Amazing people

I've been a fan of running man since I started watching it last year. Since then, I've not only watched every single episode, but also went as far as to watch family outing, the variety show that preceded running man.

I've got to say these Korean artistes are amazing people. Imagine their recording schedules when more than 10 hours of recording is consolidated into less than 2 hours of an amazing show weekly. All we see on the show are nothing but a fraction of the hard work by the entire team.

I can't imagine what life will be like now without watching such shows. I'd probably not have such a deep appreciation of the effort and hard work put in by artistes,  especially those who bring so much fun and laughter to everyone around the world.

I can't say how thankful I am to the team who produced running man. You guys are amazing.

P.s. there are many other amazing people out there such as doctors and firemen who deserve our appreciaion too. Here's a general thank you to all those people. :)

Fire Drill

There was a fire drill at work today. It was interesting how everyone took their time to walk down the stairs slowly, and make their way to the assembly area. More so when you see how everyone is equipped.

I bet all the pedestrians are wondering what the hell is going on with this huge bunch of people crowding around, especially people with all kinds of umbrellas, fans and stuff like that. Picture that; a fire occurs, and people grab umbrellas and fans.

It seemed long ago when I last had a fire drill. My last fire drill was probably in secondary school. I recall that I used to imagine what would happen if we had a fire drill in JC. I mean, with 7 levels of classrooms people would probably just take the lift right? Or possibly some of us may just go home or something.

Now when the whole building of 24 levels evacuate, it just seems especially awkward to have a fire drill. I mean, it is a must to familiarise everyone with the procedure and all, but picture 2,000 people crossing a small road (with a zebra crossing). The cars waiting to turn will never make it out for half an hour! (I think that is what happened, except that I didn't wait to see if someone eventually stopped the crossing crowd)

Familiarising everyone with the procedure is good, but no one ever knows what will happen in a real situation. Then again, hopefully we'll never need to find out.

Remembrance

Received word today that my great-grandmother passed away. Though I only met her a total of less than 10 times (she lived in Taiwan), it still deeply saddens me to know that she has passed on.

I still recall in 2008, when my family was leaving Taiwan after a 2-week visit, great-grandma was waving goodbye to us while wiping her tears. I had to look away to hold my tears in. Although we were living so far away from her, she cared so much for us. How I wish I could be there for her one last time..

In remembrance of her hometown, here's a beautiful piece about the deity guardian of Kinmen.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/q3eKIwX8i_I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

You will be dearly missed, great-grandma.

No appropriate title

Went to the supermarket with my family yesterday, and noted that the supermarket has changed its trolleys to accept new $1 coins or old 50c coins. I've always thought that there won't be any changes to the trolleys, since the new 50c coins are roughly the same size as the old $1 coins.

On a side note, the coin deposit policies in the banks have always dettered me from depositing coins to the banks. I doubt this applies to me alone. I mean, who will want to deposit coins when the bank charges a percentage out of the coins you deposit? What's more ridiculous is that they will charge for exchanging notes to coins too! In a situation like this, the government will have to keep producing coins to meet the demand. It's a little wasteful if I put it mildly.

On another side note, the weather is getting inceeasingly warmer. How I wish that Singapore has a cool weather. That's really my only complaint of the climate in Singapore. I'd love to have cool weather here, so that we don't have to spend so much money on air conditioning. Instead, we'd probably spend more on clothes. Girls would like that huh?

Mid-autumn

Long ago, in the southern province of China.. Ok who am I kidding. My history knowledge is very much limited to stories and folklore. Maybe some limited knowledge of modern history, but definitely inadequate.

I digressed. It's mid-autumn! I've not had mooncakes for some time now. I used to love mooncakes as kids (I actually still do) but I just somehow am too lazy to actually find some good mooncakes and eat them. Then again, mooncakes nowadays are so expensive, it isn't really worth buying.

It was said that the Chinese once used mooncakes to start a revolution during the late Yuan dynasty. Imagine if mooncakes cost as much then. I think my imagination has run wild. Good night then.

Of holidays, seasons and sorts

Went on a short holiday to Genting over the weekend. How I love the cool weather over there. I've always loved the cold weather. Everytime you're cold, you'll appreciate the warmth of your family nearby, the warmth of fire, the warmth of the delicious food..

