I wonder why, I have been having several missing images on my blog. I wonder what has happened to some of the images that I had posted on my two blogs.
Since yesterday evening, I have observed that there are quite a number of "empty rectangles" on my blog. All the result of the missing images. I would be happy to reward the first person who could tell me why I have missing images with a heart-felt "thank you".
For now, I would just have to make do with missing images.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Jaw's swelling, yet another infection
My right lower jaw has started swelling since Monday. I had been contemplating whether to see the dentist. I don't have a fear for dentist, possibly because I have been visiting a dentist quite regularly since my teens because I had to wear braces in those years. I was hesitant to see a dentist more because I was quite concerned whether I was making myself seem quite a paranoid, which admittedly I could be at times. I had visited him in early November because of a sharp sensation at the jaw area, only to find out nothing is really wrong. It is just because the jaw bone is growing, to fill the cavity left by the extraction of the wisdom teeth.
For your information, I had extracted two of my wisdom teeth sometime in September this year.
Just when I was rather undecided whether to visit the dentist, two of my friends urged me to visit him anyway over the MSN. So I went this afternoon, and I am glad that I did.
The dentist examined the affected area, and he said there was pus at the affected area. There was an infection, so he helped cleared the affected area of pus. To do so in a painless way, he had to give me injection of local anaesthetic. This had the lower left side of my face and mouth rather numb.
He said because there was a rather deep cavity left by the extraction of the wisdom tooth on the right side of the lower jaw, and because there was a tiny "pocket" where food particles may seep into the cavity, that is why the infection had occurred. My best bet is that the cavity would be filled up in time to come by jaw bone. If I were to have another infection within the next six months, we may have to consider filling up the cavity with synthetic bone to reduce the risk of further infection.
I just hope that my jaw would heal soon.
For your information, I had extracted two of my wisdom teeth sometime in September this year.
Just when I was rather undecided whether to visit the dentist, two of my friends urged me to visit him anyway over the MSN. So I went this afternoon, and I am glad that I did.
The dentist examined the affected area, and he said there was pus at the affected area. There was an infection, so he helped cleared the affected area of pus. To do so in a painless way, he had to give me injection of local anaesthetic. This had the lower left side of my face and mouth rather numb.
He said because there was a rather deep cavity left by the extraction of the wisdom tooth on the right side of the lower jaw, and because there was a tiny "pocket" where food particles may seep into the cavity, that is why the infection had occurred. My best bet is that the cavity would be filled up in time to come by jaw bone. If I were to have another infection within the next six months, we may have to consider filling up the cavity with synthetic bone to reduce the risk of further infection.
I just hope that my jaw would heal soon.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Married to the double bass
Perhaps it is because we have spent a reasonable amount of time practising on our instruments, and because we do our best to take good care of our instruments, I am aware of a number of my fellow orchestra members (and other music-instrument players) who often refer their instruments as their "spouse". It is, for me, a way to add a twist of humour to how I am rather attached to my instrument, especially during those times when I am preparing for a concert.
Sometimes, when I speak of my instrument in front of others, I would often refer the double bass as my "husband". I am proud to share that my "husband" is about 2 metres tall. He has a shapely figure, and a nice deep voice (though I would like him to be more resonating). He is a great listener, and he does not argue nor talk back. But it did bother me when his voice goes nasal because of too humid a weather. He is nice to hug, and generous with lending his shoulders in times of my need. He is quite nice to dance with, and I often enjoy the music he sings to me. If I had not given him my "company" for quite a while, he is understanding enough not to complain. I think if I were to go on, I would be guilty of over-personifying "him".
I am quite proud to announce as an instrument player that I am "married" to the double bass. I wonder if I could find anyone nicer who could replace its place in my heart? Probably not, certain things are hard to replace.
Talking about marriage, I have been receiving a few cases that are related to marital issues. This means that I get to see the couples to work with them on their marital concerns. For me, I don't do group work with several couples. I would usually see one couple at a time, and work with each couple on its marital concerns.
