goodbye india.

i’m waiting for my parents to finish their yoga lesson before they bring me out for one last dinner around.
this trip has been an awesome one. i did a lot of firsts here in new delhi. it is the first time i met up with a friend overseas and he brought me around delhi. first time i met my cousin after a period of 8 years, she told me a lot about working abroad and life as an asian in canada. the grass always seems to be greener on the other side because you dont see the sad part of their story.
i think india is rising up and i hope they rise up. some singaporeans i met here told me something very negative about their opinion of india. they told me about the flaws of the way how indians work, and how they hope these people remain that way (indians take their time to do stuff), because if the indians rise up, they will overtake Singapore. its just typical singaporean mentality, the “dont steal my ricebowl mentality”. it disappoints me to see that even when one is given a chance to go abroad, he or she does not want to expand his horizons and break into the city’s social circle. i hope that sickening mentality ends at that generation. i hope my generation will want the world to develop into the next level.
i love india, the food. their curry is the best curry i have ever tried. i am not a curry person, or so i thought. in singapore, the curry is so spicy that it numbs your tongue. but the curry here, although its spicy, you can taste the flavour of the spices. the palek paneer is the sex, its a whole new way to make spinach. i love spinach now.
the people here are friendly, i see people driving beside me and they wave at me, smile at me. the people here should stop making eyes and winking at my cousin though. its rude and awkward. the waiters here provide such lovely service. they are proud of their service and i must say they put their heart and soul into everything they do. one such example is my driver. he’s patient when he drives around the busy streets and he is very polite. he still calls me “sir” even though i tell him to call me andy. i will miss him a lot.
well, now its back to singapore. there are several things waiting for me, but i am looking forward to two most important things. i look forward to seeing you!

am i in danger of becoming less racist?

i hope i am.
now whenever people talk about indians/india and they started saying how dirty it is, how horrible the place is, the first questions that pops in my mind is that of whether they have actually set foot here. i think i’m falling in love with india. its food, i had some spinach mixed with cottage cheese paneer today, AWESOME STUFF. and the Chai, sickeningly nice, i wonder how they do it. thanks jams! it people, my driver is a very diligent worker. he drives us around and he is always safe. he doesnt earn a lot, but he takes pride in what he does. very polite guy.

if ever i want to start my campaign of clothing a child and such, i would start with india. i love india so much that i feel that i want to give back to india. i get annoyed when i start discussing with people about the standards of living here, and they just brush it off. i always feel that what we are given, our talents, we can use it to bless the needy and then the world will be a happier place. i want to go on and impact the world like that. but sometimes its real difficult when the world thinks you wont make a difference.

its really difficult to tell you or explain to you how or why i like this place. its more of an experience for one to jump into.

stand by me

i was watching VH1 last night and this MV appeared. very cool cover of a song.

anyways, india has been awesome. i’ve seen parts of india where it is indeed poor but i also see parts of india where skyscrapers fight to reach the sky. yes, there are certain rude people in india, but indians work diligently. my driver is the most patient man ever, if it were me driving in the streets of delhi, i think i would have already killed a few people.

really looking forward to the next couple of days. tomorrow, i’ll be hanging out with Jams. sunday, my cousin from canada would be flying here for a month.

can’t wait to fly back to singapore too. i’ve got this feeling that something great is going to happen. i know whats about to come, but i just cannot wait to announce to everyone. i’m still in talks with the people.

so, tim if you are reading this, tell me, when are you free for your birthday lunch/dinner with me?

so helpful!

indians are a helpful bunch of people. i think singaporeans have got far more things to learn. we were looking for a local tour agency that would bring us to nepal. we got lost in the maze of buildings and as soon as my mum pulled out her hand written address of the agency, a guy came up to direct us with his limited english. i think a total of seven people help us find out way there.

i am pretty certain that if i see a tourist in singapore lost and has his map out, i wont go over to help him/her. but after experiencing how is it like to be helped, i will want to help these tourists next time too.

i think singaporeans do need to climb out of their walls and stop thinking about india as a backward country. yes, they do have backward towns and people do beg for money. but indians men are gentlemanly, the offer to buy the food for the ladies after the ladies sit down. they ladies are lady-like, come to think of it, i haven’t seen any indian lady smoking.

but i still love singapore. the guy beside me the other day told me Singapore is a great city to live in. the food, the people, everything. come on singaporeans, lets take one step further to make singapore a better place for us and foreigners to live in!

perceptions.

i encountered a little incident today at sarojini. its this place where people sell clothes and stuff, a place more for commoners. well, there were still beautiful people there. i realized indians are not afraid to have their photos taken, they POSE for you. no kidding.

so anyway, i was about to climb into the car, this kid from behind screamed at me, i got startled and tried to make a hasty entry into the car. the kid caught up with me, said something i coudnt quite figure out and reached out for my chest. i was holding on to my D200 and a bottle of pepsi, he touched my camera, i thought he was about to snatch my D200 away from me. my hands were already drawn, about to knock the teeth out of the kid. then he grabbed my pepsi and ran off, feeling as if he found gold at the end of a rainbow.

