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i missed the live address that US President Barack Obama gave Congress on Tuesday. Such important speeches appear to be always delivered on a Tuesday, during working hours. reviewing it online on NewYorkTimes tonight made me teary. i must have gotten my emotional gene alleles from both my mum and dad… the genetic potency, when combined, seems to have made me doubly emotional for whatever reasons and offers a potential explanation for my propensities for being a little over empathetic, at times (particularly when watching horrors and thrillers).
in my opinion, there has never been a more eloquent orator in modern times than Mr President. he delivered yet another well sculpted speech that addressed the crucial issues facing USA today, and so rightfully reminded the Americans what and where their seemingly forgotten values are. indeed, he was wise to emphasize on family values that epitomizes the American tradition i have come to know, at least during my stay in the state of Minnesota. how ironic, it might seem, that it is away from home (in a country whose certain popular media would offer a differing perspective) where i learnt that open but close-knit family traditions are valued highly. it is also in the American Mid-West that i got to witness such genuine family bonding.
“These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our children. But it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a parent — for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with homework, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, read to their child. (Applause.) I speak to you not just as a President, but as a father, when I say that responsibility for our children’s education must begin at home. That is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. That’s an American issue. (Applause.)
There is, of course, another responsibility we have to our children. And that’s the responsibility to ensure that we do not pass on to them a debt they cannot pay. (Applause.) That is critical. I agree, absolutely. See, I know we can get some consensus in here. (Laughter.)”
yet the issues he raised are not just a priority for the Americans. responsibility for our children is a universal one.
i have always been excited about the prospect of an Obama presidency from the start, even though i do worry for his safety and wellbeing. his progressive and practical views are not just his desirable traits. i think it rare, in times like today, to find ourselves (the USA and the world) being led by someone who is not only the epitome of internationalism but also of traditional values and moral upbringing. and he is not afraid to show his love and affection for those he care and admire, and above all, respect:
“Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States — (applause) — she’s around here somewhere.“
you do not see this very often in men with power; the open if not public acknowledgement of affection and respect for their spouse. it is very endearing to see the US President treating his wife, Michelle Obama, as an equal and with such endearment.
“May I speak to xxxx xxxx please?” came a caller from the Minnesota Orchestra Marketing personnel just a few minutes ago…
“Yes, speaking.“
“Oh… perhaps I’d like to speak to your mother, instead.“
“What does this concern?“
“Oh, perhaps it is you. I am sorry. I am……” continuing her spiel on whether I’d like to do an over-the-phone purchase of concert tickets.
i am sorry. i hate this phone-marketing business when people know that one can go online to check on concerts, that i get brochures sent to me, and that if i really wanted to i will make an effort to seek out concerts i like or think i might enjoy. the fact that i haven’t been visiting the Orchestra Hall either speaks of my time-commitment elsewhere, or that the programmes offered are just not my cuppa… if truth be spoken, it’s the latter. i simply detest the fact that businesses often choose to invade your personal space in the most direct and unpleasant way.
i am getting better at hanging up on these marketing people. it took me less than a minute, despite her desperate attempts, in part aware that she’s offended me.
yes, i know i don’t have the most adult-like voice out there… it is not necessarily a voice that commands authority… but it is my voice.
… i guess if my mummy had to learn it the hard way… everyone else, including me, myself, and i, will too.
grrr.
i’ve always had a benign curiosity for all things cosmological… my mummy is quite well-versed in deciphering chinese astrological almanacs but i am no where near capable of figuring out my own destiny. Google’s web-tools offer a myriad of little gadgets like a daily horoscope reading that i subscribe for free, which allows me, on occasion, to derive some musings or solace for things not-going-so-well…
Daily Horoscope for Gemini By Rick Levine [from Tarot.com]
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
You are probably concerned with serious matters today, which can lure you past the lighter issues that typically interest you. Maybe you missed something or maybe you just got it wrong and now get a second chance. Reconsider what in your life is most valuable to you. Be practical, for you could be required to live with your current choices for a while.
this is slightly freaky… is there a voyeurist out there or have i got a virtual guardian angle? hmm… let’s hope i do get a second chance.
i have been fiddling with a couple of entries describing the various things i’ve tried to do to occupy my ‘rambling’, wandering mind since i submitted my crazy monster of a phd thesis nearly 2 weeks ago on a friday… but all of them are pretty much less than half-baked! it almost seemed like my mind’s buzzing and yet determined to avoid all things involving stringing thoughts into a coherent whole. i apologize if this entry is gibberish… but i thought i needed to at least attempt to coax myself into being focussed again… for there’s still the dreaded oral examination that will supposedly determine my worthiness of being an official ‘arm-chair philosopher’… who would have thought that the apparent descriptor that’s often times indirectly assumed by people engaged in a bit of reflection and pondering required official verification?! hmm?! baaaah.
