Black Eyed Peas!!!

Oh yeah, so yesterday was the Black Eyed Peas concert at the Indoor Stadium. It was GOOD. Well, it took a little adjustment to get to the point of good, but we had loads of fun.

I went with the GIC people to the concert. Had dinner with Kenneth, Desmond and Elaine. We then took a cab to the Indoor Stadium. It was a sold out concert, with a crowd of 6,000. We waited for the others to pass them the tickets. We bought fairly cheap tickets, $59 ones. It gave us balcony seats on the left side of the stage.

It was a "sit-down" concert, meaning that there was no space on the floor to actually stand and dance like you would at a typical rock concert. Then again, Singapore always keeps things down anyway. We all commented on how stupid it would be to be sitting down and waving our hands at a concert like that. The phrase of the night was, "This is Singapore, what do you expect?" Anyway, there was the 1st "beebop" championships held before the concert really started and pitted two youngsters against each other. They were pretty good, I must say, for their age of 15 and 18.

We then had Daniel Ong from 98.7 FM, welcome the Black Eyed Peas on stage. And that's when the problem started. They didn't appear. The audience was going crazy, screaming and shouting but no Black Eyed Peas. The people grew impatient after a while, although they were screaming everytime something looked as if the Peas were coming on stage. During the wait, the people sitting at the most expensive seats, at the ground level of the Indoor Stadium, were moving forward towards the stage, expecting to be able to dance and get close. They were turned away by the ushers and asked to get back to their seats. There were definitely booing at this. People paid good money to be getting close to the performers and they want to dance. This scene repeated itself in various parts of the stadium. On the balconies, we got off our chairs and stood at the railings to dance and party to the music. But after a while, the ushers asked us to get back to our seats too, on the pretext that we would fall off the balcony. One of the ushers was actually my friend from BMT, Abel Li. We exchanged numbers on the spot, while I moved back to my seat.

It took around 25 minutes before the Peas came out. They were no less warmly welcomed by the crowd. The concert then went pretty smoothly. The songs were good, and it was really fun seeing a live concert. We got out of our balcony seats and went downstairs to get some standing space and to really rock it out. The atmosphere would have been really horrible if I had to sit in my seat for the entirety of the concert. This is not a classical concert, where people should definitely sit still to enjoy the music. This is a HIP HOP concert. Man, if the organizers were really smart, there should have the entire floor as a dance floor and sold tickets at a much higher price. There was a lot of comments about that when we left the concert.

The Peas played the usual songs, like Filipino, My Style, Pump it, etc. At Where is The Love, they asked us to take out our cellphones, and dimmed the lights in the Stadium. It was really nice just having the cellphone lights on waving to the music. It was dedicated to the victims of the tsunami, the Hurricane Katrina and other things like world peace. It was a very touching moment. They ended the night with "Let's Get Started." I still really hate the fact that it's "Let's Get Started" instead of the actual "Let's Get Retarded." This place is just too damn PC for me.

Overall, it was an amazing concert. I really liked it and enjoyed the songs. The Peas are good singers and performers. There were also a lot of expatriates there, a much higher than usual number that you'll see. You can see the difference in taste of music between the Singaporeans and expats. I'm waiting for the next great group to come to Singapore. Hopefully, it'll be even better!

The iPod Nano

Wow man! The Nano looks so HOT! It's like so much smaller than the mini, so thin and sleek. Looks really amazing. I love Apple stuff. I mean the design, not the system. The thought that has gone into the design is so sweet, and thoughtful.

Although, they are discontinuing the iPod Mini. I really liked it too. I have one and it's served me really well. Hmmm.

Leaving on a jet plane

So I sent Steph off today. It was kinda sad. I'll miss her terribly, after the good times we had together. We hung out at the airport for a while, having lunch at Swensons. We sat around and talked as usual. She also bought a bottle of cologne for me.

Not sure when I met get to see her again, earliest in 2-3 years. But it's a "See you later", not "Goodbye". Same thing as when I left the States for home. It's never Goodbye.

For now, time to move on with life and enjoy what it has to offer!

Bloggers charged with making racist remarks in Singapore

Wow, so the online cyberspace is being controlled as part of media space too. It's really kinda scary that Singapore cracked down on the blogs and used the sedition act on the parties involved.

