The least you should give to a middle-aged man is a listening ear..
Just listen to whatever he has to say, you can choose to forget it later..
You can learn something from the contents, be it about life or about himself..
It may be complaints, it may also be unfulfilled dreams..
My old man said he doesn't want a mundane life..
One where someone just passed through the various stages of life without fulfilling his dreams..
He wanted to set up a business..
He don't even care if it was to fail..
He just wanted to try, to explore, to have the experience..
Now he often lament that no one in the family thinks like him..
Of course we don't! He didn't tell us stories when we were younger..
I thought all he wants is to have a normal life..
To grow up, find a job, marry someone, have children, grow old and die..
He wanted more than that..
He wanted an eventful life, a purposeful life, a fulfilling life..
Despite his poor education background, he can easily earn more than an undergraduate..
He asked why do people need to study to get a degree just to find a job, marry, procreate and die?
He asked if I have dreams or things that I want to do in life..
Different people have different dreams..
Our dreams are somewhat influenced by what we experience when we were young..
Honestly, I thought a happy family was all I need..
Of course I did not tell him that.. I only need to sit, listen and respond occasionally..
He often said that he did not start up a business earlier for our sake..
He couldn't afford to fail in business if he is the family's only source of income..
And because he cannot fail, he did not venture for fear we would have nothing to eat if it happens..
Hence, we have became his burden, his stumbling stone in a way..
He thought that starting up a business is easy.. Maybe it really is..
I wonder if he really knows what it takes to start up..
If he can just become an entrepreneur like that, then all business students should change course or quit studying already..
I don't care if he fails, I only worry that he fails because he lack the knowledge required..
It is difficult to succeed if you don't know a thing..
You are a failure if you cannot produce what you know..
But you are a fool if you want to produce what you don't know..
Fine.. Enough rambling for a morning.. I'm hungry now..
i am who i am
10/28/2009 11:33:00 AM
I saw some things online here and there on becoming vegetarian..
I personally think that becoming vegetarian to save the world is bullshit..
Telling people not to eat meat because it's poisonous to the human body is worse..
Stating that the human body is not made to eat meat is definitely nonsense..
This are the reasons why I think this is so..
#1 - Saving the world
The world will not be saved just because you don't eat meat. There are other animals out there that eat meat. I think that the human population consumes a lot of food everyday. So, if everyone becomes vegetarian, then it will mean less food for the herbivores out there in the wild. This will cause them to be hungry and weak such that they will become easy prey for the carnivores. Anyway, as selfish beings, the human might even deplete the primary source of the food chain, and thus causing unbalance to the ecosystem. Herbivores who once have abundant food might now end up eating one another due to food scarcity. (Sounds pretty far-fetched? But I think turning the whole human population into vegetarians is more difficult to believe.) To bring in another point, although global warming is partly caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from the farming of animals for consumption, it is because of the greenhouse gases that we are warm and cozy. Without the greenhouse gases, most life will be dead from the cold because there is nothing to trap the sun's heat with. By the way, I think factories and cars have greater impacts than cows and chickens in terms of global warming.
#2 - Meat is poison
I agree that the meat we eat now may be harmful to our bodies, but that is not much different as vegetables. Most or some livestock are injected with hormones or chemicals to make them grow faster or bigger. And it's these stuff that are added to them that make us sick after eating them long term. However, the animals are not the only ones that are enhanced, the plants are being treated the same way too. Most plants have been treated with pesticides and fertilizers that contains a lot of chemicals that we do not even know if they are harmful to the human body. So, what makes vegetarians think that they are not consuming as much chemicals as their fellow omnivorous or carnivorous humans? Other than chemicals, the world we live in have evolved into one where you might not even know if your chicken or celery has been genetically tweaked. Therefore, I suggest that the world does not have to become vegetarians to purify our bodies but instead go organic. Organic food do not contain chemicals so they should be safer to eat. It's like going back to the past when our ancestors lived on vegetables and livestock that toxin-free.
#3 - Humans are not made to eat meat
Firstly, anatomically speaking, the human body is made to eat both meat and vegetables. Starting from our teeth, we have the
incisors for shearing or cutting food during chewing, then we have the
canines for tearing of food and finally the
premolars and
molars for tearing of food during chewing and grinding of food respectively. Most animals that do not eat meat do not have canines, so can I assume that the canines are essential for tearing of meat? Other than that, the enzymes or chemicals that our body produces to digest food may show that we are prepared to eat both meat and vegetables. Even in the market now, they sell products like omega 3/6 and vitamin D in the form of cod liver oil etc. Historically speaking, our human ancestors for thousands of years, have lived eating plants and hunting animals. If the human body is not meant to eat meat, does it mean that our ancestors only eat plants at the beginning? If so, how did they finally managed to swallow meat (uncooked) that is "excluded" from the brain's index of edible food and continue to eat it for the next thousands of years till now? Hence, the human is prepared to eat meat since the beginning and will definitely stay this way for the next thousands of years. Diets may change but we must also know that evolution is a painfully long process. If all humans really turn vegetarian one day, homo sapiens might be the first species to convert its classification in the food chain.
