Riezz: What is it that you see, Astra? Serenity? Shining Hope? It's rather amazing that you can maintain such interest in the celestial world.
Astra: I see what you see in it, Riezz - A world of glittering white stardust. To some, perhaps, they may even be called pixels, but I'd rather not give them such cruel treatment. It is rather condescending to call them creations of humankind, after all.
Riezz: What then, makes you different from I, who but glances at the stars every night?
Astra: Have you ever seen the stars change?
Riezz: Yes. They are different from place to place.
Astra: That's what makes us different. The stars are always there to look down upon us. Whether we see it is another matter.
Riezz: So whoever seeks them finds them?
Astra: Not quite. Since the dawn of civilization, people have relied upon the celestial world to lead them to their next destination. Was it not the stars that led three wise men on a journey that gave birth to the era of Anno Domini? The stars have always led people onto the next path. To humans of ages past, stars have been a source of hope and of destiny.
Riezz: Then what of this land, with its starless sky?
Astra: The stars have always been there to look down upon us. What do you see upon this land?
Riezz: A glistering city under a soulless night with a silent moon.
Astra: Where are the stars that have been everbright?
Riezz: ...not here?
Astra: That's where you're wrong. They have been there since the dawn of man, and will continue as so. Radiance has always been relative to others. Would a candlelight be prominent in a ballroom of chandeliers? Rather, it is the realm of creeping darkness that lets the lonely flame shine ablaze. We have taken the stars from the skies, Riezz, and scattered them across the land. Don't you think so? We have created hope for ourselves after so long. Look at the sky. what do you see?
Riezz: Clouds amongst the starless black sky?
Astra: They are the mirrors of nature. When the sky is sad and overcast, the clouds are grey. When the sky is an eternal azure, the clouds are white and far-reaching. And look at them now. they glow faintly with the light of the earth. Our light. They have never done as such for the stars, nor the moon.
Riezz: But what if the clouds go dark again? What if they disappear into the starless sky? What if the lights of the earth are gone?
Astra: They simply return to the sky. And they watch over us again, like they have always done.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, that time again. For this year, it's grander for me because it's more than just CNY. My grandfather's 80th birthday is today (the 19th), making it that more of my extended family is present for the occasion, meaning those from Australia came along as well (Except for Mel because she has school and didn't apply for leave. Oh well, her loss in terms of angpaos.)
In a way, it really does make you feel alot older. Seeing cousins from Australia being so different in size (And not in personality) over a 3-year period... well, let's say it's like meeting a long-lost friend to a lesser extent, since the earliest I remember Matt and Mel was from 1997, and possibly earlier. Of course, everything's changed from then, and I've stopped pulling little girls' hair. Irregardless, it's... nostalgic seeing a friend whom you last met in secondary school now at university. I wonder what Mel would be like come Christmas, haha.
Beyond that, looking at all the relatives gathered together being more than usual reminds you that your grandfather's 80 this year, and soon it'll be your grandmother's turn (Well, in most cases in S'pore anyway, given how the age of people entering university is different for S'porean males and females. But they're older than that, so this is a moot point. Meh >_>), and next will be your father, and your mother, and onwards. Keeping in mind lessons from Geography about the aging population of Singapore, it just makes it feel more real.
But, I think the most important thing, is to look your age in the face, and throw it off to the side immediately. Who cares about your age? My parents and relatives don't view their being together for grandfather's 80th birthday (can you call it an anniversary? XD) and Chinese New Year as an opportunity to reflect on themselves, they view it as a rare chance to freaking sing karaoke for 7 hours straight from 7 o'clock until freaking 2.30 am, damnit. Just have fun while you're there. I suppose I'm blessed because I have one brother, one brother-in-law, one sister and one cousin (Just enough to have mahjong with an audience) but to those who don't, why not try and join in? If not for mahjong and poker I'd probably find myself singing along with the older folk to 燃烧吧火鸟 and 热情的沙漠, and perhaps for some of you you could just sit back and watch people play mahjong and learn; who knows? Maybe by Wei Hua's birthday party you can take everyone on and win alot.
Ignoring the need for an actual conclusion, I shall just leave it at this. Getting home at 1.30am on Sunday and 3.30am the next day due to immense karaoke sessions on part of your parents takes its toll on your mind and is really tiring.
In a way, it really does make you feel alot older. Seeing cousins from Australia being so different in size (And not in personality) over a 3-year period... well, let's say it's like meeting a long-lost friend to a lesser extent, since the earliest I remember Matt and Mel was from 1997, and possibly earlier. Of course, everything's changed from then, and I've stopped pulling little girls' hair. Irregardless, it's... nostalgic seeing a friend whom you last met in secondary school now at university. I wonder what Mel would be like come Christmas, haha.
