In Tribute - David Liao Xiangping

In a few hours time, my fellow HCJC 29th student councillor David Liao will be cremated till eternal peace. When I learnt from Meina two weeks ago that David had been admitted into a hospice for colon cancer, my shock was not at the cancer, but at the hospice. Cancer just isnt surprising anymore, and I never did nor do I now, fear it. It is completely curable, with early detection, support, heart and soul. But I knew when it came to the stage of the hospice, it could only be a matter of time, when I would lose a friend, of my age. Yuting called the next night and was obviously very affected, and then Yisheng told me online that a few of the councillors planned to visit him soon. After the visit, I heard from Joel that David was very tired and obviously fragile when the few of them went down to see him. And then yesterday morning, I received an MSN message from Yisheng informing me David had passed away. Yun Ching and Xingyi also informed me subsequently by phone and text.

To be honest, David wasnt in my closer circle within the Council, since he wasnt in SnR and seldom joined us for soccer. Our only true interaction was only when I worked under him in MAFCO (Mid-Autumn Festival Committee). He was my Committee Chairperson. I think what everyone would remember, would be his wonderful passion for the event, his intense commitment to make sure it turned out more than good, but to be the best ever. I liked his speeches, his unflinching optimism and drive, his recognition of trying times, his perserverence, and I shared with him, his dream to make the event a truly unforgettable one. With respect to all the other working committees Chairpersons, I think David embodied his event more than anyone else did for theirs. To the normal spectator, MAF may have been many lanterns, or the flying arrow-flame light up, or the fireworks sparklers. But ask anyone of the 29th, and they will tell you, MAF 2002 was about one man and his passion - David, our dearest Comm Chair.

It's a pity, that amongst the multi-facets of his life, his many images and actions, I can only recollect MAF, simply for a lack of interaction with David. But I thought, it would be good to put it down in writing, after all, different parts of the puzzle form the complete jigsaw of any life, any story, any legacy. 22 years, is really a short time, too short to form a family, too short to have a career. But admist all these regrets and frustrations, I hope David knows, that 22 years, was enough for him, to bring immense joy and countless memories to his family and friends. And yet still enough, to touch even a stranger as he recreated thousands of memories for all the people that attended MAF 2002.

And though you may not be able to reply us now, " DAVID KE BAH BAH! " Your voice and smile will resonate in my mind.....

My Home in Cardiff, Enjoy!

After early showers, the weather blossomed into quite a nice sunshine with the skies babying into blue. I did not miss the opportunity to catch some pictures of my home, as well as the view from my window. After 5 weeks having shifted into Landmark Place, I finally have something to share with all of you. Enjoy.

I took Andre around Cardiff today as well, and the pictures he took, turned out very pretty, so while these may be repeated, I think they do more justice to Cardiff as a place. Enjoy, as well.

A Visit to Tenby

Andre was the 4th consecuive weekend visitor to Wales I hosted since the new school semester. Besides the usual fare in Cardiff, I decided to use the Saturday for a day trip to Tenby, a beautiful and historic seaside town in Pembrokeshire, also a part of the Pembrokeshire National Park. Unfortunately, it wasnt a best day for pictures as a heavy vale of fog loomed over and we could only imagine how brilliant the place might be in summer. However, from the pictures below, you should be able to make out the really quaint buildings, each with a different colour, as well as the manner in which the old town fort was built from the cliffs overlooking the sea, while the buildings were built within the walls much later. Also look out for the really innovative use of limited space on the cliffs for little garden patches with benches. I think I would like to return here one day, as part of a wider car trip around Wales, maybe just before I graduate.

The Wedding

Its been a month into the new term at Cardiff, yet, just a few days since I last got back from Singapore. Yes, I just went back over the last weekend to attend and emcee the wedding of my uncle Sean and aunt Monica. Hectic will be the best way to describe the weekend. On Thursday afternoon UK time, I went on a coach field trip from Cardiff to Newport to Bristol. This took 5 hours. After which the professors kindly let me off at Bristol Parkway Train Station so I could catch my 2 hr rail trip to London Paddington, and henceforth the Heathrow Express to Heathrow Terminal 4. There were delays to the Heathrow Express, but thanks to the online check-in system, and my lack of luggage, I made it through all the way to the Gate in time for my 13 hr 930pm flight to Singapore. I reached Singapore at 530pm Singapore time. There, my uncle zoomed us off to Carlton Hotel for the Wedding, schelduled to begin at 7pm. We actually got started at 8 plus. After speaking, singing, and downing 2 bottles of red wine, I could barely move. But when we reached home, I had to finish 10 episodes of the TVB serial Drive of Life, which took another 8 hours. So why does someone go to all this trouble.

I will tell you why. It is all about dreams, all about being at the right place at the right time, it is all about contributing to memories and moments. The 19th of October 2007 would just be another evening in Cardiff, perhaps forgettable, but in Singapore, it would be the memories of a wonderful wedding to carry on for a lifetime. I think it quite exemplifies my view on life. We cannot be everywhere at everytime, but what we can do, is use our limited resources of time and money, to be where it matters.

