Art Education

A Toilet Moment in MoMA

Into the Abyss

Feels like I'm running a small campaign, with printed and handwritten notes, profiles of some important people and coffee cups spread over my office table. Except that I don't have a campaign team. I'm covering domestic politics for today and tomorrow, followed by foreign policy over the weekend, and then personal questions next week. I've worked out a series of possible questions and answers, counter-questions and counter-answers, policies and their pros and cons. I'm really bad in interviews but the Frost/Nixon movie taught me the value of hard work and preparation. I'm taking it quite seriously, because I want to push myself to see how far I can go in competing with the best. I want to see if I can translate TA confidence in handling students' questions into professional confidence in handling the Perm Sec's questions. More importantly, I feel a strong urge to pray. Not so much for the interview, but perhaps to dust off cobwebs and entanglements from my mind, and focus on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable and excellent (Phil 4). Secretly, I wish that God will close this door; to stir up deeper awakenings to pursue less travelled paths. I guess I have different dreams, and they don't always gel together. Some dreams require money. Some dreams require guts. Some dreams require patience. And some dreams require a foreign land. But "many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand" (Proverbs 19:21). God's Purpose, at some levels, can be a mind-boggling concept. Maybe it is time to think less, and pray more.

Good Friend, Good Times

Chatting on top of the Brooklyn Bridge; discovering quaint shops at DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass); jazzbar; waffles, pancakes, maple syrups and free flow of coffee for daily breakfasts; Chinatown and Little Korea; ferry ride to Staten Island; watching a movie called Frost/Nixon; skating at Central Park; shopping for books, window shopping around NYU; Starbucks; mexican food; beer; intelligent conversations; musings about love and life; and an abrupt farewell at JFK.

It was good catching up with Leen. There was the occasional cultural awkwardness but we got by, as usual. It is hard to keep in touch with distant friends. But I'm glad we've been so since 2005. She suggested that we should go Bosnia next time. She showed me her photos and I must say that the mountain lakes in Bosnia are awesome. Maybe I'd try to get a free trip to Europe this May or August through ASEF though I'm getting tired with cover letters. Writing cover letters feels like self-flagellation at times.

Nothing reflective in this post though I just want to quickly jot down my memories before they go away. Having a bit of a social stress cos I haven't had the time to reply emails to friends. At the same time, it is hard to find friends on the same wavelength in UN and NY. Leen's visitation was timely. I need to prepare for an unexpected job interview next Friday. The PSD guys are coming to town. I'm nervous but would put my best energy into it. Honestly, if this program doesn't work out, I should re-evaluate my options and...

a chord in you

I was doing grocery shopping at duane reade until I heard 'the scientist' being played on the radio. reminded me of a conversation a time ago, about how the sahara was once a fertile tropical land but became arid and dry cos of tectonic shifts, and about how it would be nice to go to the middle east and africa. anyway, i can't believe that half the internship is almost over. i've learnt a lot about south asia and i guess quite a bit about un too. along the way, i've grown closer with my two danish roommates. last week, we went to catch an NBA mid-week game at madison square garden, and then to a sports bar on sunday to catch the super bowl final. it was a complex game but i liked it, the strategies and the grit. there was this quarterback call kurt warner who was excellent with his pinpoint passes. i was rooting for his team, arizona. they lost in the end. it has been a good balance between hanging out with singaporean friends in new york and getting to know some interns at a slightly deeper level. i'm trying to sign up for free tickets to the david letterman show, daily show with john stewart, saturday night live and erm... the tyra banks show. the odds should be tougher than getting a place in the un internship, though i read that getting the tyra banks show is quite a walkover. leen is coming from belgium next weekend, so that should be good fun. the landlord is trying to milk her money but we have thought of a ploy. soon, the music will be over, and it will be time to go home.