Treasure troves

Libraries are underrated places. I realised this when I visited the Jurong Regional Library last weekend. When most people would enjoy a night out socialising with friends, I was thrilled to tuck into a cozy corner in the library with a cup of coffee and my laptop and delve into deep levels of thought. The interior of this massive 4-storey building was designed with a fountain and next to the absence of human chatter, it was the noise of running water that filled the ears. I didn't notice the hours pass by while I productively did my work, until I heard the 9:00 pm closing announcement.

For a membership fee that costs next to nothing, the public gets access to an enormous collection of reference books, magazines, microfilm, documentaries and movies. Not only that, there there are plenty of places to sit and read or study in silence. There's a small cafe inside the library for short breaks. The library even provides wireless internet and power outlets for charging laptops and phones! Another interesting concept I noticed about libraries here (compared to my time as a child) is that books borrowed from one library can be returned at any other library branch and the location of specific books can be tracked online. 

While going around in circles trying to locate the toilets in this large building, I accidentally discovered a section on movies! And this month, they had doubled the number of movies that can be loaned in one go to SIX!!

I came home with a good haul of movies, including "Ramona and Beezus" for a trip down memory lane

When I was in secondary school, the library had several books by the author Beverly Clearly which I enjoyed reading. One memorable character was Ramona Quimby who is portrayed as a very curious, imaginative and mischievous little girl who causes a lot of trouble (mostly unintentionally) to the ones around her, especially her elder sister Beezus. Efforts to rectify things often makes things worse and the author takes us on an entertaining journey through it all.

The collection of  Ramona's stories by Beverly Clearly

Another well loved series which this reminds me was The Littles by John Peterson. This series features a family of tiny, intelligent humanoid creatures with mouse-like features living in a house owned by the Bigg family (who are humans). The stories consist of colourful characters and many gripping adventures which brought me a lot of joy.

Image Source: netbys.com

Speaking of treasure troves, I found this noteworthy link on The 46 Most Brilliant Life Hacks Every Human Being Needs To Make Life Easier. My favourite was the one below *evil grin* :

How to stop people from stealing your pens at work

The life of busy bees

I read an interesting line up of conservation-related books, thanks to the birthday gifts I got from my thoughtful friend Ryuu who has good tastes in books. 

Ta-daa! The original book by Douglas Adams

The first book on "Last Chance to See" is recounted by the late Douglas Adams with a good dose of humour. It is the story of how he teamed up with zoologist Mark Carwadine in 1985 and they set off on an amazing expedition around the world in search of species on the brink of extinction. There was also a BBC radio documentary series on the same journey in 1989.

The book details their adventures looking for nine selected animals. Not only that, through Douglas' account, we meet many passionate conservationists working on the field (against the clock) to desperately save the last few animals in the wild.

The Aye-aye in Madagascar
The Komodo dragon on the island of Komodo in Indonesia
The Kakapo in New Zealand
The Mountain gorilla in Zaire
The Northern white rhinoceros in Zaire
The Yangtze River Dolphin in China
The Rodrigues fruit bat on the island of Rodrigues, Mauritius;
The Amazonian manatee in Brazil
The Juan Fernández fur seal on the Juan Fernández Islands, Chile

In Mark's epilogue to this book he says:

"Even so, the loss of a few species may seem almost irrelevant compared to the major environmental problems such as global warming or the destruction of the ozone layer. But while nature has considerable resilience, there is a limit to how far that can be stretched. No one knows how close to the limit we are getting. The darker it gets, the faster we're driving. 

There's one last reason for caring, and I believe that no other is necessary. It is certainly the reason why so many people have devoted their lives to protecting the likes of rhinos, parakeets, kakapos and dolphins. And it is simply this: the world would be a poorer, darker, lonelier place without them."

The second book on "The Last Chance to See" is a personal account of Mark Carwardine and Stephen Fry who, once again, go to distant corners of the planet to follow up on the endangered animals following the initial expedition by Douglas Adams TWENTY years ago. The "then vs now" situations that this book highlights from a conservation point of view is incredible!

I read this book twice and I'm getting the itch to read it again. Some chapters in this book can move a reader to tears.

The most disturbing thing about extinctions at present is the rate at which they are happening. At the time this account was written, most of the animals had suffered massive decline in numbers. The White Rhino hit extinction in the wild during their time in the African continent following a rebel crossfire in Congo DRC. In this book too, we meet many dedicated conservationists working tirelessly in the midst of hardships and sometimes putting their own lives in danger to save the featured animals from extinction.

The book was such a moving, intelligent, thought-provoking, compassionate and humourous account of their incredible journey and a yet another stark reminder of the perils that natural environments and animals are facing as we move forward towards 'development'.

