*thump!!*
Itz 315am on a sundae morning and Marpig was rudely woken by tt loud noise followed by voices
Initially, Marpig thought itz Marpigz neighbour falling out of his bed (acoustic shielding is not as good in the UK since partitions arent concrete in houses) However, after listening to the couplez conversation, Marpig realised tt guy had fallen out of the 1st floor window!!
His gf was panicking and she called the ambulance. As they stayed on the 1st floor, she went down and asked to enter thru ground floor flat to the back garden. The guy was lying on the ground (he landed and squashed the wired porch) mourning and crying silently in the freezing cold night, "help, help, sm1 help me"
Gf came from ground floor flat and was describing wat happened to the paramedics on the phone. It was then tt Marpig realised he went home being totally pissed (a phrase used in the UK to mean totally drunk). According to the gf, he shouted to her to go out of the room and the next moment he fell out of the window. Dont noe if she pushed him out. She sounded very concerned and therez no quarrelling. Then again, Marpig was sleeping
Anyw, Marpigz reaction was as the title, serve him right. Drinking is fine. But gosh, being drunk silly and got totally wasted like tt (it always happen in the UK) is beyond any negative words. The worse/bizarre th is, the windows (they are all the same) are so small, even sm1 like Marpig (asian size) has trouble squeezing out of the window. So how did he manage to fall out?!
Either hez being pushed or he thought he was sm kind of a superman or hez on alcohol AND drugs
Anyw, Marpig totally do not have 一丝的同情 for him
Cruel? Well, hez fine, must have hurt his back and/or legs. His neck and head are fine (lucky him) and when the paramedics were talking to him, hez still laughing bcos hez too drunk. Just like pple who drink and drive and cause accidents; either harming themselves or worse, harming others
So, do u think these sorta pple deserve our 同情? NO!!
Monday, November 30
Saturday, November 28
Think About Attitude, Not Behaviour
Just a couple of weeks ago, Marpig went to visit Marpigz sis again. As usual, she attended mass with Marpigz sis on Sunday. Dont noe if itz another phase or not but itz definitely a change of mindset (again) Why did Marpig say tt?
Normally, Marpig would sit among the benches, looked up at the stained glass window above the altar, looking at Jesus and would silently communicate with Him. Be it confessing sm bad ths she had done, praying for material ths (Marpig am human too!!), praying for family, frens and the world, etc
However, since a few moons ago (when Marpig blogged bout religions and such which XT commented on) she doesnt pray anym. Reason is bcos she now believes, "no matter how hard one prayed or work or lived, all ths are still 人为" Smhow, looking at the pic on the stained glass, Marpigz mind and heart felt blank; the window is just another pcs of art. But she isnt an Atheist. She still have faith in smth, but has no idea wat tt smth is at the moment
Anyw, despite tt, Marpig always like listening to Homily + the father who delivered the mass was often so funny and the ths he said made abs sense :)
Cant rem wat the Homily then was but he cracked a joke where he said, "When we died, we wont go str to heaven but thru purgatory 1st where we'll collect 200 pounds on the way" Hahahahaha makes the mass more lively so tt pple wont sleep and will pay more attention!! :D
Massess are gd bcos itz a time when pple have a bit of a quiet moment, be it with God or with themselves. Nowsadaes, every1 just live life like therez always a tomorrow. Pple procrastinate ths tt they ought to do but rush bout for money (which in this era, is impt to survive... necc evil, how 无奈)
Anyw, tt particular sundae was coined as "prisoners' sunday". Dont noe why but in the Catholic calendar, seems like each dae are attributed to sm Saints or purpose (just like the chinese lunar calendar) Reading the article for tt mass (therez always a short atricle given out during mass), the metaphor used was tt all pple are prisoners, imprisoned by ths in life
It could be lollies, power, fame, 面子, family, frens, ambitions, etc. Think this is the central idea in which most religions mentioned tt humans are trapped within their earthly body and would need to cultivate themselves, manage their vices and eventually gain enlightenment. BTW, Scientology also believes in tt but the main diff is tt they believe humans are aliens trapped inside an Earthling... how abs bizarre. Duh.
Marpig am imprisoned too. Reflecting, she is imprisoned by a comfortable life. Not tt she is rich or staying in a posh mansion but as long as she has a roof over her head, food to eat, etc, ttz a comfortable life in her view. Bcos she felt comfortable, she smhow lost sight of her goal and had bcome more n more lazy!!
Luckily she keeps reminding herself and going thru reflections all the time. If sm1 asked Marpig which part of her body she loves, it will definitely be her thinking brains
The short article also mentioned tt thru sufferings, one will understand and be sensitive to the pains in the world. Marpig believed tt but with smth more. As she blogged b4 on the same issue, one doesnt really need to go thru similar sufferings to understand, just need a bit of wisdom and empathy for others. Really, be there a tomorrow or not, all of us should learn to love everyth in our lives
All in all, religions can be down to interpretations; sm will take it at face value, sm will give it a thought, reflect but not making efforts to improve and therez sm who do
Attitude and not behaviour is impt. Pple often said life is full of choices. This is correct. Therez no right or wrong choices. The way Marpig see choices in life is pretty much like shez in a maze with no dead ends (how convenient!!)
The end is always the same (death) and the game has started and therez no pause or rewind (or FF) buttons (darn!!). Since the end is alway the same, no matter which route a person chooses, he/she will still end up at the end. This is why therez no right or wrong choices
Choosing which route to take depends on whether the person thinks positively or negatively, i.e., the personz attitude. With positive attitudes, the route(s) tt a person walks will contribute to the environment/pple he/she is in and meet. Most probably tt route will be lively and colourful. In addition, he/she will enjoy and gain more along the chosen route
The opp applies for using negative attitudes to make a choice. Most probably tt route will be bumpy and have an adverse effect on the environment/pple. The person will always complain and feel unhappy most of the time. Ah~ happy times are often rare and volatile, very much like a strong spirit!!
Hmm... kinda heavy for a bloggie entry?