i get all nervous and weak thinking of the impending grilling against which i’ll have to provide my independent defence… and now i wish i didn’t write all that 200 pages of *crap* or *scientific garb*… eeks. now there’s a million of possible ways i could be attacked! HELP! where are the portable rabbit-burrows?!?!?
alas! my poor brain does not wish to deal with all that it had to address in the last 2-3 months; intense integration of ideas, thoughts, etc., the perpetual need for intelligible word-spewing, and the editing marathon that seemed never-ending… boy was it a crazy whirlwind! maybe i do need a break! sigh… what a dilemma!!!
that would be quite a cool vanity registration plate won’t it? and i could say i’m “in a FIT” !!! … *giggles*
i hope to get to test-drive this spiffy-looking car tomorrow… not that i can really afford it but … am curious after all the raves about it… hmmm i do like a hatchback… and small-ish car… with great functionality and mileage efficiency… and something i could do my parallel parking without too much misery! …yeah i am hopeless! but it’s getting better, really… =)
gosh, i am so green about car-buying/leasing… but will check out some options at a dealership or two tomorrow… eeks. oh well… at least i get to zippy-zip in the hourcar Prius for a bitty and hopefully there will be time to stop by at a TARGET! for some grocery etc. and United Noodles for some treat =)
and if the car-buying jazz fades out eventually (which isn’t unlikely)… there’s still the bus and bicycle and the hard-core yours truly who’s tough enough to brave another wretchedly evil mid-western winter… sigh.
back to editing !!! arrrrgh.
i really don’t. i’ve never really tipped anyone for offering their charged service before visiting and living in the US of A, with the exception of visiting a developing country. i don’t like tipping when you’re already charged for a service. but it’s the norm here and i keep doing it wrong… or so it seems to me. you pay on top of your bill (which includes taxes) another 15% or more for the services at a restaurant here, and possibly also for a cab-driver. it was made to my awareness the other day that you tip 25% at a hair-dressers… and i was and still am APPALLED! no way am i inclined to pay another 25% for haircuts in the US of A when i don’t get the nice services that a typical hair salon in Edinburgh would offer e.g. a spot of tea and chocolatey biscuits with a hair-wash and cut, and i don’t even have to tip! over here, you get a dry cut for a lot less without any additional service (unless you request and pay for them) at places like cost-cutters. for a more up-scaled hair-pampering, the Aveda salon charges ~2.5-3x the price of a cost-cutters hair-cut and offers more pampering… but i am obliged to add a tip on top of the somewhat exorbitant price. do the people in service here really earn so little such that tipping is required? in europe, it seems derogatory to tip. a service IS service… and you tip on the rare occasion, e.g. in a very fancy resto. that you’ve thoroughly enjoyed yourself. in singapore, service charges are included so you don’t pay extra; assuming that the people offering you their service benefits from it. hmm.
can someone make me feel better about the tipping ‘culture’ in the US of A? or share your views on tipping?!
… i wish too that they would include the taxes in their prices at stores and supermarkets here and break it down on the receipt… like most other places in the world! i wish too that the electrical plugs in all countries were the same… or that we drove on the SAME side of the road, or that we understood each other despite linguistic and cultural barriers… or that we agree on not having to tip… =)
i have an unconfirmed subjective hypothesis that unaddressed issues often return to taunt and haunt one’s conscience… this seems to apply micro-scopically… meso-scopically… and macro-scopically etc.
when violence is used as a means to end confrontation of real issues… it offers no resolution… and often more suffering and hatred. we just don’t seem to learn?!?!?… or that the survival of the fittest gene is just too potent compared to the altruistic cousin? and more generations of sacrifices are needed to rid that once-useful (?!) mutant?!
in any case… we can’t just keep watching and do nothing?!?! this is so vexing… =(
– more on Burmese situation…
i’ve been quite intrigued by this Facebook-thingie… i have to admit i have only just gotten into it… there have been similar earlier morphosis and invitations from friends which i have literally ignored… because i wasn’t sure what it was all about and how much you might expose yourself to… but there’s much development in the privacy… it’s quite a fascinating idea… you feel that at times you are less than 6-degrees apart from someone you hardly know! it’s quite a bizarre… !!!
aside from the networking or rather re-networking in my case, the applications within the website are real fun! i particularly love the graffiti application which lets you be as creative as you want… (here are some of my graffiti-doodling)
and the newly updated version would play back your graffiti-creations too… hey! and you could play games (like scrabble, build a collaborative story, share pictures etc.) with friends who are physically far away… or toss them an idea or two etc. or a sheep!!… best of all, i’ve found so many old school friends that i’ve lost contact with since i left singapore for the uk when i was barely 17! just like this wee blog-space… the facebook has really brought me closer to others, albeit virtually… i think it’s a wonderful and evolving tool… and i think it’s absolutely brilliant! =)
PS just be a little careful with things you share… not just in Facebook… it’s sad that one never knows who can be trusted these days. (thanks to anm for the link)
THREE — i’ve been tagged
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3 things that scare me:
going blind; or losing any functionality of being
violence & darkness…
losing my freedom / or the feeling of being trapped.
