随笔

在途中用手机打着字老觉得没有键盘打字来得畅快。

今年回返学校教书，心境没有以往一般的急躁，也不再有许多零碎的行政与人事缠身。虽然体力上更加吃力，有时甚至早上出门，晚上摸黑回家，但却少了心力交瘁的感觉。也许这还是比较适合我的状态。

周末翻阅2015年写的博客篇章，觉得那一年忙翻了，但思绪异常蓬勃。那是进入学校教学的第三年，对一切事物充满着激情，觉得世界只可以驶向美好。现在的我看着当年的自己，很是欣赏！

反正嘛，人生每个累积下来的点滴，在往后的日子里回头望去，都会是旅途中的精彩片段吧！好吧，就像龙应台说过的，人生如果把镜头拉长看，许多悲伤、愤慨、后悔、激情其实都没有我们想象地大，也不那么绝对。

继续加油吧，同志们！

那些钱买不起的

钱能解决的问题就不是问题。因为30岁的我领悟，世界上有很多问题是钱可以解决的，有更多核心、实在的问题，是用多少钱都解决不了的。

从小到大，对钱的认识， 就是钱是充满铜臭味的，是势力的，是导致贫富悬殊的。这是我的教育塑造的观念。然而，现在逐渐明白有很多矛盾和纠纷， 是可以用钱化解的。有很多不平和怨气是可以用钱来抚平的。

夫妻若为了家务事而争论不休，请个女佣就能把很多摩擦给省去。顾客若对服务不满，送上礼券便能打发。家人若为遗产争执不休，够富有，能舍掉自己的那一份就摆平。这些都是钱能解决的问题。

可是钱却买不起别人的真诚对待， 更没法买回一个死去的灵魂，或者换来健康的体魄。 这些核心问题，都需要我们核心关怀。因为，钱买不起。

一年后

能够看到的，都处理掉了。那些隐藏着的伤口，还待时间愈合。

只是有时候，记忆是恼人的东西。梦乡，那不由人控制的地方，你的轮廓，再再留下印记。

可惜，完结时，只有立场没有其他。

无奈，完结时，只有沉默没有其他。

Wh@ssup?

I am grossly late to the party. When everyone was posting on their brush lettering pieces, I was wondering: What's the fuss about? On Saturday morning, I participated in a brush lettering workshop with Cherlynn and my sister. So here were some of my practise pieces.

And to our surprise we met Shiwei, our AHS senior who happened to be one of the organizers for the event. And we have a Saturday morning well spent, chilling over Vietnamese food afterwards.

Pecha Kucha Night 2017

In May, I've attended an event which was randomly advertised on Peatix. So some interesting personalities were giving short snippets of the social projects they had engaged in. Some were rather inspiring. Of the 8 speakers, I will highlight 3 who left lasting impressions on me.

The Quirky Japansese HDB couple

Tamae Iwasaki and Eitaro Oganwa spent their free time working on a project to explore all the different HDB flats and gives us a glimpse into the living spaces of Singaporeans. Through crowdfunding, they had gathered funds to publish their book, which mind you, weighs 5kg+. It was amazing to witness the a pet project built with much love and passion.Their adventure was also featured on The Straits Times.

Coffee Break

Amoy Street has got a popular coffee shop with a modern twist. Faye Sai took over her father's business and transformed it into a quirky mix of the traditional and the modern. It's curious to see how hands on she was, working as a hawker and passionately sharing her trade. Despite having earned a degree, it was a mission she saw herself being responsible for. Anyone free to join me for a coffee break? *flutters eyelids*

Capturing Singapore with the foreign eye

Jon Siegal is a UX designer who has lived in Singapore for six years. He captures some of the most alluring pictures on local living. It's intriguing to see much of our spaces and communities keenly observed not by locals, but foreigners who are fond of Singapore.

Time to start digging up all that this lovely city state has to offer. And nope, this is not an advertisement for NDP.

Pecha Kucha Night is a yearly event, keep a look out in 2018!

协商

长大后才知道有时坚持己见未必能达到做最好的结果。一味地退让妥协，也会变得委屈，更不是长久之计。协商才能促成双赢的局面。

多少人不是为了争一口气，而使得情况到达没法挽回的局面。成长就是一个协商的过程。 小事不必太过执着。有时候付出多一些，反而能得到多一些。

我纳闷的是，情感怎么不被牵扯进来， 如何用理性的方式就事论事， 不感情用事呢？ 毕竟，很多心痛都是个性使然。总不可能让一个感性的人减少痛楚；也不可能让一个理性的人感觉痛楚。

唯有协商才能叫脑子多填几分柔情； 叫心脏少挨几分悲凉。

Notes on a Discussion

Crisis could be pretty real for Singaporeans. And we are still too complacent about many things.

When I first read the Hard Truth years ago, I found LKY rather paranoid about Singapore's future. He talked about our nation being built on a fragile foundation. Many changes has took place since, proving that his fears were not unfounded.

Back when I was in Malaysia, my cousin mentioned how Malaysians sees a bleak prospect for Singapore, with many Malaysian companies withdrawing their businesses from Singapore. Also, Chinese companies has much presence there, and a huge influx of PRCs who are working in Malaysia, bringing in their own talents, not necessary creating more opportunities there.

Meanwhile, there seems to be plans underway for a canal through Thailand, which could mean Singapore losing leverage on entre-pot trade.

Even our skills and technologies no longer gives us leverage when skills transfer through Tianjin and Suzhou industrial parks has already been massively replicated. What do we then still have to offer?

I think the future really involved a lot of upskilling. Who says we will forever be leaving this comfortable life our forefathers has painstakingly built for us.

The kind of Singapore our children, and our children's children will be born in lies in the resilience of our generation. There'd always be people hungrier and more driven.

“可怕的是，还有很多比你聪明的人比你更努力。” 时时警醒自己，也共勉之。