Please appreciate those around you.

I am sure that many have already heard or even know about the tragedy that took place in China not long ago.

68,109 (dead, 19th deadliest earthquake)

364,552 (injured)

19,851 (missing)

These information is taken as on 28 May 08

And the numbers of people lost and injured physically continues to rise as the day pass. It is really sad to know that there are so many people became orphans, so many people losing their loved ones after this incident.

But have many thought of those who are mentally, emotional hurt? I remember watching the news that the Olympic pandas which were at SiChuan (or the affected area) were sent to Beijing for counseling. Even pandas that were in the earthquake needed counseling from the traumatizing event, let alone the people there.

Yeah, I really pity all those people involved in this natural disaster, especially those who are still surviving with the pain of their lost ones. Sichuan earthquake took place on the 12^th May, which was one day before my birthday. I remembered clearly that on the day after my birthday, I watched news in the evening reporting about the earthquake. In my head, I thought ‘woah, what if it was one of those children’s birthday that day? That would have been their worst ever birthday ever.’

Many people at this point of time, roaming about the streets of China, in the cold, homeless, dirty and hungry. And I really felt that I am really fortunate whenever I think about them. Don’t ask me why, but I have been really affected by the China earthquake, and it feels like it’s only me. Maybe cause I’m a quarter China? (Yes, I’ve got China blood and don’t laugh) I don’t know, blood’s thicker than water huh.

I cant really type out how I exactly feel towards this saddening event that just took place. I have loads of feelings within me. Sadness, Disappointment, Anger, Anxiousness, … Please help out China in anyway that you can. These people need our help. And I strongly believe, that if you do good deeds, you will be repaid with blessings (Chinese saying: Hao ren you Hao bao).

I feel like crying for them, but crying is no use right? I feel really hopeless at times like this; finance help is all I can give.

Guess the biggest lesson learnt from this tragic event is to appreciate and love those around you. You will really never know when they will be gone. It like how many children became orphan overnight. I dont want to leave this world without saying everything i want to say to anyone.

Guess the biggest lesson learnt from this tragic event is to appreciate and love those around you. You will really never know when they will be gone. It like how many children became orphan overnight. I dont want to leave this world without saying everything I want to say to anyone. Just this week, my mum was admitted to the hospital suddenly. No one expected anything, she seems to have a usual tummy upset and feeling a little giddy. And I called my dad in the afternoon to find out that my mum is in hospital. I felt pretty lost at the moment as none of my siblings (even my dad!) had the slightest clue to what happened to my mum. She was in such great pain and weak till the extent my dad decided to bring her to the hospital in the middle of our routine Sunday in church.

Yeah, life is full of the unexpected. No one knows what is installed for tomorrow.

DONT TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED.

THANK GOD FOR EVERYTHING I HAVE.

Into HER life: Just listen to me rant please.

Hate the stereotype the society have now. I really cannot stand the way that people really judge you for who you are. Let me give you an insight to my sucky life as a girl.

Girls are supposed to be those who know how to cook, how to do every single house chore, … whatever to the stereotypes the society have for females. Its like freaking unfair how many think that females should be the ones that stay all day at home doing stupid house chores when they can hire someone else to do it for them. I remember criticizing mothers who work and do not spend time with their kids as bad mothers. I guess I have a totally changed opinion about that now. As long as you can still care for your children and husband, you can be considered as playing your part as a mother. The house chore and cooking should be taken care by the whole family or a hired party.

I do not understand why my mum always wants me to learn how to cook and do all the house chores. Firstly, I am not even good at doing it, and hear screams could be easily heard everyday. Even when I do it at my best, my mum and sister would easy say that I did a lousy job. (like wth?!) I hate it. Many think that females are born with the thing to do house chores. Hello?! How about man? Not all man are born to be breadwinners of the family.
My mum never knew, or perhaps she never bothered, to why the reason I don’t wish and don’t like to cook. (Okay, its true that I have got many other better things to do compared to house chores and moreover, doing house chores is my number 1 hate.) I can vividly remember that particular incident, that incident that told me that the kitchen was not for me. There was once I was just cutting fruits, and the whole freaking knife just went through my middle finger on my right. Yeah, it just went in like that. And I did not dare to hold a knife until I had to in secondary one as we had home economics lessons. I do still hold phobia when I see the knife. Its so great in me that I have decided to not work in a F&B line anymore. Oh, and another incident when I accidentally poured hot boiling water on my hand. Yes, the kitchen is my enemy. My close friends all know that I can’t cook for nuts. Heard of the game ‘Cooking Mama’? Yes, I even fail the cooking there, which is like suppose to be super easy. Yes, I am a loser, to my mum at least.

