As it draws very very close to the EOHs (Ironic that we dread the EOHs like we dread the EOYs. >_>) , I would like to take some time and reflect on the time I have spent during the June Hols.
Stepmania: I somehow doubt a single person reading this blog SERIOUSLY actually wants to read up on the improvements I've made in regards to Stepmania. XD
Guilty Gear: Class outing sure has taught me some stuff on the usage of Ky and Venom. My Ky's definitely harder to fight now, my Venom? Depends. =) Also done a few more missions like Axl vs. Gold Kliff, Faust vs. Gold EX Dizzy. >_> SZ's done 20 more than me despite only having the game for 1 month >_>
Philosophy, life and youth: Managed to read up on two books altogether on this. Skimmed through the 2nd one though. The first book (Strictly on philosophy) has somewhat opened up my eyes a bit. The 2nd book? I can't say it did much.
Spiritual life: Somewhat improved. It's... hard to talk about this.
Homework: Done what I needed to do except for CRP/ERP because I never do those anyway >_>
SJAB: Learnt new commands, think that we're going to die for SJAB day still though. Sec 1s are horrendous and the Sec 2s aren't too much better. >_<
Let's take a look at the events going on now.
SJAB June Camp: Pretty fun. Shows a side of SJAB we don't usually see. Enjoyed it overall. A pity they don't intergrate it with the SJAB day practise though. Gives it more discipline yet has a balance of fun and discipline.
Class Outing: Very fun and enjoyable overall. Thanks everyone who went. Gives me faith in 1/2 of my class. =)
SJAB Day training: Ooh, that was stressful. But I think somehow we'll make it. We HAVE to make it, to be exact. >_<
Let's see whether other daily blog-readers who have their own blogs/LJs will do the same as me. =)
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
Life, the Universe, and St. Johns.
"Outdrill. Outdrink. Outrun. Survivor, SJAB." --> JX (Kudos to him for coming up with that)
Bleah. SJAB Day's coming up. And as calculations go, we train 1 hour for each minute of the parade. Originally anyway. Now it's 44 minutes for each minute of the parade. Yeouch.
Anyway. SJAB is as usual quite stressful, but nothing we can't take (Except for the gruelling 1-3pm part of it). Interesting pre-lunch SJAB passes quite quickly. And it's not very hot either. That said, post-lunch SJAB is very VERY slow. Must be the heat and the standing around doing nothing or singing Mahjula Singapura. *sigh*
KW and I tentatively will be directly in front of the S2GEP, *Hinthint* So don't laugh at us >_>
That said, that might not happen >_>
Oh, and SJAB Day is going to be really bad. The Sec 1s can't march at all. The Sec 2s do better but screw up too. *sigh* 1/2 the S1s are jokers =\
Bleah. SJAB Day's coming up. And as calculations go, we train 1 hour for each minute of the parade. Originally anyway. Now it's 44 minutes for each minute of the parade. Yeouch.
Anyway. SJAB is as usual quite stressful, but nothing we can't take (Except for the gruelling 1-3pm part of it). Interesting pre-lunch SJAB passes quite quickly. And it's not very hot either. That said, post-lunch SJAB is very VERY slow. Must be the heat and the standing around doing nothing or singing Mahjula Singapura. *sigh*
KW and I tentatively will be directly in front of the S2GEP, *Hinthint* So don't laugh at us >_>
That said, that might not happen >_>
Oh, and SJAB Day is going to be really bad. The Sec 1s can't march at all. The Sec 2s do better but screw up too. *sigh* 1/2 the S1s are jokers =\
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Quizzes
(Copying Michael here)
THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Herrick
2. Herr
3. Demelong
THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. Jokerus2001
2. Demel
3. Buz (Ah, nostalgia)
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Lack of abnormalities
2. Height
3. Physical strength (I can get a Gold at NAPHA if not for my constant vomitting in 2.4 o_O Well, then again, so can many of the S'porean readers here)
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Pimples >_>
2. Hair (Grows too fast, too hard to comb, and gets into a bad hair day far too often)
3. A certain part of my toe and my finger that has skin growing into a callus >_>
THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Chinese
2. Cantonese
3. Singaporean
THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. Girls.
