Convitto Farewell

It's a familiar picture. Another chapter ends as one more begins...

I leave the Convitto this morning in a few more hours and my things are all packed and ready to go. Soon I will be back at the Collegio and awaiting for the semester to begin. Mixed feelings and some anxious anticipation run through my thoughts as this transition of the day slowly unfolds.

It's the weekend, I'll take it easy and so should you my friends. :-)

Summer's End...

I can breathe a sigh of relief, now that I have finally registered for the courses of the coming academic year 2008/09... *whew* :-)

The past few days have been rather anxiety-filled with the thoughts of packing that needed to be done before I leave the Convitto and head back to the Collegio, registration for courses at the Angelicum and clearing a few other administrative things along the way. Now all the major work is done and I can concentrate more on the packing while waiting for Saturday where I leave for the Collegio.

Looking back at the past months and those times when I have been staying at the Convitto, I can't help but feel much grateful for the experiences and time I have spent here. I have made new and good friends, learnt of a good gelato stand, gotten used to celebrating the Masses in Italian, enjoyed the view of cluttered Rome and the night sky from the terrace and visited other fascinating tourist sights around the Angelicum/Convitto area.

More importantly, I managed to complete my draft thesis which I had set out to do and learnt to accept my temporary exile in a place that I thought would be deserted and devoid of the presence and rhythm of people and life. Now that I have to prepare to leave, I have a tinge of sadness of leaving behind friends and the conviviality of this place that, while not entirely perfect (then again, where in Rome, is any place perfect?), made my living here pleasant, peaceful and enriching.

I carry with me these special memories of my summer break here in the Convitto and may they continue to help me learn to be a better Christian.

Tour Guide

I have been busy the past week because I had to play tour guide to some friends from Singapore who made a week's stop in Rome.

Needless to say, I had quite a time with them taking them around to see the sights and sounds of this so-called Eternal City. We did lots of walking around the area within the vicinity of the Convitto where I am staying (till this coming Saturday, 27 Sept) and where they were also putting up. So, it was the Trevi Fountains, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Basilica of St Peter of the Chains and Circus Maximus (where the chariot races used to be held).

I also brought them to the Vatican to catch the St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. Along the way, there were pizzas, gelato and the crazy people of Rome which they slowly came to get used to. We had also opportune time to get ourselves into a Chinese restaurant (Grand Dragon) to savour their authentic Hong Kong cuisine! Frs Julian and Michael also helped and did their part to bring our visitors around that made the occasion and the company much more enjoyable and exotic. Imagine speaking and joking (making fun of the Italians, mostly) English, Mandarin and Cantonese in the midst of the Italians all around us... :-D

The visitors have since left for Florence (aka Firenze) to continue their rest of the trip while, now, I remain in the Convitto to rest and catch my breath from all that walking about the past week!

Soon, I will start my new academic year within a few weeks from now. That makes it closer to the time where I shall complete my tour of duty here and then head back - for good! :-) For now, I am just going to enjoy the rest of my remaining hols and just relak! ;-)

(pic above: from left - Christine, Pauline and Desiree. a big thank-you to all who have given me goodies and such which our friends from singapore brought to me!)

Sunday's Potpourri

It's been about four days already since the tooth extraction ordeal and save for the slight numbness and a small dull throb that remained, my gum by that area has recovered and spared off any infection problems. I can now chew a little better and eat a little more solid food.

Meanwhile, the Rector of the Convitto has came back and the kitchen is officially opened and functioning again. So, that means no need to go around searching and cooking our own food! :-) The experiences of doing that the past month has been quite interesting. It's amazing what you can do with such a limited amount and access of food and turn it into a meal that still feeds the body! :-D

There is still one more month or so before the new semester begins for my final year in the Angelicum. I am certainly looking forward to the time next year when I finish my course here and get to head back to Singapore! So, I am already counting the days... :-D

Meanwhile, I have already finished my draft thesis and only awaiting now for my moderator to patiently go through it. I hope there won't be too much drastic changes to it and that all will turn out relatively well. Nonetheless, I am sure there should be some amendment here and there which I shall have to deal with.

