For admiring every now and then...

The large lion statues outside the Art Institute of Chicago Museum.

~

So a friend of mine just got accepted into the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for his Masters in film. Extremely thrilled and happy I was for him at his accomplishment, but I would be lying through my teeth if I said I did not feel any other less chivalrous emotion. Yes, I'm not afraid to say that the green eyed monster possessed me for a while there, all because I once tried, though not as valiantly, to pursue a path not too divergent from his.

Getting into a good art & design school is in itself a gargantuan achievement, but the thing that I admire and respect most is the dedication and perseverance in hanging on to the passion and the dream that spurred it all.

I had applied to Rhode Island School of Design once, right after my A levels, thinking that I might want to pursue a career in industrial design. However, given that I only tried applying to one school and that my portfolio was haphazardly put together in 2 weeks, the decision to pursue design overseas was made when I was informed that "there are(were) many talented applicants like you(me) but we (they) only have(had) places for a few". So I set my sights on the rather reputable industrial design course in NUS but that too was relegated to the back seat when I thought, 'why not pursue it as a Minor while I pursue a more practical Business finance degree?'. After all, I did enjoy economics and I imagined myself leaving Business faculty for the School of Design & Environment if I could not cope.

Well, we all know how that turned out - inertia is one helluva force to deal with.

Maybe I was stupid to apply only to one school, maybe there were too many applications, or maybe I lack the talent to see me through the gates of a design school - there are a multitude of reasons for me not having entered the design and art arena. However, one reason has bugged me the most - maybe I was too flippant to want it as much as my friend does. I love design, I love aesthetics, and www.core77.com is read right after bbcnews.com and bloomberg (sometimes before). However, at that time, I remember being half hearted in my application: 'design can wait, I just need to get a high paying job first' was something I often repeated to myself. Well, yes LY. Design will wait. It will wait till you're 80 with one foot in the grave.

I have a problem with making important decisions and that constant state of wavering, I'm sure, might just force me to fold up my dreams (and now, I don't only mean pursuing design), wrap it in 3 feet thick of excuses, and hide it somewhere far in the crevices of my mind. My friend's perseverence is something I admire greatly and I am sure he will have no trouble answering to himself in the future. It is one thing to have a calling or a dream, and another to pursue it. That is something I need to keep close to my heart if not, I will find my future self constantly taking those dusty old dreams, unwrapping them and admiring them only every now and then.

I wish my friend all the best, and I'm sure he will have a whole lot of fun. A whole. lot. of. fun. =)

Convo.

Me: Goh, I don't want to grow up anymore.

GZY: nvm its ok. u look like a childish old man. so you have your wish.

Me: wtf.


I <3 my friends.

Tropical thunderstorms & train delays.

Today I got stranded twice:

1) Tropical thunderstorms.

Tropical thunderstorms are always a sight to behold. I love them to bits, especially so when they're in the mornings - the sound & smell of rain always does funny happy things to me.

Anyways, so yes. It decided to rain today just as I had to go to work! So there I was, stranded at Tanjong Pagar MRT station without an umbrella to cross the road. It was so freaking heavy that even people with umbrellas decided to camp in the shelter of the MRT station. Stepping out with a flimsy foldable umbrella meant immediate drenching. So I was stuck there for about 45 mins and even as I left, the rain had only eased very slightly.

That was stranding incident 1.

2) Train Delays.

My utmost faith in the MRT system took a heavy blow today when surprise, surprise, I experienced the first MRT delay in my lifetime!!!!

I had left office at 6:30pm for Tanjong Pagar MRT station where as usual, I'd get on the train that comes by once every 2 mins towards Pasir Ris and Changi. So when I entered the station, everything was as per-normal - people were messing around with their ipods or busily thumbing on their blackberries as they waited for the train. Yes, they were waiting and so, I joined them in the waiting.

We waited.


and waited.


and waited.


The electronic signs that displayed the arrival times kept updating themselves.

"Arriving in 3 mins".

After 3 mins...

"Arriving in 4 mins". So on and so forth.

The platform was getting really crowded , the most crowded I had EVER seen it :
so obviously, people were getting frustrated and impatient and just as some were leaving, a very strong singlish-accented announcement was made regarding the delay:

"Train slurvees will be slidely delayed. We applaulegize for inconvenience caused. Tdankew"

The professionalism of the announcement, just like the delay, was a far cry from the usual 'Train approaching, please mind the gap' tape recordings that people are so familiar with. Well... truth be told, at that point I think most people were just so thankful to have been updated with something that the accent hardly mattered! Disclaimer: I LOVE the singlish accent. I speak it , I practise it, I preach it. Just that, well, a corporate image IS a corporate image! ok. so im being an ass here. hahaha. ok la, it WASN'T that bad. sheesh! Im just picky!

Well, so after about 30 mins, the train arrived and my gosh, it was the most crowded ever.

Ok , so THAT was stranding incident 2. I'm wondering what happened. Someone jumped onto the tracks? A train had a malfunction? hmmm. wondering if I'll see it on the news tomorrow....

HA.

ok..now just some random photos from my time in Singapore so far:

Zheyi and gang at Orchard Central. New malls are popping up EVERYWHERE in Singapore.
We should just be ONE BIG MALL.
Singapore mall.

The beginning of the 400 or so balloon sculptures that we had to make for the kids that came for my bank's 'Bring your kids to work' day event. ha.

Kids are cute. But some are cuter than others.

So this was a while back. My room still looks just as messy.
Do you see Mount Yuanmess in the middle?

Alright, so one day after gym in Seletar with Zheyi, we went to a hawker centre and lo and behold, this nice lady was having lunch with her parrot!

Guess how old he is. He's 21 years old. Older than me, older than you.
Must be some SKII .

Ok. Im becoming lame.
Going to sleep now!

BYEEEEEEE.