heaven on earth

128 days China Immersion program.

I've arrived safely in my hostel at the Centre for International Culture Exchange (CICE), Huazhong Normal University (HNU),

Hubei, Wuhan, PRC.

My room's good - everything's working fine - quite clean - but need to clean more tomorrow with more supplies.

I'll update with pics soon.

I'm getting sick of taking planes and security checks.

And it's freaking cold.

There are many things one can desire in life - love, the self (freedom), money, career, etc. - the list goes on.

It's fundamentally impossible to have everything all at once, that is why we often prioritize. Schedules will clash, interests will clash and opinions will clash.

Therefore, which is of more importance and value to you? If something is of more value and importance to you, are your actions and decisions saying so? Are they things that last for a long time with an attached sacrifice or something short-lived that gives you hours of pleasure?

I have come to notice that many human beings live by one basic (but subconscious) principle - pursue what we don't have when we have what we have.

There's a saying that goes, becareful what you pray/ wish for (well, depending on which religon you belong to), cause you'll get it. But does having what we don't have result in the happy fairytale ending that we all aspire to have?

I doubt, cause something close to you, something that was always there before, something that gave everything for you; that something has grown tired of dealing with another aspect that you pursue. That something decided that since you want something else so much, there is no point in fighting. Each time you choose to pursue so obstinately and strongly, there's a hurt that sets in. Each time the hurt sets in, something is lost. That's when you think people change.

Well, maybe, but you made the decision. You prayed/ wished for it, remember?

let me declare to all that i have started studying for my CONLAN exam (which just happens to be on Mon, 23rd Feb 2009 - oh, just 4 days away) like TODAY.

HAHAHA.

CHIONG AH!!!! CHIONG CHIONG CHIONG!!!!!!!!!!! CHIONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't mean to be a narcissist, but c'mon, honestly.






I'm as adorable as little cressy ain't I?









Yup, I know. it's hard to disagree with fine beauty and adorableness.

image linked from rottentomatoes.com

Somehow after reading The White Tiger (Aravind Adiga), I was quite interested in the "slum" life of India. Slumdog millionaire is a show I've been anticipating, with reviews hitting 97% at rottentomatoes.com.

IMO, the storyline/plot of the movie isn't all that fantastic, but that is made up for by 5 things:

1. Superb directing

2. Superb photography

3. Superb editing

4. Superb sound (bollywood-style)

5. A realistic peek into the lives of everyday Indians

I would encourage everyone to watch it and savour the film for yourself.

I find that I'm beginning to fall in love with slow-paced narratives.

I have a thing for old, evergreen english songs.

maybe it's because music nowadays are not music?
maybe it's because back at my old house, my dad used to listen to these songs - and i grew up as a child listening to them.

but it's just soothing and nice to listen.

high society compilations are rather pricey but they're good.

and i bought an oldies compilation from grammaphone recently..like 6 CDs for 20 bucks..wahahahaha. what a good steal. although 1 of the CD somehow turned out to be some malay karaoke CD? realised i can't exchange cause it's a super-sale item. lol. but it's still a gd buy.

late at night, wine in hand, oldies crackling. life.

haha, update again after the blog being left 'dormant' again for so long.

it's the 'end weeks' of the semester, which means everything is due and tests and exams abound.
i'm done with most of the things that need to be done during the semester, with the exception of:

1. new media photography exhibition on monday - can't wait for it to be over.
2. reportage video project - i'm so glad it's almost done!
3. intepretation final oral test next week
4. danny yeo's argumentative presentation next week

AND.

5. CONLAN exam on 23/feb.
Well, i'm much more confident in conlan now..all i need is some time to reallly study.. it really ain't that difficult! (not trying to be sacarstic or trying to convince myself..honest!)

then it's off to china.

we just had our briefing yesterday. as one of my classmates commented, it felt like those briefing that you have before you embark on a holiday, covering the - 吃、喝、玩、乐 aspects. the wuhan group is definetely a fun group..haha.

i'm kinda looking forward to everything, only that i'll miss my dearest. =)

47 more days to Hua Zhong Normal University in Wuhan, Hubei, China.

http://www.ccnu.edu.cn/english/