I know I am not a good daughter. A good daughter is one who excel in her studies, one who her mum could boast about, one that makes her mum proud, one who knows how to do all kind of house chores, one who knows how to cook, one who … but that girl ain’t me.
I really can’t stand this cruel world we live in anymore. People judging you by your looks, the way you speak, the way you present yourself, … or even your education background, family background, the class you are in, the people you mix with.

Why is the world so artificial? I don’t know.
I feel as if nothing is really left for me here, in this house I am in now. I should have just went for auditions and leave this place I call home but don’t really regard as a home
Maybe that’s why I cried for hours non-stop on my birthday.

I am so sick and tired of everything.
(yeah, thanks for listening me rant. This is probably one of the most informal post ever posted here.)

I MISS MG :(

More than half of my life was spent in Methodist Girls’ School (MGS), and only I left did I realized that it was such a dear place to me. That school held all my memories and friendships made when I was 7 to 16. (Yes, its 10 years.) I had a love-hate relationship to MG.

I hated studying a lot since young. When I was in primary school, I did not want to go to a secondary school. When I was secondary schooling, I was rather reluctant in studying after O levels. Now, in poly, I am very reluctant in going to university. Now you get the idea of Doreen’s hate for studying/schooling.

However, I love MG for her culture and the people that were within it. Friends were the only reason I went to school. I remember my secondary 4 school life so clearly till date! It was the year I turned really naughty, breaking school rules whenever I can.

In my secondary 4 life, I lived as in I had spilt personality in school. I am always known to be the good girl to some teachers, and yet other teachers may think that I am the naughty girl. But my friends know it the best.
I remember how Jo and I would go toilet every now and then during lessons, and we found more of our classmates in the toilet hanging out. Sometimes we would really dread to go for lessons I did not like and count down 15 minutes in the toilet. Haha, it was the best thing ever. And the teacher always would still believe that we were doing our business in the toilet, or either they cannot get bothered with us anymore. But maybe the teacher forgot that we went to the toilet. I had a chemistry that did not know I existed in her class for a whole 2 years. It was only after my prelims did she realized that I have been scoring F9s my whole entire life in chemistry under her. That’s how I am unknown in school with the teachers. I do not really create trouble in school or do well in my studies to the extent of getting the attention of my teachers.

Oh, and how I miss the days we were so bored in class that Jo and I had to plan what to do in class during recess. We would go to the bookshop and find any fun stuff to play with for 4-5 hours. It was just plain joy. We would seriously do anything to get boredom off us. We cut ice cream sticks; made things out of nothing; coloured in colouring books, play with blue tack and glue; cut anything we see; … you name it, I guessed we did it in class.

And there were lessons that we could not be caught doing our ‘handicrafts’ in class, so I remembered clearly how Jo and I had a challenged with wasabi coated green peas. Both of us had a box of wasabi under our tables, and we challenged who could finish all their peas without getting caught by the teacher. Those were the days I started to practice how to be immune to wasabi. And I remembered how my wasabi coated greens peas rotted under my desk over the weekend cos I totally forgot about it! :X
A must for all students, is to PON school. How can I not have done that? I have started skipping school since I was primary 6. My longest record to skip school without a ‘valid’ reason was a week in primary 6. I remember how Faith, Rachel and I would analyse our timetable so carefully and mark the days it was best to not come to school. And for some of the few days that I came to school, I would either left school early or just stay in the sick bay. I always had valid reason so I was easily believed. (Oh wells, perhaps my teacher cannot get bothered with me anymore as all these only happened the end of secondary 4.)

So fun, I miss my dear friends and school badly. As I am writing this post, I can see images (or even video playbacks) of what we would do in school. It was really fun, joy and laughter for me. How bad school got with all the schoolwork, I still loved it. I loved everything about MG, maybe the very stressful life there too! I can picture myself in the canteen, having recess, I can picture myself in the toilet hanging out with friends, I can picture myself doing nonsense in class with Jo, I CAN PICTURE MYSELF GOING TO SCHOOL IN MY MG UNIFORM!

