A President for the World

There was an air of quiet celebration in the house on Wednesday. My husband and I had taken a little time off work to watch the results of US Election on CNN.

When Obama’s name was announced as the president elect, I watched America and the whole world throw their fists in the air and celebrate. Some were crying, in relief, joy and hope (and for some, disappointment). I can’t help but shed a few tears myself. I’m just happy to be granted the privilege of witnessing this momentous occasion in history.

Last week I was chilling out on the couch after a very tiring day when my 11-year old nephew asked, “Why do the skinheads want to assassinate Obama?” referring to a newspaper report last month. In my state of fatigue, I tried explaining about racism and supremacists but find myself at a loss when he asked, “Why is the colour of one’s skin such a big deal?”

Earlier this year my husband and I were pondering on the probability of America having Barack Obama as president. His proposed policies are generally multilateral, his background is global and he’s got this thing called charisma.

To the world, Obama seemed to be the preferred candidate. Parts of Asia sees him as one of our own (“He speaks Bahasa and has lived in Indonesia! He’s more Asian than your uncle Jo”). Africa, or at least Kenya, claims him as a son of their soil. Middle east welcomes “Hussein” along with the olive branch he’s extending. In a sense, he is a president for the world.

But he is black (or grey as I call it, since he is half white). And we’re afraid that though the world was rooting and ready for him, America didn’t share the same sentiments.

We were wrong to assume that Americans were not mature enough to look beyond racial lines and for once I’m glad we were. There is so much hope and expectation placed on this one man. And he has shown us, with his election, that there is some hope in this world.

With the current global economic crisis and the peril of climate change, it is definitely a challenging time to be the leader of a nation so powerful and influential. Let’s hope that he lives up to at least some of the expectations. :)

Different But Still the Same

I met the other half of my sludge worm fellowship a few days ago. So glad to finally see her again! All the anxiety I had about meeting her quickly melted away as we chatted about the old days and how much (or how little) we’ve changed.

On the surface we looked different – we’re no longer giggly schoolgirls in uniforms, we’ve grown a couple of inches taller and our fashion styles have evolved – but essentially we’re still the same persons. She described our reacquaintance succinctly when she said,

“Everything’s different yet nothing’s changed.” :)

Rekindling Old Flames

A girl friend I’ve been out of touch for nearly 14 years sent me a message out of the blue a few days ago.

We’ve had so many, many good memories together. I shared some of my first crushes with her – Christian Slater, and the boy in who lived at 9th floor in my old apartment. I didn’t know how we drifted apart when we used to be so close in school that we called ourselves “sludge worms”, because of the way we tend cling to each other.

We agreed to meet each other soon and to be honest I’m quite nervous. As Anya commented on my previous post, this feeling is indeed natural. I’m probably afraid that I’d be disappointed with the possibility that the “now” is less sweet than the “then”.

Recently I started baking again, an activity I used to enjoy tremendously.  I had reservations on whether it I’d still be in love with it.

The first batch of cookies I baked was complete failure, something I don’t recall ever happening before, which led me to thinking whether I still had “it”. Disappointed, I decided to continue with the next batch with a different oven setting and sure enough, it did the trick.

It wasn’t me — the new oven just needed some getting used to.

There are a couple more activities I used to enjoy that may need revisiting:

Crochet/Knit
My grandma loved to knit and crochet and I picked the skill from her at a young age (about 8).  My interest in it waned when she passed away — I didn’t have access to books on crocheting then and my mother wasn’t into it. Now, there’s a web of online resources on how-to-knit/crochet.

Read Fiction
My reading list is decidedly non-fiction — personal development, psychology, art, science, autobiographies. I love reading and love a good story, I just don’t know why I never thought of picking up a book from the fiction section anymore.

Go to the Theatre
I used to watch, if I could afford it, a stage play every month. I enjoyed watching actors perform in real-time. When I started working in multimedia and video production, my interest shifted to film.

It’s a little harder to renew a friendship because there are two parties involved but if my recent baking adventure were of any indication, the result could be sweet – though we may need to make some adjustments.

What do you want to do before you die?

I came across this site while surfing today.

It’s interesting to read what people want to do before they die. Most of wishes have to do with self-improvement, having fun,  being successful, living a dream, change the world for the better, finding love, starting a family. There are people who want to do everything and there are some who want to do nothing. And quite a number mentiond visiting Tokyo (I understand, I’d love to visit the city again soon!)!

Though I don’t think I want to do nothing, a lot of what I want to achieve (or have done and want to continue doing) is basically same – have fun, making a positive impact on the world, be happy, be at peace, live.

How about you?

Dream Job Titles

I was watching tv the other day when I came across the words “professional traveller” on the travel channel. What an interesting-sounding occupation! Though the idea of travelling to exotic locations and getting paid for it sounds like the perfect job description, I’ve never thought of travel writing or hosting a travel show as dream jobs. A professional traveller, on the other hand sounds like an enviable job. Wait a minute, a travel writer/host is a professional traveller. Perhaps, the right title that makes a job more desirable?

What I am doing now can sound quite impressive, if correctly worded:

Online Publisher
Freelance Traveler
Master Artist in Training
Junk Food Connoisseur
Home-Based Feline Social Worker
Non-Competitive Part-Time Athlete (this one’s pushing it a little)
Benevolent World Domination Mastermind

What’s your job title?

The Olympic Games

How are you enjoying the Beijing Olympic Games so far? My favourite events (shared by many I’m sure) are gymnastics, track & field athletics (sprints in particular), diving and swimming. Lately I’ve been watching a lot of weightlifting, beach volleyball, archery, fencing and judo.

I’ve never been a fan of long distance events but I watched part of the 245km cycling road race (which saw Spain’s Samuel Sanchez taking the gold) on Saturday and boy was I blown away by the amazing display of endurance – 6 and a half hours of continuous cycling!

As a child I dreamed about becoming a perfect 10 gymnast like Nadia Comaneci – gracefully athletic yet beautifully composed. I’m about two decades too late to start working on that dream so right now my participation is mostly confined to non-competitive sideline activities such as keeping track of the different colours and designs of the dresses worn by the ushers Olympic hostesses, finding out things like “Why do athletes bite their medals?” and guessing how many world records Michael Phelps would break – my guess was 4! Looks like I’m wrong!

Two decades ago, I wouldn’t know about things such as match-fixing, doping or the “Free Tibet” controversy that surrounded this Olympic games. All athletes were like heroes to me and the Olympics, the biggest stage to show the human mettle. Maybe that is the best way to enjoy the games.

What is your favourite Olympic sport? Do you have an Olympic dream?