Wednesday, May 26, 2004

instant gratification

i read a little anecdote in readers' digest some time ago, one of those fillers at the end of each article.

it was about a parent who went to a brownies' meeting (note to malaysians: brownies = tunas puteri) and brought with him a camera to snap pictures of his daughter's pack. after arranging the girls and clicking the shutter, one of the girls ran excitedly to him, grabbed the camera and looked at the back.

alas, the poor girl's smile quickly faded into disappointment, as the camera was an "old" model and not digital.

that story really got to me, because i'm also guilty of grabbing my friends' cameras once a picture is taken, just to make sure i look presentable in the photograph. talk about vain!

talk about instant gratification! that was one thing from the story that hit me too. the little girl was so tuned to getting the instant high that to realise the camera was a traditional film-and-shutter model made her, well, deflated.

just like the rest of us. we're just so used to getting that instant satisfaction from almost everything, that the very notion of having to work for something long term seems almost unacceptable. appalling, even.

it's reflected by the obsession we have today over slimming pills, drugs, lottery tickets (remember those sold by the "uncle" at shop corridors?), extra strong espresso, instant soup. even polaroids are coming back in fashion. not to mention the attitude of students who come into lectures for the sole reason of copying notes, not even willing to perhaps work out the blanks and examples provided.

we're all so addicted to that instant gratification. no more waiting for results.

i'm not saying that i do not crave that kick i get immediately after eating a bar a chocolate, and i've already admitted to being the first behind the cameraman after every shot. but i do miss that one-day period of waiting for the pictures to get developed, and the satisfaction of tucking into a meal i had worked hard to prepare.

there's not much of a point, really, in this entry. just random pickings from my ever-swirling pool of thoughts. i think i need a pensieve.

lishun at 10:01 PM

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Wednesday, May 12, 2004

arts vs. science...again

one of my favourite topics in GP to tackle is the whole arts vs science thing. i wrote an essay about it some time ago and won 2nd prize in the competition. still a bit sore about the fact that the 1st prize winner got a $100 borders voucher while i got a file bag. urgh.

that's not the point anyway.

i myself am caught up in the middle of the arts vs science battle. yes, i know i do have a scholarship to do medicine waiting for me the moment i finish my a-levels here. and yes, i know that it's been what i've said i've wanted. okay, okay, it does seem that science is "my thing", since i've been doing pure science for the past 4 years and have been faring quite well.

and yet...

last week i went for a careers exploration workshop. to my surprise i am actually more arts-inclined than i thought i am. it doesn't stop there, no. i find that i'm becoming very interested in stuff like film appreciation, photograph interpretation, philosophy...all that arty-farty stuff. suddenly i find myself craving the more liberal way of education that can be found in australia and america, and despising the traditional, english ways.

i'm so confused. it's like an identity crisis. no, it IS an identity crisis! so what am i? an arts person? or a science girl? is there even a divide as to whether i am more arts or more science?

it's like a bad GP question: "li-shun is more inclined toward the sciences than the arts" to what extent is this statement true?

and i have to come up with a stand, weigh the circumstances, discuss some concrete examples, and finish off with a conclusion.

only trouble is...i don't know what the stand and conclusion is. and it drives me nuts.

sigh

lishun at 6:14 PM

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