Back In Singapore

Hello! I've been away for so long...yeah I know. Why? Because I missed 2 weeks of school and had to catch up with it. Haiz...it's a lot of work I must say. Anyway, I reached Singapore at around midnight...like 1am. There I met Azaria and her friend and passed to Azaria her luggage. After that my parents brought me home. It was a tiring flight. 11 hours from San Francisco to Narita and 7 hours from Narita to Singapore. I reached home at around 2am and unpacked for awhile before going to sleep.

I slept for a few hours as I have classes in the morning. So I slept for around 6 hours. Then I walked out of my home and went to NTU. Wah...got SBS bus leh...

I reached NTU and waited to see who I would see first. I went to the lecture hall and saw one of my friend. I said hi to him and he was like "Hey! You are back!". Yes, I am back. The lecture was pretty hard to understand as I missed quite a lot of classes liao. I won't say I understand 100%...maybe around 50%? Jia lat man. Anyway, after that I went to library and met some of my other friends. Most of them said something in common. "Hey...you look tan!". Yeah that was what they said. They said I look darker...lol. Also they mentioned that my hair was pretty long. It was long as I didn't cut it for 2 months...haha...can you believe that? There was this friend who said something like this...

Friend: Wah...you look darker.
Me: Haha...I know. A lot of people say that. Is my hair long?
Friend: Yeah...it's quite long.
Me: I know...I was planning to cut it.
Friend: It's long in a fashionable sense.

Lol...what does he mean by "fashionable"? I don't know. Anyway I just cut my hair last week. So it's short now. School was pretty long as Tuesday is my long day. After that I ate dinner at took the bus back home. Whoa...the experience on the bus was...nostalgic. It has been a long time since I tapped my EZ-Link card and hear the *beep* sound...lol.

Another thing I missed about Singapore is the food! Lol...carrot cake, chicken rice, tau huey (beancurd), prata, cheng thing, bak kut teh...etc. Wah the food here is nice loh...but so unhealthy...lol.

However, there are some things that I don't miss at all. For example the weather. After bathing, I sweat after a few minutes...lol. It's so humid and sunny here man, unlike in Berkeley where you hardly sweat. Anyway, I don't really walk as much as I did in Berkeley here in Singapore because of the weather. In Berkeley and San Francisco, I used to walk a lot...like 7km or so. But here...lol. From house to bus stop already can sweat...it's humid man.

Another thing I noticed is that the people here are generally less friendly as the ones in Berkeley. Why do I say so? Simple. There was once I was taking the lift to my floor. Inside was an auntie. She saw me and I walked towards the lift. I thought that she pressed the "Door open" button for me so that I can enter. So I said "Thank you". However, when I walked in the door closed! Can you imagine that? I looked at her and her face was black...lol. Diao...and she didn't say sorry! -_- Welcome to Singapore. Okay not all Singaporeans are like that but encountering such a situation in just the first day is really...how you say...not very nice...lol.

This semester will be a busy one for me as I have CCA and projects to handle.

One thing I noticed...I've been writing less and less...lol. Could it be that...haha...hopefully not. This blog has been running since 2005.

I don't know why but I still feel tired and sleepy...lol. Must be the jetlag. Okay I guess I end here first.

Berkeley Summer Session 08 Is Over

It truly has been a long time since I last blogged. At last, my exams are over! I just sat for my last (it also happened to be the first) exam paper today. The subject I took was EE100 Electronic Techniques for Engineering.

I must say that a lot of things have happened. I've seen how people mugged through the whole night, how toilet doors do not stay close when they are supposed to, how "kiasu" some people here can get, how friendships grow, how packing more than 8 books into your bag is stupid, how people here behave...etc.

I will be back in Singapore in 2 more days. I've missed like 2 weeks of school and hopefully I still can catch up.

So far I am pretty satisfied with how things are going in life. All I can say is that the Lord is good.

I am now in Stern Hall writing this post. I just moved here. Apparently, they placed me in a suite. It has two beds but I am the only occupant here. Nice!

Interestingly, the people here don't really know where Singapore is. It's like when I tell them I am from Singapore, they are like "Oh is that somewhere in India?" Diao! There's this guy who said that Singapore is in Thailand...well at least it's closer to its actual place.

Tomorrow I will be shopping around for family and friends back in India...wait I mean Thailand...er no...Singapore.

Then there was once we were eating with this girl from America. We taught her how to speak some Hokkien words such as "Wah piang" and "Wah lau". It was a very interesting experience...lol.

Anyway, when I go back to Singapore, I hope that the workload there will be fine.

Lasting Love

I've been in Berkeley for almost a month and there's one thing I saw which impressed me.

The couples here are very loving...and when I say "couples", I am referring to the senior ones (those in their 60s or 70s) and not the young ones who are still studying.

