sensitizing .. the word they used for media violence.. the nature of memories is relative to u. the memories will always be that, it's a fact, irreversible.. ur reaction to it, is what matters.
similarly, with objects.. things that u hold dear to ur heart today, may be come the same thing that cause that ache in ur heart whenever you look at it tomorrow.. because the memory, the fact that is tied to that object, is no longer a sweet memory. it's the human that is changing, instead of the memories morphing into some different state...

actually it's all mindless giberish.

anyway, as i was saying... memories....
i heard yesterday, on tv "my husband is the reason why i want to wake up everyday.."
there was once in my life when i wished i never wake up in the morning. not suicidal thou, just the pure reluctance to climb out of bed to face the reality. but things jus had to work against you... u lose sleep at nite.. cry urself to bed.. waking up at the first ray of sunshine and neva able to get back to sleep again.. u stay awake about 20 hours a day..

all you do is think about how unfair the world is to u.
how little faith you have.
how painful you feel.
how little you have left.
how pitiful you are.
how much you hang on to the little hope in you.

i felt small.
pitiful
helpless
lonely
aimless
unwanted

it may seem dumb to alot of people...
i once assumed how stupid i'd look to myself in the future.
i guess i was wrong.
if i had to go through all that again, i would have felt the same; i would have felt as small, as useless, as dumped...
i neva doubted this thus far...

i had been too trusting, i have had too much faith in the little thing called love.. i had too much hope...
but that was me. i believed in fairy tales then, i tot miracles happen. i thought that was still place for fairy tales to come true in the real world, because love will conquer everything...
but i was wrong.
love cannot conquer the media.
love cannot replace bread and butter.
love will never replace the kind of disappointed one will cause to one's parents...
most of all, people no longer have faith in love, they no longer know the meaning of love.
for dignity,
money,
and trivial things... people compromised love..

because everyone's got hurt before, somewhere, somehow, by someone or anyone..
they lose faith.
they get lost.
they then start to hurt others.. in other way...
they become more withdrawn, only thinking about people that they know personally, like frens or family.. others, only themselves...

it's a selfish world.

ever wondered how a world full of love will be like?
perhaps bush will be in iraq taking care of injured kids.
perhaps china would have forgiven japan long ago and stopped them from paying the reparations.
there won
perhaps taiwan wouldn't have leaders saying they want independence and china wont be forcing them to return to china.

quizas quizas quizas...

it's a bad day.
my exams jus ended... feels like my life ended as well. how no life have i become?
have no mood to face the world now.
screwed up

no point.

i give up.

wr

i jus had the chance to read the pprs today, thou i haven been too busy, din really felt like reading the news these few days.
anyway>> the forum today has a whole lot to say about the recent changes in teaching chinese, some mother complaining about the chinese programmes in singapore and a teacher's response to his fellow colleagues on the teachers in singapore being too stressed out.

the recent changes in how to betta teach mandarin in order to allow our younger generation to master the language looks really promising. it actually aims to combine the idea of creative learning and at the same time cultivate students' interests instead of forcefeeding them, like they do with other subjects. it seems like a really big step forward for our education system. chinese is no longer about knowing how to write the words, merely learning how to read them, it's more about conversing in mandarin, instead of writing - as our education minister claimed. so our system is goin to emphasize on daily usage of mandarin, the students no longer have to learn how to write the words in the "ci yu shou ce", which accompanied me though my years of studying the language. words that are less used in daily conversing will be taken out of the syllabus, which makes me wonder what is goin to be left. NI WO TA? who is the one deciding what is being used daily anyway?

promising indeed.
our system has once again bowed down to the students.
this means that if our students continue to show no interest in chinese, we're goin to change the system once again.

but i'm afraid this kind of flexibility is only limited to teaching chinese.
is it because other subjects are already flexible enough? that the teachers teaching other subjects have nurtured enough interests in the youths, such that they have no problem with interest? is it because the syllabus for other subjects is what we need for life?
i really wonder.
let's talk about flexibility.
i dun remember maths having alot of flexibility while my teacher teach them. perhaps there was interests, but we all know that we cant fail maths - that's the biggest push factor. we are, after all, product of the institutionalised kind of education system in singapore.
sciences, flexibility? if u call powerpoint presentation flexibility. tell me again, how many of us pulled though because of the ten years series? i bet those that got A for sci in a level must have done them at least twice, plus alot of prelim pprs from other schs.
now about GP, i cant say for other schools. because apparently, where i came from, we had really weak english grades in O's. Hence, most of the time we were concentrating on how to write a good argument instead of debating about how piracy will actually affect the economy.

look, there has neva been flexibility in the system. when u start somewhere, u start with the most useless subject that you think. so what if china is the nez super power, they're goin to learn english anyway. when u wanna implement creative thinking and not know how it will turn out, u use chinese as a white mice, to test out how it will work with the students. if it doesn't turn out well, then blame it on the family, the lack of interests of student. it's never the system's fault.

i'm not saying i'm all for rote learning of chinese. but when u say there's no interests, can u say that you have interests for all the subjects you're taking? it's a simple excuse for not trying. parents engage a tutor for a subject for their children as long as it counts towards their aggregate. it's wrong. but they can go so far even if the students does not have interests. they only started complaining they have no interests because it's no longer a subject in the criteria. i really think they should be taught about shame. the kind of shame of not knowing one's mother tongue. it's not about blaming them or their background, it's not about shaming them. it's about "lian chi". they should learn that when u call urself a chinese, even a singaporean chinese, when u go out there, u'll always be a chinese. Even if u speak the most fluent english, the best english, french, german - ultimately, u dunnoe ur mother tongue. it's called the mother tongue for a reason. u can tell the world "hey, you noe what? i've mastered french, german, japanese, korean and everything." and u dunnoe ur mother tongue, you're really not that great after all.

