2011: first's

Ever since I lived abroad and by myself for the first time, I've become very excited about first's. Here's 10 I've done this year that are fun.


1. Climbed a tree. I'm still very noob at it but when I feel gung-ho and have the guts, I appear very confident at it and it doesn't become all that scary anymore. That is rare though. These are two trees I've climbed:

The Heritage Tree at Botanic Gardens, Singapore. 

This Tembusu is apparently over 150 years old.

Little tree at Nav Center, Los Baños.

2. Wrote a song. The first one's titled "Bitter Heart". I've written a few more since then...


3. Broke apples into halves with my bare hands. My friend Christina and I laughed so much from doing it.

4. Peed in a desert. So now I have peed in the mountains in California and now I have also peed in the desert in Arizona. The sun on my butt was...lusciously warm on a cold morning and a long 16-hour drive to Yosemite.

NO PICTURE. 

JUST GO TO THE MIRROR AND LOOK AT YOUR OWN BUTT.

5. Saw a wild bear! He looked like Pooh incarnated, so cute. But he was strong enough to rip a tree trunk for food so I probably would have ran away if he came up close.

Blonde bear spotted at Yosemite!

6. Sat in an outdoor roller coaster ride. I was never really excited about roller coasters, but now that I've sat on an outdoor one (with a loop), I WANNA GO FOR MORE. Especially those that leave your body or legs hanging, woot. 

 California Adventure's loop roller coaster in the back.

Even kids were sitting on it, makes me feel noob,

but there were businessmen too, evens out the noobness. Fun!

7. Finished a (boiled but already cold) balut in the Philippines. It was a 17-day old duckling that a professor incubated and boiled specially for my team. I chickened out last year, but now I finally did it!

8. Getting a regular income. This means I am fully financially independent now and I'm able to contribute regularly to my family and whom God wants to use it on. 

9. Have a cat. Our neighbor had three cats that came out to chill every day. Playing with them drew my attention to the scared and hungry stray kittens and cats in my neighborhood. I started playing with them and fed them occasionally. Now my family is also 'in the business'. Bringing an abandoned little cat home was another milestone for us. And now we have two, Ginger, and Pearl (community cat who now guards our door while trying to sneak into our house.) 

Ginger (he likes shoes)

Pearl licking the genitals of her baby to encourage it to poo/pee.

A car ran over two out of the five in her last litter, 

and she lost all five babies in a single day.

She is now neutered, and also loves shoes.

10. Played an instrument and sang to the public. I played poorly at a TEDxKent Ridge Park event in front of under 300 people. Not the best way to start off but I have to say I like throwing myself into the deep end of the pool, even if I get frustrated initially.

life and society | dear me: a letter to my 13-year-old self.

A recent political science & corporate communication graduate from Singapore Management University, Joyce is looking forward to begin her career in the exciting world of advertising, PR and branding with Ogilvy & Mather, come Feb 2012. She hopes to collect as many traveling adventures during her lifetime and her next destination she's eyeing would be in Europe! She also enjoys meddling around in the kitchen trying out new recipes, reading and doing yoga. 

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Dear Me: A letter to my 13 year-old self.

Joyce Koor

Dear Joyce,

I am writing this letter to you in year 2011. Depending on how you want to look at it, ten years is a long time. But somehow reminiscing the ‘good, old days’  always makes you think it’s has all gone by in a blink of an eye. Where is the pause button when you need one to catch your breath?

Looking very sweet and demure in a dress when you were 5 years-old. Playing on

my grandma’s staircase with your brother and cousins. 1993.

Ten years on, I want to tell you that life is still good, despite a roller-coaster of change you would have to go through. 

But first, you must stop being so self-obsessed. With your weight and how you look. I am telling you, there is no use hating your thighs because you are made by our Creator to be beautiful. Your self-esteem (and your thighs) will thank you after you started swimming and running regularly. Throw in some Yoga classes for the mind-body balance. Only you can take care of your own health. The immense pain you will face while lying on a hospital bed 10 years on will let you know that without good health, you can just forget about doing other things you want to do in life.

Forget about counting the number of blemishes on your skin but learn to be disciplined with a skin-care regime. And always wear sunscreen. You might laugh and think that your 23 year-old self is sounding like a mother who nags incessantly because you and your peers used to spend hours lying under the scorching sun to get a tan. Just ‘coz a tan is cool. But you will learn to eventually think for yourself instead of following the herd.

