Saturday, June 24, 2006
i woke up in the wee hours of the morning to root for Korean for their crucial match. but nope they didn't win. i was really sad and believe it or not i actually teared. i mean, i've cried for sad movies and other stuff but for a football match, this had to be a first.
i'm definitely gonna hunt down the poster of the team.
now some may wonder why i bother supporting them since they're not hot favourites. but it was the match i watched 4 years ago which ignited real interest towards soccer in me. and subsequently i went on to become a Man U fan etc. and now i know quite a few names on the team.
some things i noted today. mistakes become glaringly obvious when things go wrong. so long as you win, you tend to overlook the blunders. but when you lose, those flaws are there screaming at you.
and i think it's real tragic and heroic to be a sportsman. we think of those who stand there in the limelight wearing the medal or holding the trophy. but what of all those unfulfilled dreams, un-started careers and unfinished business? and of those races against time and health, willing your body to keep in that form for just a few more years. and world cup being just once every 4 years, knowing that you'll never play again coz you're just too OLD. or breaking your bones repeatedly such that you're stuck being a benchwarmer.
it's all really painful. but it's precisely that that endears them to us.
Friday, June 23, 2006
my toufu just went back today on the afternoon flight. i'm sad. i'm lonely again. but it's been 2 glorious weeks of fun and soon i'll be back. but that means leaving my dad here which doesn't make me feel any better.
so i've started packing. it's astounding how much stuff one can collect in just 4 months. i certainly have got loads. especially vcds and dvds which i seriously wonder how i'll be taking them back seeing that they take up so much space. not to mention clothes. in the past few weeks, there hasn't been a week that went by without seeing me buy at least 2 or 3 pieces of clothing. it's even a chore to update about what i bought. everything from cheongsam tops to gypsy skirts.
i didn't have class today. the teacher messaged last night saying that she was honoured and fortunate to teach our class and she left her contact for us to keep in touch with her.
usually, i'd be glad to miss class, but next week's study week and most of the lessons will be stopped. and after that it'll be the exams. already fewer students are showing up for class. now there's even less cause to meet up. and everyone's moving on to pursue different goals. it may be another 4 years before i come back to Shanghai.
with China in the midst of such a massive and unprecedented change, just taking a short step away can make such a difference. i just know that when i next return, it'll be a different Shanghai. certainly not the one whom i've gotten accquainted with.
just today, i stepped out of the appartment block and saw the most spectacular site. there's construction works going on opposite my place and currently they're tearing down the old blocks to build new high-rise buildings. what i saw was 3 floors of concrete collapse in one loud BOOM! i don't know how to collapse buildings. maybe they ake it down a wall partition at a time or maybe TNT is sufficient. but nothing prepared me to witness that.
Shanghai really is an amazing place. old dwellings nestled in a mass of skyscrapers. bright 'old-style' neon lights and new powerful beams. and sure, the air now is so polluted you'd consider installing catalytic converters in your nose. but on most days i still find it's charm very appealing. did i mention that they've got Mr. Donut? i ate 2 today.
now to scrubbing my filthy shoes. and then it's time to be out there again. and i'll be home for the soccer match. it's Korea vs Switzerland tonight. GO KOREA!
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
eeeerrrrraaaaaaaaggGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEErrrraagaggggghhhhHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Monday, June 19, 2006
there's just 3 weeks exactly and then it's back to Singapore. how quick is that?
suddenly there are all those things which we kept discussing that we'd do and we haven't. like drinking Korean wine and checking out the clubbing scene, learning how to sing at least 1 Korean song and travelling to Qibao Town.
and not to mention the inner turmoil(to put more realistically, it's a dilemma). i'm still weighing the odds and deciding the mode of communication. like paper? or notecards? or none?
the thing is given a longer period of time i'd say that i'll make really lasting friends with lots of these people. like dong-eun and jeong-eun, rika, sara, shin-ho, so hee, ayako, johap. you don't realise how troublesome it is when some people aren't your classmates. it isn't like saying,"oh after JC, we're all going on to approximately the same university, and we're all gonna see each other."
this is distinctly different. everyone's lives are so different. some are exchange students, some are just taking a break from university studies, some are taking a break from work and some are wives.
it's a whole different kind of reality.
another thing to note. 3 and a half months in SH and i'm convinced i'm still a dependent factor. sure, i know that i can find my way about some parts of SH. but i guess having never had work experience except for the short attachment in sec 3, i feel largely dependent on others. i detest this sort of feeling. i want to be self-sufficient, and yet that contradicts the want to feel a sense of security provided by another.
off now. gonna cut the cake for daddy's birthday tomorrow. may there be numberous number of happy birthdays to come.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
korea's playing tonight. or should i say 3am in the morning. am contemplating whether i should stay up.
the heavy cuisine combined with the lack of sleep and the really awful weather is making me feel sort of sickly and depriving myself of those few hours is not a good thing.
i went for mass today and i've never felt so warm in the church before. it's a stone building it's supposed to be cool. but no. and i'm getting some gastric problems which is worrying me.
the temperature is rising above that in singapore. 35 degrees. oh gee.
off now.
