invaders...

...or are we?

I don't know if you've watched this episode of Grey's. It's about the merging of two hospitals and the first day of work when doctors and nurses and other health personnel from two different environments come together and work together.

Because the series is based in Seattle Grace hospital, naturally it would depict the people from the other hospital as invaders. Basically what the series was trying to say was that the SG people found the 'invaders' to be annoying, irritating, and at times, infuriating. All because the people had come to 'their' hospital to work with them.

I think the concept was that SG somewhat belonged to them, and they didn't like it when outsiders who were not welcome, came.

Then it made me wonder.

Doesn't it make sense?

WE are invaders too, in a sense.

115 of us, altogether, came here to study with the homestudents, who have been together since 3 years ago, and probably have formed tight friendships with each other.

then we come and ruin everything.

We invade their lecture halls, making it cramped and difficult to find a nice spot.

We invade their labs and libraries, reducing the number of books available for them to borrow.

We invade their cafes and canteens, eating their food and sitting in their places.

In a way, I wouldn't be surprised if they felt the same way as the good people in Grey's. We were the invaders in the first place.

Of course I understand that the episode was stating that in a somewhat immature way, but you cannot say it doesn't make sense. If a whole 100+ bunch of students suddenly came to study with us in IMU out of the blue, we wouldn't exactly embrace them, lock stock and barrel. We would also feel that our space was invaded, to a certain extent.

But then again, to the homestudents' credit, they have been nothing but friendly towards us.

My buddy has been most warm and welcoming towards me, and for that, I'm grateful.

I didn't go to the pub crawl, but what I heard, there was much mingling and it was great between us and them.

Then again, I probably shouldn't think in terms of 'us and them', right.

of movies and ramblings, and edinburgh

So I was watching the movie Mona Lisa Smile yesterday night.

I know I know. It's a little too late for a review of a movie that came out years ago, but still...

Well. For those who didn't watch the show, it's basically about this female art lecturer who had really avant-garde ideas about feminism and female rights and stuff, who wanted to make a difference in the lives of her female students. But her efforts were constantly thwarted by them, her peers, and the general society during that time.

Oh, and the movie was set in the 50-s.

What the movie was trying to say was that in those days, women belonged to their husbands and their families, and their right place was in their homes and nowhere else. Which, of course, is not true nowadays, but only to a certain extent.

It got me thinking.

How modern are we actually? When it comes to matters like this. We say females have as much capability as males (perhaps even more?) and we should be entitled to the same things as our male counterparts.

But,

Why do parents always shush their sons when they cry, and not their daughters? Kids feel pain as much as one another, so why is it that people find crying boys embarrassing?

Why does it always have to be the guy who asks the girl out on a date? And pay for it? (at least on the first few ones?) If both parties are earning wages, shouldn't it be fair for both to pay their own?

Why is it always that girls are the ones to worry about 'not getting married off' at a certain age? And the guys don't? (well, at least not till they're 60 or so....)

Why is it that the female always has to be the one to give up her job once she has a baby? The baby came from both parents so why shouldn't it be the responsibility of both?

Why is it that the female always has to take care of the household chores, even when she has a regular 9-5 job? And all the husband does after coming back from work is to ask 'honey, where's dinner?'

Why is it that the general public sees middle aged unmarried females as 'failures'? As if not getting married after a certain age deems them 'leftover goods'? (don't laugh, I've heard many people say this about those unlucky girls!...behind their backs of course). And guys get more and more berharga as they grow older in the marriage market?

Why is it that females holding a high position in a company will be termed a bitch if she's too aggressive, and males who do that are said to be 'assertive'?

Why is it that males have porn magazines and websites with naked females, and we girls don't have magazines and websites of naked men?

Why is it that a handful of masochistic males nowadays can still say that rape victims 'asked for it' because they were dressed too skimpily? To say in front of everyone that their political counterparts will 'leak' every month? To say that if the rape victim can't get herself free of her rapist, to 'just let go and enjoy it'?

Why? Why?

I could go on and on. But you get the idea.

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Moving on to prettier topics.

The housemates and I went to Edinburgh over the weekend!

autumn's here!

it was a wet day in Edinburgh

us in front of Edinburgh castle. I love my new coat! =)

the view which officially inspired Harry Potter...

...and the lucky cafe in which Rowling happened to be lunching in when the Eureka! moment struck.

And that's all for now!

Till then.

xoxo

a little something

1. Mood:

More towards crappy. cramps in my stomach making me tired and grumpy. Where did all that exercising go? I thought it was supposed to help with cramps. shoot.

2. List three things currently inspiring you.

Nothing in particular. Does a steaming hot cup of ginger tea count?

3. Doing what now?

Listening to jazzy music and trying to figure out our thromboembolic workshop.

4. Gladiator sandals?

I'm alright with them. Though I'm starting to think boots are the coolest shoes invented ever. =)

5. Lips and cheeks:

I haven't been using much lipstick, usually it's a slick of my Loccitane lipbalm and I'm good to go. Currently using No7's mineral blusher in soft damson.

6. What’s one quality you like about yourself?

Being neat and tidy.

7. Fragrance?

Victoria Beckham's Intimately Beckham.

