Last words before the fireworks pop!

I dunno what made me wanna write the previous entry so metaphorically. I guess it's always easier to sum things up with a simple image. The passage of time is always likened to a journey...hence my choice of the train and train station imagery to express my sentiments as the year approaches an end.

I would like to do some closure by revisiting some episodes. Meanwhile, enjoy the song tt's playing in the background. I decided it's still the one song that I can call my fav this year (ok i cheenapok i know).

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Sailing101/TOGR regatta training.....Sailing has definitely been an eyeopener for me. It gave me an idea of how sea sports are like and what it takes to battle against not just the forces of nature, but also against myself. I see the temperamental and kanchiong spider side of myself during the regatta trainings, and how I haven't exactly been a good team player :( Nevertheless, sailing's an excellent sport that requires passion and commitment - something that I eventually find myself lacking :(....but i definitely wanna go for a solo leisure sail on a laser sometime soon.

Internship turn job offer.....I have never felt so lucky to have met someone who thinks so highly of me. The internship wasn't particularly tough, but it gave me an idea of the sheer hardwork and passion people put into their jobs. It also kind of confirmed that GPA isn't everything. But that's no excuse to slack off. Knowledge is power and keeping up with information is more for personal learning and development rather than a job requirement. I am glad to have met my boss who's truly my benefactor. It would have been an uneventful internship and a fruitless pursuit if not because of him. I am also glad to have the privilege of 'walking with the giants'. Will be starting work next June. Time to prepare myself mentally for a rough start!

More passport stamps.....It's my first time leaving the country so many times within a year. Pattaya for sailing regatta, Taiwan, HK and Vietnam for holidays. One Asian country after another, and I'm still loving Asia! Not sure if i see it as making up for the lost opportunity of going on exchange. Oh well, at least someone gets to go in my place :) Waiting for everyone to come back and share stories, and start planning for grad trips!

Life is fragile.....Lost my granduncle, an old neighbor and a fellow sailor this fateful year. I was constantly reminded of how fragile life is. I wanna do all that I can in my life time, bring more smiles to people, make my time in this fascinating world worthwhile. You out there, please know that I treasure you even when I don't seem to have the time to tell all of you.

Summer always spells trouble.....And i wished i were more rational sometimes.

Quitter.....And true enough i finally experience my breaking point after forcing myself to keep up with my Japanese language studies for the past 3 yrs. Then i realize this isn't quite the way I want to learn the language. I wish I have a stronger interest for the language though. At least now i've come to realize you can't learn a language like how you learn science or math. It requires abit of talent and natural abilities as well. I guess my interest got killed cos my intentions were too practical right from the start. See how it goes, if i ever regain some interest, I will definitely continue from where i left off.

Still quitting..... I dunno what got me to sign up for StandChart marathon, but I didn't show up on the day of the race itself. I thought it'd put me thru some disciplined regime to get myself fit and healthy. 2008 is the year i lost all my discipline. I hope to find it back soon.

An almost unfinished race.....i swear i will not force myself to do something that i don't like to do ever again. Studying for my last 2 acca papers was indeed an ultra painful and miserable process. I felt imprisoned and tortured, mentally whiplashed. And this is made worse by a lack of motivation, discipline n conviction. I don't think I will pass the papers anyway. So i might need to run this part of the race yet again. But I am tired and I wanna take a break. I am not sure when I will try to finish the last miles of this extremely arduous race again though.

And I'm glad...I have met new people and forged close friendships with many...Sangita, Shuqi, Vanda, Weiling, Denise, JJ, Jo, Xinyee, Kenvia, James, Emily, Mitch, Huihui, fellow interns at ML and just so many more I can't finish naming. Cheers to our friendship for many years more to come! And to all you other 'incumbents' of my social circle, all the best for your future endeavors (esp in tough times like this). Stay true to yourself and be sure to keep in touch (or at least superpoke me on facebook or something)!

Here's wishing everyone a good year ahead (fine, there's a crisis but that's YOUR problem haha)!