Normally, Marpig would sit among the benches, looked up at the stained glass window above the altar, looking at Jesus and would silently communicate with Him. Be it confessing sm bad ths she had done, praying for material ths (Marpig am human too!!), praying for family, frens and the world, etc
However, since a few moons ago (when Marpig blogged bout religions and such which XT commented on) she doesnt pray anym. Reason is bcos she now believes, "no matter how hard one prayed or work or lived, all ths are still 人为" Smhow, looking at the pic on the stained glass, Marpigz mind and heart felt blank; the window is just another pcs of art. But she isnt an Atheist. She still have faith in smth, but has no idea wat tt smth is at the moment
Anyw, despite tt, Marpig always like listening to Homily + the father who delivered the mass was often so funny and the ths he said made abs sense :)
Cant rem wat the Homily then was but he cracked a joke where he said, "When we died, we wont go str to heaven but thru purgatory 1st where we'll collect 200 pounds on the way" Hahahahaha makes the mass more lively so tt pple wont sleep and will pay more attention!! :D
Massess are gd bcos itz a time when pple have a bit of a quiet moment, be it with God or with themselves. Nowsadaes, every1 just live life like therez always a tomorrow. Pple procrastinate ths tt they ought to do but rush bout for money (which in this era, is impt to survive... necc evil, how 无奈)
Anyw, tt particular sundae was coined as "prisoners' sunday". Dont noe why but in the Catholic calendar, seems like each dae are attributed to sm Saints or purpose (just like the chinese lunar calendar) Reading the article for tt mass (therez always a short atricle given out during mass), the metaphor used was tt all pple are prisoners, imprisoned by ths in life
It could be lollies, power, fame, 面子, family, frens, ambitions, etc. Think this is the central idea in which most religions mentioned tt humans are trapped within their earthly body and would need to cultivate themselves, manage their vices and eventually gain enlightenment. BTW, Scientology also believes in tt but the main diff is tt they believe humans are aliens trapped inside an Earthling... how abs bizarre. Duh.
Marpig am imprisoned too. Reflecting, she is imprisoned by a comfortable life. Not tt she is rich or staying in a posh mansion but as long as she has a roof over her head, food to eat, etc, ttz a comfortable life in her view. Bcos she felt comfortable, she smhow lost sight of her goal and had bcome more n more lazy!!
Luckily she keeps reminding herself and going thru reflections all the time. If sm1 asked Marpig which part of her body she loves, it will definitely be her thinking brains
The short article also mentioned tt thru sufferings, one will understand and be sensitive to the pains in the world. Marpig believed tt but with smth more. As she blogged b4 on the same issue, one doesnt really need to go thru similar sufferings to understand, just need a bit of wisdom and empathy for others. Really, be there a tomorrow or not, all of us should learn to love everyth in our lives
All in all, religions can be down to interpretations; sm will take it at face value, sm will give it a thought, reflect but not making efforts to improve and therez sm who do
Attitude and not behaviour is impt. Pple often said life is full of choices. This is correct. Therez no right or wrong choices. The way Marpig see choices in life is pretty much like shez in a maze with no dead ends (how convenient!!)
The end is always the same (death) and the game has started and therez no pause or rewind (or FF) buttons (darn!!). Since the end is alway the same, no matter which route a person chooses, he/she will still end up at the end. This is why therez no right or wrong choices
Choosing which route to take depends on whether the person thinks positively or negatively, i.e., the personz attitude. With positive attitudes, the route(s) tt a person walks will contribute to the environment/pple he/she is in and meet. Most probably tt route will be lively and colourful. In addition, he/she will enjoy and gain more along the chosen route
The opp applies for using negative attitudes to make a choice. Most probably tt route will be bumpy and have an adverse effect on the environment/pple. The person will always complain and feel unhappy most of the time. Ah~ happy times are often rare and volatile, very much like a strong spirit!!
Hmm... kinda heavy for a bloggie entry?
Marpigz Interest in Mandarin
Was reading CNA and got to noe tt LKY admitted tt his bilingual policy was flawed in 1 way or another
Being one of the cookies cut by the cookie cutter in the factory, Marpig must say tt the educational system and the bilingual policy are "fit for purpose" and generally good (itz internationlly recognised, so they cant be tt bad!!) although itz not perfect (wat is?!)
Guess much like communism, the initial ideology is always good but the implementation are often subjected to unxpected variations from the assumed results/outcome (outcomes are basically results of probability anyw)
One of the reasons could be tt too much emphasis was placed on English (u need to pass it to pass the entire xam but not true vice versa for mother tongue aka 2nd lang) Then, when the China market starts to boom, the gahmen, much like pple who follow trends, changed their directions and emphasize on chinese which was too late + the fact tt one needs to pass English to pass the entrie xams remains (so who cares if they obtain a C6 for 2nd lang as long as they pass English?)
