So, I guess that’s it? May 15, 2009
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Walking up the stage and accepting the scroll, everything seems to be over at that instant. But somehow, it doesn’t really feel like it and I can’t help but ask: “So, that’s it?” The last official day of being a Ngee Ann Student and an FMS student. There, face it.
3 years full of “sleep deprivation” (Ms Kwan, 2009), rushing out projects, putting the 100 plus presentation slides, bundling ourselves in the ‘FMS arctic region’ also known as the radio daws and trying to be one with the big clock, working on the newspaper and churning out stories like a threadmill on clockwork, having consultations one after another in the nice, cozy rooms at level 7, trugging up the hill to the FMS block to meet the 5pm datelines and having to wait ever-so-patiently for the lifts to bring us up, and all the sleepovers, (nope, not partying sleepovers, nope, no pillow fights, nope, no snacking, ok, actually a little…) which is coincidentally all at Jurong and Clementi (oh and once at Sengkang), to finish the website, the articles and the presentation slides… And, that’s that. It’s done and accounted for.
From being someone who came out of a rather ‘stick-in-the-mud’ education system, it’s almost like metamorphosis in these 3 years. From doing normal, albeit boring, presentations with cue cards, presentations these 3 years morphed into “Harry Potter with an Indian accent” and video support. Cue cards, memorised scripts, nah… doesn’t work, as i’ve been told.
So, that ends the 3 years?
Oh, integral in these 3 years – the CCA, which strings everything together. The rehearsals day after day, the planning behind, the meetings in the clubhouse (where we pass the phelgm… )and everything and everyone. Without this, it would be safe to say that the going would be tough.
So, to PSF, to my fellow friends and lecturers, a curtsey!
- PH
When everything happens for a reason… May 6, 2009
Posted by sinph56 in Friends, Issues, Photography.2 comments
I sat there sipping my Starbucks Mocha Frapp (yes, a staple in my cafe menu) and heard conversations droning on around me. Some were really intelligent, which never fail to turn my head, wanting to know which incredible genius that comment came from while some are the mundane matters revolving around us. And, there it feels as if everything happens for a reason, if not two.
Have you ever wondered why we get to meet each other now and not later or before? Well, If we meet earlier, things might change and eventually we will go our separate ways. If we meet later, who do we get to help us along the obstacles of life and go through the laughter and fun?
What about the choices we make? The places we go to? The failures we encountered? The fun we had? They are there for a reason. Bringing it back to coffee, if we don’t drink there, we never know being a Barista does involve getting down and dirty. And, if we decide not to stop by for coffee, we wouldn’t get the chance to catch up on each other’s lives.
To me, coffee is a drug that calms and soothes the senses. And, a frapp is not your normal coffee, it is a blend. Now, think about it this way, everything starts off as a coffee bean, and when you add water, it expands and the smell whiffs out. Then, you shake it, stir it and throw it in the blender. That is the end result of what started. So, if we said ‘No’ to something, what will the result be?
If it’s a yes?
-PH
When the East meets West May 3, 2009
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Food is something we consume, and to put it simply, it is something that fills us and gives us the energy to carry on with our daily activities. But, food can also take on a meaning outside of just something edible. Food chronicles someone’s journey and opens up a brand new story in its own.
Singapore used to be a fishing village and the early days see chinese immigrants filing across the oceans to the shore. They set up homes, build up the trade and commerce in the country and contributed to a wide variety of businesses. Among these, eateries and hawkers are the most prevalent. (Think Chinatown street stalls!) Yes, with the influx of chinese settlers in the country, chinese cuisine has also sprouted. Dishes like the Hokkien noodles, chicken rice, chinese dessert soups and delicacies soon begin to find their way into the hearts of Singaporeans.
Now, a few decades later, yes, we still have our local fare of chicken rice, dim sum and boiled herbal soups but the proliferation of tourists from all over the world has shaped Singapore into a metropolitan city, littered with iconic western cafes and restaurants. When we say “go western”, it’s Fish & Chips, Pork ribs, pasta and the likes of that.
So, which do you like better? A kopi freshly brewed from your uncle in white singlet or by the barista in the Starbucks all over the country? Hong Kong dim sum and mee pok dry or a plate of Chicken chop with Linguine from Cafe Cartel? Your choice!
- PH
The thief – time May 2, 2009
Posted by sinph56 in Uncategorized.2 comments
3 years ago, I am still wondering where I should go after my ‘O’ levels results. JC with most of my friends or a polytechnic education, in some far-flung place (well, clementi to be precise). And, a month later, I made the decision to go ahead, alone. People ask why I would go ahead without my friends but I guess to me, I did not think that much and just plunged into it. The thought of starting anew without so much as a familiar face is definitely daunting, no doubt but since I chose it, I accepted it wholeheartedly.
Now, 3 years later, graduation ceremony is just a mere 2 weeks away. The entire journey just seems like a bullet train forging ahead without its passengers aboard. How did time ever steal pass us ever so stealthily? And, adulthood creeping up on us, something resembling a silent killer?
Sometimes I ask myself this question: “Am I ready to grow up?” I am not responsible enough, not sensitive enough, not street-smart enough, not independent enough, and the list continues… I am not prepared to handle what’s ahead of me.
- PH
