Read a very good quite yesterday: "The evidence of true learning is not what one knows but how one lives." Indeed, easier said than done. I think it's very important to have that kind of aspiration though.
Aside from that, am finally recovering some excitement in studio work. Quite happy thinking and mulling over my design since my tutor kinda likes it..haha.. Seriously, can't deny that encouragement from tutors make or break my mood to work some time. Anyway, yeah, the only way to push forward with design is to say to your project "I trust you, you trust me, let's do this together." *quote from Edo* Now getting all worked up to model *ideas, ideas!* so I'm intending to stay pretty late today n tomorrow to make gorgeous, gorgeous models...hehehehe... happy....
Oh and submission is on the 16th! Not on the 11th as I thought! Great!
And deadlines for group work are impending..concrete's due tomorrow... fiuh..am just glad that one by one the work is done...maybe not done as well as we all would like it to be, but done! Yeah!
Shall continue with designing...need to figure out the spatial arrangements in my kind of squarish, kind of curvish building....
Monday, March 17, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
On Thinking
*Before I start the writing proper, I gotta say that the weather these days are very nice.. nothing like torrential downpours to bring mellowness and inspiration....hufh....*
Was talking to a friend this afternoon and I asked him the question: "Which person do you think is happier,one who thinks too much or one who thinks too little?"
Hm...for me, though derive a lot of enjoyment from thinking, I think it's rather obvious that the answer is that a person who thinks too little is happier, as he/she also has less things to be bothered about. Well, my friend answered the same thing....And I said that often I wish I belong to the group that thinks too little, since I envy their ability to not care eventhough things are happening around them.. to live in one's own quiet little world and oblivious to all the negative things happening around seems kinda wonderful..
*And I loosely quote my conversation*
D: "But don't you get frustrated, like, why can't these people care.."
Me: "Nope...I'm kinda the type who don't really care about what others do as long as I do the right thing myself..But yea.. I think I've learnt to think that way... it's just less frustrating than to think about people who don't care.."
D: "Yeah, but see... somebody's gotta do the thinking.. people who think too little can afford to do so because there are people who think too much.. It's like if you don't think you leave it to someone else to do the thinking.. The world's okay now since there are people who think too much, but imagine if everybody just doesn't think, what kind of world would it be like.."
Me: "Hm...."
Yea I've never really thought that way before...but precisely, only people who think too much think about the consequences of what would happen if they stop thinking.. People who think too little would just say, "So what? Who cares if people don't think..."
Hm....
Hm.........
I've never really thought before that when I stop striving to think about the consequences of my actions on society, on the environment, on myself, I'll be burdening someone else to think on my behalf...I thought that hey, if I could just stop this over-active brain of mine perhaps I wouldn't have as much fun but I wouldn't have as much guilt as well...
Hm....
Oh well, for now at least I still prefer to do my own thinking, albeit rather excessively..
Was talking to a friend this afternoon and I asked him the question: "Which person do you think is happier,one who thinks too much or one who thinks too little?"
Hm...for me, though derive a lot of enjoyment from thinking, I think it's rather obvious that the answer is that a person who thinks too little is happier, as he/she also has less things to be bothered about. Well, my friend answered the same thing....And I said that often I wish I belong to the group that thinks too little, since I envy their ability to not care eventhough things are happening around them.. to live in one's own quiet little world and oblivious to all the negative things happening around seems kinda wonderful..
*And I loosely quote my conversation*
D: "But don't you get frustrated, like, why can't these people care.."
Me: "Nope...I'm kinda the type who don't really care about what others do as long as I do the right thing myself..But yea.. I think I've learnt to think that way... it's just less frustrating than to think about people who don't care.."
D: "Yeah, but see... somebody's gotta do the thinking.. people who think too little can afford to do so because there are people who think too much.. It's like if you don't think you leave it to someone else to do the thinking.. The world's okay now since there are people who think too much, but imagine if everybody just doesn't think, what kind of world would it be like.."
Me: "Hm...."
Yea I've never really thought that way before...but precisely, only people who think too much think about the consequences of what would happen if they stop thinking.. People who think too little would just say, "So what? Who cares if people don't think..."
Hm....
Hm.........
I've never really thought before that when I stop striving to think about the consequences of my actions on society, on the environment, on myself, I'll be burdening someone else to think on my behalf...I thought that hey, if I could just stop this over-active brain of mine perhaps I wouldn't have as much fun but I wouldn't have as much guilt as well...
Hm....
Oh well, for now at least I still prefer to do my own thinking, albeit rather excessively..
