Snippets

...on the one hand, it's utterly petty and pointless to write in to ST complaining about taupoking. Actually, on reading the original article, I suspect that the parent wrote it (and ST printed it) for fun. I mean, it really is quite hilarious...the scientific dissection of taupoking. Making an Everest out of a molehill of students' bodies. Does anyone really expect us to take it seriously? But on the other hand, it really isn't worth the effort to write back to the ST. It'll just start a needless scandal. But isn't is sad that the forum has nothing more important to print than this taupoking business?

Maybe if we changed its name to tauhueying, they'll think it's safe enough for 17-18 year olds...

* * * * *

Finally gave her her very belated birthday and Christmas present. Hehheh, it was good to get the chance to chat again. When you're with someone who's known you for so long, and who knows so much about you, and vice versa, you just feel...safe. At peace, even. Well, I hope she liked it, anyway...it isn't exactly something displayable, so I guess it'll for the most part remain a bit like a secret =P But I guess it's important to me too...from all my travels, I bring bits back, and I keep some, and my family keeps some. And recently, she keeps some too. I guess to a certain extent it's my way of sharing the story as well. And it's been done since Frexprog. We all need our little traditions.

But it is always good to have lasting friends.

* * * * *

Hehheh, now that Mr. Purvis is in charge of the CWC, exciting things are gonna happen! It seemed like he's determined to push the club and its expertise as far as it will go, and all I can say is that it's about time. Hoh's illogical restraint in exposing the club's writers to the outside world has lost us enough time already. And I am eager to see what we can do when shown the real world out there, awaiting our interpretation, expression and competition.

I think we should have begun a lot of these things last year. Entering every competition under the sun, bringing student writing closer than ever to the student body, and cooperating with the Lit Wing and the Writers' Circle on publications and events. Why didn't Hoh allow the CWC to do all this in the first place? Did she not have faith in the skill and calibre of our writers? I wonder how she got the impression that we weren't good enough. And even if we weren't, what's there to lose but a bit of face? I don't think RJ CWC's name is that precious that we have to avoid any risk of besmirching it. Trial by fire may be difficult, but it does stretch one in ways that one can't imagine.

Heh, and we're going to change our name. What'll CWC be called? We came up with Ink-Soc =P But Ian and Thong insist on Humbert Squared. I personally prefer Hyphen, but between the previous two, Ink-Soc gets my vote...

* * * * *

Made a jump back to HC yesterday afternoon, between the end of GP and the start of Lit S. Hehheh, it was cool to see everyone again! Joel, Mark, Nurul, Han, Chengyi, Pei Xuan, Lucas, Rui Min...it's the first time that I realised that I really do know quite a few people over there. And of course, chatting with the old pals was worth the trip down. It's a different flavour, talking to CHS people compared to the RJ guys. Perhaps it's because Joel and Han tend to kid around more. But I have known them well since time immemorial (okay, exaggeration for effect =P), and I know how to communicate with them. We can listen to one another, while in RJ, it's a constant fight to be heard (although to be sure it's easier now that I've come to know how they work too).

Hehheh, their classes are really noisy, especially with the J1s who share their home rooms. I got mistaken for a J1 crasher (well, that junior girl was half right), and to my surprise, I discovered that Isaac of Frexprog One had joined Humans. And I could have sworn I saw Conrad in Joel's junior class too. So, in a bizarre twist of fate called Frexprog One, I realise that I know more people in Joel's junior class than in 1A01A =S Heh well, I find that I like that kind of rowdiness. It's a nice change from the more high-pitched contemplativeness in 2A01A.

Well, that's not to say that I don't adore the people in RJ Humans. Far from it. It's just that the novelty of HC Humans has an endearing effect too. It's a different flavour of love, I guess you could say. And I think I can easily learn to love both, in my personal blend of the experience of these two years. It's really nice to have this open door to HC, and with their flexible (pronounced "nonexistent") timetable, you really can crash any time and expect to find somewhere to go. I feel like going back next week! And perhaps the next time, I can bring more people along.

* * * * *

The charity concert for the tsunami victims was better than I expected, actually. The CWC poetry readings justified themselves...they formed like solemn interludes or bridges between phases of the musical performances. And while the poems weren't really that good, I think reading them out achieved the needed effect. And the finale, when everyone involved in the concert sang Let It Be, it was quite poignant. It was a well chosen song for a sensitive finish, and while at the start I was goading myself into not being cynical about the whole affair, by the end of it it was easy to get caught up in the solemnity. It may still be superficial, and nothing more than a gesture, but it served a minimal practical and social purpose at least. It sure exceeded my expectations.

During the concert and the walk through sunset Bishan towards the roaring main road, a concept coalesced in my mind...

Violinist
14 Jan '05

On a silent stage

What depths of sorrow did he glimpse
Embrace with his bewildered spirit
What universal shackle did he rattle
To drive him to pen his silent music

And what does she see
In the unplacated notes
Frozen in their mournful revelry
That denies the soundless balm they are preserved in

But he plays the violinist
Plays the instrument
Plays us

And what do we perceive
In the harmonic rainbow
What shimmer of familiarity in that blend of shadow
Makes us whisper chords in a human symphony

(The bow shoots across
And the wood vibrates
And all our personal wood answers
And the strings that tie together, Us
The conscious flotsam
On our seething saltwater memory
The strings, they cry)

* * * * *

Just came back from a lavish dinner at China Square for Grandma's birthday. Hmm...discovered a whole new neighbourhood in the downtown district, full of Yuppie-friendly bars and restaurants, and a group of linedancing buskers of some kind. The landscaping was beautiful, but due to the early hour it was more or less empty. But I got to bring people to go see it again.

Anyway, the important thing was not the food, which wasn't bad (free flow...a la carte buffet at the Teahouse restaurant), but the opportunity to talk to my cousins again. It has been a long time...and since they weren't available for Christmas, this was our first opportunity to catch up again. I was quite surprised by how much they've grown up. One shows signs of teenage angst, and another has matured in poly. The veil of adult cares has begun to be drawn over our dazed young consciousnesses. There are surprises to be found even in your own family.

Later on, my family went for a stroll from China Square to Chinatown, where they had just lit up the entire road with enormous colourful lanterns. Add to that the recently approved and set up flashing neon signs, and the place is really quite a sight to behold. This lightup has a different flavour from the Christmas Orchard Road one...it's definitely more Asian, but it's also more intimate...there isn't as much light, but there are little details everywhere. And while Orchard is all shiny and new, Chinatown shows (indeed, showcases) marks of its history. That's also a nice place to go to...I haven't seen the city from that perspective before. Maybe I'll bring some people back on CNY Eve.

Oh yar, and got an SMS from Taiwan Yvonne today. Hehheh, interestingly enough, this year is the year of the chicken...=P

pondered by phoenican @ 16.1.05