The Perfect Park

by Leon Sooi (HCI)

One of those animation clips that are showcase at the Esplanade.

Pretty interesting way of posting a question: Are we trying to strive perfectionist outcome within the imperfect environment?

The very first impression was, the driver was a perfectionist; however, in an unrealistic situation. While the cars around him were imperfectly parked, how was he going to strive for perfect parking?

Tried to draw some parallel... have I been a perfectionist in an unrealistic situation? There is no doubt, to a large extent, I'm a perfectionist... however, depending on situation. Just 2 days ago, I exclaimed, "It's a glaring error!" when checking an A1 poster meant for people who are not within the school community. Immediately, I got reactions from my neighbour. Haha... well, well, well, if they know it's meant for the public and the mistake was one on the sub-heading, would they still react in surprise? These days, have learnt to close one eye... and yes, more mistakes were surfaced along the way... so, I'm not really that demanding... having said that, I think, it largely depends on the context, too.

Cinderel-lah

Have not stepped into the theatre for almost half a year, I think... Today's a local production - Cinderel-lah. Indeed, it's put up by a pretty strong cast, like Emma Yong, Sebastian Tan, Chua Enlai, Lim Kay Siu, Najip Ali & Gurmit Singh.

With Gurmit Singh and Najip, how 'serious' a show could be? Haha... It was definitely funny and they took the limelight (though the main stars are Emma Yong and Sebastian Tan). Enjoyed the show thoroughly... indeed, one of the best ways to unwind (for me) is to immerse in a show and forget any other thing :)

I guess, one of the greatest takeaway was towards the end, when I saw the sign of relief and satisfaction in the eyes of the cast! Yes, eyes 'talk'... well, it could be the limelight they enjoy... but really, it's the look that says, "I am totally immerse in it and enjoying what I do!".

My tweets after the show:

• Could see from their eyes... They are thoroughly enjoying what they are doing :) #iwant my eyes to 'speak' my satisfaction & joy, too! :)
• 眼睛是灵魂之窗。双眸最美丽的时候，是当它充满了希望，满足，感激和开心的时候。。。那也是它最动人之际。。。

er... Do I sound a bit...

Early afternoon, I tweeted:
lohkwaiyin
Getting ticket for Cinderellah musical... Looking forward to next weekend :) Why that guy needed >20 min just for those 2 cheap tickets? :(

Came back.
Sat down.
Went through the tweets (yes! I have this habit of revisiting what I posted).

A thought just crossed my mind... ok, I sounded arrogant...
Well, the key understanding was actually not because it's cheap... but just could not understand why that guy took ages (about 20 minutes) to decide the seat he wanted, even contemplating of changing the seats after the tickets were printed.

Maybe it's just because I've got all the necessary ready and finished the transaction in less than 5 min. Yes, that's efficiency.

Lunch & Dinner when mum's away

Varied versions of noodles - western & oriental... my masterpieces over this weekend :)

Have not prepared meals for a long long time... though simple, all in all, it took me about 2 hours to prepare a day's breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Simple Meals

Two of my 'masterpieces' of the day... yummy...

Eruption of Merapi volcano

There's vast coverage of the eruption of the Indonesian volcano.

It's the second of this kind of major natural 'activity' that took place this year.
This first was the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland.
Little is Eyjafjallajökull known to this part of the world. But the 'powerful' volcano ash spread had caught the attention of all. More, being the impact, rather than the interest of the eruption; at least, I think. It's the serious economic impact - where flights were cancelled and the disruptions to the activities in the countries 'nearby', in particular Europe, thanks to the 'support' from the powerful seasonal winds.

Nearer to home, now is a volcano which already sounded the alarm many months ago - since it started to become active. However, the real impact on came these couple of weeks when it finally erupted! Yes... the ash, the gas, the lava... and the scale of destruction that it brought about.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Merapi
  
  What's alarming to me... not sure if it was also reported in the Eyjafjallajökull eruption, where some villagers refused to leave their homes! Not that because they could not leave behind the cattle, but it's where they wanted to remain true to their beliefs, and leave their lives to the hands of nature!
  
  Well, is this something that only happen to Asians... and of course, not all Asians, but the ones who clinged on to their old beliefs, practices and rituals? I wonder.
  
  As reported at http://en.vivanews.com/news/read/185003-most-merapi-people-refuse-to-take-refuge
  
• "However, the evacuation process is delayed as many inhabitants refuse to leave their homes"
• "The evacuated locals include the elders, pregnant women and babies. Most men and youths refuse to take refuge."

Also reported in http://news.softpedia.com/news/Red-hot-Lava-Begins-to-Flow-from-Merapi-volcano-in-Indonesia-23859.shtml

• "The evacuation is now compulsory but many residents are still reluctant to leave. Traditional beliefs hold that Merapi - which means Mountain of Fire - will only erupt after certain omens, some of which appear in dreams, leaving many more superstitious residents reluctant to leave without them becoming apparent. Others are worried about their property, cattle and crops being taken if they depart."
  