Two bloggers charged under Sedition Act over racist remarks, Channelnewsasia
Net closes in on blogs of hate, MediaCorp Press
Two Singapore men charged with seditious remarks aimed at Malay community, The China Post
2 bloggers charged with making racist remarks in Singapore, People's Daily Online


In some way, this is not surprising, since this is a country where free speech is not necessarily free, the government places very huge emphasis on multi-cultural harmony and will do nearly everything in its power to crack down on any that disturbs the peace.

But in many ways, I wonder how this government control is being effective. On the surface, everything looks to be fine. People from different cultures are courteous to one another, etc. But below the surface, it's not all fine. I wrote this in my earlier posts, during my time in the US, Singaporeans are among the most racist people I know. Worse than Chinese, Japanese and sometimes even Koreans and the Americans. If you think that the white American persecute the Black people, Singaporeans or most Asians will not even look in their direction. Why? Why is there this underlying racism that rivals that of well known racist countries?

My belief, and this is just my belief, that the heavy control that the government places have a hand to play in this. This is not to lay all the responsibilities on them. Other reasons are already there, like being a small, successful country in which success got into its head and the difference in the performance of different racial groups. But when you have all these reasons, the solution is not to create a network of control that prevents people from making racist comments, punishing those who cross the line. Such a stance will only serve to bury the innate racism even further into the psyche of Singaporeans. People make racist jokes as small outburst of racism without a thought, but this is merely a little steam from an blocked up active volcano. All the outlets are blocked and the buildup pressure will eventually lead to a huge explosion like that of Mount St. Helens.

I realised a lot of what the government does is merely symbolic, like bringing together the different races for celebrations and so on. It's a good step, but it's often just for show on the surface. Merely seeing things done on TV by the government does not mean that the population necessarily feels the same way. The "gahmen" will always be the "gahmen", different from the people. Another point is that when you show everything as saavy and groovy, (meaning that everything is going smoothly), people become complacent. People no longer address the underlying reasons or think about why they themselves might be racist. Few, if anyone, goes about their lives thinking about WHY they look at someone from another race differently. But many, if not all, think bad thoughts about another race.

Tell me, what are you thinking about when you see a bunch of poor Indians, Malays, Chinese or anyone different from you sitting and talking by the roadside? Whatever you're thinking, you aren't questioning why you are thinking that way. You just think your bad thoughts. That is racism in its core. You think of them being lazy, being wasteful, a disruption to the peace, and you attribute it to them being from a certain race. This way of thought is inherent because of people are naturally xenophobic. But it festers the soul, eats at the heart of human compassion. Will anyone ever think the other way, that instead of them being the "low class ones", that you yourself are putting yourself on a higher pedestal than you should be? Few people think about how lucky they are, especially when you are comparing yourself to someone from another race.

I do not claim to have solutions. If I actually DO have solutions to racism, I'll probably be somewhere close to having the divinity of God. But I believe that conflicts make people grow and understand better. Everything has been so smooth sailing in Singapore that few wonder about anything anymore. Like friendships, only when there are occasional conflicts, do people know where the other person stand and adjust themselves to meet these new dimensions that they have learnt about the person. Without conflicts, everyone is working only in their comfort zones and no one grows. Similarly with different races, slight, moderated conflicts bring about greater understanding. I don't mean the government understanding more about the issues, but a general understanding among the population. As long as the arms of the ruling leaders are, they are not the population. They do not always reflect the general sentiments of the people. So my belief is that small conflicts will actually further the cause of educating people and making people less racist.

I would love to live in a world where there is no racism. Where everyone views everyone the same way, that we are all humans, and not according to background, to skin color, or to the color of their eyes. I would love to be a person who is not racist at all, to see past the outsdie and into the human soul. I have a long long way to go, and so does the nation. Until then, maybe we can all make small efforts to look at the person living across your street, who is different from you, in a friendlier manner.

LIfe is fun and sweet!

