Poems... X

FINITE by Sharon Esther Lampert

Days live and die.
Suns rise and set.
Flowers bloom and wither.
Fruits ripen and spoil.
Ice cream freezes and melts.
Candles shed light and darken.
Energies are generated and depleted.
Monies are made and spent.
Time is used and squandered.
Love burns eternal and passions wane.
Lives are breathed and become breathless.

--------------------------------------------
Things by Lisel Mueller

What happened is, we grew lonely
living among the things,
so we gave the clock a face,
the chair a back,
the table four stout legs
which will never suffer fatigue.

We fitted our shoes with tongues
as smooth as our own
and hung tongues inside bells
so we could listen
to their emotional language,

and because we loved graceful profiles
the pitcher received a lip,
the bottle a long, slender neck.

Even what was beyond us
was recast in our image;
we gave the country a heart,
the storm an eye,
the cave a mouth
so we could pass into safety.

Silly little facts.. III

Now some interesting little trivia about animals...

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
A snail can sleep for three years.
Chimps in the wild live about 40 years and many in captivity live over 50 years.
Sharks are immune to cancer.
Reptiles do not perspire, and do not have any oil glands.
There are no ants in Iceland, Antarctica and Greenland.
A Blue Whale's tongue is about the size and weight of a full grown African elephant, and its heart is compared to the size of a Volkswagon beetle.
Jellyfish have been in the Earth's oceans for over 650 million years, they were here before the dinosaurs!
A cockroach can live for 9 days without its head.
Most giraffes are bisexual.
Bulls are colorblind, it is the motion of the cape which angers them.
Butterflies breathe through their bodies because they don't have lungs.
An elephant's trunk contains more than 100,00 muscles.
Hummingbirds can fly short distances upside down.
Fish sleep.

Skipped class.. and went sightseeing..

Yes.. I skipped classes and went to Kyoto for the autumn leaves the past 3 days.. Just had to do it since I am not sure if I would still be in Japan the next autumn..

Will be going to Takao-san tomorrow.. so need to rest now.. :p

Shall post the photos that I have taken in the next few days.. Stay tuned!! :)

Poems... IX

Confession by Louise Gluck

To say I'm without fear--
It wouldn't be true.
I'm afraid of sickness, humiliation.
Like anyone, I have my dreams.
But I've learned to hide them,
To protect myself
From fulfillment: all happiness
Attracts the Fates' anger.
They are sisters, savages--
In the end they have
No emotion but envy.

-------------------------------------------
Happiness by Amy Lowell

Happiness, to some, elation;
Is, to others, mere stagnation.
Days of passive somnolence,
At its wildest, indolence.
Hours of empty quietness,
No delight, and no distress.
Happiness to me is wine,
Effervescent, superfine.
Full of tang and fiery pleasure,
Far too hot to leave me leisure
For a single thought beyond it.
Drunk! Forgetful! This the bond: it
Means to give one's soul to gain
Life's quintessence. Even pain
Pricks to livelier living, then
Wakes the nerves to laugh again,
Rapture's self is three parts sorrow.
Although we must die to-morrow,
Losing every thought but this;
Torn, triumphant, drowned in bliss.
Happiness: We rarely feel it.
I would buy it, beg it, steal it,
Pay in coins of dripping blood
For this one transcendent good.

诗。。。（五)

走得太快的人
作者：李元胜

走得太快的人
有时会走到自己前面去
他的脸庞会模糊
速度给它掺进了
幻觉和未来的颜色

同样，走得太慢的人
有时会掉到自己身后
他不过是自己的阴影
有裂缝的过去
甚至，是自己一直
试图偷偷扔掉的垃圾

坐在树下的人
也不一定刚好是他自己
有时他坐在自己的左边
有时坐在自己的右边
幸好总的来说
他都坐在自己的附近

--------------------------------------------
再别康桥
作者：徐志摩

轻轻的我走了， 正如我轻轻的来；
我轻轻的招手， 作别西天的云彩。 那河畔的金柳，
是夕阳中的新娘； 波光里的艳影， 在我的心头荡漾。
软泥上的青荇，油油的在水底招摇； 在康桥的柔波里，
我甘心做一条水草！ 那榆荫下的一潭，
不是清泉，是天上虹 揉碎在浮藻间， 沉淀着彩虹似的梦。
寻梦？撑一支长蒿，向青草更青处漫溯，
满载一船星辉， 在星辉斑斓里放歌。 但我不能放歌，
悄悄是别离的笙箫； 夏虫也为我沉默， 沉默是今晚的康桥！
悄悄的我走了，正如我悄悄的来；
我挥一挥衣袖， 不带走一片云彩。

Silly little facts... II

Now some interesting little historical trivia...

