Random consolidation
This post is just to consolidate some thoughts and events for these few days, hence the title.
To kick things off, my birthday didn't go too badly at all. On Friday, I went to Jurong Point, only to find that the Star Factory was painfully limited. I meant in terms of space as well as prize/claw machines. Dear and I went to Sizzler In Suntec City for a dinner, where she insisted on applying for the birthday discount card or something of the like.
Dear: Hey, look. Let's get the discount card. Can get discount immediately leh.
Me: No la. We don't come here often to eat anyway.
Dear: But can get discount.
Me: But we don't come here often.
Dear: Take out your IC.
Me: *meekly produces IC*
After dinner (and the discount card), we left for the arcade near the Eng Wah cinema. There was this guy who was on a roll and won several soft toys with only a dollar or two. We conceded that it was indeed his night and luck was everything. We did try out a new machine that we didn't play before. Instead of manipulating the claw to grab the prize, you need to position the claw to yank the prize. I'll get some pictures the next time. We spent some $10 but half of which was really "tuition fees", which effectively meant we spent roughly $5 for the prize. This is one machine that player skill and tactics matter, not luck, chance, fate or anything remotely random.
After sending Dear home, I rushed back to Hougang, where I meet my Fourth aunt, her boyfriend and mom for supper. The steak had barely been digested and I had to wolf down 3 more roti prata kosong and an iced Milo. Man, talk about stretching the stomach.
Yesterday was early, literally. I woke up at 7am (a real feat for me, really) to wake Dear up so that she could get up to go for her field trip. I proved my point that I can wake her up, which she acknowledged later in the day. But not without a retort, "Yeah, yeah. Like twice a year."
Dinner at Pizza Hut with Second aunt and Fourth aunt was a breeze. At least for Dear, that is. We went to Expo for some sale that was selling branded stuff like Abercrombie and Roxy before going to meet my aunts. As a result, Dear did not have enough time to freshen herself up and was worried that she might leave a bad impression. It turns out that Dear has a lot more in common with my Second aunt than she thought and the both of them hit it off pretty well; I guess we were all glad that things went smoothly.
We went to catch a movie at Princess after dinner, The Devil Wears Prada. It was, how should I put it, a typical movie. Nothing extraordinary, nothing fanciful. If it was trying to showcase the high life of the fashion world, it's too superficial and lacked depth. If it was trying to convey some message or "moral of the story" kind of thing, then I guess the movie pretty much succeeded.
However, I must agree that the movie is quite witty in certain aspects. Take the title for example. On the first glance, people will associate the word "devil" with the difficult-to-handle boss. After watching the movie, it turns out that the boss is not the devil. There is a devil but it's not the boss per se. It just so happens that the devil takes the form of a Prada-wearing editor-in-chief and the protagonist "sold" herself to it.
Another theme that is central to the movie is the concept of choice. Often times in life, we do things and justify it with a "but I haven't got a choice!", which is exactly what the protagonist did. Her boss later reminded her that she did have a choice and she chose what to do.
I believe we all have a choice, in fact, many choices. By making a decision that avoids encountering a nasty outcome to oneself does not exempt the person from the responsibilty of making that choice. To use the example from the movie, the protagonist had the choice to do the boss' bidding and backstab her colleague or stick to her principles and risk losing her job. While she argued that she "did not have a choice" but to backstab the colleague, she had already chose to avoid the negative outcome at the expense of another. To use the "no choice" justification sounds like a lame excuse at best and sore whining at worst.
In the last of the Matrix trilogy, Matrix Revolutions, there is a dramatic slugfest between Neo and Agent Smith. When asked why he fights, Neo simply replies, "Because I chose to." He doesn't go around saying, "I haven't got a choice, you know? I'm like, the One. And the One is suppose to fight you to the end. Man, will I die? I don't really have a choice, do I? Everyone expects to be a messiah or something."
Neo does have a choice. Why go through all that trouble and risk being fried by millions of robots just so that he can sacrifice himself and die? Hell, wouldn't it be better if he chose to stay out of the Matrix and continue the hot love-making sessions until the Sentinels come and annihilate the human race? After all, he jacks in, he's gonna die. He stays out and enjoy sexual frolicking, he's gonna die anyway; makes more sense to choose the latter, isn't it? The whole idea is really a no-brainer - it all boils down to choice.
And so choice dictates many different outcomes, some extremely delightful and some, just downright sorry that leaves one seething in anger and regret. So like, make your choice wisely then and don't use the lousy excuse of "no choice".
