Sunny side of Sept 29th

A lot of nice things happened today so I must note them down before I start chiong-ing what I want to present to Prof. Lee tomorrow (which is a not so nice thing. Opz).

Had to do some sai-kang work for yesterday and today in Biotech. Like what my supervisor said, sai-kang work is fun if you do it once in a while, but I would really, really need a VERY good motivation to do it daily. Two days is still fun :) Especially when

1. My supervisor is doing the work with me so I got to talk to her and eat lunch with her for the first time :D

2. The work is actually quite an important one although it was really sai-kang as well.

3. I met another NTU intern in Biotech! She's the second intern I actually talked to. (There's one which I always greet but never talked to properly.)

4. And I did learn things through the sai-kang work by asking questions on how a product is manufactured.

So overall it was quite a fruitful day at work. Plenty of exercise walking back and forth from API to Biotech too. Better than stoning in front of the computer freezing under air-con trying to be productive during my down time. :p

And I found out why I was accepted for the position (in comparison to two other candidates out of an unknown number of people who applied for the internship). Firstly I wasn't too ambitious and didn't have too lofty expectations of what I was going to do. And secondly, my resume was decent and was close to reality. Overall, it's because I'm a very normal aspiring intern. Haha. I don't know what I should think about this reason. It's enough for now but how about the future? I'll just be a normal needle in a pin cushion of needles.

But I'm really glad my supervisor told me all this because it showed that she cared about her interns and manages their expectations even before they start work. I think my supervisor is a very different person from who I am but I like her all the same as she is.

Learned much in HR class today too. I'm really glad for this 3 MC module because it's so thought provoking. Reminded me of the time Prof. Kai would ask us to write down what we learned in the previous class before class starts. Makes lessons applicable and concrete. The take-home point for me today - before starting work, know what I'm working for. If it's for money, be happy about it and let it be my motivating factor (that's different from 'selling life for money' and waiting for Friday every week). If it's other things: Think of how those needs can be fulfilled during my future work?

As I told my supervisor today, I don't quite think I'll be an engineer when I graduate. But what is it that I like to do? And can I do what I really like to do? Are expectations going to be jarringly different from reality?

The future is so suspenseful. I anticipate it, but yet, I am apprehensive. The only anchor I have is, in the future, just as in the present, God is there for me.

And finally, I'm so thankful to Emily and her mum today for giving me and Kasun a lift back to RH after class. It was just one of those little things that add up to make your day a wonderful one. :) It reminded me of Simon and my fellow church mates and class mates in Singapore and Tampin who are generous with their transport too. Little things like this really go a long way.

The Future

Had our roomie-lunch with Wing Mei and Si Jia last Sunday at Novena after church. It's been a long time since the three of us got together. We talked about random stuff, then I went back with Si Jia and she found the shoes she wanted in Clementi. Koi had it's very long queue as usual, but I went for QB Bubble Tea instead (cheapest bubble tea in Clementi). Their coffee flavored bubble tea tastes very nice. I'm not sure if it was always like that, or they just upped the standard because of competition.

Anyway at church Wing Mei popped a random idea (it felt random to me, but she probably had it in mind for some time). Why don't the two of us (plus Jon and Gideon) go live and work in Australia together (Australia is well known as a relaxing place to work, compared to Singapore anyway)? Then we can live in the same house, share meals to cut cost etc. I totally had no idea to react at all. Can't even see beyond the three year bond I have in Singapore.

I used to be very much afraid of venturing into foreign waters, going unfamiliar places and doing things I don't usually do, but not any more. This final year has been more of thinking than doing. Thinking of what the future might hold. Trying to look beyond the day I come out of UCC in my graduation gown. Yup I know with the absence of good honors my choices are limited in many ways. But still it has opened up other avenue of considerations I might not have considered otherwise.

But still I don't think I want to go that far away at least in a good number of years (unless God calls me to do so). It would be harder and harder to come home. Even in Singapore, I hardly have time to go home now. Somewhere halfway across the globe would be even worse. Sometimes we're so intent on pursuing our dream that we forget to retain the blessings we already have. It is always a trade-off, and engineers understand trade-offs very well.

In the end it all boils down to how we prioritize. For all we know (Jon says) we might end up in some hut in India or something doing God's work. I don't know the future, but I know Who holds my hand. And there are so many things within myself, here and now, that I need to change, without thoughts of venturing further. There's still less than one year's time, where that thing which I call 'the future' would arrive. I wonder what it will bring. But whatever it does, I know for sure He'll be there.

And to Wing Mei: Don't get me wrong, I'd still love living with you, whichever part of the world it is. :p We'll see.

Lin Yu Zhong

I have been listening to Lin Yu Zhong's songs these two days and I realize I quite like his style (although most of his songs have very similar styles, which is the 'very safe' type). Music aside, I think he has some talented lyric-writers working for him - as the songs he sings usually have very comprehensible meanings presented in metaphorical ways.

The song embedded below is one of his songs I found on Baidu - called 改嫁 (Remarrying). I DO NOT like this re-marry concept, but I like the way the music of this song is structured. (And I don't think it's really remarrying - it's like marrying someone else with another person in the mind. Hence I think the ending line is apt - cutting all ties before a new relationship (but to enter marriage with this mindset is rather a sad case).

I couldn't find any MV for the song - so this embedded youtube version is just a black screen. :( Some nice things I like about this song:

1. The way they fused Chinese music (for Chinese wedding), into this very modern sounding song.

2. The general way the music flows.

3. The part almost before the end where they put in 掀起了你的蓋頭來... traditional Chinese folk song intermission. One good way to score points with me when song composing nowadays is to fuse traditional Chinese folk songs with new ones, which they are doing quite a lot actually. Maybe it's just because I like those folk songs :)

4. The chorus at the end - they 'upped the key' but in a different way than usual.

Lyrics: http://www.gugalyrics.com/%E6%9E%97%E5%AE%87%E4%B8%AD-%E6%94%B9%E5%AB%81-LYRICS/277060/

总在我身旁

Our youth group sang this song for parents' day last year. I played the piano - and I so regret not researching the song first. There are so many awesome chords and fillers that I left out just because I didn't listen to the song, and played according to what they sang. :((

It's a nice song :)