Restraint

15th February 2008
Friday
Year of the Rat

This is a little late. But here comes the Lunar New Year wishes! I wish all my readers success in everything they do, be it studies, work or social life.


Since it is the year of the Rat, let me start this post off with some rat trivia. First off, a rat can last longer without water than a camel. I bet you didn't know about that. And talk about rising population. Did you know that rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants?

Useless trivia aside, the Rat year is a not so pleasant year for Snakes. The main prediction is that wealth and love life will have problems arising every now and then. And it is not a good year to take gambles involving money or any monetary matters. As for social and love life, singles will have problems finding a partner, and couples might have conflicts arising.


Throughout this not-so-festive period, I have exercised strict restraint on the amount of goodies I consume. And not surprisingly, I managed to get past this period without having a sore throat. Somehow the not-so-festive festive period seems rather enjoyable with less illnesses keeping me in bed. During this period, I have already distributed $98 of my wealth away through Mahjong and Blackjack. Talk about poor luck.


Fastforward to the present.

Today was Chingay preview. For those people like me who have absolutely no idea what is Chingay about, it is an annual street parade held in sunny Singapore as a part of the Chinese New Year festivities. It is primarily a parade of floats and other performances and is a major multi-cultural and international event.

Back to Chingay. I am singing in NAFA choir for the finale act which features a really nice song called 天网. And it really is my virgin time participating in such an event. I can't really say I am all that enthusiastic about this event, but if it generates revenue for the government by attracting tourists, what I feel about it does not really matter.

But just look at all the resources being wasted on the electricity spent, the props, the confetti, the stage risers, gallery seats, fireworks, and all the amount of energy and time spent on planning this whole thing. Can't we have this annual celebration held in a enviro-friendlier way? What good is portraying S*ng*p*r* as a tourism hub if all we can do is waste the Earth's resources to generate more money for the country's coffers.

Despite all the unwillingness to participate in this extravagant yearly event, I have no choice but to take part in it. But singing in choir is fun. Much more fun than playing in a wind ensemble. A change of surroundings every once in a while is no doubt refreshing, but still we have to return to our roots sooner or later.

Talking about roots just make my blood boil. It is sad to say, but I am utterly disappointed by my alma mater. Refer to previous post here.


To end of this horribly overdue post, here's an analogy for you guys to think about.

Imagine you are a drowning man at sea. A seaman casts you a lifebuoy and you hang on dearly to it. But the seaman refuses to pull you in aboard the ship. Instead he returns to his duties and checks on you from time to time. He sees you pulling the rope and getting closer to the boat and he threatens to cut the rope if you continue to do so. What will you do?

a) Hang on to the buoy and pray hard that the seaman will pull you aboard.
b) Let go and drift away, hoping to find another boat to save you.
c) Pull yourself towards the boat despite the warnings.