que pasa - from_the_observatory

Boys' Morning Out

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:59:00 +0800

Turns out I'm not the only one who's a fan of Mac's breakfasts. In my past 3 visits to this particular Mac's near my place, I've noticed this bunch of 6 middle aged men who sit in the middle of the restaurant and have energetic discussions about various topics. I say various topics because they're speaking Shanghainese, which I don't understand.

They're there every week, before I arrive and stay around after I leave. They're having a great time. Talking rather passionately, as if they're discussing on some very important matter. Then again, they could just be bitching although they wouldn't…

The R.C.

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:37:50 +0800

Some of you have probably seen the soap The O.C. and enjoyed the drama that was going on there. I'm seeing The R.C. over here, live. The Residents' Committee.

The other night, when i came home, there were 20 people gathered in the lobby (which made it feel rather claustrophobic actually) talking at the top of their voices. In shanghainese. On the way up, I asked the other passenger what was going on and my memory is fuzzy on this, but she either said that they were talking about the new R.C. or changing the R.C.

Some of you know what…

Dancing in the moonlight

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:22:24 +0800

Remember the park of the stupid cows? I was there last night . There was a mad party going on at the flat square (non-grass area), well kinda.

I walked closer to see what people were gathering there about and then I heard wafts of waltz-type music playing. There were all these middle-aged/senior couples dancing together in the courtyard. Real moves. They knew the footwork, the poise, the hand/arm positions. Some were even dressed up and were clearly performing for others. Some couples would prance their way around the courtyard very elegantly, others would just stay around the same area and…

Birthday surprises

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:09:57 +0800

We were supposed to do this birthday suprise thing for one of our friends by pretending we had other plans instead of not going for dinner with him after our meeting (which he probably expected us to since it was his birthday on the same day). But in the end his girlfriend called it off because he had already asked her to make sure everybody knew it was his birthday and get people together, so it wouldn't be a surprise afterall.

Strangely enough, some people were rather irritated at the change of plans, or at how the change of plans was…

Friends for a season

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:18:54 +0800

I was talking to a friend the other day, she was bothered by certain friendships which seemed to have turned awkward or estranged. While I'm certainly not the guru on friendships, nor am I good at keeping in touch with friends, I have always felt that friends and friendship are Papa's gifts, i think i might have called it "chemistry" before.

There's no particular reason why some people click. And there's no particular reason why people change and don't click like they use to. Friends move in and out of our lives, and as I live in this city where there's…

The God of "One more year"

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:15:20 +0800

On Sunday, Mr. T (one of my home church missionaries working in Middle Country) shared a message which struck a chord deep in me. I generally look forward to his sharing because his messages succinct and "fat-free". I’ve articulated my takeaway from his latest sharing once but I think it has become significant enough to share with all.

In Luke 13:6-9, Jesus told the parable of the barren fig tree. Mr. T interpreted the parable to be that Papa is the keeper who pleaded with the owner to give the barren fig tree one more year to live, during which the…

Eyebrows

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:27:00 +0800

Supposed to be writing report now. But I've been distracted by thinking about eyebrows.

Someone told me about how nicely shaped eyebrows (esp on women) can make all the difference. Noticed that Jordin Sparks (on her music videos) has nice eyebrows. Have also been looking the eyebrows of people around me lately.

It's kinda fascinating, I don't know why. Nice eyebrows can be really nice!

Not impressed

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 12:39:39 +0800

Googled for reviews on the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony just now and it seems that the world really liked what it saw. Stuff along the lines of "perfect 10", "perfect night" and "rave reviews" were peppered among my search results.

I disagree though. I think the Chinese were trying too hard. I know that it's rare to have such an opportunity when foreigners watch the country with their prior prejudices put aside, but the crash course in the evolution of the nation was absolutely unnecessary.

I also felt that the build up was poorly done. I thought such ceremonies should generally…

An open mind

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:05:00 +0800

This letter submitted to The Straits Times in Singapore proposes the case that it is not hard to learn Chinese, contrary to what many Singaporeans think. He gives his instance of how he is now proficient in both English and Chinese because of his open mind.

I didn't think much of the article at first. In fact, I ignored it when I read the headlines. Because I thought it was just some Chinese educated guy or someone with a strong Chinese background bragging about how he learn English which to me is no big deal because I do feel that English…

News: Seven "social" sins

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:20:00 +0800

The Vatican has put together a list of seven "social" sins as follows:
1. 'Bioethical' violations such as birth control
2. 'Morally dubious' experiments such as stem cell research
3. Drug abuse
4. Polluting the environment
5. Contributing to widening divide between rich and poor
6. Excessive wealth
7. Creating poverty
(Original article here)

The seven deadly sins are pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth.

In one of the early chapters of "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hussein (which is a pretty good book by the way), one of the characters' father tells his son, with regards to what…