The next book in the reading list was late Gerald Durrell's The Corfu Trilogy.

Goodreads describes it as follows:

The Corfu Trilogy consists of the popular classic My Family and Other Animals and its delightful sequels, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods. All three books are set on the enchanted island of Corfu in the 1930s, and tell the story of the eccentric English family who moved there. For Gerald, the budding zoologist, Corfu was a natural paradise, teeming with strange birds and beasts that he could collect, watch and care for. But life was not without its problems - his family often objected to his animal-collecting activities, especially when the beasts wound up in the villa or - even worse - the fridge. With hilarious yet endearing portraits of his family and their many unusual hangers-on, The Corfu Trilogy also captures the beginnings of the author's lifelong love of animals. Recounted with immense humour and charm, this wonderful account of Corfu's natural history reveals a rare, magical childhood.

It's true, I was thoroughly fascinated by Gerry's mostly humorous account of his childhood in Greece (which starts about 7 years after the death of his father while they lived in India). In the past few months, through his vivid descriptions, I felt like I sat right next to that family of five watching all of them as they went on about their lives, had their dining-table conversations and interacted with their close friends and queer guests. Not only that, Gerry also takes the readers and his dogs on his animal observing and collecting expeditions around the Greek island of Corfu. With a perfect union of random life situations, geography, love from his family and friends, and encouragement from his mentor Dr. Theodore, Gerry grows up to be renown figure in the field of animal conservation. So when an engaging book like that ended, I was left feeling rather sad that it was over.

Sundays

Waking up to a bright, breezy Sunday morning, without alarms was a treat. I had a nice chat with my BFF from school, who now lives in the States, using the wonderful invention of instant messaging on a smart phone while still in bed. Also, granola bars are awesome. I didn't even have to leave my "work station" to trouble myself with preparing food and clearing up dishes. Next month though, when my mother visits for three weeks, I have to put away with some of these productive habits I have mastered over the years in order to make her stay pleasant.

Let me think, what else?
1. Increase the frequency of the house cleaning schedule
2. Hide all packets of instant noodles, granola bars, instant soup, canned food, etc and fill up kitchen cupboards with wholesome food and the refrigerator with fresh produce
3. Look up expiry dates and throw away anything that's not supposed to be sitting inside the kitchen cupboards
4. Make sure pillow covers match the bedsheets (Ugh, what a pain. Seriously, why do they have to match all the time??)
5. Arrange clothes in the cupboard in an organised fashion (I can't figure out why I like being mess at home, while I take great pains to perfect my work-related and writing projects)
6. Be patient and understanding at all times (while I am commonly mistaken for being "saintly" by strangers, my family members and very close friends will attest to my impatience and shortness of temper)

Oh dear, I've been doing this for so long, that I can't think of what else I have overlooked!

I am still getting used to blogging with a new external keyboard. I was forced to buy it when two of my keys stopped working and up until then, I used to happily blog away with my laptop comfortably sitting on my lap. Now it's a challenge because my lap is not big enough for both a computer AND an external keyboard.

These days, I am reading the autobiography of David Attenborough. Looks like a lot of great men have humble origins and an undying determination to get past the odds. The book adds quality to my 3-4 hour daily commute and was one of those books, I picked up on my way to the cashier at a bookstore.

From an evolutionary perspective, I believe my line of offspring several generations away would eventually lose the ability of speech and instead grow larger heads to compensate for it. Several of Shuri's good friends tell her to come out of her shell more often and go talk to people, especially guys. But this is never easy. Last week, I had some great conversations on life and worldly issues with two elderly gentlemen who were taxi drivers. Usually I sit quietly, mostly unable to find a starting line befitting a stranger, but if it so happens that someone who's good in conversational skills initiate it and bring up a stirring topic (that has nothing to do with nail polish, designer handbags or high heeled shoes), then we hit it off well. The things that come out from a small conversation can be so enlightening sometimes that I wonder how many things I miss for every opportunity I don't give a try. Of course, the other side to this is that, not every conversation with strangers turn out to be those enlightening types.

While waiting at a traffic light to cross the road, last week, Shuri bumped into a guy who works in the same building and have been spotted smoking before:
Guy: Hi.
Shu: ..... Hi.
Guy: You work at XYZ, right?
Shu: Yes [It should be very clear from this bright red lanyard hanging around my neck, with the company name printed in big lett----...SHU FOCUS! He's making small talk. OH.]
Shu: Do you start work at 8? Because I am half an hour late to work today!
Guy: I am usually late too, though I am supposed to start work at 7:30.
Shu: Doesn't your company provide transport to its employees so they can come to work on time? Mine unfortunately, does not.
Guy: They do, but I have my own bike.
Shu: Ah.

