progress
progress. big word.
sorry if what follows sounds random. i've been reading econs and AD/AS crap and NI and income disparity and trade and cos my mum screamed me out of bed for some reason im in a zhamming mood and i did the right thing I THINK by fishing out my lit notes and forcing myself to read bout darwinism (watever that is. sorry miss heng) and natural selection and human rights and community .. and progress.
lit and econs. throw in a bit of gp and i am utterly sleepless. and restless.
lit notes mentioned natural selection - "laissez-faire" - where the law of nature cancels out the weaker leading to the survival of the fittest. darwin's cousin, Francis Galton, believed that the "worst elements of the poorer classes.. would have to be physically prevented from passing on their infirmities" by having children. all in the name of.. thats right. progress. we need social evolution for progress. we need community reform for progress. we need to co-operate, everyone, to work towards the infinite promise of advancement.
but do we have to build the ladder from the bones of one another? fact is by the time we reach the top and triumph that the world is, literally, at our feet, the applause we've always been waiting for would die before reaching our ears that only then realised the surrounding silence. we could realise we are alone.
the crux lies in the very word progress. what do we first think of when we see this word? in econs, in gp, in lit. anywhere in the world now the this word is likely to mean money. technological advancement. when people mention progress now, what they really mean is economic growth, an increase in status, and all those important things that somehow seems more vital to our well-being than ever before. and they butter it up by saying we should work hand in hand and achieve it together. then some people toast it to crumbs by saying that next we should stop the "weaker" from having children so that we can all move forward.
is that what progress really means? we have had so much, so much pride in declaring mankind being more "civilised", a word that is never far from "progress". being a civilian in the civilised soceity of a civilisation. to me, it is more than building concrete buildings and roads and wearing suits and speaking impeccable english over an earl grey in a pretty porcelain teacup. it is more than inventing new things and creating methods to keep an endless inflow of money. it is about feeling. progress in human mindset. the way we handle our emotions. without these civility is merely an empty shell of concrete.
how could we truly declare progress when we do not want to help and support who we deem the "weaker" people? there is an irony here. we are intending to progress as a whole by leaving a few people who could hinder us behind. not only physically, but emotionally. the fact that we could be willing to put them down is telling. in fact, are we actually going backwards? in the past where humans lived in their primal stages natural selection decided the strongest lived, irregardless of the existence of the weaker. it was NATURAL, perhaps, to see the weaker fall and accept this as part of life.however, now with strings tied to pinkies all over the world one well-directed twitch could make a difference. we are all connected, whether by technology and increased awareness and consciousness of ourselves, of one another, of the world. could this notion of "natural selection" come so naturally to us? can we really see our weaker fall and take it as it is? or even encourage it? we would, in essence, be integrating an element of primal existence into our quest for progress. we could be building a nice gravel highway in the wrong direction - backwards.
in truth, if we are trying to be fair by implementing "laissez-faire", we could end up terribly unbalanced and fall hard on our butts. natural selection can never be possible in a world that man has made with his hands. one reason is, obviously, there is not much of nature left to select naturally. in fact, purposefully stopping people from having children is in no way natural and can never be. how can we determine who is "weaker"? we are building our own definitions on our earlier definitions. how we define the weaker would be based on how we define progress which is defined by how we define success and our ultimate goal. we are fitting ourselves into frames and one wrong frame in the wrong perspective could lead to a huge mistake on mankind's part, and the danger is we can hardly see and analyse beyond the frame because we think it is what it is. we made it what it is. if we choose to frame progress as a picture of wealth and power then it will be what we work towards.
i wouldnt dare say im right, but coming back to it, progress is about learning. not just how to operate complex machines and fiddle with human genetics and bring the entire humanity onto "a higher level". it is also learning how to be human, and humane. to understand the intricacies of human interaction (blast brain neurons and pheromones and other scientific jargon here) and feel for one another simply because we care for our kind. let our hearts grow with our purses. that, to me, is the true development of mankind. if we can work so thirstily towards acquiring knowledge, surely we can also take effort acquiring a heightened sensitivity (oh darn, the word here is LOVE) for fellow people. otherwise, we could turn into those very robots and machines we created and proudly used to indicate our spreading progress.
mm well. i think i made a lot of sweeping statements and all that gp-booboos. but well not intending to write a logical essay. its jus ranting. jus found it sad that somehow the world is turning a little colder and warmer at the same time. oh crap now there's geog here. miss heng's notes really caught me at a good time.
