Simple End-Game Outcome

You think I'm not contributing.

I think you're not appreciating.

I see where it's going.

2010 Fade Off

The year 2010 is becoming a fast-diminishing spot in the rearview mirror. As we leave it all behind in our endeavour to progress towards another year, here are the highlights of this year.

Mount Kinabalu
As the mastermind said, we bought tickets there because it was cheap. It was only after that we decided to embark on the vertical journey, towards the misty summit of one of the highest peaks in South East Asia.

Balance Sheet of Arrivals and Departures
If someone is keeping records on the registry of people coming and going on this planet, he/she is doing a mighty decent job. The amount of weddings and wakes attended this year almost balances each other out. Weddings out scored wakes by just a little, but who's to say some weddings may not result in offspring being created.

In addition to experiences, meaningful conversations that left an impact on my perspectives in life were also recorded.

With James, he pointed out that your first year in your job, is not all about learning the domain knowledge of your field. In fact, you may very well be spending the first year learning your way around the organization, how to adapt to working styles of colleagues, how to write emails... This made sense for a fresh graduate who has little prior working experience. And reminds me not to be too impatient to want to contribute towards my organization. Because that day will come, but meantime it's preparation for it.

Another colleague has padded my list of unorthodox approaches towards work. Because there's only 8 hours in a work day, and it's so dynamic that priorities of work can take sudden shifts within the span of a few hours. To that end, the phrase "if the emperor is not in a hurry, neither should the eunuch" best describes the stance that one should take at work. Unless bosses really chase you hard for it, whatever you're working on for them may not seem as important as they make it sound.

Alex has taken up the challenge to run his first marathon, thereby leading by example how to go for projects of longitudinal duration. Now he has bragging rights along with a blister on his foot to show for his run that lasted a whole working day.

Gary has shown how he prioritizes family in front of many other things. That is actually a warming sight to know his family is close together as a unit that plays and therefore stays together. Now that he has set an example for people to follow, it's a lesson learnt on how focusing on the family can make you a wholesome person.

Su has once again reminded me to get more sleep in order to reduce reliance on gcalendar so that i won't get my dates wrong should the almighty google crash one fine day. He has demonstrated that unhappy events from 2009 have mostly stopped haunting him.

Glad that same goes for me, as well as June. Learnt from her that girls set criteria for their soulmates that belong to various categories, such as physical attributes, family assets and personality. Lucky thing there is a category that is flexible and may be subject to changes.

With so many more things to learn from during conversations with poeple close to heart, here is a wish for 2011 to be full of eipc adventure, strengthening of friendships, a clearer direction in career and a year of love.

Sawadee 2011.

rude awakening

there i was on top of his shoulers walking along a corridor, scenes of an old wet market. next was the white plaque on which words were written in english.

I have lived. I lived. I am no longer ashamed of women.

followed by a few words that have grown fuzy while I slowly gained consciousness.

In the Mood

When even Winamp knows that I'm headed for memory lane, it adapts by playing songs that I heard a lot in 2007-08.

我和春天有個約會, 不能說的秘密，路一直在，你是心新內的一首歌, It ends tonight, 只對你有感覺，刺激2005, 一見鍾情

But this has got to stop. There have been signs that the cycle should be completed.

I will relive, with fondness. And then I will let live.

I will bring out the mood in the photos. I am in the mood. Your wedding photos part 2 will turn out beautiful, Gary and Huang Hui.

One Wild Ride

To put the hump day out of its misery, the volunteers for YOG were invited to the Universal Studios to frolic in the waning rays of the evening sun. While I was prepared for the worst scenario (been told by a friend that entrance costs only $5 in the evening because the rides were not operational), I went ahead knowing that I will nonetheless meet up with many friends there.

Not only did I end up spending one great evening in the theme park unwinding on the thrill rides, all expenses paid, I also felt a transcendental connection made with the senses. Probably owing to how we explored the park in dimly-lit circumstances, with the theme songs from movies of yesteryear playing from hidden speakers, the city life that many have grown weary of had been suppressed even if it was for that fleeting moment inside the park. Especially fascinating was the exhibit where Hollywood revealed the behind-the-scenes of a filming set. The setting was a warehouse looking out towards New York City. On a television set in the warehouse, the weatherman was narrating the current situation to the audience. A thunderstorm was recreated with the aid of simulated rain to produce the aural illusion of pattering raindrops into the sea. Gales were created with fans, doors opened and shut by unseen mechanical setups played along as if the doors were indeed blown into motion by the winds. The invasive smell of kerosene penetrated the nose as the sea caught ablaze when a suspended speedboat fell and exploded. The finale was an earth-shattering collision from a humongous tanker into the stage where we were standing, sending tremours across the platform and buckling many knees.

The rides were a bonus for the night since I expected to just have a meal inside the theme park with like-minded friends who took it upon themselves to carry the 330-million-dollar Olympic torch project through its tour of Singapore. After a whole day in the office, it was amazingly therapeutic to have your bones momentarily jostled out of alignment from the jerks and bumps of the Mummy ride, not to mention an unobstructed view of the built-up Sentosa while suspended in mid-air and feet trailing precariously above the ground.

In retrospect, I am sure this inter-cultural exchange on a large scale between athletes from around the world and our very own volunteers must have helped promote Singapore’s image as an international city to participants at the very least. Indeed it is no minor feat to be host of the youth Olympics, screw-ups or not. I remember the warmth it brought when I asked this athlete from Tonga what she thought of Singapore, and her response was that it was a most beautiful city, and that she would like to come back. That from someone patriotic enough to paint her face with her country flag. It’s the heart of the people that made things run smoothly. And if you were part of it, this post is dedicated to you. We totally deserved the Universal Studios visit as domestic tourists of this vibrant city that is Singapore. 

I remembered the initial reluctance to hunt down the training venue to listen to Alex Siew coach us on how to take photos. All the way to SP and find a hidden classroom in the rain! And the seemingly endless visits to Kay Siang to attend briefings and role-playing trainings were not particularly alluring. But all that came in useful when the flame eventually landed and set the gears into motion at the floating platform.

As photographers, the very first challenge we received was nothing related to pictures. Instead, it was how to read the training schedules that we received via email. With so many things happening at once, and athletes not sticking to their schedules, it was nearly impossible to track them down. With the dedication of each member, we did the best we could. Following the athletes on culture education programmes was more rewarding, as the people could be photographed at optimum proximity. Ubin was greatly preferred to Hort Park because there were more opportunities where athletes would engage in exciting activities thereby eliciting more varied expressions for their portraits to be painted digitally. 

You may have benefitted in the most unlikely way. Maybe you learnt how to work with others better. You may have improved your eye for photography. You may have picked up a foreign language while interacting with the athletes/coaches. You may have gotten to hone certain skills through the various activities. You may have overcome your fear of thrill rides after the USS visit. You may have made someone beside you deaf when you screamed really loud on the thrill rides.

Whatever it was, this post serves to close the Singapore 2010 chapter with dignity. And together with that, lots of respect for all your hard work and late nights poured into the year’s worth of preparation. I am certain that we’ll cross paths again, one day.

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And a chance to win an iPad. With that it'll be a less boring ride to work reading comics on it.

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