Let's go on an adventure

You know what irks me about this place?
It's the fact that people here are so bloody unable to believe that money and an easy job is not everything.

They have forgotten there may be passion. And ambition built upon passion, not upon the accumulation of wealth.

giRaffe is irked by the fact that when she says she wishes to go out of this place, people assumes she does it because she thinks that things might be easier elsewhere or money might come more quickly. And then they try to tell her, like they are so experienced and so knowledgeable, you know, everyone who goes out realises that life is very hard out there. Believe me, you have to stay here because life is much easier back home.
giRaffe wishes to scream to them, giRaffe doesn't wish to get out of this place because she wants an easier life. She knows there are going to be difficulties outside, and life is going to be much easier for her back home. But it is precisely because of these difficulties that giRaffe wishes to go out. She wishes to stretch herself, to see more, to learn more, to grow more. She longs for a chance to face greater challenges and achieve greater satisfaction. And she longs for somewhere she can really let her passion for what she does grow. She wishes to see and experience new possibilities and even though they might come with more sweat and toil, giRaffe believes they will be worth it.

Because you see, giRaffe doesn't want to go through her life just going through everyday. giRaffe can be assured of a very comfortable living just doing what she does for the rest of her life, and certainly, giRaffe does gain a sense of satisfaction at most of the work she does. But giRaffe always longs for more. For bigger challenges, for further limits.

giRaffe chooses what she does based upon the amount of good she believes she can do and the challenges there are. Never based upon the amount of money. Why is it so hard for people around her to accept that? And giRaffe sometimes chooses to do things which are difficult rather than easy because she believes she can stretch herself a little bit more. Why is it so difficult for people to accept that?

giRaffe is not saying that people shouldn't want an easy life, a comfortable living. giRaffe likes that too. giRaffe loves that. giRaffe does wish she has lots of money too. But giRaffe also longs for something more that simply a comfortable living, especially in things she is passionate about. And when she has to make a choice, giRaffe has no qualms giving up some of that comfortable living in exchange for adventures. giRaffe is not saying everyone must be like her (after all won't the world be a horribly boring place if everyone is alike?), but that please do believe and accept the fact that giRaffe might prioritise things differently from you.

giRaffe's Little One likes a comfortable life too. And a comfortable furry blankie.

giRaffe feels very constricted here by the things she can do, but more than that, she feels stifled by people's beliefs and expectations. There are so many who are afraid to jump out of the box, to dare to try something different, to live life as a huge adventure. And worse than that, there are those who not only refuses to jump into the adventure of their life, they are fearful of letting others do so too. Because they are afraid of the unknown, and the uncertain, and of people not fitting nicely into their boxes, they try to prevent anyone from doing things that they cannot imagine.

Maybe, just maybe, giRaffe is afraid of being ordinary.

Of the Star Trek Universe and giRaffe...

For those of you who knows a giRaffe and for the rest of you now, you must know that giRaffe is an avid Star Trek Fan. All the series and all the movies. I can tell you Captain Picard's dialogue, word-perfect. I can tell you the exact instances when Spock smiled. And I can tell you exactly what Dr Crusher is going to do and say and I might even act her part, word and action perfect, though of course I cannot act as well as her, nor am I as cute.

cute, no?

 Well of course, the point of this post is not to ramble on and on about how cute Dr Beverly Crusher is (though she really IS cute), but about the whole Star Trek Universe and the ideas Gene Roddenberry brought forth in his brainchild. Ideas and ideals that resound totally with giRaffe's world-view and beliefs.

Star Trek was built upon a universe where many planets have entered this coalition known as the Federation. And planets which are in this Federation, earth included, are supposed to have already resolved their internal conflicts and are fully unified before their membership can be accepted. How beautiful if we could have a planet where you can travel from north to south, east to west, without hearing about wars, about fighting with each other for land, for natural resources, for money, for beliefs, for freedom. How wonderful when all the resources in the world is expended to build each other up instead of tearing each other down. When even though cultures in different parts of the planet are different, but trust is mutual and no one is above any other.

The basic premise of Star Fleet and the Federation, including the Prime Directive whereby one is not supposed to interfere with the natural progression of any world, are all built upon personal rights and freedom. Every single sentient being has the right to his or her own beliefs as long as they do not cause harm to others, and every single sentient being is free to make their own choices and speak for what they believe in.

