Monday, January 27
It's been a long while since I updated this place, partly due to the long hours of studying put in for the test which ended on Saturday. Plenty of apologies to all those who take the trouble to check this out. Been having a random bunch of nonsensical thoughts, so I figured I might as well write a few under their equally nonsensical headings.
Amoeba We had to attend a microbiology practical session for our course, and last week's theme was on protozoa. For those interested, protozoa are single-celled organisms that swim around all day. Now that's my own interpretation of them, so don't bother confirming it in any authorised dictionary. Anyway, some protozoa cause disease in humans, but as we were looking down on them through the microscope, they suddenly didn't seem that frightening. Afterall they are just ONE cell and we are made up of billions of cells.
In fact, they were... as my friend cleverly puts in, CUTE. Essentially they were just swimming away with pockets of food inside their bodies. I even saw one trying to squeeze between 2 cells, then reversing when it wouldn't fit, just like a car would. When one is used to seeing advanced and complex objects all around us, sometimes simplicity seems like magic. And what can be more so than one of nature's simplest living creation?
Without a doubt, all these little 'cute' things were going to die after we were done with them, their future doomed to tranversing the lab sink along with other chemicals and solvents. But one question I had was, since these lil things have no brains, do they even know what's going on? Do they even know they exist, or what they are doing? They probably don't, and that's good in a sad sort of way, cos' they will also not feel anything when they die by the dozens.
What are you good for? This is a scene from the ONE PIECE comic, where Luffy was fighting an ultra-strong baddie. Luffy: FOOL! I CANT USE A SWORD, I CAN'T COOK, I CAN'T NAVIGATE, I CAN'T LIE!!! (PS: Those are the specialities of his crewmates) IF NOT FOR THEIR HELP I WOULD BE DEAD! Baddie: Hahaha! Few people would speak of themselves as negatively as you. With a captain as useless as you, surely your friends must be feeling very burdened? Why then are they trying so hard to save you? WHY CAN SOMEONE AS USELESS AS YOU BE THE CAPTAIN? WHAT ON EARTH CAN YOU DO? Luffy: I CAN BEAT YOU! That illustrates a point. I'll never be as confident and wise as some of my friends, I'll never be able to nagivate my way around as well as they do, and I'll never be able to do the things each and every one of them are good in their own way. And if they were missing from my life, a part of me would, in a sense, be dead.
Perhaps life isn't about becoming good at everything ourselves, but to find our crewmates to share the burden with us. So, what are YOU good for?
Saturday, January 18
Another quiz for all the D&D lovers out there! ^.^
I Am A: Lawful Good Elf Bard Fighter
Alignment: Lawful Good characters are the epitome of all that is just and good. They believe in order and governments that work for the benefit of all, and generally do not mind doing direct work to further their beliefs.
Race: Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.
Primary Class: Bards are the entertainers. They sing, dance, and play instruments to make other people happy, and, frequently, make money. They also tend to dabble in magic a bit.
Secondary Class: Fighters are the warriors. They use weapons to accomplish their goals. This isn't to say that they aren't intelligent, but that they do, in fact, believe that violence is frequently the answer.
Deity: Oghma is the Neutral Good god of knowledge and invention. He is also known as the Binder of What is Known, and is the Patron of Bards. His followers believe that knowledge reigns supreme, and is the basis for everything else that is done. They wear white shirts and pants, with a black and gold braided vest, and a small, box-like hat. All priests of Oghma are known as Loremasters. Oghma's symbol is a scroll.
Tuesday, January 14
A new obsession has taken over me lately. It's ONE PIECE. Nope that wasn't a broken sentence on my part there. It's a comic series by the title of (you guessed it) ONE PIECE. ^.^
Been re-reading the whole series again, and my 3-minute fanactism is boiling hot right now. I really wonder how on earth did the author manage to come up with so many wacky ideas for the comic. And some parts actually made me feel quite touched (awwww...). I admire that kind of ties the pirates in the book shared. You know, where they always quarrel over the slightest issue but when the going gets tough, they will stand up for each other. I REALLY REALLY won't mind having a crew of mates like that!
Perhaps ONE PIECE also reminds me of the days when we and my friends would indulge in some fantasy adventures of our own using the traditional and now unconceivable paper-and-dice RPG system. (except we didn't really used a dice, we used a calculator). But those days were fun, and the reason why I'm remembering all these now is because a friend sent me a story he wrote about one of the RPGs that we played.
Maybe I shall post it up here one day to share his story. No, let me correct that. OUR story. ^.^
Sunday, January 12
My brother and sister went to Jay Chou's concert. So did a couple of friends I know. Which makes me wonder, should I have gone? The reason why I didn't was because I couldn't make up my mind before the deadline if I wanted to spend the $ on a concert. Come to think of it, here is one singer whose songs I *all* know. Not that I know all the lyrics, but I think I can recognise most of the songs.
Maybe I'm just sour-pussed that I haven't been to any major concert before. I did have fun at some mass event before (though I can't rem anything right now), but a concert? I guess that's still alien to me right now. But as the wise man said, "Next time, next time."
If there's one part of the Bible that I like very much, it has got to be this. Taken from Matthew 6, I like it for what it says: Giving to the Needy
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Fasting
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Saturday, January 4 Cousin Sent my cousin back to Tekong a few days back for his BMT training. I haven't been speaking to him much (if at all) for a long time, but I initiated to ask about his life inside in the army. Turns out he is having a really bad time there. Life for me wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst either. At least I had a great section back then, but my cousin landed up in a tough company and in a section where the majority are ITE students who discriminate against those from JCs. I wish I could tell him that everything would be alright, but I ended up telling him to keep to the rules and although they can make things difficult for him, they can't go overboard too much if he has done nothing wrong in the end.
Reminds me of the chinese phrase "luo rou qiang shi", meaning the weak is food for the strong. For those who read comics, you might have some impression of certain 'baddies' who maintains that ideal. If you read X-men, there is Magneto; if you play Final fantasy, there is Sephiroth; if you read Shaman king, there is Hao. Are these baddies really wrong, I wonder? Sometimes, alot of things come down to us to be responsible for ourselves. Friends and kins help, but ultimately it is only us who can help ourselves to overcome the final hurdle, to make things right.
*Lol*, am I making any sense?
Folks from Chinatown Went down to the hospice yesterday, and the ‘folks from Chinatown’ were there. That’s the name given to them by our auntie friend. In reality they are just a group of Buddhist volunteers from Chinatown. Watched them sing and dance with the old folks, and it’s a nice sight to see 70 yrs + dancing and enjoying themselves.
Towards the end, they ended the session with their usual ritual of songs. One of them left a deeper impression on me, with its lyrics roughly meaning: “There is no man on earth that I do not love, there is no man on earth that I do not trust, there is no enemy on earth that I cannot forgive.” They even had special hand gestures to go with the song but all those gimmicks aside, if they could really believe in what they were singing, then I think they would be all very happy folks indeed.
One of them said to joyhoshi and I that “Ming yi1 yi4 zhao, Liang yi1 nan qiu”. Translated it means a famous doctor is easy to find, but a good doctor is hard to seek. More food for thought for us doctor wannabes here. (^.^)
NeppyMan (e-mail)