Few more topics were discussed briefly while walking to the building, like which countries we were from, what type of work we did, etc..

Guy: What's your name?
Shu: I am > insert real name <
Guy: My name is >insert real name<

Shu: Nice meeting you and oh look, I have to go this way to my office.
Guy: Don't you take the lift?
Shu: No, I prefer the stairs. B-bye!

On the way up the stairs, Shu tries very hard to recall what his name was, Terence? Tesla? Tesh--? whatwasitnow? Crap.

Fail.

~~~

I received a hard copy back-up of my old blog (in other words, A BOOK!) few weeks back from Blog2Print. It was such an exciting moment to flip through the glossy pages and read my tales and go through feelings of nostalgia and smiles, while having the smell of new printed pages in my face. I spotted a few spelling and grammatical mistakes (nuoooooh!), but this is the closest thing to having my very own published book, so I'll take this first-attempt-product-thing gladly. After receiving the parcel at work, I clung on to my bag all the way home and hoped I won't be hit by a bus, until I was able to come home and read it to the end.

 The front

The back - okay, I know it doesn't look too age-appropriate, but there's a caterpillar in there!

 The glossy pages (there is a table of contents too...soo cool!)

If you are reading this line, that means you belong to the list of people in the last category (and thanks)

Katy Kat, I hope you are reading this post from Norway! Enjoy the snow for me.

Lost and Found

My mental processes were highly occupied the last week with my latest read - Quiet. Simply stated, the book is brilliant. I have new-found respect for introverts and more tolerance towards extroverts now. After reading the last page, I was walking around the house today (somewhat dazed by the effects of flu meds), shaking my head thinking, only an extraordinary individual who spent a considerable amount of time learning, observing people and situations, and analysing this data while spending a lot of time inside her head could have put together such a powerful a string of words, touching on many aspects from individuals, politics, education, corporate cultures to world cultures, world history, relationships and parenting.

Perhaps this wisdom will help me get along well with my highly extroverted mother when she visits next month! A lot of things make sense now; like how spending my impressionable years in a conservative Asian country that admires the Introvert Ideal, going to the same familiar school for fifteen years of my life and how having parents who didn't try to inhibit me and instead let me 'run away' with whatever thoughts and interests my mind fancied worked to my advantage in excelling in studies, building my core character and nurturing some of the life-long friendships I built along the way. I was a happy introverted child, having with me everything I could possibly wish for (it's no wonder my right foot is firmly planted in that past).

The real challenges came later in life after leaving the safe protection of the nest. Some of the downsides that I discovered later (apart from being way too naive and not knowing myself well enough) were that I was poorly armed in communication and social skills, all which led to self-doubt and loss of self-esteem in no time. These seeped into my performance in university and made it difficult for me to progress in the competitive world in my early career. Worst of all, I had no sense of direction because I had no idea where I wanted to go till quite recently. But the path leading to these types of self-realisations has ultimately been a rewarding one.

In my first blog post in May 2010, in describing myself, I write....

"I never felt like I fitted in anywhere as a person (does anyone, really?)"

Only now I have the answer to that! I was busy comparing myself to extroverts and trying too hard to conform to the extroverted standards that I thought was required for the environment I lived in when deep down it was exhausting and didn't feel right. I no longer feel the burden of wanting to fit in places I would not fit in, instead I actively seek out niches of people and situations that fit me. Knowing my limitations, I only stretch out of character to accomplish things I am really passionate about and in special cases where it is a pre-requisite to get to something I really need. And with enough practice and time, even out of character attributes (like public speaking, being assertive and feeling less anxious with new people/places) get easier. 

Shu, you took two and a half years to figure out all this?? Really?? You are such an idiot.

I keep telling myself, I should stop blogging about introversion and animals for a change, but I keep falling back to those same topics. 

The other day, I hunted down The Lion King I at a video store. I have lost count of the times I have watched it since its release in 1994, but it remains my favourite animated movie of all time. Watching it from an adult perspective this time, I was pleasantly surprised to see that behind the humour and colourful characters, the story still has many positive messages to take away.

Last weekend, I had a go at pseudo-skydiving at iFly Singapore on a Groupon voucher. "Pseudo" because it is as close as one can get to the real thrill of skydiving in the safe conditions of an indoor wind tunnel. It's a wonderful feeling to defy gravity in a controlled manner and not have to be burdened with the weight of our bodies, as in the case of swimming and flying. To my surprise, I was the best flyer in our group of seven first-timers (unlike being one of the worst performers in the new dance class I tried many months back!). The trick was to relax, position yourself according to the instructor's advice, be aware of the body positions that took your higher or lower in altitude and enjoy the flight that lasted less than a minute. After this experience, I feel a slight itch to add 'skydiving' to my bucket list, despite my fears of jumping out of an aeroplane with a faulty parachute.

