2 Jun 2006
The Burger Buns... 8:22 am
Yo-yo Friday
Just a week back, I was strolling through Takashimaya, chomping food-court fishballs. I stopped by the central toys bazaar, only to find a forgotten memory on a stage: Yo-Hans.
My sis and I can recall the days when we used to be Pro-Yo crazy. Remember the Bumble-bee? Walk-the-dog? There he was, the World Record holder of the greatest number of yo-yo tricks in a minute, Yo-Hans, on a measely stage in Taka.
Nevertheless, I was there at stage side as he wowed kids by breaking his own record: 54 tricks per minute. He autographed the fateful yo-yo thereafter and offered it to the audience. Guess what? Instead of giving it to his screaming kid-fans, he turned to the oversized buffalo munching on balls;me.
Yes, I've now got an autographed Yo-Hans yo-yo which he did 54 tricks with, and the harrowing memory of the glares from disgruntled parents who believed the yo-yo should never have ended up with a fumbling furball,but with their kids who were on stage front.
My Apple dream...digested...gone!
I've always wanted an Apple. Wanted to be a staunch convert. Even the battering practical advice of Yong seemed futile against my desire for sheer class. Then, the music stopped. The flags stopped flying, the trumpets died.
I could afford the Macbook, but cannot afford the softwares. Pro tools, Logic, the softwares that I thought would help my music-making cause cost a bomb. So does Office for Mac.
Perhaps it is to be a long-drawn battle. Perhaps one day I shall return, better armed (with freaking lotsa cash), and reclaim that lost dream! O Steve Jobs! Discount leh!
Working with volunteers
Not exactly a sudden realisation, not exactly a startling epiphany, but I've come to be mindful that when working in a community of volunteers (church groups, VOs etc), it draws on a different set of skills and sensitivities as to working at work, school etc (where there is obvious personal-interests involved).
Seems like an obvious understatement, but often overlooked.
Uncle T
1 Jun 2006
A poem that never got posted too. Written this year... 2:40 pm
The wind has once more blown a hole through my web.
It is not as if I have not laboured tirelessly to fully establish a sturdy web.
I try, learn from failure, yet this wind continues to wreck my aspiration.
How shall I climb out of such a recess of pessimism?
The humility to accept what I cannot change.
The wisdom to change what I can, is what I need.
But despite the incelement, cruel weather,
Shall I not be found blessed
With a lovely partner
With me.
Be with me.
I am proud of you.
Uncle T
28 May 2006
A Warm Glove Amidst the Chill of a Forested Night 3:26 pm
It had been awhile since I got that rare magical feeling. Last evening I attended the wedding of Gary and Elaine, atop Fort Canning Hill at The Legends.
Sure. Gerard and I were anticipating the cheesy moments: "Final Countdown" being played as the waitresses walk in holding up trays. (It turned out, the couple seized this cheesy moment and made the best of it: they played some song about Smurfs marching in while the waitresses did their hackneyed thing).
Sure. There was wine and food, I might add LOTS of wine and pretty good food.
Sure. There were the "best friends" and "best" men who ensured that Gary, the groom, did a forfeit at practically every table he visited for photgraphs. At our table, he had to eat fishballs. Apparently he has a terrible phobia of them. His facial expressions were classic Kodak moments I tell you.
But what took me was the warmth the celebrations. The long-time friends who did the slideshow of how the star lovebirds first met and grew up, the JC classmates of the bride who stuck it out with her through thick and thin, and the joy the couple displayed (not to mention the sympathising affection the bride showed her groom for all his forfeits).
In this age of the instant generation, fast food, high-speed LAN connections, faster fast cars, we tend to gravitate to quick solutions to problems that crop up don't you think? If weddings are on the rocks, its mostly accompanied by a divorce.
Where has that capacity to weather hardships, endurance, patience gone to in the summer of technology and fast-paced change? Is our strength to face hardships head-on in its winter years?
To the newly-weds, my blessings. To the rest of us, all the best.
Uncle T