Oh, by the way, it's National Day back in Malaysia! That makes the country in their 51st year of existence after their independance. Merdeka! :-D

On another dimension altogether, the long and ongoing fight between Mac and PC continues and I was earlier considering whether I should change to a Mac later when I get back to Singapore. Then I came across this piece which pokes fun at both venerable computer companies which didn't help me make up my mind (language may be a leeetle rough as with any South Park presentation):



So, any ideas?...

Ouch!

How would you feel to have a piece of your self being forcefully torn out of your being by someone whom you barely know but giving your complete trust to that person that he will perform the operation well?

I had to have a tooth extracted recently, a couple of days ago, in fact, and had to go to the dentist recommended by a friend from the Convitto where I am currently staying. The place was just two Metro stations before the Vatican and easily found. My left inner tooth on the lower jaw was suddenly showing signs of ache and a dull pain was already troubling that area since the past week. It was only early this week that my left cheek began to swell a little that I decided it was time I visit the dreaded dentist.

However, the ordeal that I had to undergo wasn't too bad, after all, as the whole thing took about an hour and a half: diagnosing (to see if the tooth was bad), X-raying (confirming that it was indeed bad and beyond saving), extracting (ouch!) and some attentive listening to intructions on what and how to tend the extracted area for the coming week for preventing infection (taking antibiotics, gargling with salt water, taking painkillers if necessary), before our next session for further check-up and post-op work.

So I was a little down and out the last couple of days and eating meals that resembled gruel, to help in my swallowing after that tooth extraction. Now, I am fine and all that's left of the incident is a bruised and darkened gum area that is slowly recuperating and an image of that extracted tooth shown to me that was once a greater part of my life. All 44 years of it!

Ouch!...

Slow Week

It has been a slow week and the summer here is already showing some signs of slowly losing its momentum as it gives way to the encroaching fall. The sun rises a little much later than it used to be. It is also a week which I managed to catch my breath somewhat after finishing the final major chapter for my draft thesis - chapter 3. That chapter, detailing the contributions of John of the Cross, show how they can be put to good use in spiritual direction.

I still have one last item to write, namely the Conclusion to the thesis, which I should be able to do so by next week. After that, I would have completed my initial project with this thesis and able to enjoy the remaining holidays right on till the first week of October when the new semester begins.

For now, I am just enjoying the quiet and warmth of the Sunday and what else it has to offer...

Feeling Classic-y...

Ahhh, what a little Bach or Beethoven can do to make the Sunday easier to slip into even as we note that Monday is over the horizon....

I did not get to sleep last night till close to 4.00 a.m. because I was following the lunar eclipse and doing up the pictures for the blog and for SLOOH. To top it all, I had to get up two hours later to prepare to celebrate the Sunday morning's mass, which was attended by - one - sister (Sis Helen). So, it was like a dialogue between the two of us as we incorporated Lauds into the liturgy. All in Italian too! So, I did feel a little 'kancheong' and the video below almost says it all:

However, if you prefer a much more calmer and steadier version of doing a Sunday that is more enjoyable, maybe this Bach-y would be more suited to your preference:

Have a pleasant Sunday and... play Bach! :-D

Lunatic!

Saturday, 16th August was the night of the partial lunar eclipse which was visible throughout Europe and most of Asia. Not wanting to miss up on this chance to watch it, I spent some 2+ hours up on the terrace of the Convitto taking shots of the eclipse as it happened. You can check out the event over at my astroblog! :-)

Meanwhile, here's a teaser!

Have a good weekend!

State of Mind

I am doing up some reading for my chapter 3 of the thesis and not doing much writing yet. I haven't quite found the right starting words and sentences to begin the introductory section for this chapter. But, I am getting there.... ;-)

Meanwhile, the current state of my mind during this 'incubating' period is not one of idling in nothingness. For one, I do know that the Beijing Olympics starts today at 8.00 p.m. China time (1200 GMT). It promises to be a grand affair with the opening ceremony created by Zhang Yimou.

Second, I have been 'renovating' my desktop a little and came out with this piece of presentation:

The wallpaper is from deviant art while the icon tray below is from Rocketdock (clicking on the picture, you will see a better view of the wallpaper). The clock display on the top right corner is from DSClock. This turns the screen on my laptop into a showpiece unlike your usual bland XP or Microsoft presentation that usually looks, err.. bland. Imagine how it can turn out on your 21" flatscreen monitor!