Flying Shu. My photo was taken courtesy of a kind lady who was also taking pictures of her family and she volunteered to email them to me!

This being my first solo visit to Sentosa in over three years, I noticed a lot of change on this integrated island resort. Many new attractions (each with a big price tag attached) have popped up like mushrooms with new buildings using up every available space on the island making it rather over-crowded now. In some ways it felt like the place has lost its relaxing charm, while trying hard to make the most revenue out of thousands of visitors that visit here. In other ways, it appears to be evolving into a world-class attraction providing visitors with a wide range of unique experiences, that can't be found elsewhere.

I wonder why I woke up this morning, with a strong flashback of my time with my maternal grandfather. During his able years, he was an iron-willed, egotistical, domineering, hot-tempered and violence-prone man who was feared by many. In a fitting match of professions, he served in the military during the World War II and later in the Police force. When I came to associate closely with him after our family moved to his neighbourhood, he was a changed man. He was still strong-willed and independent, yet he was a retired widower living alone with a much softer temperament.

On most evenings for nearly three years, I would visit him for a couple of hours after getting home from school. His favourite past time used to be sitting on an old refrigerator placed horizontally under a shady mango tree while reading newspapers, chewing betel leaves, killing mosquitoes and having a 360 degree view of the large garden and frequently scanning the area for anyone who tried to sneak in from the borders. There were a lot of thieves in our village ranging from innocent ones looking for firewood, coconuts or fruits to junkies looking to steal anything they can find to get money to buy drugs. But with my grandfather's notorious and fearsome reputation, few had the nerve to try. The ones who tried often got caught and repented dearly.

Our meetings were like a tradition. We would both read the newspaper taking turns to read different sections and (mostly he) would comment on them. I preferred reading jokes and articles related to Science and Health. All the time, we would be surrounded by swarms of mosquitoes. I would use insect-repellent, wave my legs to discourage them or sometimes let them have a little 'food'. He would swat them and collect the dead ones in a small mound between us. Then he would make tea for us and we would chat while having crackers with our tea. He had a lot of stories to tell from his past. Often his face lit up relating the memorable  ones where he acted valiantly. One of his favourites was telling how he had to shoot down a wild elephant that terrorised the villagers in a remote area where he was assigned to be on patrol. He tells me that he had nightmares for many months after that incident. Sometimes he told me the same stories over and over again, but I still listened patiently. I would help him with small chores like running to the grocery store to buy things, sweeping the garden or cleaning leaves off the gutters on the roof (though my mother protested to that) and plucking fruits or betel leaves. In return, he would usually give me fruits (usually overripe and not really edible, but I used to accept them anyway and discard them later).

He came to appreciate and depend emotionally on my company and he always inquired about the days I didn't turn up. If he heard I was sick, he would come all the way to check up on me. I suppose he felt very lonely after I left the country for my university studies, without anyone to take my place in the evenings. A few months after I left, I heard he got his first stroke and was left partially paralysed. Old age is not a pleasant phase and while there is strength of mind, there is usually better quality of life. But the moment it breaks down, sickness and death approach faster. Eventually, he went to live with his son and even made a short recovery from paralysis, but at age eighty and five months after I left, he succumbed to the second stroke attack. That December, I flew home straight to his funeral. And that was also the same month that the country was devastated by the tsunami of 2004.

I still miss him sometimes.

I'm in Love with Kangaroos

Welcome to another new year! It's that time when most of us reflect back on the year that passed and make resolutions for the new year knowing very well that they may eventually be forgotten or fail to take effect. Despite the failure rate, reflection is a good practice to cultivate. And the concept of a new beginning seems to give a little extra motivation to try a bit harder to change those hard-wired habits.

After finishing my station duty at the zoo last weekend, I took a stroll to explore a part of the zoo which I had not visited in a long while: the Australian Outback. The Singapore Zoo worked closely with late Steve Irwin to design and open this exhibit featuring native species from Australia and nearby islands such as Kangaroos, Wallabies, Tree Kangaroos, Bearded Dragons, Emus and Cassowaries.

Before that though, I took a detour to catch the 'Elephants of Asia' show, featuring four Asian elephants from Sri Lanka. There is something so powerful, graceful and intelligent about these endangered herbivores that demands our respect. Of course, suppliers, consumers and everyone who stands to gain from the illegal ivory trade would disagree with me. 

