Steel Courage

So many things have happened on a domestic front. But I know we will have the steel courage to conquer the waves and waves of tribulations. I think my life story is quite exciting and should I become a novelist, I shouldn't run out of themes to write! This trying period gave me greater insights to who are the friends that really care and who are the ones I can count on too. Their words of comfort warm my heart.

First semester of facilitation ended. Some of the students are real sweet. They dropped notes to relish the pleasant memories of the 4 months spent together. I guess these little gestures constitute the joys of facilitation! Although the school is having break now, that doesn't mean I can rest on my laurels. I shall make full use of the three-week holiday to catch up with work, resolve domestic issues and think hard about my long-term plans...

Mid-year Review

Gosh! I can’t believe that half a year has gone by since my last blog entry. To many of us, life-defining moments can happen within a short span of six months. Few of my friends “popped”, one of my colleagues lost his adorable 4-month old baby due to mysterious viral infection, my sister lost her 9-week old fetus (we call him/her “Sunshine”), YL’s colleague was drowned in NUS swimming pool. I wonder why the theme of birth/death kept re-emerging this year. Is there some message behind this series of events? There are profound lessons to be learnt from all these synchronities. Perhaps, it is time to complete that “circle of life” myself. Although I have kid-phobia, I am starting to understand why my friends who are mothers tend to talk incessantly about their kids. It must really be rewarding to them to witness the growth and metaphormosis of their precious little ones.

So, what have I done during these six months? I think the most rewarding part is I managed to pull through and completed two of my EdD assignments despite the hectic schedule at my working place. This is just the start of my long, arduous and perhaps lonely route as a part-time doctoral student. My classmates were saying a high proportion of PhD students sank into depression in their quest for intellectual pursuit. I hope I can persevere and see it to the end, four to five years down the road without losing my sanity!

As part of the “over-the-hill” community, the tough decision of how to prioritize my time is pressing on me. I wanted a career and title, but I am also hitting the big 35 mark! Can I have the best of three worlds? I will most likely need to disrupt some segments of my life if I am serious about family planning. Working woman really needs support and financial resources to fulfill her own aspirations and also obligatory family commitments. A conservative calculation of the amount I need to spend on my studies will come close to $35K and if I change to part-time work to start my family and complete my studies, the opportunity cost is an astronomical figure! Can woman not give up anything to raise kids? I will wallow in self-pity if I need to give up anything. This is the internal struggle I am going through for many years. Wonder how many super moms are there out there? I am not talking about those role models that are showcased on TVs and newspaper. Those people have high-flying career and tremendous financial support. I am talking about common middle income folks like us who have limited resources but have our own personal aspirations besides raising great kids. I hope someone can show me how to do that, give me some signs of hope and encouragement before I take the plunge to really start a family. I don’t think I can be a competent full time housewife or a career woman while working on my studies and taking care of kids too! Aiyoh, think this blog entry has somehow turned into a ranting and venting session, not too healthy, hehe.

A Toast to 2007!

It's the start of a brand new year again. Have you heard of the saying "Time flies once you are over 30 years old"? It seems freakishingly true. Perhaps as part of the over-the-hill community with lotsa of commitments that are perpetually clamouring for your time and attention, you feel that 24 hours is definitely too short! This is a more scientific and logical explanation to why time sped past for people beyond 30s. Hmm...on the other hand, if I am now in my retirement age, I could have felt otherwise. Hopefully, the pace has slowed down for me to smell the flowers by then.

So, the favourite question pops up. What's my new year resolutions for year 2007? Well, I couldn't wish for more than 24 hours a day, literally. Notwithstanding that, I read an article in Men's Health about 'polyphasic sleep'. It raves about the benefits of sleeping only a total of 2 hours a day. The 2 hour-sleep is spread out in duration of 20 minutes in 6 time slots (Say, 12am, 4am, 8am, 12pm, 4pm, 8pm). The aritcle also reminds us that this is the preferred sleep mode of Einstein and DaVinci.

