voiceless

I have gotten my voice back, although not in the literal sense as my laryngitis-induced-voice-loss is still going strong for the 5th day running...
but anyhow, reiterate. I have my voice back. The personality-erosive effects of medical finals is slowly being reversed.

"The unreflective life is a life not worth living." Without offending any non-reflective people (or dull surfaces), I find this saying so close to the truth. And it is so often that God calls upon us to reflect, to think, to ponder, to dwell on our lives, our behaviour, ourselves, to question our actions, behaviours and thoughts and to keep them in check. If to even think evil is a sin, we have much thought-cleansing to do. How did I come to that? I don't know. My pressure of speech is starting to take rein again. Perhaps it is easier on my friends that my voice is gone at the moment..... Break them into me gently, I say...

Anyhoo, also read something very lovely which would be nice to throw into the thought-pool:

"My sole passion is thy love,
In earth beneath or heaven above,
I have no other store.
And though with fervent suite I pray
And importune thee day by day,
I ask Thee nothing more."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


Meanwhile, as usual, my annual / biannual pilgrimage to the motherland has brought me back with more updates from friends, family and others. It is quite comforting to know that despite the differences in location, cultures, and appearances, we are all of the same species, living out our jobs, living out our relationships, living out our religions and practising our beliefs, feeling similar sentiments, having identical needs and desires, in true Maslow-like fashion. A comforting reassurance of our existence as humans. (it never fails to provoke me that Maslow put 'sex' as a physiological need and 'sexual intimacy' as a need for belonging/love...) A reassurance... I suppose the dehumanisation and personality erosion was needing a good kick up the backside.
Anyhow, I ramble too much...

the jelly express

Royal jelly. hmmm. All female bees result from genetically identical larvae, but only those that feed on royal jelly become fertile and end up queen bees.

I wonder if humans had the equivalent elixir or 'royal jelly'. arguably, i do understand how some people might be prone to believe how some prescribed medications taken without a prescription may aid intelligence and performance. Surveys have shown that a significant fraction of students from top universities such as Oxford and Cambridge use drugs such as Ritalin and Modafinil to aid attention and concentration.
Well, i can't decide what my opinion on the matter is. Coffee / caffeine pills / red bull / paracetamol, etc etc have been manipulated and similarly partaken in order to improve study and prolong waking hours. Arguably, with newer drugs, the long term side effects are dubious. Furthermore, academic performance becomes something less meritocratic and more based on 'who's got the most money/ friends with connections'.

But then, having just emerged from the protracted blurry haze that is studying for medical finals, i have just experienced the constant upward struggle that most students nowadays have to contend with: getting connections to get hold of the most number of past papers, knowing people who know doctors who set the exam, spending money to buy the latest Littman stethoscope, paying for medical courses, etc etc... especially promoted by the fact that more than 50% of our paper were recycled questions...

Anyhow, before i further maul my foot further by this continuous stabbing, i suppose most of life is based on such an unfair selection. Nepotism in the workplace, in the selection of political leaders, etc etc... But educational institutions should not be the place where such unfair play takes place and where such behaviour should be clamped down upon. Just as there should be 'markets with morals' (ohhh-ohhh, spot the Gordon fan!!), educational institutes with mottos such as 'The way, the truth, the life' (Glasgow) and Dominus Illuminatio Mea (
"The Lord is my Light") (Oxford) should more so be institutes where such unfairness is discouraged.