2. Angsty people. (Ok, I hate them, not get scared of them, but I suppose it's more of a '3 things that I don't like' kinda thing)
3. Dogs.
THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. Internet life (Blog-surfing, webcomic reading, MSNing)
2. Music
3. Time for pondering
THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. Jammies
2. Jammies
3. Jammies (>_> Hey, it's night here)
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. Nami Tamaki
2. T.M. Revolution
3. Megumi Hayashibara (Only 3 songs I know from her, though)
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS:
1. Destiny - Nami Tamaki
2. Zips - T.M. Revolution
3. Northern Lights - Megumi Hayashibara
THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. Thought
2. Reason
3. Love
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE -PREFERRED- SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Philosophical thought
2. Feminity
3. Ability to game >_>
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Writing/Blogging/Thought
2. Stepmania
3. Guilty Gear
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Challenge my bro at monopoly and beat him
2. Finish my Hist ASAP
3. Arcadeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee................
THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING/YOU’VE CONSIDERED:
1. Philosopher (Read post below for the irony of this)
2. Writer
3. Professional gamer
THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Japan
2. Roychester, New York
3. Herrick, Illinois (Lol)
REAL 3. Australia
THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE:
1. Demel
2. Riezz
3. Mera
(It's true! I like them! >_>)
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Have a family
2. Finally have a true spiritual relationship.
3. Understand a deeper level of philosophy.
THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:
1. Shy.
2. Obsessive over anime.
3. Liking literature
THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY:
1. The arcade is my friend.
2. Very competitive.
3. Swordfighting.
THREE CELEB CRUSHES:
Please be serious >_>
THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Herrick
2. Herr
3. Demelong
THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. Jokerus2001
2. Demel
3. Buz (Ah, nostalgia)
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Lack of abnormalities
2. Height
3. Physical strength (I can get a Gold at NAPHA if not for my constant vomitting in 2.4 o_O Well, then again, so can many of the S'porean readers here)
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Pimples >_>
2. Hair (Grows too fast, too hard to comb, and gets into a bad hair day far too often)
3. A certain part of my toe and my finger that has skin growing into a callus >_>
THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Chinese
2. Cantonese
3. Singaporean
THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. Girls.
2. Angsty people. (Ok, I hate them, not get scared of them, but I suppose it's more of a '3 things that I don't like' kinda thing)
3. Dogs.
THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. Internet life (Blog-surfing, webcomic reading, MSNing)
2. Music
3. Time for pondering
THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. Jammies
2. Jammies
3. Jammies (>_> Hey, it's night here)
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. Nami Tamaki
2. T.M. Revolution
3. Megumi Hayashibara (Only 3 songs I know from her, though)
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS:
1. Destiny - Nami Tamaki
2. Zips - T.M. Revolution
3. Northern Lights - Megumi Hayashibara
THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. Thought
2. Reason
3. Love
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE -PREFERRED- SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Philosophical thought
2. Feminity
3. Ability to game >_>
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Writing/Blogging/Thought
2. Stepmania
3. Guilty Gear
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Challenge my bro at monopoly and beat him
2. Finish my Hist ASAP
3. Arcadeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee................
THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING/YOU’VE CONSIDERED:
1. Philosopher (Read post below for the irony of this)
2. Writer
3. Professional gamer
THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Japan
2. Roychester, New York
3. Herrick, Illinois (Lol)
REAL 3. Australia
THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE:
1. Demel
2. Riezz
3. Mera
(It's true! I like them! >_>)
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Have a family
2. Finally have a true spiritual relationship.
3. Understand a deeper level of philosophy.
THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:
1. Shy.
2. Obsessive over anime.
3. Liking literature
THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY:
1. The arcade is my friend.
2. Very competitive.
3. Swordfighting.
THREE CELEB CRUSHES:
Please be serious >_>
Philosophy
These days I've been thinking a bit. Since I've been trying to do everything except homework (And yet I still managed to do my Math, 1/2 my Lsc and read 1 CRP Book. That said, There's Hist *Dreading because of the darn WWI context*, 1 Chinese Book *Dread*, and 1/2 my Lsc *Not dreading since I could do 1/2 of it*. Of course, there's Lit too but I can pretend I don't know about it >_> and what's more it's justifiable >_>), I've read up on one philosophy book . It's a book that tries to show how various (Read: 30) philosophers' ideas could be placed in modern life.