Every queen named Jane has either been murdered, imprisoned, gone mad, died young, or been dethroned.
In the 1700's you could purchase insurance against going to hell, in London England.
Leonardo da Vinci spent twelve years painting the Mona Lisa's lips.
The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.
The Ice Man, found in the Italian Alps, is now thought to have been murdered. Scientists have just found an arrowhead stuck in the man's back. He is now known as the oldest murder victim on record.
During the 1600's, boys and girls in England wore dresses until they were about seven years old.
There are 47 czars buried within the Kremlin.
In 200 BC, when the Greek city of Sparta was at the height of its power there were 20 slaves for every citizen.
In the Great Fire of London in 1666 half of London was burnt down but only 6 people were injured.
It has been calculated that in the last 3,500 years, there have only been 230 years of peace throughout the civilized world.
At the height of inflation in Germany in the early 1920s, one U.S. dollar was equal to 4 quintillion German marks.
Louis XIX was King of France from breakfast until tea-time on 2 August 1830, at which point he abdicated.
In 887, Charles the Simple, the heir of Charles the Bald, acceded to the French throne by overthrowing Charles the Fat.
Early Greek calculations had determined that pi is approximately 3 1/7. In 190 the Chinese calculated pi to five places: 3.14159. Modern computers have calculated pi to more than 100 million decimal places.
The guillotine was last officially used as recently as September 10,1977 by the French.

黄昏以后 天亮之前

作词：姚谦 作曲：李伟菘 编曲：Terence Teo
歌手：刘若英

也许都这样，一直到老吧
黄昏以后人就更失落
喧哗霓虹灯，更让人心慌
看不清谁给谁的承诺

我选择在家里喝着酒
这应该是最安全的人生吧
想失去的也想起了曾经错过的
和可能永远得不到的

也许都这样一直到老吧
天亮以前人总很清醒
迟归的路人，霓虹灯减前
也有个怀抱等待投靠

为什么我总一个人
与寂寞作战和作伴
黄昏以后一直到天亮了以前
就算摆脱了睡着了还是会寂寞，

我选择在，家里喝着酒
这应该是最安全的人生吧
想失去的 也想了曾经错过的
和可能永远得不到的

一直都这样也许到老吧，
天亮以前人总很清醒
迟归的路人，霓虹熄减前
转身奔向，一个怀抱
嗯~我还是孤单的一个人

-----------------------------------------------
这首歌曲的确是我现在心情的写照。。
一个人生活并不觉得有什么可怜或是可悲的，而且也已经懂得享受孤单的感觉。。
还有一个月，倒数计时开始了。。。心中还是蓝蓝的。。

Poems... VIII

Tributes to all my dearest friends...

A Special Friend by Faye Diane Kilday

Everyone needs a special friend
To help them on their way,
To pick them up when they are down,
To guide them when they stray.

To share a chat and cup of tea,
To work out hard decisions,
To lend a hand with household
chores and help them achieve
their ambitions.

A special friend is someone sincere,
Through good times and bad they
will always be near.
And if you have a special friend,
Be sure to treat them kind,
For in today's hard times of strife
they're a rare and valuable find!

-------------------------------------------
Gratitude by Lucy Maud Montgomery

I thank thee, friend, for the beautiful thought
That in words well chosen thou gavest to me,
Deep in the life of my soul it has wrought
With its own rare essence to ever imbue me,
To gleam like a star over devious ways,
To bloom like a flower on the drearest days­
Better such gift from thee to me
Than gold of the hills or pearls of the sea.

For the luster of jewels and gold may depart,
And they have in them no life of the giver,
But this gracious gift from thy heart to my heart
Shall witness to me of thy love forever;
Yea, it shall always abide with me
As a part of my immortality;
For a beautiful thought is a thing divine,
So I thank thee, oh, friend, for this gift of thine.

-------------------------------------------
It's Good To Have a Friend Like You! by Faye Diane Kilday

It's good to have a friend like you,
Whose friendship is sincere and true!
Someone to lend a helping hand,
To care for me and understand.

When I am feeling sad and blue,
It's good to have a friend like you,
To help me sort my troubles out,
And clear my mind of fear and doubt.

It's good to have a friend like you,
Just thinking of the things we do,
Sharing secrets, cups of tea...
Life is good when you're with me!

Fun loving, kind, sincere and true,
These words describe a friend...
like you!

Intriguing insights from Internet

Found an interesting article on the Internet with regards to some very peculiar phenomenons in Japan as reported by a "gaijin" (外人 - foreigners)..

Roppongi in Tokyo
After reading this article, I couldn't help but nod my head... Don't get me wrong, I have only been to Roppongi once and that too was in the early afternoon.. Would have never gone there if not for the "cheap" movie ticket.. But whenever someone mentioned that place, all that came to my mind, and quite rightly so judging from this article, is a place not unlike Clarke Quay in Singapore, where all the foreigners would "congregate" and behave "egoistically" (or in my understanding, "being an a**h***").. Since I can't stand any kinds of a**h***s, b*****ds or b***hes, I think I shall stay as far away from that place as possible.. :P

Shiver me timbers!