There was once I was walking and I saw this senior couple holding hands. They may walk in a pace that's 1/10th of that in Singapore but behind those hands held together tells a lifetime of love.

I could see that the man was having a difficult time walking. However the lady would just hold his hands and guide him as he walked. Talk about love.

Maybe when they were young they used to date, quarrel, laugh...etc. However, as age caught up with them, there's something that never changed...and that is the love between the both of them. Their body may fail and their youth disappear but I guess what makes them a "couple" still is the love they share.

I don't see such things in Singapore though. Most of the time, I see senior citizens picking up cans from the bin near where I stay (I stay in a HDB flat). Maybe they don't have the time to spend time together in their old age. Maybe they think that it's pointless to spend time together if they can't even afford their next meal. Maybe...it's some other reason.

With the divorce rates increasing in Singapore, it's definitely a worrying trend. I mean when a man and a woman decides to go into marriage, they have a vow to keep (it is the "marriage vow"). I guess statistics on divorce somehow indicates the attitude society has towards marriage. I don't know if I would ever get to see old couples holding hands while walking in Singapore but it's sad if there aren't any.

Maybe the divorce rates are up simply because people tend to separate over fights and quarrels. Maybe they realized that he/she isn't the man/woman they think he/she is. No one is perfect. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Personally I believe that once an individual enters into marriage, there isn't a "U-turn" anymore. What's in front is a one-way street all the way on the road of life with the other special someone. So I guess it's pretty important to understand the person first before talking about commitment.

I believe that the old couple I talked about earlier also had their own fair share of fights and quarrels, but what kept them as a couple still was their commitment...

Man: Can you please help hold my hand?
Woman: What?

It seems that the lady has a hard time hearing.

Man: I said CAN YOU PLEASE HOLD MY HAND.
Woman: Arh...okay.

The lady holds his hand.

Man: THANK YOU.
Woman: Are you shouting at me?
Man: YES I AM...
Woman: Well it's rude to shout you know...
Man: I KNOW. SORRY 'BOUT THAT.
Woman: Yeah it's okay. I love you dear.
Man: I LOVE YOU TOO!

This is what I guess love is.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails.

Time: 9.05am, 20th July 08 (Sunday)

Lasting Love

I've been in Berkeley for almost a month and there's one thing that I see which impressed me.

The couples here are very loving...and when I say "couples", I am referring to the senior ones (those in their 60s or 70s) not the young ones who are still studying.

There was once I was walking and I saw this senior couple holding hands. They may walk in a pace that's 1/10th of that in Singapore but behind those hands held together tells a lifetime of love.

I could see that the man was having a difficult time walking. However the lady would just hold his hands and guide him as he walked. Talk about love.

Maybe when they were young they used to date, quarrel, laugh...etc. However, as age caught up with them, there's something that never changed...and that is the love between the both of them. Their body may fail and their youth disappear but I guess what makes them a "couple" still is the love they share.

I don't see such things in Singapore though. Most of the time, I see senior citizens picking up cans from the bin near where I stay (I stay in a HDB flat). Maybe they don't have the time to spend time together in their old age. Maybe they think that it's pointless to spend time together if they can't even afford their next meal. Maybe...it's some other reason.

With the divorce rates increasing in Singapore, it's definitely a worrying trend. I mean when a man and a woman decides to go into marriage, they have a vow to keep (it is the "marriage vow"). I guess statistics on divorce somehow indicates the attitude society has towards marriage. I don't know if I would ever get to see old people holding hands while walking in Singapore but it's sad if there aren't any.

Maybe the divorce rates are up simply because people tend to separate over fights and quarrels. Maybe they realized that he/she isn't the man/woman they think he/she is. No one is perfect. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Personally I believe that once an individual enters into marriage, there isn't a "U-turn" anymore. What's in front is a one-way street all the way on the road of life with the other special someone. So I guess it's pretty important to understand the person first before talking about commitment.

(Shucks the person besides me just farted...what a spoiler...here I was trying to write something thoughtful and that person had to...haiz...never mind let me continue)

I believe that the old couple I talked about earlier also had their own fair share of fights and quarrels, but what kept them as a couple still was their commitment...

Man: Can you please help hold my hand?
Woman: What?

It seems that the lady has a hard time hearing.

Man: I said CAN YOU PLEASE HOLD MY HAND.
Woman: Arh...okay.

The lady holds his hand.

Man: THANK YOU.
Woman: Are you shouting at me?
Man: YES I AM...
Woman: Well it's rude to shout you know...
Man: I KNOW. SORRY 'BOUT THAT.
Woman: Yeah it's okay. I love you dear.
Man: I LOVE YOU TOO!

This is what I guess love is.