真是的, much like other policies such as marriage, birth rates, etc, the gahmen really thought tt Singaporeans were 木偶; doing wat they tell them to do with the clap of the hands. Duh. 搞到现在 Singaporeans speak colloquial English aka Singlish (or Singaporish, a new word Marpig introduced to her ang moh colleagues :P) and sm cant even use mandarin!! 真是两头不到岸
Sansao and Marpig touched on this topic briefly and the conclusion was, one need to noe his/her mother tongue (and also dialect), be it mandarin, tamil, malay, etc. Otherwise, cultures, morals, etc will be eroded and lost
Marpig must confess tt her command of languages, albeit good, is not ice of the cream nor corn of the crop. At least she can speak and write proper English and Singaporish (itz an unique identity!!) as well as mandarin
As Marpig was sharing with Sansao, her (gd) foundation and command of mandarin was picked up from her mom at a very young age. Marpig got to noe from Marpigz mom tt in 1981, LKY was having this "Speak Mandarin Campaign" which was why she used mandarin to communicate with Marpig
As it was, she would buy Marpig chinese novels, books on idioms and even comic (the only comic she got for Marpig was 三国演义 during a books fair when Marpig was still in pri sch). She would also tell Marpig lotsa bedtime stories (not ang moh fairy tales cos Marpig did her own reading on those)
The stories she told would often be bout her childhood memories/xperiences, her BIG family, bout the times she helped her mom (Marpigz grandma) to tin mine in the rivers, bout ghosts and ghouls who punished naughty children, other stories with morals in them and bout Marpig (where she would start like this, "很久很久以前, 有一个顽皮的小孩....") Marpig always stop the story at tt part and both of them would giggle. She always use tt line when Marpig asked her for a bedtime story when shez tired... *smiles*
She was also Marpigz best walking mandarin dictionary bcos everytime (from pri to sec) Marpig writes a 作文, she would leave blanks of those diff 成语 and 形容词 which Marpig knew how to apply but did not noe how to write at tt age (shez lazy to flip the 字典!!). Indeed, Marpigz momz command of mandarin was superb bcos she was from a chinese school :)
And wow!! Her chinese characters are soooooooo beautiful and calligraphic tt Marpig felt so 惭愧 of not inheriting tt bit of her!! 搞什么?! hahahahaha
Being a melancholy and sickly child as always, plus her precocious mind full of weird ideas and imagination, Marpigz 作文 were often praised. 2 ths worth noting (or boasting!! :P) which Marpig still remembered were these:
1) Therez one english composition she wrote back in sec 3 or 4 which her form teacher, "突然性感" specifically commented and read it out aloud to the whole class, saying "itz such a good and touching story" Wat did Marpig write bout? Well, think every1 was asked to write bout smth unforgettable and so, Marpig wrote passionately bout her 1st xperience with death (of her godmother) in the hospital when she was in pri 6
2) She wrote many gd 作文 too back in sec sch!! Main reason was bcos the stories were often descriptive (using as much 成语 as she can!!) and (again) melancholy as well as critical to a paticular issue xplored in the story. For e.g., she would describe reflections of street lights on the river as stars in the milky way tt sorta thingy :P
Then there was the "classic" moment in sec sch when every1 laughed at Marpig during a 对口相声 competition. It was a surprise win bcos the 相声 script was selected and decided on the day of the competition, less than 30mins prior and therez simply no preparation at all. Luckily partner was great and so she was the 甲方 aka "逗哏" while Marpig was the 乙方 aka "捧哏" who just need to remember when to say the "对"s, "是吗"s, etc :P
The gist of the 相声 was bout 甲方 and 乙方 comparing their marks for their 作文. 甲方 got really gd grades while 乙方 got only 1 mark for her 作文. And so, 甲方 xplores the various possible reasons as to why 乙方z 作文 got only a mark. Think along the way, it touched on 乙方z very bad handwriting (which in reality, is true and whoever noes Marpig in sch including the teachers, knew) and finally, it ended up with 全场笑声 bcos Marpig said smth like, "那一分是同情分" and was the butt of the joke
Guess itz bcos of the reaction of the audience, entertainment value (ya noe, laughter to all?!) and the near perfect 火花般的默契 btw Marpigz partner and herself tt they won (how unfair!! :P)
Ah~~ wat wonderful memories... ...
Oh, the main thingy bout this entry are, one must noe the international lang (economic undertone) as well as their own dialect/mother tongue so as to keep morals, cultures, traditions, etc alive. Also, parents and teachers both play a role in a childz interest in a subject/thingy (in this entry, Marpigz interest in mandarin)
上梁不正, 下梁歪 umk!! So if the parents doesnt speak bilingually and properly, most likely their children will be mirror-imaged of themselves!!
Being one of the cookies cut by the cookie cutter in the factory, Marpig must say tt the educational system and the bilingual policy are "fit for purpose" and generally good (itz internationlly recognised, so they cant be tt bad!!) although itz not perfect (wat is?!)
Guess much like communism, the initial ideology is always good but the implementation are often subjected to unxpected variations from the assumed results/outcome (outcomes are basically results of probability anyw)
One of the reasons could be tt too much emphasis was placed on English (u need to pass it to pass the entire xam but not true vice versa for mother tongue aka 2nd lang) Then, when the China market starts to boom, the gahmen, much like pple who follow trends, changed their directions and emphasize on chinese which was too late + the fact tt one needs to pass English to pass the entrie xams remains (so who cares if they obtain a C6 for 2nd lang as long as they pass English?)