Blow me down!! I thought there is no longer any place in this shrinking world for pirates to operate lawlessly... how wrong am I!!

First it was a Saudi-owned supertanker, Sirius Star, carrying more than $100 million worth of crude oil.. (Hijacked supertanker drops anchor) and now a cargo ship, Delight, carrying 25 people and 36,000 tons of wheat that was flying under a Hong Kong flag... :O :O

The worst being, no one has an answer to these menaces... although it seemed that the West is trying to something about it... Western Navies May Get Tougher on Piracy After Tanker Seizure

With all the globalizations and shrinking of traveling time, there are still some goods that you would need to transport them using the "old" ways.. which are slow and cumbersome.. Unless someone derives a way to move these bulky but necessary goods/produce, we still have to rely on ships to get them to the places that require them.. If these shipping routes are sooooooo important, why isn't there anything done to ensure that they are safe??? Everyone has plenty to lose if something bad happens to these shipments.. One would think that security resources would be allocated to maintain the safety of these shipments.. :x

So for now, on top of the financial crisis and impending fear of a global recession, we have another problem to worry about... Where is the "self-proclaimed world sheriff" now when there is a REAL menace out there???

In the news

The last few days, my university's name was mentioned very frequently in the news.. but all for the wrong reasons.. :$

Read the following news..
Waseda reveals 4 more arrests over cannabis

Other than this drug issue, there is another "problem" that I would attribute equal seriousness to, which is alcoholism.. All you need to do is to walk around Takadanobaba Station in the evening every Friday, you would see hordes and hordes of students, local and foreign, drinking themselves silly at the various eateries/restaurants/izagaya in the area.. And it is not uncommon to see students slumped outside some shops, either puking their guts out or were barely conscious.. To think that this is one of the "elite" universities in the country.... :x :O :x My goodness... I know that I am generalizing, and definitely there are students who are really studying and do take their education seriously.. but I think those are in the minority.. Even the majority of the foreign students here are from well-to-do families which, I can see clearly, don't really care about studying..

Contrasting that with the impression that I got when I visited Todai a couple of weeks ago.. :x the ambiance were totally different.. One can really feel the seriousness each students has.. This is where a couple of Nobel prize winners were born! I am willing to trade ONE Nobel prize winner with 3 or 4 Japanese PMs anytime!!!!

Anyway, the only thing I can do is to make the most out of my study here.. I shall make full use of the library (although the books are gravely old and new books are acutely lacking). Also I will see if I could capitalize on its "good reputation" to get a "good" job here.. ;)

Poems... VII

She Dried Her Tears by Emily Bronte

She dried her tears and they did smile
To see her cheeks' returning glow
How little dreaming all the while
That full heart throbbed to overflow

With that sweet look and lively tone
And bright eye shining all the day
They could not guess at midnight lone
How she would weep the time away

-------------------------------------------
Life by Charlotte Bronte

LIFE, believe, is not a dream
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall ?

Rapidly, merrily,
Life's sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily,
Enjoy them as they fly !

What though Death at times steps in
And calls our Best away ?
What though sorrow seems to win,
O'er hope, a heavy sway ?
Yet hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell;
Still buoyant are her golden wings,
Still strong to bear us well.
Manfully, fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously, victoriously,
Can courage quell despair !

What's happening.... VI

All isn't very well in the land of the rising sun... Nothing but grim news all around.. Really worried about my prospect of getting a "good" job here.. :(

Japan's political system in chaos as opposition boycotts parliament
On top of the seemingly "musical chair" way for the post of PM, the opposition is now flexing its muscle... But is it the right move at the right time??? And to think that the current PM hasn't even warm the chair yet..

Japan Airlines, All Nippon Strikes May Affect 11,400
Mmmm... Maybe they need the strong arm(-wrestling) methods of LKY.. See how profitable SIA is now after he helped resolve the last pilot salary disputes a couple of years ago..

Japan economy may not grow until 2010, Yosano says
Oh dear!! This is definitely not good news by the Economics Minister.. After announcing that Japan has slipped into its first recession in seven years (Japan faces year of recession), he made this comment... :( :(

Nikkei sags as exporters, banks battered by econ mood
Deary me... Everyone seemed to be affected by the strings of bad economy news that seemed never-ending..

Japan's Corporate Bankruptcies Rise to Five-Year High
My oh my... Many SMEs in Japan are facing very tough times ahead with slow order and high yen.... How many more would go before things would get better??? Not until after 2010, it seems..

Nomura Said to Plan Job Cuts Among Ex-Lehman Staff
Just when you thought that they were saved... :(

Goldman cuts 10 percent of bankers in Tokyo - sources
Even the staff of GS is not immune.. who is??