This brings me to also recall a seminar on family life that I had attended earlier. There were quite a number of discussions about marriage and how to sustain and enrich a marriage. It seems that marriage is quite a social institution in itself, I had gathered. At the same time, it is rather personal and unique to each couple. Somehow it seems that there are many challenges, at the same time, blessings in trying to keep a marriage going and alive.
For your information, I am not married (except to the double bass), so it does take a lot of humility and a drive to wish to learn to work with married couples on marital issues. So it is likely I would be discussing quite an amount with my supervisor so that I could be able to be more effective in working with the couples. And for an INFJ, reading up helps too. Please don't ask me more, I am not to divulge any information about my clients as these are strictly confidential.
In sheer jest, I should say, it might have been lucky for me that I am married to the double bass. I would probably not have to face the same kind of issues that married couples face. Then again, I am not sure if I am free from problems. I would probably have my own set of challenges to face with the double bass. For one thing, it can't move around unless someone carries it around! Anyway, it is hollow actually, so with skill and a bit more stamina on my part, that should not be too much of a problem.
For now, until there is a very eligible human husband to grow old with, I shall delight in the company of my dear double bass, so ever steady and solid.
Sometimes, when I speak of my instrument in front of others, I would often refer the double bass as my "husband". I am proud to share that my "husband" is about 2 metres tall. He has a shapely figure, and a nice deep voice (though I would like him to be more resonating). He is a great listener, and he does not argue nor talk back. But it did bother me when his voice goes nasal because of too humid a weather. He is nice to hug, and generous with lending his shoulders in times of my need. He is quite nice to dance with, and I often enjoy the music he sings to me. If I had not given him my "company" for quite a while, he is understanding enough not to complain. I think if I were to go on, I would be guilty of over-personifying "him".
I am quite proud to announce as an instrument player that I am "married" to the double bass. I wonder if I could find anyone nicer who could replace its place in my heart? Probably not, certain things are hard to replace.
Talking about marriage, I have been receiving a few cases that are related to marital issues. This means that I get to see the couples to work with them on their marital concerns. For me, I don't do group work with several couples. I would usually see one couple at a time, and work with each couple on its marital concerns.
This brings me to also recall a seminar on family life that I had attended earlier. There were quite a number of discussions about marriage and how to sustain and enrich a marriage. It seems that marriage is quite a social institution in itself, I had gathered. At the same time, it is rather personal and unique to each couple. Somehow it seems that there are many challenges, at the same time, blessings in trying to keep a marriage going and alive.
For your information, I am not married (except to the double bass), so it does take a lot of humility and a drive to wish to learn to work with married couples on marital issues. So it is likely I would be discussing quite an amount with my supervisor so that I could be able to be more effective in working with the couples. And for an INFJ, reading up helps too. Please don't ask me more, I am not to divulge any information about my clients as these are strictly confidential.
In sheer jest, I should say, it might have been lucky for me that I am married to the double bass. I would probably not have to face the same kind of issues that married couples face. Then again, I am not sure if I am free from problems. I would probably have my own set of challenges to face with the double bass. For one thing, it can't move around unless someone carries it around! Anyway, it is hollow actually, so with skill and a bit more stamina on my part, that should not be too much of a problem.
For now, until there is a very eligible human husband to grow old with, I shall delight in the company of my dear double bass, so ever steady and solid.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Tiring day
Today is quite a tiring day. I had wanted to play on my double bass after work hours, but I am now too tired to set it up and carry it to the room where I usually practice on it.
My right jaw is feeling a little swollen, and I am just keeping my fingers crossed that it isn't an infection at the site of the removed wisdom tooth.
In the midst of this tiring day, I am delighted to receive my pen-pal's letter to me. It came a little later than I had expected, but it delighted me nevertheless. I am pleased to say that I have finished writing my reply to my pen-pal about half an hour ago.
Well, aside from the delightful letter, I guess today's quite a tiring day for me. Today happens to be a rainy Monday, and coincidentally, I have been feeling a little down. "Nothing is really wrong....", anyway, just a tiring day and I am hoping I could get recharged soon.
