postin durin e Christmas period proved impossible due to heavy involvment in church..for e 1st time in 2 years since enterin e army..unless one considers the minor role played last year slip-shodly..Christmas came n went swiftly with all e rehersals for our church play n the worship but i felt dat i din get to enjoy it to e fullest as a result..but i did enjoy my time spent with the teens..well one can't hav his cake n eat it...i din realli experience all dat much christmas cheer n mirth thruout e period as most of my closest frens were overseas n there was no major gift-exchangin or rowdy celebration...there is a place for some commercial celebration of Christmas even for a christian i must say...christmas shoppin n present givin do hav christian values of kindness, tolerance n love dat christians embrace...its just overdone n over-emphasised to e neglect of wat Christmas realli means..sittin back n havin some attention given to our closest loved ones thru gift-buyin, cookin(or buyin) dat turkey for christmas dinner can be therapeutic n a getaway from our hectic daily lives..for the christian, Christmas is not just spiritual..its also social..dats how balanced it should be..all too often we neglect one or the other...as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, a christian should b a more complete individual than a non-christian...why do we often act as though we've forsaken everything earthly n practical for e spiritual?i sincereli wish my next christmas is spent not just reachin out to so-called 'unsaved' loved ones but also spent WITH them doin some quality catchin up..n i would like to spend time takin stock of wats happened since e last christmas n how i've grown better or worse...n be able to exclaim 'there(somewhere bad) but for the grace of God i go'...Cheers..
the 1st word comin to mind bout China for mi is quaint...interestin society that is realli at a crossroads of rural-ancient and urban-modern...so u see a mix of both old n new, current n archaic in today's China..esp e outlyin small towns n second-tier cities..i onli went to my uncle's small township outside Guangzhou province, known as Zhongshan...prob due to e presence of a high central hill in e middle of the town that has had telecommunications towers n power grid lines added to it in e last 5 to 10 years...i must say dat the town is planned more orderly n not nearly as haphazard as Hong Kong..travelled to Zhong shan by ferry which is actually a fast-craft not unlike those they hav bringin lost souls to the charmin lil' island of Pulau Tekong...onboard I saw this darn crude advertisment for Chinese Sausages..realli,man, Chinese Companies hav a long way to go in advertisin..lackin in taste n finese man..then there were the Cultural Revolution Era slogans found on bright red banners at street corners n major junctions exhortin locals to study hard n contribute to civic society as well as live free of 'corrupt' morals...also the state production license certificates n quality 'Inspection' documentation found in all commercial stores n shops which are a throwback to another year or generation of 'state supervision'...one can see images of a rural China seekin to live in transition with modernity again on the major highways n expressways..passin a roadside shack sellin honey from a bee-farm n seein trishaws, bicycles n farm tractors..tractors! goin on to e expressway carryin hay...u realli see dat other side of China not evident in economic reports n news telecasts..add to dat the image of a plantation 2 km from a major shoppin mall n adjacent to a main road..u get e picture of a China tryin to be inclusive but not wildly successful in doin so at e moment..of course, there is great evidence of piracy n IP-infringement in China...for instance, i saw this CHi brand usin e same logo design n background as Dunhill but with e words 'Duobile' in place..n sellin e same type of shirts n clothes as Dunhill lor..but i must say, the quality of cut n material is as good as the original..like somebody stole the material from the Dunhill factory, sewed it with e same machines n sold it at just above e cost of e materials n workmanshp..no wonder e ang mohs hate us chinese haha..finalli, stayin in e hotel at Zhongshan, i noticed a curious thing...in e middle of e nite, certain scantilly-clad n (i must say) attractive women with high-pitched voices come knockin at hotel room doors..their intent is obvious esp when they ask if u called for 'room service' when quite obviously, one did not..n it was a reputable 4-star 'govt approved' hotel i was stayin in lor...gives one room for tot rite...or fantasy...;-)