8. Name three ways you’ve changed in the last 10 years.

10 years before I was..13. Form 1. Apart from about gaining a shitload of textbook knowlegde over the years, I suppose I have become more independent, and care less about what people think of me.

9. Outfit?

Since I'm in my room now, it would be a sporty long sleeve top and knee length pants, and fluffy bedroom slippers.

10. Weekly goals:

To at least get a start on my introduction for my research paper! There's only so long a girl can procrastinate.

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And autumn's here!

Apart from the fact that leaves are turning shades of yellow and red, cold glasgow just became even colder.

I woke up at 9am yesterday and there it was, on my laptop weather widget: 0 degrees!

But it wasn't as bad as I thought. Even without the heater on and only wearing a normal t-shirt, I felt perfectly comfortable. Or perhaps our hostel buildings have very good inbuilt heat-retaining properties.

Sometimes I think that this world is so much kinder to beautiful people.

Life is so much easier if you're beautiful. You get the largest piece of cake, people actually stop to listen to you when you talk, and complete strangers will be nicer to you. You get to choose other equally beautiful people to be your spouse, and your children will also be beautiful. You get promotions at work more often, and most probably you will end up with an easy workload than others.

No? You disagree?

Well. Guys, do you dare to say that if given a gorgeous model and a plain ugly (fat, thrown in for good measure) girl needed your help, which would you be more inclined to help?

Girls, if a gorgeous, tall, hunky guy and a slight, plain guy with acne asked you for your number, which would you be more happy to give it to?

See, we're all shallow after all. Just that we don't admit it.

That's why plain people have to work twice as hard as beautiful ones to get to the same place.

It's a fact. Sad but true.

That's why makeup companies and slimming centres will always be in business.

Just thinking. =)

Oh and if you feel like doing the meme on top, feel free to copy and paste the questions and put in your own answers. It's good for a filler post when you have nothing else to say. =)

xoxo

fate (or not!)

Sorry I didn’t keep my part of the promise. Rome and the rest of Italy seems so far away now, I just can’t seem to find the mood (and time) to tell you about it. Once semester starts, the holidays just fall to the back of my mind. Ah well, probably those pictures and stories will see the light of the day, someday, when I have nothing better to blog about.

So.

I was chit-chatting over dinner with a few girlfriends.

And somehow our conversation turned into a debate of which was more important in a relationship: fate, or making it happen.

It’s like this.

Which do you believe in?

a. Successful relationships were meant to be. Fate decides everything.

b. Successful relationships are a result of our own efforts.

And I was the one supporting the second theory.

I do not deny that we need fate to intercede in order for people to meet, and perhaps like each other.

Why would we be great friends with someone and so-so with others?

This is because we were fated to be.

Actually fate doesn’t really explain it all. 缘分(yuan fen, or yuan) would be more accurate.

We become close to some people, fall in love with a few, and hate the rest, all because of yuan.

In short, yuan determines what goes on in our lives.

If we fall in love with someone and become a couple, then it’s because we have a lot of yuan.

If we like someone but didn’t progress that far, we blame it on having too little yuan.

If we hate someone just simply because, we say it’s bad yuan.

But is it right to leave everything to fate?

I don’t think so.

In my world, good things came to me because I actually made the effort to achieve them. Not by waiting around and blaming the lack of yuan when I don’t get what I want.

In short, I fully believe that ‘what you reap is what you sow’.

Of course I understand that there are no fixed rules when it comes to relationships. I understand that even if you love someone doesn’t mean that someone will love you back.

But then again, if you didn’t even make it known that you love that someone (ie court her/him lah!), how are you going to blame it on fate when others don’t even know that you fancy them?

Yes, I agree that it takes a certain amount of fate for people to meet, and for sparks to fly.

But if nothing more happens after that, then the fate doesn’t amount to anything now does it?

It is so much better to love and live, than not loving at all.

Even if it might hurt lots and then some, it would have been worth it.

I would rather have plunged right in and did something from my heart, than NOT to do it and regret after that.

I do not like to have ‘what if-s’ in my life.

What if I had gone on that date with him?

What if I had called him after the date instead of waiting for him to call? (what if he never did call?)

What if I had initiated the second date instead of waiting for him to do it?

What if I had told him I fancied him instead of waiting for him to do it?

What if?....

See, that’s my point.

We never know what’s going to happen the next step.

We are human after all, not God.

So why not live in exuberance instead of tiptoeing through life?

Of course, I am not saying that we plunge through life without thinking.

Obviously if something (or someone) was a bad idea, a little logical thinking would tell me that NOT going ahead is the better choice.

But if your head and heart says YES! why not just go ahead? rather than crack your head and think, oh long distance relationships are no good la, he’s not rich enough la, he’s not funny enough la, he doesn’t take out the trash la, etc.

Anyways, I digress.

My point is,

It is simply not enough to sit around and wait for someone to come across you, sitting there oh so demurely.

Rather, we should go out there, and take our pick from the mix! Throw out the good girl and snag a fab guy, and we shall see who gets the last laugh!

xoxo

p/s: actually I admit I’m somewhat a mix in between those two types. I sit at home all the time yet I still believe I should ‘make it happen’. So please do not laugh back at me when I eat my own words some time in the (near?) future. ha!

p/p/s: no, there is no guy on the horizon right now, unfortunately. this post was simply inspired by our after-dinner conversation, period.