Hoppity Hop - An Eastern Grey Kangaroo

When I made my way to say hello to the Kangaroos and Wallabies, the Wallabies were having naps but fortunately for me, it was the Kangaroo feeding time. After having a chat with the keepers, I was given a small bowl of kangaroo feed (it looked like ordinary guinea pig food pellets) and a chance to feed one. He or she was a friendly five year old Eastern Grey and my, wasn't he/she so adorable! Pretty big eyes with eyelashes and soft fur like a cuddly soft toy - I have been on Cloud 9 since that encounter *slaps self* 

Whats wrong with you, Shu?
Please can I take him or her home for a short time and look after it? 
Are you mad? You are being overly emotional, plus it's a wild animal meant to live in the wild, not a pet. 
Or can I come live and work at the zoo? *slaps self again*
You already have a job, dumbass.

Book stores are terrible, terrible places. I went to accomplish a simple task of picking up one book from the reserved books counter and going home with the purchase. But I got carried away in the sea of massive bookshelves promising thousands of interesting worlds in the form of books to anyone who picked them up. I ended up going home with two books. 

Ta - daaa!

I was very excited to finally get my hands on Quiet by Susan Cain. My enthusiasm for it started many months ago during my unemployed phase. Once I even located the one book store that had a copy at the time and kicked such a fuss when the staff could not find where they placed the book. That had nearly all the store staff sieving through shelves to find it. At last, one of them found it and I had to shamefully leave it behind (I have not stepped back in that store again) when I saw the hefty price tag on the hard cover copy. So I vowed to get it later and I did.

The book has been very engaging so far and I use every opportunity to savour it. Like today, I selfishly ditched my only friend at work/extrovert, to catch an early bus home, just so I can read in solitude. She's a good soul (unlike those toxic types that my gut instincts say "Run Away" from) who's the type to reach out and include even the quietest ones like me, but on some days, 40 minutes of a good quiet read in the bus is far more rewarding and energizing than 40 minutes of actively listening to another who naturally can't stop talking about themselves for even 10 seconds. Funny enough, this closely follows the theme that this book discusses at length.

I'm probably more excited about this book than an average reader because it strikes so many chords on a personal level. Not only that, it's a brilliantly researched and analytical book, that uses ample solid scientific evidence (as opposed to abstract philosophies without logical basis) to build a case. Often, I find myself falling into potholes of deep thought after reading a stimulating idea put across in the book, only to crawl out and fall into another one a short distance later.

The biggest accomplishment that accidentally came out of my blogging exercise (coupled with a few other factors) in the past three years was that I gained a better understanding of myself, why I am the way I am and most importantly, being more accepting of these and being comfortable in my own skin - though it is still a work in progress and I'm guessing it will remain so for the rest of my time. So as much I treasure coming to express my thoughts freely on my blog space, reading this book has been like a pleasant rendez-vous with a stranger who I got along extremely well with. At times when I read it, I feel like it was written just for me. 

Reading this book will aptly conclude my mini-research project on the Introversion/ Extroversion theory.

.

Merry Christmas!

It's officially the weekend for me! I don't know what exactly it is, but I've managed to work myself into a happy high after I got off work today. I wonder if it was the weekend or the bubble tea or the book I am currently reading or the approaching holiday season or simply the cool breeze of a fan blowing in my face as I lie comfortably in bed in complete silence - whatever it is, it feels good.

These days my commute to work is brightened by this book I am reading. Who doesn't love a good story with dragons in it!

A Facebook friend of mine had sent me an inbox message today just to say "Happy New Year" and tagged 124 people to the same message. So every time someone from this pool of mostly unknown 124 people responded with a "Wish you the same", my mailbox got spammed and because I have adjusted my settings to receive inbox messages as sms on my phone, that got spammed too. And because I had to wait till I got home to find out how to detach myself from this nuisance of a thread, I had a lot of spam by the end of the day! Seriously, I wonder sometimes if "common sense" is really as common as the name suggests. Needless to say, I did not reply with a "Wish you the same" and spam another 124 people in the process.

While Christmas holds no religious significance to me, some of its traditions have always been part of my growing up. A tree was essential. So were the cards and gifts. Where a real cypress tree was unavailable, we've put up with plastic ones (like the tiny tree below that I decorated with my 5-year old nephew this time) and even roughed out with bamboo branches! I suppose as children, we were just drawn to the joyful Christmas stories we read and watched. Even with various commercial enterprises over-using the theme of Christmas to make profits, it is still a time of the year when people tend to be less self-involved, more cheerful and generous. And I like it for those reasons.