There are some days when you’re 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 where you will try to figure out what growing up means. Perhaps hanging out with some pals during Mambo night for the first time at Zouk when you finally turn 18. Or sending out your résumé to companies in search of a summer internship over the three out of the four summers during university. Or living alone overseas and traveling around in USA during your exchange semester. Whatever it is, enjoy the moment. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come.

Sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon in USA, soaking in the beautiful surroundings. 2010.  

Would you believe me if I told you that you lived and worked in Hyderabad, India for three months when you were 20? Incredible India indeed, where the experience there made you count your blessings back in Singapore. Things like not taking your electricity and water supply for granted, and the safety on the roads. On a macro-level, the education that you receive opens up a world of possibilities that many of the rural children are not privileged to enjoy, just because they were born where they were born. 

Little girl carrying empty canisters where she will top them up at the village’s water station in Hyderabad. 2009.

That summer, you discovered what poverty meant when you visited 4 villages to work on your research project. You will learn the importance of giving back, in helping society in whatever capacity you have. Don’t stop being dedicated to others, give more than you plan to give, expand your horizons by reading wisely and traveling widely. 

Please, try to also stop fretting about your grades during your O & A’levels and your university years. Just never stop giving your best. Expose yourself to new experiences and know that it’s your open mind and willingness to learn that builds a positive work ethic that will keep you moving forward to enjoy life to its fullest.

Graduation. 2011.

Along the way, you will also be told that some of your dreams are far-fetched fantasies. Don’t believe them, however much they mean well. Trust your heart, that heart which is just the size of your fist that has kept you alive for 13 years. That’s 156 months or 4748 days… and yes, 410 240 038 seconds of simply living life on this planet. 

Slow down, Joyce, slow down. Life is not all touch and go. Take silence and respect it. Society is afraid of alonedom, but lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless, and lonely is healing if you make it. Because if you’re happy in your head then solitude is blessed and alone is okay.

You and your siblings, 10 years down the road. No more petty quarrels and arguments anymore!

With Daph, at ACJC’s 5-year reunion for the class of 2006. 2011.

You met Daph in ACJ in 2005. Here’s the both of you fooling around in 2006, after ACJC’s Fun-O-Rama Carnival.

Cherish your family, they are treasures and pillars of support when uncertainty clouds you. Value the people around you, respect them by listening (no interrupting, no daydreaming…), be generous with the gift of affection, laughter, a written note or compliment. Let small actions demonstrate the love for your family and friends. You are never alone.

More importantly, give your heart a chance to Love. There will be a time in the near future when you will wrap your heart up in a curtain of fear. It’s natural to want to close off when you’re hurt. It doesn’t matter what the hurt is or where it is from but just because you can’t see the horizon right now, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a magical moment that is there for you, beginning with right now.

Together again, after 5 years of waiting & pain. 2011.

Do not give up on Love, but give in to Love. Sometimes pain and Love come together. But remember that pain helps us grow and it teaches us to let go and to even see the present moment as perfect.

Life, Joyce, is for the living- you are placed on Earth to shine, to give your gifts and to be the presence of Love on this planet.

One last thing, don’t ever let your sense of humour and adventure slip. Do one thing everyday that scares you. Life’s too short to be so serious.

Yes, that’s you about to eat a fried scorpion and carrying a snake in Vietnam. 2011.

You’ve also tried one of the world’s most disgusting foods, the balut (a soft-boiled fetal duck) in the Philippines. 2011.

Love,

23 year-old Joyce

P.S. Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQlJ3vOp6nI

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"life and society" will feature various people from different walks of life and various parts of the world. New posts are up every Monday and Thursday at 6pm (GMT +8 / Singapore time) through the first week of 2012. On Monday (Jan 5), I'll be featuring Meiyi Chan, who looks cute and small on the outside, but has a mind and listening ear far bigger than that. (Talk about surprises.) She is an intellectual who treats people graciously, respecting them for their academic and non-academic beliefs, while vigorously working out the truth.

even a no is a yes

By actively and constantly trusting you and by remembering how good you've been to me in good times and bad, I will continue to believe that your yes and no's are always a yes because you love me so much you want to redeem every bit of my life - and everyone's.