And people on earth no longer work for money but for their own personal satisfaction and aspirations. We no longer have to worry about having a roof over our head, having enough to eat and clothe ourselves. And we have the satisfaction of doing something we love to, and to watch it grow, watch ourselves grow with it.

Of course, much as giRaffe loves Star Trek's universe, giRaffe has no idea how to turn the world the way it is now, into the world of Star Trek. Maybe there are just un-succumbable barriers to the universe of Star Trek, giRaffe don't know. Maybe it is just un-attainable.

But the fact is, having seen the possibility of such a universe, giRaffe wonders, when she looks in the world around her now, why it could not be so. Why are the people fighting senseless battles for senseless things? Why are people spending all the wealth building up weapons just to kill each other off when they can spend it on building each other up? Despite the global fears of energy crises, of food crises, giRaffe believes, there is actually enough to sustain the world's population. But people have to stop wasting it on destruction, but channel it all into construction. And at the same time channelling the resources and energies into finding more sustainable food sources, energy sources, instead of building better and better nuclear weapons to attempt to wipe half the world out. What is the point anyway if you kill away half the earth? If the brains for building weapons are used instead for other inventions, who knows, maybe a replicator or a holodeck might be built soon.

Why are people fighting with each other over tiny differences in ideas when they can just accept that every single being is entitled to his or her point of view. And the world is better for having differing point of views. Why are people so eager to control others? So many questions giRaffe has no answer to.

Well, giRaffe does not know how to change the world, but she can do the little bit she has the power to, that is to believe that the world can and should become a better place, albeit slowly. And even though giRaffe has no idea what to do to change many things happening around her, she can do what she is able to, that is to share her ideas and her beliefs. Who knows, someone with a little more power than giRaffe to change something might take on that idea and roll it into something bigger and someone else takes it on from there and so on and it might end up into something great. Or even if it doesn't end up anywhere, at least more people can have this idea (if they believe in it) fixed into their mind and let it guide them in their everyday decisions and actions.

And that is what giRaffe hopes to do by sharing her tiny random ramblings. And here's some more Dr Crushers for you.

Kittehs win...

When humans dislike someone:
In the presence of others, they act so nice and concerned about the well-being of that someone.
In the absence of others, they stab that someone behind the back, they talk ill of that someone if they can get away with it, and if they see that someone in distress and they can get away with it, they walk away and pretend that nothing has happened.

 My Older Boy did not like the Little One when he first arrived:
In my presence, he whapped the Little One, he hissed at the Little One.
In my absence (or when he did not notice me looking), he cuddles the Little One when he sleeps (because the Little One somehow cannot sleep if no one is cuddling him, he looks out for the Little One, and when strangers come and the Little One is scared, he stands in between the strangers and the Little One and hisses at the strangers to make them leave the Little One alone.

Now tell me which is the better species?

minore

The goblins trotted around, free as anything.
Sinisterly trotting around.
Like they owned the place.
In fact they probably do.

The great gust of breath from the almighty you.
You who think you inhabit the place.
Attempting to sweep them away.
They pretend to scatter.
A delusion.
A sad delusion.

The song enters the realm of the major key.
You think light and rainbow awaits.
A delusion.
A sad delusion.

When you are not looking,
The goblins embed their minor key within your major.
Subtly modulating, subtly modulating.
Like they owned the place.
In fact they probably do.

In that brief moment when you were not looking,
The goblins started trotting about again.
Free as they like.
Like they owned the place.
In fact they probably do.

me? I'm brilliant, aren't I?

I wrote this on facebook last night before I went to sleep and the more I sleep on it, the more brilliant I thought it was and so, I think I just have to share this on my blog too.

"know why people update statuses on twitter? Because they are narcissistic egotistical prigs.
know why people update statuses on facebook?
Because they are long-winded narcissistic egotistical prigs.
Know why people blog?
Because twitter and facebook are not enough to sustain their egotistical narcissism.
Me? I use all the above three.
Muahahahaha...my egotistical narcissism knows no boundaries!"