HAHA oh man i jus realised ive really neglected my blog. sorry guys. :0(
eep. prelims up. MUGMUG :P
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Thursday, August 07, 2008
mummified
mmph. im blogging again. is that a good sign? yes. when i have dance tmr and my math tutorial is angry at me and im sleepy? no.
but. here i am.
my burfdae came and went. thanks to everyone who made it so special just by noeing me and being my fren. it was my bestest burfdae ever. (HMMM i say this every year. kinda makes me look forward to my 80th burfdae.) thanks to donkey, its been a whopping 2 months and counting :D i've said it all and i dun want to. em. abuse u on my blog. (<3<3<3<3<3<3)
am i supposed to be having so much fun on the year of my A's?
mother's day is coming next month, but likely i wont be able to blog till then. oh well.
THE MOTHER
1) the born-talented performer from your childhood days who dances, sings, pulls faces and recites poetry to make you laugh/ stop your crying which (come on, admit it) was meant to make her do all that stuff.
2) the lone soul on the planet who has the license (read: audacity) to say you're fat and need to loose weight and get away with it. i mean,
she's the one who makes your favourite baked cheese pasta every sunday right?
3) also the one who can call your room a pig sty. and come
this close to saying you've just sprouted a snout without suffering a painful death by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin.
4) the teacher who believes you are a future P.hD holder and never stops believing it until you're grey and toothy and too weak to carry a schoolbag to Harvard.
5) the woman in your house who takes an hour to make a point, another hour to comment on your body lanuage while she's making her point, and yet another grouching about her wasting her time on you while she could be doing the dishes.
6) the cushion who wants to always be there when your kleenex has run out. this explains the perpetual all-too-common disdain of your mother for the stuffed toys beside your bed. (she says its because they collect dust but, oh mum, we know.)
7) the lady who marries you off to a rich guy, sends you off in your cinderella couch on your wedding day sobbing into a floral handkerchief, then goes home, jumps on the kitchen table and does the can-can.
love you mummy :0) i promise to be just like you after my mummification.
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Monday, April 21, 2008
:D
looking back at my last post reminds me of that week and how much has happened. but theyr'e good stuff :0)
chingay was fun! i guess. though the glitter made my eyes puffy. the preview nite on friday i was trying to gather my wits bout me to keep the headress from flying off my head while dancing, then lost them when i ran into 2nd formation smack in front of about a dozen cameras hoping to catch a few good moments (but ultimately failed cos this big broccoli wannabe with a fern teetering on her head decided to intercept). ehhhh. i really almost went nuts.
but of course there were plus points. stood beside quanyifeng and gurmit singh while they were proceeding on the float 8D almost split my green leotard was laughing so hard. and had fun escorting mr president nathan's float i felt as remarkably important as one could get in our flower-moneyplant-seaweed costume :D
but the funnest part was still hanging out with frens, rushing with them to change and make-up, bouncing on the seats on the bus rides to and fro, laughing like flowerheaded hyenas, and jus enjoying each others' company. it was definitely an experience :D
then there was the new addition to the pandemonium squad.. Jaelyn! <3
as usual i was too scared to pick her up and as usual my mum made me to
prepare me for motherhood take photos and as usual once i carried her i refused to put her down. exact repitition with my previous cousins but oh well she looked so sweet couldnt help it :0)
i want kids. 5. then when they start teething and getting cranky at nite and holding "promise me food, shelter and education NOW!" placards above their heads they belong to my husband.
