Things that makes me glad: 1) Rain (but not in the early morning, when I have to get up to go to work!)2) Relaxation music (those that feature sounds of running water, warbling birds etc.)3) Staying up late (while reading and munching on hot n' spicy potato chips and sipping ice coffee/green tea)4) Bread and cakes (my comfort food)5) Power walking while listening to my MP3 player6) McDonald's breakfast (Sausage McMuffin and coffee)See, all of the above are not pricy. How I know that I'm growing older:1) I don't have the stamina to stay up late every night and turn up chirpy the next day anymore2) I'm nicer to my parents and siblings now3) I make an effort to keep in touch with friends, as an acquaintence noted: "To lose a friend due to neglect is sad."4) My metabolism rate is going south5) I learn to be more appreciative of others' work and efforts
My birthday today :) I took leave from work today, not to enjoy myself but simply to take myself off the coveyor belt of tedium and routine for a day. Tomorrow it'll be back to work and not that I mind very much. I enjoy my work: it gives me a lot of personal freedom and satisfaction (sometimes). I learn a lot of new things and most of the people are great. It's just that things have settled down into a routine and I feel a bit mechanical. You know, lunch at the usual place, the usual food, the usual cup of coffee in the morning and after lunch. Since yesterday I've been seized by this aspiration to further my studies. People have been asking me, plodding me to do it, but I didn't feel the impetus to get started on it. It's a huge investment, in monetary terms and effort. I know that I'd want a Masters degree, it's just that I don't believe I should be pushed into it by others. I shall start to do a bit of research for the research topic. The deadline is next January so I have sometime. I hope to get a scholarship for this so the preparation for application is going to take awhile.
If you've been going through enough blogs (especially blogs of angsty teenagers and restless twenty-somethings) you'll notice an irony.
The people least capable of philosophising are the ones most likely to publish their "philosophical" bleatings.
Of course philosophy should be part of everyone's life. I'm not talking about the discursive, intellectual, theoretical school of philosophy that's the domain of academic scholars but the everyday reflection that every human being is capable of. But it's another thing to "publish" it on the Internet where everyone can read.
Dear reader, steer clear of any blog that has any of the following words: reflection, musings, thoughts, ramblings, rumination, contemplation etc.
Gee, I'm being quite cynical, aren't I? It's just that, some things are best kept private, in perfumed diaries and stuff. To make these things public would only turn what's personal and whimsical into pretentious and embarrassing rantings.
On the other hand, I like blogs that chronicle the quirky and funny everyday encounters of the authors. Or the lists of their favourite things. Or their travails in other parts of the world. In another words, regular blogs that do not pretend to be intellectual or "meaningful". Just blogs that echo the personality of the writers. Simple.
This week we hosted a major conference with delegates from 30 countries (at least that's what the local newspaper reported in a small, one-column report with no photos!) which adds up to about 2,500 people trampling all over the place. I was kept busy with all sorts of tasks eg. ushering, organising fringe events, taking care of foreign visitors.
It was quite exciting but very exhausting. A visitor said that the event was very well organised but we told her that it's just that we managed to cover the hiccups well.
I didn't get to attend most of the presentation sessions as I was so busy, but did managed to watch a few keynote addresses. For most of them, I wasn't impressed by the content. Some were irrelevant to the local context, others were just rehasing old stuff that most people already know about, i.e. giving new terms to old ideas.
But the delivery was quite admirable. A few of them reminded me of motivational speakers (or slightly worse, star salespersons)
Anyway, by the end of it I was so tired that I was barely able to open my peepers. I guzzled coffee like water and still I felt stupid. So this weekend (which is unbearably hot, by the way, so that I'm always covered with a film of sweat) I'll try to chill a bit.
