人生与电影

每个人的一生就好像一部电影
而他们就是自己那部电影里的主角
有时候他们会以为自己也是别人电影里的主角
但是说不定他们只是一个配角
只有一个镜头
更说不定他们的片段早被别人剪掉
自己居然还不知道

---《如果。爱》

On Home(Singapore) & Migration

Having got bored of my usual repetoire of songs in my Windows Media Playlist, I chanced upon the FM Yes933 online webcast this late night. Reception is very clear. And soon, I knew which parts of the PIE & ECP were congested, I heard Cruz Teng & Bukoh Mary reading the daily horoscopes, playing the "Harvey Norman" game, chatting about the just released PSLE results. I never felt closer to home. Not even the webcam conversations with my family, not the meetings with my Singaporean friends here in the UK; have I felt so close to home.

And I realised, that perhaps, there is more to being homesick than missing the people. I think the more you actually involved yourself in the place, the transport networks you have been on daily (be it the Mass Rapid Public Transport or the Major Expressways), or the local Radio Station you tuned in to on the way to school or work, or the General Singaporean events that you always thought did not involve you.

The songs played may not be all to my liking (Jacky Cheung over Jay Chou, anytime), the jokes told may be lame; I never had any special feelings for the transport system in Singapore (transport was only a medium to get to places I wanted to be at). Why then does this really heartwarming feeling come over me?

I think the more a person immerses himself in a place, intentionally or otherwise; subconsciously, he becomes familiar with the place. (Note that this is completely seperate from any interaction with people) Following this train of thought, I feel that the personality of a person very much affects if such immersion occurs. A person who lives his life as a routine and accepts things as they are,(tunes in to the same station, takes the same route to work on the same MRT line or expressway)will obviously have developed a sense of familiarity; but a person who either changes his tastes frequently, or completely detests a place such as to critize everything, will not.

Now, I will conclude that the very people who will not be attached to the "hardware" of places, are the very same people that are unlikely to be affected by the "heartware", because it is in their personalities to have a lesser need for high levels of familiarity, a greater need for refreshing change, and a belief that life can always be better in the future if they make changes. Ultimately, what the "heartware", the family & friends give is a sense of familiarity, a protection against loneliness, a reminder to appreciate life as it is in the present! So why would people unfeeling to the "hardware" (be it however not to their tastes), be any more tied back to the "heartware"?

They will not. Those that stay will stay, those that leave will leave. Only with the passage of time may they return. Because with time, people feel more insecure and need more familiarity. Because with time, people start appreciating the present more (perhaps because there isn't much of the future left to look forward to?)

Ps. Please be clear that this article carries no moral judgement of people who leave their home countries. As I've tried to be clear on, this is necessarily a personality difference, and who are we to judge how others think, as long as what they think or do doenst specifically harm anyone else?

On Coventry & Warwick University

Coventry was the most bombed British city during WW2,Warwick University is not in Warwick, but far away from the city centre in Coventry. Lady Godiva was this a Queen who rode round the City of Coventry naked ages ago, to get the Earl to lower the taxes. These are the hard facts I collected from Coventry. I did not really see much, because the first line suggests there isn't much to see, and the second suggests that I was holed up cosily far away from the city in one of the University accomodation rooms. The third, explains the statue I took a picture of in Coventry City. Basically, this was not a visit to sight-see, it was a visit to meet a dear friend- Yun Ching.

Yun Ching cooked up meal after meal, from Bacon & Cereal Breakfast, Chicken Rice & Sweet Sour Pork, to Brocolli & Pasta. Apparently, he has obtained the reputation of being the best Singaporean chef in Warwick. To be fair, his cooking is indeed good, if not for the quality, then surely the quantity. I slept & studied most of the time, enjoyed a movie (The Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore), and simply did what we had been doing best these past few years, - chat & insult.

And that almost certainly ends this first leg of visits in the UK, taking me from London, to Cardiff, Oxford, Swansea, Cambridge, Brecon & Coventry.

Why do I travel?

To find familiarity admist refreshing surroundings. The best of both worlds.

Pictures of me, and me and me again

More From Brecon plus Cardiff Bay

On Brecon & Cardiff Bay, and Choices

This post was only possible because of the visit of Qihui, his friend from Cambridge (Kengrui) and KR's friend (Gim Hui). The first real guests I hosted in Wales, and it was immensely satisfying being able to play host, even though the trips to Brecon Beacons & Cardiff Bay were "discoveries" myself.

Perhaps the everlasting memory from this trip, would be the encounter with 2 dogs owned by one of the farm households living atop one of the hills in Brecon. Basically, we wandered aimlessly into private farmland and got chased by the family dog. In our haste to escape, we jumped over a fence, further into the private territory, and thereafter into the sheep pen! Admist rolling snow cap mountains, autumn leaves, green fields, we met a company of sheep (see video), and really friendly locals in Brecon.

I will let the pictures tell a thousand words on both Brecon Beacons & Cardiff Bay. (which is equally invigorating & refreshing, with seagulls, yachts, opposing cliffs with towns built on them, nice water-front apartments).

