Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Coincidences of Coincidences

Think of it this way.

I walk into Fort Camp Lounge to practice piano, and see two guys already there. One of them is waiting for a third person to arrive at the Lounge before the three of them take off.

Lo and behold, I'm from The Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College, class of 2005. The one waiting is from The Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College, class of 2003. The one arriving is from The Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College, class of 2001.

This world is small.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Global flu pandemic could kill 62 million, says survey

Or will it? I won't harp on the article; anybody can read it and formulate an opinion on their own. Rather, I'll discuss a bit of my thoughts on the responses to the article.

People say that scaremongering is a trend, a culture amongst doomsday scenario scientists, and it's getting cliched by now. And I agree with them, but I don't view it as a problem. It was the doomsday scenario painters who predicted that SARS would kill millions worldwide, but because of effective response, none of those deadly figures were reached. Singapore wasn't wiped out, China's countryside remained populated, and Thailand didn't suddenly have death figures in the thousands. It was those doomsday figures, and many other factors working in tandem with mathematical model estimates, that galvanized medical professionals into action to prevent the prophecies from coming true.

Those who criticize scientific estimates should re-look at how they obtain those estimates, and the importance of alerting people to those alarming figures. Only then they'd be able to get a better appreciation for these numbers.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Rnd

Okay, some random thoughts.

Working at Staples is getting really fun. Dan's an excellent consultant who gets the team sales going really well.

I'm a bit tired, though.

Swimming last night brought such a great feeling to me today. I think I'll go again tomorrow after work. $3.25 is a small thing to pay for that feeling... and staying in the pool for 1.5 hours felt awesome. The muscles feeling slightly fatigued, then rested for 8 hours in bed... nothing can beat that feeling right now.

I need to get down to making more bookmarks...

Cheap headphone's aren't that bad after all. $15 for a pair of Sony headphones with great sounding bass. I'm gonna try out Croatian Rhapsody on my comp...

Okay. That's it. Updates for the sake of updates.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Discipline

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.

Proverbs 12:1

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Ahh, white christmas.

Hey Eric,

If you still don't have a place to stay over christmas, I talked to my parents, and they are more than happy to have you here. We already have relatives coming, so one more is always welcome. If you are still planning to sleep on the street, or want a chance to spend a christmas in the Canadian rockies, get time off work, and get a greyhound or Plane ticket (both are probably cheaper than even a few nights in a hotel), and come down to Cranbrook BC. If you end up coming by plane, the airline that you want is Pacific coastal.

We would pick you up at this end, and have a bed for you (my house was a bed and breakfast before we bought it)free of charge, as well as a christmas atmosphere. We currently have about a foot of snow outside, and are putting decorations on our trees today. There is both wintery and christmas stuff to do here, but you would still have a good amount of down-time.

Feel free to ponder, and e-mail me back, or phone me (250-489-5597).

Talk to you later,

Myles

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Unfortunately, I have to pass up this opportunity. My work schedule doesn't permit it this year, but I hope to go up north with Myles next year to see it in person. What a great man, Myles.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

My Outburst

Dear mom,

I will not apologize for my outburst, because I truly felt that it was
wrong for you to go on this idiotic fasting thing. To me, it's not
even a thing to discover - it's simply an absurd and idiotic idea that
shouldn't even be considered. People here in Canada can live well
without having to go on such absurd ideas; why do you have to do that?
I'd say it's risky, you've got pressure from the rest of the group,
and you'd be wrecking up yourself over nothing. My word on it: It's
insane.

And about Evan, if you say that whether he fails in life or succeeds
in life is entirely up to him, then why do you have confidence in your
own method working? What will it work for? What result will it
produce, if it works? I still don't get it. And by suggesting that he
come over to Canada so that I can take care of him completely misses
the point. You know for a fact that unless I quit my studies, I won't
be able to support him here. Additionally, if I quit my studies, what
am I to do to fulfil my potential for the world, for Canada, and for
our family in the future? I felt that the suggestion was 100% inane,
and that you said it in a moment of madness, and should never have
mentioned it.

Perhaps I should never have cared about what goes on in Singapore to
ask Evan and you about what goes on at home, right? Should I still
bother asking? Or in the future, shall I just report to you what goes
on here, without having to stress myself over the family situation in
Singapore? Shall I? Do you really want that? If you do, just tell me,
so that I can put my mind to rest on this issue. Because I realized
that each time I care about something in the family, it will run
contrary to what you want to do. So I'm starting to think that if you
know exactly what you're doing, perhaps then I shouldn't ask about
things at home, and question the things that you do. Maybe I should
just shut up about such stuff, and happily continue with my studies in
bliss, right? Then I wouldn't have to feel 100% f***** over for my
exams and care about these things, isn't it? Then you would have a
peace of mind too, knowing that you don't have to get challenged on
your actions. Then everybody would be happy, living in ignorance of
the reality that lies behind the facade.

I ask because I care. But if I shouldn't be asking, because it'll
always result in my outbursts and your getting mad and Evan suffering
in between, then please tell me so. Tell me, so that I can live in
bliss here in Vancouver, just having to report to you what I do,
without bothering about you and Evan in Singapore. If you want it that
way, tell me, so that in future, you'll hear all the good and bad news
from me, and you'll never have to get me incensed over the stuff you
do.

Tell me.

Eric