Reserved.

I came across an interesting article in The New Paper about the trains: No, it has nothing to do with the breakdowns which happened. Rather, it is about the distinctly coloured seat right beside the glass panel; A perfect seat to sit back, relax, and lean your head against the glass as you slip into unconsciousness. I am, of course, talking about the reserved seats.

Photo by Mohamed Yahya

It was a story on how the reporter, whilst ornamented (Merry Christmas!) to seem old and really tired, was offered seats by the passengers majority of the time she boarded the train. This was as opposed to what a STOMP reader might have expected. She went on to conclude that those who appeared on STOMP were a rare few, and that Singaporeans are actually a nice bunch, However, she also noticed that the reserved seats are usually empty if the train was not full, commenting that “This tells me we are obedient more than we are respectful”.

Girl with Feminist Tendencies

In a tribute to the fact that a Hollywood version of my favourite trilogy have just been released in America, I have written a three part series on the issue of feminism, one which is a thread which runs through all three books. This is the first of the three-parter.

Upon reading two recent articles; one about the comments long time girlfriend of Stieg Larsson (Author of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Eva Gabrielsson, made, and another about Christopher Hitchens; I have been pulled towards another topic which I am personally rather opinionated about: feminism.

Now, the rationality behind feminism is easy to comprehend. After being oppressed by men and treated like property for most of history, women feel the need to be empowered. And they very well should be. However, I feel that in this day and age, the methodologies employed by them makes the feminists’ cause a lost one.

Sometimes Maintained, Rarely Thoughtfully

It would have been common sense to write about the recent Mass Rapid Transit train breakdowns, considering how big-scale of a problem it was. However, I initially chose not to write about it due to the sheer boringness of the topic. Sure, such events are rare in this tropical island, but things fail, all the time. Especially mechanical things; and especially so if they were last checked a decade ago.

So I have finally decided to comment on this issue because of another comment floating about in the interwebs. The comment comes in many various forms, but the general idea is the same: We are complaining when the train fails, but when have we ever praised Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) when they have done their job correctly in the past? This made me think: when is someone worthy of compliments, and when should there be complaints? Should people be complimented for simply doing their job, and should others be disappointed when they do nothing but the bare minimum?

The North-South line, operated by SMRT, was disrupted twice in three days.

 Picture: Ariaski

Apple of Wozniak's Eye: Never in Singapore

In this article, Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple, states that “Apple could never have happened in a formal culture of Singapore”. Whilst there have been Singaporeans, driven by their national pride, who were quick to disagree, I will have to disagree with the disagreement, as I somewhat agree with the other Steve.

I believe that the problem lies with our educational culture, and our culture in general. Sure, supporters of Singapore's schooling system will dig out the 2003 Third International Math and Science Study (or TIMSS) results, where Singaporean students were ranked first place internationally. I'm not denying that the education system have been successful in the areas of mathematics and science. In fact, I'm thrilled that the Ministry of Education have gotten something, which even the United States got wrong, right. It's something worth being happy about. However, knowing how to solve mathematical problems in a pre-dictated way or substituting numbers into pre-solved scientific equations does not in any way contribute to creativity. It, I feel, hinders creativity. In fact, the “only-the-teacher's-way”ness way in which these subjects are taught prohibits the fruit of innovation from growing from our nation. Solving problems only in ways which we were taught to by those higher up in the hierarchy, isn't creativity. Sure, it will make us successful. Successful followers, successful robots, successful slave-workers. Never a leader, never a boss, never something great.

Procrastination

I was going to write a post about procrastination, but I decided that I'd do that another day.

NaNoWriMo Ends

So it's the end of November, we're passing towards December, the final month of the year. The final month before we proceed to a new one, one which is rumored to be our last.

I obviously do not believe in such nonsense. However, the month of December does bring with it one thing: the end of NaNoWriMo.

Fifty-thousand Words! Woohoo!

It was my first time attending it, and a great first time it had been. Of course, my English standard have not been affected, whether positively or negatively, by this event. Nonetheless, it was a fun experience. The people I've met, and the cake I've eaten makes up for it. For this month alone, I have spent lots of money on coffee and cakes alone. And I'm not even a big fan of coffee.

One thing I've learnt from NaNoWriMo was not a skill, but rather, an attitude. An attitude to alleviate what is know as 'brain crack'. 'Brain crack' refers to an idea you have, but you don't execute. Problem with this is that you will continue having that idea in your mind, improving it further and further, making the plan perfect in your mind. When you eventually carry out your plan, reality hits you, and it hits you hard. This results in a deep sense of disappointment. A feeling which would not have come about if action had been taken in the earlier stages.