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Seven Deadly Sins
(shoot, I should be studying for my urban test tmr, but it's one of the days when I have no mood to study, and I almost always give in to myself when I have no mood to study, the argument being I'm too much a nerd most of the time, anyway.)
So yeah, just remembered that I want to write about what I read in the newspaper this morning: the Vatican has revised the list of the Seven Deadly Sins! I can't pinpoint my exact reaction when I read that, but it's somewhere between unbelief, amazement and amusement..
(For the online article: http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/vatican-updates-seven-deadly-sins/2008/03/10/1205125819939.html
F.Y.I, the old Seven Deadly Sins are: pride, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, wrath and sloth. (Sloth was originally "sadness" but was replaced during 17th century. Dang I can't imagine sadness being a deadly sin..)
And on the new list: *drumrrrrroooooooollll....*
1.polluting
2. genetic engineering
3. obscene riches
4.taking drugs
5.abortion
6. pedophilia
7.causing social injustice
Hm....well...I'm sure the intention is good and all, and the revised list does show that some thinking must've gone into the list to "keep up with the times"... but hm... polluting as a "deadly sin"? Well actually it's quite true, we're slowly killing the planet and each other by pollution..but would labelling an act a deadly sin deter one from doing it? Especially since polluting is so much more easily done compared to, say, fornication... Turn on the air-con, light up a smoke, et voila, you've condemned your soul!
Regarding genetic engineering...hm...it's also a difficult matter to discuss... since quite a lot of products now are the product of genetic engineering without the public being aware of it.. but I'm sure inside the document containing the clauses for the new Seven Deadly Sins they must have some sentences saying that experiments with existing cell lines are ok, they just don't approve the use of human embryos but approve the use of adult stem cells..bla bla bla..
And obscene riches?? Hm...how obscene is obscene..? And isn't the Vatican...uhm..rather wealthy?
Aside from all that, I have to applaud the Vatican's decision though, if only for their determination to view things in black and white when the issues involved are very often classified as grey areas. And well...if we think again...the old deadly sins are things that affect every human being - pride, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, wrath and sloth...we've all experienced those at times and they symbolise the human weakness.. In a way, the new deadly sins also affect almost everyone these days.. *except perhaps paedophilia... though I'm very convinced that they put it on the list just to deter members of the clergy from doing it.. *
And I quote from the online article, "New sins have appeared on the horizon of humanity as a corollary of the unstoppable process of globalisation."
Surreal....
So yeah, just remembered that I want to write about what I read in the newspaper this morning: the Vatican has revised the list of the Seven Deadly Sins! I can't pinpoint my exact reaction when I read that, but it's somewhere between unbelief, amazement and amusement..
(For the online article: http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/vatican-updates-seven-deadly-sins/2008/03/10/1205125819939.html
F.Y.I, the old Seven Deadly Sins are: pride, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, wrath and sloth. (Sloth was originally "sadness" but was replaced during 17th century. Dang I can't imagine sadness being a deadly sin..)
And on the new list: *drumrrrrroooooooollll....*
1.polluting
2. genetic engineering
3. obscene riches
4.taking drugs
5.abortion
6. pedophilia
7.causing social injustice
Hm....well...I'm sure the intention is good and all, and the revised list does show that some thinking must've gone into the list to "keep up with the times"... but hm... polluting as a "deadly sin"? Well actually it's quite true, we're slowly killing the planet and each other by pollution..but would labelling an act a deadly sin deter one from doing it? Especially since polluting is so much more easily done compared to, say, fornication... Turn on the air-con, light up a smoke, et voila, you've condemned your soul!
Regarding genetic engineering...hm...it's also a difficult matter to discuss... since quite a lot of products now are the product of genetic engineering without the public being aware of it.. but I'm sure inside the document containing the clauses for the new Seven Deadly Sins they must have some sentences saying that experiments with existing cell lines are ok, they just don't approve the use of human embryos but approve the use of adult stem cells..bla bla bla..
And obscene riches?? Hm...how obscene is obscene..? And isn't the Vatican...uhm..rather wealthy?
Aside from all that, I have to applaud the Vatican's decision though, if only for their determination to view things in black and white when the issues involved are very often classified as grey areas. And well...if we think again...the old deadly sins are things that affect every human being - pride, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, wrath and sloth...we've all experienced those at times and they symbolise the human weakness.. In a way, the new deadly sins also affect almost everyone these days.. *except perhaps paedophilia... though I'm very convinced that they put it on the list just to deter members of the clergy from doing it.. *
And I quote from the online article, "New sins have appeared on the horizon of humanity as a corollary of the unstoppable process of globalisation."