its often amazing the differences to be had in a country with one supposed national identity..sometimes it seems as though a country can be so schizphrenic in charcter..the 1st thing strikin mi bout Hong Kong was the close proximity(to use a chim word; juxtaposition) of clean, hygenic airport facilities to unhygenic, garbage-strewn five foot ways along the main roads..its like the locals could not care-less..then there's the strange fact dat there are actualli bus-stops at the beginning of expressways..i'm serious, at the top of of a super-steep slope where the expressway began, the bus i was on actually stopped to pick up passengers at a make-shift bus-stop..huh..i tot to miself...people actualli live at the beginning of an expressway 3 storeys above ground? how else do they get to the top of such a steep slope?then there's the CBD or zong wan which has ultra-modern sky-scrapers and where major financial institutions are located, such as Standard Chartered, Citibank, Bank of China and of course, the very Hong Kong HSBC...but in the Eastern part of the CBD, there are stalls upon stalls of dried seafood sellers and in another part, there is the last traditional Hong Kong Tea House or Cha Guan in HK which serves excellent food with horrible hygene and environmental standards...on my final day, day 6, i saw Hong Kong Disneyland on my way to e airport..its probably the most mis-fit lookin structure in Hong Kong and prob anywhere in e world..while i support globalisation to open up borders and make frens..i think Disneyland is a sideshow attraction dat does neither..its like a big, sprawling, bloody ugly piece o' crap in e shape of mickey mouse's head fell onto HK from Outer Space..its so incredibly foreign and incongruous in HK's landscape and so oviously a mere money-makin gimmick...an insult to sacred land use laws and urban plannin man..the final buildin i saw which left mi in some awe was the majestic Cathay Pacific HQ an d flagship Office...has all sorts of facilities i heard..even short overnite beddin and showers for pilots and senior aircrew...an intelligently designed buildin with solar panels for heatin and other well-planned components..imagine havin a mega-SIA hub in Changi area man..dat would realli do this lil' red dot proud...but i must say, Cathay Pacific has the most disgustin airline food i've ever tasted..even my army camp food tastes better lor...and i've tasted the food on all major airlines such as Qantas, SIA, BA except Emirates..well, in between days 2 to 6 I also made a short trip to China to visit my Uncle on ma Dad's side o e family..man, dats another story for another day...
its my intention to blog bout my travels in Hong Kong n China like a mini travel blog but not todae or till late dis week...i will, howeva, do a lil' write-up on one of my purchases in Hong Kong n its deep significance for mi..as Cheryl said in church today, 'woah, nice wallet..is dat a real Louis Vuitton?" to which i replied, "onli 10 sing dollars from Temple Street in Jordan area, u think leh?" i replaced my wallet in Hk yes..since Dec 2002, i've changed my wallet 4 times in total, inc this latest one..u noe, wallets are very precious to a man n they reflect his character a great deal..a slim wallet reflects a man who's confident n sees dat his needs r met thru credit n debit cards n onli a few notes of large denominations..larger wallets reflect a desire to flaunt n to be prepared for all contingencies n as he carries more cash, it could be said dat he does not like to be bogged down by pay-later woes dat come with monthly credit bills..a self-made man so to speak..i'm in between la..so u could say i'm balanced n hav my feet firmly grounded (sorry, i betta stop before my ego reaches Mars)..i changed my wallets due to wear n tear n its interestin to note e kinds of wallets i used to carry down e years..hand-mi-downs when i was in primary n early sec sch,sports canvas types later on in upper sec n JC..n longer, more sophisticated, elegant 'gentlemen' leather types in e army..its a growin up phase for us guys la..i tell u some of e crazy, dumb stuff i used to do with my wallet..like e time i mistakenli took it out with mi to cross a swamp..after i'd made sergeant but was still wet behind e ears..ever seen 10 dollar bills drippin black water from e edges? needless to say, i threw dat poor wallet n everything in it away first thing i reached camp (save e 20 bucks..spent it up asap..sorry canteen auntie)..or e amount of brown dust i emptied out onto e dance floor of dat Australian club after trainin n durin R&R..must hav freaked e bouncers out with dat sea of sand..i guess e whole point is dat wallets are dear to a guy n mark his emotional n mental progress in life...why? becos its a store of the money dat we men are more concerned with accumulatin (sometimes for its own sake) than u ladies..n where do men traditionalli carry their wallets since the Industrial Era began? in e breast pocket next to e heart..so u noe..its dear...to gauge e measure of a man, look at his wallet cut, shape, measurements n style i believe..so if u ladies ever seek a good birthdae gift to give a guy..find a good wallet..