繁与烦

最近被一些繁杂的无聊闲事烦得要命。。

因为一些“闲”人没把他们份内的事情按时做好，连累到整个团队。。但他们一点悔意都没有，还理直气壮地拿家庭小孩来当借口。。唉，有这样子的“前辈”只能算我倒霉！！ :x :x

因为一些“老”人只会欺压下属充当免费劳工，包办会议的所有一切。。但他们却认为是理所当然，完全没有想要尽本分地来教育指导大伙的课业研究。。唉，我只能告诉自己是在做义工。。 :x :x

因为一些“贵”人每周都有很多翻译的兼差发布下来，期限紧凑。。但我看在“钱”的份上，也只好拼命应付。。做得还蛮心甘情愿的。。 :) :)

加上功课、报告、研究及复习日语，日子还算过的蛮忙碌的。。除此之外，这几天也感冒了，流了三天的鼻涕。。 :( 现在我的鼻子又红又脱皮的。。 虽然我喜欢秋天，但对于秋天的冷还未完全地适应。。接下来的几个月便是冬天了，肯定更会令我吃不消。。也许这些“红鼻子”的日子会不断地发生吧。。

诗。。。（四)

消 息
作者：徐志摩

雷雨暂时收敛了; 双龙似的双虹, 显现在雾霭中,
夭矫，鲜艳，生动，－－－
好兆！明天准是好天了。 什么！又是一阵打雷，
－－－ 在云外，在天外，
又是一片暗淡， 不见了鲜虹彩，－－－
希望，不曾站稳，又毁了。

-------------------------------------------
天 狗
作者：郭沫若

一

我是一条天狗呀！ 我把月来吞了， 我把日来吞了，
我把一切的星球来吞了，我把全宇宙来吞了。 我便是我了！

二

我是月底光， 我是日底光，我是一切星球底光，
我是X 光线底光，我是全宇宙底Energy底总量！

三

我飞奔， 我狂叫， 我燃烧。 我如烈火一样地燃烧！
我如大海一样地狂叫！ 我如电气一样地飞跑！我飞跑， 我飞跑， 我飞跑，
我剥我的皮， 我食我的肉，我嚼我的血， 我啮我的心肝，
我在我神经上飞跑，我在我脊髓上飞跑， 我在我脑筋上飞跑。

四

我便是我呀！ 我的我要爆了！

Silly little facts..

Found a couple of silly little "facts" in the Internet.. Not too sure how true they are.. Not take them too seriously.. maybe just as a conversation opener or casual chitchats.. ;)

As a starter, some silly/interesting "facts" about the human body.. :)

Our stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks; otherwise it will digest itself.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men
The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue
Our fingernails grow four times as fast as your toenails.
The brain makes up only 2 percent of an adult's weight but consumes 20 percent of the blood's oxygen supply.
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
Our body has to burn 22 to 25 calories to digest 100 grams of complex carbohydrates, but burns only two calories to digest the same amount of fat.
The average life of a taste bud is 10 days.
On average, a 4 year old child asks 437 questions a day.
A sneeze can exceed the speed of 100 mph.
Even mild dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.
The average person perspires 1.43 pints (0.67 liter) of moisture a day.
Once women reach the age of 30 they lose 1% of their bone mass every year. By the time a women is 50 she will have lost 20% of her bone mass.
Other than your brain cells, 50,000,000 of the cells in your body will have died and been replaced with others, in the time it took you to read this sentence.

Went drinking..

Last Wednesday, as a token of appreciation for our efforts in organizing and making the international conference a success, my professor gave us a treat in one of the restaurants nearby. :) It was all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink at a restaurant called, Mo-Mo Paradise, which served shabu-shabu, a kind of Japanese steamboat.. Unlike in Malaysia and Singapore where the buffet has no time limit, buffets (all-you-can-eat and/or all-you-can-drink) in Japan usually have a time limit of 90 to 120 minutes..

There were about 22 of us and we had a small room to ourselves.. The variety of ingredients available were, frankly, very limited.. two type of meat: beef and pork, about 4 types of vegetables, vermicelli and toufu. And the soup was nothing special, and was quite bland, actually... And the cost is 3,500yen (SGD$54 or MYR$130) per person!! Seriously, with that kind of price, you can have king prawns, scallops and maybe even abalone in Malaysia and maybe in Singapore too... :x :x

I sat with a couple of lab-mates from Taiwan.. we didn't really dare to chat much as my professor was seated at the same row of table as we were.. It was pretty awkward as no one wanted to sit near the professor.. In the end, two students did.. :P We also ordered our drinks.. I ordered a glass of black-sugar plum liquor on the rock.. I never liked Soju or Sake as they are too bitter for my liking...