Thank you everyone for taking your time to read this....muahahahahahaha.....

of the magazine that ends up in the recycling bin without being flipped open once

Has anyone heard of this magazine called "Duet"? No, it has got nothing to do with two people playing music together. Because you see, this "Duet" is another of this uniquely singapore thing. It is this magazine you will receive (no option to opt out of) once you graduate from the university, and YOU ARE NOT MARRIED.

This magazine comes with a free membership (once again, no way of opting out) to the SDU or the Social Development Unit for the non-Singaporean readers. SDU organizes all sorts of "fun" activities that lets you, who had been buried in your books the past few years at the university and forgotten what it means to have a social life, meet people of the opposite sex! Wow, you get opportunities to meet people of the opposite sex!

Yes, it is our dear government's way of eugenics. You see, one gets the complimentary subscription to "Duet" and membership to the SDU only if you are a university graduate. Because it means you are intelligent and the nation wants your genes. If you are simply a diploma holder, sorry folks, the government does not think your genes worthy enough to be passed on.

While I've no problems with people who may want to go to activities organized by SDU or any other groups and want to meet new people of the opposite sex, I have problems with the core ideas of SDU (and essentially, the government.)

Yes, let people who enjoy meeting new people, who wants to perhaps find a potential partner, go ahead and do it. But do not force everyone else to do the same. Yes, yes, yes, I know that I am not being forced to go to anything I do not want to, but I do not like the idea that I have no choice of opting out of the SDU membership or the "Duet" subscription if I do not want them. And even more, I hate the idea that only university graduates get this. So people who are not university graduates are not as important? Isn't this a message the government sends to the people? That you better not spread your genes around because we only want genes from people who can graduate from the university. Maybe they better start conducting IQ tests for people who wants to become parents too?

I'm extremely irked every single time I find a copy of this magazine in my letterbox because it serves once again to remind me, I am being coerced! I don't even have a choice of saying, hey come on, save the environment, I'm not interested in your magazine or in meeting anyone of the opposite sex (all my friends who are members of the opposite sex, don't get me wrong, I love you all. I'm just not interested in meeting members of the opposite sex to find my potential partner or in such a forced situation and circumstance.) I don't even flip open the magazine when I get it, I simply throw it into the recycling bin. Come on, save your troubles and save the earth. Give me an option to opt out of receiving your magazine please, and also give me an option of opting out of the SDU membership please!

Sometimes I think all these will look so funny from the point of view of someone who isn't Singaporean. It is really uniquely Singapore and uniquely hilarious, these things they come up with.

female driving...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5g9IEP18KwUHQ7xHZn6lm_IwfH3DA?docId=N0214071327922834548A

Ok, so why do I bother reposting this article? Honestly, I cannot care less if women can drive better or if men can drive better. What I care about is if the drivers sharing the roads with me are safe and good drivers. Who cares if they are males or females, after all I’m not like looking for a mate on the roads.

I reposted this article because I want to talk about this woman-man thing. For those of you who know me, and for the rest of you reading this now, I’m a feminist through and through. And to clarify things a little, feminism is not about woman first, woman great, woman must be the top of everything.

Feminism, as defined by Merriam Webster and yours truly, is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. So to me, feminism also means defending men’s rights as well, if in certain areas, they are being disadvantaged. But of course, being the extremely patriarchic society we had always been historically unless you are from some tribes in the amazon or some secluded mountainous areas or some other rare societies which practices matriarchy, females have always been the more disadvantaged gender. Which is why feminism has developed to become something of a female thing in the minds of many. But I must reiterate, this is not so. This is purely about equality.

Aside from the rare cases of people who are born with both sexual organs or maybe none (I’m not very sure, are there people who are born neither male nor female? I’ve read about those born with both male and female sexual organs, but never without yet.), roughly fifty percent of the world can be classified as male and fifty as female according to their reproductive organs. Of course, not all of them might identify with the sexual organs they are born with, but that is another thing altogether. And within this fifty percent of the people, I’m sure there can be found much more variance within than between these two fifty percent. The point I’m trying to make is, if one insists on categorising people into groups according to the sexual organs they are born with, they are missing out on a lot of other aspects of this person.