My right jaw is feeling a little swollen, and I am just keeping my fingers crossed that it isn't an infection at the site of the removed wisdom tooth.
In the midst of this tiring day, I am delighted to receive my pen-pal's letter to me. It came a little later than I had expected, but it delighted me nevertheless. I am pleased to say that I have finished writing my reply to my pen-pal about half an hour ago.
Well, aside from the delightful letter, I guess today's quite a tiring day for me. Today happens to be a rainy Monday, and coincidentally, I have been feeling a little down. "Nothing is really wrong....", anyway, just a tiring day and I am hoping I could get recharged soon.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
A Lovely Brunch at Father Flanagan's
I have my friend to thank for being obliging to my request to have brunch at Father Flanagan's. At the same time, I am sorry to her if I had been a little harsh on her unintentionally over her being late and over the issue of returning me a heavy book so untimely today. Lately, I have been so frustrated with things that I find I needed more effort to be patient and kind. How draining it can be, to be continuously subjecting oneself to matters of frustration. Anyway, this is the Little Prince's rose's way of apologising.
Anyway, we had brunch at Father Flanagan's. I had wanted to get the Brunch Set, but I feared it was too heavy for my appetite, so I settled for the Morning, Noon & Night Fry Up. It consisted of Pork sausage, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, fried eggs, chips and thick-cut country toast. It tastes nice, and filling enough for brunch.
I quite like the cosy ambience of Father Flanagan's. I guess I shalln't describe much of it, for it might be better for you to go there and experience it first hand. Anyway, Father Flanagan's is suppose to be designed and built in typical Irish pub style, so this may be sufficient to set you imagining how it would look like.
There was quite a number of folks this afternoon when I was there, mostly non-Asians, who were also enjoying Brunch at Father Flanagan's. We were fortunate to get to listen to an artiste who sang and played on the guitar while we dine away. I quite like his singing and playing, the songs that he performed had been pleasant to listen to. When I asked, I was told that he would only perform during the Sundays of the Christmas season. So for folks who love listening to live music when brunching, please consider going to Father Flanagan's one of these few Sundays.
Hopefully, this lovely brunch will cool me down from my frustrations, and start me on a good note for this week.
Before I end, here's the address of Father Flanagan's: Chijmes, #B1-06; Tel: (65) 6333 1418
Anyway, we had brunch at Father Flanagan's. I had wanted to get the Brunch Set, but I feared it was too heavy for my appetite, so I settled for the Morning, Noon & Night Fry Up. It consisted of Pork sausage, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, fried eggs, chips and thick-cut country toast. It tastes nice, and filling enough for brunch.
I quite like the cosy ambience of Father Flanagan's. I guess I shalln't describe much of it, for it might be better for you to go there and experience it first hand. Anyway, Father Flanagan's is suppose to be designed and built in typical Irish pub style, so this may be sufficient to set you imagining how it would look like.
There was quite a number of folks this afternoon when I was there, mostly non-Asians, who were also enjoying Brunch at Father Flanagan's. We were fortunate to get to listen to an artiste who sang and played on the guitar while we dine away. I quite like his singing and playing, the songs that he performed had been pleasant to listen to. When I asked, I was told that he would only perform during the Sundays of the Christmas season. So for folks who love listening to live music when brunching, please consider going to Father Flanagan's one of these few Sundays.
Hopefully, this lovely brunch will cool me down from my frustrations, and start me on a good note for this week.
Before I end, here's the address of Father Flanagan's: Chijmes, #B1-06; Tel: (65) 6333 1418
- Opening hours: Sunday & Monday: 11 am - midnight; Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday: 11 am - 1 am; Friday & Saturday: 11 am - 2 am. (Happy Hours: 11.30 am - 8 pm)
- Sunday Brunch from 11.30am to 3pm
The Forbidden Ground
I am thankful that I managed to stick to my plans of going for the history tour of Fort Canning Hill. It has been an enjoyable and informative tour.
