Thursday, June 11, 2009
why some men are attractive and some are not.
as grace,
my colleague at NLB asserts,
"NLB opens the door to new horizons of knowledge."
cliche as it may sound,
i have indeed been granted
greater access to more academic resources-
whether they come in books,
periodicals, micro form, documentaries or videocassettes
(yes, the library still uses antique technology like the VCR)
over the course of this week,
i have been swimming in books,
researching about the pioneers of social work in Singapore.
they include othman wok and ee peng liang.
and it is indeed heartwarming to
realize that TOUCH is included in
several of the books that i've been reading on.
but this has led me to go beyond Singapore-
to look at personalities
like barack obama and his personal
quest in encouraging children/youths
who grow up in single-parent families.
so here, in this very unusual post,
i will attempt to describe some of the
special characteristics
that have made the following men
attractive.
certainly, good looks are a plus point,
but it certainly
wasn't a criteria to place them on
Charmaine's list of
Most Attractive Men.
currently at number one
barack obama,
in this endearing photograph with his family.
because NLB has a wide variety of resources, i
managed to watch a lively and animated
documentary on Obama's Campaign Trail.
This account included intimate details of Obama's life-
juggling his role as both politician and father.
With Steve Kroft as the anchoring correspondent,
this episode of 60 Minutes has painstakingly pursued Obama's campaign since 2007.
watching his breakthrough speeches at Springfield, Iowa and later at Pennsylvania (after the Jeremiah Wright incident), one cannot but stand in awe of this charismatic speaker. with every step that he takes onto the stage, he brings the fullness of energy and passion, exciting the audience with the simplicity of a word like "change".
yet, his candid conversations with
michelle obama provide a sense of normalcy into this
newly-elected President's life.
though once cynical about the power of politics being able to bring transformation into society,
it is no doubt that Obama's persistent belief
in the American Dream has rubbed off on Michelle.
When questioned if she ever thought about the worst-
Obama being assassinated-
as all other charismatic Presidents
of the USA have suffered similar fates,
Michelle Obama simply assures,
"We cannot make our decisions based on fear."
so what's so great about Obama?
1. Charisma
2. Family Man
(and go figure guys,
it's better to be able to juggle both
family and career than to put off
family in the interest of pursuing a high-flying career.)
currently at number two
Vivian Balakrishnan-
Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports. (MCYS)
2006 marked the 60th anniversary of this ministry.
Over the years,
it has definitely emerged into
an all-encompassing ministry
which focuses on meeting the needs of the community.
in 1946,
the Social Welfare Department
was started by T.P.F. McNiece.
Then in 1965,
it was renamed as the
Ministry of Culture and Social Affairs
with Othman Wok at the helm.
Finally in 2004,
with then Acting Minister Vivian Balakrishnan,
the name was changed to MCYS,
a clear signal of the government's
commitment to engage young Singaporeans in shaping the future.
In a ChannelnewsAsia documentary series titled Up Close- Dr Vivian Balakrishnan,
the audience finds a minister who
develops a desire to learn the
drums from a group of boys at the Singapore Boys Home.
i think as you grow older,
you will come to appreciate
ministers who are part of the system,
yet have a mind of their own.
Youthful and optimistic in spirit, Balakrishnan moves away from the orthodox mandate of *coughs.
(hey, but if you know who i am referring to,
you will also understand that i deeply respect the man,
though the methods may still be lagging in the Confucian era.)
hearing him speak personally
at the Kent-Ridge Ministerial Dialogue last year,
i've grown to admire Bala.
He's different.
He tells you that he aimed for Cs during his tertiary education,
and that it's perfectly okay to chase your dreams.
try getting your hands on the documentary
and catch the doctor in
action as he treats his eye patients.
he'll seem really caring that you'll wish for
something wrong to happen to your eyes
so you could get a private appointment with him.
(*hahahaha. kidding.)
so what's so great about Balakrishnan?
1. he's absolutely charming.
2. Family Man
currently at number three
Apart from being the chairman of the Youth PAP branch,
Teo Ser Luck holds an impressive list of academic and entrepreneurial achievements to his personal CV.
He is currently with MCYS and NYC,
married, two kids, but still looks DAMN FIT.
(staying in shape even after
marriage is hello, very crucial.)
while researching on social service in Singapore,
i stumbled upon a few interviews with Teo Ser Luck.
In one of them,
he describes the most significant
incident of his life that would changehis mindset and life as a whole.
"I believe that the biggest lesson,
however, came from the time
I was sent to the girls' softball team.
It gave me a chance to play, and made me want to do better...."
i could not stop laughing when i read that.
but this incident was surely a starting point for this athlete's life.
teo ser luck runs ironman marathons
even at the age of 37- so this is quite a feat!
definitely, many youths in Singapore might see
him as a up and rising star within the YPAP,
but besides the successful political career that he has,
this is what makes Teo Ser Luck an attractive man.
1. Big Dreams.
(and he makes it a life goal to chase them)
2. Family Man
however, the above is only wholly
representative of my own personal preference.
everyone will ultimately have a different
set of criteria to judge their most attractive men.
what's unique about mine is that when it
all boils down to the religion factor,
they all happen to be good christian men.
what's even more unique is that they are
the kind of atypical christian men
that girls are looking out for in church.
*yayyyyyy*
currently, typical christian guys in church are
nice, decent, stable- but BORING.
at this point,
you'll probably realize why girls prefer bad boys.
but if i may add a comment or two,
i don't think girls actually like bad boys.
they know it is a risk to date bad boys!
yet, bad boys somehow have that
attractive quality of adventure and excitement.
so yes,
i definitely prefer atypical christian men.
but O Lord.......
if they're atypical, it also means that they are the minority! :)
* this remains as a blog post.
because i could never carry
out such a conversation in reality.
hahah, way too embarrassing!
TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS
2:45 PM
Vivian Balakrishnan-
Apart from being the chairman of the Youth PAP branch,
