Thursday, August 28, 2008
The following song was adapted from Friends.
This is a song about Grandparents.
Grandma's a person that everyone likes,
She bought you a train and a bright shiny bike,
But lately she hasn't been coming to dinner,
And last time you saw her she looked so much thinner.
Your mum and your dad said she moved to Peru,
But the truth is she died and some day you will too.
Lalalala lalalala lalalala...
Dan
10:32 pm
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
It's interesting how changing just one word makes a world of difference to a campaign to get off drinking. It read "if drinking costs you more than money, we may be able to help." I read it as "drinking costs you more money than we may be able to help." And I thought, that can't be right. I blame the man's hand that was blocking the "if". I guess the rest was my fault.
I was surfing YouTube for the music videos to the songs I would be singing for OCF on Friday, and the videos I came across barely had a thousand hits each. I searched Jason Mraz's hit "I'm Yours" and it had 12.8 million hits. You draw the implication.
Dan
10:59 pm
Monday, August 25, 2008
Olympics is over. Now there isn't anything to distract me on the TV. OK, that's not really true, but Olympics is once in four years, so I guess that was a good excuse.
I was watching a documentary on channel 7 about chinese hospitality. And though I admire the Chinese courage to learn and use their english, I cannot help but laugh when I hear them speak. They showed a Chinese official who was saying "thank you for your coorporation."But it kept coming out as "thank you for your corporation."
Dan
12:56 am
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Yesterday was wonderful. I've not eaten so much good food in one day for a long time. And I'll plan better surprises from now on, or not at all.
I was reading an article on the CNA website, about men not wanting to share responsibility in parenting. It cited that the male mindset and high opportunity costs as two of the main reasons. I suppose we could all agree with the mindset bit. But the opportunity cost??!! I know I'm studying to become an economist, but to use opportunity cost seems to suggest that fathers compare raising their children to the amount of money that they could earn from working in the same time frame. That is essentially what opportunity cost is. How can you compare work to children? I think that if such comparisons are being drawn, then changing the male mindset toward parenting isn't all that needs to be done. We are talking about personal values here. Selfishness, responsibility, just to name a few.
It's been awhile since articles in the news have worked me up. It's so much fun.
Dan
2:33 pm
Thursday, August 21, 2008
School's been good so far. Been able to cope with all the work surprisingly. I have no idea how I'm doing it either, but I'm not complaining. I just hope the results will be positively correlated with my feelings.
Tomorrow proves to be exciting.
Dan
11:12 pm
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
It's week 4 already. Olympics have been very interesting to watch. Followed swimming, gymnastics, a bit of track, cycling. Cycling was an interesting sport, though the rules were kind of hard to follow. Gymnastics was quite fun. I used to find it boring in the past, but I think that was because I never watched long enough to see any of the gymnasts fall. I know that thats mean, but its entertaining TV.
Works been surprisingly fine so far. Not falling behind in anything too badly yet. Or maybe I've been fooling myself into a false sense of security. Who knows?
Dan
11:58 pm
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The 52nd week. Today was Melbourne University's open day. I remember what I did this time last year, running around campus on a Sunday to look for resources for an assignment, that wasn't even meant for me. Going from Baillieu to the ERC, only to find one book. Did you use it eventually??
This weeks been a wake up call to me, not about studies, but that the world is not made up of just work and money, but of so much more that so many miss out on. Sometimes its good to not to have money. To have to work for the simple things in life, and not buy it at the shop round the corner.
Dan
10:39 pm
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Olympics has been fun to watch, especially the swimming. It's very exciting. I also watched gymnastics. Normally I think that that is very boring to watch, but for some reason a lot of people seem to be falling down this Olympics. That's entertaining TV. This week is cycling and track I think, also very exciting sports to watch.
Watching the Olympics here is so different than watching in Singapore. Nobody is hyped up for it at all. Perhaps because we know we won't win anything at all. No Olympic medal in 48 years...What does that say? 48...that's even older than Singapore! Now we have the hope of at least a silver, but what's a silver when the rest of the world are getting bucket loads of golds? The sad and cruel reality of this world is that there will never be enough, just as humans will never be satisfied.
