| August 31, 2010
Westerners and the rest of us & why F1 rocks.  West meet East. I have always disliked the local culture, I’m not against it, but I have always wish I was born a Brit maybe a New Yorker, being an Aussie would be great too. I was brought up in a secondary school where the majority of us spoke in English; I actually realised after many years that only two of my friends in high school actually spoke Chinese! Despite that, there should still have been a balance, both my parents were chinese educated, and my dad, worst, a keen calligraphy and teapots collector and an addict to chinese art, culture and history. I must have failed him in every possible way then. Whatever that he is, I am the other, I've never passed a chinese paper except for the rare occasions and -thankfully- for my O lvl where I scored a C6 (I can never forget how my Chinese teacher when over to every student, with a pat on the shoulder and said inspirational words along the lines of ‘you can do it’ and ‘I expect a lot from you’. For me, he just gave a hard look, a gentle shake of his head, he could only muster ‘all the best’ – almost like he mean it. I bet he didn’t expect me to pass. All I know was I left school grinning with a big wide smile, I was plenty contended with a pass) Back to where I started, Why then do I look at the Western ways with gleaming eyes? no it's not the American dream, interesting as it is, it was never really justified, just look at the crisis now. I am like any other teen. With the internet, we are not influenced but bombarded with continuous influx of knowledge about the world of the whites. I watch english dramas I tuned to the english radio channels. I watch British sitcoms, hollywood movies. For me, this is clear, China is the production house, the creative minds are still dominant with the West. Look at your table, your ipod, your handphone, your laptop, even the shirt you're wearing, how likely are they to be innovated in China? Probably not, they are only produced there and this will probably still remain so for the next couple of decades at the very least. So it is not what we perceive, rather what we digest - literally. The things we use every day, what surrounds us. heck, the entire street of orchard is one big confirmation of my stand. Don't tell me you think that's any way chinese!! I've always liked the way things work for them. I love their romance, I love their stories, I love their accent, I love everything they have that we don't, culture, nature, their awesome weather and more. And then ever so often, when I am lost wandering in the world of tumblr, a good hollywood classic, or listening to a soul soothing music, I would wish so much that I was born there as one. Yet at the heart of it all, deep down, I respect my kind more so than anyone. The chinese are extremely hardworking, very sincere, not all are good of course, but because of our upbringing I dare say the majority of us are. The westerners will never be like us – after all a culture takes thousands of years to form– Ask yourself, why do they always go Confucius this Confucius that? People quote them because they know it's powerful stuff. They know it's good, and as unbelievable as it sounds, many westerners inspire to learn from the chinese. And there a good reason why too. If there's a talk about respect, morals and manners, you simply can't beat it. The Brits, well, they use fuck so often in a household it's just like any another word and they start swearing at the age of one. This I guarantee. Try that here and you'll probably get a tight slap on the face by your dad. And lets not get started on the Americans A thought about where the third finger originated and I don't have to explain any further. What drives me to this point lies with where I am working at now. At my workplace you will find an abundant of 'ang mos'. In fact, my boss is french and she's pretty much the only really nice one – I wouldn’t deny how much of a bitch she can be at times but then again which boss isn’t? – whereas the others are just full of themselves, racist at best. Maybe because we’re generally shorter and they have to "look down" to us just to make a simple conversation?? Well I’m sorry, that just doesn't cut it. I suppose then, the answer is in their upbringing, back to my original point, you see, if these relatively arrogant –or stuck up if you prefer– ang mos were Singaporeans, they would probably have treated us with a little more respect and on a levelled ground. But in the very same way I am saying this, I could say that if I was one of them, came from a foreign land and my skin was white, I might very well have treated my yellow friends with the same prejudice as they had given to me. Simple put, it all lies in the good of - please forgive me - Confucius & his never ending list of damn good shit brought from a tender young age in within our families. Respect, morals and manners. Those are the three important words. One last example of how discriminated we are in office (enough for me to want to blog anyway), I found my college who –yes– happens to be a Chinese, a great douchebag. why is a tale for another time. The important thing is as strongly as I despise him, in the strangest of way I would still rather have lunch with him than my new found ang mo friends, the very ones I always wished to be born as, the ones I’ve so much wanted to be and the one I so admired. To sum it up, I love the west and without denial, I'm pretty pathetic as a Chinese. The real Chinesesy folks from China probably wouldn't find me worthy. But one thing I'm sure, I am god damn proud to be a yellow skinned Singaporean (: --------  And now on a much lighter note, I just had to share with you how awesome F1 is this year. I insist everyone should watch it, at least this season. Long story short, thanks to a majority change in rules from years gathered, F1 has never been this competitive and exciting, for many years the championship title has remained rather staid, by mid season the winner is pretty much predictable. But this year everything has changed. There are FIVE contenders for the championship. All only a few points from one another and only 7 races left. 2 of which with very recent championship title under their belt with maturity and patience on their side, 1 is experienced and wily, 1 is a total impetuous young idiot but hugely talented and 1 ambitious to show that he still can shine. No further comment needed. A real difficult season I must say, and one so full of drama too. The races so far not only bring the best and worst in drivers but in PEOPLE. Never have I seen people fought so hard for what they want. Even going to the extreme means of almost taking out or actually took out their OWN team mates just to reach their goals. I have never seen so much sacrifice and so much determination and yes – stupidity as well. It will be a championship of mental and physical attrition as each and every one of them will seek to destroy one another –or– in the process themselves. A true survival of the fittest, with God playing nothing but the part of luck. |
The Secret.  
The Need.
Graduate with a smile
The nice soft hair I once had Prosumer Camera (maybe) A good inspiration A long vacation A Car, a Bike and a Puppy Everlasting love? Whatever else that makes me happy My Escapes. Aaron Ng Aloysius Ong Christine Christopher Chia Cynthia Neo Elyza Jace Wong Johan Luke Chen Pamela How Priscilla Tan Regina Hoh Sheila Loh Sin Yean Sofya Wei Wen Yong Ann Yeng Ling Yimei Zheng Xin Shush. Have a blog? I'd love to link you! Just leave your link below & I'll be sure to drop by ;) Gone. July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 July 2010 August 2010 October 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 April 2012 June 2012 July 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 July 2013 January 2014 February 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 |