I’ve had some people tell me, you drive very confidently. (Note, they are perceptive enough to compliment only that I drive confidently, not that I drive well or safely because sometimes I could be quite a reckless driver. Heh.) Well, of course I feel awesome after hearing that. But some of them will have to add in, “Most females are not confident driving, you know”. That takes out all the good feelings that came when they paid me the compliment. Can’t you just take my driving skills and compliment me based solely on that, without having to qualify my skills with your stereotyped ideas of females being a certain way? I’m sure many drivers, male and female alike share certain traits with me, traits which have absolutely nothing to do with their reproductive organs. For myself, I love driving. I love being behind the wheel, feeling the power of speed. And I have loved cars and driving for as long as I can remember. Since I was a child, my toys of choice were cars, vehicles, I rather play driving games than with other things. Heck, my childhood ambition was to be a firetruck driver. Not a fireman mind you, but just the driver of the firetruck because it is so awesome cool and can go faster than any other vehicles and they all have to give way to you. And because I love driving, I thus had more practice and therefore feel more confident at it. And practice doesn’t involve only the driving after I got my car, I started practising ever since I had my first driving toy! So naturally, driving comes easily to me. And I’m sure any other male or female who loves driving can share similar tales. Nothing to do with our reproductive organs.

Equality is a concept that plays a very important role in my ethical outlook. Of course, I understand that in this world, nothing can be absolutely equal. Heck there is nothing that is absolute for that matter. But in this grossly unequal world, can’t we all do what we can to set the balance right ever so little?

I’m always extremely irked when people have to refer to one’s gender in evaluating others. Aside from talking about whether that person can be a mother or a father biologically, or about their reproductive organs, or about the sexual relationships they might have; after all you cannot become a mother or a lesbian if you have male reproductive organs and so on (Or perhaps you can, if you have male reproductive organs but you do not identify with them and you want to have sexual relations with a female as a female, but ok, I’m getting out of the point), I do not think that one’s gender should be the thing affecting how others view oneself.

Of course everyone is different and in every attribute, we all lie on a continuum. But judge that person according to their individual characteristics instead of putting them into a box and labeling them male or female. I hate it when my friends will tell me, I have this FEMALE boss who is so picky and petty and whatever, emphasising on the word FEMALE. Or worse still, some will tell me, I’ve got this new boss who is female, I’m doomed, implying females will be terrible bosses, even before they got to know the new boss and find out what sort of a person she is. There may be lousy female bosses, but the lousy comes with who they are, not what gender they are. How unfair it is for good bosses if they happen to be female.

I know of a man who crochets as a hobby. He is not “sissy” in any way and he crochets simply because he enjoys making things out from pictures he has in his mind. I know of a female who is a very maternal mother and at the same time rides a humongous harley davidson and teaches martial arts. The reproductive organs they are born with doesn’t limit them to certain hobbies or certain professions - they chose to do what they are doing because they happen to be good at it and they love what they are doing. And in the same vein, any other person’s reproductive organs shouldn’t be limiting them to what they like and can do either.

A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions. Both these mental heuristics are very clearly, extremely unfair for the disadvantaged group. To have a belief that one is good, and hence acting on the self-fulfilling prophecy and really becoming good is of course, great. But to have the misfortune of belonging to the group which is being stereotyped as lousier, poorer, more negative also means that individuals of this group tend to believe it and become this way as well, regardless of how good or bad this person actually is. Isn’t this something we who call ourselves progressive and advanced and enlightened should strive to eliminate? This unfairness and giving people labels before finding out who they really are?

As our world gets more and more advanced and physical hurdles can be more and more easily solved with technology, the differences between gender grows less and less. After all, who needs brute strength nowadays? Sadly though, plenty of our mindset do not change with the times.

Females, by depending simply on their brains instead of competing via physical strength, can be as good as males. Note I do not imply that females are BETTER than males. I believe both to be equal. There are just as many intelligent males as there are females, the gender shouldn’t play a part.

However, because of the deeply ingrained beliefs, many females are disadvantaged because they believe themselves to be not as good. And many people believe females to be not as good too, and thus give them a much harder time to prove themselves.

Whether you are male or female, think about it. Do you want the world to be so unfair? We are definitely not born all equal, but let this show through our real attributes, our real characters, our real abilities. Do not let the fact that one has a certain type of reproductive organs affect how you perceive who that person really is. Come on, do a little to make a world a better place and make feminism your way of life from today!