lemonorange

A thing, not an object.

It’s been a couple of years now, since I heard Argentinean architect Rafael Iglesia describe one of his projects as the attempt to produce a thing not an object. A thing, he said, does not have project, it has not been designed; but an object has.

I might have misunderstood what he meant, but I translated it as the difference between a chair and a stone. A chair is designed to be able to sit on it. A stone, if of the right size and form, may allow to sit on it, but was not designed as such. A thing has a life on its own, it has no purpose; only circumstances, e.i. use, make a thing become intentional.

Even though it might seem a paradox, the idea of designing a building as if it has not been designed remained in my mind. I wanted to achieve the status of those cases that are closer to nature than to artifice, even though they are obviously manmade, cases in which the consecutives layers of knowledge applied to a given question and the uninterrupted trial and error approach besieging a problem, have shaped answers efficiently and smoothly. Some archaic shoes, some antique vases or some primitive tools have erased the traces of their formation process up to the point of acquiring the capacity to fit life, naturally.

The VITRA job seemed from the very beginning to be the case to do a thing not an object, something as natural and statement-free as a stone, but if of the appropriate size and form, able to perform as a building, in this case as a children workshop.

From : http://www.archdaily.com/28102/vitra-children-workshop-alejandro-aravena-architects/

"The invention of car is the beginning and the end of people's imagination."

Quite true isn't it?
We don't imagine anymore how else can people move from place to place, without the use of a vehicle.

:( maybe I need to visit the Amish one day.

Last night i was watching pai pai dui, cha cha kan.
A variety show which goes and find what are the good food stalls in Singapore.

And the host (bryan wong) was saying this:

"Tasting food is like falling in love.
It comes in 3 stages.
First impression,
The climax, then
The memories."

First impression meaning the 1st flavour u taste when the food just reaches your taste buds.
The climax refers to the best flavour u taste either when u bite on the meat, chew the noodles, or drink the soup.
The memories is the flavour you remember it by after the meal. Without eating it, u can taste it in your mouth.

ha.. might be a bit exaggerated, but i think the description is apt to a large extent.

Wonder if the same applies when you interact with a design.
first impression, climax and memory.

i wonder... hmmmmmmmm

A distinguished man was speaking to a distinguished woman,
and asked her: “Would you sleep with me for a million dollars?”
The woman carefully thought it over, and said that she would.
Then he asked, “Would you sleep with me for fifty dollars?”
The woman took great offense, and said “Do you think I am
some kind of whore?” The man answered, “Ma’am, we’ve already
established you are a harlot. Now we are only bargaining over price.”

The same attitude has led many away from Jesus, selling Him for the sake of more money or more things.

Thanks to David Guzik, from here.

some times from some where i get inspired by some people's words.

Trying to not remember than to forget
keren's song. super
True to a certain extent, we shouldn't forget the mistakes we made.
But it helps to not replay them over and over again in our head.

We fail not because of lack of resources but lack of resourcefulness
Tony Robbins' talk
Hit on the spot. period.

I hate to be the one to say "the sky is falling".
Sometimes, the sky is not too obvious... or that people just arent looking up.
Clifford, a used-to-be colleague of mine
He didn't go thru the highest level of education, but the words he write... is amazing.
Though sometimes I can't understand his context, I feel his honesty.

Some words, i just love:

Cheer (this brings cheer to a room)
Charming
Thoughtful


Words, i just hate:

No common sense

will add to the list!

Have always been interested in How people make decisions.

How do we choose a seat in the food court?
How do we decide what to eat?
How do we decide which route to take to go to a certain place?

During my work, i wonder..

How do designers choose a certain colour for a product?
How do they choose which direction to go?
These are crucial decisions which I am still learning how to make.

The process of decision making is done subconsciously?
Many times, we don't even know why we choose something.

I asked Patrick on the car "how do people make decisions".
He seemed to have thought it through before.
"It's relative," he said. We don't just know what to decide on.
We compare.
Is that better or this? We compare our choices.
To decide on the better.
Come to think of it, It's really impossible to look for the ultimate best.
Even the word "best" is a relative word right?

So the next time u have difficulty deciding....
lay out your choices first! :)
Compare them one by one.
If both are good at different things, then see which of it u value most.
Compare and u can't compare anymore... ?
haha.. or compare till u are tired or running out of time..

u will then finally decide. :)

cheers!

natalie grant - held. awaken

avalon - everything to me

writing these down so that i can throw away little pieces of paper on my table!

5 different kinds of runners (from KSBJ):

Casual - Not interested in running
Cautious - Afraid to start the race
Compromise - Run in between the lines
Careful - Run in comfort zone
Committed - Determined to run hard and finish well

I always insist that I have more free time when I start work as compared to when i m studying.
Most people will shake their head and refute my argument.

I am glad I live out what I believed in.

Pros of Work:

• Work begins at 8.30am and ends at 6pm. (at least for me, it takes discipline to do that)
• Work begins on Monday and slows down towards Friday
• Saturday and Sunday and all day evenings are entirely up to me. (unless certain rare things pop up)
• Work is less performance driven than study. (no A, B, C, D,  no politics in my office.. so well..)
• you get paid! $$

Cons of Study

• Competition is much higher. Performance is key. Time is tight.
• I study morning, noon, night, late nights. All day I do one thing, same thing, projects.
• Saturday and Sunday are for work spilled-over.
• There is always a feeling of "i have not done enough".
• you feel poor and stingy.

That was my case. And still is.
having worked for almost 6 months.
I realised the cons of work as well, which happen to be pros of study.

