Broken Sonnet

19.7.06

Ok guys... I have officially moved to a new blog... check out lizardcounty.blogspot.com... its still kinda under construction though... so do check back for updates later on... thanks...

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24.2.06

Hey everyone. Thank you for being supportive about my blog all this while. I'm starting this new blog, mainly because I find it very difficult these days to be funny. And also, I am trying to explore new avenues of expression. Don't laugh.

The other site is still under construction. Hopefully, it will be up soon. Unless of course, schoolwork gets the better of me and I drop dead all of a sudden.

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6.2.06

Everyone has the right to hope. Hope that things will get better, hope that peace will reign forever, hope that they win the big bucks. Too much of anything, though, is never good for one's health.

Last Saturday, 73 people were killed when a stampede broke out in a queue for a game show in the Philippines. It was the show's first year anniversary, and people had an inkling that big prizes would be given away.

I am not pointing fingers, but this is just a classic example of how hope can lead to catastrophe. Who can blame those people, though? Imagine living in a shack made from tattered plywood and rusted corrugated iron, about the size of a flat's toilet, with seven hungry and bawling children. When you practically slave yourself just to get by, such an opportunity to be rich quick can be difficult to resist. Especially if once you reach the place, the whole street is packed with people queueing. What do you do to get ahead? Push, shove, trample, anything to be nearer to the registration booth.

Lives were lost. Real breathing people, but I guess they are not breathing now, are they?

Hope kills (and I do not mean the cigarette, although that can potentially lead to lung cancer). I cannot pretend that I know how those people felt, but it must have hurt. I mean, that's being trampled alive!

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5.1.06

It is really difficult to get back into the school groove after the holidays. You do not really feel like holidays has ended, you get terribly bored with all the introductions and how to get good grades stuff, and if you were me, you get really shocked when you attend your first class and realize that there is only one girl!

That aside, let me give you some tips to overcome your first day blues:

1. Sleep late the day before school starts. Since you are going to do this for 15 more weeks, you might as well start early right.

2. Mess your room up. For optimum thinking, you need to make yourself disorganized. There is this research that says people who have messy desks do jobs better. Trust me. I know.

3. Do not bother buying textbooks right away. Your day would surely be ruined if you queue at the book shop for five-ten minutes only to find that your text is unavailable for the umpteenth time.

4. Do not forget your I.D. Actually, it does not really matter. Just sneak in. This would be a good time to test your creativity and resourcefulness.

5. Last, but definitely the most important thing to do, buy gallons and gallons of coffee. Refer to tip #1 for the reason.

So have fun, relax, everything will probably end up screwed anyway, but it always happens right?

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18.11.05

Yesterday, I caught the recent installment of the Harry Potter movie. Boasting better effects, better storyline, better cinematography (though better acting has been appropriately excluded), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the best of the series yet. But what really made it tick is not its graphics or storyline or whatever. It was good because it was short.

Yes, it was short. Still long by movie standards, but shorter than the three previous movies. At two and a half hours, it covered the book concisely, sticking to the more important points. Of course, die-hard fans of the book would complain that the movie did not capture all the events, I liked it better that way. Let me explain why.

Reading is very different from watching a movie. When you read, you imagine the people, the setting, the action. When you watch a movie, you sit there eating popcorn and wait for things to unfold. This waiting can sometimes be annoying, especially if you have to sit through really draggy stuff that does not really relate to the overall scheme of things. When you watch a movie, you want constant action and suspense. You want your brain to be constantly engaged. And you really need to pee.

So kudos to the cast and crew of the fourth Harry Potter movie for a job well done. Looking forward to the last three movies.

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What if you cannot help it? You are in a shopping centre, the amiable sales lady is attending to another customer, and you just need to have that item. What if you cannot resist?

For all of you who are not avid fans of pathology textbooks (which I am sure you all are), kleptomania is a serious psychological disability, whereby a person, without his conscious consent, steals things. Yes, it is a tendency to shoplift. It starts with taking petty things such as pencils, erasers, chewing gum, etc, but if left untreated could escalate to more daring thefts. The disease can be treated if diagnosed.

So why am I talking about this? No, I am not a kleptomaniac. I just want to talk about it, that's all.

Anyway, the point is society should be more sympathetic towards kleptomaniacs. We should keep in mind that they are suffering. No need for more condemnation. Society may have been more open to autistics and dyslexics, but there is this certain dislike for kleptomaniacs. They are not criminals. They need our help.

And for those who are caught stealing and tell the police that they are suffering from kleptomania when in fact they do not, have some shame.

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4.11.05

I was terribly insulted by a cab driver on my way to school today. It was raining, and Almerick was going to school anyway, so we decided to take a cab. Along the way, the cab driver asked which country we came from. So Almerick said that we are from the Philippines. And the cab driver said probably one of the most demeaning questions I have ever been asked. He asked, “So you are here to study English?”

As I said, I was horrified and belittled. How could he make the assumption that just because we are Filipinos, our English is weak? Even more insulting is his surprise when we told him we are recipients of SMU scholarships. Does he think Filipinos are incapable of being scholars? Does he think we only make good domestic helpers?