After eating for a while, someone suggested to play drinking games. Thus we ordered some beer.. and so the game begin.. we started off with 4 players playing.. then another person joined in.. we didn't really pay much attention to our professor.. :P Very soon, we had finished up 4 bottles of beer (about 700ml per bottle)..We had to take a short toilet break because all the beer is making our bladders bloated.. We kept ordering drinks.. :P As the game progressed, everyone was making more noise and speaking louder as we became more high.. :P The other tables were still very quiet and subdued..

It was a simple game of NOT guessing the right number.. If the person before you calls out a number and the number matches, you had to finish up a glass of beer.. Soon, we began to swap seats in order not to get "punished".. In that 2 hours, between the five of us, we had drank around 8 bottles of beer, 2 glasses of plum liquor and 2 glasses of some liquor which I have no idea what they were.. I drank the 2nd or 3rd most glasses among the group.. I was still very conscious, just a little tipsy.. Haven't been so high for a long long while.. ;) :P

As I still have classes the very next day at 9am, I wouldn't allow myself to get any higher.. So in a way, I was happy that our 90 minutes were up.. :P

Can't imagine that I was drinking with a bunch of "youngsters" who are 9-10 years my junior.. :o :P Made me feel so old just thinking about it...

Poems... VI

Poems by Emily Dickinson

A word is dead

A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.

I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

-------------------------------------------
In this short Life

In this short Life
That only lasts an hour
How much -- how little -- is
Within our power

-------------------------------------------
Love -- is anterior to Life

Love -- is anterior to Life --
Posterior -- to Death --
Initial of Creation, and
The Exponent of Earth --

What's happening... V

Alas, some good encouraging news.. albeit the small number of them.. :)

Astronaut set to become Japan's first mum in space
It is about time a career woman with family is being chosen for such great responsibility and honor..

Burgers Thrive In The McDownturn
Just hope people's blood pressure won't sky-rocket a couple of months down the road with all those burgers..

YouTube To Launch Free Film, TV Show Service
Cool! Some free stuff in the Net!! :)

Taiwan detains former president in corruption investigation
Showing, at least for once, that the (once) powerful could not get away with blatant corruption..

Fruits..

This being autumn, where most crops are being harvested before the winter arrives, a lot of fruits are available in the supermarket.. Had been wanted to try some of the fruits here, but their high prices are preventing me from indulging myself..

However, I bought some pears from the supermarket a few days ago..

These pears, bigger than the size of my fists, were on sale.. it usually cost 150yen for ONE pear.. so in a way, this was a bargain.. :) They are really really very sweet and juicy..

Next was apples.. here the apples are bigger than the size of my fist.. sometimes even bigger than my 2 hands!! again, they are expensive.. about 160yen per piece.. again, I would only buy them if they are on sale, like this one which cost 98yen a piece.. :)


Looking forward to December when mandarin oranges are available.. they are a very good source of Vitamin C and fiber for me.. :) :)

Poems... V

I Live, I Die, I Burn, I Drown
by Delmira Agustini

I live, I die, I burn, I drown
I endure at once chill and cold
Life is at once too soft and too hard
I have sore troubles mingled with joys

Suddenly I laugh and at the same time cry
And in pleasure many a grief endure
My happiness wanes and yet it lasts unchanged
All at once I dry up and grow green

Thus I suffer love's inconstancies
And when I think the pain is most intense
Without thinking, it is gone again.

Then when I feel my joys certain
And my hour of greatest delight arrived
I find my pain beginning all over once again.

-------------------------------------------
The Best Thing In The World
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

What's the best thing in the world?
June-rose, by May-dew impearled;
Sweet south-wind, that means no rain;
Truth, not cruel to a friend;
Pleasure, not in haste to end;
Beauty, not self-decked and curled
Till its pride is over-plain;
Light, that never makes you wink;
Memory, that gives no pain;
Love, when, so, you're loved again.
What's the best thing in the world?
—Something out of it, I think.

Movie Outing..

After more than 19 months in Japan, I have yet to go to a movie.. until today.. :)

Went to watch John Wu's 赤壁 (Red Cliff) at Roppongi Hills today with a group of Malaysian friends.. The movie premiered a couple of months ago in other countries, but was only released in Japan last week..

Before the movie, we went to have lunch.. at an Indian restaurant.. the food was quite good, but as usual, rather expensive.. All of us ordered the same lunch set, Mixed Grill lunch set, which cost 1,735yen (around SGD$23)..


The decoration within the restaurant was very Indian.. :P


But according to one of my friends who is an interior designer, the material used for these decorations weren't very expensive.. thus it was just "look expensive but in fact quite cheap".. :P

After the lunch, we went walking around Roppongi Hills.. Frankly it reminds me of Wisma Atria in Singapore.. with all the boutiques and flag ships of expensive international brands.. even if you were to take away one or two zeros from their prices, those items are still very expensive.. :x :x

We bought the tickets for the 3.20pm show..

