the little guy

ppl who read my blog last sem would probably hav read about Kai and one or two CHAI kids... so today a new little guy entered my life... and totally swept me away =P it was the first time working alone (for the most part) with little N (for client confidentiality we aren't really allowed to disclose names) and he's so affectionate it makes me want to melt... little N was shy initially but after a slightly painful game (for me!!!) of pulling and releasing the rubber band on my wrist he kinda decided... ok this person doesn't seem that scary after all... and should be reliable and can cosy up to her... and so from time to time after playing for a lil bit he will just come up to me and just like totally fall into my arms... CONTRARY to what many ppl have been telling me (those who joke accuse me of being a paedophile; others say i have maternal instincts) I think it's just a very natural human instinct to want to reciprocate such a pure/innocent desire to want to feel loved (on the part of the kid) with affection.
well sad to say this, but i think him being so cute intensifies this instinct.... (i dunno who told me this, unfortunate as it may sound, apparently studies have shown that babies do have higher tendency to cry or something when they see an uglier face) but even though we are somewhat predisposed to liking ppl who look better, it is so so impt to always bear in mind that it's getting to know a person's character that really counts... that behind each and every ugly or pretty face it's a person with feelings.... makes me think about pets too; and an old SPCA poster that used to to hang on my side of the bedroom wall- it pictured an extremely cute terrier, with a caption which went something like... To you he's just a pet, but to him you're the world.... i just hope for the sake of all these living creatures that their owners are aware of the fact that they are dealing with precious lives here, not just thingies they can just discard and cast aside when they are bored with them.... alright sorry for sounding so preachy but i mean these are really important things in life what. hmm. and i have digressed quite a bit from original topic. =P

tickled by other ppl's V-day blues

now that it's drawing closer to Valentine's Day, are individuals panicking about what to give that special someone?? (i do acknowledge that V-Day is not just about romance but it still is dominantly portrayed and perceived that way right) and it also appears that this fretting seems to be a lot more severe among the male population? well perhaps i'm wrong but just an hour ago i was consulted by a panicky guy friend who didn't know what to do for his gf on V-day... wanted to be original and sincere but then so lazy some more.... tsk tsk. my deepest sympathies goes out to all those guys wishing to please their girlfriends.... if V-day is for lovers, why is it so heavily biased against the poor guys...(however in Japan guys get chocs from women on V-day! though they have to like return the favor a month later on White Day) like to a large extent, guys are still somewhat expected to take the initiative... foot dinner bills etc? no? perhaps i'm guilty of thinking this way too but suddenly i'm just like... why should this be the case? sometimes i find myself holding some expectations of things, yet I never really thought critically about where these expectations came from and whether they are still relevant... sometimes certain (dated) social norms are so hard-wired into our brains that we dun even think about whether they actually make sense or not.

oh well... anwyay, in some ways, i'm somewhat happy to be out of the game... and to be able to laugh and poke fun at ppl like *ahem* =P

it's very interesting to take small classes such as thesis classes where you get to read other ppl's work and talk about them.... and some pretty amusing (but perhaps not that surprising) things i observed today-- that ppl seem pretty good at pointing out ways forward/ things to look up for their peers, but can sometimes be more directionless when it comes to their own... sometimes it's really a case of pang2 guan1 zhe3 qing1. and even when other ppl point out flaws/weaknesses; some individuals can unabashedly declare 'i dunno'... without displaying slightest sign of embarrassment... i mean I'm totally capable of breaking down or something! oh well. i'm talking about Americans here. but not bad lah; i mean at least i dun feel that inferior... though i can never match up to their eloquence... but at least i feel like ppl dun seem to be able to write as well as they can argue.... =P on the other hand, i have to say though ppl have pretty good ideas and suggestions, so it's definitely a very good way to learn =) still stressed though about my own research...
on a VERY random and boliao note, the new batch of Meiji Yan Yan snacks have messages on them... but they are prob the most inconsistent messages i've ever seen! eg. i mean the Meiji Animal crackers have animals that come with respective labels; so do the vehicle crackers (ok i think you get the point) but these Yan Yan ones are just so random. so for Frog.... it says amphibian; Seal? Loves to sun tan.... Fox: Beware of Lies; Chick? lucky color is yellow...... i'm like ???!! (if i'm a kid who loves Yan Yan my world would be pretty warped if i'm constantly fed (no pun intended) these messages...)

i was sorely mistaken when i assumed that my parents were 'immune' to my travelling whims... but perhaps volunteering alone in a foreign country was different. (so they argue...) but to minimize shock, i proposed a nearby country-- Thailand. (but apparently it's prone to bird flu and recently two girls just went missing there or something; goodness knows what other even more valid reasons would have come up had i expressed even a slight intent to go to Africa....) so the initial joy from having gotten permission from HDB to not return immediately for work has turned into disappointment... well i know parents mean well but i just feel so held back that i can't help saying nasty things about incident... =( maybe i should be a 'good' girl for once huh.

How many sunsets ( here) left?

the evening skies here have been pretty amazing the past few days. this picture was randomly taken while walking down Hearst Ave... yet none of my pictures does justice to these beautiful sunsets... it's just somewhat soothing to be walking alone, while 'in the company' of skies beautifully suffused with deep yellows, pink and blue.

with submissions from other thesis class students coming in, semester is starting to get busy... attempted to read a classmate's draft this afternoon... and it certainly isn't easy trying to get into the inner workings of a "fellow muddled brain" =P but makes me feel like i'm not alone... sigh. perhaps when my draft is due two fridays from now, i'll have fellow classmates thinking the same thing about me. wonder if the other drafts are a lot more organized than the very first one i read though. i guess i'll find out over the next couple of days...
and i feel like i'm kinda settling in nicely into my semester... even though it sucks to have to get up at 8am every single day, sometimes enjoyable Jap classes really make the one/two hours loss of sleep daily worthwhile... and i'm also starting to believe strongly that no matter how busy i get, certain activities remain essential... filling in the small pockets of free time with meaningful activities like trying to prevent fat accummulation and volunteering really do 'soak up' time previously spent thinking negative or random thoughts... just hope i can keep up with this for rest of sem... =)