naturally, i was pissed, how could he snatch my drink and run off. thoughts were running through my mind like a train speeding towards the next station (well, if its any train thats speeding, dont think of the MRT please, it demeans the word “speed”). but then i began to sympathize the kid, no one wants to start out begging on the street. and to have to snatch someone else’s bottle of pepsi to taste how is it like, its really quite heart wrenching. im always going to enjoy my coke next time, because people out there have not tasted how is it like.

it just makes me want to get better in my finances even quicker, i have this notion that money i earn is to be used for the less fortunate. let us bring the world closer… the how God intended it to be.

curve or bold?

bold

or curve?

i like it, its nice. slim. and business like. i can update my tweets, surf the net while waiting for people who are really late when it comes to meeting me, etc etc. just that the curve’s an older version, a tad slower and less stylish looking.

but maybe i want to do games too. how?

i will try…

i realized i havent been looking forward to anything in 2009. so i gave it some thought and here’s a list:

1) ORD, Obviously.
2) Hong Kong Convention (i plan to go there. that is if i can save enough and go there.)
3) KL Emerge. its a must. its the trip i went before i enlisted. it shall be the trip i go after i ORD.
4) 31st December. no, not because i want the year to fly past. i want to flip my planner and see that i was an organised person for the year of 09 (by then it’ll be a habit!)
5) Being able to play Jazz songs. Poh taught us.. half a song. looking forward to the other half. and many more insane chords.
6) Trip to India to find my dad. apparently, i’ll have a chaffeuer to pick me up.
7) i really want a golden retriever.
Get back my abs (gotta work on a plan already)
9) Men’s Conference.
10) Single’s Convention.
10 + 1) go try out for at a small little old school pub. singers, anyone?
10 +2)

i hope i will start 2009 with a positive start.

mummy and money..

my dad’s been india for quite a period of time now. i’m kinda glad he’s posted there, no not because he’s hardly around. that’ll be rather sadistic, don’t you think. dad’s been watching his health. no more morning instant noodles as breakfast. instead, he has oatmeal with milk and boils his own soup for dinner. Chef Fong’s ultimate India Escape, a continuation of Jamie Oliver’s Great Italian Escape.

anyways, i’m earning very little now, and with the building fund here, i want to start getting freelance work again. i feel very bad asking my mum for money now even though i am earning very little compared to my brothers when they were in NS. i think i am the only person in my famly not getting any financial help from my mum other than Poh’s monthly guitar fees (she pays half, i pay half) and transport fees. recently, my EZ-Link went wonky (more of the GIRO Account’s problem) so i will need to pay 40 bucks for me to continue with my daily travelling. i do have insurance policies with my prudential financial advisor also, i find it more of an investment than a chore. i think its never too young to start planning for one’s future/retirement.

what gives me faith to continue moving on is the countless of success stories in church. Pastor Kong rode with a bicycle. Pastor Tan rode in a motorbike while he carried a guitar on his back (stuntman). they once barely survived with what they had, but they were good stewards. i totally and absolutely trust in my leaders and what they say. i seriously cannot care less about what others say about how our church is too rich and our extravagance. please wake up your idea. We are never too rich to sow into the kingdom of God. as long as someone out there needs help, our church is not rich enough. as long as there are unchurch people out in the streets, our church is never rich enough not to build another awesomefied building.

“but dude, you’re so poor, what can you do with your little giving? Why are you giving so much?”
because everyone’s poor in their eyes. we always have wants. so then, are we going to give up the building of other people’s life to have our wants?

oh, but don’t get me wrong. i heart money.
money to buy my wants (hey, i believe my God provide for my wants if i am faithful with my finances. don’t ask me why i never donate all my money to God since i want to act so holy. please. God expects you to leave some seeds for the next harvest. and i am pretty sure my God can give me surplus!)

my wants like..

this.

and

this.

happy monday!

i do lots of reportage shots for OCS. usually, its for foreign delegates/officers on visits here. they don’t take notice of me but an indian officer came up and presented me a token of appreciation for taking photos for them. IT MADE MY DAY. really. the gift was small. very small, very old. but so what. i loved it. i love their gesture. it makes me feel appreciated. small gifts are hard to come by. such men are a rarity.

stupid thing-
Wei Long, ” wah, last saturday i watched the match between chikakobulls and… and their muskot hor…”
me, “huh,what team again?”
Ryan,”HAHAHAHAHA”

India never looked so real.

Dad told me last night that there was a bomb blast near new dehli last night. i thought nothing of it until i saw the photo of an anguished villager.

i’ve taken for granted India to be something like Singapore. Man, right now, i just wish my dad were to be back here in Singapore celebrating his birthday with us. 

dad, i miss you. Happy birthday. Do take care of yourself and i know its difficult to cook there. but please do. if you need some recipes, go to www.allrecipes.com. alternatively, you can call any of the two aunts. they miss you.