Hallo ihr alle da draussend...i just made a discovery...i don't know why but why do people have a thing against junior officers who wear their uniform home? The 23 SA guys like called my name loudly and demanded to know what i was doing booking out in my uniform. Then i got so many weird looks on the bus home. Sigh...what on earth is there to look at?! It's only one chocolate bar...please don't stare goggle-eyed as if i'm some general or what...it's...disquieting to say the least...
And for all of you who think i deserved those weird looks, well here's the situation. I can stay out tonight, but tomorrow i have to go back by 0700 because i have to draw arms by 0715 so that i can go for a deployment exercise (yes, again) sigh...so yes i doubt i'll book in early enough to change up and all that so i simply decided to book out in number 4! Is there anything fundamentally wrong...i doubt so...and no i don't think civilian life is everything...it's important but so is the army. It's my life for these 2 years so i think i'll make the best out of it...The mentality of 'Serve and F*ck off' should stop - unfortunately even there are officers with that kind of mentality sadly...
I read with a sense of growing disgust within me that the Chinese syllabus in Singapore is going to get cut by another glorious 40%. It really makes me wonder what the Ministry of Education is trying to do here...what now, rob us further of our heritage? Goodness. And they said they'd eliminate 'topics which bear least relevance to Singaporean youth' - well, pardon me for being such a prude, but i thought pieces about the greater Chinese poets of our past really hinted more at our heritage, something which we should be taking pride in and they actually got axed. They are again fearing that the emphasis is on learning words which may have little practical value and are difficult to learn and so the poor kids will face learning difficulties and will cause them to detest chinese. Kids like this are dickheads, and unfortunately they are everywhere. Schools aren't doing much by emphasizing that english is the way to go - don't they see the rise of the dragon in the foreseeable future? It is then which multilingualism - something which Singaporeans have always prided themselves on - will actually become a valuable commodity in the global market. And yes by then we will probably have dug our own graves by destroying that multilingualism.
Learning how to write your own language is part of your own identity as ethnic Chinese, or whatever race you belong to. Will the Ministry please wake up and tell those dickheads that shunning your heritage for the decadent West (yes, even yours truly used that term. Irony...) is not the way to go and that well...speaking your mother tongue is cool! I'm proud of what i am...the worst part is that it really showed how shallow today's parents really are. When interviewed, some even complained that 'we should have been informed earlier so my poor stressed-out suicidal children wouldn't have to study for them.' Well surprise surprise, but stress is what you place on your children to perform well. Work is important but you have to balance it up...yes, despite Chinese immigrants worldwide consistently aceing their classes each year, kids still need a childhood...Okay let's not digress - is this what education is all about? Examen und nichts anders? Have we really been conditioned into this pathetic state? And all this bullshit about cutting the syllabus. We don't just have to know how to read, write and talk. Language, as i finally discovered during my LEP days, is more than just that. Anyone can learn to read, write and talk. But learning any language is more than that. It's about getting to know a culture better - looking into the past and learning more about a people. I did that with German over a short 2 years and it's done me wonders. Although i don't profess to be an expert on China, i do see it as important to know your heritage, to know your culture and background.
So what does MOE stand for? Ministry of Eggheads.
A twinge of guilt passes through me when i reflect on all the times that i thought China a backwater and would rather be...ab in Europa, you understand? I guess i'm also a victim of the system. I'm lucky that i'm only not afflicted to such an extent.
After that intermezzo (hell it should have been the main topic), here comes the second main piece: Umbriel. Who is Umbriel? She represented everything evil in Alexander Pope's satire 'The Rape of the Lock' and this is also something i wrote today. Letting your mind wander does have its advantages. You keep alert (important!) and also can be creative!
Umbriel...
Voices raised in a cry of rage
Forgotten are the words of the sage
But now it's late, way too late
Peace is dead - the Amen is said...
Now she wears a coat of colour
Revels in chaos all around her
Beauty incarnate, Umbriel Frost her name
Dare you come to try her game?
The lust she breeds in the eyes of brothers
Lovers into heartless killers
Pandora's box, dark chest of wonders
More than just a fallen angel
'Why?' They cried in sorrow and pain
Blood has coloured the earth red
Umbriel Frost was just a name
Was no fantasy but their bane...
The world has fallen, brought to its knees
Another kingdom lost and buried in sand
What she's accomplished sets her free
Terrible deeds, terrible but grand.
posted by quatscherei @ 21:44
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