I'm glad I became a bookworm - Part II

Recently, I came across this poem in which I told myself a long time ago, that if I ever have any children in the future, I will read and enforce the values and meanings of it to them. For so many years, I had forgotten about it until I rediscovered it once again in another form of medium.

Many years back when I was in primary school, my house was swarmed from years of subscribing to Readers' Digest. Even after my dad stopped the subscription and no one seemed to read them anymore, I was set on keeping all four-years' worth of them.

Maybe it was because I felt that it would be such waste to throw them away just like that. Maybe they had seemed so easy to read for a small girl who just learned to love to read. Whichever it was, I practically plowed through them all and came across this article about Rudyard Kipling.

It would seem like a short profile on this brilliant British writer now, as compared to my perception of it from reading it then. The journalist who wrote this piece talked about Kipling's works and focused on the death of his son, John Kipling, who died before him in the war. He or she (I can't remember) managed to depict John as a boy who was the pride and joy of his father to the brave young man he turned out to be in such a moving way that I was tearing by the time I finished the article.

However, the one climatic part which caused me to break down completely is this poem by Kipling, inserted at the back of the article. Even though he wrote it before John's death, the timeliness of reading it after completing the story brought another tidal wave-like of emotions swept inside me.

If

by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!


In a funny twist of thoughts now, I feel that I myself as an adult now, should look up to this instead of what I had thought when I was a child. Yes, it may seem tacky or outdated for one to do that.

But, in this world where many of the good of the past are forgotten and we are so engrossed and disillusioned with what we see on the surface now, this is one of the timeless 'good' that we can always remember and savor, along with your very own classics.

Hope you know or realize them by now, be it the taste of the rice your deceased grandmother used to cook for you; or the look of your loved one's face when he/she smiles at you.

I'm glad I became a bookworm - Part I

My first storybook was the 3-in-1 compilation of Enid Blyton's Famous Five. I remember the scenario of how I got this book that's heavier than my dictionary then. I was in a bookstore with my dad, who was looking for some stationery.

I was six, the age when most children love to follow wherever their parents go; as well as a regular girl (ok, maybe a hyperactive one) who loves to play hopscotch, five-stones, 'catching' with my cousins, and watch cartoons instead of read.

Ten minutes since I stepped into the bookstore, my attention span wavered. I looked around and spotted the section where all the storybooks for my age were placed and walked away from my dad towards it. One of the books placed on the 'Top-sellers' bookrack was this really thick and heavy-looking book that looked more like a dictionary than a storybook. Thanks to the illustrations on the cover, I could identify it just as what it is.

I hurried over to my dad, who was already queuing up at the cashier, and pleaded for him to buy me this book that I had not even read its sypnosis just because I thought that it will be nice to be portrayed as this intellectual kid that read an ultra-thick book. Trust me, I've no idea where this notion came from. I must be real vain and image-conscious then as compared to the person I'm now.

Being the ever doting father that he always is, he never even hesitated or looked at its price or read its summary and bought it for me. And I was such a wonderful daughter for putting it aside on the corner of the second row of the bookshelf, which is on top of my study table for a whole year without reading a single word. It was only when I tidied my table that I picked it up again.

I felt guilty instantly for not reading it as the book must be very expensive (to the seven-year-old me who was convinced that this is considered a form of luxury) and how could I not read it at all when I was the one who asked my dad to get it in the first place!

So I started reading it. I realized after reading that it was actually three stories combined into one book instead of just one, and that reading itself could be this exciting. I have a knack for visualizing the details I read and thus had no difficulty transporting into the adventures of Famous Five and get lost there.

My mom, who saw that I had developed this love in reading, bought me more of Famous Five. I grew from it to Sweet Valley and Nancy Drew; then Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen's novels, and have since proceeded to the variety of mangas and novels I read now.

