The Twitterrhea (24 March 2012)

Man, I'm getting tired. Plenty of work that needs to be done. Little choice but to suck it up. The foundation's all there and it's a beautiful foundation too. Now all that's left to be done is filling in the blanks. But the blanks are huge, and filling them in is exhausting. Oh well. Just got to hold on until Tuesday. Everything will be over, eventually. It's just a matter of how well you finish.

Haven't been able to update as often as I resolved too. Will post more regularly once most of my deadlines come to pass. Which is Tuesday. Almost there.

PS: I don't know what's wrong with my Twitter font. If you know how to resolve it, give me a heads up!

I'M BATMAN.

GSR Memes

Made a bunch of GSR-related memes. Was thinking of putting them on random GSRs, but abandoned the idea. Making memes is addictive. As you can see, I branched out into all sorts of other SMU-related topics. Hope you liked it.

Week 10 has been really tiring so far. And the following weeks are only going to get worst. Yay.

Kony 2012

So this Kony 2012 thing has gone viral. I haven't watched the video myself, partly because I've the attention span of a toddler, and also because I sort of knew what it was going to be about, even without opening it. It was going to be about some atrocity going on in Africa, and how you can help. The thing is...atrocities like this are going on ALL the time (we live in a horrible world), and I know that me knowing about it won't really help the matter.



I tried to ignore it but it got to me eventually. Over 40 of my friends have shared it, people are Tweeting about it (even Justin Bieber), and everywhere I turn on the internet, it's right there. So I read up on what's going on and got a clearer picture of the situation.

Basically, there's this man called Joseph Kony who is leading a rebel group called Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. His group has been rampaging through Uganda and it's neighbouring countries, pillaging villages, raping women, and abducting children. I'm putting it very plainly here. If you watch the video, I'm sure you'd get a clearer picture of the horrors him and his group are doing.

So the group which released and produced the video, Invisible Children is hoping to raise money to fund the local army to fight back against the LRA. Again, I didn't watch the video, but that's what I got. Now, the issue that arises here is whether Invisible Children is firstly, credible, and secondly, going about things the right way.



It seems like Invisible Children is using the money in less than acceptable ways (their financial records are online, if you're so incline to check). Moreover, the line of action they advocate, using force against force...isn't really right. They fight us...so we fight back? Sounds like the crusades. Also, there's the whole issue of cultural and religious imperialism, which I'm not going to go into.

This, in turn, spawned a host of retaliation messages, pointing out the flaws with the video, "exposing" invisible children, and making fun of faux-tavists. I say fuck this people, you guys are just as bad, riding on another bandwagon, thinking you're all cool and shit.



Here are my thoughts.

Raising Awareness.

I think that awareness is a very important thing. More often than not, we're living in our own sheltered, cloistered world, without knowing that there's a bigger world out there. There are many horrible things happening as we speak. Not everyone is going to sleep soundly tonight. The video succeeds in opening some people's eyes on the harsh truths of the world. Through this, may they appreciate their circumstances more, thank their lucky stars, and make the most out of the opportunities they have.

However, we need to recognize that awareness can only take you so far. What you actually do is more important.

Know what you're doing.

The video had a message, and a call to action. I've learned in business school that sometimes, packaging is enough to get people to do something. We have to understand that when we donate, or when we participate in campaigns, there are always bigger implications beyond what the video will lead us to believe. We have to consider whether it will help...because if it won't, then why bother? Do your own research first.

Moreover, there's also a large limits of what we can actually do. Make sure you have a good understanding of the situation first before actually trying to be all-activisty about it.

Be good to thy neighbour first.

What people fail to recognize is that there's good to waiting to be done EVERYWHERE. Forget Uganda. Let's think about Singapore. Let's think about our home, our peers. Be kind to everyone. Impact their lives in whatever positive way you can. I know that what's going on over there is so much worse, but there's this saying about how charity begins at home. I might be misinterpreting it, but...it should begin at home, because that's where you have the most influence.