More on the feelings on playing host. Firstly, the sense of familiarity in Cardiff is certainly heartwarming. Having someone I can wake up and say hello and chat about events that happened in Singapore is definitely nice, perhaps that is why I eagerly await friends and family from Singapore to visit me. Next is the pressure to enable that my guests have a wonderful experience in Wales.There is basically lots in Wales to explore & discover, but that applies to the entire world! So, it really is a matter of selecting what can be best done in the short frame of time available, and then doing it. Sounds very familiar to our lives as a whole.

It's about making choices. Unknown to us, we are already faced with countless choices, yet, people constantly aspire to and try to expand their scope of choices even further. I would rather take the time to make good choices with what I have, and make the best of them, then spend my time expanding choices but making none in the end.

In the end, our lives will be about choices we made, and not choices we had.

(This is the first of a set of pictures, of which I will select some for single posting, i.e. those that I think I look very good in. =p)

凭空想象

夜深人静独畅吟，
孤舟河畔水上漂。
风雪尘尘万千里，
少男心事知多少？

策翔 @ 二零零六，十一月十三日，凌晨。

On Poise & Elegance

This was taken in London. I like it especially. Do you?

On London

I never expected myself to like London this much. My impression of cities have never been good, I do not like crowds, I do not like tall buildings cramped together. But London is that, and still some more. My favourite 2 places in London would have to be Trafalgar Square & the Millenium Bridge.

The sense of colour in Trafalgar Square is wonderful, White & Blue; the contrast in the elements evident, Concrete & Water; the essence of space & people in its element. There are many tourists at the Square, but its grandeur and size does make the tourist become yet another attraction. Millenium Bridge is an altogether different experience, it is my favourite bridge over the River Thames. Ín one word, it is sleek. I have always had a fondness for things and people petite. Yet, this is counterposed against a very mechanical steel structure which is very assuring. And the combined effects of both is basically the feeling of gliding over the Thames! I never thought I would prefer modern architecture over ancient (i.e. Tower Bridge)I think the sense of solitude( I walked down the Thames alone in the morning), actually adds to the atmosphere, but there would always be people I wished were next to me sharing the experience!

The next captivating thing about London are the buskers at the Tube stations, there is at least 1 busker at every station, and many along the River Thames, and yet, all produce really beautiful music. Walking down the Thames alone to Paccabel, rushing down escalators to Japanese Pop; it does make the experience more surreal. I think we could try to initate such a culture in Singapore, set up a professional Busking Training Academy for the jobless! Simple tunes, simple acts can go a very long way.

But London would not be complete, without my friends (this is getting really repititive, but a fact's a fact). I've actually stayed at 3 different areas in London, Hamstead on my first visit, and this time, Islington with Andre, & Tower Hill with Sherwayn, add to that the visit to Bryan & Justin's place at Camden, I've actaully been around London quite abit on my own.

If my departure from Singapore in September was a time-wrap of my life thus far, London provided a second mini-version of this. I met my RI classmates at Covent for dinner, met my cousin for dinner at Leicester Square, met my HC classmates for lunch at Camden & met various HC Councillors over a few occasions. The world does seem small in London, a direct contrast from Cardiff. But as I was so happy to meet so many familiar faces, I also began to appreciate the quietude I enjoy in Cardiff, even with the slight loneliness that might come with it. And yet, I think it is this very contrast that allowds me to enjoy these travels more, and not getting tired of meeting people.

I would consider this visit to London as the most detailed one of all I've been on thus far. Thanks to the wonderful people, Andre (I hope you have managed to finish your essay!), Sherwayn( it was a very good conversation, wasn't it?), Yang Wen (thanks for trying so hard to make time for me even though your cold eventually got the better of you), and my cousin Genevieve (nothing beats meeting relatives overseas, honestly)

I will leave all of you London, in pictures(click to vieww enlarged) and 2 short videos(click to play), both at Trafalgar Square. Enjoy!

On Cambridge

The weekend of 2nd to 5th November was spent in Cambridge, with Qihui at Christ's College (Haihan stays here too). From now, I will seperate my travelling exploits into 2 sections, that of People & Places.

People
It never fails to touch me by the warmth I receive from my friends when I visit them. It's easy to take it all for granted (esp. someone like me) , but I cant help but appreciate all the breakfast, touring, accomodation made by Qihui. Cambridge provided many firsts for my stay in UK!

I watched my first TVB Drama Serial here on Qihui's laptop (精艳一枪，starring Charmaine Sheh!), I had my first drink of Chinese tea in Hansel's cosy attic, I met Sean for the first time in 3 years, and together with Haihan, we discussed out Council Experiences and the Top 5 Most Memorable Council-linked experiences), I had my first punting experience with Jeremy, Shengwu & Duanna, I saw fireworks for the first time during Guy Fawkes( have uploaded the video onto YouTube)!

The mere list of activities does give a very good picture of the excellent hospitability received.

Places
Cambridge colleges are majestically huge, Trinity, St John's courts come to mind, King's College Chapel was the most marvellous church I had seen, until I saw St Paul's in London, all inspire a sense of sacred authority. The size of Cambridge colleges in a smaller Town setting is quite a contrast from Oxford's smaller colleges within a more City setting. Both are pretty, but one cant help but feel the detached nature of these places from the rest of the world.

Photographs from now will come in the form of collages as there are simply too many to select a prized few. I always want to bring the atmosphere of the place through these pictures, and whoever you are looking at them, I hope to share that bit of experience with you!