"Plagiarism has its place - it's called ghost-writing."

- Action Ong, driving home from Cupertino last night.

I wasn't going to quote Danny at first, but that would have been ultra ironic, yes?

Dear Pam,

Last night, I dreamed about you and me. We were back home, but somewhere underground, having discovered that there was a well beneath the swimming pool. The well was plugged up, and we decided, crawling around in the mud, that we would figure out a way to undo the plug and get the well flowing with water again. We asked Pa if we could pull the plug, and he said, "Sure, as long as you do it yourselves."

So together, we went back to the well and somehow managed to get the plug out. The well started to fill with water. At first, the water was quite mucky and disgusting (I won't mention what we saw in it - it's quite gross), but very quickly, we cleared the mess away and soon the well was brimming with clean, clear, cold and delicious-looking water.

We were both a sight: crawling in dirt, covered in mud (I know, we princesses don't like to get dirty), and who-knows-what-else. But we were absolutely happy because we had accomplished something.

I woke up today wondering why on earth I had such a strange dream. I found some time during work to look up "dream symbols". The Web has many such places where quacks can tell you what every single thing in your dream means, so I looked up "sister/sibling" and "well".

Dreaming about a well supposedly has something to do with sharing.

Dreaming about your sibling, especially your sister (and especially if you have a real-life sister whom you grew up with), signifies some aspect of my life that I shared with you.

Ok, I don't know how accurate those quacks are, but here's my conclusion: I dreamed that you and I shared a common goal. We worked together as a team and accomplished something. We grew up together and had our fair portion of cat-fights, arguments, happy times, and talks.

I don't know if my dream signifies something that happened in the past, or something about our future together. I hope it represents our bond as sisters, having grown up together, and the bond we will share as we grow old together.

I guess then, it would be appropriate to say: Happy Belated Birthday, Pam. I wasn't expecting to give you anything, and I don't know if this counts.

Love,
姐 姐

Nowadays I see a lot of people walking/driving/working with wireless Bluetooth headsets attached to one ear. Back home, you can't use a cellphone while driving, and in California, the same law is going to apply in 2008.

One day, we're all going to look like Borg: each with our own Bluetooth headset attached to our ear, blue lights flashing. Maybe our cellphones/PDAs/Blackberrys will become optic/neurogenic implants, attached to our eyes, so we don't even have to carry anything physically. Hah...

Speculative science-fiction.

Once again, the saga of Temasek Holdings and Madam Ho Ching. Now, it has to do with the recent Thai coup.

Just now, KB asked me if Singapore Airlines was government-owned. I said "no", while drawing imaginery apostrophes in the air with my fingers.

"Blossoms of pride gave forth seeds of contention and deceit, which sown into the hands of his fellows, yielded a harvest of rebellion." - Arena by Karen Hancock

I think my student, Mael (not real name), is crazy.

And on that note, I think I need a raise. At least, at the end of the year when I've gained enough experience and undergone enough training.

I also need a self-imposed ban to stop reading books and start writing. However, the will is weak. Each of us have our hobbies and obsessions.

Did I mention I need a raise?

I have been handed a colorfully illustrated pdf file of a book from China - a modern-day replica of Sima Qian's Shi Ji. Dr. Chen and I argued once or twice about the validity of the historical "facts" in the Han dynasty text. He believes in its truths like Christians believe in the Bible. Perhaps it is his Chinese upbringing, perhaps it is because he also happens to be a Christian. I believe history almost certainly never accurately records events. Dr. Chen insists he is right, because, he claims, the Chinese government has found artifacts that back up what Sima Qian wrote.

We could argue back and forth through our precious lunch hour, but neither of us will know because we have not experienced history first-hand, have we? Plus, I'm trying to eat, not philosophize...

Nevertheless, it's clear we both love ancient Chinese history. I intend to read the book. It will be difficult because my Chinese is rusty, and thus far, slogging through the text (I am at Da Yu's construction plans) has made me drowsy...but I think I will get through because of my interest in knowing what was written, even if it was by one man 2000 years ago.