Wah..

“And men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty waves of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars, yet pass over the mystery of themselves without a thought.”

~n Augustine of Hippo

Quote on Critcism

Writing several years ago in the New York Times, Dwight Garner noted:

Criticism […] doesn't necessarily mean heaping scorn. It means making fine distinctions. It means talking about ideas, aesthetics and morality as if these things matter (and they do). It's at base an act of love.

Old songs

Listening to old songs
Kenny G, Jim Brickman, Whitney Houstan,  Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra
Songs an aunty called "too old" for the secondary school students

Looking through old photos
Finding the old me

The innocent child 
The simple desires of the heart
The simple habits and thoughts and feelings
In the big unknown world

Finding the thread that connects the different seasons
To examine the consistency
To guess what the big tapestry is like

Seeing what I did
and what was out of control
seeing how my life and other people's lives interconnected
and how God was over it all

In the hope of living well
in the hope of fulfilling the purpose for which I was made
to enjoy and glorify Him
something everyone had started on even before knowing Him
something I hope all the more to do in the years to come
with all of me.

The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.

~ John Piper in Desiring God

Snippets of Bernanke's graduation address

"If you think that the bad or indifferent results that too often come out of Washington are due to base motives and bad intentions, you are giving politicians and policymakers way too much credit for being effective." (Hahaha)

"...Honest error in the face of complex and possibly intractable problems is a far more important source of bad results than are bad motives. For these reasons, the greatest forces in Washington are ideas, and people prepared to act on those ideas. Public service isn't easy. But, in the end, if you are inclined in that direction, it is a worthy and challenging pursuit. "

~ Ben Bernanke

Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/06/ben-bernanke-to-princeton-grads-the-world-isnt-fair-and-you-all-got-lucky/276471/ 

Truth and comfort

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort, you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair."
~ C S Lewis, Mere Christianity

ACJC's values, as imprinted on my mind, are:
Integrity,
Tenacity,
Passion,
In the Pursuit of Truth.

I did not understand the significance of the fourth value at the time.
And I remember asking my teachers about it, only to receive a dissatisfying answer.

Nevertheless, I am thankful that God led me through depths of despair, and to His peace, which transcends all understanding, and guards my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Nice Familial Song

So recently I've been listening to songs by Keith and Kristyn Getty. This one is called "A Mother's Prayer". :)

Flexibility

A Tembusu Fellow/Professor that I have bumped into many times at Tembusu commented that the one thing that stands out between students/colleagues at ivy league universities and Beijing/Asian universities is that:

On the negative side:
The U.S. ivy league/competitive students are exceedingly kiasu - they can argue with the professor for one whole day for merely one mark - when that kind of time can be spent in understanding the material better to gain perhaps 10 marks more in the final exam.

On the positive side:
They are flexible; they find a way to do whatever they want to get done. One roadblock? No problem, try something else. If no? Try something else. If no? Try something else. Repeat till mission accomplished.
Asian students/colleagues - upon hitting one roadblock, they wait for the superiors for further instructions, or for a solution.


I think Malaysians are a bit of both.
Look at the elections and the creativity of the Malaysian politicians.

Lol. I just hope everything goes safely,
that the people have some integrity and consideration for others in the midst of emotional turmoil.

 --
On a side note, I think it's about time I make some plans and stop eating the bread of idleness, which is very bland.