This Is Very Unlike Me

book-in-hand: desperately searching for a good book
mood: stressed
song: Zutons - Nightmare Part II

To be totally stumped over a decision and not able to sort things out mentally. This is probably one of the most important choices I have had to make in my life so far and yet I am sitting on the fence undecided. Am I scared? Not informed appropriately? I wish there was someone I could talk to about it, but then again that too is very unlike me.

This has to be settled soon, life can't go on in stasis like this.

Forever is Seriously Ill

My body sure does have a taste for flamboyance. Down with some sort of stomach virus and it has totally ravaged my body. Been puking and suffering from diarrhoea. No choice but to go on a liquid diet as I can't hold anything in and I am getting dehydrated.

Worse of all though, are the fever dreams... they all seem so vivid... and so weird.

The World Is A Happier Place

pictures and graphs courtesy of New Scientist

Notice how Singapore has very conspicuously not provided any data to participate in this survey? Either by omission or non-participation, we're in the 'grey' area along with other 'ulu' countries like... Greenland and most of Northern Africa. In fact, the whole of South East Asia has been left out!

Maybe politicians up in the higher echelons of the government service are just too busy lately with the happenings in the region.

Malaysia: Anwar getting sodomised.. err.. sorry, the official word is the other way around: a 60 year old man forced himself on a 23 year old youth in the prime of his life. This seedy old pervert has to be thrown back into jail quickly! BEFORE he has the chance to garner more defectors into his opposition party preferably.

Singapore: According to the rumour mill at www.mrbrown.com the current BMT is all set to undergo a revolution to curb the worrying trend of low birth rates in Singapore. All able bodied young Singaporeans are to do their part for the nation in Basic Mating Training. Don't worry about rising living standards and record breaking inflation rates. The government needs more citizens to suck money from! The government realises that Singaporeans are worried about the ever increasing number of foreigners on our little island, but don't worry as they are just a temporary measure to suck on before the expected baby boom. Which will definitely come by the way, because Singaporeans are always so good in listening to instructions. 真听话！

Alright, hopefully all of those smoke screens thrown at the National Day Rally about how Lee Inc. is really giving back to Singaporeans by installing more ERP gantries and taking more money from them in these times of rising prices is for their own good worked. We need to forget that Temasek Holdings made a PROFIT of 13 BILLION dollars this year using funds provided by normal Singaporeans. Oh, if possible, please forget how the last general elections witnessed the largest showing of support for the opposition parties ever and our Prime Minister lost 1/3 of the votes in his own constituency to a young upstart female politician who no one has ever heard of.

Thailand: More riots. More invocations from the public for the King to step in and take charge of the government. In fact, I think if Thailand doesn't have its usual coup de'tat once in a while, the country might actually be even more unhappy!

With so much to handle, no wonder governments in SEA didn't have time to bother with such triffling surveys. Who cares how happy the people are? Pfft.



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Now playing: Eagles - Hotel California
via FoxyTunes

Goblin Shark

This is one shark I definitely hope I don't bump into when I go diving. It's kind of cute how the Japanese have named it after their mystical creature the Tengu because of its long nose. Anyway, keep those retractable jaws away!

Sam Png is a crybaby

There are certain things that I just can't handle too well. Things like the passing of a family member. Somehow mentioning them brings back memories of my grandparents and my eyes tend to mist up without fail at these situations.

Am I getting soft and letting my guard down again? Not now Sam... always onwards, always better, always stronger. Stay strong.

August Babies

*takes a deep deep breath*

Happy birthday shout outs to Rui Bao, Wan Xin, Mingwei, Aaron Lam, Mr Tan! Whew, imagine singing happy birthday to everyone all together.

Colin's Dead

The tragic story of Colin the stranded baby humpback whale has come to an end with its sad and inevitable death. Repeated attempts to get it adopted by passing pods have failed and as it got weaker by the day, breaking hearts as it tried to suckle on whale-sized yachts, chances of its survival waned. A whale whisperer was even brought in to ease its pain and comfort it. This really was a sad story.

To Glide Effortlessly

photos courtesy of Ong's amazing underwater camera.

Recent Convert

The recent diving trip was a revelation to say the least. Snorkelling and diving are just incomparable. You get to stay underwater only as long as your breath allows when snorkelling and most marine life avoid you when you dive under. Probably because you're making such a din and look like a menacing predator advancing on them.

The disparity in amount of marine life you come into contact with when diving is just amazing. As you glide along effortlessly underwater, it is like you have entered an alternate world and the fishes treat you as part of it. Was motionless as I watched a giant jellyfish float eerily by and then couldn't help but smile as a parrotfish kept nibbling on my fins. There was a shark circling a school of large bumphead fish while its cousin the stingray and blue-spotted ray skirted along the sea bed. Clown fish families amongst the sea anemone swan about in distress as the dive instructor fanned at their stringy homes. Not forgetting the yellow polka dot box fish, fearsome looking moray eel and large barracuda, shy sea turtle and multitude of colourful corals on the sea bed.

