Victor Hugo

"An intelligent hell would be better than a stupid paradise."



"Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters."



"A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor."


"As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled."



"Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?"


"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come."



"Try as you will, you cannot annihilate that eternal relic of the human heart, love."



"He who opens a school door, closes a prison."


"Have no fear of robbers or murderers. They are external dangers, petty dangers. We should fear ourselves. Prejudices are the real robbers; vices the real murders. The great dangers are within us. Why worry about what threatens our heads or purses? Let us think instead of what threatens our souls."


all these powerful and intelligent quotes above are from Victor Hugo, a man of contradiction and wisdom. born to an atheist republican father and a Catholic royalist mother, he symbolised the communion of diametrical ideas of humanity. This innate turbulent nature, nurtured by the tumultuous period of French Revolution, resulted in a rare intellect of the society.

I must admit that i am a noob. only recently knew the difference btw Republic and Democratic.

gained insight into the socialist face of Chinese society when i conversed with the hot drink specialist of the restaurant i work in who is from China. found out that behind the veneer of fast developing face of Singapore, there is a class that perpetually lags behind. or left behind. China gov. definitely takes care of the elderly, the handicapped and other needies much better than in singapore. maybe singapore should do more for these needy compatriots than to help paint their flats or perform some music that are cacophonic to their ears. there needs a comprehensive structure and plan for these people. CPF and medisave are not everything.

and another comment from my this PRC colleague is that China is much more 有人情味 than Singapore. even though it has its share of bad people, it is a society with passion and compassion. not a deadfish efficient society.

in my opinion, M'sia still belongs to the compassinate yet full-of-perils society even though the efficiency of government does perk up a tiny bit. not short of redtapes and corruptions, but rest assured that you will have fellow friends and helpful countrymen. and the civil servants are generally nice and helpful too even though they might be slow and not knowledgable. but the whole society gives u a sense of belonging, a taste of humanity.



first year not spending chinese new year with my family. first year not going back to my kampung Pusing. miss my family and relatives. hope that all is well for y'all, and may my grandma be peaceful and contented in another world.

does not feel particularly strong this year for CNY unlike the previous 18 years. maybe becoz i'm not with my family, and maybe becoz i am in a foreign land. but thx to timo for hosting me for new year eve. at least i got a decent dinner and nice companion :)

been spending first day (chu yi) online reading Wikipedia. how i wish i don't need to work and just immerse in the world of knowledge. it is so blessed to be able to read and acquire new insights. student is the best occupation in the world.