Spring REALLY hath cometh 春天里

春天里来百花香，郎里格朗里格朗里格朗。。。 记得小时候学会唱这首歌，虽然很喜欢它的曲，也觉得歌词写得很不错，但是，我无法真正感受歌中所要表达的情感。毕竟自己没体验过什么叫作春天，什么百花香，太阳照，也只能以我在热带岛国长大的经验， 从中发挥想象力。

直到今天。

终于的，我感受到了生平中的第一个春天。原来，春天就是这样的， 阳光普照，树叶还没长出，花儿也都没开，而气温其实还相当低。然而，穿着夹克和长裤， 走在路上，冷中带暖的春风，迎面而吹， 别有一番滋味。

原来，春风吻上我的脸，就是这样的。

And so the spring really has arrived. For real… well, according to the calendar, anyway. The weather channel couldn’t wait to make the announcement as well. This signals the third change of season for me here, and the first one which doesn’t seem as drastic. The changes from summer to autumn and from autumn to winter were much more binary in nature, whereas this one appears quite fuzzy. Maybe it’s because I have never experienced what spring weather is like. In fact, I honestly do not have much of a concept of how spring should look like.

But I’m liking it so far. Sunny weather, but not too hot, because the cold wind is still lingering. However, the cold of the wind is not chilly like in winter, and there is just that little tinge of warmth, which escalates in intensity once you use a little imagination. Walking along the road, with my jacket on, I get this sense of something refreshing. It’s not exactly the feeling of starting anew, because the trees are still bare (the non-evergreens anyway), and there are no flowers whatsoever. However, it’s somewhat a positive feeling of je-ne-sais-quoi.

To commemorate the day, I thought I’d take some photographs. The surroundings don’t look that scenic, but they present a different façade from the white, wintry scenes of the past few months.

Clouds in the sky

Shadows of the day

Sunset on the first day of spring...

Ah come, come quickly, spring!

come and lift us towards our culmination, we myriads;

we who have never flowered, like patient cactuses.

Come and lift us to our end, to blossom, bring us to our summer

we who are winter-weary in the winter of the of the world.

Come making the chaffinch nests hollow and cosy,

come and soften the willow buds till they are puffed and furred,

then blow them over with gold.

Coma and cajole the gawky colt’s-foot flowers.

Excerpt from DH Lawrence's "Craving for Spring"

spring hath cometh

I think.... There is still snow on the ground and temperatures still slip to sub-zero from time to time. But the days are getting longer, especially with the start of daylight savings. Also, the wind feels much less chilly, and I can finally walk on the streets without wearing a beanie.

It's funny how one gets used to the weather. I remember when the temperatures first went below 10 deg C last year, I was shivering and all wrapped up, but now with temperatures just slightly above zero, I actually find it very cooling and comfortable. Am I prepared for a "meltdown" when I return to Singapore later in the year?

Self Renewal...

A good friend sent this poem to me recently, as a form of encouragement. Feels like a good call for self renewal....

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, to discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and to be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion."

Walden or Life in the Woods - Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862)

Six months

Exactly six months have passed since I set foot on this country. It’s a cliché to say that time flies, but I guess that’s really the phenomenon. It certainly has been a unique experience so far, academically and in general. Certain assumptions have been disproved, as I interact with people here and have a better understanding. One thing for sure, life at the moment isn’t too bad. I’ve always enjoyed being a student, and after a few years working, this much welcome break is doing me some good I believe. Without a doubt, there is a better appreciation of my current status, but more importantly it also reminds me that there is much more to life than just being in a rat race (not that I was really in one). Nevertheless, lest people think I’m too keen to remain permanently a student, I actually want to return to work. If there is one thing I’ve come to understand about myself from these six months of studying, it is that I have pretty much the mentality of a practitioner. I do not necessarily eschew theory and research, but I think I prefer to get all “down and dirty” by trying out the different methods and strategies.

转眼间，已经在这里生活了六个月，想起来，这一段时间的体验，确实相当不错。工作了几年，暂时将它搁一边，再次过学生生涯，交新朋友，感受新事物，休息一下，同时给自己一点反思的机会与时间，不亦乐乎。以前工作的时候，每天忙忙碌碌，到了某个阶段，也不知自己在忙些什么，到底是在忙，还是在“盲”？常言道，当局者迷，旁观者清，这六个月里，我真正感受到这两句话的深远意义。这一次的留学体验，肯定会对我在回国工作时有所启发。（我恳切希望！）当然，在这里的路途还没走完，但愿接下来的六个月，能够更加充实，有趣！

Quick summary of things I’ve done so far:

Number of US cities visited (besides Ann Arbor): 4
Number of modules completed: 5
Number of books read: 10
Number of journal articles read: too many to count
Number of countries from which my new friends hail: 12

What I hope to do in the following months:

To visit at least 3 more US cities
To visit at least 1 country outside the US
To read more books
To watch more telly and DVDs
To finish up all my modules (but of course!)

Here’s to the next six months...

Youth

Was watching the latest episode of October Road on the telly, and heard these two quotes which left quite an impression on me.

The first quote goes, "When you are young, you live like giants, then with each passing day you get smaller and smaller…"

Contrast it with the other one, "Youth is wasted on the young." (originally said by George Bernard Shaw)

Having gone past the 30 mark myself, and wondering how much youth I still have left, it somewhat makes me think back on my younger days. Have I lived like a giant? And was my youth a wasted one? Things to think about on this cold winter night.

Which brings me to a song I heard recently which I've fallen in love with. Hopeful and poignant at the same time, it reminds us to seize the moment and make the best of what we have. The chorus of the song sums up this point.

Don't wait for someone to tell you it's too late
Coz these are the best days
There's always something tomorrow
So I say let's make the best of tonight
Here comes the rest of our lives

"Best Days" by Graham Colton

Year of the Rat

It's strange to be spending Chinese New Year away from home, and more so in a place that has zero festivities around this time. It's just funny, I suppose. I do not profess to be the most ardent fan of CNY, but I do appreciate the company of family and friends during this season, when everyone just generally wants to feel upbeat. I slip into melancholy easily and this is one of the few periods of time when my spirits are lifted up and sustained. Well, I suppose things will resume normalcy after some time, and I know after this year my appreciation for CNY will no doubt be enhanced.

Spent Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Singapore) making many phone calls to loved ones, wishing them Happy New Year. It's all quite exhilarating, hearing the voices of some people whom I've not spoken to for a while, and honestly I wish I was there physically to shake their hands and say the greeting. Received quite a number of text messages as well with festive wishes and that was nice. The irony of course was that it was snowing outside the whole night, but I think my apartment was never warmer.

新的一年，新的开始，新的希望。祝愿大家在鼠年心想事成，步步高升，身体健康！

February

The first 31 + 1 days of the 2008 have just gone by. Fast? Or expected? We are so caught up with various everyday tasks and situations, while time just steadily moves along. Was looking at my diary today, and realised that I've got less than 30 weeks left to be here. And there are still quite a bit of things to be done --- classes, travelling, bingeing on CNN...

The weather forecast predicted another 6 weeks left for the winter season, so to say I'm looking forward to warmer weather is an understatement. But this cold weather has been a pretty interesting experience, although there was none of the histrionics I was imagining before coming here. I thought I would be wrapped up like one of those boxes you pass around during a pass-the-parcel game in a children's party, but thankfully, the extent is much less than that.

Time to get on with weekend homework.