3 people who make me laugh:
ANM, Ulli, Des
calvin&hobbes (they don’t really count but they are funny!)
mummy (at times)
3 things I love:
nature: the hills, mountains, the sand, sea, wind, snow, sunshine… etc.
exploring cultures, places, food, arts, history…
learning
3 things I hate:
feeling incompetent and hopeless
disorganised clutter and mess
losing my independence
3 things I don’t understand:
why humans could never really live together and accept that we are all different and have our needs
why we haven’t found a way to resolve conflicts and differences other than the use of violence, war, and psychological trauma.
why we are inherently insecure beings
3 things on my desk:
a wee moleskine pocket weekly notebook
a glass jar of FIREWOOD scent HENRI BENDEL candle
a phamplet listing of performances organised by the Chopin Society of Minnesota
3 things I’m doing right now:
converting binary data into matlab files on linux server remotely / tidying up files / programming scripts to redo analyses… =C(
contemplating what i need to put down on my food&grocery shopping list & what to have for dinner
contemplating if i should call and sign-up for DSL or internet-cable… (yes i am still a frugal dial-up user! how sad.)
3 things I want to do before I die:
find somewhere i could call home… while still being able to explore parts of the world…
write a non-fiction
set up a wee overacuppa teahouse/cafe even if it might just end up being my wee little abode where friends and family could pop over for cultural/artsy chill-out experiences etc.
3 things I can do:
bake a NewYork cheese cake drizzled with homemade blueberry sauce
dance to my heart’s content, when nobody is watching…
navigate better than most of my male friends and get them where they want to go!
3 things you should listen to:
gut-feelings and conscience
constructive criticisms
any music or sound that comes from the heart, mind, and soul…
3 things you should never listen to:
words of those who are uber confident and judgemental OR those who are desperate to please
SNORING
propaganda
3 things I’d like to learn:
to listen to my instincts/gut-feeling more
to play the cello more beautifully…
to communicate better
3 favorite foods: (i have to ‘expand’ the theme of 3 here… because i love so many different types of food!)
Asian — too many delicious stuff.
GOOD quality (dark) chocolates and truffles and i would add panna cotta to this list of desserts!
good Fusion cooking… the right herbs and spices and good fresh ingredients… etc.
3 beverages I drink regularly:
TEA!!!
hot-chocolate / green chai latte / doubleshots
water
3 TV shows/Books I watched/read as a kid:
the Muppets / Fraggle Rock (Jim Henson)
Roald Dahl’s (but not everything he wrote… yet! someone stole my Omnibus!!!)
AEsop’s fables
3 people I have to tag:
Des, Courtney, Ulli (if they would like to take it up…)
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i don’t remember celebrating Valentine’s ever… well not in the lovey-dovey Hallmark way… but i do have fond memories of the “flower-rangers” that delivered carnations the night before to all the valentines and valentins or valentinos in each student dorm at the college in wales… careful not to wake anyone up.
it’s a wonderfully fun tradition… and i am certain many ppl yonder are greeted by the smell of carnations this morning… absolutely lovely…
i sent carnations to girls and boys alike… for it is also friendship day! at £1 a stalk including a wee notelet wherein you pen your armorous feelings or fuzzy thoughts… anonymous or not… of course, there are other ways to show your love… some of us baked cookies or bought chocolates instead… but the fun (or dreadful!) part of it is the gossips that linger after.
see, white carnations ’symbolizes’ friendship, pink indicates passionate feelings… and red is for love… you wouldn’t be alarmed getting white ones or, in effect, the red ones… for love is unconditional and friendship is a form of love too… in fact, many dashing and cheeky guys send red carnations to lots of fellow female students… and it is just full of banter!
what is exciting and perhaps thrilling, are the pink ones… that’s what gets you wondering… hmmmm.
pink is in the air… speckled on the cookies found in the office grazing ground… dancing in the hearts of those who find muse on St. Valentine’s Day…
and just because it’s all pinky everywhere… here’s an interesting article about the things that people do, in particular the scientists… in the name of love… or more aptly described as the “2-body” problem … which is a growing normality in modern day… not just a familiar occurrence for scientists but for people from all walks of life… particularly when different cultural worlds collide.
meanwhile…~ HAPPY FRIENDSHIP & VALENTINE’S DAY ~