That said, my question is that in this dying society, seriously, who cares about philosophy? The death of philosophy is near. Why? Because of its failure to integrate into human society. Of course, if it could, the world would be a better place, there would be 90% less angst in the world and blogs would actually become literature. Bah, fat hope, no one cares about how to stop, smell the plants, realize that the meaning of life isn't something to ponder about but to search for, understand the true meaning of 42, etc.
The complete irony of the situation is that there are 10,000 books on philosophy being published each year as a thesis from universities, and yet throughout each decade 99.9999% of them are either replicas of past philosophers or ineffective in today's society. The 0.0001% never get publicized enough to make it internationally to enlighten the world. IOW, only one book worth reading comes out every 10 years. That's immense assumption and speculation on my part, but hey, famous philosophers never came around annually, right?
Now back to the world. In a world that just refuses to accept philosophy as a way of life, it is just as difficult to see people who also accept religion as a way of life. But in reality accepting philosophy as a way of life is harder than accepting religion as a way of life because for religion you know it's worth it. Philosophy? Who cares now? Who knows here the true meaning of "God is dead" apart from those who actually bother to read on Nietzsche? Even in ACSI where they teach PoD they can get it wrong! Why is it that figarutiveness never applies to philosophy now? Humans have begun to require speed in every single thing. IM, SMS, International Calling, Broadband, they need a quick way through everything, even for answers. No longer can religion, science nor philosophy answer these people's questions anymore. They have become engulfed in the trend of speed, and can no longer stop to think and ponder and listen anymore. Such becomes the demise of philosophy: The failure to understand beyond the surface level of speech.
I suppose yes, an ironic society appears at this point in the views of philosophy, but once eliminated from the world the society is perfectly normal, as there is nothing to see irony in. If only people of the world now see that the quickest way isn't always the best, then perhaps the world could turn for the better. Till then, my hope in the world fades slowly.
Happiness? A way of life? Not anymore, Aristotle. Make way for the Gen-Y.
That said, my question is that in this dying society, seriously, who cares about philosophy? The death of philosophy is near. Why? Because of its failure to integrate into human society. Of course, if it could, the world would be a better place, there would be 90% less angst in the world and blogs would actually become literature. Bah, fat hope, no one cares about how to stop, smell the plants, realize that the meaning of life isn't something to ponder about but to search for, understand the true meaning of 42, etc.
The complete irony of the situation is that there are 10,000 books on philosophy being published each year as a thesis from universities, and yet throughout each decade 99.9999% of them are either replicas of past philosophers or ineffective in today's society. The 0.0001% never get publicized enough to make it internationally to enlighten the world. IOW, only one book worth reading comes out every 10 years. That's immense assumption and speculation on my part, but hey, famous philosophers never came around annually, right?
Now back to the world. In a world that just refuses to accept philosophy as a way of life, it is just as difficult to see people who also accept religion as a way of life. But in reality accepting philosophy as a way of life is harder than accepting religion as a way of life because for religion you know it's worth it. Philosophy? Who cares now? Who knows here the true meaning of "God is dead" apart from those who actually bother to read on Nietzsche? Even in ACSI where they teach PoD they can get it wrong! Why is it that figarutiveness never applies to philosophy now? Humans have begun to require speed in every single thing. IM, SMS, International Calling, Broadband, they need a quick way through everything, even for answers. No longer can religion, science nor philosophy answer these people's questions anymore. They have become engulfed in the trend of speed, and can no longer stop to think and ponder and listen anymore. Such becomes the demise of philosophy: The failure to understand beyond the surface level of speech.
