getting the ball rolling.

World cup 2010 season just kicked off as Mexico and South Africa headed towards each other within the demarcated field of play (puns intended). By now it should be clear as to what the title of the post was inspired by. In any case, I am rooting for Spain (for obvious reasons) and Honduras (for not so obvious reasons). We shall see how this season goes!

In any case, getting the ball rolling in not so literal terms can prove to be a pretty daunting task at hand. Getting the gears into motion for example needs oiling, tweaking and many other strenuous tasks. Overcoming this initial barrier may be equivalent of a hike up Mount Everest or braving a storm in the midst of the Indian Ocean. Some may give up, some persevere and wear themselves out but only a select few make it to the peak and then move on with ease. I am faced with a similar problem or obstacle as to whether I should pursue this or I should head in another direction with hopes of greener pastures. But the ultimate question is whether such greener pastures really exist or are this a figment of our hopeful imagination. Is the grass equally brown at the other side? Nobody knows until they go over to find out and by then it may be too late to return. What a big headache-causing dilemma this is! Maybe I should just roll a dice. Maybe I should consult a gypsy with crystal ball. But for now, I wait and watch and let myself try to reach that peak.

On a side note, I am officially addicted to this years worldcup official theme song wakawaka by Shakira. Tsamina mina, eh eh, Waka waka, eh eh.. Tsamina mina zangalewa, This time for africa!cheers!

stuck in MUD.

The topic for today is something that a large number of university students can relate to. It is a silent killer, which strikes in their early twenties. It is something that robs the sleep of many and turns them into panda-eyed zombies during the day. Something that makes them turn and twist in bed and hence spoil the springs in their beds. Something that makes them invest in wigs because they have ripped out their hair. It comes unannounced, and catches you at the worst possible hour and hangs onto you like a persistant flu bug. It makes you hallucinate and turns you into an insomniac, with loss of appetite as a side effect in many.

Ok, melo-drama aside. I'm talking about Mid-Uni Depression, or MUD for short. You reach a juncture in the ultimate or penultimate year of uni life where you begin to question what exactly you desire in life. At a young age, one has the freedom to dream large and churn their mental futures. However, when the time to execute it nears, they soon begin to look faint and you question their practicality and possibility. It seems like I have reached that phase of MUD. Hopefully some miracle will hand out a stick and pull me out of this MUD before it dries out. I shall perserve till I find that solid ground again. I have to.

And I really wonder why some people forget that they are humans at the end of the day. It does not matter if you are the president of the US or a domestic helper, at the end of the day you should never forget what you on this earth for and you should always maintain humility and respect for others. Some people simply cannot see beyond themselves, it seems. But alas, we cannot change others, so we live with them and tread on our own paths, without letting them knock us off. God is always watching, after all.

The thicket to life.

The other day, while I was trudging through a forest on an eco field-trip and swatting away random bugs that nested on my skin albeit temporarily, with beads of perspiration rolling off my forehead (don't mind the slight exaggeration), I realized how similar life in general is to a rainforest. In this instance, our life starts off as seeds in this already populated world. Here, if we're lucky enough, we find nutrient filled ground to nestle in and grow. From birth, competition towers over us (representing the older canopy trees). We grow, nevertheless, with whatever nutrients we find around us (mostly given to us, in the seed cases, by our parents). When we're self-sufficient (upon growing our own leaves), we reduce our dependence on our parents and start to fend for ourselves. In countries like the USA, this would be synonymous to moving out of our parents' homes into our own apartments. And perhaps this would refer to being financially independent, in the context of Singapore.

Some of us, start off as parasites and live off others as climbers or parasitic plants for the rest of our lives, often inconveniencing the people we live off. This could be synonymous to people who prefer to get ahead of others by using them as stepping stones. Others practice friendly competition or compete with their inner selves to strive for the better and grow on their own accord with their own roots. Very often the former tend to forget where they come from, while the latter stays grounded and rooted in their values (pun intended) and stay true to their morales.