Go Australia!!!
Dan
1:35 pm
Thursday, August 14, 2008
A lot of random thoughts going through my head. We were having lunch at NL house the other day and it's very fun to observe the aunty because she's the type who likes to talk a lot like she knows everything, and she likes to scold her part time employees, who are international students. We've seen her interviewing some students before, give advice on how to go for professional interviews, we've even heard enough about her family to sketch a rough background. So we sound like very busybody but it is fun. Well funny la to be precise. So we were at NL house and we saw that she had two rather attractive part time employees and we both agreed that something was wrong, because why would anyone with this kind of attractiveness work at a place like that, and how did the aunty get them!!!
Then I saw a sign on the NL house window saying "Staff and Cleaners wanted", and it struck me! Aunty had put up a sign "Pretty Helpers wanted, please", but actually what she wanted to say was "Helpers wanted, pretty please."
I know, I know. I'm a genius.
Dan
10:21 pm
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Time passes by so fast. The third week of school is ending already!!! I feel so...under prepared?? I know that the assessment is still a long way to go, but how long can that be when 3 weeks passed by like that??
My lecturer was talking about cooperation in simultaneous move games today, and he used Singapore as an example. I was like !!! He wanted to show that cooperation was needed for two people to meet, just like cooperation is needed for two firms to achieve their desired payoff. But why Singapore right?
Anyway he said "what if two friends want to meet at the world class airport? Or that very famous fountain?"
Why do I know what that fountain is?? Singapore is so small that if there is to be a famous of anything, there will only be one of it. Katong Laksa for example. That's not even the name of the shop! But who cares right? Everyone in Singapore knows what you're talking about once you say Katong Laksa.
Dan
6:23 pm
Time passes by so fast. The third week of school is ending already!!! I feel so...under prepared?? I know that the assessment is still a long way to go, but how long can that be when 3 weeks passed by like that??
My lecturer was talking about cooperation in simultaneous move games today, and he used Singapore as an example. I was like !!! He wanted to show that cooperation was needed for two people to meet, just like cooperation is needed for two firms to achieve their desired payoff. But why Singapore right?
Anyway he said "what if two friends want to meet at the world class airport? Or that very famous fountain?"
Why do I know what that fountain is?? Singapore is so small that if there is to be a famous of anything, there will only be one of it. Katong Laksa for example. That's not even the name of the shop! But who cares right? Everyone in Singapore knows what you're talking about once you say Katong Laksa.
Dan
5:59 pm
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
I decided to cycle to school today. Reason? I was going to be late for class, and I haven't cycled to school in a long time now. So I went down to unlock my bike. No surprise that it was dusty and all, but I couldn't be bothered to clean it then, and I peddled out into the cold morning air.
The route to school is up sloped initially and then down slope until I reach school where it's flat. I was going up the slope, and found myself very tired. I refused to believe that the exhaustion came from a lack of exercise and I was right. I looked down and there were my tires, flat. Why I didn't see that earlier I don't know. But I had already begun my journey and it was too late to turn back.
By the time I reached school my legs were so tired, I could barely walk straight. Same thing when I cycled home... just that this time the wind wasn't in my favour. OK maybe I do need to exercise more a bit. I need to pump my tires as well.
Dan
4:17 pm
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Nobody really taught us how to read body language, just like nobody really taught us how to open a door, or to use a comb, or to colour with a crayon. We just pick it up as we go along. A yawn with droopy eyes, probably tired. A smile with laughter, probably happy. A short, sharp tone, filled with seriousness, possibly anger.
It may seem insignificant to have to study in great detail if a smile is really a smile, when we think why would anybody smile if they weren't really happy? But it's precisely things like that, that require us to understand more than what meets the eye, because our perceptions of behaviour will affect our decisions and our behaviour as well.
We generally assume that our perceptions are right, and allow us to know what is really going on below. And whilst that may be true, we have to admit that there are limits, and that we might be wrong which will lead to some serious misunderstandings. Can we observe affect and know how someone is feeling? Think about beauty pageants. The girls who do not win, still smile and clap their hands, like their involvement in the pageant was not important, and whether they won or not didn't matter, but is that how they really feel? Why can't we display a mood intentionally to deceive?
