rey's ramblings

I crossed the bridge at 8:17 PM

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Could be the start of a Sweet Sixteen

Plug-in: When You Tell Me That You Love Me - Westlife feat. Diana Ross
Read: Everyone Worth Knowing - Sophie Kinsella

Had a pre-birthday celebration yesterday, on the very much
over-hyped Valentine's Day. Left for nydc @ wheelock late
after school to meet joel, vanessa and serene for a birthday
lunch. Apparently, charisse couldn't be around because she
was off somewhere else with someone...
Anyway, a huge thanks again for the birthday presents! =)

Really thankful for the school's uncanny but well-received
decision to unintentionally throw a holiday on my birthday.
And resulting in knocking the chem test off for another date!

Just came back tonight from another celebration with my
family at JP Bastiani's in Merchant's Court, Clarke Quay
which serves an extremely succulent and mouth-watering
selection of Mediterranean food. Especially enjoyed their
rack of lamb which comes with a good blend of herbs &
spices.

Well, the past fifteen years have already been quite a spin.

The often overused saying that life has been a rollercoaster
of ups and downs does hold true here. But on closer retrospect,
I'd liken it as more of a long and winding maze. Sometimes we get
lost along the way, losing ourselves for a moment, trapped and
crashing into barriers. There are often misleading signs that guide
us the wrong way, that in times of desperation, we accidentally
trust the wrong person or type of people to lead the way. Some of
us are able to sense the ominous callcards before going too deep.
But not many are that fortunate and some fall off the wayside,
landing themselves further from the path. Of course, not all wrong
turns are to be attributed to other people. Many a time, we interpret
the signs inaccurately ourselves, thus making a mistake in the way
we plan our route or lives.

However, with luck and perseverance, we find our way out of the
dead-ends and inconsequential detours towards a more definite path.
We pull ourselves out of bottomless pits or successfully retrace our
way back to where we first broke off in the wrong direction.

Then, there are also times when we ourselves get found, when we
have to just stop ourselves from selfishly struggling and rely on others
to find our way out of sticky ends and turns. Some of us would refuse
to believe this, but the reality of life is that we cannot hope to push
through all on our own without having to rely on others for hope, love
and inspiration. If we refuse to acknowledge or accept this, we just
end up in a continuous downward spiral of selfishness.

Knowingly, the antithesis to this is that we have all the tools to sustain
ourselves and get through everyday without ever needing others. But
perhaps that would be just considering the physical aspects of life. We all
know that as humans, we were never created with the concept of just being
satisfied in the material world. We have to fulfill the emotional, spiritual and
social areas. Those that disagree with this statement are people who could be
perhaps stubborn in widening their perspective and are sheltered or blessed
with most of these and not once have any of these things ever been severely
snatched away from them. And they can't be faulted for that.

It is impossible, however, to find a successful or at least happy and contented
person who never relied directly or indirectly on the people around them for
strength, happiness, inspiration and love to achieve what they have today.
Perhaps that could be proof enough, that no man is an island.

Thank you, 15/02/06
and to all the well-wishers and prezzie-givers. =)

I crossed the bridge at 11:41 PM

Friday, February 10, 2006

Talent rewarded in gold

Plug-in: One - Mary J. Blige & U2
Read: Political Philosophy Fundamentals: From Plato to Marx - David Miller

Yesterday's 48th Annual Grammy Awards was quite a blast.
Definitely better than 05's poor showing but still not on par with
the blowouts of past years like 03. Gorillaz gave a dismal starting
with a flimsy performance of Feel Good Inc. which was quickly
salvaged midway by Madonna along with her troupe of trashy
dancers, who gave a loud and explosive performance that got
everybody up on their feet.

Many performing acts did put on applaudable efforts but the
most noteworthy ones were Mary J. Blige & U2's duet of the
classic 'One' off the former's latest record 'The Breakthrough'
and Mariah Carey's medley of 'We Belong Together' and 'Fly
Like A Bird' off the chart-topping 'Emancipation'. But the
head-turner of the night was when Paul McCartney popped
up onto stage unannounced midway through Jay-Z & Linkin
Park's Numb/Encore to deliver a stunning performance of
one of his old hits 'Yesterday'. Forget about the other two
live acts whom were both mumbling incoherently as support
singers. McCartney, who earlier performed a dismal rendition
of 'Helter Skelter', truly shined here.

