Sometimes, it seems crazy to me how beholden we, as a species, are to prisons of our own creation. Humans invented money. Humans invented time. So really, none of that is any more or less real than say, a flying spaghetti monster or the way I tricked you into meeting me here today under the guise of “working.”
Let’s Run Away>>Thought Catalog
May 19, 2012
5 Unhealthy Thoughts Girls (And Guys!) Have « Thought Catalog
May 11, 2012
5 Unhealthy Thoughts Girls (And Guys!) Have « Thought Catalog.
Yes I agree, “EAT THAT GOD DAMN SANDWICH” simply because “there is something so pathetically sad about living life in fear of food.”
Plus, it is much easier to do than trying to stop oneself from ”obsessing over every character Ryan Gosling and his abs have ever played.”
Thank You For Being My Best Friend « Thought Catalog
May 11, 2012
coz you’re a sexy man in uniform and you’d be sexier alive.
April 20, 2012
Perhaps it is because us guys complain too much about it. We make it sound like it’s too much of a joke, too much of a waste of time. We often hear things like “nowadays soldiers have a much better life”, “last time training much harder” etc. Maybe it is true. Ok, it is true, dammit. I hear they now have laptops. But thing is, why would that diminish the value of every boy-above-18′s contribution? After all, every guy still spends almost 2 years serving the nation. No matter whether you are in guards, commando, infantry, air force, a storeman, a clerk etc etc, your contribution to the nation would not shrink or increase because another person did more or less. I think everyone’s NS experience is unique, but at the end of the day, all of us (well almost all) have contributed part of our youth to the nation. That is not something to be forgotten easily, nor put down by a “LOL” or an ignorant girl’s comments.
Yes, it is natural to feel put off, or enraged (put off being somewhat an understatement for me, actually) by some people’s nonchalant remark. I almost did a super-saiyan when I read about that insensitive LOL remark, and later on the podder’s comments while working in office. But after thinking about it and talking to my friends a bit more while still at work, I come to realise that there’s really nothing much we can do about these people. We can all start writing a drop-by-drop account of the blood and tears we’ve shed during the NS process, but it would still probably only resonate among the guys.
(But keep the notes coming people, it’s quite a good reminder of why we did what we did. I personally felt a fierce surge of pride while reading one of them, and if not for sheer common sense and the fact that there were other human beings in the office I might have just stood up and recited the Sea Soldier’s Creed while the Navy song played in the background)
Why do I say that? Military life is extremely, and fortunately or unfortunately, very different from civilian life. We can make people watch (in the comfort of their armchair) a thousand videos or read a million accounts of our NS experiences and they might remain unfazed. Short of forcing them to go through the 2 years themselves of course. But since only males are enlisted in Singapore, there’s really very limited things we can do about it. However, that doesn’t give us any less reason to defend, at the very least, our loved ones (I’d have said “defend our country” or something but it sounded too lofty). Alternatively, it’d be good if we could carry some sort of PDA into the battlefield so as to do a quick background check on a fellow Singaporean when she/he is being held at enemy gunpoint, then say “Oh it’s ok, she doesn’t appreciate what I’m doing anyway, so you can shoot for all I care”.
I think one would only understand these through personal experience. By going through the shit yourself.
(Shit, in this case, is subjective and relative. What is shit to one unit might not be so shit to another. What is shit in the air force might not seem shit to the infantry. Unless we are, of course, talking about the same stuff that…nevermind.)
I spoke to a few of my girl friends to see what they thought about this issue. One of them appreciates what we’re doing, but said that she “felt bad” that her brothers and male friends have to waste 2 years whereas she didn’t. It was only then that I paused to think – is it really a waste of time?
Most, I believe, understand only when looking back at the 2 years. It’s something very subtle…it just clicked inside me. As much as I dislike the military, I benefited from it. I made friends. I learnt things. Attitudes tweaked, perspectives changed. And the thing is, whether anybody thinks it’s a waste of time or not (and yes I do), NS is here to stay. You have to go through it anyway, so why not take something away while you’re at it? And trust me, some guys really could use the extra maturity. (Not that NS automatically makes everyone more mature though. For some, it’s a bit like System Restore – they just boot using the restore point two years ago. )
Plus, I really think the bonds forged in NS is the most valuable thing any guy could take away with him. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, friends made in NS are simply different. Because you’ve trained with them, sweated it out with them, laughed with them, cried with them (surprise surprise, we guys cry too), bathed with them, seen their junk (oh the horror), slept with them, discovered habits you’d rather not know about them and you have been through shit with them. You really only see a person’s true personality in crap times. And you know you can count on them again when crap comes again, e.g. in the form of reservist.
