I can't help it. I tear each time I read about Lo Hwei Yen - the 28-year old lawyer who was killed by merciless terrorists in the recent Mumbai attacks.
A pool of emotions flood through me as I imagine every moment that is described in the newspapers. I feel how how her family must have felt. I imagine how her husband must have felt. I imagine how her closest friends must have felt. I imagine how she must have felt. And though I don't think I can really feel exactly what they felt, it is overwhelming enough for me. What more they.
Etched on every Singaporean's memory is perhaps her smile. I imagine she must have enjoyed life and brought joy to a whole of people's lives. I imagine she must have been the shining bright star in her husband's life. I imagine she must have been the light that came to any darkness in life.
And with her leaving, I imagine she remains the person she is - still bringing light to a whole lot of us who have been living in our dark world of busy-ness.
I wish she hadn't have to die to show us that life is precious, that it could just come and go in a fleeting moment. I wish she hadn't have to die to teach us to spend more time with our loved ones. I wish she hadn't have to die to remind us to seize the day and to place our fears aside to face what the present holds for us. I wish she didn't have to die.
I remind myself to say a prayer for her soul and for her husband and family in their bereavement every day. I pray that as she joins God in heaven, she keeps that smile on her face knowing she has touched thousands of Singaporeans in one way or another. I guess all of us wished she didn't have to go.
05 December 2008
29 November 2008
Alfred asked me to update my blog
My ex-student, Alfred asked me to update my blog, so I'm keying in this entry for him.
Updated!
:)
Updated!
:)
10 August 2008
This is Home - Truly...
National Day has just passed and although I wasn't one of the thousands at Marina Bay celebrating, the pride of being a Singaporean radiated more strongly than ever before in my 32+ years of being one.
This year saw me travelling much more than I had ever done so in my life. I've been zipping in and out of the airport, going from one city to another, crossing time zones and continents, that I once kidded with my friend that I'm taking the plane more in a week than I have the bus or MRT.
But having travelled so many cities had made me appreciate the life I have in Singapore, and truly, each time I come back home, passing through the immigration counters, I whisper to myself, "This is home, truly."
Cliche as it might sound, Singapore indeed has made me feel so much at home - a place where efficiency and service are taken for granted until you go to a place less efficient, and well, less polite.
I had waited in the airport once in a well-developed city - 40 minutes to get through immigration, and another 40 to collect my luggage. It didn't matter that I had a 'priority' tag on my bag. It came out all the same as the rest.
The difference when I just got back from another city. Zipping through Singapore's immigration took no more than 5 minutes, and by the time I had gotten to the belt to collect my luggage, there it was waiting for me.
People complain about the service on the Singapore Airlines. I don't. Because I've flown airlines where crew bitch about passengers at the gallery, or even if you're travelling on the business class, you're asked if you want to eat as if you were a kid. I travel in Economy in our own airlines, and nevermind that I'm an Asian, the verbage and courtesy shown to all passengers, regardless, is the same good service. Ten minutes before landing, a passenger asked for a blanket, and the crew swiftly got a brand new one out. Nevermind the insanity of the request. This is what I call service.
A man who sat beside me once on the plane was curious about where I was heading to. "Singapore", I told him. "Is that your home?" "Yes, it is," I replied. "Ah - explains your fluency in English."
This is what Singapore is known for - its people are fluent in a multitude of languages, thanks to its well thought out education plan, and the leadership of someone I truly admire, our Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Without his foresight, I wonder where Singapore would be today.
So yes. I am so proud to be a Singaporean. And nevermind that we are young. We've come a long way since 43 years ago.
This year saw me travelling much more than I had ever done so in my life. I've been zipping in and out of the airport, going from one city to another, crossing time zones and continents, that I once kidded with my friend that I'm taking the plane more in a week than I have the bus or MRT.
But having travelled so many cities had made me appreciate the life I have in Singapore, and truly, each time I come back home, passing through the immigration counters, I whisper to myself, "This is home, truly."
Cliche as it might sound, Singapore indeed has made me feel so much at home - a place where efficiency and service are taken for granted until you go to a place less efficient, and well, less polite.
I had waited in the airport once in a well-developed city - 40 minutes to get through immigration, and another 40 to collect my luggage. It didn't matter that I had a 'priority' tag on my bag. It came out all the same as the rest.
The difference when I just got back from another city. Zipping through Singapore's immigration took no more than 5 minutes, and by the time I had gotten to the belt to collect my luggage, there it was waiting for me.
People complain about the service on the Singapore Airlines. I don't. Because I've flown airlines where crew bitch about passengers at the gallery, or even if you're travelling on the business class, you're asked if you want to eat as if you were a kid. I travel in Economy in our own airlines, and nevermind that I'm an Asian, the verbage and courtesy shown to all passengers, regardless, is the same good service. Ten minutes before landing, a passenger asked for a blanket, and the crew swiftly got a brand new one out. Nevermind the insanity of the request. This is what I call service.
A man who sat beside me once on the plane was curious about where I was heading to. "Singapore", I told him. "Is that your home?" "Yes, it is," I replied. "Ah - explains your fluency in English."
