I am now 30 years old. It is no less a milestone as it is an insignificant imprint of the fabric of time.
There are many things I am thankful for. But for sure, my dream of becoming a millionaire before I turn 30 falls short. That's one down the list of dreams, but in retrospect, I feel fulfilled with the adventure of my life, both high and low in states, the miles travelled, the depth of thought and introspection, the gainfully employed to the doctorate seeking thinker, to downright too chilled; the list goes on rather infinitely. By and large, I am happy that I've been given a wide breadth of experiences to feel fulfilled by it, rather than one prescribed linear path to be pursued with governance and instruction.
This might all sound a bit self-indulged, and it probably unavoidably will do so, is that yes, it is a little about me. Feel I haven't really been sharing much of real personal experience, just photos, links, the odd phrases. So here it is. Something a little deeper. Reflections of 2008. The last mohicans of my twenties, or tweenteens, as my Cuz Ray would call it.
To begin, is the Mitsubishi Magna 1997. She fell ill just 4 months into becoming my steed. Diagnosed with a transmission box problem, she's been running with me through thick and thin since October 2007, never failing, despite the weak transmission making her prone to having problems at the low gears and low ravs, but still she gets me to band practice at Williamstown (about 35km away) and the airport (40+km) with pretty good determination. So kudos to that.
Next is getting into my current band the Suntrap. They're awesome to goodness. Felt the need to attempt to break into the Aussie band market. Many great bands have come from here. And they usually move to worldwide stardom. Logged onto a Melbourne band forum and wrote in to a few 'drummer needed' ads. Out of the 3, 2 were cool with me playing for them without an audition. Only the Suntrap asked for an audition. Lugged my kit over for the auditions anyways, because their music sounded so good. 90s effected indie-rock in the style of Radiohead and a bit of Verve. Made it in straight after the auditions and man, I've been so happy. Regular practice weekly for one day only - of hardcore rehearsal, attention to detail, the dynamic creative process. It was lovely. For once I could be just a drummer and do what I loved - play the drums. This luxury was not one I had back in Singapore half-managing the band and playing, getting gigs, et al. And man. Album due mid 2009. Finally, making a record in Australia with an Australian band. Just today, I played in recording till 2 fingers bled.
On the topic of music, I am also glad I have a lifetime goal - to travel around China to record sounds and music of all the 55 ethnic 'tribe's on emotions like love, hate, anger, jealousy, and the like. Take a year off just to do it. And see how the great expanses of the Chinese lands might just see many things harmoniously, that might prove a point, that all the voices shared equally could be a truer voice of the Middle Kingdom, we shall see. Thanks 'One Giant Leap' as the source of inspiration.
Discovering an inner state of 'immature' Zen. Been largely been able to attempt to control my states of flux and pendulum swings, both ways they find sustained presence, but never at one time. And being able to merge some Zen sharings to reflect a state of mind of perhaps Jesus Christ. Last year my laptop hard disk crashed, 2 days before two 9,000 word assignments were due. I just smiled when it died, and banged away fresh on the school computer the entire 2 papers, and managed to get 2 distinctions in return. That state of mind is beautiful. Though I still lose it from time to time, unfortunately, when it came to being with loved ones. Must learn to break this bad habit. A nice center surely must be nice to keep centered around family.
Sometimes it may swing too far, but all one needs to do is to let it go.
Which leads me to the most significant point, being thankful for my family for bringing me this far. From struggling student to fledgling academic back to studenthood towards permanent head damage. These words need no long elaboration. Thankful is all I need to say.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Oven-baked crumbed fish
new dish! - fish fillet marinated in garlic salt, oregano, parsley and sourdough bread crumbs; and oven-baked for 10minutes.
Monday, March 16, 2009
It's 'let-Kim-eat-pizza' time in Pyongyang
Noteworthy.
