also titled as “2008: the year a new SG is born”
My 2007 didn’t end with a bang or a roar. It ended with an “ouch”, as I, a novice in the kitchen navigating the labyrinthine process of cuisine science, got scalded in a dangerous minefield of cooking utensil. Although my mind is eager to transform me from a food terminator to a food contributor, something Ms. Bloggie touts as the new evolutionary leap-forward to become a “High-Quality Male Member of Homo Sapiens in 21st Century”, my clumsy hands beg to differ. “We are good at typing keyboards or holding strawberries, wielding a chopper is just too much for us.” But given that Ms. Bloggie caught a terrible cold and that another new domestic law which takes effect from January 1, 2008 mandating that I have the rights to remain silent and obey with dignity, there is no other way around here except for putting on the APRON and be a MAN!
But 2007 is indeed extraordinary. China’s economy continues its stellar performance, developing at a neck-breaking double-digit rate. The stock market sizzles in a white-hot atmosphere, as people race to get rich quick, composing a national anthem of different words. The toy recall and toxic toothpaste scandal draw world attention to the egregious food safety problem in China. A high-ranking official was put under guillotine and new laws are going to emerge to strengthen food and drug production and inspection, but there is little joy knowing that foreign media have accomplished what the death of Chinese babies cannot. Personally, 2007 has seen a number of farewells: my farewell to school life, school friends and to some part of HJ. Sorting through memory always smacks of a bit regret. At times I would think what my life would be if I chose another career path. Could a non-technical job be more interesting? Hard to see for now. I remember a video game, Chrono Cross, which is, in my opinion, an artistic mix of the quantum-mechanics and string theory. In the game’s fantasy setting, a wormhole will be created at critical juncture of one’s life. This wormhole links two parallel worlds that are the results of two possible different choices that you would make at that moment. You can actually enter through that wormhole into the other world and witness how exactly “you” would develop in that world with a different twist. However, my hope is that at some later point of this life in this world, the opportunity will come when I can try out the other possibility.
As a leap year, 2008 is going to be fatter and bigger than 2007. The Summer Olympics will descend upon Beijing at 8:08 p.m. August 8. During the next 16 days from that auspicious moment on, the world will scrutinize China using a magnifying glass, looking for signs of strength as well as weakness. A nation marching along the modernization path rigorously and precariously, China strives to balance its one-party political system with general public’s burgeoning demand for participatory rights, and to reconcile the need to maintain considerable economic growth rate with the urge to reverse the deteriorating process of eco-environment. Personally, I should also continue to optimize the balance between life and work. Try to be even-handed – 2008 is an even number, after all. My slogan for 2008 would be a two-letter word: SG. I know this is about as shallow as a man can get. But in my dictionary, SG means “Strong and Good” and “Be good” includes becoming a good cook.
“So cooking is fun, isn’t it?” Mr. Bloggie asks gently and sweetly.
“Yes, absolutely!” my mouth answers cheerfully, while my hands holding up, half in surrender and half in protest.
posted @ 2008-01-03 20:42
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