Surreal....
On Solitude
"We do not know what to do with one of our most precious resources, solitude, and so we fill it with noise and clutter..."
(The Solitude of Emperors, by David Davidar)
It's a very good book, and I'm only halfway through... But anyway, the sentence reminded me of a conversation with a friend 4 years back, in which me, in blessed ignorance, said I'm not sure I could share my life with someone since I love my solitude too much. He replied, "Well then, you'll just have to get someone with whom you can share that solitude.." I kinda thought, "Hmm.. ...profound.." (it's expected from that friend, though ;p ) and the remark stuck with me not because I thought it's true, but because of how poetic the sentence sounded..hahaha...
Well...but I've just recently gotten a glimpse of how a "sharing of solitude" could be.. Quite an experience,indeed...hm..to just sit beside someone and enjoy the moment, without any urge to say something, without a million things going through your mind, just the wind brushing through your hair, and an assurance that the other person doesn't need you to say or do anything at all..
Weird but wonderful...feeling that I have my own personal space, my shell, my own world in which I'm secure... yet I'm sharing that space with someone else, and doesn't feel the slightest bit invaded....And the silence that passed, though prolonged, wasn't the kind of awkward silence that you'd want to break by making casual remarks...It was a comfortable silence, a companionable silence.. the kind that you'd settle into with ease and loath to let go... Thinking, "Just a while more... I want to prolong this moment a little bit more...."
"The words the happy say are paltry melody, but those the silent feel are beautiful." , thus saith Emily Dickinson....
....and if silence alone is beautiful, even more is silence savoured together...
(The Solitude of Emperors, by David Davidar)
It's a very good book, and I'm only halfway through... But anyway, the sentence reminded me of a conversation with a friend 4 years back, in which me, in blessed ignorance, said I'm not sure I could share my life with someone since I love my solitude too much. He replied, "Well then, you'll just have to get someone with whom you can share that solitude.." I kinda thought, "Hmm.. ...profound.." (it's expected from that friend, though ;p ) and the remark stuck with me not because I thought it's true, but because of how poetic the sentence sounded..hahaha...
Well...but I've just recently gotten a glimpse of how a "sharing of solitude" could be.. Quite an experience,indeed...hm..to just sit beside someone and enjoy the moment, without any urge to say something, without a million things going through your mind, just the wind brushing through your hair, and an assurance that the other person doesn't need you to say or do anything at all..
Weird but wonderful...feeling that I have my own personal space, my shell, my own world in which I'm secure... yet I'm sharing that space with someone else, and doesn't feel the slightest bit invaded....And the silence that passed, though prolonged, wasn't the kind of awkward silence that you'd want to break by making casual remarks...It was a comfortable silence, a companionable silence.. the kind that you'd settle into with ease and loath to let go... Thinking, "Just a while more... I want to prolong this moment a little bit more...."
"The words the happy say are paltry melody, but those the silent feel are beautiful." , thus saith Emily Dickinson....
....and if silence alone is beautiful, even more is silence savoured together...
Friday, March 7, 2008
Sedikit Refleksi...
Waktu menunjukkan pukul 11.44 PM. Baru pulang dari fakultas setelah ngecor patung beton bareng teman2 sekelompok. Tangan lecet2. Kaki pegal2. Leher kaku. Rambut kecipratan semen. Celana jins rupanya udah mirip sama yang dipake tukang2nya papaku.
Tapi....
Tapi kok rasanya seneng yah.. seneng udah belajar melakukan suatu hal yang baru *kapan lagi bisa belajar nyampur semen n ngecor beton*, puas krn kerjaan udah selesai, rasa high masih sisa krn seperti layaknya anak2 archi, kerjaan dilakukan sambil bercanda-tawa, nyoba menerima nasib bhw saat murid2 fakultas lain mungkin lagi clubbing (apa lagi yg dari A**ts tuh..), ato lagi nonton, kita lagi mukul2 batu utk dijadiin aggregate...
It was the first project group session that I thoroughly enjoy for this semester, actually.. dari kemaren2 kalo meeting project tuh kilat bgt, diskusi bentar, bagi tugas trus pada cabut.. Wajar sih, pertama kalinya ada 3 group project ongoing all at the same time, disamping studio work. Jadi bingung mau fokus ke mana, n sulit bgt ngatur waktu utk project meeting yg bisa lamaan dikiiiit aja.