Beyond that, looking at all the relatives gathered together being more than usual reminds you that your grandfather's 80 this year, and soon it'll be your grandmother's turn (Well, in most cases in S'pore anyway, given how the age of people entering university is different for S'porean males and females. But they're older than that, so this is a moot point. Meh >_>), and next will be your father, and your mother, and onwards. Keeping in mind lessons from Geography about the aging population of Singapore, it just makes it feel more real.
But, I think the most important thing, is to look your age in the face, and throw it off to the side immediately. Who cares about your age? My parents and relatives don't view their being together for grandfather's 80th birthday (can you call it an anniversary? XD) and Chinese New Year as an opportunity to reflect on themselves, they view it as a rare chance to freaking sing karaoke for 7 hours straight from 7 o'clock until freaking 2.30 am, damnit. Just have fun while you're there. I suppose I'm blessed because I have one brother, one brother-in-law, one sister and one cousin (Just enough to have mahjong with an audience) but to those who don't, why not try and join in? If not for mahjong and poker I'd probably find myself singing along with the older folk to 燃烧吧火鸟 and 热情的沙漠, and perhaps for some of you you could just sit back and watch people play mahjong and learn; who knows? Maybe by Wei Hua's birthday party you can take everyone on and win alot.
Ignoring the need for an actual conclusion, I shall just leave it at this. Getting home at 1.30am on Sunday and 3.30am the next day due to immense karaoke sessions on part of your parents takes its toll on your mind and is really tiring.
Monday, February 12, 2007
英华新年
贺新年 祝新年
DBQ, 那么闲
过新年还需要做测验
贺新年 祝新年
GOH, 还要练
新年不如平常星期天
虽然直到初三不用上学
今天需要复习到日夜
贺新年 祝新年
希望功课会很浅
也愿大家都过个太平年...
------------------------------
Happy Chinese New Year to all, irregardless of the issues. =)
Saturday, February 10, 2007
君との明日
君との明日
歌： タイナカサチ
作曲： タイナカ サチ
偶然じゃない 二人出会えたのは
ずっと前から決まってた運命
目を閉じるたび 空を見上げるたびに
幻のようなあの日々が蘇る
道は進むたびに遠くなる
だけど歩くよ このまま
一つも残さず忘れたくないよ
優しい言葉も愛した瞳も
信じていいよね？もう一度会えると
涙はそれまで流さないから
偶然じゃない 二人出会えたのは
ずっと前から変わらない運命
心から君ともう一度笑い会いたい
決して叶わぬ夢でも
私には見える君との明日が
君にも分かるよ いつだってそう
必ず守るよ 約束したから
悲しいときには側にいたいよ
偶然じゃない 二人出逢えたのは
ずっと前から夢見てた運命
-----------------------------------------------------
歌： タイナカサチ
作曲： タイナカ サチ
偶然じゃない 二人出会えたのは
ずっと前から決まってた運命
目を閉じるたび 空を見上げるたびに
幻のようなあの日々が蘇る
道は進むたびに遠くなる
だけど歩くよ このまま
一つも残さず忘れたくないよ
優しい言葉も愛した瞳も
信じていいよね？もう一度会えると
涙はそれまで流さないから
偶然じゃない 二人出会えたのは
ずっと前から変わらない運命
心から君ともう一度笑い会いたい
決して叶わぬ夢でも
私には見える君との明日が
君にも分かるよ いつだってそう
必ず守るよ 約束したから
悲しいときには側にいたいよ
偶然じゃない 二人出逢えたのは
ずっと前から夢見てた運命
-----------------------------------------------------
It wasn’t a coincidence that the both of us met
It was a destiny decided long ago
Every time I close my eyes, every time I look up at the sky
Those days which are like an illusion become alive again
The more I move forward on that path, the more distant it appears
Yet, I will keep on walking like this
I don’t want to forget you without leaving even a single thing behind
Your gentle words, your eyes which I loved
You will believe me, right? That we will meet again
I want your tears to end, I don’t want them to keep flowing
It wasn’t a coincidence that the both of us met
It was an unchanging destiny since long ago
I want to laugh with you once again from the bottom of my heart
Even if it’s a dream that will never come true
I can see my tomorrow with you
I’m sure you know it too, just like you always have
I will protect you without fail because I have promised to
During times of sadness, I want to stay by your side
It wasn’t a coincidence that the both of us met
It was a destiny we dreamt of long ago
And this is why, Mel, you write song reviews knowing the context of the song.
