Category: Off Beaten Track Page 21 of 44

Was at the farewell party for a German intern student recently. He had been attached to our lab for close to 6 months and this was his first trip to South East Asia. During the gathering, he mentioned a number of amusing and somewhat memorable incidents of his brief stay in Singapore.

Perhaps because I am already very Singapor-ised, or simply because I am familiar with a number of Chinese dialects, I must admit such incidents rarely happen to me, even from my first days in Singapore. Well, here is one which clearly stuck in my head.

Read More

Bob Carr, the premiere of the State of New South Wales in Australia for many years, has recently resigned his post. He spent his last afternoon as Premier teaching teenagers the art of speechwriting, the importance of joining a political party and the downbeat truth that life is never perfect.

Some things he said really struck a chord with me.

Never be afraid of pitfalls: “Make as many mistakes as possible – make a fool of yourself, and out of that, make something of yourself.” Furthermore, avoid striving too hard for excellence: “Life’s a reversal – a rough cut. Nothing’s ever perfect. If it is comfortable enough, that’s probably as good as it’s ever going to be.”

Have been watching a relatively new mythical martial-arts TV series from China, with casts from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, called Sian Jian Qi Xia Zhuan (仙劍奇俠傳). This is a period fantasy derived from a popular RPG game from Taiwan.

Read More

Breast cancer is not something to take lightly. I just read about this true story which happened to a friend of a friend. If you care about your own health or the ones you love, you can follow the link for some instructions for self-checking. Take care.