Childhood Glimpses

The day before I flew back to Cardiff from Singapore, Chin Siong and I visited Uncle and Aunty Lau for dinner. (Their son Hiu Yeung is our common friend, while I had helped their daughter Hiu Yan with GP previously. Both children are now studying overseas, one in US, the other in HK.) The conversation eventually moved into Hiu Yeung's childhood and academic forays, and Aunty Lau happily took out a Video Tape (yes, the old VCR) of Hiu Yeung appearing on a televised competition during Primary school. When she mentioned the name of the show " 小小状元榜" , my heart skipped a beat as I had took part in the very same competition. I began to wonder if both I and Hiu Yeung had actually appeared in the same competitive round.

As providence would have it, the first person I saw when the programme started, was not Hiu Yeung, but a 11 year-old myself. I'm sure Mummy had taped the programme down as well, but somehow, I had not taken it out to re-look ever since after the competition. As we all shared a good laugh at the coincidence of it all, I took a good look at myself on the screen. I could not remember the exact happenings during the show, in fact, all I could remember from it was that I took part in it, and took home a big bag of Horlicks products. Staring at the 11 year-old Cexiang was like staring at a complete stranger. Nothing but the knowledge that that had been me provided any familiarity or recognition. It could just have been anyone else really.

Its really quite amazing. I think a person's past can only be considered his past, as far as he remembers it, and can re-feel it upon memory. But how many of our feelings can we actually remember. How many things are seen by us as trivial and everyday, and yet, may one day, no longer be everyday? I think that is where the invention of videos is quite wonderful, it allows us to know ourselves better, re-writes those periods of life that have been erased from our brains. As the competition ended with my school getting the highest scores, the cameras flashed by me smiling very self-contentedly (or cockily). Ah! Maybe I was! Maybe, I still am.

Perhaps my generation was not so lucky as far as recording videos is concerned. I only am aware of a few videos of myself when young. The earliest being when Mummy brought me to Mrs Teo's (my primary school teacher) house to celebrate the first month (or year) of their daughter, who I would go on to tuition when she was Secondary 3. The Cexiang then was barely 8, very shy, constantly hiding behind my mum, and afraid to talk to strangers. Aah! Maybe I was! Maybe, I still am.

The other video recordings would be of me playing the piano at the public concerts LPT organized. I remember clearly the nervousness I felt backstage, the fear of having break-downs in front of the audience. But all recorded on the video, is quite a confident performer who starts his playing with a nonchalant flick of his wrist. Quite a natural star (or attention seeker, depends on how you look at it) really. Yes. Maybe I was! Maybe, I still am.

I think we like to think we are what we think we are. Sometimes though, having videos of ourselves in the past would serve as timely reminders. I am glad that despite an age where techonology wasnt as rampant as it is for this generation, there is still treasured footage of childhood glimpses of myself. But even if you don't, you could simply ask the people around you who saw your growing up. I am sure they have thier own stories of you, that you never knew yourself.

The New Term

Wow! I have not posted in a month. Well, to those of you that have been waiting, here it finally is : my much awaited Back-in-Cardiff post! In case this gets long and draggy, I will begin with a one-word summary of life back here: Beautiful!

First, the new apartment. I will post pictures very soon, as and when I get in the mood to capture some inspiring shots. But yes, its a 2-bedroom apartment right smack in the centre of Cardiff City Centre, where all the shopping and food outlets are, 10 min walk from my school, 15 min walk from the Central Station. I stay on the 13th floor, so I have full views of Cardiff to the mountains beyond, the Millenium Stadium and residential areas ecetra. My address is 191 Landmark Place, Churchill Place, CF 10 2HU. Sounds grand, but its really just your typical condominium unit. Considering only 2 of us stay inside though, (my roommate is Malaysian civil engineer called Kaiyi) its really spacious. I have colour themed my room( again, wait for the pictures), and all furniture has been furnished by the landlord. Thus far, we have been cooking ourselves, the usual egg and bacon breakfast, the pasta meals, simple vegetables and stew to come soon!

Next, lifestyle. I wake up at about 8 am everyday to make myself breakfast or do some tidying. Have bought a few very good classical CDs of my favourite Mozart and Chopin and they play in the house all day long. So basically, once you step into the apartment, the wonderful sounds of the orchestra or the piano welcomes you. The lights are a nice romantic shade of dark yellow. I make it a point to have a glass of red wine everynight now as I look out and admire the nightsky. Weekend nights are spent simply chatting with Kaiyi on the couch on life, aspirations, family etc. The past weekend Calvin and Evelyn were here to discuss out Marina project, again a very intellectual discussion that opened up my eyes architecturally at least. Trips to Gala have been amazingly fruitful, such that even after buying school textbooks, pillowcases, a wireless router, bedsheets and groceries, etc, my bank account actually hasnt diminished since I landed in Cardiff. I will leave the amount to your imagination.

School just started today actually, but it was nice to see the people I have not met in 4 months. Even with those I hardly spoke to the entire term last year, it still gave me a very nice feeling of familiarity. It was of course, a joy to meet those that I have been closer to. Coursework this year is rather big-scale and requires a fair bit of group work. So yes, I am more than ready, really. Have also visited Aunty Susan's place, again another sense of familiarity. Come to think of it, ever since stepping down in London, I met Watson and Jiawei by chance, Yun Ching by slight arrangements too. It has been a very quick, smooth and easy re-settling.

Ah, basically, life's quite beautiful now. The bottomeline really, is that it would be really unforgivable if I do not do well this year, considering my living conditions are countless times better than last's! Not that I did not do well last year though! =p

Cheers to you whenever you are reading this! =Pp