I suffer from this a lot. Being a thinker more than a doer, a lot of my ideas are planned perfectly in my head. Majority of these do not become a part of reality. But not NaNo. NaNoWriMo has given me a reason to force myself to take action, everyday, without fail. Looking back, it is rather amazing that I managed to write about two thousand words a day. Two thousand words! That is, at most, two very long secondary school-length essays. Everyday. For one month.

People who had won NaNoWriMo in the past expressed that one of the main reason they participate was because of the feeling of accomplishment they've felt every NaNo they've participated in. I didn't feel such thing, mainly because I was present on every step of the way. The fifty thousand words increased gradually, one word by one word. There was no burst of ego at the end of the whole thing.

I think the change in me was subtle, one which I don't think I'll ever realise, but one which have affected me and will fundamentally change my life from now on. Of course, apart from my lack of sanity, that is.

The Last Kumpung in Singapore

So I visited Jalan Buangkok, which is the last kumpung in Singapore.

It's a very interesting place for starters, which I more or less expected since it is, after all, the last kumpung in Singapore. But one of the common theme mentioned throughout the tour was how much better and simpler people's lives were in the kumpongs.

Now, while I agree that living in a large house with nothing to worry is a great place to live, I disagree that it's better than living our current lives. To me, it's just a case of the grass being greener on the other side.

Essentially, what it boils down to is that whilst we visit such places for only a short period of time, only the good experiences are experienced in our short time there. But we have to live in our homes for majority of our time, and spending a lot of time here makes all the minor and major flaws surface, unlike in our short time vacating in other areas. This can be seen when people visit other countries for their holidays; they feel that the locals there have a much easier life than themselves, although this may not be true.

Anyway, do click on the picture to see my whole album of my trip.

NaNoWriMo [Day 2] + Another Video Project

It's day 2 of NaNoWriMo now. In fact, just 10 minutes before it becomes day 3 (This information is deemed correct at the time of writing).

Day 1 was relatively easy, I managed to churn out 2500+ words in 3 to 4 hours. Not as much as other NaNoWriMo peeps, but hey, first-timer here.

I set a minimum daily requirement of 2000 words, which means I should be done by 25th November. To be fair, I set it to a few hundred more words than the recommended minimum requirement to prepare for unforeseen circumstances, like extreme sleep deprivation.

I just hit the 5000 word mark a couple of moments ago. This means I'm 10% done! Yea. So I have to do the same thing 9 more times to get to a hundred percent.


I have another video project this Sunday. It was a little rush and all, but it's exciting for me simply because it's something that is going to be posted on an actual website for an actual client.

(I find myself regularly writing present and recent events on my blog using past tense. Another NaNoWriMo side effect, I suppose)

NaNoWriMo Launch

Attended the NaNoWriMo launch party yesterday (2 days before by now?). The cake was not a lie!

(Picture by MidNightTheMagnificent)

Too bad the mountain was nothing but pure cream...

I foresee myself posting nothing but NaNoWriMo posts for the next month. Well, what can I say? It's NaNoWriMo month!

(Yes, I realise that I just said 'National Novel Writing Month Month, but still.)

I must say, the people I met at the party were the most interesting bunch of people I've ever met. Majority of the people I meet are, well, like the majority of people there are: keen interest in everything trivial and no interest in anything that's deemed "academic". You know, the anti-intellectual trend.

The NaNoWriMo people I met are just made of awesome. I like openly talking about taboo subjects knowing that I can get a rational and logical response, as opposed to "I'm offended" or a ಠ_ಠ-face.

I guess NaNoWriMo have been an eye-opening experience for me, despite the fact that it hasn't started yet. I'm awfully excited for November

Film Project

I help some JC people film a video for their project work last Wednesday. It's my 4th video this year, here's a screen shot:

Most fun I ever had. Partly because it's 2 people doing the work of 2 people, instead of 5 people doing the work of 2 like for my school project; partly because the people I worked with were wonderful.

After the filming I went to Old Airport Road for dinner. They have wonderful, wonderful Wan Ton noodles.

NaNoWriMo

I'm attending NaNoWriMo!

While I have been very interested in writing exponential essays, I thought I'll try something different for a change. Besides, I have Written Communication as a module this semester; I'll already be doing loads of exponential essays in school.

One of the interesting things I found in the regional forum is this competition called the "6 word story". Essentially, all we have to do is to write a complete story in 6 words. So here's mine:

"You open uranium Door, inciting end"

Did you spot the 'hidden message'?

First!

Just posting this to see how the formatting and stuff works.

Here's a picture of a cat!