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."   

2 Corinthians 1:20-22

OPEN AND CLOSED DOORS

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
(Isaiah 55:8-9)

The Bible has much to say about open doors but many times – even as Christians – we seem to face obstacles on our path and in our ministry. Blocked doors can be VERY frustrating. Yet God often uses closed doors to advance His cause.

Bible teachers like Max Lucado remind us that God closed the womb of a young Sarah so he could display His power to the elderly one. He shut the palace door on Moses the prince so he could open shackles through Moses the liberator. He marched Daniel out of Jerusalem so he could use Daniel in Babylon.

And even Jesus knew the challenge of a blocked door. When he requested a path that bypassed the cross, God said no. He said no to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane so He could say yes to us at the gates of heaven.

It’s not that our plans are bad but that God’s plans are better. A prayer is circulating on the Internet that expresses it this way:

He asked for strength that he might achieve, he was made weak that he might endure; 

He asked for health to do larger things, he was given infirmity that he might do better things; 

He asked for power that he might impress men, he was given weakness that he might seek God; 

He asked for wealth that he might be free from care, he was given poverty that he might be wiser than carefree. 

He asked for all things that he might enjoy life, he was given life that he might enjoy all things; 

He received nothing he asked for. He received more than he ever hoped for. His prayer was answered! Blessed man!

The shortest distance between a closed and open door is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything.

RESPONSE
Today I will accept that my blocked door doesn’t mean God doesn’t love me. Quite the opposite. I’ll see it as proof that He does.

PRAYER
Thank You Lord that You know best and have even better plans for me and my service for You.
Help me wait patiently for You to open the
right door at the right time! 

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS) - A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission 12/06/2011

life and society | bah, psychology

Our guest for Boxing Day is Marcus. Today, he writes about the paper chase. We like to think that we have already gone past that stage of internal struggle, but Marcus puts things back in perspective in our neoliberal society where we and others expect our education to contribute in some way to our work.

Working with the Republic of Singapore Navy, Marcus spends much time offshore on patrol ships to protect Singapore. Whether he says things that we find inconvenient or undesirable to hear, he is a thinker who is brutally honest with himself and what he sees and knows about people and society around.

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BAh, Psychology.
Marcus Seng


I always used to wonder what will my fellow psychology mates work as when we graduate. We all knew that a Bachelors (BA) alone will not get us anywhere decent should we wish to pursue a career in psychology. I was less bothered for myself because I was already sponsored by the Navy, and certainly had a job with them once I graduated. Moreover, I always love to observe social behaviour and dynamics. Studying psychology was also something I had always wanted to do since I was 16. BA in psychology was certainly the way to go for me.

Throughout my 3 years of university, I frequently asked around my peers on what they plan to do in future. Most of them weren't quite very sure, though. Added on to the constant reminders that our BA degree is a 'toilet paper' degree. Many seemed too content with just being a student and not knowing what to do after they graduate (and possibly not knowing why are they even studying). I was concerned as a friend, angry at times. There were just too many people embarking on this mindless paper chase. Having worked in the Navy for a cumulative of 12 months before and throughout my studies during the semester breaks, I have had the privilege of working closely with many polytechnic and ITE graduates, who were definitely a lot more purposeful, motivated, and streetsmart compared to this bunch of 'top 20% of Singapore's cohort'.

3 years came and passed, too quickly. (I HAD SO MUCH FUN!=DD) I wasn't too surprised that 4 weeks before our final examinations, more than half my peers hadn't figured out what they wanted to work as (or to even deliberate further studies, or take a gap year to travel). They were simply clueless, and in denial. They often gave they most politically correct answer, 'Yea I'm looking around for jobs already.', or 'I'll think about it after the exams.' At some point, I decided that they simply entered university for its own sake - because it's a 'conventional flow', a rights of passage, 'study first then see how' mentality. I'm not wholly discrediting their own various reasons for wanting a university degree. There is however already an unfortunate case for a lot of Singaporeans who do not manage to enter university, but still continue to desire to study for the most irrational of reasons - for some ill-understanding/ misperception of 'attaining' a BA.