I think at this point of time if you’re still reading this, you might have realised that what I’ve said so far is merely an assortment of my wild and disorganized thoughts put together – there’s just so many angles to this NS issue that I decided to merely type anything that comes to my mind whenever my supervisor is not looking/ in between my alt-tabbing at work. Let me attempt to sum up in one para.
I still remember the day when I collected back my pink IC, lugging my duffel bag around the naval base, looking at the juniors who still have some time to go. Granted, being a Gen Y myself, growing up relatively safely without threat of riot and war, it is really difficult to train for something we hope would never happen. But despite this, my batchies and I have more or less scraped through, and many after us will continue to do so. I’m not the chiongster type, as my platoon mates would know. I’m not platoon best, not IPPT gold, and I’m the kind whose very existence you probably wouldn’t notice. I’m just a very ordinary CPL in an extraordinary platoon. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to just finish the 2 years and be done with it. Maybe not everyone agrees with my thinking.
But regardless if you are a commander or the commanded, the chiong-sua type or the kiao-ka type, I think everyone can agree on this – you are compelled to serve, but not compelled to die serving. Because apparently, not everyone appreciates it if you die inside…but I’m sure everyone wants to see you make it out alive – although not all would understand what goes on in there. As one of my friends with a uniform fetish (no names shall be named *cough) would probably say…who wouldn’t like a sexy man in uniform? LOL.
(ok I cheated. two paras.)
How I first learnt to mail a letter and send an instant message
April 17, 2012
As I sit in the room with ears plugged to mayday and scrolling mindlessly through my Facebook feed, I suddenly remembered there was this era when my news feed consisted of more words than pictures. Not that it’s a bad thing (cue random 9gag picture), but it’s just another reminder how the forms of communication we use are evolving so rapidly.
Still remember snail mail? The laborious yet enjoyable process of penning a letter, sealing it up in an envelope, fixing a stamp on it all the way to stuffing it into the postbox. Just make sure you’re stuffing into the right one..don’t learn from the old man who, for the past two years, has been dropping birthday cards and cheques for his grandchildren into the red dog poo box instead of the equally red postbox…
I will never forget the first time I attempted to craft my very own letter and post it. Well not so much posting it – I was in P1 and couldn’t post it myself so I got my dad to post it for me. And he couldn’t either, because he was too busy laughing and showing my mom my ”letter”, which I gave to him only under the condition that he made this shady-sounding “postman” person promise not to lose it.
The very important letter I drafted was to my classmate, and my sole agenda for penning it was to ask for said classmate’s phone number (which was obviously a very crucial milestone in the friendship between two P1 kids, made even more important simply by the very fact that I was asking for it via post instead of the next day when we would meet in school). It was such an important agenda that I thought in case my friend, for some unknown reason, decided not to open the letter after receiving it, I should write my letter on the envelope itself. And my letter consisted of 5 whole words:
What is your phone number?
And since it was only 5 words and did not take up a lot of space, I scribbled it a few more times on the envelope for good measure - about 6 or 7 times in total, front and back added together. Oh, make it 8 times, counting the one time scrawled on the paper stuffed INSIDE the envelope. But sadly, after he finished laughing, my dad just chided me for wasting a stamp which I had painstakingly affixed onto the graffiti-filled envelope after spending 30 minutes figuring out that, like some other things in life, I had to get it wet first. Damn, if I were my parents, I’d have that letter framed and hung up.
Then came MSN. Think I almost died of amazement when I sent my first instant message. I was on the phone with my friend and I’d just installed MSN, wondering what the fuss was all about. Then I typed a “hello” and it appeared on my screen, then I was like okayyyy I’m this tech whiz kid who’s been using Microsoft Word 95 for some time – what’s the biggie with words you’ve typed appearing on your screen.
I was about to put this aross to my friend when suddenly my computer screen flashed
(insert friend’s name) says: hi
Then I crapped my pants.
Ok la I never, but I got damn excited and started railing down the phone that ZOMG I SAW THE MESSAGE YOU TYPED AND YOU SAID HI and spent 10 mins laughing and jumping up and down in excitement.
Yeah, my first time using MSN.
三个傻瓜。
April 15, 2012
You are my friend, unless…
April 9, 2012
A lot of thoughts came to me after reading this.
