Monthly Archive for June, 2003

leaving on a jet plane

Published
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acroamatic
on Wednesday, 25 June 2003
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Haven’t been updating in a while. Let’s see, I missed the Grampians trip. Instead, I managed to watch England do the world a favour by comprehensively beating Australia in rugby.

Also met up with Damian and Penny a few times.

Last nite, I went to the airport to send Penny off. That was quite an adventure. Penny was quite slow packing. We took a wrong turn on the highway. We bypassed the long queue to check in. Penny escaped excess baggage ‘cos she’s “a student returning home for holidays”… heheh.

Listening the the ultra-Beng/retro Ministry of Sound [The Annual IV] mixed by Boy George right now. Got the CD from Damian. Will definitely use it for the Great Ocean Road trip this weekend. Hahah… my passengers, you have been warned.

Oh, I got a suit! Navy blue, quite nice I have to say. :) Will pick it up on Friday ‘cos they had to do some alterations.

I attended my first piano recital today. Christine played pieces by Mozart, Rachmaninoff and Bartok. Really really good! The Mozart piece was amazingly fast. Her fingers were flying all over the keys. The Rachmanioff piece I liked best. Really powerful at certain points. :) The Bartok one, she played well. But I didn’t really connect with it.

Sent Christine and Jason to the airport just now. Hope they have a safe flight.

Tomolo: COSDU BBQ.

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holiday (not just yet)

Published
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acroamatic
on Tuesday, 17 June 2003
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Decision made: going to Grampians. Damian said ‘no go’ on the rugby match. I’m assuming he means we can’t get tickets.

Yesterday was supposed to be a full study day but I managed to spend quite a lot of time pondering about the rugby/grampians dilemma. Also did some planning for Ee-Wei’s upcoming trip here - booked a car and accommodation for the few days we will be at Great Ocean Road. Sounds simple but I took quite some time doing it.

Realism. Liberalism. Conservatism. Good. I still remember some of what I did manage to ’study’ yesterday. Studying… I’ve come to realise how foreign a concept that is to me. I honestly don’t know what I’m meant to prove in the exam. That I can regurgitate some ‘facts’ that I read? That I can memorise things and argue from/against that? I will find out tomolo. Seeing as to how I always say time pressure is necessary, I will get plenty tomorrow: three essays in two hours.

Met Penny for dinner. Had mushroom & chicken pizza with penne marinara for dinner at Papa Gino’s. Then dessert at Brunetti’s. Mmmmm… apple strudel yummy… Headed back to my place and continued chatting ’til just past eleven. Was really good to catch up with her.

Looking forward to Damian’s two trips here. He’s quite stressed out. Penny and Ingrid will keep him company (or is it the other way around) while I’m at Grampians. Hmmmm… should I leave him alone with two beautiful women?? Still, will get to meet him on Thursday and Monday. And he’ll be around again in July.

Almost 9 a.m. Going to have breakfast, get the newspaper, STUDY the whole day, go for the Grampians trip briefing in the evening.

Read Lester’s blog earlier. The first time I read it, he hadn’t updated for a while. So, I’ve not gone back to read it for some time. He’s been quite productive recently. Came across one of his entries with an icq conversation btn him and Felicia.

Hmmm… Felicia still hasn’t called me ‘Pin’. She must have forgotten. Or we haven’t met recently. Everyone’s still in their burrows, head bowed in books. Well, like Lester wrote, people used to call me Pinto. That’s probably ‘cos there were a proliferation of Kenneths - strange seeing my name in plural - in school and in church. And only he calls me Pin. Don’t seem to recall Sylvester or Adrian calling me that.

Just as he finds it strange that I know Alison and Felicia (Ally and Felish to him… notice the contraction of names?), likewise, I find it strange too. Lester and I know each other in one context, and we both know Alison and Felicia in two entirely separate situations. What would a conversation be like between the four of us? Hmmm…

Oh, he remembers my confirmation name… now on public record in his blog. I know someone who’s possibly reading this wants to find out my confirmation name. Well, go to lesman’s easyjournal from the journal network and scan through his entries… :p

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dilemma

Published
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acroamatic
on Monday, 16 June 2003
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Once again, I face a decision:
Go to Grampians as originally planned? Or…
Stay in Melbourne and watch Australia v England on Saturday?