lol. jk. i still want kids.
and last nite topped it all when ares won facdance competition 3rd year running! :D :D :D :D LOVE CARLOS AND SHARON we're so so proud of you, CONGRATS. thanks for all the work you guys have put in for the entire fac, all the dance sessions and getting the choreo done and thinking up ways to make ares stand out and everything. great job :D
thats my 2 weeks worth. other stuff that happened are already known to the people whom i feel should noe :0)
DANCEWORKS. its chiong time. let's all jus have fun, thats all that matters. jiayou us :0)))
yvonne. you. sillygoose. :P
thanks hubby, i cant say it enough. i love you.
love is the stuff inside :0)
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
<3333
OHMYGOSHHHH its been eons since i last blogged. kisses my blog.
mmmmmm. have been so tired recently for some reason. somehow im always sleeping late cos of homework and prac and other stuffs. and for some weirder reason im feeling happy and fufilled, thanks to my frens :0) cos of them i hardly notice my day's been longer than pockey sticks and blander than. unbuttered. popcorn. which my sister just tried to feed me.
i should stop thinking of food.
chinGAY's coming up, and so's danceworks. and homework's beginning to make a statement by piling on my desk. havent been paying my angels and mortals the attention they deserve. oh oh oh. hope they like my valentine's day present :D
yayyyyy valentine's day looking forward to it. baking at hubby's house on tues. hope i dont bake the kitchen along with watever im baking. bong in a kitchen = lion in a chicken's coop (im destructive and i try to eat everything in it.) and hope the goodies turn out well cos they're supposed to be a symbol of my love and care :0) eee. pressure.
my first time baking. wish me luck.
HAPPY CNY EVERYONE! this is so late but who cares. cny in my vocab doesnt end til chingay. this is the pineapple tarts talking. ohmygod i just had dinner what's wrong with me? (greed, of course, but im not going to say it. pure pink piggish greed.) :D
oh chingay. im going to pretend that we're
vegetables fairies that jus
crawled danced out of a
crop field flower garden. actually i think the costume will look nice on chingay night but during normal practice its. ohhh. lala. i have apples and berries in my hair! and a fern that does high heels injustice.
mm. fairy.
i shall start on valentine's day gifts soon. but right now shall finish this #&%^*$*#& econs research task so i can get on with my life. :0)
happy. sad. happy. sad.
i should be, could be, want to be happy. for myself. but i cant.
oh, but how i should.
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Sunday, February 10, 2008
pass the turkey!
bong is ashamed that her latest addiction is -
horror of horrors - clubpenguin. CLUBPENGUIN.
i need to get a life.
had fun yesterday at my popo's house :0) family gathering for
guo dong (translated from chinese, its living out the winter). originated from china of course, not much of a winter to enjoy - or worry about - here.
babysitted - babysat? - the PS (pandemonium squad) again. 7 younger kids running around threatening to summon the police to the doorstep is no joke. im talking bout kids who could whoop with joy and put on their iceskates if hell froze over.
so kept an eye (who am i kidding i meant 10 eyes) on these cookiedough lovelies while they ran around the void deck, on skatescoots or tricycles or their feet with a homemade nanny in tow. marvin's the youngest and the cutest :D was zi-highing pouncing on puddles and laughing and screaming "WETWET!" all over the place.
making
tangyuan was a little less fun for me. all of them packed into the kitchen and the adults threw me in the make sure the place isnt razed down to a crisp. not that rolling glutinous rice balls needed any fire, but then, these kids are fire-breathing devils.
was quite ok :0) cept that one dried out 20% of the dough from his excessive rolling, the gurls kept bawling that the others took too much of their dough, and all of us (including me :P) popped too much brown sugar into our mouths so there was barely enough for the
tangyuan. in the end we managed a sufficiently edible batch, ignoring the fact that some were as big as sqaush balls and others as big as marbles.
and that the pandan soup was diabetic cos someone dunked in lethal amounts of brown sugar. but then the brown sugar would have found its way into our tummies anyway X)
mm. at least the activities take my mind off my phone. havent contacted my frens in weeks.