If you're an asshole, posting a video isn't going to help you redeem yourself. Be a nice person.

Now here's a picture of an orange cat to make you smile.



I'M OUT.

The Tweekly Howtoraymond (27 February - 4 March)

This post is dedicated to him, too.


About 6 people responded. Feel so loved.


Kurt Vonnegut said this.


#2marchinformation


Together.



It's a pun.


Recess week went by too fast.


"Plis moob to da bakk of da bas."


Your the former.


Leap Year.


They gave me a reason to stare.


I'd take Hauntingly Quiet and Unimaginably Distant any day.


It's a really sexy cap.


Racism bad.


"What kind of guy archives his own tweets?" - Raymond Angelo

There is no such thing as love at first sight.

Fairytales have tinted our perception of love. The usual storyline of a fairytale goes like this: A princess is in some sort of distress. She needs someone, usually a prince to rescue her. The gallant prince, all tall and dashing, comes to save her. They meet, lock lips, and they live happily ever after that, presumably. It's straight-forward, fast, and easy to digest. Put simply, boy meets girl and they fall in love. We grow up listening to this stories, and fall under the illusion that they can happen in real life.

But I would argue that such an optimistic view of love is not applicable in the real world. The reality is that love at first sight, contrary to what our childhood stories have led us to believe, does not give us enough information about the other person to come to the conclusion that he or she is indeed the right one for us.

A first sight merely gives us a glimpse of who the other person actually is. When we see someone, we make a judgement based primarily on their physical appearance - akin to judging a book by its cover, which we're told never to do. We only take notice of their attractiveness, without considering their personal qualities. First sight would also include our first impression of that person - they conducts themselves when we first meet them. However, this impression is a completely random one and we shouldn't be so quick to judge based on that one fleeting moment.

What's more important are the personal qualities belonging to the person. These personal qualities will only come through with interaction and observation of that person. Moreover, this interaction and observation has to be done over a prolonged period of time, in different contexts. Only then will their true colours show.

Knowing the person well is a prerequisite of love. We are a species which mate for life. Marriage is the social norm, and once we are married to somebody, we are bound by society to stay with that person forever. This lifelong cohabitation will not be possible without an intimate knowledge of the other party - something that "love at first sight" does not give us.

An extension of cohabitation is cooperation in raising an offspring. The act of mating is a spur of the moment action. Human beings are equipped with the natural ability to spot more fertile mates. What we see as "attractive qualities" such as wider hips and pouty lips in a female, are actually physical manifestation of their fertility. If the only goal in "love" is to produce a child, "at first sight" would be enough. Today, a couple is expected to raise the child. This process demands for more than physical attraction - it needs compatible qualities between the mother and father. Qualities which needs more than "first sight" to ascertain.

Thus, it can be concluded that idea of love at first sight is best left to the realm of fairytales.

PS: This was for an Analytical Skills assignment. On hindsight, #facepalm.

The White Branch

We went to visit the homes of the elderly today, for my Leadership and Team Building module. Not everything went as planned. There were hiccups, and unforeseen problems, but I think we worked around them quite well. We prepared to the best of our abilities, but I guess some things will go wrong whether we like it or not. I'll leave that stuff for my report. For now, let me just tell you about my experience.

My team went to visit a total of 4 homes. The homes we visited were at this few blocks at Marsiling. I've never gone to Marsiling in my whole life, I think. It's an especially rural part of Singapore, just past Woodlands. Looking at this place, as compared to Raffles Place, or something like that...the difference is extremely stark.

The few block of flats had solely one-room rental flats. This one-room flats are cheaper, and are mostly reserved for the poor/elderly. We were warned that not just the elderly use these homes - they also house large poor families who can't afford anything more. Apparently, some of the homes are used by drug-abusers too, and other similarly illegal activities. During our visits, I saw some things that I guess you don't normally associate with this seemingly prosperous country of ours.