Cons of work

• There's no MONTHS of holiday!
• U can't skip work, u can skip school
• U can arrange your time table, and have free days in week
• Life doesn't start so routinely at 8 and end at 6 when one studies. (this routine makes life boring)
• U have to be strategic on how you takes offs and leaves

All in all, study gives u the flexibility of time, and work gives u the regularity of free time.
You give and take. :)

I feel blessed.

I have to admit that I am a lazy believer, seeking for the most convenient method to follow Him.
Prayer is easy.
I give thanks for the good things that happened that day and pray for what was bad or
what I desire before I sleep every night, and I believe He will listen.

In recent months, I begin to know more and more about prayer.

Prayer may be our way of talking to God, but
the Word is God's way of talking to us.

Just like how we communicate with people on a day to day basics,
we try to practise listening to them first before giving our opinions.
The same applies to talking to God.
Reading the Word reveals to us God's intentions and plans. Often, after reading His Word,
we might have our intended prayers answered on the spot even before praying for them.

I think this gives me a good reason to do my quiet time daily.
It is similar to listening to a good friend talking about his/her life.
You will never grow tired of listening.



I have been talking to Edwin and a few others about this observation I made or heard.
Prayers have different levels. Besides being God's gift to us, I believe that prayer is also an area that we can grow in.

To pray more
To pray correctly (aka according to God's will)
To pray for others
To pray in faith

I encountered many examples of "praying correctly" recently.
Especially when I open my ears to hear how Nic prays.
He adds God's word in His prayers. The exact words.

Take for example, u are praying for someone who is looking for directions:

"Dear Lord, I pray for XXX that you will speak for her clearly on her paths ahead.
I know you have plans for her, Lord may you show your faithfulness and reveal it to her."

in comparison to...

"Dear Lord, I pray for XXX that you will reveal Your plans to her, as you said in Jeremiah, You have a plan for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and future. So Lord, let us obey your command to be still and wait patiently for You in faith Lord. ..."

The difference is that one is praying from his knowledge of God's words, and the other is praying from God's words. I don't know if this might make a difference to anyone, but it does to me. Why won't I choose to use God's exact words as He is the ultimate Comforter and Provider.

Of course, praying with that amount of depth in His Word, does not come overnight.
It takes a discipline to read His Word with thought and understanding.
We don't have to do this alone, He will help us if we are willing to take on this discipline.


:)

one good thing which happened in 2008...

http://www.ndpperspectives.com/gallery.htm

thanks to these photographers,
who captured these beautiful, vivid
memories to etch them deeper in my mind.

this is my favourite. Credits to Jessie Leong. :)

suddenly i m reminded of ipercoop in quarto oggario. One train stop away from my milan home.
I remember this pizza shop at the corner, always full of people anticipating new pizzas to be out of the oven. The display of pizza is phenomenal, but it is the smell which greets you first.

I can almost imagine myself cutting through the generous layer of mushroom and cheese and finally the bread at the bottom. The cheese which refuses to tear apart and the juices of the mushroom which roll on the tongue.

I miss the shops there.. every one of single. I am glad too that they are still rather vivid in my mind. I will be back one day.. hopefully soon. :)

Why can we do so much for our partner
and yet not love God as much?

Why can we spend so much time at work
and yet not say goodnight to God?

Why can we run for the bus each morning
and yet not run for God?

Why can we listen so intently during lectures
and yet fall asleep during each sermon?

Why can we read our textbooks back to back thrice
and yet barely flip the bible?

Why can we listen to our earphones all day
and yet not listen to God's voice?

Why can we do this?

sometimes research is not abt reading online or in books or archive materials...
it may be simply abt speaking to a peer, a friend, anyone...

Will always remember this moment ... :)
a reminder of all the hard work and blue-sky dreams i had...

the lord asked me why i m doing certain things.
why are you so desperate to learn?
why are you so eager to move on?

sometimes we know that the things we do are entirely correct.
but we just don't know why we are doing them?
just because they are correct or the right thing to do?

the Lord re-justifies my perception during cell last sat.
questioning me... and making me reflect for the purpose first before moving on.
i thank Him for that.

:)

University is a time when we hear the most critics from strong, opinionated people.
I think they are kind of cool. to have a mind of their own. to believe in something..

so.. i start to form opinions abt things as well.
not letting things just get by me without evaluating it from left to right first.
"the street lamp looks out of place".
"that slab of cement is subtlely blending into the grass patch".
"Why is this step so high?"

it gets tiring . but it is good practice.

then i began to read widely. bits of everything. even things that i m least interested abt.
I need to know more. or maybe just a bit of everything.
then i realise everything is limitless. there are jus too much.
and it gets tiring once again. to be reading everything so seriously, making myself remember the gist of everything so that when the time for that inspiration arises, i can draw links quick and easy.

i think i have forgotten how to read for fun. know for fun. to do all these in a relaxed manner.

how?

initially i thought that commencement has no significance for me..
the grad show was supposed to be more meaningful than this..

in the end, i realised that wearing the gown and the mortar board did have an impact on me. going up stage... receiving my medal, cert, and scroll.
it's a sigh of relief, a full stop, yet another beginning...
i m glad...
i m glad that it's a job well done. i think my mum is proud.

People who came to take photos with me:
They are always there around me...
thank u nic, wenyi, wendy, fel, jieqiang, daniel, edwin.
thanks for coming and making me smile each time.


also cos, there are daddy mummy, weiann, another nic, who came as well...
thank u! thank u!


time to go back to work! ... :)
i feel blessed.

the rain made everything a little more beautiful.
including our spirits.