Whichever route a person (or a tree) adopts and treads upon, determines their fate in this world (or rainforest). Often, once we grow above or become more affluent than another, for instance, there is a tendency to look down on and steal resources from those who are still struggling (the seedlings). This happens among human beings, as much as it happens in nature. However, those who are able to maintain humility and perhaps in the context of the rainforest - develop leaves with gaps to allow some resouces to reach those below, can truly be considered as true human beings.

Eventually one's life nears an end and ends in various ways - catastrophically (being struck by lightning) or being martyred (being logged down for furniture or paper). Or one could grow to a ripe old age and allow generations to follow suit and eventually get gnawed away by termites, and leaving but their contributions to the rest of the world, in the form of their nutrients. This is the way life goes. From a seed to immense competition and eventually death. But will human beings ever break out of this cycle and find peace in simply being who we are, or will be continually get stuck in this ecological cycle of life where we constanly strive to survive? Some food for thought. Cheers!

For better, or for worse.

I believe everything has to get worse initially in order to get better. Somehow things work that way. Think about it, in order to convert a dough into a scrumptious muffin, it has to go through immense heat in the oven. Or take the example of a child, who has to fall and scrape his knees before learning to ride a bike or skate or how he has to struggle in the deep end before he or she learns how to do the butterfly stroke. If you're not convinced, take the simple case of catching a cold or the flu. Your condition inevitably worsens only to get immune to the flu for some time. It seems to a formula that all walks of life use. Take for example a caterpillar morphing into a butterfly. I would call this the 'delayed gratification' formula.

But sadly, this 'delayed gratification' formula is the very thing that seems to be holding human beings back from doing much about the world's impending devastation. It is only when we realize that the ozone has a hole or when the panda is growing extinct that human beings seem to see the need to act. It is when a condition is driven to the a critical point that people see the need to find a solution. But hopefully it isn't too late when we do act and hopefully the formula still stands by the time we are done.

Made-up reality

It's 2010 - two years prior to when the mayan calender predicts the world is going to come to an end. Fact or fiction, no one knows. People and religions churn out other hypotheses of apocalypse and accumulative natural disasters, but no one truly knows what is in store for us. It is in our human nature to make theories in order to make sense of what happens around us. Justifications for what transpires and the invisible hands that mould our future. That is how religion plays such a crucial role in our lifes - it makes all these happenings around us make sense.

On another note, I was just wondering how real reality shows really are. I mean, take the show Survivor as an example. While the 'castaways' eat off fallen coconuts and boiled rice, what do the producers, camera crew and the host eat? And what truly transpires in the hours when they do not telecast anything remains a mystery. In those 1-2 hour snippets, we are shown their hardships and what not, but what about the lapse of time in between the telecasts? For all you know, the contestants meet up and have a glass of beer. Just a random thought. Who knows, maybe they even sensationalize shows and sieve for contestants who can potentially create certain conditions on the show. Everything goes in the tv industry and we get drawn in like drama-hungry consumers. But that's the name of the game. As human beings we tend to create drama in our own lifes anyway, so much so that we lose touch of reality and start living in fantasy worlds of materialistic possessions.

To wrap it up, I think even though these shows and fantasy worlds we create add spice in our lifes, we should never forget to take it with a pinch of salt. What things look like on the exterior, may not be representative of the inner self and one should always attempt to look at that inner soul of anyone that they meet. It is easier said than done, but it is true that you only know half of the story till you try to read the inner half.

goodbye 2009.

2009 has been possibly one of the most eventful years of my twenty one years on earth hitherto. Some of these events encompass my summer exchange to UCLA and the fact that this year marks my 21st year on this planet. And what a way to commence the year than with a heart-warming and utmost satisfying experience when I embarked on a 2 week journey to aid the lives of Cambodians in need.

Yesterday marked the end of the youth expedition program or overseas project I embarked on with a group of 17 wonderful individuals, in Cambodia. This was an experience like none other, and no matter how clichéd it sounds, the memories forged will remain dear to me for life. Through the course of these two weeks, we carried out a concoction of projects through collaborations with the Khmer Youth Association as well as CEDAC.