Spiritual caretaker who villagers relied on to 'appease' Indonesian volcano dies in eruption: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g0XMcESuan-BaYitIZyJsRQonG1g?docId=4960528

• "As Merapi began spewing 1,800-degree Fahrenheit (1,000 Celsius) gases and thousands of panicked people streamed down the mountain's slopes, Maridjan refused to budge from his home deep in the evacuation zone, just four miles from the crater.
  His rigid body was found Wednesday, prostrate in the Islamic prayer position and caked in heavy white soot. Nearby was an Indonesian Red Cross volunteer who had been trying to persuade him to leave."

Well, amongst the many reports, what strucked me was the last one - the greatest saddness came when one's stubborn belief caused the life of not just himself, but others!

Do no harm to self. Do no harm to others!

Korean Drama Craze

I'm not a big fan of the Korean drama.

However, I must admit that it's kindof difficult to 'quit' once started one episode - regardless it's the 1st episode, or somewhere half-way!

I guess I'm not a 'fan' because I'm fully aware that it's 'untouchable' else, would ended up spending hours to race through the "drama marathon" - it's going to be difficult to calm the "urge'"! hahaha... sounded like a contagious disease.

Well, once in a while, I do get myself caught in such disease - when I happen to laze around at home on a weekend afternoon.

So, what's this "Korean Drama Craze" about?

• Indeed, I think one of the attractions is the storyline that's 'too real' to be true... So far, at least for those contemporary drama that I watched... there's this element of "unreality" in them. I think that's where we seek to unwind (er... escape!) in an unreal world
• The ways the scripts were written and said are pretty different from the 'real world' yet it sounded comfortable to the ears.
• Oh yes, the characters in the story... too unreal yet somehow sought-after in our dreams!
• and something that's a must to-have: Good looking leads! You just wanted to look twice or thrice, and more! haha... the look that 'engages' the viewers
• And there are lots and lots of tears, ah! their expression of frustration and anger! and the one powerful feature I notice - their eyes, where emotions were portrayed. Oh yes! The heart and soul are portrayed through the eyes! So, that's a must 'quality' of any successful Korean star! (I guess)

One of the dramas that I'm following now...

• 【韓文劇名】：대물【中文劇名】：大物
• Dae Mul (Korean Drama) Facebook
• 徐惠琳 - 高賢廷 고현정飾; 何陶冶 - 權相佑 권상우飾
• http://blog.yam.com/yoonpcjo/article/31540615

Start the Day with Joy :)

It's a Sunday morning... cool and breezy...

Have not "made" my own breakfast for quite sometime... half-boiled egg to go with toast, with a cup of coffee... and indulge in the papers.

Yeah... a relaxing way to start the weekend :)

谁的错？

曾经有人跟我说，我总喜欢扮演“好人”的角色；很少，（甚至）没有扮演过“坏人”。其实，我相信，没有任何人愿意当“坏人”。也没有人愿意在别人的眼里是“坏人”。天底下那么大，没有事是绝对的。损他人的事，既不利己；又为什么要去做呢？与其“损人”，不如“造就”，那更可造福大家。

可是，“好人”的角色不易当；有时“好人”被“当局者”当作“贼”来扮！

有时，当“当局者”的第六感告诉自己面前的情况不利于他时，很自然而然的，他就会陷入“怀疑”，“自卫”的状况。那是因为“当局者”对大环紧缺乏 “信任”与 “安全感”吗？那是“心有鬼&愧”吗？

也许，只能说，“当局者”没有把握好给予的机会，清楚地认识大环境，没有好好地去了解环境，从而利用 - 天时、地利、人和；在“自卫”的情况下，抹煞了所有的给予的机会与支援；去找借口来掩饰自己的不足。那是谁的错？没有平衡的分析各个根源的利害关系，以其回头探讨内在因素，却一味认为问题来自外来因素，呐喊“巧妇难做无米之炊”；上演了一幕“以小人之心，度君子之腹”！

好人“们”（当然，指的是他人啦！）会在给“当局者”另一机会，希望“当局者”好好的把握，否则，“当”的不只是“小人”，而且是“瞎子”！那么，就做井底的“永久居民”吧！

Dinner on 20101104

It's the last working day of the week... and probably the last day of this week that I would eat out... Would try to hiberate home in the next 3 days... hence bought enough groceries to survive without leaving the house.

So, to conclude the "week", went for something that's more 'sinful' than the past 3 evenings...

Dinner on 20101103

This was unplanned for... took a lift from a colleague to Raffles City and ended up having this for dinner :)

Dinner on 20101102

"Binary" Dinner @ Zhou Kitchen