If I had gotten it correctly, my tour guide for the tour was Jeya.
It was quite a scorching hot day. Our tour started from the Singapore Philatelic Museum, and we walked up the Fort Canning Hill. I like the tours by The Original Singapore Walks, as they are very informative, and backed up by good historical research. The best thing is that the information is usually easy to be digested even by the lay-person. I think it's wonderful to be able to share one's love for history with others. I wonder what I would need in order to be qualified as one of their tour guides? Anyway, I was to shy to ask Jeya this question. If you happen to be on one of their tours, perhaps you could find this out for me, please?
Fort Canning Hill used to be called the "Forbidden Hill" in the past, because it was a hill for the royalties. It has been interesting for me as a participant of the tour to learn about the rich history of the Fort Canning Hill. I thank the history researchers for taking so much effort and time to uncover the richness of our past.
We visited what was known to be the Keramat of Iskandar Shah, and learnt about ancient history of Singapore that dates back to the 14th century. We also visited the Archaeological Dig Exhibit. I remember that Jeya told us that the different layers of soil "belonged" to soil from different periods of time. It was at about Layer 3 that the archaeologists found a good number of artefacts from about the 14th century, hence supporting that there was already some forms of civilisation in Singapore since that time.
Perhaps it was because I had just returned from a vacation in Penang a month ago, I was quite interested to see how a Pinang tree looked like. So, it didn't surprise me that I was very eager to take a picture of the Pinang tree when Jeya pointed it out to us. During the tour, Jeya pointed to us some other common plants in this region, and gave us some insights on the significance of these plants in this part of the world.
We also went to the site of the old Fort Gate on Fort Canning Hill. Jeya explained to us how the Gate was designed to make the Fort "easy to defend, difficult to attack".
We had also a chance to visit one of the first Christian cemetries in Singapore.
At the end of the tour, I felt more enriched in terms of my knowledge about Singapore's past. I am glad that I took time to come for this tour. It's a tour worth joining if one is interested about the history of Singapore, from 700 years ago to WWII. For more information, do check out: (http://www.singaporewalks.com/privatetours.htm#forbidden)
On Fort Canning Hiill
Gate of Fort Canning
Site of a archaeological dig on Fort Canning Hill. Note the different layers of the soil.
Display of some of the objects discovered from the archaeological dig.
Pinang tree. This was the tree that Penang was named after.
Fort Canning Centre
Updated on 8 Dec 2007: This tour is now available as a private walk.
If I had gotten it correctly, my tour guide for the tour was Jeya.
It was quite a scorching hot day. Our tour started from the Singapore Philatelic Museum, and we walked up the Fort Canning Hill. I like the tours by The Original Singapore Walks, as they are very informative, and backed up by good historical research. The best thing is that the information is usually easy to be digested even by the lay-person. I think it's wonderful to be able to share one's love for history with others. I wonder what I would need in order to be qualified as one of their tour guides? Anyway, I was to shy to ask Jeya this question. If you happen to be on one of their tours, perhaps you could find this out for me, please?
Fort Canning Hill used to be called the "Forbidden Hill" in the past, because it was a hill for the royalties. It has been interesting for me as a participant of the tour to learn about the rich history of the Fort Canning Hill. I thank the history researchers for taking so much effort and time to uncover the richness of our past.
We visited what was known to be the Keramat of Iskandar Shah, and learnt about ancient history of Singapore that dates back to the 14th century. We also visited the Archaeological Dig Exhibit. I remember that Jeya told us that the different layers of soil "belonged" to soil from different periods of time. It was at about Layer 3 that the archaeologists found a good number of artefacts from about the 14th century, hence supporting that there was already some forms of civilisation in Singapore since that time.
Perhaps it was because I had just returned from a vacation in Penang a month ago, I was quite interested to see how a Pinang tree looked like. So, it didn't surprise me that I was very eager to take a picture of the Pinang tree when Jeya pointed it out to us. During the tour, Jeya pointed to us some other common plants in this region, and gave us some insights on the significance of these plants in this part of the world.