真是的, much like other policies such as marriage, birth rates, etc, the gahmen really thought tt Singaporeans were 木偶; doing wat they tell them to do with the clap of the hands. Duh. 搞到现在 Singaporeans speak colloquial English aka Singlish (or Singaporish, a new word Marpig introduced to her ang moh colleagues :P) and sm cant even use mandarin!! 真是两头不到岸
Sansao and Marpig touched on this topic briefly and the conclusion was, one need to noe his/her mother tongue (and also dialect), be it mandarin, tamil, malay, etc. Otherwise, cultures, morals, etc will be eroded and lost
Marpig must confess tt her command of languages, albeit good, is not ice of the cream nor corn of the crop. At least she can speak and write proper English and Singaporish (itz an unique identity!!) as well as mandarin
As Marpig was sharing with Sansao, her (gd) foundation and command of mandarin was picked up from her mom at a very young age. Marpig got to noe from Marpigz mom tt in 1981, LKY was having this "Speak Mandarin Campaign" which was why she used mandarin to communicate with Marpig
As it was, she would buy Marpig chinese novels, books on idioms and even comic (the only comic she got for Marpig was 三国演义 during a books fair when Marpig was still in pri sch). She would also tell Marpig lotsa bedtime stories (not ang moh fairy tales cos Marpig did her own reading on those)
The stories she told would often be bout her childhood memories/xperiences, her BIG family, bout the times she helped her mom (Marpigz grandma) to tin mine in the rivers, bout ghosts and ghouls who punished naughty children, other stories with morals in them and bout Marpig (where she would start like this, "很久很久以前, 有一个顽皮的小孩....") Marpig always stop the story at tt part and both of them would giggle. She always use tt line when Marpig asked her for a bedtime story when shez tired... *smiles*
She was also Marpigz best walking mandarin dictionary bcos everytime (from pri to sec) Marpig writes a 作文, she would leave blanks of those diff 成语 and 形容词 which Marpig knew how to apply but did not noe how to write at tt age (shez lazy to flip the 字典!!). Indeed, Marpigz momz command of mandarin was superb bcos she was from a chinese school :)
And wow!! Her chinese characters are soooooooo beautiful and calligraphic tt Marpig felt so 惭愧 of not inheriting tt bit of her!! 搞什么?! hahahahaha
Being a melancholy and sickly child as always, plus her precocious mind full of weird ideas and imagination, Marpigz 作文 were often praised. 2 ths worth noting (or boasting!! :P) which Marpig still remembered were these:
1) Therez one english composition she wrote back in sec 3 or 4 which her form teacher, "突然性感" specifically commented and read it out aloud to the whole class, saying "itz such a good and touching story" Wat did Marpig write bout? Well, think every1 was asked to write bout smth unforgettable and so, Marpig wrote passionately bout her 1st xperience with death (of her godmother) in the hospital when she was in pri 6
2) She wrote many gd 作文 too back in sec sch!! Main reason was bcos the stories were often descriptive (using as much 成语 as she can!!) and (again) melancholy as well as critical to a paticular issue xplored in the story. For e.g., she would describe reflections of street lights on the river as stars in the milky way tt sorta thingy :P
Then there was the "classic" moment in sec sch when every1 laughed at Marpig during a 对口相声 competition. It was a surprise win bcos the 相声 script was selected and decided on the day of the competition, less than 30mins prior and therez simply no preparation at all. Luckily partner was great and so she was the 甲方 aka "逗哏" while Marpig was the 乙方 aka "捧哏" who just need to remember when to say the "对"s, "是吗"s, etc :P
The gist of the 相声 was bout 甲方 and 乙方 comparing their marks for their 作文. 甲方 got really gd grades while 乙方 got only 1 mark for her 作文. And so, 甲方 xplores the various possible reasons as to why 乙方z 作文 got only a mark. Think along the way, it touched on 乙方z very bad handwriting (which in reality, is true and whoever noes Marpig in sch including the teachers, knew) and finally, it ended up with 全场笑声 bcos Marpig said smth like, "那一分是同情分" and was the butt of the joke
Guess itz bcos of the reaction of the audience, entertainment value (ya noe, laughter to all?!) and the near perfect 火花般的默契 btw Marpigz partner and herself tt they won (how unfair!! :P)
Ah~~ wat wonderful memories... ...
Oh, the main thingy bout this entry are, one must noe the international lang (economic undertone) as well as their own dialect/mother tongue so as to keep morals, cultures, traditions, etc alive. Also, parents and teachers both play a role in a childz interest in a subject/thingy (in this entry, Marpigz interest in mandarin)
上梁不正, 下梁歪 umk!! So if the parents doesnt speak bilingually and properly, most likely their children will be mirror-imaged of themselves!!
Perspectives
Ah~ work has been crap as therez not much of a challenge... specially when Dubai suddenly said they wanna xtent their repayment of debts... was reading FT and got to noe tt Dubaiz debt now stands at 80bn quid which is 100% of their GDP... omg Building on borrowed lollies ttz what the papers said. Well, guess itz much like sm pple 吧, since there are pple who like to use other pplez lollies instead of their own... so 臭款
Anyw, Marpig was so bored while looking at the GA plans of a hospital tt she told colleagues tt they could actually use the plans to play Cluedo. "Who killed Mr Black... in the operating theatre?!" :P really, work can be interesting too, depending on which angle(s) one looks at
Had just watched 2012 and yes, itz another apocalyptic movie. However, Marpig quite like the movie; visual effects forms only a small part. The reasons why Marpig likes it was:
1) The central idea of the movie sets pple thinking (obviously, therez also pple who doesnt make use of their wisdom!!); the filthy rich will be saved but all else will be left to die (selfish, selflessness, etc)
2) Not surprisingly, the movie featured alot bout India and China, the emerging countries
3) Aeroplanes!! Specially the Antonov!! OMG!! Brilliant!! Argh!! Marpig wanna continue playing flight sim!!
4) Thinking deeper and trying to understand the cosmos, one would (might) think bout wat happens if the world really ends OR b4 the world ends/"I" die, wat are the things "I" want to do/say/rectify (cos u only live once and who noes wat happened after?)
Overall, itz a (personally) 7.5 out of 10 movie
Building on the above, bcos Marpig thought of point 4, hence she wants to travel as much as she can. Not only to see, eat and learn more of everyth, itz also to collect views and perspective of other pple ard the globe
Most of the time, itz diff to xperience cultures of other places with just a touch and go. BUT!! Communication and opening of onez heart to the locals can often reap wonderful results. However, alot of times, pple are too pai seh to do alot of ths. But really, to get rid of the pai seh-ness, one just needs to ponder over point 4 above. TTz wat Marpig consciously reminds herself to practise (talk bout cultivation~)
As it was, Marpig "collected" a new perspective from the wife of the boss at the chinese takeaway shop tt Marpig 捧场 every now and then. Shez from China and she asked Marpig if she has been to the US b4 which Marpig replied tt she has never been to the US and has never thought of going there, amongst all other places she planned
Her response/perspective tt she shared with Marpig was tt pple from developed countries normally would want to go to places tt are undeveloped/developing bcos to them, itz more of a 新鲜感 (Marpig also suspects she meant 少见多怪 but am polite not to say tt)
Itz true to a certain xtent + the feeling is mutual 吧. Just like pple who are in the undeveloped/developing countries wanting to improve their situation
Anyw, enough bout perspectives. Marpig shall now move on to a leetle bit bout the notion tt one have the ability to "alter" his/her dreams, even in the sleep
Sharing her recent xperience, she dreamt of Marpigz mom again. This time, she was cooking sm pancakes at home. Marpig, in her sleep, actually remembered thinking to herself; she must record a video of Marpigz mom and so, in the dream, Marpig really went to get her camera and recorded a video of her cooking the pancakes. Then, both of them sat eating and watching the telly happily...