A new word I have learned while writing this essay, polyphagy. If an animal is polyphagous, it has the ability to eat a variety of food. I have also learned that the teeth of animals are adapted to help them eat better. Example, bigger molars for the herbivores to chew on tough vegetation and longer canines to help carnivores tear muscles off preys.
I just wrote this because I am bored and felt strongly against some things I encounter over a period of time. Nothing personal.
i am who i am
10/28/2009 02:50:00 AM
After some thoughts and without much discussion, I decided what to do..
I called the person up and told her that I would like to join as a Senior Officer..
I figured that it was not a bad move.. At least it's better than not moving..
I think I should give it a try..
You'll never know what it's like until you try.. So I did..
Now, there's another problem.. My parents..
They never thought I would become part of SCDF..
I don't have the slightest idea what they think I would become..
First, they didn't like the idea of me becoming a nurse to wipe other people's backsides..
Then, my father couldn't sleep well when I told him I was going to be interviewed for senior officer..
Now, after knowing that they have selected me and I am thinking, I keep feeling that he is trying to psycho me out of it in a less obvious manner..
I am confused here! If they or rather my father, worry so much, why don't he just force me down a path he wants me to.. Instead of letting me choose first, then criticizing my choices..
Now I don't even know how to break the news of my decision to him..
The way he talks to me about it is torturing me like mad.. Like how you have finally made up your mind and there's this voice from somewhere that keeps asking," Are you sure you want this?"..
I think they just worry too much.. Maybe it's good that I have protective parents?
But worrying that a baby will fall and hurt herself after weeks of worrying that she still haven't learn to walk is seriously worrying too much!
That's it! Don't worry too much! I will this as a learning experience! I am still young anyway!
i am who i am
10/28/2009 12:46:00 AM
I am really stuck right now..
I have finally received a reply on my job application..
Went for a first interview, passed it, went for a panel interview..
I passed everything.. to my surprise actually..
I have been selected for the job.. Went for a realistic job preview..
The person said that the appointment is 99% confirm..
1% depending on the health checkup and my decision..
So the BIG question is here,"What is my decision?"
Well.. I don't know.. I don't know what's stopping me..
Is it the tough training? Is it the bond? Is is my freedom?
I don't even know if it is really, really what I want to do for life..
Should I try? If I do, it'll be 2 years and 8 months straight at least..
i am who i am
10/26/2009 02:58:00 PM
You know how last month was filled with getais, auctions and paying respects to our ancestors..
And guess what? This month is full of people marrying each other and starting a new life..
I remembered reading on the newspaper about people in China becoming broke because they received too many red bombs (wedding invitation)..
Then there was a frenzy of people sharing the DH-VJC video on Facebook for a week..
I was also invited to attend my cousin's wedding..
And just a few moments before this, I saw photos of my Sec Sch friend at her solemnization ceremony..
Sigh.. Envy, envy, envy! (x100)
Haha.. And I saw a precious moment figurine in one of her photo..
It's of Princess Ariel and Prince Leon from Little Mermaid (Ariel is my friend's name)..
And this reminded me that I would be receiving a Cinderella and Prince Charming figurine from somebody for my wedding.. Was it Marlin who said that? I cannot remember that clearly.. Lol..
Sigh.. But when will I meet my Prince Charming? I hope soon... >_<
I wonder which will come first.. Me meeting my Prince Charming or me going to Disneyland to meet Cinderella's Prince Charming?
I hope it's the former, so that I can go Disneyland with him..
And we can go take picture with Cinderella and Prince Charming.. =)
......
Just realized I have been dreaming too much.. Que sera, sera..
i am who i am
10/11/2009 01:46:00 AM
Have you ever woke up from your dreams because the air is too smelly? I did.
And the first thing you see in close range when you open your eyes is shit? I did.
And worse, the first thing I did in the morning is picking dog shit not peeing in the toilet..
Bad start for the day? I am not sure about that..
Things turn out rather good later today..
I received a phone call to arrange for a first interview next week!
Yes, finally an interview after
N months..
Hope I get to proceed further with the interview..
i am who i am
10/02/2009 07:27:00 PM
