A precious someone....
who means lots ....
This page is to YOU celebrating our 10 yrs of didi-kaka hood..:)
Miss ya
This page is to YOU celebrating our 10 yrs of didi-kaka hood..:)
Miss ya
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Friday, December 01, 2006
God's miraculous doors...
Sometimes when all seems complicated, all things seems to reach the end of the road, when you feel like dropping everything to leave, another door opens and you see that all the negativity may not be that bad after all...
Back to SH after whirlwind weeks of work travels...seen some amazing students who are fighting for their place for the next step in the working world, seen how they survive the cold winter campus studying till late nights, how most of them leave home at the age of 18 from their city for studies and return home once or twice a year for a home visit ever since, how some of them have lost one their parents to illnesses and still keep fight to move on...comparatively they have much more toughness, optimism, with feets more deeply rooted...
it's again the end of the year season when the cold bites in and christmas lightings makes you feel a need to be with close ones...sometimes you feel you have not been able to appreciate them enough (and probably have not)... many souls have touched my life especially in the last 2 years, as I look back to the pictures, the videos, the memories, I thank all who have been part of it...
Tomorrow 2 such souls will throw their goodbye parties @ liyuan rd as they move on to a next step...I will miss them deeply knowing SH will not be the same without their fun, laughter and warmth...thanks dear housemate and beer friend for all that we shared...
Back to SH after whirlwind weeks of work travels...seen some amazing students who are fighting for their place for the next step in the working world, seen how they survive the cold winter campus studying till late nights, how most of them leave home at the age of 18 from their city for studies and return home once or twice a year for a home visit ever since, how some of them have lost one their parents to illnesses and still keep fight to move on...comparatively they have much more toughness, optimism, with feets more deeply rooted...
it's again the end of the year season when the cold bites in and christmas lightings makes you feel a need to be with close ones...sometimes you feel you have not been able to appreciate them enough (and probably have not)... many souls have touched my life especially in the last 2 years, as I look back to the pictures, the videos, the memories, I thank all who have been part of it...
Tomorrow 2 such souls will throw their goodbye parties @ liyuan rd as they move on to a next step...I will miss them deeply knowing SH will not be the same without their fun, laughter and warmth...thanks dear housemate and beer friend for all that we shared...
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
A side not seen...
A colleague recently handed me a news report on China few days ago showing some statistics that are pretty scary to hear about, here is my feeble attempt to translate some of it.
The article discusses: Is China truly a prosperous world? Considering that China's GDP growth rate have been averaging over 9%, the fast growth has led to increasing wealth for many but the impact on the environment and on the widening rich and poor gap seems to need definitely some or more attention.
- Out of 140 of all the forests within China, almost half have been depleted or close to depletion. Most of them have been used to produce chopsticks, furniture, paper etc. 90% of grassland have also been destroyed or desertified
- In year 2000, the volume of waste water released is 90 billion tons which makes up of one tenth of the world's total waste water volume. In comparison, its total production volume is only 3% of the world's total
- Water: Half of the cities in China face water shortage issues, 1/6th faces serious shortage issues, 50 cities are in a critical water situation. Out of 7 main cities, 70% of the water source within 5 of them is not fit for drinking. A sales colleague from one of the poorer provinces has never had fresh water flowing from the tap in her hometown; a long track is needed to obtain fresh water.
- Animal: 50 years ago there were 4000 tigers within China, now only 50 over of them remains
- Wealth: in 2004, the average yearly income of a farmer is 2936rmb while the average yearly income of someone in the city/town is 9422rmb. In an extreme situation, the yearly income can be as low as 668rmb (26.1 million people are within this income category). That's 1.8rmb a day, how often have we spent it within a blink of an eye?
The article discusses: Is China truly a prosperous world? Considering that China's GDP growth rate have been averaging over 9%, the fast growth has led to increasing wealth for many but the impact on the environment and on the widening rich and poor gap seems to need definitely some or more attention.
- Out of 140 of all the forests within China, almost half have been depleted or close to depletion. Most of them have been used to produce chopsticks, furniture, paper etc. 90% of grassland have also been destroyed or desertified
- In year 2000, the volume of waste water released is 90 billion tons which makes up of one tenth of the world's total waste water volume. In comparison, its total production volume is only 3% of the world's total
- Water: Half of the cities in China face water shortage issues, 1/6th faces serious shortage issues, 50 cities are in a critical water situation. Out of 7 main cities, 70% of the water source within 5 of them is not fit for drinking. A sales colleague from one of the poorer provinces has never had fresh water flowing from the tap in her hometown; a long track is needed to obtain fresh water.
- Animal: 50 years ago there were 4000 tigers within China, now only 50 over of them remains
- Wealth: in 2004, the average yearly income of a farmer is 2936rmb while the average yearly income of someone in the city/town is 9422rmb. In an extreme situation, the yearly income can be as low as 668rmb (26.1 million people are within this income category). That's 1.8rmb a day, how often have we spent it within a blink of an eye?
Monday, August 28, 2006
Lost in Shanghai ...
A lady named Xiao Yin was walking around hengshan road with her 5 year old daughter...they have spent all their savings to get a train out from Guizhou to find a new life....Because xiao yin has no prior education- her parents only taught her a few words, they are unable to find any work in shanghai. Now both mother and daughter begs for money, looking to put together 150rmb for a train ticket back home. She hopes to send her daughter to school back in the village in Guizhou before the girl turns 7.
They survive on growing rice on their small plot of land with her husband but this amount is not sufficient. After sharing her story, Xiao yin suddenly looks at her own hands, rough from farming and chores and comments that a farmer's hands are really different from someone from the city. She doesn't know she has beautiful hands, hands that have toiled to to raise her little daughter...
How many of such families or kids are there in Shanghai? When you go partying in the night or shopping in the streets in Shanghai, most likely you will have met some of these young kids or elderly reaching out for your help? Next time if you have a chance to meet one of them again, hear their stories...it makes one feel, how lucky most of us are, how different worlds many people live in...
A nice song that a friend shared:
"we walk around and around.... after getting lost and found... looking for one more chance.... all we know is... we are all in the dance"
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
what ifs....
On the road in Yangshuo with chel, sheila, Ben, Rohit, Devrim in a perfect weekend...its a common question but what if,
- its the last year of your life
- money is not longer an issue
- you are not in fear of the unknown
- you are not limited by geographical boundaries
- you are not tied down by home
Would you do things differently? I would...
maybe be a teacher...
maybe travel all round the world for the year...
maybe work in Africa or Latin america...
maybe spend more time learning to paint, learn a language or learn playing the piano...
maybe get involved with community work...
road discovery does take some time...
Monday, August 14, 2006
Differences between an adult and a kid....
a beautiful message written by a friend:
"The great overwhelming difference between adults and kids is the fact, that most of the adults can´t be amazed by the simple beauties of life. Just a few people manage to grow up in years but keep a soul of an eternal kid, admiring world with shining eyes."
Sometimes all it takes to be happy are the little things around you...
"The great overwhelming difference between adults and kids is the fact, that most of the adults can´t be amazed by the simple beauties of life. Just a few people manage to grow up in years but keep a soul of an eternal kid, admiring world with shining eyes."
Sometimes all it takes to be happy are the little things around you...
Thursday, August 10, 2006
9th August When the little dot celebrates...
...independence of a small nation in 1965. Every year, on this day, the little dot comes alive with performances, fireworks, speeches, reminding its 4 million people of our short heritage as a country and the uniqueness of being a multicultural melting pot.....
Happy (belated) National Day Singapore