Though therez no sound and therez no real video afterall, but it really proved tt 日有所思夜有所梦 is true and tt one CAN affect/contribute to his/her own dreams by being "conscious" during sleep. Think there are scientific papers on this smwhere...
Anyw, Marpig was so bored while looking at the GA plans of a hospital tt she told colleagues tt they could actually use the plans to play Cluedo. "Who killed Mr Black... in the operating theatre?!" :P really, work can be interesting too, depending on which angle(s) one looks at
Had just watched 2012 and yes, itz another apocalyptic movie. However, Marpig quite like the movie; visual effects forms only a small part. The reasons why Marpig likes it was:
1) The central idea of the movie sets pple thinking (obviously, therez also pple who doesnt make use of their wisdom!!); the filthy rich will be saved but all else will be left to die (selfish, selflessness, etc)
2) Not surprisingly, the movie featured alot bout India and China, the emerging countries
3) Aeroplanes!! Specially the Antonov!! OMG!! Brilliant!! Argh!! Marpig wanna continue playing flight sim!!
4) Thinking deeper and trying to understand the cosmos, one would (might) think bout wat happens if the world really ends OR b4 the world ends/"I" die, wat are the things "I" want to do/say/rectify (cos u only live once and who noes wat happened after?)
Overall, itz a (personally) 7.5 out of 10 movie
Building on the above, bcos Marpig thought of point 4, hence she wants to travel as much as she can. Not only to see, eat and learn more of everyth, itz also to collect views and perspective of other pple ard the globe
Most of the time, itz diff to xperience cultures of other places with just a touch and go. BUT!! Communication and opening of onez heart to the locals can often reap wonderful results. However, alot of times, pple are too pai seh to do alot of ths. But really, to get rid of the pai seh-ness, one just needs to ponder over point 4 above. TTz wat Marpig consciously reminds herself to practise (talk bout cultivation~)
As it was, Marpig "collected" a new perspective from the wife of the boss at the chinese takeaway shop tt Marpig 捧场 every now and then. Shez from China and she asked Marpig if she has been to the US b4 which Marpig replied tt she has never been to the US and has never thought of going there, amongst all other places she planned
Her response/perspective tt she shared with Marpig was tt pple from developed countries normally would want to go to places tt are undeveloped/developing bcos to them, itz more of a 新鲜感 (Marpig also suspects she meant 少见多怪 but am polite not to say tt)
Itz true to a certain xtent + the feeling is mutual 吧. Just like pple who are in the undeveloped/developing countries wanting to improve their situation
Anyw, enough bout perspectives. Marpig shall now move on to a leetle bit bout the notion tt one have the ability to "alter" his/her dreams, even in the sleep
Sharing her recent xperience, she dreamt of Marpigz mom again. This time, she was cooking sm pancakes at home. Marpig, in her sleep, actually remembered thinking to herself; she must record a video of Marpigz mom and so, in the dream, Marpig really went to get her camera and recorded a video of her cooking the pancakes. Then, both of them sat eating and watching the telly happily...
Though therez no sound and therez no real video afterall, but it really proved tt 日有所思夜有所梦 is true and tt one CAN affect/contribute to his/her own dreams by being "conscious" during sleep. Think there are scientific papers on this smwhere...
Sunday, November 22
Of Diamonds and Graphite
Marpig was window shopping with Marpigz sis and BIL in Westfield shopping centre in London when a thought came into Marpigz mind and Marpig asked her sis, "What happens if all diamonds in the mines are depleted?"
Indeed, as with other limited and scarce natural resources, diamonds are also mined and will, one dae, be depleted. So wat happens then? No more diamonds? Wat bout those pple who havent bought diamonds? Where would they get their diamonds?
Well, there are natural diamonds and artificial diamonds. So even if the natural diamonds are depleted, pple would still get a supply of artificial ones
Marpig never has eyes for the shiny stone, bcos, itz afterall, a stone (carbon, to be xact) but since Marpigz bloggie is bout sharing info and abit like a rojak "encyclopedia", Marpig shall discuss abit bout womenz best fren (duh)
Diamonds are allotropes of carbon, much like graphite (pencil lead). This means diamonds and graphite are pure carbon but having different atomic structures. With the right conditions (although not ambient conditions) diamonds can convert into graphite (itz a chemical thingy afterall) since diamonds are less stable than graphite
Diamond and graphite are total opp of each other; diamond has a hardness of 10 (max) on the Mohs scale while graphite is only 1-2. The latter is a gd conductor of electricity while diamond is not, at most, a semiconductor. But of cos, itz too xpensive to be used as a semiconductor!! ahahahahahaha
Artificial diamonds are used as industrial cutting tool. If one observes the cutting tools of those frames making shops in Chinatown, the glass cutting tools they used have artificial diamonds!!
Diamonds are 1st discovered in southern India in 9th century BC. Since then, India has led the world in diamonds production until 18th century AD, when itz mines are depleted. Then, diamonds are discovered in Aussie, Canada, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe and even Botswana
The price of diamonds was controlled by De Beers Group as they occupied 80% of the worldz market. But since the discovery of other mines, their pie had shrinked to 50% Now, De Beers and the Botswana govt produced 50% of the worldz diamonds. Think itz bcos of this reason ttz y the economic growth of Botswana outpaced even the 4 Asian Tigers!!
Guess who is the worldz top consumer of diamonds? Itz the US. Well, they need diamonds to put on the satellites (just a joke inspired from the James Bond movie, "Diamonds are Forever", Marpigz personal fav movie!!)
1 last thingy, noe why itz impt (or "prestigious") to obtain a certificate with the purchase of diamonds? Itz to stop the production and sale of blood diamonds. So watz blood diamonds? They are diamonds produced and sold to fund wars. The certification is called the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
*yawns* ttz all for an entry on the shiny carbon stone...