We also went to the site of the old Fort Gate on Fort Canning Hill. Jeya explained to us how the Gate was designed to make the Fort "easy to defend, difficult to attack".
We had also a chance to visit one of the first Christian cemetries in Singapore.
At the end of the tour, I felt more enriched in terms of my knowledge about Singapore's past. I am glad that I took time to come for this tour. It's a tour worth joining if one is interested about the history of Singapore, from 700 years ago to WWII. For more information, do check out: (http://www.singaporewalks.com/privatetours.htm#forbidden)
On Fort Canning Hiill
Gate of Fort Canning
Site of a archaeological dig on Fort Canning Hill. Note the different layers of the soil.
Display of some of the objects discovered from the archaeological dig.
Pinang tree. This was the tree that Penang was named after.
Fort Canning Centre
Updated on 8 Dec 2007: This tour is now available as a private walk.
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Finally Over
Finally, the dance item has been put up and we are done and over with it. I feel a great sense of relief at the very moment that the dance ended. Phew. Next time, I shall be more assertive to say "no", and make sure someone acts upon my declination, when I know that I will have difficulties bearing with certain things.
For this staff dinner, each department is to put up a performance. There was a competition between the six various departments. Well, anyway, for your information, my department got the consolation prize, because we weren't amongst the top three. It didn't quite matter to me. I am happy that it is over. Just hope that my colleague who was in charge wasn't too disappointed with the results. I respect her for the time and effort that she had put in. On the other hand, I must admit I wish I didn't have to be dancing. That was never my forte or a pleasure for me. I find it rather hard to muster enough patience to bear with it.
Anyway, I am glad that it is over. Now I shall look forward to tomorrow. If the weather goes well, I am hoping to go for a history tour around Fort Canning. I need to do something that I like in order to recharge after all those draining sessions of dancing and dance rehearsals.
For this staff dinner, each department is to put up a performance. There was a competition between the six various departments. Well, anyway, for your information, my department got the consolation prize, because we weren't amongst the top three. It didn't quite matter to me. I am happy that it is over. Just hope that my colleague who was in charge wasn't too disappointed with the results. I respect her for the time and effort that she had put in. On the other hand, I must admit I wish I didn't have to be dancing. That was never my forte or a pleasure for me. I find it rather hard to muster enough patience to bear with it.
Anyway, I am glad that it is over. Now I shall look forward to tomorrow. If the weather goes well, I am hoping to go for a history tour around Fort Canning. I need to do something that I like in order to recharge after all those draining sessions of dancing and dance rehearsals.
Rainy Days and Mondays
Sometimes when I feel blue and moody, this tune often rings in my ear.
- Rainy Days and Mondays
by Carpenters
Produced by Jack Daugherty
Written by Paul Williams, Roger Nichols
Published by Almo Music Corp. (ASCAP)
This tune gets extra melancholic on days that happen to be rainy, and coincidentally, to be Mondays.
Talking to myself and feeling old
Sometimes I'd like to quit
Nothing ever seems to fit
Hanging aroung
Nothing to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down
What I've got they used to call the blues
Nothing is really wrong
Feeling like I don't belong
Walking around
Some kind of lonely clown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down
...
- Rainy Days and Mondays
by Carpenters
Produced by Jack Daugherty
Written by Paul Williams, Roger Nichols
Published by Almo Music Corp. (ASCAP)
This tune gets extra melancholic on days that happen to be rainy, and coincidentally, to be Mondays.
Friday, December 03, 2004
I want to be left alone
Solemn sense of peace
It will be nice to have some peace when I am now feeling tired and drained from the day. The world outside does have lots of madness that one has to face at times. I want to learn how I could be assertive enough to say "Please leave me alone", when I need to.
Anyway, for now, I just want to be left alone to enjoy this photo with an apparent sense of peace, in a solemn way.