I love to explore the plots that the authors built up in a painstakingly-detailed manner, the humor and wit of their words, and the swirl of emotions I feel whenever my whole being gets devoured into this exciting realm the authors have created. But most of all, I love how they can make me smile and laugh when I'm downright depressed.

I'm glad I became a bookworm.

positive thinking!

Sorry I've not been writing. I was lost and way too occupied on my inspiration-seeking journey to gather idea(s) for a feature article lately and now that I got it, I'm back!

I don't know if it's just me but I've been feeling a sense of gloominess around town area ever since the recession kicks in. Did you get that too?

Ever since news of a looming recession begins, I have been curbing my inner shopaholic persona and refraining myself from stepping into any one of my favorite stores such as Warehouse, french connection and Massimo Dutti to prevent me from buying anything.

Being a typical female (I just strike out 'girl' after much thought, thanks to those questionnaires which keep reminding me of my age); who is also a victim of consumerism; and a stickler of the 'right' combination of clothes and shoes, this obviously would not work out entirely.

This happened on the day I arranged to meet my friend in town for dinner.

At Wisma Atria shopping centre: 'Okay, here's Warehouse. Don't look Adele, keep walking. Oh no, I saw this cool jacket on the mannequin at bebe. No, don't enter. Just walk straight and you'll be fine. Oh, Nine West's having a sale! So, you have lots of shoes! You'll survive!" Wisma safe. Obstacle one cleared.

Straight and into Takashimaya shopping centre: 'No, that Guess blouse will not suit you so don't look. Yes, Calvin Klein and DKNY are having a sale, but that's none of your business. Gosh, the color of that pair of Armani jeans is just what I'm looking for so long! Okay, no. It's not on sale, so you can wait for it to go on sale right?' Level two cleared. For now.

Then, as I headed towards Kinokuniya bookstore, I passed by this recently-opened boutique - Juicy Couture. 'Aww.. That dress is gorgeous!' And with that, I finally could not resist the temptation but to enter this forbidden enclosure.

Luckily, that gorgeous dress (about $600) and the cute denim shorts ($310) were too pricey for a student like me to splurge on, especially in bad times like now. 'Luckily', in the sense that I will not spend anything at all in the end! Ha ha!

In an attempt to cut costs and save more, I even traded my usual dose of Starbucks double-shot espresso frappuccino with caramel drizzle for kopitiam's $0.80 coffee :( and bring along a bottle of water instead of buying those bottled / canned / packets of water (they can be unhealthy too) whenever I go out.

But what can I say? All that's important is I'm alive, healthy enough to sit down here and whine about it, and not bankrupt right?

Like what Domenico Dolce of Dolce & Gabbana said,

"The worst times can be the best if you think with positive energy."

Like what the Japanese loved to say with their cute accent, "Positive thinkin'!"

check this out

Stop Motion Piano And Drums - Watch more Funny Videos


This is a great example of

Practice
+
Hard work
+
Perseverance
+
Good editing software & maybe skills
+
Lots of time

= Pays off to a pretty cool end product! LOL

a beautiful song from my favourite singer

When the cherryblossom colors flutter, I’m alone
Standing exhausted, I can’t cut off these feelings bottled up inside

When the color of new leaves shake, feelings overflow
I lost sight of everything and drifted towards you

The trees around us told us in silence
That we would both see:
People don’t have to be limited to one place

When the withering leaves change color, I am next to you
And as the passing days fade, our love changes

But please, let these trees
Protect these feelings
Silently rustling your leaves above us,
Just one more time..

Before long, the seasons will pass
And we will be taken somewhere else
But right now, there’s only one thing I know
Embrace me, silently

Covered by the snow, the feelings get lost
The footprints vanish, sounds disappear in vain

But please, let these trees
Protect these feelings
So that, frozen in eternity
We may live on here

The trees around us told us in silence
That we would both see:
People don’t have to be limited to one place

When the cherryblossom colors flutter, I’m alone
Savoring my thoughts of you

reflection of a faulty biological clock

All talk and no action means nothing right? I've meant to take better care of myself but with my procrastinating past catching up to me for this matter, I've yet to do anything about it. Which is why I've got a dressing-down from my mother this morning, who is worried about my shrinking body size and bad habits which seem to take a toll on my health.