The show was 145 minutes long.. It was a fiction as many of the plot weren't historically accurate.. Although I must say the casting of Tony Leung and Takesi Kaneshiro was good, I can't say the same for the role of Zhao Yun and Liu Bei.. also some of the scenes are quite redundant in my opinion.. like the bed scene between Tony Leung and Chi-ling Lin.. not that I am complaining.. ;)

Even though Liu Bei has many capable generals and warriors fighting for him, I was never a fan of his.. I could understand why they would want to fight and die for him but I won't be one of them.. He would have been a good ruler in peace time, but in that time and situation, he is too benevolent and tenderhearted.. When it was time to make tough decisions, he always made the wrong ones.. If it weren't for his followers, he would have died many times over.. If it weren't for his namesake [his (distant) lineage to the Emperor at that time] and him being a Mr.Nice Guy, he wouldn't have been a force to reckon in those days..

Anyway, this movie is only the first part of a two-parter.. The 2nd part would be released (in Japan) in April 2009.. That would be where the real battle begun..

废话连篇的“会”

超级无聊，废话连篇的“会”总算结束了。。

足足浪费了我两天的光阴。。付出的时间、精力和心思完全跟所回收的成果根本无法成正比，连五分之一也不到。。他们总喜欢说这次的“会”是个“大型会议”，但对我而言，邀请十几二十个“熟客”“常客”来发表一些在网路就能找到的资料，根本不能称为“研讨会”。。不如说是假借学术研究之名，来场老朋友的年度聚会倒是真的。。

有关“会”的一些事情我真的无法了解。。
-〉为什么每年的出席者都是同样的面孔并说着同样的废话。。
-〉为什么那些不出席的永远都不会出席。。难道他们根本就没再“鸟”这个“会”。。
-〉为什么标榜着“国际会议”，但来的根本就只有小猫五六只。。
-〉为什么开了那么多次“会”，这些出席国家的成就也不过如此这般。。
-〉为什么来了那么多位的政府人员，但真正被各政府采用的提议没几个。。
-〉为什么他们老爱谈一些不切实际的壮大远景，即便眼前的基本问题都无法完善地被解决。。
-〉为什么会有代表知名大学的“博士”完全没准备就来出席了。。
-〉为什么每个发表者的英文不是“有限公司”就是“发音不全”。。
-〉为什么他们自己提出，自己讨论，然后自己“爽”的场面常常发生。。
-〉为什么有些国家只派了一位“代表”，而有些却是一大班阵容“强大”的。。真的需要那么多同一个国家的代表出席吗？
-〉为什么他们老喜欢找些落后国家来参与这个“会”。。真的有点盲人带领瞎子的感觉。。
-〉为什么他们那么爱搞小圈子，喜爱互相赞赏，即便所谓的“成就”也不过如此。。
-〉为什么这些搞学术的竟然那么爱说奉承的废话。。
-〉为什么他们都那么客气，只说对方的好话而避嫌指出他人缺点。。如果每个国家都那么好，那又何必开这个“会”呢？
-〉为什么凑办了那么多次类似的“会”，办事效率一点都没有提高改善。。难道真的是孺子不可教也吗？
-〉为什么有人那么喜欢乱忙瞎忙一场或是不断地装忙扮忙。。
-〉为什么他们总爱“差遣”五个人去做一个人就能完成的工作。。
-〉为什么他们不是以德服人，而是以恐吓来榨取大家的合作。。
-〉为什么他们只会以老卖老或是仗势欺人，而不是以实力能力取得大家的“认同”。。

老实说听了那么多个发表之后，所得到的结论（竟）是：“这边的学术界也不过如此。。难怪他们目前每况日下，只会吸引一些投机分子来占便宜。。”:x :x :x 最重要的感慨则是：“谢天谢地我没有决定在这里继续念博士。。Heng ah!!!”

现在，还真他@*!?的累歪了。。周末一定要好好睡一觉。。

New Glasses

Went to make a new pair of glasses three days ago.. It wasn't because I broke my existing pair but because I had been using the same pair for the last 5 years.. And the fact that my eyes seemed to shed tears ever so often made me suspect that it was a sign that my eyes had became worse and I need a new pair of glasses..

And so I went to the Co-op spectacle shop next to the campus.. First I need to chose a set of frames.. My budget is around 15,000yen which is roughly SGD200. After spending 20mins choosing and trying them out, I finally decided on a pair that is 13,000yen. :) Since I don't wear contact lens nor do I change my glasses very often, I think the price is reasonable..