Christmas in Singapore
The roads from Orchard Rd to Marina Square have been lit up for Christmas. Here are some of the photos that I have managed to take recently. I personally find the lighting quite plain. Anyway, I shall try to be as imaginative as I can, and then in front of my eyes, a magical Christmas night shall reveal itself.
On the roads. Stars on the trees.
The Christmas tree.
Christmas Lightings. Paragon Orchard.
Friends from Paragon.
On the roads. Stars on the trees.
The Christmas tree.
Christmas Lightings. Paragon Orchard.
Friends from Paragon.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Botero in Singapore
From December 8th 2004 to February 27th 2005, folks in Singapore will get a chance to experience and see the works of Botero. I read that Botero is a world-renowned Colombian-born artist, and one of the most famous Latin-American artists. He is best known for his voluptuously plump figures and whimsical animal sculptures.
Here's the official website for "Botero in Singapore": http://www.boteroinsingapore.com/ for you to check it out.
Here's the official website for "Botero in Singapore": http://www.boteroinsingapore.com/ for you to check it out.
Subtle Communication?
This evening, I was communicating with one of my good friends over the MSN.
This dear friend of mine has been caring to find out how I was doing with the dance that I was to perform with the rest of my colleagues during an upcoming staff dinner. So I shared, and she patiently lent her eyes. I thank her for giving time to "listen" to my woes. I felt less frustrated when I could have my feelings and voice heard. So here is a subtle way to say thanks to this friend of mine.
She suggested perhaps I could communicate my unwillingness to dance for the item in a subtle way. For it seemed, that none of my colleagues has taken seriously enough what I had told them, when I had openly asked them if I need not dance. Nobody answered me to let me know that I need not dance for the item. I have nothing against dancing, it can be nice sometimes. However, I do not want to dance to certain tunes, under certain conditions (e.g. no shoes etc).
I have no idea how I could communicate my views in a subtle way. If I had told people upfront and direct about my views and people don't seem to have act on them, would they have acted on them if I had told them in a subtle way? How could I communicate effectively in the so-called "subtle way"?
Maybe you could lend me some of your wisdom on this concept of subtle communication, please?
This dear friend of mine has been caring to find out how I was doing with the dance that I was to perform with the rest of my colleagues during an upcoming staff dinner. So I shared, and she patiently lent her eyes. I thank her for giving time to "listen" to my woes. I felt less frustrated when I could have my feelings and voice heard. So here is a subtle way to say thanks to this friend of mine.
She suggested perhaps I could communicate my unwillingness to dance for the item in a subtle way. For it seemed, that none of my colleagues has taken seriously enough what I had told them, when I had openly asked them if I need not dance. Nobody answered me to let me know that I need not dance for the item. I have nothing against dancing, it can be nice sometimes. However, I do not want to dance to certain tunes, under certain conditions (e.g. no shoes etc).
I have no idea how I could communicate my views in a subtle way. If I had told people upfront and direct about my views and people don't seem to have act on them, would they have acted on them if I had told them in a subtle way? How could I communicate effectively in the so-called "subtle way"?
Maybe you could lend me some of your wisdom on this concept of subtle communication, please?
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
What is essential is invisible to the eye
What is essential is invisible to the eye
This quote came from one of my favourite chapters from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
The story goes that the little prince had thought that his rose was the only flower of her species in this entire universe. One day, he saw other roses on the planet Earth, and he felt upset that his rose was not the one and only rose in the universe. He also got worried that his rose on his planet would get upset if she were to find out that she was not the only one of her kind in the universe.
One day, the little prince met a fox, and then through the fox, the little prince discovered that his rose was afterall unique in all this universe.
And perhaps, when one feels that he is a nobody with nothing special, or when one feels he has nothing special that he could hold dear to, he could think of himself as the little prince's rose and ponder over what the little prince had said to the thousands of roses in the garden:
"You are not at all like my rose," "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world."And somehow, my heart never fails to melt when I read this chapter. Touching, it is to me.
"You are beautiful, but you are empty," "One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you--the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or ever sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose.
And before they part, the fox told the little prince this "secret": It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
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