The first home we visit broke my heart. It was home to an elderly Malay lady, who was about 80 years-old. She couldn't walk properly, and she was partially deaf. Moreover, she had her daughter living with her. I'm guessing that her daughter was about 50-years-old...but her daughter was wheel-chair bound, and had Parkinsons, if I understood correctly. The house was a mess. There was a pile of clothes everywhere, and it was dusty, and there was the faint smell of urine in the house.

We tried our best to help them. We cleaned the dishes, the toilet, and rearranged the furniture. We talked to them too, but the more they told us their story, the more helpless I felt. Because at the end of the day, the only thing we can really do, within the scope of our project is to clean and talk to them.

The second house was much better. The lady had been featured in the newspaper recently, as a former resident of Bukit Brown. She willingly shared with us her story, and talking to her was something that I really enjoyed. The house itself was quite clean, and required minimal labour; as such, we spent more time interacting with her. The same goes with the fourth house. It was encouraging; most of the time, this elderly don't really get out much, and I could tell that they enjoyed talking to us very much.

Let's back track to the third house now. It's by far the most disgusting home I've seen in all my life. There were syringes on the floor, dust, and broken glasses. The toilet had acquired a strange hue of green, from algae or moss. The amount of dust felt like something out of a construction site - way too much. There were no proper furniture. Newspapers lay scattered around the floor. There wasn't a proper bed in sight.

I kind of felt used in this case, because the elderly there didn't stay to talk to us as we cleaned. Instead, she walked off to a neighbouring flat to chit-chat, while we cleaned up her mess. I'm not sure what her situation is, but I'm guessing it's kind of dire. We did our best, anyhow.

At the end of it all, we cleaned a total of 20 homes. Each group had it's own interesting story to tell. On the whole, it was a very interesting and enriching experience. While what we could do is indeed limited, it's important to realize that at times, even the simplest gestures can go a long way. When we talked to them, you could really see it in their eyes that they have been looking forward to talking to someone, and share with us what they know, and what they've been through. Moreover, there's simply some chores which are hard to do for the elderly, and that's where we come in, with our muscles, and our youth.

Still, more can be done for these folks, I think. The overwhelming poverty...it's alarming, to say the least, and frightening too. I'm quite lucky to be where I am. I'm in my own air-conditioned room, typing away on my own laptop, playing music. My maid cleans up after me, and I never ever have to think about hygiene, or anything like that. My parents provide for me, and I never worry about having food on the table. It's things like this which I take for granted all the time - it's not my right you see, but sometimes, I do see it as such.

There's an unhealthy sense of entitlement prevalent in our generation which leaves a bad taste in my mouth. We expect more and more and more, without ever being content or thankful for what we have, nor recognizing the fact that there are folks out there with so much less. And we also need to recognize that one day, we'll be old too. The clock's ticking, and our time will run out, eventually.

You won't be young forever.

-

Here's a little Thank-You card I made for our volunteers. It looks nice, but making it is actually quite simple. I'm pleased with it. :)

What does SMU stand for?

Facebook's acting a bit too smart for it's own good hasn't it?

Anyway, haven't really had the chance to do any proper updates due to the whirlwind that is recess week. Anyone who's looking to catch a breather during this week is deluded, that's all I've got to say. Maybe it's a Year 1 thing, but I've been busier than ever. Every single day, I'm up at 7, home after 10.

Hopefully things will get better after week 8. Update more soon. LTB execution tomorrow. I'm quite excited!

Time marches on.

The cock is crowing,
The stream is flowing,
The small birds twitter,
The lake doth glitter
The green field sleeps in the sun;
The oldest and youngest
Are at work with the strongest;
The cattle are grazing,
Their heads never raising;
There are forty feeding like one!

Like an army defeated
The snow hath retreated,
And now doth fare ill
On the top of the bare hill;
The plowboy is whooping—anon-anon:
There's joy in the mountains;
There's life in the fountains;
Small clouds are sailing,
Blue sky prevailing;
The rain is over and gone!

-Written In March, a poem by William Wordsworth