Flyin off to Hong Kong this mornin for a long-awaited holiday n break...its been quite a while since i've been on an airplane..dat John Denver song alwaez comes unbidden to mind..all my bags are packed and i'm ready to go..let mi see, e last time i got on an airplane was November last year, comin back from Australia's Rockhampton airport..it was e conclusion of my overseas 'mechanised manoeuvres' with the army...wherein i received a fungal infection of the foot, several blood-sucking tick bites dat could hav caused paralysis for life had they not been removed early on..as well as sets of dust-blown, sand-filled 'combat fatigues'..well, its been over a year since dat episode n goin on a civilian, commercial flight is a refreshin change from ground-life..my destination will be Hong Kong which could not be a more 'civilian' destination n further from the memories, sights n sounds of military life..its time to get a lil' shoppin done..can hardli believe i've not bought any new up-market clothes since prom nite 03..n time to do a little relative visitin...probably e best thing to look forward to in HK would be the rows of Tai-pai-Tong or roadside food stalls which i hav not visited since last i went in '99...amazin food n comin to e second 'major attraction' ..amazingly clad women..mind u, while i personally feel dat Singapore has more beautiful women compared to Hong Kong, i must say dat HK women dress much better than their SIngaporean counterparts...n they're more friendly n approachable...but no, i'm not lookin for n will not hav a 'bohemian' experience..ie fall in love in a foreign country..dat onli happens in movies n with celebrities..i'll be back by Sat e 10th at 7pm...yes, Matt Ng, i promised liquer...n yes Yuankai, i'll get u ur b'dae present over there..apologies for not bein able to attend ur b'dae on e 7th...so till e 10th, God bless my frens n all e best! wish mi Godspeed as i'll wish u laddies n lasses Au-voir...
Today, i finalli caught dat Potter movie i've been wantin to catch the past 2 weeks, n indeed, all this year..its like a yearly pilgrimmage for mi now...a pet peeve dat brings back good memories..how so? let mi explain..i started seein e 1st installment of Harry Potter when i was 2001 when i was 18...i can still remember e feelin..i was all young n innocent..ready to take on e world n so sure of myself..not as sure as i was at 16 possibly, but surer than i am now of myself n my abilities..i felt e world was my oyster after finalli leavin e official s'pore education system..anyways, as things go, i wanted to compare Harry Potter to the Lord of the Rings cos both dealt with fantasy n magic, n both had old wizards n young, inexperienced main characters..then i watched my 2nd installment of Potter..i remember feelin like a loser after failin my a-levels once n bein so many years behind my peers (esp e gals)..this was before my 2nd attempt results came out next march..my 3rd movie was when i had lost my freedom in e army n had learnt a lot of hard lessons in e army dat year, esp bout human nature n success..now for e 4th installment, i feel driven..driven to catch up with my peers n driven to prove somethin..dat i am neither a loser nor a failure..whether in life, faith or relationships..but also humbled to noe dat the Almighty has seen mi thru so much n taught mi so much i would not hav otherwise learnt..humbled oso to noe dat Man Proposes but God Disposes..i once read this book on Star Wars Trivia..in e forward, e author said dat he first watched star wars iv when he was 16 n had just run away from home, directionless...he was in e queue for tickets to star wars v when he learnt dat his best fren had been murdered in cold blood by armed robbers n when he watched Star Wars vi he'd just had his 1st child born n was watchin it as the first show with his family..dats why he was so into Star Wars..it held so much memory n meanin for him...well, it lives up to expectation with truly much darker issues bein addressed like death n betrayal as well as loyalty...incidentally, some of e stuff does truli has spiritual significance like e portal to e quidditch world-cup tournament n to Lord Voldemort's hideout...occultists do hav "spirit gates" to spiritual realms n these r often in very terrifyin or eerie places...only does who hav been in BMTC sch 2 n noe of e "third door" in Ulysees coy will relate to dis..but not everythin la of course...i wonder why dun they hav a department of military magiks in Hogwarts..then they could make good use of dat nasty Hungarian Horn-Tailed Dragon instead of slayin it senselessly..Horned-Tail anyone?