Everytime I travel, I seem to have a lot of afterthoughts. Perhaps because my mind is free to rest, and it has time to form all these random thoughts. This time, I once again felt amazed by how much the world has to offer, and how little one actually needs to live a happy life.

When I was in Genting, all I needed was food, clothes and a room to sleep in. In fact, isn't that really all we need in life?

Anyway, it's 2 days to mid-autumn. Once again, I marvel at the Chinese who came up with the lunar calendar. I cannot imagine how much thought and wisdom went into it. We have always learnt of the great astronomists who studied astronomy in ancient Europe, and why the calendar has 365 days. But how many people actually know how the lunar calendar came about? How many records are there of the wise men who studied the moon, and came up with a calendar that is so complex that it always (literally) coincides with the seasons, and matches the English calendar every 19 years?

I for one, have never come across such records. Maybe I should go and find some.

Deteriorating Mind?

It seemed that not too long ago, I could just easily come up with 4,000/5,000 word essays without much thought within a couple of days, and the essay could flow. Yet now when I have to produce a report for work, it takes forever for me to come up with a single paragraph.

Things which I could do with much ease in the past (preparing powerpoint slides) now require much more effort, and conscious thought. Am I reading too much into what I do now that it is part of my work? Or am I simply just not as good as before?

Perhaps my mind has deteriorated much in the past year due to the lack of sleep.

Life and sorts

A couple of days back, some staff at my work place were awarded long service awards. Seeing them get long service awards of having served 25 years, when I'm just about to turn 25 years old sets me wondering what I will be doing 25 years from now. Will I still be in the same job?

During the weekend, while relocating grandfather's remains from his tomb to his final resting place, I saw how in the end we all end up the same: just quietly spending the rest of eternity in a tomb, or an urn. And with Nick Vuijicic's motivational talk about life, everything just seemed to kept signaling to me that I need to fight for what I want in life. Yet still, I'm uncertain of myself, unwilling to take the first step.

A lovely song that I heard on my way to work this morning:

The Sad Truth

While everyone seems increasingly concerned about work-life balance, many of the professionals still work more than 10 hours a day. I chanced across this recent article:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/my-socalled-life-asan-internat-merrill-lynch-8782735.html

It is not the first time articles like this are written. It definitely will not be the last. When the world is competitive, and time is money, workers will always suffer. Especially workers at the bottom of the food chain.

Not too long ago, I was also working like there was no other thing in the world to do. Though I knew there were so many things to do in life, there was always work, and my false sense of responsibility made me continuously return to work on weekends.

Fortunately, I made up my mind to discontinue the life that consisted only of work. Hopefully one day everyone will make up their minds and discontinue the vicious cycle of working extra long hours. Then again, this day will probably never happen any time soon.

Brilliant song

Out of the blue, I just felt like listening to this song. I've always felt that the lyrics of the song didn't make much sense. Yet when I look at him singing the song, everything made sense. You don't really care about the lyrics when you're trying to express yourself, and your mind is burdened with so much emotion. Well, nothing else matters as long as you get to express what you want to express. And this is what I want to express.

After note: just realized that this post which was supposed to be posted last week was somehow saved as a draft and not posted.

Music of the night

Went to watch the Phantom of the Opera yesterday, and couldn't help marveling at the how powerful music can be. It's not my first time marveling at the powers of music, and definitely won't be my last. But I think it's my first time putting it down in words.

Music - something which is so extraordinary, nothing else can be compared to it. It is a perfect combination of science and emotions, and can be presented through so many different mediums. Be it your voice, a windpipe instrument, a string instrument, or a percussion instrument, music can be transmitted through various mediums.

In fact music is a science, an art, and a language on its own. There is no such thing as a language barrier in music. Even if a song is in a foreign language, anyone can still enjoy the melody and the rhythm. The emotions that are transferred through the musician's expression of the song are so real. It can reach out to any person, whether a layman or a professional. It is just so beautiful that something like this exists in this world.

Watching the Phantom yesterday, I couldn't help marveling at the genius of the composer. Here's a glimpse of his genius (and the brilliance of the musicians performing it as well):



An alternative version here:
http://youtu.be/v8Zci-3ZvYg