next stop: tomyam crab for tmr's bbq. plus some last minute shopping :D
all this while my pile of homework is theatening to eat me up.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO U ALL. sorry this year i cant send out my usual cheesy ohlala christmassy smses. hope u guys dont mind yeahhh :D
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Sunday, December 23, 2007
:0(
bong has lost all mood to blog.
update: havent found my wallet/pouch. with my phone and ic and ezlink in it.
it SILVER with 2 pigs on the front and has my ic with my name and address and all on it. and my silver slim samsung phone with all my contacts and precious stuff. please please return it if by some miracle you see this blog it means a lot to me.
bout the 6th wallet i lost in my lifetime. but this is the biggest loss ever.
ohmygod im so useless. causing my mum and ms chen so much trouble and everything. im so sorry :0(
one week i havent spoken much to my frens :0( and now i lost all their contacts. sigh. miss you guys so much. sorry i cant reply anyone anything.
hope i get it back, or get over it.
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Saturday, December 15, 2007
back :0)
GENTINGS TRIP WAS UBERRR FUN.
well. i could say so much more. but not in the mood now. just so me to end the trip by losing my wallet.
with my ezlink card, my ic, and my handphone. wat could possibly be worse?
hope its in the coach. thanks ms chen for all your trouble contacting the organisation and all. now waiting for news :0(
please let it come back. some things inside cant be replaced.
terrible day tdae. more than one thing's missing and i dont even noe wat but i just feel crappy all the same.
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Friday, December 07, 2007
i think i can fly
HEROES! <3
watched the first 2 episodes last nite on tv, itched and drooled for more till tdae and went to hubby's house to get more. ended up re-watching the 2 episodes and only managed to watch 1 new one.
but but BUT. the re-watching made me understand wat was going on. and for a bit of kick look out for the hidden dna signals that pop up here and there for u to pick out and celebrate the use of ur eyes. like the one on claire's geology textbook, episode 3.
sneak-peeked a bit of shutter. almost died. and the bboys din help by being there.
i would so be better off watching it alone. rite?
with stitch of course. and ernie.
thanks hubbs for having us over even if it meant that ur house might not have stayed intact. and sorry for clearing out a significant part of ur larder. a tasty significant part nonetheless :D
miss the gang. vic rox cailing min xinying deb yy fifi mian kiki. hope to see u guys thurs :0)
oh the joy. why cant heroes show twice a week or something. but most likely we'd all finish the series before the season ends. and wait (at hubby's house, no less) for the next.
meanwhile i shall avoid looking at mirrors. and shrug off the sheer coincidence that my clock stopped working as i stared at it.
YATA!!
i mean. i shall go change the battery.
twirled into your arms at
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
OP and Oily Potatoes
OP tmr! -shoots evil eyes at you if you have already finished yours-
just hope we'll be ok. at least worth the entire day tdae spent at cass's house rehearsing, writing out our skit script and making lunch out of oily, oily fries.
im not being a calorie crazo or fat freak here. it was seriously so terribly oily that the fries were glistening and most were soggy. can't blame cass's maid tho, she was new. 3 days :0)
but still. its no secret we enjoyed the spring rolls and ham and salad better.
huff. if i gain any kilos from them i'd better gain twice as many marks for OP.
OH tmr is the ultimate freedom. i shall refrain from rejoicing early :D to all unfortunate souls sharing my plight, all the best!
miss my frens. havent seen one or the other this past week. hope to see you guys real soon. mabbe tmr! :0)
i dont noe why you were so upset yesterday and tdae. but if its somehow because of me, im sorry. :0(
i love you. hope you'll feel better tmr.
