I am officially a few hundred bucks
poorer after registering for jap classes.
*sobs*
It didn't help to find out that I'll probably have to shell out more hundreds just to complete the
elementary level.
Why on earth are there, like, 3 levels
within the elementary level,
4 within the intermediate, and
2 under advanced?! That makes
nine levels I have to complete!
Doesn't make much sense to me actually. I really thought it was all of 3 levels and I'll become a jap language pro. Haha.
Need to find a part time job to pay off my course fees! Pretty excited about classes though. Wheee. Thank goodness class starts
after I get back from cambodia!
Speaking of which, I'm probably going to end up looking like
charcoal during my convocation. Bleahh. Seeing as how it's on the 22nd..I think I have all of
4 days or so to try and lighten my complexion by....2 skin tones? Hmm..
Am enjoying driving lately! It's a nice feeling to have the freedom of travelling around and not being restricted to just public transport. Although the red plate does restrict the timings I can drive..but I'm not complaining!
Ohh, I just read an article online about how yao ming was criticised for being too "stingy" in his china quake donation, and they compared it deng xiao ping's widow donating her life savings (which incidentally, was lesser than the amount yao ming donated
initially). Needless to say, such publicity kind of gave him no choice but to up his donation.
I'm not taking sides here, but I think it's kind of ridiculous to compare donations in this way. I mean, they're called
donation for a reason, right? Shouldn't it be entirely voluntary and the amount decided by the charitable individual?
Just because he's china's richest celebrity and known for charity work, doesn't mean he has to out-donate every other person. Imagine if someone who earns less than yao donated his life savings and every single asset and cent to the quake victims, in all totalling about yao's yearly salary, does that mean the latter has to literally contribute
all his salary to the cause?
Looks like donations have come to be measured
relatively, rather than
absolutely.
Gone are the days when you're thanked for simply being kind enough to donate; now, if you're just a
wee bit famous or linked to someone famous, every cent you give out is under close scrutiny. Imagine if you're yao ming but you
don't donate. God forbid.
While it never hurts to donate more if you can afford to, I really think it's up to the discretion of the individual la. No one has to right to say anything, much less criticise, really. If yao wasn't the famous celebrity he is, I seriously doubt he'd hit headlines for donating a
mere 500,000 yuan. -_-
Still, it's really heartwarming to know that people are all chipping in to help those in need..no matter the amount, it's the thought and sincerity that counts ultimately.
Hope the victims of the quake will have their lives return to normal soon..am still praying for more miracle survivors to emerge from the debris somehow.
I wonder if natural disasters are really nature's way of balancing the earth and its population..