About religion, about minorities, about being gay, about plain simple love for other human beings.
I’ve always been quite touchy about religion, avoiding discussion of the issue if possible. I am not a very religious person, but I can get quite defensive about my religion sometimes. Especially when friends try to convert me. It irks me because by trying to do so, the message I get from them is that “My religion is better than yours, so come join me”. But to me, religion is a very personal/sacred thing. It’s what you believe in. It can’t be falsified. So who’s to say which is better anyway? If someone is interested in your religion, he will likely go and find out more by himself. I just don’t think it is very appropriate to try to convert someone from one faith to another. And ultimately, I feel it’s just a difference in what we believe in. I am willing to accept this difference, because I value our friendship more. If you are not willing to, then it’s too bad.
Also, to me, most religions are trying to teach more or less the same thing. To quote from the blog entry:
According to Christians, Jesus taught a couple of interesting things. First, “love one another.” Second, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (“Her” being a woman who cheated on her man.)
According to Buddhists, Buddha taught a couple of thought-provoking things. First, “Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.” Second, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”
According to Hindus, a couple of fascinating teachings come to mind. First, “Do not get angry or harm any living creature, but be compassionate and gentle; show good will to all.” (Krishna) Second, “Love means giving selflessly, excluding none and including all.” (Rama)
According to Muslims, Muhammad taught a couple interesting things as well. First, “A true Muslim is the one who does not defame or abuse others; but the truly righteous becomes a refuge for humankind, their lives and their properties.” Second, “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”
According to Judaism, their scriptures teach a couple remarkable things. First, “Love your neighbor like yourself.” Second, “Examine the contents, not the bottle.”
The greatest spiritual leaders in history have all preached love for others as the basis for all happiness, and never did they accompany such mandates with a list of unlovable actions or deeds. They never said, love everybody except for the gays. Love everybody except for the homeless. Love everybody except for the drug users. Love everybody except for the gang members, or those covered in ink, or the spouse abusers. They didn’t tell us it was okay to love everybody with the exception of the “trailer trash,” those living in poverty, or the illegal immigrants. They didn’t tell us it was okay to love everybody except for our ex-lovers, our lovers’ ex lovers, or our ex-lovers’ lovers.
And unlike advertisements and discount coupons, I doubt the teachings from major religions don’t come with fine print. It is easy to attend church every week, or visit the temple to offer josssticks on every 15th/30th of the lunar month. It is not that difficult to proclaim, “I am vegetarian because I am a Buddhist” or “I don’t believe in any God.” But how many of us can really practice the teachings behind each religion/faith/belief?
In truth, having a religion doesn’t make a person love or not love others. It doesn’t make a person accept or not accept others. It doesn’t make a person befriend or not befriend others.
Being without a religion doesn’t make somebody do or be any of that either.
No, what makes somebody love, accept, and befriend their fellow man is letting go of a need to be better than others.
I think this is very true. Can we let go of this need to feel superior to others, to feel this way about those different from us?
About gay people.
About people who dress differently.
About people who act differently.
About fat people.
About people with drug addictions.
About people who smoke.
About people with addictions to alcohol.
About people with eating disorders.
About people who fall away from their faiths.
About people who aren’t members of the dominant local religion.
About people who have non-traditional piercings.
And in Singapore’s context, about people from other countries.
It is not an easy thing to accept those different from us, much less show love to. It takes a great deal of courage to be who you really are (even if this means you’re different from the rest). But it also takes a great deal of effort to put an arm around those who are different.
Unfortunately, I have yet to be able to do so entirely. But I think for many like me, that’s something all of us should work upon, regardless of our religion (or lack thereof). To me, that’s what it means to be a more inclusive society. Helping the “vulnerable groups” should not just be limited to the financially needy, but also those who are being outcast by the majority.
That zombie just broke my goddam mirror!
April 8, 2012
A video I came across on the Taiwan forums of Dragon Nest (this MMO I’m playing). The guy is fighting a mini boss and he is complaining that the boss can deal insane damage i.e. 9,236,409 (at 0:14) which broke his mirror immediately. (His character can summon this mirror thingy which can block monsters and amplify damage, and it’s suppose to last for..a while).
If the gaming speak above is confusing you, never mind. Just listen to his commentaries.
XD
This is why I like how the Taiwanese speak. Very..special. Animated, kind of. And this is also why I don’t think we should scrap Singlish.
Recent Comments