Indeed, as with other limited and scarce natural resources, diamonds are also mined and will, one dae, be depleted. So wat happens then? No more diamonds? Wat bout those pple who havent bought diamonds? Where would they get their diamonds?
Well, there are natural diamonds and artificial diamonds. So even if the natural diamonds are depleted, pple would still get a supply of artificial ones
Marpig never has eyes for the shiny stone, bcos, itz afterall, a stone (carbon, to be xact) but since Marpigz bloggie is bout sharing info and abit like a rojak "encyclopedia", Marpig shall discuss abit bout womenz best fren (duh)
Diamonds are allotropes of carbon, much like graphite (pencil lead). This means diamonds and graphite are pure carbon but having different atomic structures. With the right conditions (although not ambient conditions) diamonds can convert into graphite (itz a chemical thingy afterall) since diamonds are less stable than graphite
Diamond and graphite are total opp of each other; diamond has a hardness of 10 (max) on the Mohs scale while graphite is only 1-2. The latter is a gd conductor of electricity while diamond is not, at most, a semiconductor. But of cos, itz too xpensive to be used as a semiconductor!! ahahahahahaha
Artificial diamonds are used as industrial cutting tool. If one observes the cutting tools of those frames making shops in Chinatown, the glass cutting tools they used have artificial diamonds!!
Diamonds are 1st discovered in southern India in 9th century BC. Since then, India has led the world in diamonds production until 18th century AD, when itz mines are depleted. Then, diamonds are discovered in Aussie, Canada, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe and even Botswana
The price of diamonds was controlled by De Beers Group as they occupied 80% of the worldz market. But since the discovery of other mines, their pie had shrinked to 50% Now, De Beers and the Botswana govt produced 50% of the worldz diamonds. Think itz bcos of this reason ttz y the economic growth of Botswana outpaced even the 4 Asian Tigers!!
Guess who is the worldz top consumer of diamonds? Itz the US. Well, they need diamonds to put on the satellites (just a joke inspired from the James Bond movie, "Diamonds are Forever", Marpigz personal fav movie!!)
1 last thingy, noe why itz impt (or "prestigious") to obtain a certificate with the purchase of diamonds? Itz to stop the production and sale of blood diamonds. So watz blood diamonds? They are diamonds produced and sold to fund wars. The certification is called the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
*yawns* ttz all for an entry on the shiny carbon stone...
Saturday, November 21
Have U Noticed/Realised These?
"Once again, itz monster time"
The line above was a quote from Cookie Monster in his short segment ages ago in Sesame Street. Umk umk, noe tt Mapig am childlish...
Itz a grey, wet and gusty (wind speeds of 40km/h!!) sundae aftern. Marpig am again sipping her cuppa tea, watching TVBs, having a green tea biscuit and typing away~
After much photos sharing entries of 제주, Marpig am going to summarise sm thoughts she had over the past few weeks
1st, itz just smth Marpig saw; the disabled symbol. Watz so interesting bout it such tt Marpig want to mention it? Every1 has seen the symbol no doubt, but have u noticed tt the head is always slightly down? Itz as though the symbol sitting on the wheelchair is feeling down in the dumps. Have a closer look the next time u see the disabled symbol... :)
2nd, being in the UK for not too long (but long enough), Marpigz sis and Marpig came to the conclusion tt the Brits (generally, mostly) are very predictable in wat they would order from a chinese restaurant. Or more like, wat the Brits believe to be THE chinese cuisine. So wat do they believe itz chinese cuisine and wat would they normally order? Don be surprise (or not), itz~ "crispy spring rolls", "crispy aromatic duck", "sesame prawn paste on toast" All these can be found on the menus in the chinese restaurant and are so synonymous with the typical Brits
True enough, be it meals with colleagues or observing wat other Brits ordered in the chinese restaurants, one would definitely find those food mentioned above. Very predictable :P
3rd and last, as with many countries, therez always inherent probs. The only time one would understand/realise these inherent probs in any country is to be within
Despite not all, but to a certain xtent, pple in the UK still have the imperialistic mindset. Itz gd to be proud of onez country but too much can make one less receptive to criticism and blind to mistakes
For eg, itz true tt most, if not all, inventors, physicists, etc are from the European countries in the past century. However, notice tt the era has changed and now, technologies, economies etc are all dominated by asian countries. The East have overtaken the West ever since WW2. Itz a trend which many Europeans arent aware until the recent credit munch. Ho hum
"If it aint broken, why fix it" is definitely smth not worth picking up!! Itz a saying tt divulge the laziness of the person/pple who use it
The line above was a quote from Cookie Monster in his short segment ages ago in Sesame Street. Umk umk, noe tt Mapig am childlish...
Itz a grey, wet and gusty (wind speeds of 40km/h!!) sundae aftern. Marpig am again sipping her cuppa tea, watching TVBs, having a green tea biscuit and typing away~
After much photos sharing entries of 제주, Marpig am going to summarise sm thoughts she had over the past few weeks
1st, itz just smth Marpig saw; the disabled symbol. Watz so interesting bout it such tt Marpig want to mention it? Every1 has seen the symbol no doubt, but have u noticed tt the head is always slightly down? Itz as though the symbol sitting on the wheelchair is feeling down in the dumps. Have a closer look the next time u see the disabled symbol... :)
2nd, being in the UK for not too long (but long enough), Marpigz sis and Marpig came to the conclusion tt the Brits (generally, mostly) are very predictable in wat they would order from a chinese restaurant. Or more like, wat the Brits believe to be THE chinese cuisine. So wat do they believe itz chinese cuisine and wat would they normally order? Don be surprise (or not), itz~ "crispy spring rolls", "crispy aromatic duck", "sesame prawn paste on toast" All these can be found on the menus in the chinese restaurant and are so synonymous with the typical Brits
True enough, be it meals with colleagues or observing wat other Brits ordered in the chinese restaurants, one would definitely find those food mentioned above. Very predictable :P
3rd and last, as with many countries, therez always inherent probs. The only time one would understand/realise these inherent probs in any country is to be within
Despite not all, but to a certain xtent, pple in the UK still have the imperialistic mindset. Itz gd to be proud of onez country but too much can make one less receptive to criticism and blind to mistakes
For eg, itz true tt most, if not all, inventors, physicists, etc are from the European countries in the past century. However, notice tt the era has changed and now, technologies, economies etc are all dominated by asian countries. The East have overtaken the West ever since WW2. Itz a trend which many Europeans arent aware until the recent credit munch. Ho hum
"If it aint broken, why fix it" is definitely smth not worth picking up!! Itz a saying tt divulge the laziness of the person/pple who use it
Wednesday, November 18
제주 (Jeju) - Day 2 continued
And~~ itz time for teddy bears!! :D
As mentioned, Marpig went to the Teddy Bear Museum (featured in 宫) in the aftern of Day 2 in 제주 but bcos therez so many pics to share, Marpig dedicates this special entry for it!! Nth much to intro bout this museum bcos itz bout 8 yrs old only (opened in 2001)!! Really, this entry is gonna be photos feast!! Enjoy!!