I am not saying that all Singaporeans are like him. What really disappoints me is that as part of the service industry, he seems to be extremely insensitive to his customer. Granted he may not have intended or even meant what he said, why can he just not say anything, if he had nothing meaningful to say?

This is not the first time I have heard such comments being made. It has been common to hear classmates telling me that their maids are Filipinos, and that I should meet them. Though not as demeaning, anyone not so tolerant might have taken offence, but I try to see their good intention of making small talk. But do not simply assume that it is alright with me, or that it was a tasteful comment. The Philippines might be a corrupt, impoverished and disorderly country, but it is still MY homeland, so I think it is just right that you give us due respect.

I did not study so bloody hard for my O and A Levels just to get my intelligence insulted. I do not get offended too easily, but he has crossed the line. And do not think I would not remember your name, cab driver, because I do. If I ever take a ride in your cab again, I would not tolerate any of your crap anymore. And I will teach you a thing or two about English. Your grammar is unacceptable.

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I know it has been a while since my last post (stop the nagging already). It has been a very stressful past few weeks (like you really care about me), but I am back, and so is my laptop (see post below). So after the long silence, I shall unleash my creativity once again.

Speaking of creativity, I started a module called Creative Thinking, with renowned creative thinker Kirpal Singh. Now this is one interesting subject (not to mention boring, but I did not say that). I have done probably some of the wackiest assignments for this course in my entire schooling life, such as thinking of ways of promoting brand image through a tree.

Kirpal raised a very intriguing point on our first lesson: Cynics cannot become creative people. Being a cynic myself, I thought, “I am so going to fail this course…” So being the cynic that I am, I tried to be cynical about it.

Cynicism, I believe, takes a lot of creativity. For one to create a cynical remark, one must be able to rack his brains out to find the right word, one that is witty yet not encompassed by the laws of sedition. To a non-cynical reader, cynics would just appear bitter and remorseful, but a fellow cynic would recognize the talent and the beauty.

Cynicism does not deprive one of the merits of a creative mind. True, it may be a hindrance to creative flow, but it is not sunny everyday. Sometimes, we also need an outlet for that rainy weather, not to feel bitter about it, but so that we can set it aside and look forward to things.

People often mistake cynics for pessimists, which we cynics are obviously not. We find the irony in life, not the downside. Oftentimes, people in their tumultuous passage through life, seem to ignore the hypocrisies of society, and it is the cynic’s job to show them these. Cynics do not even ridicule society, though sometimes it should be, but we merely inform others that sometimes life does not work as we thought it would.

So do not hastily judge a cynic. Remember, we pass judgment you probably would not even recognize.

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5.10.05

Bad luck really comes when you least expect it. Just when you think everything is going well and you are on top of things, then bad stuff happens.

For a while, I really felt lucky. I have very hardworking project groupmates; I did not fail my MA test; my Math for Econ test went well. Everything was good. Life was good. Then today came.

I was on my way to school. On my way out of the hostel, I realized that I left two library books that were due to be returned. So I went back up to my room to take them. The stairs were slippery as it rained heavily the night before. So on my way down, guess what happened?

I fell. (Did you get this one right. If you did not, tsk tsk tsk.)

That was not the bad part. All I got were some bruises on my left arm. The unlucky bit I only discovered in school. As I opened my laptop, I find my screen cracked. As in, there are lines all over the screen, even as I am writing this. They are very distracting. Thankfully, the LCD underneath is not broken, so repairing it would not cost as much. And it is probably covered by warranty so I may not have to pay anything at all.

I guess what I am trying to say is that bad things happen to everyone, even to good people (not that I am good). So if you know bad things will happen to you, you can be prepared. Take it in stride and try to see some good in it. Then you would not feel too bad about it.

I still feel like an idiot, though.

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The latest hoo-ha in Singapore concerns poor service standards in many establishments. In the Straits Times, a lot of articles have been devoted on how standards of service are worsening, what companies are doing about it and what the government thinks about it. But is service really that bad?

Of course it is bad, because if it was not, who would complain?

Do not be stupid. It is fine. Sometimes, you need to fill someone else's shoes before you can appreciate what they do, or what they do not do.

So now you work in a fast food chain as a cashier. You ask someone, "May I take your order sir/madam?" And they say, "I want this and this and this." Then you go and ask, "Would you like to have some dessert to go along with that?" And they give you this look that says, "No, stupid. Did I even ask for dessert. Obviously I do not want one, you good-for-nothing moron!"

That really makes your day. Then you have to add those who are exasperated and annoyed because you gave them very few napkins. As if it was your fault, it was company policy. Then there are the people who think you are the son of a devil because their order was a minute too late, thus wasting their precious valuable FREE TIME.

Do you not see it now? Service is a two-way mechanism. Good hosts are only as good as their guests. If you are bitchy and grumpy and expect the best service in the world, then you really are bitchy and grumpy. Who smiles at a frowning person? Although it is a part of their job to greet, smile and thank you, their contract did not include whiny and unappreciative human beings. So smile, it does not hurt. And you will probably get that good service you are looking for.

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