Ok, for the sake of convenience, I assume that on average, we sleep 8 hours a day. By cutting our sleep time to 2 hours, we will have extra 6 hours of waking time to learn or do whatever we fancy. Sounds fun? isn't it? For those who wanna moonlight, they will be rewarded with a fat account. For those who wanna blog or play internet games, they have more time at their disposal. For those engaged in intensive research, they have many more hours of precious research time. Reason for celebration! Until reality strikes. Errr...how many of us really have the discipline to pursue what we want when we have more time? And how many employers are liberal enough to allow you to take a nap of 20min during working hours? Although it really sounds inviting, this sleep pattern is more disruptive than integrative to our lifestyle. So, there goes my dream of having more time a day.

Perhaps I should wish for saving up enough money to go for Botox injections. But I heard that one will look more terrible than before-Botox phase once you stopped the treatment. I am not rich enough to sponsor myself with life-long supply of Botox injections, so I better wake up and drop the idea. It seems that I am left only with alternative therapy to enhance my looks. Ok, so to look really good, some beauty gurus advocate that one should incorporate holistic well-being regimes. That means regular Yoga and meditation classes. It works on your internal state of well-being and hopefully the balanced state of happiness will radiate from within. That's not new, I have been wanting to do that for the past 5 years...and it never happen, hehe. Maybe I should just rely on the doses of TLC from my loved ones to make me a happier person? LOL. How shallow! Giving TLC to other people is just as fulfilling. I should really consider resuming volunteering but I shouldn't make empty promises again.

So what? No resolutions? My colleague boasted to me about his relatively fat savings account that day. Maybe this is something more attainable. I should make sure I can save more this year. Make sure gone were the days that I am just breaking even every month or worse, seeing red, esp last year when I had many big-ticket expenses. I will keep my fingers crossed and hopefully by next year, I have something favourable regarding this department to report on!

Shanghai Tales Part 3

This should be my last installment on Shanghai tales. Wanted to post this earlier but the slowdown in internet access speed that affected Asia last week gave me a perfect excuse to procrastinate, hehe. Going to talk about some light-hearted matters: Food and entertainment.

Throughout my 4-day stay in Shanghai, I had breakfast at this restaurant called “东方既白”. I later found out that this restaurant chain is a subsidiary of KFC. They localise the menu by infusing Chinese food culture. I thought it was a success. The price is economical, the ambience is good and the service is EXCELLENT！Very rare in fast-paced Shanghai. I guess the staff members have undergone rigorious training. This is the only place where I can stand and look at the menu for as long as I can without being stared at. They even offered to help. When unreasonable customers kicked up a fuss about the speed of delivery, those youngsters greeted the complaints with mega-watt smiles and apologies. Impressive.

I am trying to make some inferences here, at the risk of generalisation. If this is a wing under KFC, I guess the restaurant must have imparted their western style of management to the locals, that probably explains the stark contrast in service quality. Globalisation has its fair share of merits and blasphemy (depending on which part of Earth you are residing) but in Shanghai, I am really grateful that I can find McDonalds, KFC, Starbucks, Ajisen etc. Ok, I know globalisation results in some form of homogeneity but when you are a desperate traveller who is dead tired, quite broke and wanna enjoy decent service without paying rocket-high price, these are the places you can head to.

Here is a picture I took at “东方既白”. The dough and drink cost less than 10RMB. Unbeatable price. The Chinese dipped their dough in soy sauce, very different from us. We usually eat them plain. It's quite a refreshing change.

I also patronised this restaurant “鸭王”,which is popular amongst locals, tourists and even HK superstars alike. Thumbs-up for their roasted suck. I am never a "duck person" but this delicacy is so nicely done that I finished most of the serving. A value-for-money gastronomical treat. Took a snapshot of how the chef prepared the dish. Look at the dexterity of his fingers! Saw the thin layer of flour dough skin (placed in the container on the left)? You can choose to put the meat on the dough, topped it up with sweet sauce and chive-like vegetable, wrapped it up and you are done with your roast-duck popiah!

So much about food. Now this is on entertainment. This poster is dedicated to all fans of the duet vocal group, ukulele. I am overjoyed to hear that they have united again. They sing well but going solo doesn't bring out the best in them. The union is, without a doubt, good news! I fell in love with them since my JC days. Appreciate them even more now especially when you look at the present Taiwan entertainment scene which is bombarded by an influx of boy bands that can hardly sing (except May Day). Ukulele's songs usually have a depth that makes them evergreen and profound. Looking forward to their new release!