In the first project, we worked with youths (from 16 to 20 years of age and above) to train and provide lessons on anti-alcoholism affairs. Following that we helped them hold an anti-alcoholism fair in Khmer (their native language) - which was a success! (: To publicize the fair and invite people, we combed several areas in Phnom Penh with posters and fliers. I memorised a few sentences in Khmer as well! That was quite an experience. I was hoping I would not end up saying something wrong and get stares. Haha. In any case, the problem of alcoholism is a burgeoning one in countries like Cambodia, where alcoholism seems like a cleaner alternative to water and a quick solution to problems. It does not help that the streets of Cambodia are littered with posters that attempt to increase sales of alcohol through pictures of happy families and glitzy lifestyles. They openly advertise cigarettes as well; an act which would probably would get you sued in Singapore. Advertisements like these aims to target the weak-minded and less educated and these people get sucked into a never-ending vicious cycle of poverty and sorrow. It is truly a saddening case. However, we did our part is trying to educate Cambodians on the negative aspect that surrounds alcohol and hopefully the KYA will propagate our efforts. Working with the KYA youths was truly an experience which I will cherish for a long time to come. They truly warmed my heart with their non-judging acceptance and carefree lifestyle. It is remarkable how to find bliss in the simplest of things like bread and fruits, unlike youths in Singapore who yearn after lifeless technological gadgets. As the first project drew to an end, we also visited a village to talk to ex-alcoholics and their stories of quitting really made me smile.

The second project was conducted at Kampong Chnnang, where over the course of the next few days, we built a grand total of 55 water filters from scratch to be distributed to households in the village. That was a back-breaking experience! - Drilling holes into buckets with basic tools, washing gravel and charcoal, packing sand and what not. While working in the village was far from convenient and we had to go through harsh living conditions (for example, no toilet, electricity or clean water), it was all worth it in the end. We even taught the village kids how to wash their hands correctly and brush their teeth as well as draw fruits. It was heart-warming when the kids remembered the actions and complied. Initially they were hesitant and distant from us but towards the end of the project they warmed up to us to the extent that they’d hop onto our backs for piggy back rides and what not. Seeing their carefree life in spite of their harsh living conditions was a thoroughly warming experience. I take away so much not just from the experience I had there but in terms of how much the Cambodians I have met have affected me in more ways than one. On a side note, the girl in the picture next to me really reminds me of myself when I was younger to the point that I referred to her as ‘baby vibha’. She’d go behind our backs while we’re working in the sun and give ticklish massages, climb trees and run around playing mischief. But they really livened my life for the few days we were there.

I feel that people really tend to take their lives for granted when surrounded by comfort and technology, for one. However, we need to remember that there is a life beyond material possessions that make us human. We should never let these material possessions and dispensable objects be the centres of our lives and should instead look into our own values and relationships and mould our lives around these. We have to constantly remember that we have been blessed with a gift from God in the form of life and we should live it to its fullest. Hardship comes and goes, but it is after all how we ride the storm that matters and not how we let the storm ride us.

On the whole, I think 2009 has been quite a roller coaster ride and I look forward to 2010 with a tinge of excitement and a dash of apprehension together with a spoonful of hope and aspirations.

Till 2010, cheers! (:

veinte un años.

24th November. The day I completed twenty one years on earth, as the title suggests (for those who understand spanish or had the time to use freetranslation.com). Much has transpired in this duration of time and it suddenly hits how old I actually am. Somehow 20 seems less harsher than 21. There's something about that second digit that makes one shudder with thoughts about the upcoming future that lays ahead. Adulthood. Polling rights. These are just two of the slightly intimidating thoughts that formulate in our brains. In any case, I want to simply march right ahead and face what's to come in its face (does not apply for oncoming vehicles/trains though), because life is short.

On another note, today marked the end of a 5 day intensive camp in preparation for an overseas community service trip which I will be embarking on come 16th of dec. Will be heading down to Cambodia! I hope none of us step on landmines or get chased around by goons! However tiring and energy draining these few days have been, I do believe there would be a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction at the end of the day. But I would truly appreciate a spa treatment or an island retreat for a month or something! And it doesn't help that my holidays will completely washed away. If only time could be bought!

In any way, I will end of with a note which I found somewhere. Adios!

Eagle in Storm

Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks?

The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.

The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.

When the storms of life come upon us - and all of us will experience them - we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God's power to lift us above them.

God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above the storm.

Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.