I don't work everyday since school started last week. On days where I've class, I tend to sleep late into noon, even though I've set the alarm to 9:30am or 10am. And for this morning, I woke up at a time where almost everyone would have started or finished their lunch by then - 1 o'clock. I had specifically set the alarm to 10am the previous night (wee hours of the morning at 2am to be exact) but somehow, I did not hear it going off at all.

I had tested it a few days ago, thinking it might be that my handphone's alarm is defective, but it worked perfectly well as compared to my biological clock that sleeps at 3am - 4am and wakes up in the afternoon. I can feel my heavy eyes straining to remain wide open from about 2am, but for some reason, I just have to find something to do as I can't sleep. My best friend who's a nurse suspects I'm suffering from insomnia.

This scenario has been happening repetitively for about a month now. I wake up, glance at the time, 'Shoot! It's 12 plus already!", and jump out of my little comfort zone called 'bed'. And this is only the start.

Which leads to the next issue - breakfast. Obviously, what I'm going to take at that kind of time is what one would call a 'brunch'. I used to think, 'ok, I've missed breakast, but I can make up for it by having a hearty lunch!' For commonsense point of view, it makes perfect sense. For a health specialist's viewpoint, it's one of those bad habits that when combined as a whole, it could turn nasty and serious.

My mother, who just woke up from her nap to cook, was totally aghast at me taking the most important meal of the day at 1:10pm. She gave me a lecture and showed me a newspaper article on the bad habits that lead to kidney failure. They are namely, skipping breakfast, having them irregularly, substituting proper meals for desserts or snacks, and stress. 4 bingos, I just got a perfect score for all of them.

If I don't do something about this messed-up lifestyle, I'm going to be those people who are prone to getting all sorts of diseases at a much younger age as compared to statistics five to ten years ago. Now, that is scary. To risk that, I'd rather not.

Shin Na & Breast Cancer

Another unit through and done with. But what's not over and done with is the stories I have gathered and will remember while researching on my project. The most prominent one that stuck in my head is this blog which opened my eyes to a person's route to looming death. It has me thinking more deeply about cancer, life and loved ones.

I had to do this major assignment about the best media/showcase to find information related to breast cancer. We had a real client this time, which is the Breast Cancer Foundation. The main point here is to find creative yet realistic ways to improve communication means between the publics (in PR, there's no such thing as a single public) and raise awareness about breast cancer.

Before the formulation of a strategy comes research. So while researching on breast cancer online, I came across this blog whose blogger has passed on in this world - http://shinscancerblog.blogspot.com/.

You might have read a recent news article about a TV journalist donating her body to medical research; or seen any one of the documentaries about her called 'Gentle Good-byes' and 'In the Face of Death'. Yes, that's her. Her name is Shin Na, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2005.

After reading her posts, I was simply amazed at how pragmatic and strong one cancer patient can be, especially like what the documentary's title said, "in the face of death". It is hard not to like her after reading her posts, which circles around her life with her two adorable kids, her husband and her battle with breast cancer. I have not seen any of those documentaries but I'm certain that reading her blog is much more personalized and heartfelt than just watching them.

She looked far, like how she wanted her husband to tell her children of her death; and how her memorial service was going to be. She seemed to have thought about her children's lives without her often. Here's what she said in an unpublished post published by her husband:

"Shin's post (10 Dec 2008).......

People want to leave a mark on this world, leave behind a legacy, be immortalized in history books. That's never seemed important to me. After all, why would I care what people remember or think or say about me after I'd dead and gone? I'll be gone, after all.