Then I was asked to go another nearby branch to have my eyes examine. The way they measure nearsightedness (myopia) and astigmatism is different over here. Instead of using hundreds of degree to denominate nearsightedness, they use + or - and number 1 to 6 in 2 decimal points.. I was attended by a friendly lady and we talked in Japanese.. :x I could understand roughly 60% of what she was saying but I definitely rely a lot on guess work.. :P Based on the degree of my existing glasses, it seemed that my eyes did not get worse.. Only my left eye has deteriorated by 0.25, and even my astigmatism remained the same.. I was really surprised at the result, considering the amount of time I spent staring at monitors for the past 5 years, either for work or for leisure.. I was using 3 monitors when I was working at Visa.. :x Anyway, that was good news for me.. However, the lady tried giving the lens with the degree that matches what the testing machine prescribed but to no avail. I still can't see as clearly as my old glasses... In the end, she increased all my degrees (for both left and right eyes) by 0.25 and then I could see perfectly..

After the examination, I went back to the spectacle shop to place an order for my lens... As I did not want to have another set of "colored" glasses, I choose to use just the ordinary lens.. Again, I was surprised that I could collect my new set of glasses the very next day!! Normally, it would take at least 3 - 7 days in Malaysia.. So no complain from me for this express service..

And so voila!! My new set of glasses!! :) :)


If you wanna see me wearing them, wait for my next outing.. ;) ;)

Five years ago..

I will never forget what had happened on this very day five years ago ..

If it didn't happen, many of the things would not be as they are today..

If it wasn't for "that incident"...
..I wouldn't have known that I could recover from such a huge blow..
..I wouldn't have learned how to play the "game"..
..I wouldn't have mellowed down and became less confrontational..
..I wouldn't have realized that I was going nowhere in my job..
..I wouldn't have appreciated the things that I already have..
..I wouldn't have found out who my REAL friends are..
..I wouldn't have the best birthday party ever that year..
..I wouldn't have seen through my flaws and am now trying hard to overcome them..
..I wouldn't have been more guarded with my true emotions now..
..I wouldn't have learned when to bite my tongue and when to say my mind..
..I wouldn't have thought to consider and feel from different perspectives..
..I wouldn't have met a great bunch of colleagues in Visa and HP and became good friends with most of them..
..I wouldn't have applied for the scholarship to study in Japan and actually gotten it..
..I wouldn't have the chance to experience a student's life again in my thirties..
..I wouldn't have done many things as I did the last 5 years..
..I wouldn't be as easily contented with worldly possessions as I am now..
..I wouldn't be as at peace with myself as I am now..

What happened five years ago helped shaped who I am today.. Plenty of "what ifs" scenarios would arise and frankly they do sometime haunt me... did it happen for the better or for the worse, I can't tell..at least not now.. maybe another 5 more years down the road I will be more sure..

I might have forgiven those involved, but one thing is for sure, I will not forget it.. It shall forever remains as a "memento", always reminding myself the mistakes that I have made and not to repeat them ever again..

"Happy Anniversary..."

A new US of A

By the time we wake up next morning, a new US President would have been chosen.. would there be the first non-white President or the first female Vice-President? That would be left to the good citizens of America..

Whoever that is going to occupy the White House for the next 4 years would not have an easy time, unlike the current incumbent.. He would have his hands full, balancing the budget, tackling the economy, the handling of Iraq, the environment, the nuclear armament of Iran and N.Korea, the rising of China and India, and many more.. Let's hope the next US President would take a multilateral view that is more consultative and inclusive of international relationships.. Because when USA sneezes, the world catches the cold... After all, the earth doesn't just belong to the most powerful or the richest..

Personally, I would expect more of the same.. I don't really believe that Obama can bring much "change" or that McCain would do further "damage" to the country. For there to be changes and thus improvement/progress, there has to be sacrifices, which I don't foresee the Americans having the stomach to undertake it.. The financial turmoil these days is perhaps the first bitter medicine that the Americans had to swallow in the last 30 years because they are forced to, not because they voluntarily do so.. The deficit that the country had chucked up in the last 8-10 years is mind boggling to say the least.. Of course, I am more than glad to be proven wrong by Americans..

2003那年

那年周遭发生了好多事情也遇到了很多状况。。大环境的，个人的。。给了我许多震撼也因而改变了我良多。。

SARS - 牺牲了不下八百人，让大家提心吊胆了好几个月。。终于让全球各国意识到不能再自扫门前雪了，每个国家的命运都是紧紧关联着的。。没有所谓的“他们”、“你们”或“我们”，只有一个“大家”，唇寒齿亡。。

伊拉克 - 在那年的三月开战了。。当时只为了“惩罚”霸权者而展开的“正义之战”现在已成了一个没人想接手的烂摊子。。这种只想到怎么“开打”，却没想到怎么“收尾”下场的情况是否还会不断地上演，令人深思。。

热浪天气 - 欧洲各地被一阵阵的热浪侵袭，个个国家的最高温度纷纷破表破纪录，也让许多老年人暴毙家中。。原来地球爷爷也会“生气”的，而且它的“火气”是非比寻常的暴躁。。 看来我们大家应该好好检讨自己，别再糟蹋地球爷爷了。。

