Do you hear me?

Do you hear me talking to you?
across the water,
across the deep blue ocean,
under the open sky?

Do you hear me in your dreams?
you who dream about flying without wings?
Do you feel my whispers across the sea?
under the starlit night sky?

Do you hear me in my letters?
put into bottles and tossed into the sea,
carried by the waves,
finding its way to you?

Do you hear me playing you a song?
can you hear my voice?
can you imagine its tune?
filling the air

Are you aware that I'm thinking of you?
trying to talk to you,
trying to sense your thoughts,
trying to reach you without words?

Not an easy task...

I've just made my life more difficult today. During my telecommunications module, we were briefed about this project which would require coming up with the working model, report and presentation of it. So, the lecturer wants us to be in groups of 3-6 people.

Well, my lab partners offered me and my fellow exchange student friend to join their group. But my friend was reluctant to join because the group will be shortchanged if two exchange students are in it. Also, my lab partners are not really as brilliant as the other groups because we always struggle in our lab reports. Well, I also told him that if he joined us, he will be pulled down by our grades also (Which I shouldn't have said). So he joined the other group of 6 people.

Now, my group consists of 3 people including me, the exchange student, who struggles to understand french, let alone understanding the concepts being taught. So, I don't really count as a member. And that leaves just the 2 of them in this project! And during labs, I'm the most useless member because I cannot contribute anything to the group other then spotting simple calculation errors. Shouldn't have told my friend to join the other group because 4 people is obviously better than 3 even if it is another exchange student. Haha...but it is not good for him, although it would be slightly better for us. So now, we have to complete a workload of 6 people for my 3 person team.

I guess I have to start putting in twice the effort(or maybe triple or quadruple). I mean it is good that they consider me as a member(although I dont contribute to anything and I have a feeling I always pull the group down). Now, I guess its time to try help them in any way, because this time, I might cause them to get bad results for the module. I wanted to get just a pass, but I think I shouldn't let this attitude of mine affect my members.

Aiks, I guess I have to sacrifice my free time (and traveling time, perhaps =/) and do more research...busy busy...
and I need the strength to do this...

when time stood still...

There is this pendulum in the Pantheon at Paris which tells the time. Suspended 67 metres from above, the golden ball oscillates periodically around a circle, indicating time.

The mechanism behind this pendulum is simple. Its plane of oscillation remain unchanged with respect to the stars. The only thing that moves is the Pantheon, or in fact is the Earth itself. The Earth rotates around the pendulum or the Pantheon moves along the pendulum making it seem as though the pendulum is moving in a circle within the Pantheon.

Once a while, we become like this pendulum - we detach ourselves from the ground of reality hanging on to the thread of escapism, wishing that time would pass us by while we go along this fix trajectory of what we want our lives to be.

We delude ourselves that we are not moving while the fact is that even if we refuse to move, our surroundings will change and we'll be changing with respect to it, though unwillingly and unknowingly.

Time just marches on relentlessly.

Football Part 2

We went to Stade de Gerland on Saturday evening for an Olympique Lyonnais match. Unsuspectingly, we walked around the empty stadium just to realise: maybe, there might not be a mtach today... and it turned out that the match was postponed to Sunday. LOL, and we thought maybe the fans are not here yet or maybe its like the S-league or M-league where no one goes to.

the empty grounds of Stade the Gerland against the sunset

So, here we are, on Sunday at the stadium where the first thing we noticed was: It was very crowded. That's more like a football match!

Olympique Lyon fans

Juninho taking the free kick. look at the crowds at the stadium...

Crowded...

As usual, we can't help ourselves, must take photos!!!

Football!!

Yesterday, we went out to watch a football match between Olympique Lyon and Auxerre. When we reached there, we found out that the match was postponed to today. So, what we did was to visit the olympique lyon store and bought some team merchandizes. And some of them bought a football. So, what happened in the end, we played football on some street near the stadium. Haha...talk about total randomness.

So, we played another round of football today right after my lunch. I think I ate my lunch too quickly because my stomach is feeling funny now. I suspect it is gastric...lol...Haha...in about 15 mins time, I'll be going for the football match...

Reveries and Passion

I just came back from a concert held at l'Auditorium de Lyon. It was a performance by the Orchestre National de Lyon on the topic of 'Reveries and Passion' (Dreams and Passion). It does remind me of how I used to go for free concerts in NUS. I dont have that luxury anymore.

Two pieces were played before the half time interval. One was about the roman carnival, the other is an organ concerto. I forgot about the first piece maybe because it seems so classical but the second piece gave me the impression of a nightmare, rather than dreams. It was a contemporary piece composed in 1995.

I was amusing to hear various comments from my friends who went. Patrick was saying that he felt so uncultured because he cant appreciate it. He remarked that he saw one guy sleeping next to him and the old lady covering her ears throughout the whole orchestra piece. Yoke Hian was like saying the composer of the modern piece was so brilliant and the emphasis was on rhythm and how the notes fill...haha...he's known to be very cultured. (who usually gives us tour guides around museums). Elvin was remarking on the irregular rhythm also and he used to play in the percussion section in his symphonic band. No wonder...haha

Overall, I enjoyed the performance, although I will not probably listen to their pieces for a 2nd time. When I go back to NUS, I'll catch all the free concerts while I can =)