Awards-wise, the Grammys decided to be more generous
this year. Instead of the traditional grand sweep by a single
artiste like in previous years, this year's awards were given
a fair distribution amongst the perennial favourites Kanye
West, Mariah, Kelly, Green Day. However, the dark horse
U2 still clearly stood out by clinching every one of its five
nominations. I'm sure that they might have deserved Best
Rock Album etc. but I felt that Best Record & Album of the
Year was definitely an overstatement.

Mary J. Blige joins U2 for an emotional performance of their hit "One"

Anyway, this week in school so far is a sign of things to come.
Unlike previous years, Year 4 is going to be one that just
continuously builds up in terms of pressure and work instead
of the usual fluctuations evidenced last time. EL and CL tests
this week were relatively easy, hopefully not underscoring the
standard of the upcoming 'O's though. Quite a number of tests
to study for in the following weeks, one falling right smack on
my birthday. How lucky.

- Weekends are very important nowadays!

perhaps reconsider before trading your soul for the world

I crossed the bridge at 7:51 PM

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Doesn't Really Make It Look Bad

Plug-in: Sorry - Madonna
Read: The Rule of Four - Ian Caldwell

Interestingly enough, the hustle and bustle of daily school life
has its fair share of politics, whether in the classroom or not.
Being able to seamlessly weave your way in and out can be
highly beneficial to one's ego, but is it really ever possible to
eventually "run out of luck"? The probability of it is high as
this concept runs parallel to Murphy's Law - that nothing
goes according to an exact plan, often resulting in what we
do not expect to happen.

But of course, when i say "unexpected", this means that it
can swing in either direction - becoming worse or turning
out even better than previously anticipated. And that's the
charmingly mysterious aspect of life that if given the right
approach, can be taken in a lighter perspective, with a pinch
of salt.

Went for lunch at din tai fung, paragon after school on friday
with javier. Point to note next time, never get a seat on the
other side of the exterior transparent glass-walled kitchen
during peak lunch hours. Not only is it stiflingly hot, chatter
noise reaches levels that forces one to speak above usual
vocal volume.

Hopped over to hmv later to take advantage of the clearout
sale... Bought a couple of cds, one being a slightly unusual but
well thought out decision - Alanis Morrisette's MTV Unplugged
containing songs unreleased elsewhere and all her classic songs
like Uninvited, You Learn, Hands Clean etc. reinvented.

Getting back home later was a bit of a difficulty since many roads,
crossings and sectors were closed due to the annual loud and campy
albeit cultural Chingay event.

unexpected & uninvited, go with the hustle & flow.

I crossed the bridge at 7:59 PM

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

The Honest Truth About Chinese New Year

Plug-in: Clap Your Hands! - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Read: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

The last 5 days have actually been more exhausting than I
would have thought possible. After school ended last friday,
went with bryan, justin, stuart to orchard for lunch followed
by lots of chatting.

Saturday was a day for simply chilling around, waiting for the
evening's reunion dinner which was pretty much similar to
the previous years with a few minor tweaks here and there.
One major decision this year was to incorporate the terribly
spicy Sichaun soup in the steamboat which everyone gave
up on in a matter of minutes... I didn't know that something
of such an unearthly spicy nature could exist though! As
usual, it was a time to catch up with those relatives I hardly
meet throughout the year. Also, we played mahjong until
real late in the night.. something I always excuse myself from
early to prevent losing too much money. Mahjong can be
truly deadly if played for too long!

The following 2 days or so were spent on visiting relatives
which has become increasingly more and more of a drag
for me personally but there are definitely some things still
worth paying a visit for.

Went out yesterday with charisse, joel and vanessa to bowl
at cineleisure's bowling alley which was really fun despite
running out of luck on certain rounds. Bowling was followed
by lunch at cafe cartel located at the basement. It was really
crowded and a real pain trying to find a seat though.

Managed to catch up on some work today although not wholly
completed due to an overpowering need to sleep. Somehow,
the thing about the lunar new year is that almost every year,
I tend to feel exhausted after the first couple of days and this
is an almost unavoidable trend. But then again, it could also
possibly be due to the advent of spring that brings many rain-
starved, over-shined days which can be a serious headache.

a flash of colour... thats loud.

I crossed the bridge at 9:26 PM

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