克隆动物 - 在那年，美国成功地复制了花鹿而意大利则是复制了马。。但复制羊“多莉”却也与世长辞了。。想想再过几年，只要有能力及门路，y也许复制任何生物可能已不再是天方夜谭，但是我们可有顾虑到被复制的生物的意愿吗？

首相下台 - 我这一代所认识的唯一首相在那年“哭着”下台了。。替换了至少四位副手的他，“终于”卸任了，把政权交给了一位“好好”先生，也开启了五年的“荒政”。。他那22年来所作的一切就交由历史来做凭证吧。。

名人巨星殉落 - Maurice Gibb, member of Bee Gees（1月12日）、张国荣（4月1日）、Robert Atkins, founder of Atkins Diet （4月17日）、Gregory Peck（6月12日）、Katharine Hepburn (6月29日)、Bob Hope（7月27日）、Charles Bronson（8月30日）、Johnny Cash（9月12日）、宋美龄（10月23日）、柯受良（12月9日）、梅艳芳（12月30日）。。。

“那事件”- 切身惨痛经验。。的确给了我一个当头棒喝，让我从人生高峰狠狠地摔的了最低点。。但我必须承认它的发生并非完全无征兆，而且我必须负七成以上的责任。。因为自己的年少气盛、自视过高、目中无人、粗心白目，认为所有的事都是理所当然，从来都不会站在别人的立场想一想。它的发生是迟早的问题。。

回头再想一想当年的自己，真的有够强悍有够冲动的。情绪的管理非常差，而且EQ也蛮低的。虽然我不敢说现在的我已经完全掌握了“做人”的诀窍，可是基本的“见风使舵”、“见人说人话，见鬼说鬼话”、“扮猪吃老虎”、适时地阿谀奉承及口是心非，我还是学会了。。也许是跟我的性格有关，我仍然无法让自己很自在地交际应酬，整天嬉皮笑脸的，或是心甘情愿无怨言地去做一些我认为毫无意义价值，简直是在浪费时间的事情。这些还真的是有待加强。。

现在有点庆幸它发生得早，才能让我体验到这五年来不同的生活。。 :)

Nikko Kouyou Trip - Preparation

Wanted to go somewhere to see the autumn colors this year.. Since Nikko was just 2 hours train ride away from Tokyo, I suggested it to a bunch of fellow Malaysians and they all agreed.. Thus in a way, I became the organizer for this trip.. :)

Then we all agreed to go there on 2 Nov since 03 Nov is a public holiday which we could use to rest.. The initial attendees were 6 including myself.. Then some of them wanted to ask their friends along and soon the group swelled to almost 10.. I didn't want to "take care" of these "friends of friends" so I told whomever who is bringing their friends to be "responsible" for them. I would just take care of the core 5.

Next was the itinerary drafting.. There is just too many places to visit in Nikko that it was for certain that we won't be able to see them all within one day.. After much discussion, we agreed to go to Kegon Waterfall, Toshogu Shrine and Rinnoji Temple.. Found the World Heritage Pass offered by Tobu Railway Co. at 3,600yen. It is a two-day pass which includes a round-trip train ride between Asakusa Station and Tobu-Nikko Station, entrance fees to 2 Shrines (Toshogu Shrine & Futarasan Shrine) and 1 Temple (Rinnoji Temple) and unlimited bus ride within central Nikko. Everyone had agreed to catch the 2nd earliest train at 6:20am so as to maximize our time there..

Thus it was decided that I will go to Asakusa to get the World Heritage Passes on Saturday for the group, since the passes are only available at the Tobu Sightseeing Service Center and it only opens from 7:45am to 5pm. So far so good.. The only left to do was to finalize the attendees..

Then two days before the trip, just when I need to confirm the attendance, problem began to pop up.. Some of the members were not able to meet up so early in the morning as they were staying far away from Asakusa. Thus the dilemma arises and a choice has to be made. We can either split the group into two, travel to Nikko separately and hope to meet up there, OR we choose a later departure time of 7am, instead of 6am.. If the group is split into two, there is almost next to impossible to meet up in Nikko, considering the weekend crowd.. While if we were to choose a later departure time, the chances of being stuck in a traffic jam on our way to Lake Chuzenji/Kegon Waterfall increases tremendously and we might not have enough time to visit the Toshogu Shrine and Rinnoji Temple..

The preference expressed by the group is split evenly for both... As much as I would like everyone to go together, that is not possible.. In the end, I decided to split the group into two. The first group of 5 would still assemble at 6am at Tobu Asakusa Station to catch the 6:20am train, while the latter group would be getting their own tickets or passes and make their own way to Nikko at a later time. Also, I had sent everyone a copy of the itinerary complete with all the transportation information and attraction guides.. This would give everyone an idea of what the trip would entail, especially now with 2 separate groups..

And then off we go!!