my ajumma notes

It was because a certain country launched itself at another that the World Aquatics Championships came our way.   It was because it was held here that I got to see today’s superstars.   It was because I was reading about our temporary pool that I realised I that I had been in the inceptive temporary pool at the Fukuoka World Swimming Championships 2001.     It was because I was thinking about Ian Thrope as the Big Story of Fukuoka (and a “rising star” then was none other than Michael Phelps!) that I thought of the Perth World Swimming Championships 1998, where he made a mark at just 15 years old (and I saw him swim!).     A ( The ?) huge story at Perth was a certain other country’s swimmers being caught, and not caught (syringes found in hotel room bins and so on), for consuming banned substances.  All quite exciting being near the thick of things but that was my first ever world event so in itself, the event was very enjoyable...

The Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay opened in October 2002, and who are the Singaporeans who did not step into the concert hall even once these 20+ years?  Me!  Me!!   Finally, the time came, for my friend AL and me! Such an impressive concert hall, but a bit large, no?   I don’t fancy sitting right up there in the last few rows and also, there is a toilet problem with such a huge audience capacity.  Let me just say that the toilet to concert-goer ratio is far from ideal.   First time I knew of seats behind the orchestra but there we were!  It’s an interesting angle to watch from and I liked being near the musicians.   However, those seats aren’t comfortable, with what I assumed to be a sort of backrest at the wrong position.  Also, you’re in full view of the majority of the audience so the whole time, I felt I had to sit up straight and not move – a bit stressful!     Still, we were that clos...

What a guy, what a career, what fun we had watching him!   I’m not sad to see him go as I thought for years that his body had had enough.  He pushed on for more, and the last few years were still exciting, the highlights for me being   - the very unexpected and wonderful AO 2022 win [sorry Medvedev, don’t know how the match turned around the way it did] tennisworldusa - the big four playing at Laver Cup 2022  Getty - Federer playing his retirement match with him Getty - playing doubles with Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics afp - final match at Davis Cup 2024 for Spain -- but of course! Well done, he who fighted to the end! atptour Who else regrets not getting this when it was available?   People are re-selling it for a few hundred... 

In a few days, the Jubilee Year of Hope will close, and we’ll say another goodbye to the Pope Francis era.   yup, some people got this close to him Like his predecessors, Pope Francis spoke a lot about peace, hope, joy and God’s mercy.  Of particular relevance to me in the past half year, he of course continued in the tradition of writing encyclicals and other documents.   It was wonderful being in Fr David Garcia’s Social Ethics class for a look at the social teachings of the Church.  Everyone in the class now knows the significance of  Rerum Novarum  and why Pope Leo is Pope Leo!     Two highlights for me – the first was summarising  Veritas in Caritate  (Pope Benedict XVI).  I’d only ever thought of our school motto  In veritate, et caritate  in broad and general terms.  Yes, truth and love are so basic and important in our faith.   Veritas in Caritate  taught me how the...

The title has an airy, genial feel and the show does have its airy, genial side, but I also think of it as TRAPPED, since everyone was trapped by the past.   It was fun trying to figure out who was who, who was on whose side and how the awful king would fall.   The scholars It wasn’t too hard to guess that Kang San (Ryeo Un) is the deposed/missing prince and that he isn’t really gruff and disinterested although he’s exasperated and rolling his eyes most of the time.  Shi-yeol (Kang Hoon) has the best ‘disguise’, with the nice contrast between his highly-skilled fighting and loyalty versus his silliness.  It felt at times that Yoo-ha (Jung Gun-joo) was an extra but finally, he gets that one brave act of letting himself be captured to protect the rest.   Shi-yeol identifying himself to Kang San as his watchman was dramatic but the most shocking revelation in the show was that the Old Guy (Shi-yeol’s mentor) is the king’s watchman!  Ho...