I recall how my mother and father cleverly led me to believe that Santa left presents for me while I was asleep... until I was about 7 years, that is (then he mysteriously stopped giving me gifts)! I never questioned how Santa knew exactly what I wanted or why I could never catch him in the act. I never wondered if Santa back home was Asian or Caucasian like in the books and movies. And we never left him any milk or cookies. Hell, I should have wondered how he got into the house in the first place, when we locked all our doors and windows and we didn't even have a chimney. Stupid me.junior! I did however once try to catch him or the present, at least. One stormy night, I woke up in the middle of the night and looked around for my present but didn't find it anywhere in the house. So I went outside thinking he might have left it inside the car. To my horror, the front door shut with a loud bang because of the howling winds and I got locked outside. My parents took awhile come and rescue me. I did get the present I wanted that year. If memory serves me right, that was the last present I got from him. My parents probably figured it was for the best.

The Christmas tree of 2012

And I would like to end this post with a warm welcome to Ryuu, who after a very long hiatus and a nasty case of the blogger's block, has recovered and returned to the blogosphere (http://razorbladeryuu.wordpress.com/) to entertain us. Happy blogging, Ryuu!

Urgh. The water in my bottle tastes strongly of dish washing liquid. I should probably get out of bed and get some fresh water.

*does the weekend dance*

Love Letters

Lately, in the mornings before going to work, I make the following resolutions and *try* to keep them.

~ Make small talk ~

~ Engage in conversations ~

Sometimes I manage to make a little conversation with the cab drivers I meet and during the earlier part of the day, I smile more and say good morning to the people I bump into, but as the day goes by, my usual self returns and I recede to my more stimulating inner world. It's such a bother to try to think of small talk topics for people you hardly know. Sometimes my mind is blank as a slate when I am forced to make conversations.

Being introverted has several downsides in an office environment. First of all, it shows and people keep reminding me that I am too quiet. Part of me knows it too and that I need to change that a little bit. It's hard to make new friends because small talk is hard to initiate and I lie in wait for tiny windows of opportunities to go make friends with seemingly interesting people. Quiet introverts can very easily be swept under the rug like dust bunnies and go unnoticed. Times like these, I am grateful to the few extroverted people who include me and make me feel welcome. Damn you, other introverts in the office. You guys are a very cold and un-engaging lot!!!

I found an interesting initiative. It's called More Love Letters. Each month they send an email with personal distress stories of about three people with first names only. Usually, people who are close to the distressed persons request More Love Letters to cheer their loved ones up and that's how they get picked as the ones to receive bundles of letters from anonymous strangers. None of their personal details like full names or home addresses are mentioned. What people like me who likes to write letters do is to write to these people (to just one person or all three) - something, anything that will cheer them up. It's all mailed to the organisers of the initiative who collect the letters and post the bundle to the distressed persons. I do not know if everyone likes reading letters or if it helps cheer them up from whatever they are passing through, but it has certainly engaged my interest. People in distress range from heart breaks, to cancer patients, to victims or abuse, to soldiers who fought in the war, to people passing rough patches in life, to those who have forgotten to laugh, to those who are lonely etc. Writing to random strangers anonymously feels good and daring to this blogger, who is not an adrenaline junkie.

Today, I finished my book on Last Chance to See. That was seriously an epic read mixed with funny and heart-wrenching realities of selected wildlife conservation stories around the world. I feel like I lost a dear friend who kept me company on my way to work all these days. Oh dear, what will I read in the bus tomorrow??

Go to sleep, Shu. It's past your bedtime. 

The Hobbit

In preparation for the movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in December this year, I just finished reading The Hobbit! I felt like I read a brand new story all over again (I had forgotten most of it!) and loved it even more than I did two years back.

The Smaug I pictured was more pink and less-evil looking!

The style of narration and the vivid descriptions of Tolkein are EPIC, for lack of a better deserving word in my limited vocabulary. And he didn't forget to add in a good dose of humour here and there for chuckles! For the whole book, I felt like a child very eager to keep on reading to see how the story unfolded. The voice in the book takes his time with the narration too, so that I was able to picture all the mountains, the rivers, Gollum, the dwarves, the elves, Gandalf, the eagles and of course Smaug the dragon in full colour while 'listening'. I suppose watching the Lord of the Rings movies helped with the imagination of scenes and characters. Fantasy elements aside, this heart-warming story shows so much courage in the face of odds, friendship among the main characters and even some darker sides of 'human' nature. I can't wait to see how the movie (or movies, rather) turns out! I am glad they decided to make more than one movie to try and cover all the details in this book, or justice will not be served in one rushed movie. The price to pay is having to wait till 2014 to see the third concluding movie.