Some of you will know that I've been spending lots of time with the GIC scholars. The friday that just passed, I had dinner with the Stanford people at Crystal Jade Kitchen at Plaza Singapore. It was nice to meet them again after some time. Most are working already, or heading into Officer Cadet School by the 19th of Sept. After dinner, they were going to watch "Be with Me", an Eric Khoo film.

Instead of joining them, I met up with the GIC people for Nicole's farewell. Nicole is one of the GIC scholars who was interning at GIC for her summer and met her at the beach trip with Seiwei. She's done with her internship and now heading back to Malaysia before going back to Imperial College for her 3rd year. The group of us went to Post Bar at the Fullerton Hotel for drinks. I know most of the people there from previous outings with them, except Elwin, whom I just meet. I know I look mature but it's kinda freaky that people always guess that I am older than them. Elwin thought I was older than he was, even though I am 2 years younger than he was. Hmmm. We then headed back to Nicole's apartment at Darby Place for more drinks (Whisky Coke) and chilling. After 2 hours, all of us left for home. I had to tutor kids early in the morning. Sigh.

Anyway, Saturday came along, too fast, and I had to get up for tutoring. The good thing was that I was going to be hanging out with Steph for the rest of the day, so I was excited. Tutoring ended with the the usual talking with the parents about the progress of their kids and reassuring them that I'm doing the best to maximise their potential. I met up with Steph at City Hall, to go to Funan to buy a backpack for her sister. I wasn't sure why Funan, coz it sells electronics more than anything else. We didn't find it, but we went to Sakae Sushi for a really fun and chill lunch. The conversations with Steph is just really easy, as we talk about everything. There's nothing we can't talk about, and I can't emphasize enough how great it is to have someone with you who understands you, is unassuming and just amazing company. I'm lucky to have found Steph to be that person for the past weeks.

After lunch, we headed to Raffles City to try to find her a watch. She's been wanting to find a watch for herself for a while, and haven't been able to find one that she really wanted. Shopping with girls are fun. They do most of the oggling and shopping while the guy stands there to be the commentator. She notices a lot of random stuff when we walk along, while I'm just looking at, "Where's the next watch shop?" Steph remarked about guys being the hunters, therefore having tunnel vision, while girls have lots of peripheral vision to multi-task and shop. =) The search was unsuccessful, although we did go into many cute shops that sell cute gifts, etc. We then headed back to Steph's place for her to change, as she was going to watch Quidam with the GIC people later that night. We took the bus to Bugis for dinner. Met up with Desmond, another of the GIC scholars. He's a really funny and amazing guy. Behind his half ditsy and half "beng" exterior, I know he has a brain way smarter than mine (not that it means anything), plus lots of street smarts. After dinner, they left for the show and I left for home to rest. I was going to meet up with them later for supper after the show.

I got home, chilled and took a nap. When I got up, it was 10.30pm. The house was dark and my parents were asleep. It feels like it was the dead of the night, although I knew that it was still early and that I was heading out for more fun and excitment with friends. My parents sleep really early, and it's kinda a bummer. I'm still not used to the sleeping early, coz I'm practically still on study hours, waking up late, sleeping late and hanging out till the wee hours of the morning. I met up with Seiwei, Steph, Desmond and Elaine at Arab Street for supper. We ate at an Indian stall which sold really HUGE murtabaks. For those who don't know what that is, it's like a huge quesadilla stuffed with meat. I had a mutton one and it was just so big I couldn't finish it, which is pretty rare for me.

After that huge supper, we headed back to Steph's place to watch episodes of Lost. Desmond didn't join us because he had to leave for Hong Kong the next day. So it was just Steph, Seiwei, Elaine and I. Lost was actually pretty good, and we watched 3 episodes in a row. Then it was 3 in the morning and Seiwei had to go to church at 9.00am. So Seiwei and Elaine left for home. Steph and I stayed up to watch another episode, before I crashed at her place. Coz we were both going to church at ARPC at 11.15am and it's fun taking a cab together anyway. And also that I didn't have to drag myself home at 4 in the freaking morning.