So now, we agree that that can be the case. Then could it be that we've led a life deceiving people so as to protect ourselves, that when the one person who shouldn't be deceived comes along, we find it hard to stop, and we end up deceiving unintentionally? Put it another way, can what was set up to be intentional suddenly not be stopped and become unintentional?
Dan
9:28 pm
Had steamboat at sitcom house to celebrate national day. I can still remember last year's national day and the steamboat at their house. Time really flies. Can feel age catching on. It's so sad.
I changed my blog layout. I actually had a nicer one with a flame, but the links wouldn't work, so this is my next best option. The black background is easier on the eyes I feel. Not sure how the colours will work though. Got to start choosing colours that will match with a black background.
Dan
1:45 am
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Anybody watched the Olympics opening ceremony? I only caught the final 2 hours of the very long and draggy 4 hour ceremony, but I guess that what the event is like right? I recall the last time I watched the Olympics was in Melbourne as well, during my Trinity year. How time flies...
Managed to see the Singapore Team walk out and wave their flag, and I was commenting on how sad the team size was, after seeing countries like Germany, Italy, Australia, China. Their teams were huge! But I guess it's all relative to the countries population. And yes, I know I'm Singaporean, but let's be honest, its always more interesting to watch the teams of other countries than to watch Singapore. I mean, what will we win, if any at all?? So I'm gunning for the Australians in swimming, rowing, and cycling. Those are the sports I found most fun to watch during the last Olympics.
Happy National Day...How old already ah???
Dan
11:46 am
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Silence is a strange thing. In it some find peace and tranquility. The idea of being alone with your thoughts, thinking things through. After all who on this earth knows you better you right? Silence "heals" you a some sense. Ask parents of young children, they'll tell you the true value of silence.
But that's not all silence can do. It can cause loneliness. Who likes talking to a wall? It's nice to have some response every now and then. The lack of opinion when you want it. Thats why you have friends right? So that it won't all be silent. Because if it were all silent, it would eat you up inside.
And then silence can kill. We think that sometimes its best if we say nothing at all. But is that really what is happening? Clearly not! Because in the midst of silence people think. They conjure up ideas, sometimes brilliant. But when emotions run high, does a wall of silence help to prevent conflict? or to stew up thoughts for the things left unsaid?
Eventually, it brings the demise of relationships, the change of character, a new revelation, which we would not have otherwise found. But do we really want that?
Dan
5:36 pm
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
I went for a careers fair today. It was super crowded. There were quite a few companies, mainly looking for accountants, engineers and financiers. So sad that economists are not valued for what they are really worth. I searched high and low, and of the tons of internship placements on offer, I only found ONE economics internship. And I need to be a PR for that!!! Crappy system. After the fair I was thinking if I should have done accounting instead. But then I'd be torn between doing something I'm good at and have a passion for, but lacking in job opportunities, or doing something I don't really excel at, and abhor, but dripping with employers.
Dan
11:56 pm
Monday, August 04, 2008
You never know how to appreciate a good thing until you've lost it. Such a cliche saying, but something I hope I will never have to experience. Memories... how would you describe them?
Been sharing a lot lately, and last night we somehow got onto the topic of people we've gone out with.
She: I remember when I used to go out with guys, they would always offer to pay for me. Then I would feel bad so I would then offer to pay for something else.
He: Yea... I remember going to the movies a lot with this girl, and I would always offer to pay for her ticket.
She: You paid for her ticket? Why you never offer to pay for anything for me!
He: Prices have gone up!
Dan
5:59 pm
Sunday, August 03, 2008
First week of school is over. Not bad. I've done all my readings, tutorial work, and caught up on lectures. All things considered, its been quite a good week actually. But it's just the first week. Next week will be interesting. Been playing citadels over the weekend. Finally got Rachelle interested. All its done is just to remind more about game theory and strategy. And I suck at it. Rachelle will testify to that.
I'm such a simple-minded man.
Dan
11:03 pm