Thursday, June 26, 2008

What's Life?

First of all I came across this thread in SgForums which spurred my thoughts:

http://sgforums.com/forums/8/topics/321659

You could say I'm guilty of the situation that was mentioned in the thread. It made me realise how negative others feel about such lifestyle. But again I'm starting to doubt the definition of 'got life' and 'no life'. What kind of activities could contribute to having a 'life'?

From what I understand a 'life' should be:

- Enjoyable. Doing the things we like, motivated by our desire and not being forced to do so.

- Fulfilling. Participating in various kind of activities. Making good use of our spare time. Non-routine, as in one should not feel bored by doing the same thing everyday, every week, in long term.

- Meaningful. Learning something which could probably become useful in the future. Doing something that will result in personal benefit or bringing good to others.

- Experience. Getting to know the society and world better. Trying out things that one has never done before. Clocking 'first times'.

I believe in order to make our lives truly 'a life', combination of these factors must exist, otherwise we might feel something is lacking.

I can't say my himajin-lifestyle now has all these factors in proportion, but I don't really understand why some people will think that one must have a job to constitute to 'a life'. True that work & job form a basis of our lifestyle, but I think we should not over-embrace it, even though it is our main income generator. Perhaps this kind of mentality is inevitable due to our money-driven society. Everything needs money, and as a result our personal enjoyment becomes very limited. You guys can probably remember the survey some years ago on how happy Singaporeans are with their life.

When I watch dramas and shows, I really do envy the characters' way of living. Their lives seem to have lots of happenings and they look very carefree. Though I know it is merely a story, I can't help to think how good life would be if we were part of them. (Let's not talk about the anxieties and tragedies =p)

As much as I'm trying to instill some 'life' into my life, I just made 2 new friends this week thanks to XH! Haven't made new friends for a long time, most of them were just acquaintances (aka Hi & Bye), especially in NS.

About 1 month left before my once-in-a-lifetime lifestyle finally comes to an end. Any suggestions on what to do to make my current life more fulfilling? Haha. With so many temptations from my dear computer, can't imagine how I could settle down on my school work. Sigh...

Recently I'm addicted to another MMORPG: Cabal SEA! Dunno whether to be happy or not. Hopefully this is my last addiction before Uni starts.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Nature Walk @ Southern Ridges

Southern Ridges? In which country?

Haha, for the uninformed, Southern Ridges refers to the stretch of nature parks located at the southern part of Singapore. It connects Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park into a approximately 9km route. These parks already existed long ago, it's the park connectors that were built recently.

Anyway thanks to XH for accompanying me for this nature trek, though it was not an effective way of exercising haha. Since I wasn't able to go overseas, I guess this sightseeing trip could do a little to satisfy my desire to experience extraordinary sights.

Started off from Marang Trail behind Harbourfront MRT, climbed severals flights of stairs before reaching the peak of Mount Faber, which they called as 'Faber Point'. Saw many tourists which made me feel part of a overseas tour haha.



This was seen along the way to the peak. Though this photo cannot compare with the one shown on the situated board, it pretty much covers everything of what I can see from that point, including the 'teeny weeny' Merlion on Sentosa Island. There are just too much trees blocking the wonderful view.



The view at the opposite direction looks better and clearer. Shows how Singapore is densely populated with flats and skyscrapers. One of the more outstanding buildings would be the pagoda-roofed Tangs building, if you can spot it. =p



From this distance you can actually make out that the 3 tallest structures in Singapore are of the same height.



Here's the Henderson Waves! Bridges the connection across Henderson Road between Mount Faber and Telok Blangah Hill. The design is pretty interesting.



From the top of the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore, this can probably help you judge how high it is from the road underneath.



Lots of joggers as we pass by this area. The crests of the wave also act as a shelter for people for relax under. As you can see, the bridge is slightly inclined.



The Terrace Gardens! Used to be a popular spot for couples to take wedding photos. The previous time I visited here was 15 years ago during my aunt's wedding. The stone railings used to be much whiter...



Looks like we visited the top of the terrace at the right timing, coincidentally we witnessed the F16 flypast rehearsal. From the unobstructed view of the sky, the rehearsal actually looked more spectacular than what I saw from Marina in last year's NDP.



They left a mark in the sky after what seemed a random flutter.



Zigzag elevated metallic walkway in the Forest Walk. From the top it looks rather complex.



Once again thanks to the F16, a 'rainbow' over the tree was formed. Some...where...over the rainbow...



The Alexandra Arch bridge. Doesn't look as magnificent as the Henderson Waves.



Along the route we came across a Horticulture Park which displays and exhibits various plants. Unfortunately I'm not very interested in plants.



Somehow I like this picture a lot. How I wish I could sit on the cozy sofa and observe the sunset.



A long path of nurseries and playground. Nicer than Botanic Gardens. It makes a good hangout spot for families.



A redhouse is made of red bricks, a bluehouse is made of blue bricks. Then what is a greenhouse made of?



Another right timing! Caught this beautiful sunset view from the top of Kent Ridge Park. The sun was setting really fast! Within the next minute the sun was gone.

After some confusion of how to exit the park. we finally found our way out before it became completely dark. To reward myself for finishing this trek, I went for dinner at Botak Jones! Really value for money! Large servings, cheap prices! You can request for more fries without additional charge! Hope to visit Botak Jones again in the future.

Yup, that's all for my account on the nature walk. Hope XH enjoyed it too. =) However it doesn't change the fact that I still want to go overseas.

Friday, June 06, 2008

Game!

Japanese is an interesting language. Though it uses similar writing characters as Chinese, the meaning of certain words can be completely different. Some seem so far-fetched that I can't imagine how that meaning developed about.

So now we shall play a 'Guess the Meaning' Game! Try to guess/deduce by whatever means the Japanese meaning of these Chinese characters (kanji)!

Example:

勉強
A) Exercise
B) Study
C) Work
D) Play

In this case the answer is B. Got it correct? Now we know how Japanese view studying haha.

Now let's get to the real thing! *Don't worry, only 5 questions*
Please don't search the net or use any dictionary otherwise it will spoil the fun.

我慢
A) Boredom
B) Ignorance
C) Endurance
D) Shyness

風船
A) Parachute
B) Kite
C) Frisbee
D) Balloon

八百屋
A) Provision shop
B) Grocery shop
C) Bookstore
D) Supermarket

海老
A) Prawn
B) Crab
C) Jellyfish
D) Oyster

*The last one is funny*

怪我
A) Failure
B) Injury
C) Scandal
D) Quarrel

Yup that's it! The answers will be revealed at the end of this entry.

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Can't believe I haven't gone for an outing for the past 7 days. The first time since ORD I stayed home for such a long time. Partly becos my friends have gone overseas during this period.

My heart is filled with envy and sadness whenever I hear my friends going for overseas trips. Hong Kong, China, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, etc. Everyone seems to be making use of this period to go for trips before uni starts. When can we be more free than now?

Haven't travelled on a plane for almost 10 years and I yearn for that day to come again. The feeling of checking in at the airport, crossing the gates and waiting to board the plane is so great! However after the increased security I dun think the experience is that enjoyable as before.

Since a long time ago, my family has stopped planning trips, partly due to consideration of my sis. My parents are workaholics and I dun think they can set aside time to go overseas. And my bro doesn't seem to be interested in visiting any countries...

I believe there are much more to see beyond this tiny island. Until I can get a chance to do so, I guess I would just have to look at others' photos at most.

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Finally F.I.R is holding its first ever concert in Singapore in August! Anyone interested to go with me? =)

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Here are the answers to the Game!

C, D, B, A, B

How many did you get correct? Not easy eh?