It was a good sleepfor a Sunday morning today, although a little short. We got up and caught a cab to church. I needed some milo to perk me up, although Steph was the one who was nodding off at church. =) The sermon was VERY good. It was forceful in the right way and the pastor did a very good job backing up his arguments. We were studying Revelations Chapter 4 and 5. The whole sermon revolved around the fact that God and Christ should be the center of our lives, because They were the ones with the plans for mankind. Without Them, it was pointless to be living in this world of despair, hurt and lawlessness. I'm not going to go into a religious sermon in my blog, but just that I was very impressed by the sermon.

Steph was supposed to go to Queensway to shop for her sister's bag again, and her friend backed out on her. So I volunteered to go with her. We had lunch at the Adam Road food center and took a cab to Queensway. Her sister specifically wanted the Deuter AirContact 55+10, in red or orange. It was tough to find and there wasn't the 55+10, only 50+10 and 60+10. So we ended up trying to find Steph a pair of cross-trainers, which also proved very elusive. Steph herself commented that she dreaded going shoe-shopping with herself. I remembered the last few times I did shoe-shopping with a girl, I nearly choked with boredom and frustration. =) So, after hitting a few shops, we stopped and headed to Ikea next door instead.

Now, that was a really cool Ikea trip. Steph and I were basically imagining what our dream house would be like and what we would like to design it in. At every exhibit, we would comment about what we liked about it, and how we would incorporate some of the designs. A few things we settled on:
1) Modern Western Design
2) Bedroom with walk-in closets, no pine wood, but rather Mahogony or Oak
3) No footboards on the bed
4) Sinks with at least 2 bowls
5) No hanging of glasses on plastic racks
6) No hanging of spatulas above the stoves, coz they get greasy
7) Lots and lots of knives
8) Island cooking counters for the kitchen, along with breakfast counters
9) No kid rooms, not unless absolutely necessary
10) Need to have an AV room with red, gray and cushy designs
11) Jacuzzi that has steps up but sunken into the raised area
12) More
Feel free to consult me if you need to design your house. I'll gladly do it! Maybe I should be a designer.

The whole Ikea trip was just really cool, coz one, Steph is great company, (How many times have I said that?) two, I got to stretch my imagination on what I really wanted my future house or apartment to look like, and three, it's just so sweet to be sharing with someone about something personal like house decorating.

Once the Ikea trip was over, we headed to Secret Recipes for some drinks and headed back to our respective homes by MRT. I still had to tutor tonight, although just for 2 hours. Payday again! Steph was really tired and it has been an exciting weekend. She needed to get some sleep or she would be a zombie for work on Monday.

She has another 8 days left in Singapore, before heading back to Malaysia and then to Cambridge for her 3rd year. This is going to be the last 8 days we have together for a long time. She most likely would not be back in Singapore next year, so it would be at least 2 years before we see each other again. I don't know what to feel about that. It's sad to have left Stanford and know that it will be long years before I can see many of my friends there again. That is still so fresh in my mind. Now, I am going to be saying the same to someone I met in Singapore. How would 2 years change us? Would we be able to click together as well as we do now? Life leaves so many questions for us to find the answers to. I guess the best we can do now is to enjoy the 8 days we have left and keep in touch through these 2 years. I feel that for people like us (scholars, or mobile people), change is so prevalent in our lives that it is nearly impossible to guess at what miight even happen. As much as I enjoy the change because it brings about difference and excitement in life, some parts of life, I would like to be a little more predictable. Friends around me, not leaving too abruptly, etc. Sigh.

Just to end on a good note, I am happy with the way things have turned out and I could not have asked for more on the facet of friends. I thank the Lord for all He has provided me.

Another Crazy week over!

Ahhh, I had a really crazy week. That's why I haven't been writing on my blog, coz I just have been running around, meeting people and having fun.

Wednesday was frisbee again. I played really hard, because I didn't think I'll be playing on Thursday due to tuition. And I went out to dinner with Clive, Huixing, Mike and Weiyang. We talked about Dota (yes, guys and Warcraft 3), girls, and how good we looked as above average Singaporean guys. Clive and Weiyang also asked me to try to join Muddy Grass for the Singapore Open because they were short a person. After dinner, I went off to meet Steph Tan for a movie. We didn't actually caught one, coz the midnight movies at Cineleisure were kinda crap. So, we went to have ice cream at the cafe downstairs. We talked about a lot things, family, friends, and our time in college. I then walked her back to where she stayed.