well, the mindset of being cool not knowing mandarin should also be changed. i'm qt sick of hearing "i dun understand chinese, please dun speak to me in chinese" from fellow chinese singaporeans. sometimes i feel that there's a tinge of arrogance when they say that. where did all these superiority sprung up from? i should look down on u for not knowing ur mother tongue, not the other way around.
dun get me wrong, i'm not trying to start a hate club for those who knows their MT against those who don't. i guess the former will def lose out in numbers anyway. who wants to be in the 'loser crowd'?

anyway enough of the chinese topic..

to the mum that complained about the chinese programme on channel 8 with the word "bastard" in the subtitles:
guess what? ur kid is not goin to be protected forever. protecting them and censoring what they see or hear are not goin to help them. when u see someone smoking, u tell ur kids never to touch cigarettes. do u jus cover their eyes and hope that they neva see cigarettes in their life? u teach them to differentiate the good from the bad, to choose to be good, to learn to be good to themselves. u tell them why not to smoke, why not to use vulgarities to punctuate their sentences, you teach them what u learn from the tv is not always rite.
it is your job to educate your kids at the family level. dont expect other people to look after your kids.
if u think that the producer should change the time of the programme jus because ur kids are watching tv at 7 o'clock in the evening, mayb it's easier if u write to the forum and tell the mothers to sit there at 7 pm and educate the kids while watching the show together?
dun blame everything on others.
dun blame it on interests, the society, the system, the media, the teachers.
if u have not thought about where did u go wrong, u've most probably already gone wrong.

all the hype about a chinese that went missing in singapore and later found murdered lately...
my heart totally goes out for the girl. i think no matter what kind of grudges adults have against each other should neva neva be taken out on a kid. Moreover she's only 8... what kind of sick pervert can actually murder such a kid... i just feel that whatever that has happened, she's the most innocent victim out of the whole episode...

the case is still being looked into.
i guess as much as the killer is responsible. i cant help but think about what kind of mother would leave a girl in a foreign country for nearly a week or more. and the thing is, she has the cheek to say it's not the first time. If the mother really had the child's interest at heart, really loved her child, would she had done that? leav the girl with some fellow tenant and go back to china. yes, singapore is safe, she had exams... so what? even if it is not foreseeable that something so drastic could happen, some minor accidents like being scalded when she's left alone at home? for god's sake it's an 8 year old we are talking about, not a 14 or 15 year old kid. as much as everyone has different standards of how independant a kid should be, as a mother who ought to be doting on her daughter, how could she ?
it is when the little ger went missing, when the little girl was found dead, then she tot of buying her toys, greatest funeral in the whole wide world, nicest clothes..
i jus cant help but feel that she was doing all that for show.. i dont mean she did not do it sincerely for her child. perhaps due to my own prejudice, i jus cant help it. that she could get more coverage, get more sympathy.. perhaps i'm jus cynical.

On top of that, i CANNOT believe that singaporeans can be so gullible, stupid, naive and rich.
they have given the money to the parents willingly, without duress. they did not stop and think about whether the money will be put into good use. they did not think about wat has led to the kid's death. Out of compassion and not knowing how else to show their condolences, they gave money.
after they realised how much everyone has given the parents, then they started to regret. and wanted to know exactly how much they've given in total. the parents then say that they're going to give half to charity and the other half to bring back to china.
firstly, so what if you knew how much they have? what is it goin to change? you have given the money, it's theirs. How much is it doesn't really concern you. I jus dont understand how singaporean's brain work... it doesn't mean that the money comes from you, den they have to do what eva you say. it was a gratuitous gift, and it is their's to keep. If you had given the money sincerely, You should really keep ur gap shut. IT IS NOT A CHARITY SHOW WE HAVE ON TV, WHERE THEY ANNOUNCE THE AMOUNT THE RECEIVE EVERY SECOND. the parents have not called for "donation" and they do not have the liability to declose the amount. WAKE UP!!

Secondly, even though the father had promised to make donations with half the money he had taken, seriously, he really has no obligation to carry that promise out. so what if the money was given to them by locals, it doesn't mean they have to do good to our place. i can only think of two possible reasons that the locals are so insistent in the donation promise: (1) they're stupid enough to base on the promise make donations (2) they're merely insistent because they're unhappy that the couple should leave singapore withe so much of our money, and regret giving them so much money. and the only way they can sort of take back some money, is to insist that the couple honour their promise of making donation.

i think singaporeans have made a real fool of themselves. first, by donating money at first instance. money really isn't everything and totally show foreigners how we value life, with money. when they think there's nothing much they can help, they give money. there's a million and one things to do, like simply set up a webpage for the girl, to go and pay respect to her. jus say a little prayer for the girl, and if u wan media coverage, do it in a big group outside taka or something. Why is it that the only thing the singaporeans can give is money.

second, to ask how much money in total they have collected. even go to the extend of waiting outside the court jus to ask. it jus seems to me, the singaporeans have the mentallity that since the money was given by them, they have the right to know the total amount. that they have the right over how they use the money that was GIVEN to the couple. if it was so important how they use, then dun give them in the first place. make donations in the girl's name instead my dear fellow singaporeans.

i jus urge adults to stop acting like fools. if u wanna show compassion, there are million and one ways. if u use abit of brain, and abit of common sense, all these wouldn't have happened. it's unbelievable how naive our people have become. doing charity does not means giving money!
i guess we'll have to thank our mediacorp for all the charity shows for teaching our people that.
mayb we should have a circus of mediacorp artists at the funeral.