I suppose yes, an ironic society appears at this point in the views of philosophy, but once eliminated from the world the society is perfectly normal, as there is nothing to see irony in. If only people of the world now see that the quickest way isn't always the best, then perhaps the world could turn for the better. Till then, my hope in the world fades slowly.
Happiness? A way of life? Not anymore, Aristotle. Make way for the Gen-Y.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Another random piece of writing
San Francisco
Fisherman’s Wharf; the place I was at, the next location for sightseeing. San Francisco was indeed much different from Singapore, and I ended up having to wear a jacket just to keep myself from suffering hypothermia. The wind was brisk but freezing, and came frequently. I could vaguely remember what a particular souvenir magnet I had bought said: “The coldest winter I ever had was a summer in San Francisco.” I reminded myself to add on more lip balm next time I went sightseeing in America. I slowly continued down my path past Pier 39, looking around and window-shopping.
The aroma of clam chowder and fresh seafood was the toughest temptation to resist, but I knew the hole in my pocket could not afford to grow any bigger. What a pity, the hotel was much too far away and it was absurd to take a cable car back. Their queues were as long as dragons one saw during Chinese New Year. Also, if I bought anything with the three dollars I had left I’d have to walk home (Three dollars was exactly the fare for the cable car which I would eventually have to take back). I continued to walk down the piers.
Just around Pier 35, I stopped after I glanced at something that caught my eye. Just across the road, an old man was sitting on a bench, shredding sourdough into small pieces and scattering them on the floor for the pigeons to eat. He seemed somewhat frail, and in his late seventies. Next to him I could see a cup and a cardboard sign, traditional signs of homeless folk.
Something suddenly crossed my mind then. Everyone there knew he was homeless, so why wasn’t there a single soul who was kind enough to give him a dollar, or even a quarter or dime? Yet I could not bring myself to take out my wallet and walk over to give him a small donation. Eventually the guilt overtook me. I knew that I didn’t have any money to spare on him, but at least I could provide him with some company. I looked around to make sure there were no cars or chariots, and moved across the road.
When I edged closer to him, I suddenly realized how many pigeons there were. Despite its size, surely one piece of sourdough bread alone was not enough to please them all! I felt rather lost in his motives. But he continued to scatter bread as if he had no purpose in life apart than to give to others. The pigeons bowed down in front of him, to accept and receive the blessing the old man had for them. Despite finding a hard means to talk to him, I decided to just start the conversation anyway.
“Excuse me, mister.” He turned around to look at me. “What’re you doing?” How typical a start to a conversation.
“Me? I’m just feeding these young ‘uns here. They really like this bread ‘ere, yea?” He seemed sincere enough. At least he wasn’t going to kill the conversation by chasing me away or something.
“But look at them, there’s so many! You couldn’t possibly feed them all full with just one piece of sourdough bread, right?”
“Listen, kid. Lemme tell yea a story. These ‘ere pigeons never really were appreciated by ‘em tourists. No one feels for these poor lil’ things, yea? These birds ain’t got much spunk left in ‘em, so no ‘un cares. Except for people like me. I ain’t got much spunk left in me either, so I know. You gotta help anyone who needs help, even if just a little bit. Then that way they help you. These pigeons won’t help me no matter how much sourdough I give ‘em, but hey, at least I feel happy about it, right? You have ta keep happy especially when yer homeless and old like me, ya? Treasure yer happiness, does wonders for ya. Treasure people too, ‘cause life’s… what’s that word again? Oh, yeah, evanescent. So anyway-”
“Ok, thanks, I get the idea.” I proceeded to take three dollars out of my wallet and put it in the cup next to him. He was shocked for a while. Three dollars must’ve been a lot to him.
He got back to reality after a few seconds, and smiled at me. “Thanks for the donation, kid.”
“It’s not a donation. It’s a tip.” He stared for a while, before understanding what I meant. I smiled at him again, then turned around and started to walk back to the hotel.
-----------------------------------------------------
Whee, new prose. Comments again, please. *Yes, the conversation isn't too good. I must improve my conversational prose.* And once again, I'm not too happy with this, but what the hey. After one or two rewritings, I'm sure it'll be better.
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