Divers Away!!!!

Really excited about the diving trip to Tioman I am leaving for tonight. Will we get to see turtles chomping on jellyfish?

Hungry Ghost Festival

Ah Gong, Ah Ma, Zhong Tai is finally back from the U.K. after completing his studies. I've brought my certificate today and you can look at it later when I burn it together with your money. I know it's in English, but I've written your names in Chinese on the back of it so that you know it's meant for you. Ah Gong knows our surname "Png" in English and you can see it on the front.

Thank you for watching over me the past 3 years. I'm sorry for being away from home so often the previous 8 years and didn't spend much time with you in your final years. Please forgive my failure to serve you and repay the kindness and love you gave in bringing me up as a child. I'm back, Zhong Tai is home. Job hunting has been alright, but I haven't accepted any offers yet because I want to try my hand at applying to be a pilot. You know how much I like planes, even as a young boy back in Lor. Ah Soo.

Take care Ah Gong, Ah Ma. We all miss you.


Translated from Hokkien thus the awkward structuring at times. I can just imagine my Grandpa sighing and asking why does a Teochew boy speak Hokkien and Cantonese but not his mother dialect? :P

Lucky

They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

And so I'm sailing, through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music, feel the air
I'll put a flower in your hair

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend...
Lucky to be coming home again.

This Tree-Shrew Could Outdrink All of You

From BBC:

This little mammal is apparently the most alchie one amongst us all primates. Enjoying its beer every evening, it consumes enough alcohol to put 36% of the human population to shame under the table.

So, this lucky little critter sleeps the whole day and then spends his waking hours in perpetual stupor as he goes drinking from fruit to fruit like how we go on pub crawls and suffers no ill effects for it! How lucky.

"Humans may even preserve a relic of the shrews' love of alcohol that has lasted through millions of years of evolution."

So that's why I like beer too eh?

Childhood Memories

Can you pick out which one used to your favourite or favouriteS?

Last Day In Manchester

Fittingly, my last dinner in Manchester was in the cosy setting of Room Manchester Restaurant. I've come to really like the friendly service and good, but affordable food served here. Maybe friends have even come to associate the place with me!

My last day in Manchester was surprisingly beautiful. The sun was out the whole day and the temperature pleasantly cool. To top it all off, we saw this rainbow from our table side window during dinner. You can barely see it... but it is there.

I don't mean to be melodramatic, but it is as if Manchester was saying goodbye to me and reminding me that there is always something good and beautiful in life. Just pay a little more attention and put in a bit more effort, it will all be worth while when you do see that rainbow that was there all along, waiting for you to discover it.

Goodbye Manchester. Fare you well. Thank you for the memories.


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Now playing: 似曾相识 - David Tao
via FoxyTunes

Sashimi!

Sashimi!, originally uploaded by Png83.

Teochew Porridge

Teochew Porridge, originally uploaded by Png83.

Over The Seas

book-in-hand: searching
mood: boxed up

3 years all packed into 4 boxes. That is 3 years of me drifting over the seas now. Life kind of takes on a weird perspective when it can all be packed neatly into small boxes. If I wanted to, I could throw all those 4 boxes away and start anew again in Singapore.

24 hours to lift off.

Sunny came home to her favourite room
Sunny sat down in the kitchen
She opened a book and a box of tools
Sunny came home with a mission



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Now playing: Shawn Colvin - Sunny Came Home
via FoxyTunes

Graduation

With the end of this phase of my life, of course pictures have to be taken to commemorate graduating. Really glad to be done and am looking forward to starting on my career. More photos are on facebook and flickr and it was a beautiful day with smiles all around.

Wall.E

Alright, no more geeky posts on my blog sent from the iPhone for now. Actually, the mouse actually feels unnatural in my hand now after not having touched it for a week. So packing starts in real earnest today as the flight on Tuesday looms ever closer. Having a Wall.E around would prove handy right now, but I don't think I would enjoy him crushing everything in the process though.

Agemennon Castle

Agemennon Castle, originally uploaded by Png83.

or "Agemennon's Mask" as it is called because excavators wrongly assumed the great king to be buried here when a royal graveyard was found within the castle's ground. The headstone of one of the 12 tombstones was mistaken to be the King's and the name stuck.

Without a doubt though, this was where the Mycenae king held his war counsels, surveyed his lands at night and observed the formation of his fleet as he gathered the forces of Greece, mostly in his control now, to bear on Troy.

