Blog


ideology
  • May 21, 2019
  • 2 Comments

Universal ideology?

Some thoughts that have been brewing in my head for a while. I want to write them down, partly to help myself articulate my thoughts, but also to see if netizens have anything interesting to say. — Politics and the way the world is organised (i.e. into nation states) are inherently nationalistic. However, the biggest […]

falling-leaf
  • March 8, 2016

Toastmasters speech #9: All in Good Time

“You are such a freak!” The words pierced my heart. I stood frozen in my spot while my friends laughed and moved on nonchalantly as if they hadn’t just shattered my heart. The reason they were calling me a freak? My hair. Dear madam toastmasters, ladies and gentlemen, have you ever gotten a very bad […]

birthday
  • February 19, 2016

Thirty Three

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. That about sums up your year doesn’t it? The sea of change very nearly engulfed you but I would be surprised if after all these years you haven’t learned to claw through the muddiest of muds. You are a messy fighter. You’ve […]

megan
  • December 1, 2015

Twitter and Megan Phelps-Roper

This is such an incredible story of how Megan Phelps-Roper, a former prized daughter of the loathsome Westboro Baptist Church, came to see the absurdity of her beliefs, lost her faith, left the church and her family, and completely changed the course of her life. The trigger behind this conversion? Twitter. As Phelps-Roper continued to tweet, she […]

books
  • November 24, 2015

Reading the World

Hello there my loyal reader (aka me), I have decided to resuscitate this personal project to write one blog post a day about something I learned/read/thought about. I ought to be very ashamed of myself for not keeping up with this, especially since I really enjoyed doing it and still go back to read the […]

insect
  • August 17, 2015

Specialisation is for Insects

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook […]

The word TRUST carved into a stone wall. 3D render with HDRI lighting and raytraced textures.
  • August 2, 2015

Toastmasters speech #5: Falling in Trust

Dear mister toastmaster, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to start my speech by asking you a question. If I call you one day and asked for your credit card number to make a flight ticket purchase because I’ve just lost mine. And I promised that, of course, I would reimburse you the 2000 dollars. […]

sonder
  • May 31, 2015

Sonder

sonder – n. the realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. Sonder. You are the main character—the protagonist—the star at the center of your own unfolding story. You’re surrounded by your supporting cast: friends and family hanging in your immediate orbit. Scattered a little further out, […]

fans
  • March 26, 2015

Toastmasters speech #4: Your Biggest Fan

When I was 17 one day I went hiking with my then best friend, Leanne. We were walking and talking and before we knew it we were lost. We came to a cross road, the path on the left looked bright, wide and somewhat familiar, the other one looked dark, winding and wet. It was […]

birthday
  • February 19, 2015

Thirty Two

February always feels like a period of awakening. You spent the last year oscillating between extremes. The result was a disjointed, confused and fatigued self. But things are never really as bad as they seem, are they? Perhaps the key is in appreciating the small burst of joyful moments. You and your better half executed […]

speeches
  • February 15, 2015

Jim Carrey’s Commencement Speech

Behind the funny faces and over-the-top expressions lies a man who obviously thinks a lot of deep thoughts. The words ‘profound’ and ‘Jim Carrey’ do not seem like they fit in the same sentence, but in this commencement speech, he actually surprised me. So many of us choose our paths out of fear disguised as […]

happiness
  • February 14, 2015

Hacking Happiness

True happiness comes from within. I believe true happiness comes from living with a core set of values you’ve chosen for yourself and then ensuring each of your actions, all day, stems from these values. At the end of the day you can ask yourself if you lived in accordance with your values. If you did, […]