Greenies of the World Unite!

Greenies of the world unite

We'll show them how the Greenies fight

We'll walk through the fields with our heads held high

Cos ain't nobody gonna break our stride

-adapted from a cheer I used to shout in Cedar Girls. (Wow I actually remembered!)

"Going Green"

We've heard about it but done little. The three pillars of going green are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. I always prided myself as an educated undergrad who takes up the call to action with the knowledge I've been receiving. Friends who know me will testify to how I will try my best not to buy bottled water on days I forgot to bring my bottle, how I try to squeeze just-bought products into my handbag because I refused the plastic bag, and lately, my experimentation with vegetarianism.

A half-baked Greenie though...

I'm big on Reducing. I try not to buy stuff I don't need now, I refuse plastic bags, and I reuse them if I don't. But when it comes to recycling, I'm thoroughly ashamed. I hate recycling! Firstly, I have to carry it around and wash that sticky glass bottle/can at the toilet, then walk half a mile just to look for the recycling bin. And when I finally find one yellow bin under the hot sun, it's loaded with garbage! Tell me, who wouldn't give up on recycling?

The way recycling bins are positioned in Singapore is terrible. Let me use the photos to explain the situation at my HDB estate.

Firstly, don't they look dirty? Where's that clean and cool image recycling should have? And secondly, the instructions to handle your recyclable items are written in fine print at the bottom right hand corner of the bin. Are you kidding me? It's weird how they have one common recycling bin for every recyclable item! It'll be messy. No wonder no one takes recycling seriously. Come on, we're supposed to be a first world country. We can do better than this! Veolia, I hope you read my blog.

Enough about the 3Rs.. Moving on...

"We are morally conscious eaters"

2 months ago, my sweet boyfriend bought a book from Amazon and read on it on his Kindle. (Or did he pirated it? Can't remember) Anyway, it's called Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. And every time Joshua finishes a chapter, he summarizes (and scares) it to me on the phone. Basically, it's about how cruel the mass meat production industry is. Poultry, red meat and seafood. (There are still some people who thinks the seafood industry is not affected, they are the "vegetarians" who eat fish) So after all the talking, I always ask, what are you going to do about it? Initially he was reluctant but finally we both agreed to try an experiment. I'm gonna be a vegetarian twice a week for a year and Josh 2 months straight. Twice a week might seem weak and lame but trust me, I'll go into serious cold turkey if I became full vegetarian. We decided to brand ourselves as the Morally Conscious Eaters.

The Bible states that God has given us dominion over all animals and that whatever God has created is good. It's perfectly alright to eat meat and give thanks to the abundance God has provided us. But meat, in the olden days, was never meant to be eaten every meal. Maybe once a week, or once in two weeks. Our appetites have changed pretty drastically since then and the methods of mass meat production are different from what we used to know. (It's very processed and cruel) For full details, please read the book. Or talk to Joshua.

And that's why we want to become morally conscious eaters. More than just being vegetarians, it's about forcing ourselves to take up the call of action rather than to ignore it. We don't want to study for more than 10 years and still not yet learn how to respond rightly to knowledge.

In days to come, I'll write on what it's like being vegetarians. (I'm not really a vegetarian though, just Tues & Thurs) So stay tune.

The first week of internship

My name tent at work. It says: Anna, the intern, here until 6th August 2010. No one noticed it though, gonna have to change the location of it tomorrow!

Hey friends, I have completed one week of internship at SPH Media Box Office. So far, everything's fine. I like SPH so far. To clarify, it's a marketing internship. I have received several questions about journalism and I'm like HUH? And in the department I'm in, we deal specifically with outdoor advertising - nothing to do with newspaper. So it's pretty interesting!

Also had quite a hellish week because we had to rush reports for Israel BSM. With the extreme lack of time, I compromised greatly on my individual assignment. The quality of my learning journal is quite bad that I feel like burying my head in a hole. Note to Anna: Never leave your work to the last hour (literally) again.

I have 12 more weeks of internship to go. May every day count!

Turning 21. Oh wait, have turned 21.

Yikes, I always forget to blog on the most important dates and this time is was my 21st birthday!!! Thank you to my friends and family for the well-wishes, presents (I made a wishlist and had it emailed) and ang paos. Wow, turning 21 is so shiok la. Wah, imagine if I could turn 21 every year. (!!!)

I made a small confession at my birthday dinner, something that shocked my mum: I confessed that 2 nights ago (which was the my last night in Tel Aviv, Israel), I drank too much and got drunk. Not dead drunk but definitely the can't-walk-straight-and-finally-puked kind of drunk. I was 30% sober?

My speech didn't come out exactly the way I wanted to, I knew I should have practised it in front of the mirror instead of in my head! I wanted to say thanks to everyone and that while turning 21 makes me officially adult, I have a long way to go, as can see from my one-time-and-should-not-happen-again-ever experience. I admitted, in a blurt out way, that life is going to be pretty much a struggle between me wanting to be God's obedient child and me wanting to try new things that aren't good for me.

Oh yeah, Joshua sent me a bouquet of different coloured roses through delivery. Thanks, they're sweet but please personally give them to me next time. Haha. :)

Israel

On Mount Scopus, I met a small group of Israeli soldiers. So i took the opportunity to ask this handsome dude to pose with me.

At the Western, aka Wailing Wall, the orthodox Jews read the Torah, sing, some weep.
The Muslim Dome of Rock standing on the platform that used to house the 1st and 2nd Temple of God.

Judean Wildnerness

Hey, I'm blogging from the Metropolitan Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel. Since last Tuesday, I've been to Haifa, Tiberias and Jerusalem. A lot about the history of Israel, Jews and Judaism has been bombarded into my head and I'm nearly exploding! In a strange sort of way which I never expected, much of my Christian faith has been renewed. End-time bible studies conducted by Ps Peter Lui in the past has surfaced in my mind and brought much of my head knowledge to reality as I stand on top of Mount Scopus, Jerusalem.

At the Western Wall, aka the Wailing Wall, I nearly cried as I saw many ultra-orthodox Jews cry out loudly for the return and establishment of God's kingdom at Temple Mount, where a beautiful mosque stands now. I wrote a note to stick in the Western wall, which btw has many cracks stuffed with notes and letters. I prayed for the peace of Jerusalem and the quick return of Jesus, whom I recognize is the Messiah. A Jerusalem described in the Bible, the NEW Jerusalem, will be a city of light and righteousness. Light, not from the sun, but from God Himself. Ok, all this sounds hokey pokey, but hey, what a story. And what awesomeness should it come true!

I've many stories to tell you about Masada, the sea of Galilee, the Yad Vashem (Holocaust Museum), the diaspora, Jerusalem, the violence that has plagued Israel and the Jews since like forever. Well, these stories will only be palely retold by me, so come to Israel and see for yourself!