To kick things off, my birthday didn't go too badly at all. On Friday, I went to Jurong Point, only to find that the Star Factory was painfully limited. I meant in terms of space as well as prize/claw machines. Dear and I went to Sizzler In Suntec City for a dinner, where she insisted on applying for the birthday discount card or something of the like.
Dear: Hey, look. Let's get the discount card. Can get discount immediately leh.
Me: No la. We don't come here often to eat anyway.
Dear: But can get discount.
Me: But we don't come here often.
Dear: Take out your IC.
Me: *meekly produces IC*
After dinner (and the discount card), we left for the arcade near the Eng Wah cinema. There was this guy who was on a roll and won several soft toys with only a dollar or two. We conceded that it was indeed his night and luck was everything. We did try out a new machine that we didn't play before. Instead of manipulating the claw to grab the prize, you need to position the claw to yank the prize. I'll get some pictures the next time. We spent some $10 but half of which was really "tuition fees", which effectively meant we spent roughly $5 for the prize. This is one machine that player skill and tactics matter, not luck, chance, fate or anything remotely random.
After sending Dear home, I rushed back to Hougang, where I meet my Fourth aunt, her boyfriend and mom for supper. The steak had barely been digested and I had to wolf down 3 more roti prata kosong and an iced Milo. Man, talk about stretching the stomach.
Yesterday was early, literally. I woke up at 7am (a real feat for me, really) to wake Dear up so that she could get up to go for her field trip. I proved my point that I can wake her up, which she acknowledged later in the day. But not without a retort, "Yeah, yeah. Like twice a year."
Dinner at Pizza Hut with Second aunt and Fourth aunt was a breeze. At least for Dear, that is. We went to Expo for some sale that was selling branded stuff like Abercrombie and Roxy before going to meet my aunts. As a result, Dear did not have enough time to freshen herself up and was worried that she might leave a bad impression. It turns out that Dear has a lot more in common with my Second aunt than she thought and the both of them hit it off pretty well; I guess we were all glad that things went smoothly.
We went to catch a movie at Princess after dinner, The Devil Wears Prada. It was, how should I put it, a typical movie. Nothing extraordinary, nothing fanciful. If it was trying to showcase the high life of the fashion world, it's too superficial and lacked depth. If it was trying to convey some message or "moral of the story" kind of thing, then I guess the movie pretty much succeeded.
However, I must agree that the movie is quite witty in certain aspects. Take the title for example. On the first glance, people will associate the word "devil" with the difficult-to-handle boss. After watching the movie, it turns out that the boss is not the devil. There is a devil but it's not the boss per se. It just so happens that the devil takes the form of a Prada-wearing editor-in-chief and the protagonist "sold" herself to it.
Another theme that is central to the movie is the concept of choice. Often times in life, we do things and justify it with a "but I haven't got a choice!", which is exactly what the protagonist did. Her boss later reminded her that she did have a choice and she chose what to do.
I believe we all have a choice, in fact, many choices. By making a decision that avoids encountering a nasty outcome to oneself does not exempt the person from the responsibilty of making that choice. To use the example from the movie, the protagonist had the choice to do the boss' bidding and backstab her colleague or stick to her principles and risk losing her job. While she argued that she "did not have a choice" but to backstab the colleague, she had already chose to avoid the negative outcome at the expense of another. To use the "no choice" justification sounds like a lame excuse at best and sore whining at worst.
In the last of the Matrix trilogy, Matrix Revolutions, there is a dramatic slugfest between Neo and Agent Smith. When asked why he fights, Neo simply replies, "Because I chose to." He doesn't go around saying, "I haven't got a choice, you know? I'm like, the One. And the One is suppose to fight you to the end. Man, will I die? I don't really have a choice, do I? Everyone expects to be a messiah or something."
Neo does have a choice. Why go through all that trouble and risk being fried by millions of robots just so that he can sacrifice himself and die? Hell, wouldn't it be better if he chose to stay out of the Matrix and continue the hot love-making sessions until the Sentinels come and annihilate the human race? After all, he jacks in, he's gonna die. He stays out and enjoy sexual frolicking, he's gonna die anyway; makes more sense to choose the latter, isn't it? The whole idea is really a no-brainer - it all boils down to choice.
And so choice dictates many different outcomes, some extremely delightful and some, just downright sorry that leaves one seething in anger and regret. So like, make your choice wisely then and don't use the lousy excuse of "no choice".
posted by hg @ 15:52
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