But! Just now was so fun! Hehehehe... Kapan lagi bisa melepas stres dgn cara menghantam beton biar jadi kerikil kecil2 *berdasarkan percobaan nyanyi bersama reren, lagu "Lir ilir" dan "Gundul-gundul Pacul" paling enak ritme-nya buat mukul2*, kapan lagi bisa megang sekop, aduk2 kerikil, pasir, semen, sambil *nggak sengaja* nyiprat2in semennya ke orang.. kapan lagi bisa saling teriak2in, kerja sambil complain2 tapi seneng jg, ngerasa excited padahal yg kita kerjain ya sebangsanya kerjaan tukang2 yg notabene kerja kasar n bikin tangan jadi kapalan... kapan lagi nyoba2 melarutkan foam pake kerosene yg baunya kl dihirup bikin kliyeng-kliyeng..
Hm....
Am just content right now.... It's true that the joy of work well-done *cross my finger since the concrete isn't released from the formwork yet* enables us to enjoy true rest. Just a thought though...cewe2 archi tuh perkasa gak sih..hahahahahhaha.... mana ada sih cewe fakultas lain yg urusannya sama kerjaan tukang begitu.. hm...dampaknya mungkin buruk terhadap tendensi tomboiku, but cueklah..hehe.. anyway, gotta say aku kagum sama cowok2 di archi yg meskipun banyak yg rada metro, ke-macho-an nya keluar begitu udah pegang palu, sekop, bor, gergaji etc etc.
Ahhh..... Kasur udah memanggil.....Hoaaaaaaaahm........
Tapi....
Tapi kok rasanya seneng yah.. seneng udah belajar melakukan suatu hal yang baru *kapan lagi bisa belajar nyampur semen n ngecor beton*, puas krn kerjaan udah selesai, rasa high masih sisa krn seperti layaknya anak2 archi, kerjaan dilakukan sambil bercanda-tawa, nyoba menerima nasib bhw saat murid2 fakultas lain mungkin lagi clubbing (apa lagi yg dari A**ts tuh..), ato lagi nonton, kita lagi mukul2 batu utk dijadiin aggregate...
It was the first project group session that I thoroughly enjoy for this semester, actually.. dari kemaren2 kalo meeting project tuh kilat bgt, diskusi bentar, bagi tugas trus pada cabut.. Wajar sih, pertama kalinya ada 3 group project ongoing all at the same time, disamping studio work. Jadi bingung mau fokus ke mana, n sulit bgt ngatur waktu utk project meeting yg bisa lamaan dikiiiit aja.
But! Just now was so fun! Hehehehe... Kapan lagi bisa melepas stres dgn cara menghantam beton biar jadi kerikil kecil2 *berdasarkan percobaan nyanyi bersama reren, lagu "Lir ilir" dan "Gundul-gundul Pacul" paling enak ritme-nya buat mukul2*, kapan lagi bisa megang sekop, aduk2 kerikil, pasir, semen, sambil *nggak sengaja* nyiprat2in semennya ke orang.. kapan lagi bisa saling teriak2in, kerja sambil complain2 tapi seneng jg, ngerasa excited padahal yg kita kerjain ya sebangsanya kerjaan tukang2 yg notabene kerja kasar n bikin tangan jadi kapalan... kapan lagi nyoba2 melarutkan foam pake kerosene yg baunya kl dihirup bikin kliyeng-kliyeng..
Hm....
Am just content right now.... It's true that the joy of work well-done *cross my finger since the concrete isn't released from the formwork yet* enables us to enjoy true rest. Just a thought though...cewe2 archi tuh perkasa gak sih..hahahahahhaha.... mana ada sih cewe fakultas lain yg urusannya sama kerjaan tukang begitu.. hm...dampaknya mungkin buruk terhadap tendensi tomboiku, but cueklah..hehe.. anyway, gotta say aku kagum sama cowok2 di archi yg meskipun banyak yg rada metro, ke-macho-an nya keluar begitu udah pegang palu, sekop, bor, gergaji etc etc.
Ahhh..... Kasur udah memanggil.....Hoaaaaaaaahm........
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Mulling over.......(Attention: long and winding post.)