Entrance to the Teddy Bear Museum!!
Looking down at the gift shop and cafe lobby (not in pic) with a life-sized Grizzly waiting to be hug!! *hug & squeeze!!*
The gift shop with "beary soft toys"... hahahahahaha duh.
A scene of HK with bears doing the dragon dance... smth is amiss... why is the dragon not in sm bright colours?!
Instead of 兵马俑, therez 兵"熊"俑
To give it a bit o feel, Marpig took sm very close up (macro) pic of small displays and the above is just a lazy polar bear and...
A young penguin taking itz 1st splash
The Emperor and his Empress. Think itz a replica of 宫z male and female leads. Ya noe, the happily-ever-after scene
怎么可能少了 Paddington Bear 呢?! :) "Please look after this bear. Thank you." says the famous line on the tag attached to this coat. BTW, just a teeny weeny bit on Paddington Bear (which Marpig must have mentioned it b4) Hez from Peru, likes marmalade sandwiches and cocoa :D
Therez also Mother Teresa aka Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (she was beatified in 2003) & her fellow nuns
Therez also (not so) Snow White & the 7 "dwarfs" listening to a story. Hmmm... cant tell which one is Dopey
And therez Beatles!!
Marpigz bbball idol, Air Jordan!! Notice his trademark (tongue sticking out) while he does a slam dunk?! Go go go!!
Oo~~ Marilyn Monroe!! Ah~~ was she sm1 whoz fallen victim to the entertainment industry?
The other superstar is Elvis Presley!! (Beenie, still rem Elvis Parsley?! :P)
Mahatma Gandhi bside sm historic figures (not captured in pic) Then therez also replicas of paintings such as Vincent van Goghz self potrait with his ear severed,
Leonardo da Vinciz Mona Lisa (aka La Gioconda or La Joconde)
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (his full name)z "Hand of God" on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel in Rome. Marpig was browsing his works and realised Marpig actually took lotsa pics of his sculptures in Florence (on top of the Statue of David) without knowing it!! OMG
Rem Marpig said therez 2 beary impt bears of interest? One being the most xpensive in the world while the other is the smallest?
This bear, wearing a costume sewn with Swarovski crystals costs bout (recent xchange rate) SGD13k+. But, itz still not the most xpensive. Itz the one below
搞什么?! This is the most xpensive bear in the world (just bcos it wears LV clothing)?! Kao. Costs? SGD275K!!
Then therez also the worldz smallest bear at 4.5mm!! One would use a magnifying glass to catch a glimpse of the teeny weeny teddy!!
And with tt, ends the attractions Marpig went in 제주. Itz was 24th Dec 2008 when Marpig was having the last night in 제주. Every1 had dinner at a chinese restaurant. Food were a-ok plus every1 was just soooooooo famished!!
Oh yes, the 2 guides (1 local and 1 from Singapore) gave every1 a surprise bcos they bought a cake to celebrate Xmas!! :D So good of them!!
Being Marpig, she grabbed the chance to order and try 炸酱面 after dinner, since she was in a korean chinese rest!! Yup, u didnt read wrongly, itz on top of dinner!! :P
炸酱面 b4 being 捞!!
炸酱面 after itz being 捞!! It might look disgusting but itz tastes quite all right and nice :D Think other pple sitting at the same table saw Marpig 吃的津津有味 and ordered 1 for themselves to try too!! (Dingko Nut, did Marpig rem wrongly?)
In addition, for 2 consecutive nights in 제주, Dingko Nut & sis & Marpig went out into the cold streets in search of 街边小吃!! The BIG red plate of red thingy are (Koreaz well-known) 辣炒年糕!! Therez also other 小吃 such as the round biscuit lookalike fish/cuttlefish, deep fried battered and breadcrumbs sausages, prawns, waffles, potato sticks (those in the blue cups) & the abs fantastic grilled cuttlefish!! (in the white cups) Also, notice the whitish thingy on a plate next to the 辣炒年糕? Itz 糯米肠!! But Marpig didnt try!! Tsk!! Now tt she recalls, she should have tried it since she loves both 糯米 and 肠!! 真是的!!
Those are the owners of the 街边小摊!! 아저씨 (ah jeo si, uncle/mister) was grilling the cuttlefish for the hungry gals :P while 아주마 (ah ju ma, elder lady) was watching the telly
Ooo~~!! Another Korean 小吃 which Marpig loves is 오뎅 (Odeng, introduced in the entry on the 1st dae in 제주) Basically, they are mostly fishcakes or similar in hot soup tt warms yr soul!! VERY GOOD on a winter night!! :D__
After having their supper at the stall, the 3 gals made their way back to the hotel in the rain (was raining on the final dae in 제주) and along the way, therez all sorts of rests!! Seafood (since 제주 is an island), chinese, BBQ, etc!! One of the seafood rests has an interesting aquarium!!