Thursday was more tuition for my JC student. It lasted 2 hours in the afternoon, after which, I dashed off to Riverside (Clarke Quay). I still want to play frisbee anyway, so tuition didn't stop me. Gameplay was much smoother for me already. I had dinner with Joyce (Seiwei's sister) at Kallang. We ate a lot coz I was starving. We then headed back to my place for me to shower. Joyce was looking at some of my old family photos and commenting on how "nerdy and dorky" my sisters and I were when we were younger. I know I looked really nerdy then. Not now. =) We then headed to Harry's at Esplanade for some drinks and the jazz. Joyce likes the jazz player at Harry's at Esplanade a lot. We sat there, talking about life, frisbee, and the scholars. She found my blog. Not surprising, since she put two and two together, making a guess that my blog would be teesing.blogspot.com. Anyway, I was supposed to meet Steph at Chijmes for more drinks with her friends from Malaysia, but decided to just relax and talk to Joyce for the rest of the night coz we haven't been talking or playing frisbee together for a while. Then I went back home.

Friday adds another count to my visitor count. John Shen, another fraternity brother arrived in Singapore. Wenzheng and I took him out in turn, to Orchard, City Hall, Esplanade and then Geylang for dinner. John was really curious about Geylang, coz like most Americans, never been to a country where prostitution was legalised. He wanted a tour of Geylang which I gave him. He also wanted to ask how much it cost for a prostitute, merely for intellectual curiosity. I was a little uncomfortable, coz after living here for many years, I really dislike this aspect of Geylang. But well, it's life. And I understand how he might be curious about all this. We then met up with Anant, another fraternity brother and the other ATI people here in Singapore at Clarke Quay. We chilled and talk for a while, before I left for Club Momo. Jeremy from GIC was having his last night in Singapore and the GIC people were there to club and hang out. It's always really fun clubbing with them. I left slightly early because I had to tuition the next day and train for frisbee with Muddy Grass at NUS.

Saturday brought about more fun. Tuition was okay. It's a job. Frisbee training with Muddy Grass is tough. I don't like running, but frisbee is all about sprinting and running. I was so tired. I was breathing really hard and exhausted when 5.00pm came. It was good though. I got some catches, understood the game better and put in my best in throwing and catching. I need lots of work if I want to play in the open, especially with my stamina. I'm pretty fast on the field, but my stamina runs out pretty fast. If I'm playing the cup in a zone defense, I'm dead by the time we hop to the 3rd or 4th guy during the passing. I like playing deep deep, which is the last person in either offense or defense, coz I like to run long and jump at disc near or in the end zone. I definitely had some acrobatic falls from full jumps and having someone crash into me. No damage done though. Training lasts till sundown, but I was off to meet Steph and the GIC people to watch Red Eye, so I left early. They will keep in touch whether they want me to play.

The movie was kinda okay, not very exciting, and very short. Lucky, it was only 6 bucks from the GIC discount. We then headed to Swensons for dessert. It took forever (an hour) for the earthquake ice cream to come and the waitress gave really silly excuses. Steph went to the manager and the earthquake was complimentary. The manager is really nice though. I'll still go back, even though service is slow on Friday nights. Nice way to burn some time. We then headed to play some pool next to Hard Rock. Another early night for so that I can get to church on Sunday.

Church today, and then lunch with Steph, Desmond and Nicole. Lunch was at Crystal Jade Palace at Taka. It was pretty good, having a nice hot tim sum lunch after getting soaked in the rain. Tuition tonight was tiring as usual. 3 hours of brain wrecking work, coz I don't think my student is thinking too much, just me doing all the problems. He wants more tuition tomorrow (Monday), Tuesday, Thursday and next Sunday. 4 days a week, 2-3 hours at a go. Wow, if I wasn't as free as I was, it's going to be a huge chore. But today was also payday and it feels really good. Gotta love the money, or how am I going to pay for all the clubbing?

More tuitioning next week! Hopefully, Muddy Grass will take me to play for them at the Open. I really want to do that, it will be fun, although I'll probably drop after the tournament. My leg muscles are all super sore. Ouch.

Next week... more craziness to come!