I do still get to meet my close friends quite often though we are in different school. In average count, I think I meet Jo almost once every week! But, I still miss all my friends having class together. It was plain LOVE to be in MG, an ALL-GIRL school. You would never know if you have not been in one.

How can human have more feelings towards a non-living thing than to a living thing?

I have recently finished reading the manga of Absolute Boyfriend (also know as Zettai Kareshi) and have been watching the new released drama version of it. (GOSH, MIZUSHIMA HIRO IS REALLY HOT THERE!!^___^)

In Absolute Boyfriend, there is a love triangle between a girl, a boy and a male-looking robot that possess a human physical appearance. Both boys were madly in love with the girl, but the girl chose to be with the robot and rejected the human boy. (If you want to know more about the story, please go and read the manga! Its only 6 books long. Or watch the drama that is currently airing in japan J)

Honesty, I love this manga. But when I was thinking about it after knowing the ending, it just dawn to me that humans can be really scary. If I were that human guy who lost the girl to a robot, it would seriously be the end of me. How can I lose to a non-living thing who has no feelings?! It’s totally ridiculous. Imagine this really happens in reality, that boy probably would be too afraid to love again.

Thinking more about it, many people do actually love non-living things better than humans.

Like people who probably want to play their games at home rather than go out with their friends. I am sure that you know some people whose life rotate around gaming. These people play games online all day long; play so much till the extent of skipping meals and not getting enough sleep.

Or even, parents who are so occupied by their work that they hardly spend anytime with their children. I really pity these children. I strongly believe that a child needs their parents in any point of their life, especially when they are younger. But sometimes, parents just cannot see their children’s needs. I understand that it is difficult to give up their career after they have children, but I guess we need to do necessary sacrifices for the people we love right? It will be dead selfish if you only care about your own work and do not spend enough time with your kids.

But it’s real saddening to hear that the fact that humans have more feelings for non-living things have become more obvious these days.

Another I could state, which I am sure that many people actually love this more than any other thing in their life, is the love for money. Remember watching dramas about how humans cheat or betray each other in the name of money? Or perhaps, you have your own personal experience. I can say that I love money, but I tell myself now that I would not hurt humans for money anymore. Yes, I have hurt my love ones in the name of money and I know the pain of it. So, I have decided that money is not everything.

To conclude this whole post, human are really the scariest living thing that exists on earth. I remember once telling my mum that in the night when I walk home up the dark long road, I am afraid that I would see spirits or ghost and she told me, its better than seeing a man. Yes, she meant by a man with ill intention.

Sometimes, I really do not understand what goes through the minds of human though I am one. It’s like they are so scary that I don’t wish to know them too well. Human are the ones that make me happy, yet they are also the ones that hurt me badly. Irony? Yes, we are always living a ironical life. Not many can practice what they preach.

If a human were to reject me for a non-living thing, I would … …

Why do people love to copy?!

I really hate how people love to copy the work of others. In the media industry, we can see many ‘copycats’ lingering around, just waiting for others think of a new concept, an new idea.

Watch this,

Understand my pain as a K-pop (korean pop) fan? It really brings loads of anger and hatred to me when i watch these videos. Many may argue that Taiwan artistes have the talent to re-write the songs in Chinese and sing them, or even the ability to copy so well. Oh wells, i do not think so. You may think that whatever I am about to type here will be a totally biased account from a kpop fan, but no, i was a c-pop fan.

When i was a cpop fan, I was already aware how many Taiwan singers just take the songs of others and re-sing it in the Chinese version. I was pretty disappointed at times but sometimes also felt that they were good to the extent of taking someone else’s work and performing it to the same standard as the original song. But it seemed that i did not know much about the ‘copycat’ thing Taiwan had in details. Now, seeing so many similarities between Korea and Taiwan entertainment industry, i started to become curious and wonder who is the actually copycat.

After much research did I found out that Taiwan have been copying other countries all along. They used to copy Japan lots, but now, Korean since there is k-wave hitting worldwide now.

To me, it could not be for no reason that Taiwan copy Korea for no reason. The reasons stated below are what led them to want to take the works of kpop industry as their own.