Octopuses!! WOW!! Their creepy crawly arms!! BTW, in case any1 of u are wondering if Marpig has tried live small octopuses in Korea, the ans is no. Marpig am not tt adventurous!!
And so ends the 2 daes in 제주. Moving on will be daes in mainland Korea. But 1st, think Marpig will blog sm brainy, thought-provoking, interesting and wordy entries after all the illustrative entries
As mentioned, Marpig went to the Teddy Bear Museum (featured in 宫) in the aftern of Day 2 in 제주 but bcos therez so many pics to share, Marpig dedicates this special entry for it!! Nth much to intro bout this museum bcos itz bout 8 yrs old only (opened in 2001)!! Really, this entry is gonna be photos feast!! Enjoy!!
Entrance to the Teddy Bear Museum!!
Looking down at the gift shop and cafe lobby (not in pic) with a life-sized Grizzly waiting to be hug!! *hug & squeeze!!*
The gift shop with "beary soft toys"... hahahahahaha duh.
A scene of HK with bears doing the dragon dance... smth is amiss... why is the dragon not in sm bright colours?!
Instead of 兵马俑, therez 兵"熊"俑
To give it a bit o feel, Marpig took sm very close up (macro) pic of small displays and the above is just a lazy polar bear and...
A young penguin taking itz 1st splash
The Emperor and his Empress. Think itz a replica of 宫z male and female leads. Ya noe, the happily-ever-after scene
怎么可能少了 Paddington Bear 呢?! :) "Please look after this bear. Thank you." says the famous line on the tag attached to this coat. BTW, just a teeny weeny bit on Paddington Bear (which Marpig must have mentioned it b4) Hez from Peru, likes marmalade sandwiches and cocoa :D
Therez also Mother Teresa aka Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (she was beatified in 2003) & her fellow nuns
Therez also (not so) Snow White & the 7 "dwarfs" listening to a story. Hmmm... cant tell which one is Dopey
And therez Beatles!!
Marpigz bbball idol, Air Jordan!! Notice his trademark (tongue sticking out) while he does a slam dunk?! Go go go!!
Oo~~ Marilyn Monroe!! Ah~~ was she sm1 whoz fallen victim to the entertainment industry?
The other superstar is Elvis Presley!! (Beenie, still rem Elvis Parsley?! :P)
Mahatma Gandhi bside sm historic figures (not captured in pic) Then therez also replicas of paintings such as Vincent van Goghz self potrait with his ear severed,
Leonardo da Vinciz Mona Lisa (aka La Gioconda or La Joconde)
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (his full name)z "Hand of God" on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel in Rome. Marpig was browsing his works and realised Marpig actually took lotsa pics of his sculptures in Florence (on top of the Statue of David) without knowing it!! OMG
Rem Marpig said therez 2 beary impt bears of interest? One being the most xpensive in the world while the other is the smallest?
This bear, wearing a costume sewn with Swarovski crystals costs bout (recent xchange rate) SGD13k+. But, itz still not the most xpensive. Itz the one below
搞什么?! This is the most xpensive bear in the world (just bcos it wears LV clothing)?! Kao. Costs? SGD275K!!
Then therez also the worldz smallest bear at 4.5mm!! One would use a magnifying glass to catch a glimpse of the teeny weeny teddy!!And with tt, ends the attractions Marpig went in 제주. Itz was 24th Dec 2008 when Marpig was having the last night in 제주. Every1 had dinner at a chinese restaurant. Food were a-ok plus every1 was just soooooooo famished!!
Oh yes, the 2 guides (1 local and 1 from Singapore) gave every1 a surprise bcos they bought a cake to celebrate Xmas!! :D So good of them!!
Being Marpig, she grabbed the chance to order and try 炸酱面 after dinner, since she was in a korean chinese rest!! Yup, u didnt read wrongly, itz on top of dinner!! :P
炸酱面 b4 being 捞!!
炸酱面 after itz being 捞!! It might look disgusting but itz tastes quite all right and nice :D Think other pple sitting at the same table saw Marpig 吃的津津有味 and ordered 1 for themselves to try too!! (Dingko Nut, did Marpig rem wrongly?)
In addition, for 2 consecutive nights in 제주, Dingko Nut & sis & Marpig went out into the cold streets in search of 街边小吃!! The BIG red plate of red thingy are (Koreaz well-known) 辣炒年糕!! Therez also other 小吃 such as the round biscuit lookalike fish/cuttlefish, deep fried battered and breadcrumbs sausages, prawns, waffles, potato sticks (those in the blue cups) & the abs fantastic grilled cuttlefish!! (in the white cups) Also, notice the whitish thingy on a plate next to the 辣炒年糕? Itz 糯米肠!! But Marpig didnt try!! Tsk!! Now tt she recalls, she should have tried it since she loves both 糯米 and 肠!! 真是的!!
Those are the owners of the 街边小摊!! 아저씨 (ah jeo si, uncle/mister) was grilling the cuttlefish for the hungry gals :P while 아주마 (ah ju ma, elder lady) was watching the telly
Ooo~~!! Another Korean 小吃 which Marpig loves is 오뎅 (Odeng, introduced in the entry on the 1st dae in 제주) Basically, they are mostly fishcakes or similar in hot soup tt warms yr soul!! VERY GOOD on a winter night!! :D__After having their supper at the stall, the 3 gals made their way back to the hotel in the rain (was raining on the final dae in 제주) and along the way, therez all sorts of rests!! Seafood (since 제주 is an island), chinese, BBQ, etc!! One of the seafood rests has an interesting aquarium!!
Octopuses!! WOW!! Their creepy crawly arms!! BTW, in case any1 of u are wondering if Marpig has tried live small octopuses in Korea, the ans is no. Marpig am not tt adventurous!!And so ends the 2 daes in 제주. Moving on will be daes in mainland Korea. But 1st, think Marpig will blog sm brainy, thought-provoking, interesting and wordy entries after all the illustrative entries
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