December, I look forward to you!

Just one blog post ago, I was harping about practicing equality and tolerance towards differences so when I saw it, I couldn't resist the urge to pick on an article like this one! I suspect bad translation skills also played a part in addition to narrow minded views, bad research and poorly planned content behind this article.

Quote (in black)-

The Education Ministry had endorsed "guidelines" to help parents to identify gay and lesbian "symptoms" in their children so they can take early corrective measurements. 

Translate: The highest government authority that represents intelligence and knowledge has called upon parents with immediate urgency to identify any symptoms in their children relating to this horrifying disease of homosexuality so that together, they may avoid an epidermic of catastrophic proportions and possibly eradicate it like small pox.

The guidelines list four symptoms each of gays and lesbians:

Why stick to four, is it a magic number?

Symptoms of gays:
Have a muscular body and like to show their body by wearing V-neck (the key letter here is "V" shaped, no, not "U" shaped or "W" shaped) and sleeveless clothes; Prefer tight and light-coloured clothes (that is such an over-sized generalisation, but that's okay, light-coloured clothes still make up 50% of all clothes, compared to dark-coloured clothes); Attracted to men (notice how this is symptom number 3); and Like to bring big handbags, similar to those used by women, when hanging out. (if he is carrying a sporty bag when hanging out, then relax, he's definitely not gay) 

Symptoms of lesbians:
Attracted to women; Besides their female companions, they will distance themselves from other women (wow, these lesbians are so anti-social); Like to hang out (who doesn't luurve to hang out?), have meals (Oh, they like food too!) and sleep in the company of women (wait, isn't that duplicating symptom 1?); and Have no affection for men (no affection even for male friends, male teachers, fathers or brothers? So depressing. Tsk Tsk)

"Once the children have these symptoms, immediate attention should be given," the guidelines warn.

Translate: RUN. TO THE NEAREST MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUTION/ POLICE STATION/ EXORCIST. GET THEM CURED AND PLEASE HURRY. IT MIGHT BE CONTAGIOUS.

-Unquote

Give me a freaking break, Education Ministry of Malaysia.

The aftermath of "Pride and Prejudice"

When I typed my last post, I was halfway through my latest read, Pride and Prejudice. And that was BEFORE reading Mr Darcy's letter. Since then, I spent 7 hours reading the rest of the book till the end (separated only by a night's sleep). I'm mostly lost for words to describe what an epic read that was for me (it also stands to remind me how little I have ventured to read). After taking readers through much drama and happy coincidences, things conclude satisfactorily. I was grinning after reading the last page.

Now, I want to watch the movie. The last time I watched it many years back, I wasn't impressed.

The first edition cover from the year 1813!

Elizabeth's fearless character and opinions, Mr Darcy's transformation after falling in love with Elizabeth and turning out to be quite the honorable and admirable gentleman, Mr Bingley and Jane's romance surviving the test of time and many obstacles and the friendship Elizabeth and Jane share were endearing. Even Elizabeth's and Mr Darcy's romance, being a gradual, pained and controlled one (as opposed to "out of control-tongues down the throats-tearing off clothes-and flying into bed on the second day" types) was a refreshing change, giving the reader time to observe and savour the build up. The story was also made colourful by characters with unpleasant personalities such as Mr Collins, Mrs Bennet, Caroline Bingley and Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mr Collins remained an oblivious brag and a kiss-ass throughout. Mrs Bennet is a social disaster and an embarrassment to all women-kind (perhaps even deserving some forgiveness for being a typical mother). Caroline Bingley's flattery and manipulations might have worked on most men, but not on Mr Darcy's intelligent and observant character. Another unforgettable scene is Elizabeth's bold exchange of words with Lady Catherine when she comes over to dissuade her from being engaged to Mr Darcy (YOU GO GIRL!).

Though the various characters are set in their ways, at times, I felt moments of connection with more than one character for the ways they thought or acted. Somewhat like having a mirror shoved in my face. What better way to be made aware of one's own personality flaws?!

I finally purchased my first loaf of chocolate bread since my relocation to Singapore - an ingenious creation. It appears the loaf has experienced negative growth vertically from what I last remember. Oh well, in the absence of real chocolate cake, this is the best alternative to random cravings.

My precioussss *drool*

I stumbled upon an old favourite song of mine by MIKA. With pianos, tap dancing tunes, rock guitars, amazing props, drums, a singer who's got an amazing vocal range, a bit of theatrical performance, and everyone enjoying themselves in the video - all squeezed into just a little over 3 minutes - it's definitely a catchy hit! (Is that dust on "Grace Kelly's" dress?!)

The Venus Transit

A period of unemployment has its rare perks.

6th June 2012 was an exciting day for all astronomy enthusiasts, Shu included! Planet Venus transited between the Sun and the Earth and Singapore was fortunate enough to fall within the areas of visibility for this rare astronomical event. Since the next Venus Transit happens in the year 2117 and I'll be long gone from the face of the Earth by then, I decided to make the most of this day.