It's 'let-Kim-eat-pizza' time in Pyongyang
Oliver Burkeman
March 17, 2009
Source - The Age
FOR millions of undernourished North Koreans, the notion of eating at a restaurant belongs strictly in the world of fantasy. And so there is only the grimmest humour in the news that, for the country's ruling elite, Pyongyang's dining options just got a little more impressive: the country has its first pizzeria.
An obsession with pizza stretching back at least 10 years prompted the isolated nation's dictator, Kim Jong-il, to authorise North Korea's first Italian restaurant, which opened in December, according to a pro-Pyongyang newspaper published in Japan.
"General Kim Jong-il said that the people should also be allowed access to the world's famous dishes," the restaurant's manager, Kim Sang-Soon, was quoted as saying in Choson Sinbo, a Tokyo-based newspaper seen as a mouthpiece for the regime.
Those dining at the restaurant are reportedly treated to pizza and pasta made with wheat flour, butter and cheese flown in from Italy. They are also presumably reaping the benefits of a years-long effort by Kim Jong-il to bring the perfect pizza to his famine-plagued totalitarian state.
In the late 1990s, he summoned a team of Italian pizza chefs to Pyongyang to instruct army officers. One of the chefs, Ermanno Furlanis, later recounted how one of the officers he was training asked him to specify the precise distance at which olives should be spaced on a pizza.
Mr Kim seems to have taken a personal interest: while the pizza-making sessions were under way, on a ship anchored offshore, he was apparently witnessed arriving to inspect his officers' progress. "I am not in the position to say whether it really was him," Mr Furlanis later said. "But our chef, who had no reason to fib, was, for the space of several minutes, utterly speechless. He said he felt as if he had seen God, and I still envy him this experience."
The training seems not to have met Mr Kim's expectations. According to Choson Sinbo, subsequent efforts to reproduce pizza were a process of "repeated trial and error", and last year the dictator sent chefs to Naples and Rome to learn more. Finally satisfied, he authorised the restaurant.
North Korea, one of the world's poorest countries, was hit by devastating famine in the mid-1990s, with up to 2 million people dying. But Kim's passion for fine food is legendary: he is said to be a connoisseur of cognac, French wine, shark-fin soup and sushi.
One of his former chefs, writing under a pseudonym, recalled travelling to Iran and Uzbekistan to fetch caviar, to Denmark for bacon and China for melons and grapes. He defected, he wrote, by offering to find sea urchins in Japan, and never returned.
GUARDIAN
It's 'let-Kim-eat-pizza' time in Pyongyang
Oliver Burkeman
March 17, 2009
Source - The Age
FOR millions of undernourished North Koreans, the notion of eating at a restaurant belongs strictly in the world of fantasy. And so there is only the grimmest humour in the news that, for the country's ruling elite, Pyongyang's dining options just got a little more impressive: the country has its first pizzeria.
An obsession with pizza stretching back at least 10 years prompted the isolated nation's dictator, Kim Jong-il, to authorise North Korea's first Italian restaurant, which opened in December, according to a pro-Pyongyang newspaper published in Japan.
"General Kim Jong-il said that the people should also be allowed access to the world's famous dishes," the restaurant's manager, Kim Sang-Soon, was quoted as saying in Choson Sinbo, a Tokyo-based newspaper seen as a mouthpiece for the regime.
Those dining at the restaurant are reportedly treated to pizza and pasta made with wheat flour, butter and cheese flown in from Italy. They are also presumably reaping the benefits of a years-long effort by Kim Jong-il to bring the perfect pizza to his famine-plagued totalitarian state.
In the late 1990s, he summoned a team of Italian pizza chefs to Pyongyang to instruct army officers. One of the chefs, Ermanno Furlanis, later recounted how one of the officers he was training asked him to specify the precise distance at which olives should be spaced on a pizza.
Mr Kim seems to have taken a personal interest: while the pizza-making sessions were under way, on a ship anchored offshore, he was apparently witnessed arriving to inspect his officers' progress. "I am not in the position to say whether it really was him," Mr Furlanis later said. "But our chef, who had no reason to fib, was, for the space of several minutes, utterly speechless. He said he felt as if he had seen God, and I still envy him this experience."
The training seems not to have met Mr Kim's expectations. According to Choson Sinbo, subsequent efforts to reproduce pizza were a process of "repeated trial and error", and last year the dictator sent chefs to Naples and Rome to learn more. Finally satisfied, he authorised the restaurant.
North Korea, one of the world's poorest countries, was hit by devastating famine in the mid-1990s, with up to 2 million people dying. But Kim's passion for fine food is legendary: he is said to be a connoisseur of cognac, French wine, shark-fin soup and sushi.
One of his former chefs, writing under a pseudonym, recalled travelling to Iran and Uzbekistan to fetch caviar, to Denmark for bacon and China for melons and grapes. He defected, he wrote, by offering to find sea urchins in Japan, and never returned.
GUARDIAN
Saturday, March 7, 2009
what a neat idea
from the straitstimes.com
MONTREAL - CANADA'S CBC public radio has plans to teach US President-elect Barack Obama a little more about his northern neighbour, with an inaugural compilation of 49 Canadian songs.
Some '49 songs from north of the 49th parallel' are to be chosen on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on Friday.
Mr Obama's 'playlist could definitely benefit from some Canadian content, especially given the depth of our musical offerings - spanning a wide variety of genres and representing our culture from coast to coast,' CBC mused on its website.
Judging from the top 100 songs listeners can vote from on the radio's website at cbc.ca/obamasplaylist, Mr Obama will get an eclectic earful.
The list includes 'Night Train' by famed jazz musician Oscar Peterson, folk rock singer Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now,' "The Hockey Song' by Stompin' Tom Connors, as well as a song by leading indie rock group Arcade Fire and some French-language selections.
'One of the best way to know Canada is through the depth and breadth of our artistic expression,' CBC Radio executive director Denise Donlon said in a statement.
'We're excited about the new president and we want him to be excited about us, so we're asking our audience to help compile the list of our most definitive Canadian songs!'
Voting began on Jan 5 and CBC said it would unveil the final list on Jan 20, the day of Mr Obama's inauguration. The winning songs are to be broadcast on CBC Radio 2 that day.
Mr Obama is expected to make the first foreign trip of his presidency to Canada, the largest trade partner of the United States. The date and exact location of the visit have not yet been announced. -- AFP
MONTREAL - CANADA'S CBC public radio has plans to teach US President-elect Barack Obama a little more about his northern neighbour, with an inaugural compilation of 49 Canadian songs.
Some '49 songs from north of the 49th parallel' are to be chosen on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on Friday.
Mr Obama's 'playlist could definitely benefit from some Canadian content, especially given the depth of our musical offerings - spanning a wide variety of genres and representing our culture from coast to coast,' CBC mused on its website.
Judging from the top 100 songs listeners can vote from on the radio's website at cbc.ca/obamasplaylist, Mr Obama will get an eclectic earful.
The list includes 'Night Train' by famed jazz musician Oscar Peterson, folk rock singer Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now,' "The Hockey Song' by Stompin' Tom Connors, as well as a song by leading indie rock group Arcade Fire and some French-language selections.
'One of the best way to know Canada is through the depth and breadth of our artistic expression,' CBC Radio executive director Denise Donlon said in a statement.
'We're excited about the new president and we want him to be excited about us, so we're asking our audience to help compile the list of our most definitive Canadian songs!'
Voting began on Jan 5 and CBC said it would unveil the final list on Jan 20, the day of Mr Obama's inauguration. The winning songs are to be broadcast on CBC Radio 2 that day.
Mr Obama is expected to make the first foreign trip of his presidency to Canada, the largest trade partner of the United States. The date and exact location of the visit have not yet been announced. -- AFP
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
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