Master of Landscape Architecture Programme Structure
| Bridging Course: Special Term 3 | |||
| LA3701: Introduction to Landscape Design (4 MCs) | LA3201: Introduction to the History of Landscape (4 MCs) | LA3711: Sketchbook 1 (2 MCs) |
|
| Bridging Course: Special Term 4 | |||
| LA3211: Plant Identification 1 (4 MCs) | LA3301: Plant Science & Horticulture (4 MCs) | LA3712 : Sketchbook 2 (2 MCs) |
|
| B.A. (Arch) Level 4 : Semester 1 | |||
| LA4701: Landscape Studio IVa (8 MCs) | LA4201: Theory of Modern Landscape Architecture (4 MCs) | BL5102: (4 MCs) | LA4301: (4 MCs) |
| B.A. (Arch) Level 4 : Semester 2 | |||
| LA4702: Landscape Studio IVb (8 MCs) | LA4202: Planting Design (4 MCs) | LA4212: Plant Identification 2 (4 MCs) | DE5107 (4 MCs) |
| MLA: Semester 1 | |||
| LA5701: Collaborative Project: Regional Sustainable Design (4 MCs) | LA5201: The Politics of Landscape (4 MCs) | UD5622: Methods of Urban Design and Analysis (4 MCs) | LA5301: Site Systems (4 MCs) |
| MLA: Semester 2 | |||
| LA5702: Final Project (8 MCs) | LA5402: Professional Practice (4 MCs) | LA5302: Landscape Construction and Detailing (4 MCs) | LA5742: Dissertation (8 MCs) |
Hmm......
Ufh.....
Haih....
Shoot......
Ugh....
Gah!!! So here's the problem: was talking to the professor-in-charge for the landscape master's program this morning, and I was practically won over on the spot to become a landscape architect...but.....but....haih...but I want to take pure architecture also...And now I'm mulling over which one is better....
.........Hufh....Actually, after the O-levels, I was going to submit my application to be a PR just so that I could take a scholarship in landscape architecture to New Zealand... Wanted so much to work with Nature... but resigned myself to Archi in the hope of specializing in sustainable architecture... And now after I've grown to quite like Architecture, come along this little program "Master in Landscape Architecture" that will only start August this year.....
Be a landscape architect...and I could be close to trees most of the time..I can imagine it already..Designing not just gardens but ecosystems...I could plant instead of uproot....Nurture instead of construct...Add greenery instead of subtract from it... Oh man...Oh man.... Be a landscape architect...and I could take a scholarship that would pay for my master's programme in full, plus monthly stipend....get to work in a small class size (the projected cohort for this year's batch is TWELVE people....yups....for the entire Master's course..)..Take field trips to gardens....Work with NParks...maybe get to design a part of Botanic Gardens one day.... Oh dude...Based on what I know too, the job prospect's good, there's a severe lack of landscape designers in Singapore...the pay's good, and the chance to work with plants and Nature...Oh shoot...Will it even feel like working....Dang....
So why don't I just make up my mind and move over to the course after year 3?
Be a landscape architect...and instead of getting a "Master of Architecture" degree I'll get "Master of Landscape Architecture"...it just sounds less cool too me...People might think I'm a gardener when in reality it's much more complex to design an artificial landscape that enhances the local natural ecosystem.. Be a landscape architect, and instead of the bold, arrogant pride of saying, "Hey look, I designed the building over there!" I'll just have the quiet satisfaction that the landscapes I've designed enhanced the quality of air, of environment, of the city, of life...
Instead of the "Wow you're and architect..." that people usually gives even when I'm only an architecture student, I might get, "Oh so what actually does a landscape architect do?"
Hufh....So all the reasons I'm not making up my mind is just because of prestige...because ultimately I'm also part of the people that think architect,just ARCHITECT sounds much more glorious than LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT.
Hm...
My idealistic notions start rushing back again though...Those that I've only kept at the back of my mind so far... Maybe, just maybe, the world doesn't need another fancy-formed tower,another structurally mind-boggling skyscraper, another magnificently decorated shopping mall, to make life better... Maybe, just maybe, what it needs is someone who is just as at ease helping people in rural villages figure out the agricultural system as s/he is in the city designing green lungs.....Or someone who could plan how parks and gardens reduce crime... (Am not kidding on this one, there's a research I read some time ago in National Geographic that concludes neighborhoods with greeneries have much lower crime rate than barren parts.) Or one who could design a factory surrounded by gardens functioning as waste recycling center...
...Prestige huh....Architect....Richard Feynman says, "What do YOU care what other people think?" Anthony de Mello wrote that there are two kinds of happiness, one coming from the times when people praise you because of your achievements, the other one felt at instances when you listen to a very good song, see a beautiful sunset, thoroughly enjoy the company of your friends...In short, satisfaction that comes not because you've fullfiled expectations - your own or others' - but one that comes because it makes you happy just to be doing it... Sure, I'm really happy even doing just architecture, but to work with trees......Ahhh.......
Hm....I guess that last part settles it....Hufh.....Bye prestige, hello plantings!
There is pleasure in the pathless woods
There is rapture on the lonely shore
There is a society where none intrudes
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less,
but Nature more.
(Lord Byron)
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