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Thursday, November 01, 2007
njc! :0)
NJC rocked. thot our performance was the best we did so far :0) but the more memorable and fun part was the dancing session after that. it was cool to watch bboys cyphering and then some hiphoppers burning the floor too.
and after all the effort we put in, it was worth it :D everyone did great and im so so super proud of everybody considering we had less than a week to learn and perfect this choreo.
oh. forgot to give out the vouchers. shall do it tmr. (oh fudge how many times have i said that?)
watever it was, i had ultimate fun on friday nite. the njc councillors really did a nice job on this one :0)
i should say more but its late now (for a pig like me). yawn.
and some people are just so gentlemanly. haha sorry guys that im still raving bout it but im reminded of it everytime i see THE gentleman so i just have to put it here to make myself feel better. not that i expect "ladies first" to come out of his gentlemanly mouth anytime. i'd sooner turn into a man.
thanks hubbs and okiku, for everything. i promise i'll be fine really really really. <3
im so lousy sometimes. wat's wrong with me.
this. is. no. big. deal.one day i'll look back on this and laugh my head off. if its still already there.
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Wednesday, October 24, 2007
comin hooommme.. 3.30
WR. OP. NJC. all due tmr!
gosh only started njc choreo prac last sat. less than a week to learn a full choreo slathered with bout 6 formations and polish it up properly. doesnt help that the choreo deviates a little from our usual style.
had full dress rehearsal at njc tdae. looking at the bboys i could just run behind the curtain and hide my baby freeze there. i could be a 2-year-old trying to break and u wouldnt notice the difference.
but all that wont stop us from having fun, including the imba poppers. we gonna do our thing and have a rollicking good time up there and we dun care if nobody else is having fun with us.
:D hope tmr will have a good party. jiayou all the njc councillors suyi min michelle and michelle thanks for working so hard. i noe min is cooking cant wait to eat the food. haha :P good dinner+dance+late nite out = bliss.
dunno if can stay that late tho. alr had a late nite last nite. sitting under the stars (clouds rather) and chatting til 10.30pm and climbing over the school gate to get out was fun but i had to pay more than just cab fare ($7.50 from sch to home!!! sheesh). thanks ezra anyway.
and im such a sucker for food. one day i'll regret it but i dun care for now good food is for eating and nothing else.
:0) looking forward.
do i. or do i not. or do i. oh help me.
hope i'll do the rite thing in time to come.
twirled into your arms at
Thursday, October 18, 2007
t-IMBA-land
sorry again everybodaye for being so down nowadays. haha just to assure im really really not depressed lol why should i be with u guys around :0)
hmm actually i have no idea why im feeling so blehh. might be something to do with the apologise choreo. or the song. somehow it reaches right there :P
thanks okiku for sitting with me and throwing stones at the warning sign with me. and for the heart to heart talk. i felt much much better after that. tho actually i
still cant fathom what i could possibly be upset about but thanks for making that feeling go away.
p.s. i still have 4 big imba stones on the sign and u only have 2. lousyyyy.
oh please make this feeling go away for good. like ezra said its like a feeling something's missing and u feel lost and weirdly emo. just as well if u're doing the apologise choreo but thats about all. i shall resolve to recover in the next few days.
here's the song of the week :0)
Apologize - Timbaland ft one republicI’m holding on your rope Got me ten feet off the ground And I’m hearing what you say But I just can’t make a sound You tell me that you need me Then you go and cut me down But wait... You tell me that you’re sorry Didn’t think I’d turn around And say.. That it’s too late to apologize, it’s too late I said it’s too late to apologize, it’s too late I’d take another chance, take a fall, take a shot for you And I need you like a heart needs a beatBut that's nothing new yeah yeahI loved you with a fire red, now it’s turning blue And you say Sorry like the angel heaven let me think was you But I’m afraid It’s too late to apologize, it’s too late I said it’s too late to apologize, it’s too late It’s too late to apologize, it’s too late I said it’s too late to apologize, it’s too late I said it’s too late to apologize, yeah yeah I said it’s too late to apologize, yeah I’m holding on your rope Got me ten feet off the ground...sing it like thomas and you could win singapore idol hands down :D
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Thursday, October 11, 2007