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2008 的終點站

列車駛近2008的終點站。乘客已經寥寥無幾。

車門一開，疲憊不堪的都市男女都以沉重的步伐，攀登車站内的電扶梯直往出口前進，歸心似箭。十幾個小時之前，在這同一個車站内，卻是人山人海，水洩不通。

這一年來就好像這車站一日裏的情景。旭日之時的車站是多麽擁擠。人群得川流不息就像一個人的心情，開始的時候是多麽的的強烈，多麽的興奮，為這美好的一天充滿著希望。2008的年頭也就像一天的開始，繁忙複雜，百感交集。當時的我還未知這一年將帶來的驚喜和失望，只能把指南針鎖定在一個方向，不斷往這方向前進。果然，方位確實找着了，搭上往正確方向的列車，也就對自己不再產生懷疑，不再顧慮往日的瑣碎事務。不過，這一路來列車的行駛不完全順暢，鐵路在峭壁邊緣崎嶇不堪。列車更是要面對風吹雨打，不時服務中斷。

隨著時間的流逝，雨停了，路也較好走了。列車行駛速度也漸漸放快了一些。起初在還沒到終點站之前，心情是平靜了一些，因爲已確保能夠安然無恙到達目的地。可是在那最後的時刻，儅列車慢速駛進車站時, 熟睡的乘客們忽然被擴音器傳出來的訊息叫醒，頓時之間感到憤怒不適。想到旅途中的驚險，還是會感受到那一震，似乎還沒完全感到解脫。這種感覺，在他們疲憊的同時，就好像從惡夢中甦醒，是一個非常不妙的感覺。

下車之後，儅頭腦完全清醒了, 這些都市夜歸人便紛紛張大腳步，往住家方向奔去。我也在奔。我也想儘快回到家的懷抱裏，疏鬆脛骨，放鬆心情。過了一陣熟睡, 又再次與旭日的到來,期待明天-2009第一天-的驚喜。

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Good Morning, Vietnam!

Finally got the pics from my Vietnam trip from the rest of my travel pals! I've been back for a week already, and I'm still dreaming of Saigon! Other than the polluted air, blaring car horns and the ubiquity of tourists, I think Vietnam is pretty representative of the Indochinese charm that has attracted so many people to go to the region.

Many mornings when I woke up and stepped out onto the streets, I had this urge to just wanna shout out loud, "Good morning, Vietnam!"

I will always remember the sincerity and dedication of the locals, and how frugal their lives can be especially in a terrible economy in times like this. But somehow, the smiles on their faces remain. Who says poor people can't be happy?

Here're some pics taken on the trip, courtesy of two of my travel pals - Justin and Chubs. And that reminds me I have to send my camera for repair soon :S

Saigon/Cuchi

Above: Benh Thanh Market - a good aunties' hangout for haggling over cheap grocery prices

Above: Independent Palace which got bombarded and attacked by North Vietnamese. The tanks banged down the palace gates and the President was assassinated!



Above: Saigon street scenes


Above: Cao Dai Temple - home to a unique religion that is a composite of influences from 4 religions - Islam (White), Catholic (Blue), Taoism (Red) and Buddhism (Yellow). They worship the Goat's Eye which symbolizes the Sun and the Heart.





Above: Cuchi tunnels - an underground network of human-dug tunnels beside Saigon River stretching 260km long. The area used to be littered with trenches, booby traps, dead American bodies, landmines and bombshells. I attempted crawling (or waddling or squeezing or wadever) through the 90m tunnel section which was a mere 50-60cm high. My back almost died when I emerged from the end of the section. Must salute the VietCong guerrillas really.

Nha Trang

Above: Some pics taken on our way to Nha Trang - a whopping 11hr bus ride! And then we went cycling around Nha Trang. The coastal road (Tran Phu) made it easy to navigate our way around the little seaside town. We went to some places like the Chong Rocks and Po Nagar Indian Temple before ending the day at the beach washing our tired feet in the waters.

Dalat/On the way back to Saigon

Above: Dalat's supposed to be the Cameron Highlands of Vietnam The weather was nice and fair although it gets quite chilly at night. A good place with a romantic backdrop for couples to hang out at some scenic lakes and flower gardens. We witnessed a workers' protest on our way back to Saigon!

And how can we forget...dining in Vietnam!

Above: We ate all sorts of food from Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Cha Gio), Pho Noodles, Pancakes (Banh Xeo), Chap Chai Peng (economical mixed rice), Steamboat (Lau), to Thai Cuisine, Fish n Chips, Italian and dunno what else. The food weren't that cheap actually. I was hoping for a wider variety of Viet food :S
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