The transit across the face of Sun lasted nearly 7 hours, from around 6 am to 1 pm. I was up by 5:20 am (I had to slap myself awake a few times and remind myself that I won't live to see the next one and that's when I stopped snoozing the alarm) and as a result of bad route planning and unaware that certain buses were not in service at that time of the morning, I took an extra 1.5 hours to get to the National University of Singapore football field. The skies were too cloudy and the Sun was not yet up over the high rise buildings, so we had to wait.

After absorbing the nostalgic sights of the campus, loitering around the all-too-familiar Science Faculty and buying some unsatisfactory breakfast, I found a nice spot on the stands to sit and read my new favourite book, Pride and Prejudice. It took me 27 years to finally start reading the book. It was on top of the list of highly recommended classics during my school years, but I wasn't the biggest fan of literature then and there was little motive for reading these when it was mostly for 'exam purposes'. Anyhow, I am glad I picked it up - admittedly, I was only attracted to it by the highly discounted price. My own feelings have been rising and falling quite strongly as the story is unraveling. So far, I have already called Mr Darcy a dick jerk and wanted to shove a toilet brush down Mr Collin's throat and felt very angry about the way Mr Collins tried to force a proposal on Elizabeth (relax, Shu). Though the story is set in 19th century England and the language is at times difficult for me to grasp, the characters are very relatable and the descriptions of their interactions by the author seem to elevate the reader to an extra dimension for observing and understanding human nature in general. It's quite hard to explain. Maybe it's a good thing I picked it up late - I understand and relate with the story better now than I would have when I was a teenager.

The Sun was not yet up and it was already nearing 9 am.

Soon, a plain looking man in jeans and a T-shirt came up to the stands, where I was seated with three others and calls us "Come, come, you must attend the lecture that is starting in a bit!!". I looked up and immediately recognised him as Dr Phil Chan! He was my lecturer for a module I took over 5 years ago called "Einstein's Universe and Quantum Weirdness". As he was walking back to the lecture theatre, I raaaaan up to him and made small talk (very un-Shu-like, but I did!) and told him I was one of his students long ago and in all that excitement I forgot to mention how much I enjoyed his module but I think he figured. He didn't have the slightest air of pride or arrogance about him, just like I remembered him. It was one of a handful of modules that I thoroughly enjoyed and studied very proactively during my undergraduate years. And this guy was a remarkable teacher, he hardly stood still during lectures. His face usually lit up and his arms waved around with much animation when he spoke of certain topics in astrophysics. He went off syllabus most of the time to show us fascinating things, he liked combining bits of philosophy into the lecture slides in a very thought provoking manner, he went through great pains to combine theory with practicals for a large class of students and his assessments were actually enjoyable. I was smitten by this guy's passion and knowledge of the subject back then, so being reminded of it once again was certainly a highlight on this day.

My hopes of seeing the spectacle dwindled as the sky was too cloudy. I sat through lectures by two famous visiting physicists, Prof Roy Kerr and Prof Richard Strom. The former spoke mainly of his work on black hole theories and the latter gave an entertaining account of the expeditions undertaken by astronomers of the early centuries to study the previous transits of Venus, risking their lives even to add to the growing knowledge of astrophysics at the time.

Post-lectures, the day went well. The sky cleared, the sun was up and several telescopes were set up for the viewing pleasure of the public and my mission for the day was eventually accomplished. 

Set up of telescopes for the public

Venus, appears as a tiny round speck against the background of the Sun, as seen through one of the smaller telescopes

Realising how modern science is rapidly expanding the map of the Universe as we know it, unfolding newer mysteries faster than resolving the older ones, I can't help but wonder how insignificant we on Earth are and how very unlikely it is that we are alone in this Universe. 

We want, therefore we get

I'm reading a book by Richard Dawkins called "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution". Progress has been very slow but it is an insightful book, from what I've managed to read so far, especially for those with scientific curiosity and love for Biology.

Humans are driven by the inherent quality to manipulate their surroundings for selfish gains. Otherwise, how might one explain these?

Bulldogs - these pedigree dogs are carefully bred to maintain their characteristic traits. However, their physique also makes them prone to various health complications, such as breathing difficulties, pug dog encephalitis, abnormal verterbral growth, weakened immune system, painful births - some of which have to be "resolved" by euthanasia.

Belgian Blue cattle - a defect in it's genome that codes for accelerated muscle growth is maintained by selective breeding, resulting in highly marketable beef. Downsides (to the cow) include painful births (which have to be avoided by caesarian births) and, of course, existing solely for the purpose of meat.

In the grand scheme of things, where "progress" is measured in instant gratification and size of benefits, what purpose does morality serve?