Civilization at its best and at its worst, reflected at the turn of the decade!

Past goes the 2009 and in comes 2010.





For some strange reason I did not know, I initiated a new year count down plan with my buddies: dinner then fireworks from 101.



My last experience of counting down was celebrating the coming of 2006. I was 21 back then. And I was eager for the crowd.


I am turning 26 in January.


And this time, I am not eager for the crowd either.

The fireworks itself is a show of modern technology (although artistically speaking I find this year's work only okay).

What I hate about is the trash that was left behind on the street.

The streets were closed by the cops by around 10. And people start walking on the street that used to be driven by cars. So people were excited. It felt a bit like a big party we used to have in Queen's during homcoming weekend.

Streets were clean.

Yet, by the end of the counting down, when the year already turned to be 2010, things were different.

The streets were not only filled with people, but also trashes and spilled drinks. I saw some guy doing his bit to impress his girl at the entrance of one MRT entrance, where a circle was formed by bistanders, all the same time when people were trying to get home, which further congests teh traffic.

So...Is Taipei still a modern place?

Where so many selfish acts surface in one single event on just one night.

When we Taiwanese people were proud of our progress in the last few years, about clean cities or "technology" island, our citizenship education, along with our average salary, stagnated at the same level. I know selfish behavior can be seen everywhere in the world, but to which extend such selfishness is been seen as norm, I believe, there is a problem. And this problem, is in our collective soul.

So, how ironic to see this so called World's tallest building with "Taiwan Up" on it surrounded by streets filled with trash?

I understand The essence of Miss now...

They say....something is missing.
It means, something is lost.
Something that used to be there, is not anymore.
Hence, something is missing.

When they say, I am missing you.
It means, you are always here, but not now, not anymore.
Someone who has always been there, is gone.
And part of you, is lost, like the thing that used to be there, but not anymore.

I miss you....have been for a long time...

台灣惱人的利益結構

講到油價
我們動不動就聽到凍漲
立法委員和政府官員應該是能夠做正確決定的人
他們，卻因為選情和民情的壓力，
每每喊出凍漲的口號

台灣
是石油輸入國
買進原油的價格
跟世界其他各國買的原油是同一個價錢
在世界原油近幾年已經翻了好幾翻的時間內
台灣翻了幾翻?

所以
國營的中油虧錢 (暫不說他們這些虧錢還一天到晚拿紅利跟要求加薪的無恥行為)
國庫的錢要拿去補這個洞
政府越來越沒錢發展重要建設 (這些重大建設的預算裡有多少要被ㄎㄧㄤ?)
嚴格說來，更是要用油量少的納稅人，去補貼用油量大的人用油!!
(每天坐公車的阿民{不用加油}要補貼每天坐Benz500的阿諒{天天要加油}油錢)

那麼
是官員不做事呢?
還是民意不讓政府對於世局的改變做出應變呢?
還是台灣的民主政治結構促使政府空轉呢?
還是台灣的民眾，不願面對世界的改變呢?
到底是哪一個?

當有人跳出來反對油價漲，
沒有人出來支持嗎?
民眾的社會正義感在哪
還是已經得了"社會冷漠症"?


我們做為台灣公民
是否也該反省....

戒急用忍-雍正皇帝

周六跟爸媽去故宮，參觀雍正皇帝文物展。幾個月沒來故宮，感覺人變得很多。不時看到金髮碧眼的老外，頭髮梳得很帥的ABC，以及現在台灣景點必見的---陸客團。



故宮變得跟我以前去的感覺不太一樣了，變得比較有朝氣。不知道是人潮的關係，還是因為真的有用心經營。居然連衣服都讓我忍不住破費。



今天來故宮的人潮有一大部分是來看雍正展的。展示廳裡燈光昏暗且處處是人，但是仍然不減我這"雅士"的興致。但是眾多文物展示中，令我印象最深，也最有感觸的，莫過於在康熙仍在位時，在雍正寫給父親的信上，康熙所朱批的"戒急用忍"四字。



住在台灣，經歷過李登輝時代的人應該都知道這四個字。他把它用在西進政策上，叫民間對於往西向大陸發展，不要急，要忍。在當時實在是響噹噹的口號。也曾經有好的口碑，但曾幾何時，因為台灣意識形態的發展，也多少斷送了許多台商在"世界工廠"蓬勃發產時搶下市場的好時機。



當年康熙送給雍正這四字的原意是要他，能夠收斂自己個性中較魯莽而性急的一面。有一說是當年康熙其實看中他個性中耿直的一面，卻也擔心他不夠鎮定，在複雜的宮廷生活及未來處是治國時造成困擾。

很多事情不是當下就必須做決定。緩一緩對可於很多事情的進行其實都很有幫助，因為世界上很多事件都有其成因，其中包含了客觀與非客觀因素。一時因為表面或剛浮出檯面的現象或成因做出決斷往往有失公允，欠缺周全。舉例來說，前幾天在報紙上看到小學老師體罰貧困學童，因為他繳不出學雜費等等。當下讀者的正常反應，應該是強烈譴責這個劣質教師。問題是，這個報導是否有包含到老師觀點。說不定，他根本不知道學童家境清寒。或者說，學童在未交錢之於口出惡言，所以遭到體罰。所以，我們在譴責老師之前，是否有想過如此離譜的是會產生，是否只是一些對彼此的不了解呢?報導中並沒有提及老師對於學生家庭狀況是否知情，也未提起老師是否受到學校催繳的壓力。很多事情，在做決定之前，可能要更深入探討思索端倪，這其實才是康熙送給雍正戒急用忍四字的真正內涵。

我的個性雖然很理性，可是卻很急，有點不甘寂寞和定不下來的成分。在處理人際關係、感情和自身的許多事物上，也常常做了讓自己痛苦和後悔的決定(這其中不乏有一些是因為我的觀念的偏差或是自私)造成的決定。可是我想說的，是"戒急用忍"實在是我今後處事的一個努力的方向，修身養性，把自己當成"皇帝"來修為....嘿嘿嘿...