The only reason leaving behind any kind of legacy is important to me is for my kids. If they can't have a living mother, at least they can have the memories of a mother who loved them to pieces. That isn't about me being encapsulated in their hearts and minds so that my existence on Earth will not have been for naught; it's about giving the kids something, anything to replace the mother who had to leave them too early. "

Here's a tribute to a brave warrior. I'm dedicating "Anyway" by Martina McBride, one of her favorite songs, in remembrance of her; those who have gone; others who are fighting this illness; and their families and loved ones.



Here, I'll like to make a point for everyone, including guys, to go for early screenings for breast cancer as early detection can cure it. Everyday, there are 3 - 4 diagnosis of breast cancer diagnosed. Please don't be the one to add on to the death statistics.

(These Pink Ribbon pins were given to me at the courtesy of 'Friendship Sponsors'. Left with pink crystals: Joyce, right: Christina. Thanks gals! You can get these pins at the Breast Cancer Foundation for $2 - $5 each, all for charity.)

A note to myself:
1) Cherish my loved ones every second for every single day.
2) Cherish myself & my health (been badly neglected)
3) When the going gets tough, the tough gets going :)

panda-zombie-wordy-Blast!!

I'm so glad it's over and done with. At least for this unit.

My pampered brain who is so used to absorbing (via the neurological filter system I called the OIDR - Only Interested Details Registered) only the topics I'm interested in gets raw, unfamiliar theories forced into it.

I like communication theories, especially those on globalization, hegemony and political discourses. I like reading, though not necessarily absorbing (heez). But I don't like the process of squeezing my brain juice on an eleven-hour basis repetitively everyday because I have to complete eight assignments (6 Qs, 8 lovely sections) in 3 weeks while aiming for a D or HD. Yes, visualise a shriveled brain which is 98% dehydrated.

In the midst of it all, I resorted to filling my deprived stomach of only food that is bought from convenience stores like sandwiches and hot Milo two times a day. And I'm not even trying to go on a diet. Thank goodness feel-good films still exist! Shoving all these work aside, I sneaked out to watch 'Bride Wars' and, despite the bad reviews for it, I felt renewed after watching it. Banzai!

Life's too stressful to watch films that I labelled 'heavy'! And I know very well that I will feel depressed after watching it even though I'm not the protagonist and the plot isn't even a least bit related to me. I like 'Bride Wars' specifically because it is not your typical romance comedy but a story that focuses more of the sisterly friendship shared between two best friends. Hey xiang, where're you? I missed you gal!

Nonetheless, I find the some of these communication theories interesting and fun. One of them is about places that are a form of cultural text themselves - the White House that signifies America's politics like its presidents, government and its bureaucratic systems. The other one is Postmodernism. Think Gwen Stefani's music videos. Think Andy Warhol's iconic artpieces like the multiple replicas of the Campbell soup cans in different flavors. Yes, Postmodernism is Pop culture and everything satirical, fun and against the norms.



This is the whole set of the 32 Campbell soup cans paintings. I saw them once at Collectors Contemporary, a gallery specializing in Western contemporary art last year, and was amused and thoughtful as to why this has become an object of fascination for Warhol to paint them. They are placed in a chronological order based on the order of the time the flavors were introduced.



This is another one of my favorites from Warhol, titled 'Double Elvis'. Sadly, this was not exhibited in Singapore so I can only admire the photograph of it here in my lappy. To me, this is like a clever work of an artist to make a portrait film-like, as if you are watching a snippet of an action film of the role of Elvis Presley facing the villain in a gun showdown. And the beauty of it lies with Warhol's depiction of the different faces a superstar like Elvis portrays to the public - one in a film, one being his real self.

Hopefully the next intensive three weeks of the coming unit will at least be as fun as this if the lecturer decided that six to eight is a healthy number of assignments to be completed in such a short time, especially if the already panda-cum-zombie lookalike has to complete several incomprehensible readings just to do one assignment.

Never mind, just let me indulge in oblivion for now.