Now that I have kaki to watch, and there are still tickets available… (Thank goodness Melburnians have no idea how to appreciate Rugby Union.)

Why go to Grampians?
1. Get away from the city
2. Take photos of beautiful scenery
3. Exercise
4. As a recce trip for when I go to Grampians with friends
5. Staying to watch the match (and just being in the city) will burn a hole in my pocket. Need the cash for other things

Then again…
I will still have to spend money to contribute for petrol, to pay for food, to buy film and pay for developing & printing. Also, I’m not THAT desperate to get out of the city.

Why stay to watch Rugby?
1. England just might beat Australia
2. I get to spend time with Damian and Penny & those who are going home for hols
3. I can party with friends on Thursday night without worrying about waking up late on Friday morning
4. Squash on Friday!
5. No need to rush things before and after the Grampians trip

Then again…
I’ll be in a foul mood if England loses. I’ll be watching two Rugby World Cup matches later this year anyway.

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getting squashed

Published
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acroamatic
on Monday, 16 June 2003
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Played squash on Saturday with Brian, Denning, Felicia, Florence and Jason. Deanna was there too, but I didn’t get a chance to have a game with her.

Our little squash group has grown. Su Li usually joins us. Bryant and Christine want to start learning too.

Brian’s game improved dramatically from the previous day’s marathon session with me. Jason’s game seems to have plateaued, but I’m sure he can get to a point when he can beat me consistently. Denning’s powerful and quick, and that poses a problem when I play against him. For some strange reason, our games seem to be closer than when he plays Jason. Felicia has improved tremendously over time. Florence… hahaha… Don’t get me wrong, she can hold her own on court. But she’s damn funny. Watching her play or playing against her. Sure to laugh!

I thoroughly enjoyed my game with Jason. There was a point at 4-0 in one of the games. We were running every inch of the court. Left me out of breath, and that let him back into the game.

I remember being down 0-6 to Denning almost at the end of the day. He lost serve, and proceeded to lose the next nine points. I won’t say it was my best game, but I wasn’t expecting to come back like that.

We spent nearly three hours playing. When I got home, I realised that it would be my last squash session with some of these people for a while.

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brainwashed

Published
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acroamatic
on Monday, 16 June 2003
in Musings
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Felicia asked a few interesting questions. I don’t claim to speak for the church, but these are my views.

Did our faith brainwash us?

If it did, what does that change? Love one another… love our enemies… Not the way of the world, but good (and brilliant) advice nonetheless, right? Too bad we don’t seem to heed it a lot of the time. Maybe we haven’t been SUFFICIENTLY brainwashed.

Why do you we believe in what we believe in?

Faith. (As opposed to religion.) Pure blind faith. Do you believe that’s air you’re breathing? ;)

Why do we think all that we do is correct?

Ah, personally, I don’t think we are correct. Or to be more accurate, I don’t think others are wrong. The simplest way I can put this is that I believe God came to save us ALL. One reason why there is so much strife in the world is because we choose to play this “I’m right, and you are wrong” game. When we play that game, it means most of the world is condemned.

Of course, I’m not sure how someone of a different religion would answer this question.

If we believe that what we believe in is right, can we (I) say that we have been brainwashed into thinking that it was right?

A combination of my faith and life experiences has led me to the conclusion above. Brainwashed? Nah.

Are we any less brainwashed than the people who belong in what we brand as ‘cults’?

Back to the first response. What’s the goal? How has the ‘brainwashing’ changed our lives? Or has it changed our lives at all? I dunno. ‘Brainwashing’ is such a dubious term… I’m not an expert of cults but I’m sure that their means of leading you to believe and the contents of their belief are duplicitous.

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