20 months after graduation, based on my own biased sample of population, majority of my peers who had graduated with me have somewhat figured out what to do with their lives (not so much with their degree). Giving my own rather loose estimate; 20% pursued a career related to psychology, 50% pursued a career which is somewhat related/ useful, 20% pursued a career totally unrelated to psychology, 50% joined the public sector, 30% joined private sector, 10% furthered their studies, 5% went traveling (and subsequently found a job), 5% remained clueless and continued to waste their lives/ degree, and 80% of them complained about their jobs/ public transport every other day.

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I'm both happy and sad for them. Admittedly, the transition from a student to working life is not easy. Naturally some will take a longer time to adjust to this change. I myself do struggle with my own day to day activities. Striking a good balance with work and life is a challenge that I deal with every single day. It takes a tremendous amount of energy, but I must say that it is really really worth the effort.

To my fellow psychology mates. Thank you for many times we shared in tutorials, lectures, computer labs, libraries, buses, and canteens. Thank you for tolerating for flashy and weird behaviours (it was really all part of my big social experiment and love for life). Especially to those whom I had spent much wonderful time in my 3 years of undergraduate studies - thank you for your friendships. I will always cherish them. I wish and hope for the best in your future endeavors. Pray that whatever we be in future, psychology or not, we will always remember to be happy. BAh!(=

Happy Christmas lovelies,
marcusseng.

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"life and society" will feature various people from different walks of life and various parts of the world. New posts are up every Monday and Thursday at 6pm (GMT +8 / Singapore time) through the first week of 2012. On Thursday (Dec 29), I'll be featuring Joyce Koor, my spunky, adventurous friend of 7 years who is an amazing multi-tasker and who also has a big heart and speaks out for what is right.

lol last names

As a student of linguistics I'm intrigued by how Singapore's youths put fake (and funny) last names on Facebook. Apparently this has been happening for at least two years! And also the new internet morpheme "cxz" or "zxc.

But on a non-academic note, here's a list of first and last names I found with my sister off Facebook on a chill Christmas afternoon. To jolt you with inspiration if you ever need ideas for names hahaha

First names:

Kanene

Keroro

Lameo

Eco

Sayonara

Vocaloid

Doremon

Sunny

Nooffence

Leopard

Last names:

ElmoCrazee

Wakakaka

PiGu Tong ('Buttocks Hurt' in Chinese)

Imperfection

Skks

Ishungry

Hugzxcu

Happylove

Ahzhuz

'Phobiaphobiaphobia

Lailailailailailailai

Isbored

Be Yoseob's

L'voe

Ngg'z

Destinedlove

Arfogurl

Isforeveralone

TheHeatbreaker (Heartbreaker??? fail.)

La Land

Buttowski

Love

Smsyloveyou

Cxt Ü

Loves Percabeth

LuxYou

Don'twant Hisschoolfriendsleavehim

IsSmiling

Oxflamerxo

LovesBubbles

Dontwantyoutoleave

LoveesYou

HartcxzEu Alwayz

Stealsyourunderwear

Musix

Teaser

Cookiecxz

Thinksof Puppies

Notslacking

Tanooki

Farts

ThinksabtSoccer

Issianuntilcreateanotheracc

'Oh ImKewt

Sayxz Hi

Thesiaozhabor

LovesBlackshott

IsPocoyo

Likes Bubbletea

IsFat

Trees AreMe

BleachAddict

Says Neverbeapart

Wishingx

Moopoo

ÏSíãñz

XiiaoDarhborh

XiiaoSeaWeed

WorshipsPercabeth

ShingQuest

Shut Up

Heartsrainbowgummybearszxc

Stitchyzxc

TheGummyBear

Smilezx

Icelemontea

LuvsBran's

NotInteresting

Monochrome

Awwsomettm

Shootmepls

Ukuleleist

MrNice

SoScrewd

Nothingtodo

Does

Heartszxcyou

An Onion

Bemyguest

Skittleser

Van Gogh

MeltwhenIseeu

Cuddly Furries Craze

Thesmartpig

Throwatyou

LovesAdidas

EternalBlizzard

DezistaFate

LovesViolet

NoseBleed

LuvsChuzxc

PartiallyBroken

Delusionist

Chileenmusgindiefivin Chicharito

I think the most awesome one is "An Onion". The name was something like "Amara's An Onion". My sister and I were just LOL-ing over it hahaha