Monday, February 05, 2007
The Salt of the Earth
In the past, there was a simple farm. Meat was preserved by salt, and vegetables grew in the fields. Harvests were generally good, not really a cut above the best, but it was up there, and that was good enough.
People who worked at the farm helped out with the harvest, grow and farm crops, rear animals, and later on preserve their meat. When they were tired at work, they lay at the shelter where meat is preserved. Specks of salt lay spread around on the ground due to a more generous way of preserving meat on the part of the workers, but who cares about such things when you're lying on the ground taking a rest after a good break? The boss never complained, jokingly saying that it would preserve the earth's fertility, though after a while people took his word and started to sprinkle slightly more salt on the ground, hoping for good harvests. After a while, though, the salt gets absorbed into the ground, seemingly disappearing from the surface. Yet people knew that it was a good sign, for the salt has gone deeper down to preserve the fertility and general wellbeing of the land.
When lunch and dinnertime come, however, they ate the vegetables and salted meat. Much like the ground, the meat absorbs the salt after a while, and though it looks perfectly normal on the outside, its flavour has been enhanced and its durability has been lengthened. At night, they return via a simple grassy path to their home, and get back to the farm the next morning for work. All was fine. They worked their share, they ate a balance of delicacies and staple food (Vegetables were viewed more as a cheaper alternative to fill one's stomach that was sadly lacking somewhat in flavour compared to meat.) and they went home to rest.
But with any perfect cycle of repetition, eventually mutations occur in the cycle itself, leading to a slight, but consistent change. The people began to grow complacent in their work, and after a while certain folk took to thinking that a slight addition of salt on the ground would make up for inferior care given to the crops. The boss, in an angry fit of rage, decided to 'weed out' people who weren't serious about the job by growing harsh undergrowth on the grassy path. Soon, people got cuts from walking along the path, and from their complaints received the reply that this was a measure to weed out people who did not take their job seriously.
Unfortunately, those who worked hard had to walk along this path anyway, and they found themselves working on the crops with scratches on their arms and cuts on their legs. And no longer could they rest - they could not lie down at the shelter; for the salt that used to preserve the fertility of the earth now preserved the pain that they had received.
---------------------------------------
Certain folk will recall that I had intended to write on something else, but another matter caught my attention and distracted me from writing that conversation at large. As such it still remains as a draft, and will likely stay that way.
I found it too difficult to name a person who was nameless, so I decided not to use conversations for this, for those wondering about the change in style.
People who worked at the farm helped out with the harvest, grow and farm crops, rear animals, and later on preserve their meat. When they were tired at work, they lay at the shelter where meat is preserved. Specks of salt lay spread around on the ground due to a more generous way of preserving meat on the part of the workers, but who cares about such things when you're lying on the ground taking a rest after a good break? The boss never complained, jokingly saying that it would preserve the earth's fertility, though after a while people took his word and started to sprinkle slightly more salt on the ground, hoping for good harvests. After a while, though, the salt gets absorbed into the ground, seemingly disappearing from the surface. Yet people knew that it was a good sign, for the salt has gone deeper down to preserve the fertility and general wellbeing of the land.
When lunch and dinnertime come, however, they ate the vegetables and salted meat. Much like the ground, the meat absorbs the salt after a while, and though it looks perfectly normal on the outside, its flavour has been enhanced and its durability has been lengthened. At night, they return via a simple grassy path to their home, and get back to the farm the next morning for work. All was fine. They worked their share, they ate a balance of delicacies and staple food (Vegetables were viewed more as a cheaper alternative to fill one's stomach that was sadly lacking somewhat in flavour compared to meat.) and they went home to rest.
But with any perfect cycle of repetition, eventually mutations occur in the cycle itself, leading to a slight, but consistent change. The people began to grow complacent in their work, and after a while certain folk took to thinking that a slight addition of salt on the ground would make up for inferior care given to the crops. The boss, in an angry fit of rage, decided to 'weed out' people who weren't serious about the job by growing harsh undergrowth on the grassy path. Soon, people got cuts from walking along the path, and from their complaints received the reply that this was a measure to weed out people who did not take their job seriously.
Unfortunately, those who worked hard had to walk along this path anyway, and they found themselves working on the crops with scratches on their arms and cuts on their legs. And no longer could they rest - they could not lie down at the shelter; for the salt that used to preserve the fertility of the earth now preserved the pain that they had received.
---------------------------------------
Certain folk will recall that I had intended to write on something else, but another matter caught my attention and distracted me from writing that conversation at large. As such it still remains as a draft, and will likely stay that way.
I found it too difficult to name a person who was nameless, so I decided not to use conversations for this, for those wondering about the change in style.
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