This is what Singapore is known for - its people are fluent in a multitude of languages, thanks to its well thought out education plan, and the leadership of someone I truly admire, our Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Without his foresight, I wonder where Singapore would be today.
So yes. I am so proud to be a Singaporean. And nevermind that we are young. We've come a long way since 43 years ago.
26 May 2008
Facebook connects old friends
Taking time off to dust the cobwebs off my keyboard and do a little blogging while I wait for the large image files of Maria Sharapova to download from the client server.
No, I've not forgotten about my blog. It's just that life has taken over and I've been busy working and travelling in and out of the country while juggling project after project, not to mention a one-week break with dear old mum at Las Vegas.
I've begun to marvel at the latest Web 2.0 technology recently. Not that I've not already been wowed by the many things it can do, allowing people to network over a virtual space for one, I've been even more impressed by how it managed to link me up with my old school mate back to junior college and now to my secondary school.
I don't need to mention ages here, but any wise person can count backwards, realising that I've not met some of my JC mates since we left school some 15 years ago. And just when we thought we've lost touch with each other, Facebook brings us all back together.
I met up with six of my JC mates (affectionately called the "door group" cos we always at by the door in the classroom) over dinner last night and it's amazing that after 15 years, a large part of us remains unchanged. We picked up where we left off and 15 years of being apart brought back many fond memories and laughter. Talking about what we used to do back in our JC days, making fun of teachers and looking out for the guys that we used to have crushes on made us feel all nostalgic.
All of us looked back and were glad we didn't marry the guys we used to have crushes on. I guess as we grew older, we became wiser. We've begun to know what we want in relationships, and we've learned how to differentiate good from bad. Half of the six of us are happily married, while the other half have been tasked to break the curse of infertility by getting married!
At the end of the day, I was glad that we met up, and thankful for Facebook that put us all in touch.
Nothing beats connecting with old friends. It makes me look back and think I've come a long way.
:)
No, I've not forgotten about my blog. It's just that life has taken over and I've been busy working and travelling in and out of the country while juggling project after project, not to mention a one-week break with dear old mum at Las Vegas.
I've begun to marvel at the latest Web 2.0 technology recently. Not that I've not already been wowed by the many things it can do, allowing people to network over a virtual space for one, I've been even more impressed by how it managed to link me up with my old school mate back to junior college and now to my secondary school.
I don't need to mention ages here, but any wise person can count backwards, realising that I've not met some of my JC mates since we left school some 15 years ago. And just when we thought we've lost touch with each other, Facebook brings us all back together.
I met up with six of my JC mates (affectionately called the "door group" cos we always at by the door in the classroom) over dinner last night and it's amazing that after 15 years, a large part of us remains unchanged. We picked up where we left off and 15 years of being apart brought back many fond memories and laughter. Talking about what we used to do back in our JC days, making fun of teachers and looking out for the guys that we used to have crushes on made us feel all nostalgic.
All of us looked back and were glad we didn't marry the guys we used to have crushes on. I guess as we grew older, we became wiser. We've begun to know what we want in relationships, and we've learned how to differentiate good from bad. Half of the six of us are happily married, while the other half have been tasked to break the curse of infertility by getting married!
At the end of the day, I was glad that we met up, and thankful for Facebook that put us all in touch.
Nothing beats connecting with old friends. It makes me look back and think I've come a long way.
:)
09 March 2008
Daniel Henney
Alright. It has been a while since I went goo-goo-ga-ga over some actor. And my taste for favourite actors are not usually the ones others fancy. From Edward Norton to Jay Mohr, to Bruce Willis - well, they aren't what I would call your mainstream hunks.
American-born Korean Daniel Henney caught my eye one day as I was channel switching. He was being interviewed and his chiseled look, wide smile and sparkling eyes caught my attention. He nailed it on the head when he spoke about his mother and how he respected his mother, a petite Korean lady who stood by her son when he was bullied in school.
On closer look, he IS a hunk. And on more checks on the Internet, I realised I have been a little behind in listing him as one of my favourites. For the benefit of those who don't know who he is, here's a picture of him.
My former student Alfred kidded that I should blow up his picture "A1 size and paste it on the ceiling so that when you wake up, you see his face". Right.
Grace tells me that he appears in some Korean drama currently showing. But I won't be watching any of that. I guess it's just nice to know nice (and a very hunky) guys still exist these days.
So for my ex-students who are bugging me why I'm not married yet, well, find me a Daniel Henney! Ha!
:)
American-born Korean Daniel Henney caught my eye one day as I was channel switching. He was being interviewed and his chiseled look, wide smile and sparkling eyes caught my attention. He nailed it on the head when he spoke about his mother and how he respected his mother, a petite Korean lady who stood by her son when he was bullied in school.
On closer look, he IS a hunk. And on more checks on the Internet, I realised I have been a little behind in listing him as one of my favourites. For the benefit of those who don't know who he is, here's a picture of him.
My former student Alfred kidded that I should blow up his picture "A1 size and paste it on the ceiling so that when you wake up, you see his face". Right.
Grace tells me that he appears in some Korean drama currently showing. But I won't be watching any of that. I guess it's just nice to know nice (and a very hunky) guys still exist these days.
So for my ex-students who are bugging me why I'm not married yet, well, find me a Daniel Henney! Ha!
:)