1. These songs were a hit in kpop; hence cpop thinks that it will have the same result if they made their artist sing the same song in Chinese. (This is pretty true as the songs that they took over as their own really made.

2. Taiwan do not want to spend too much money to look for someone to help them write a new song, think of new ideas for their mv, movie, commercial film (cf), drama,…

3. Taiwan is really lacking of talents to look for?!

Taiwan did not only copy Korea’s songs, also mv plots, drama plots, movie plots, variety shows, cf,.. There’s just too many to name.
But Korea is not that dumb either. They have come up with a great way to prevent Taiwan from stealing their songs. Many Koreans have started to sing their Korean hits songs in Chinese as well, so no chance is given to the Taiwan to take their songs and sing it in Chinese. They tend to release the Chinese version of the song a short while after the Korean version is out, to even prevent Taiwan from releasing the Chinese version before they do. Bands, such as Dong Bang Shin Ki, Super Junior and Shinhwa, and Singers such as Chae yeon and BoA have started to adapt to this idea a long time back. And it was proven to be effective in preventing Taiwan in stealing their songs.

However, c-pop started to get a little annoying. Now, they take kpop songs, change the tune here and there a little, and make it theirs [ (-.-)''| ]

Just check this example out!

Kpop boy band, Dong Bang Shin Ki (also know as TVXQ) sang song title ‘O’-正.反.合. and it was a great hit on Asia. They released a Chinese version of that song sang by the Korean boys a while after the album’s debut in October ‘06.

Presenting TVXQ’s ‘O’-正.反.合. MV

However, just end of last year, Taiwan boy band, K-One, released their song, Turbo, which was highly similar to TVXQ’s O released a year ago.

Watch K-one’s Turbo

(A total irony. Taiwan loves to put ‘TAIWAN ONLY’ on their MVs but they are usually already stolen, not copyright stuff.)

Fans of TVXQ, who are also know as Cassiopeia, did not know of such a thing until a fan posted a video of TVXQ’s O mv along with K-one’s Turbo as audio.

See the similarities? I was so glad that Taiwan did not copy their MV, dance steps. But there was once in 2002, Taiwan boy band, ENERGY, copied Korean boy band, Shinhwa’s MV concept and sang the song in the Chinese version.

All I can say is that, it’s definitely not the singer’s fault. This is strictly a Taiwan entertainment industry’s problem.

Now, we know why music sounds similar around Asia.

First a rise on GST, now the price of food :X

When i heard that good service tax (GST) was going to rise from 5% to 7% last year’s July, i thought i would not be affected because i do not purchase really costly stuff such as cars and apartments. But, in the end, it still had its certain impacts on me. When dining in restaurants, upon seeing the 7% GST charges, i felt that my cash just flew out of my wallet just like that. It would be better if the price that includes GST was printed on the menu. It would allow the customer to be reminded about that the food’s prices does not include the extra 7%.

The 7% GST really had a great impact in Singapore. Many people complained about it. The government did give people a certain amount of cash to help them up with the sudden increase in GST. Some people did not even need to pay the 7% GST as the government gave them full aid. I know of a few who really felt the great hit of the sudden increase of the percentage of GST. Newly-wed couples who only purchased their apartments and friends who just bought a new car after last year’s July could feel the extra 2% of good service tax banging them so hard. We are talking about a few hundreds or even, thousands dollars that could be that extra 2%.

Sometimes i really do not understand why do we need to pay the GST.

After the great issue about the rise of good service tax, the rising price of food had suddenly became the main focus of every Singaporean. Many have been complaining about the rise of food. Everyone needs food for survival, and the increase of food may cause many families disturbances due to financial difficulties. Many have their opinions about how food vendors either increase the prices of their food, or they tend to give lesser to their customer. To me, i prefer the idea of giving lesser food better.

To me, I am actually more than happy to know that I am given lesser food to eat. Okay, this may not seem normal because many complain how they do not feel full after a bowl of noodles now. I eat really little and get full really easily. (A cup of water can actually be my meal.) So to me, by giving me lesser food in my bowl, means i do not waste so much food. Many, especially teenagers, do not tend to finish up all the food in their bowl when they are dining outside, which is a real waste to the food given. By decreasing the amount, some food could be ’save from being wasted’!