Monday, April 28, 2008
so many exciting things happening that are worthy of talking about. not that much attention is paid to this blog anymore but yeah. wanted to express my opinions about certain matters like the mas selamat report and it's public backlash which the straits times has 'failed' to pick up and also like the 'chinese vs others' standoff.

but, due to certain circumstances, i decided to let it go. haha. partly the reason was that i was bogged down, troubled by problems ravaging my immortal soul. increasingly i find it hard to ignore the unneccessary and yet insistent calling towards the need for spiritual fulfilment. yet, how can i reconcile with the entity i have been at odds with for these years. how should i go about seeking clarity and maybe, salvation.

went to st andrew's cathedral with yi sheng last night. not an altogether good experience. but at least i was not feeling that unnatural surge of hatred and bitterness. skeptism. disbelief. but no, nothing extreme. had a great time being pensieve and reflective while we walked around dhoby ghaut/city hall area after having a chat at the cathedral and at coffee bean.

i must say, there are big rocks like birthday bashes etc that fills my life. but the little pebbles and seemingly insignificant grains that fill the gaps are also as important. not to be looked down at. haha, just as my almost daily routine of meeting isaac for coffee at ksl.

i think we've reached an impasse. prob reached it some time ago but things were left simmering all along. things have changed. we've changed. to imagine something like in american pie 2 is naive but it would be quite the perfect thing. what do we do with our friendship ? our 'clique' ? especially when school starts. and we're supposedly going to different places. what will remain ?

i hope this does not sound like another lamentation. i'm sorry if it sounds like one, did not meant for it to be this way.

alson
by ~me~ at 5:54 AM ©

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Thursday, April 10, 2008
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
by ~me~ at 12:42 PM ©

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Monday, April 07, 2008
my two favourite place to hang out: kim san leng and serangoon garden's RK prata. I shall never forget these two places and with that, the two most important people of my life other than my family. In the roman legions, brotherhood was forged from war and hardship. greeks maybe through other not so glamorous 'channels'. So what was our friendship forged from ? i dont know. but what i know is from this moment on i call you my blood brothers. i know i'm not really dependable but i will be there for you when there is no one else. i'll support you, when everyone shies away. call on me, and my blood will be yours to spill. in time, this promise may fade away as many others had before, but while we still cherish each other, i just wanted to tell i'm glad i knew you and that i still know you.

regards,
alson
by ~me~ at 10:49 PM ©

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Thursday, April 03, 2008
It has not been in my nature to give my two cents worth on a subject matter I feel lacking in maturity to discuss, the maturity I refer to being the lack of tenable opinions rather than sagacious insight that only comes with time and experience. I often view myself with contrite when in retrospect I reflect upon my own actions and words that were evoked out of obscurity and blinded by a misled preconception that my right to judge and ideate gave me a moral high ground. If one believes that to see the true nature of a system is to see its flaws, that sort of mentality is contemptuous in my opinion. I believe that with everyone eager to offer their two cents worth, one must have a plan before others are willing to listen. This is not a contest of "the importance of being earnest", at least if we want to be taken seriously and not with frivolity. Notwithstanding the fact that I continue to hold opinions that scarcely penetrate the issue of political organisation, I wish to make a few points regarding people who I view are pale to decry the current status quo.

Firstly, is there anything inherently aberrant about filling top positions with top academic minds? I think not, at least not for now. There is much to be seen from that who excel academically and that transcends intellectual bandwidths. Academic rigour goes beyond textbooks and libraries and even before we even discuss the feasibility of a learning curve like this, we must agree that in our generation it has taken place. To obtain the distinguished levels of academic achievements, one must have endured an exceptional level of discipline and rigidity, asceticism and commitment to ones goal or destiny. It is hardly a feat accomplished by the average person, much less capricious individuals who have not been attuned to maintain composure and focus when under tremendous pressure and competition. The academic is one who has continuously been trial and tested to strive and persevere throughout his entire live. He has succeeded in proving he is capable of endearment in the face of overwhelming emotional and mental barriers.

By what we make out of his 'elitist transcript' in today's terms, he has constantly been in a network of compatriots like himself/herself, and in this circle they continue to reinforce each other with their confluence of ideas and opinions. Even if they fail to make the most judicious choices, they can and will at anytime draw on a repository of scholastic information, which will be their vantage point over the uneducated man. Is it possible to perceive lawfulness from transgression, fairness from impartiality, discrimination from acceptance, foresight from pontification perennially as creatures of err all the time? If that is your concern, then the question is, even in their shoes and with their Harvard diplomas hanging on their walls, will they have the moral high ground? Have they been so esteemed that they are cloistered, only to perceive the society they live in for confined boundaries?

I believe in a saying that "certainty is the cancer of all leaders," and I believe that this saying applies to all who come into power. However that is not reason enough for us to judge our leaders in a less than deserving light. Can we assume and direct an ambiguous intellectual concern of ours at those we have yet to come into contact with? Or have we been too assuming of our perceptions of their precepts and backgrounds, like how we think they have made assumptions about us. Let us not wallow in our ungrounded prejudices and accept the reality of the situation by being proactive. Let us table this peevish crusade of elitism by redefining what it means to contribute to society. Can we not contribute from where we stand? As professionals, as heart Landers and as Singaporeans can we not conceive of our own identity and responsibilities? If enacting change or contributing is only achieved by scavenging a way to the top, that is YOUR ELITIST MINDSET. What is it that you or I can offer to society? If it is just your words and drunk ambitions, save it for your bedtime delusions. "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country," and in this context, "ask not what right you have to lead society but how you would lead and how you would contribute," only then, will we achieve a reconciliation of differences and create more opportunities ahead, without a fixation on a bouleversement that will not come in the near future.

ys
by ~me~ at 11:42 PM ©

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Saw something in the Straits Times today. Thinking back on what it was about made me indignant now. It was about the reshuffling of the cabinet and featuring our PM talking about the brain/talent drain. He used fictionary statistics to show how our students with all 'A's going overseas to study and not returning to fulfill their potential in Singapore. So what are the rest of us then ? Is the other 95% of the population condemned to be just led then ?

I dont think he was being elitist purposely but even if it's a pragmatic insight, i still dont buy it. Lets say i think logically. It is true that we need people with the ideas and brains to develop our society. It is assumedly true that all that the scholars have studied on paper can be translated into wonderful results in reality as well. But is it enough ? Look at the current political scene. Who amongst them can live up to the leadership vacuum left by the old guards ? What leadership ? What credibility ? What mandate to lead ?

The funny thing is that these so called talents are selected through one interview - after the release of 'A' levels results. To be fair, it's not that it can only be through the As that one succeed in the government. But we must concede that they are given substantially more chances and opportunities. It is only fair they are rewarded with scholarships for their hard work (?) but to secure governmental positions through that ? To already have a stable ladder up the ministries ? That is not only unfair, but also making our talent pool stagnant.

Given our rise in stature, we become more elitist. It is in our nature to want the best of everything. But then again, what are the so-called elistes 'elite' at ? That is a pertinent question seeing the amount of time, money and faith we invest in them.

alson, taju kage bunshin no jutsu. randomly blasting reiatsu again. arggh.
by ~me~ at 9:29 PM ©

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