Imagine him, the last real great king of the Mycenae dynasty, walking up those ramps after laying siege to Troy for a decade. Returning home empty handed without the treasures of Troy to show for the 10 years and sacrifice of his daughter to the Gods. Returning to a Queen who has plotted his death while in bed with her lover. Oh... The stories that these walls could tell. Of course, Homer did a mighty fine job in their stead with his two great poems.

Agemennon was the herald for the end of the Hero's Age where men strived for greatness and immortality in legends. Gone are the Hercules, Achilles and Hectors. Yet some how each one of us still hopes. I still hope to be a hero for someone in the future. Just her :)

Corinth Canal

Corinth Canal, originally uploaded by Png83.

iFlickr

iFlickr, originally uploaded by Png83.

Once an Islander always an Islander

Hydra Island, originally uploaded by Png83.

Taken from the top of a fortress wall, this used to be a pirate cove on Hydra Island. Chosen as a haven from the Athenian navy and the elements of nature, some of the pirates decided to stay thus forming the first local communities. Seafarers who converted to being islanders.

I wonder if the salty winds ever called out to those first settlers? To fly over the blue Aegean sea again. Maybe the grass is greener on the other side?

Like how much I miss the island life now in Singapore. The beach is never more than 30mins away and the sun more than happy to scorch your skin. To enjoy thunderstorms at home with a book and smell the wet grass later. Playing basketball in the evening sun and perspiring so much it is almost like you are swimming.

I suppose men are wretched creatures like that. Missing something or someone only after it is out of their life. Haha, I might even miss Manchester's shit weather in a month! That is all in the future though and for now just send me the sun, sand and sea. Solar Sam is fully charged!

"Have you seen my spear?..

iFlickr, originally uploaded by Png83.

... How can I be a spear carrier without my spear?"

Behold the Temple of Zeus. Or what remains of it. Hard to imagine the confluence of religion, culture and trade it represents. Pilgrams from all over came with offerings to seek blessings. Sects were founded to service the temples. Wars were wrought only if the Oracle approved. To say Athens was the centre of the world wouldn't be an exaggeration.

To finally see what I have imagined so many times from reading history and fiction as well as playing (old frens should know this *smile*) Zeus feels very fufilling.

Athens

This city is just packed with so much cultural history it boggles the mind to wonder what if democracy and philosophy wasn't born and spread here back in 2~6 B.C. This olive tree in the national park kindly provided shade for my family and I as we napped and hid from the heat underneath it. Sent from my iPhone

ML was right all along

"Never make someone a priority when you are only an option to them"

Some People Watch TV Shows, I Watch Webclips.

I want to....


Travel the world:



Get high on adrenaline:





And be able to meet you with as much joy years down the road.

"Love knows no limits and true friendship lasts a lifetime.
Get back in touch with someone today.
You'll be glad you did."

Le Petit Prince

There was an exhibition in Whitworth Art Gallery Recently on art by children and the power of a child's imagination. It was called "Neverland" I think and was highly intriguing for the different views and perspectives it presented. Somehow it reminded me of the book "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry translated from French. It is supposed to be a children's book, but I felt that it still had a lot to teach adults. In fact, children might find the lessons in the book easier to understand than grown-ups would.

"That is the hardest thing of all. It is much harder to judge yourself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself, it's because you're truly a wise man."

--

"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."

--

Grown-ups like numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask questions about what really matters. They never ask: "What does his voice sound like?" "What games does he like best?" "Does he collect butterflies?". They ask: "How old is he?" "How many brothers does he have?" "How much does he weigh?" "How much money does his father make?" Only then do they think they know him.

What's Left?

It's the final countdown. Last few days in Manchester before I fly to Greece and then home to Singapore. I find myself wandering alone on the streets of this city more and more everyday. How many days can go by before you utter a single word? The last time I went mute, it lasted.. a week. I just didn't have anything to say. Silence, however, is deafening.

So... what to do? Nothing. I shall wait for the sun to come out and go for another city excursion. :)

And It Did Stop Raining

About 2 hours after my rant, the clouds broke cover and the sun finally broke free. Seems like someone up there heard me and was granting me a reprieve. Seizing the opportunity, I headed to town for a walk and do what I usually do on these solitary walks: look.

Looking at family and couples lazing on the grass or playing the water fountain at Piccadilly Gardens.
Looking at the shopping throng in Arndale hunting for sales bargains.
Looking at the clouds float by while sitting at the big screen.
Looking at flowers and stalls in the market at St. Albert Square.

So it was that my footsteps brought me back to school and such a strong sense of nostalgia struck me as I looked at the red brick buildings of old - so distinct of Manchester's industrial history - and couldn't help but smile. I've changed in these ancient buildings, chilled to the bones in winter as the bricks did nothing to insulate us from the elements. Truly, I am a Northern Manc, for these are the sights I will remember Manchester by: