The energy from chaos

I was just watching a short clip on the walls of Singapore whilst waiting for the English NDP rally by PM Lee.

William Lim, principal architect of Golden Mile Complex defended his unique design which is in serious dilapidating condition, to which he retorted: if there's no chaos, there's no energy.

It struck me immediately as this can be applied to so many aspects of our lives.

Close to our hearts, I ask is the lack of chaos the very root of our disintegrated society? Previously when money was scarce, when we wouldn't know if there would be food on our table for the night, our relationships were strong. We loved our parents, we loved our friends, we loved our partners. Essentially, we treasured them. We had the energy to continue to love strongly as we were all interdependent on one another.

However as we progress, we are alot harder in our wills and we hold no qualms in ridding useless people out of our lives. We can just walk out of relationships without batting a single eyelid because we think that we can afterall survive by ourselves. Which I do not doubt that we can but if one day the whole world to collapse can we survive alone or we will sing Aellulia?

I'm guilty of this but ironically I'm not ashamed of it. Perhaps i'm just looking for justifications, but if I do not seek chaos, how can I possibly build up the energy that is so lacking & without this energy how can I improve and be appreciative of who and what is around me?

Just like the good old days..

Lian Mei

DW often says he misses the ah lian whom he fell in love with.. Wah rau eh, I mother liao leh.. how to still have blonde hair & wear mini skirt :P

Following the footsteps of her mommy???

YOG or punctuality

It's 8.40am & I'm bloody stuck on the ECP trying to get to MBS. It's not for fun, it's to earn my peanuts for my meals. If I had my way, i wouldn't even be here. I would be snoozing in bed which is the only decent thing to do on such a gloomy day.

But no, 2 lanes on the ECP are shut, 99% of the roads to MBS are closed and it just irks more that the YOG buses behind are flashing their lights and the infamous phase which has recently been haunting our cars' rearview mirrors: YAW EVIG is screaming through my already scattered brains.

Wake up, this is Singapore. Did the PAP really think that noone works on Saturdays? Did they really think that our bosses are gonna believe us when we say we were late cos we gave way to the YOG buses? DUH. Wake up.

Searching for my roots

Little known to many, I'm a Hokkien Peranakan.. or so I think I am. My birth cert states my race as Chinese, dialect.. oh well, it's English. So it reads Chinese-English. I haven't the slightest clue how this came about. I can only suspect that they probably asked my dad what dialect he speaks and since he can't speak a word of any of the Chinese dialects, he probably said Malay and they axed that option out as there's no way he could be a Malay and the next answer he gave was probably English, so English it was.

I had the option of stating my correct dialect on JD's birth cert. But I figured I'll just stick to what is on my birth cert. It's uniquely mine and I want it to remain that way. Just like how I'm sure Gab would never change back his surname from Tin to Tan.


I've been meaning to visit the Peranakan museum for the longest time and when I read in the papers that entry was free last Sunday, I headed straight for it right after church. It was an interesting visit and it sure bought back memories of my childhood days when my grandparents were still around and certain traditions were still followed then.



One of the most elaborate set up that I distinctly remember is the Tok Panjang. Every year, on the eve of Chinese New Year, we'll all gather at the long rectangle table at home with dishes like bak wan kepeiting, pongteh, buah keluak amongst the many. It usually was an elaborate feast and everyone was merry.

There was a hall dedicated to religion and I was pleasantly surprised that the video they showed was Fr Alfred Chan & Fr Iggy during the annual Peranakan CNY eve mass at Holy Family. And it was here that I realised my dad was not kidding when he used to tell me that the family converted from Buddhism to Catholicism because of simplicity. Well, perhaps not exactly but I read that as time passed, society modernised, many gave up the complicated rituals. This abandonment may not necessarily be a bad thing. Afterall when I saw how elaborate the wedding ceremony was and that the entire event was a 12 day one, I was relieved that I was born in the modern times. I didn't even have the usual gate crashing session that grooms & their "brothers" had to put up with. I didn't even have the Guo Da Li. I just don't like things that take up too much time, too much effort, too much money. I like things straight to the point, clean & sleek.


The only regret I'll ever have is that I did not don a Kebaya during my wedding. It just didn't occur to me then and for this, I did wish that Little Nonya was shown 3 years earlier so I could have been a little prouder of my heritage. My only hope (& I do hope that I can remember when the time comes) is my baby girl to put on one for hers, to fulfill her mommy's wish.

My Morning with JD

I took the morning off today, just so I needn't rush to work and I could spend some time with JD who doesn't have school post National Day.

It was a lovely morning. The sky was overcast and that meant no sun! YAY! Perfect time to hit the beach as there would be significantly less people and minus the scorching rays, I knew that it would be almost perfect. I never felt more relaxed than this morning, just standing by the sea, watching JD play with sand and enjoying the cool breeze. Soon after, it started to drizzle and we headed to Mac's for breakfast. Everything done at my own time, own target. If only every morning was like that...