where thoughts materialise.

So we're into the sixth version of my blog after the last version hung around for a year or so.

Now, a bit of info on this image. This photo was taken one lovely spring afternoon, featuring the iconic Old Well from the UNC Chapel Hill campus. I would like to think of this image as a tribute to my time in UNC Chapel Hill, the awesome friends I made and the memories I now hold dear.

A milestone in my life indeed.

I've dropped the tagboard cos its useless and taking eons to load. But thanks to Angela who helped me set it up, I still do like and will miss the pink interface.

So yeah, it's the sixth one you fellas!

Yours.

27 April 2008

you know you miss my older entries

October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008

Thursday, July 27, 2006

As a country progresses with time, the city it harbours changes and evolves along. Almost like a living organism itself, every city adapts and goes through a metamorphosis of sort in tandem to the environment it is subjected to.

But it might be almost lamentable that the state of architecture, and especially so in Singapore, has been quite lacking in pace to the nation's voyage of advancement.

It doesn't take much to notice this.

Architecture here has traditionally favoured function over form, and continues to be so. The aesthetical aspect is often not given enough attention, a typical indication of cities where bureaucracy holds much power.

The Europeans have great architecture to boast, the Americans their monumental skyscrapers. All I am trying to say is, what do we Singaporeans say when we see our HDB flats and CBD in say, 50 years' time? Those with enduring designs are easily countable, meaning we probably will not see more buildings of Fullerton or Supreme Court nature in the distant future.

The crux ultimately remains unanswered - what is the defining architecture of our time?

Functional splendor. That is the direction we should be headed, and it takes bold governance to see that it can be achieved.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 6:23 AM

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Wednesday, July 26, 2006

nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:07 AM

3 comments

Thursday, July 20, 2006

So I sent jess off on a late night flight to Melbourne yesterday, a sign that this long summer is beginning its deceleration to a transition to a new academic year. Particularly significant, cos jess' is heading back for her last semester, to a city which I'm sure holds bitter sweet memories for her.

And to many of my friends, they would be embarking on their final year in university, a rush to complete 16 years of formal education, yet a little hesitant to take a step into the mad rush of the world once all this is over and done with.

As I was talking to shujun yesterday, aka mooncake, we realised how things are different, that when we meet now, we convene at pubs and clubs and such. Where did those days meeting up in town or at KAP go? Seriously, I cannot believe that these things have gone into memory as a very "RV" or "NJ" thing to do. Which cannot be true either.

Any oh how, here are some snap shots of the holidays so far, those that didnt make it to the previous entries: the collage I made for Jess to bring back to Melbourne, me and angela when she visited me during Commencement, with jess and hani, hanging out with the UNC people, sending vic off, cafe iguana-ing, the last wala before vic left.
summer06

nimgnoy let the night fall at 11:11 AM

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Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Day out at Sentosa, being tourists all over again.
sentosa1

The things we sell in souvenir shops - Merlion toilet roll dispenser, LKY memoirs beside tin robots.
**
Edited to add:
P1000859

Okaaay, so you all can't exactly see the resemblance with a photo so small. So here, large large one to note resemblance.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 12:33 AM

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Tuesday, July 11, 2006

I haven't had much time to even sit down in the right frame of mind to blog these days. And it is rather obvious when you see collages dominating instead of words. "Thoughts in Collages" this site should be renamed. But as I've told someone, one typical lazy night at home would be one sitting in front of the laptop making collages, cos they are simple and require almost zero brain power - almost like sitting down in a rocking chair and knitting by the fireplace (with reference to a typical lazy night of course).

Yes, I reach home really late these days and by the time I do my ritualistic visits in the virtual realm, I'm completely tired out and sleepy, so I leave blogging for another day.

Time very much willingly given to my grandma, friends (especially so) and amongst other obligations. It is exhausting, probably because I almost always leave the "me" and the "I" out of the equation of time allocation.

I want to save up for a mid-sem getaway again in September. I have concluded that mid-sem breaks should be utilised for short getaways like the one to PhiPhi Island, and more so since I had to forgo my SEA trip in June. They break the monotony of the semester, well not really because semester is boring, but the thrill of getting away from it all, even for a few days, has a rejuvenating effect on the soul.

I am planning a humanitarian trip to either Tanzania or Ethiopia but that's rather sketchy as yet.

Hearing speeches after speeches made at Commencement this year (I had been and still is working for this event), I am rather satisfied that I have followed my heart to study in FASS. A certain speaker mentioned that the pursuit of education cannot be purely utilitarian to produce the best crop for the workforce. So true. He went on to say that knowledge is the sharpening of lifeskills and experiences. Of which he added that arts students probably know that better.

There seem to be a direct and rather scary correlation between education and getting a job, very much so in Singapore. And to think that people don't see education in other terms is quite disappointing. What the speaker mentioned is that, although studies in FASS do not lead directly to a job like a law student to a lawyer, it is disheartening that people see that as a instability rather than an advantage to choose from a wide range of jobs. Our tracks may not be firmly leading to a fixed destination, but in this age, what's fixed anyway.

I should really split this up into two entries. But heck. Till I am inspired again, yours.

nimgnoy let the night fall at 11:54 PM

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Friday, July 07, 2006