it has been such a long time - a month to be exact, the longest period of time without an entry on this blog i think - but hey compared to many of my friends i think i am doing better. haha.

finally, i am done with all my editing and it is going to be quite exciting tomorrow i should think. i do hope the kids put up a good fight (and win, though we always say that's inconsequential and i know a lot of ppl think the odds are stacked against us) - everyone worked hard, and i guess put in their all and it all begins in 18 hours time. i had no idea it was going to be so tiring. but oh well, who said it is easy to coach or to make money for all the matter. and it's just round one. it has been a learning experience of sorts though so oh well.

on another note, the budget's been really interesting lately. and i think the policies to try to retain jobs are great and support the tapping into the reserves - but not enough policies are being instituted to help those who have already been retrenched or will still be retrenched anyway. and not enough is being done to further stimulate domestic demand and attempt to reduce the rich-poor gap. and it seems to me they missed the point when the opposition member pointed out very rightly how it might not be effective and asked for more direct measures - it was interesting how the members chose to overlook whatever he was trying to say but rather were more concerned with shooting his point down - to the extent of misrepresenting him - rather than to look into ways to address his concern. but i think the most outrageous is the reply to calls to make the process the president takes to unlock "the second key" more transparent. and the finance minister called the concern irrelevant because it is necessary for us to have to "trust the people in charge". HELLO?! are we not in a democracy where checks and balances and transparency are required. so what happens if one day you have a corrupt government and the president is just another rubber stamp. without the clear mechanisms in place how can we EVER trust the people in charge? while i am not saying the current government is screwed up, we should never disregard that one day the people in charge might not be as trustworthy as the current government thinks it is and we should never ignore the propensity for abuse. outrageous i say, that the best you can come up with problems with your process, is we have to "trust whoever is in charge". not wayang, you say, when it seems you are guilty of it by putting in place the very short timeframe required for the president to give his approval and close to no details for the general public. and it seems to me it is wayang on your part to say the president holds the second key.

just a rant, i guess, amidst the supposed festivities. which i thought has been pretty muted thus far. i used to love cny every year, but somehow the feeling's a little different this year. maybe it's cos i always welcomed it for the break. the past 2 years esp with army and all and previously cos you start school after a 2 month break and you are just finding it difficult to cope after such a long hiatus, so it is always a welcome breather. but now while i am working, it feels very much the same. but still there is something about cny that i quite like, and however muted it might be it will always be something i kinda look forward to.

i hope this compensates the lack of entries in the past month. jgs tomorrow. i still cannot believe i am back in the circuit. wow.

junyi! posted at 12:12 am.