Then, thirdly, I chance across this awfully fun site from zefrank who is an American online performance artist, composer, humourist and public speaker based in Brooklyn (NY). I think Alf will want to meet this guy! :-D I dropped into zefrank's Scribbler site and drew this as shown on the left.

I probably did this is a sudden fit of insight that says, after all that I purported to know, I still know nothing! :-D

Lastly, how did I chance upon zefrank? Well, I happened to passed by this site that presents a video streaming of talks by inspiring and visionary speakers. One of my favourite talks there are 'Classical Music with Shining Eyes'. This talk confirmed my already known idea that 'nobody is tone deaf'. The other is 'Do Schools Kill Creativity?' This is a good one to listen to, to see why even what the Singaporean government is doing to boost creativity is not really going the right way either. The idea coming from this talk is 'If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come out with anything original'. Have a listen to these talks and other talks there when you are free... ;-)

So, what do you do when you find yourself 'stranded' with nothing much to go on?... :-)

Human Spirit

One of the recurring elements that keep coming up in the draft thesis which I am currently doing up is 'human spirit'. In spiritual terms, it refers to the human will and desire that move a person to reach a particular decision to do or make things happen.

It can be either good or bad depending on the circumstances which the decision is made on and it can be entirely undependable. When motivated to do good, the results can be rather impressive and uplifting. When it is led to do the bad, the results can be disastrous, catastrophic even! Whether good or bad, the human spirit is undeniably the driving factor that pushes a person to making something happening.

I wonder how many of us are motivated to make something happen? Are we even driven in any remotest way to do something that can change, not only ours, but also other people's lives? Do we have any drive or motivation in the first place? Do we just drift along like a plank in the ocean, led by the currents with no control of where we want or ought to go?

It's a difficult task indeed to discern the human spirit and how it works. Heck, we are sometimes blindsided by it and we end up getting into a mess we wish we hadn't. But when it works and carries with it the message of goodness, strength and sister/brotherhood the whole world seems to cheer.



Which is why films like this can go a long way to spread some cheer in a world that seems to have focused on taking instead of giving more...

(if you are wondering what I have been doing besides doing the thesis during this summer break, now you know!)

Stultify

We had a short outage for our Internet connection in the later part of the afternoon today. Apparently, there were some repair/shifting works done at the University office where the server was kept and some connection(s) was either dislodged or taken out by mistake and wasn't put back in. A call had to made to the person in charged of the system to check and then rectified the matter. After all that, we just had to shake our heads and shrugged - "This is Italy..."

In another remark made during dinner today by someone living here as a student like myself, added to the litany of woes for living in Rome, which happens to be the capital of the country and true to its colours of also having capital honours for incompetency and utter decrepit service. I shall not repeat what he said but it goes to show just how incredible this city is or even how the whole country itself has managed to function for so long based on stupidity and absurdity. If 'stultify' had another name, it would be 'Italy'!

Then there was a point of discussion over dinner between the word 'anywhere' and 'everywhere'. What's the difference? An answer was offered in relation to our city of stay, even if it didn't seem quite accurate to me. So, anywhere shows a sense of limitation in reference to a place. However, for everywhere, that sense of limitation broadens or is non existence altogether. For instance, I can say,"I would rather be anywhere other than Rome" (I do really feel like that now) and that would be gramatically fine because it expresses that any place on planet Earth would be fine to be in except Rome. Now, to say that "I would rather be everywhere other than Rome" would take the cake because I could be in blooming Venus suffocating under sulphurous clouds and disintegrating under tremendous pressure but I would still be happy and smiling from ear to ear that I am not in Rome!

Oh, dinner over at the Convitto was at our usual place on the terrace where you can see some of the gorgeous sunsets over the utterly crowded and polluted city landscape...

The Progress...

Someone was wondering whether I was hard at work with my thesis, because I haven't been updating lately. Well, I was really putting some dutiful work on my thesis, but there were many other occasions when I had to put that aside and went on to do other things....

I have managed to finish up my Introduction and Chapter 1 so far and now in the midst of Chapter 2. The work that went in and continues to be put in for this 'project' can sometimes be a little too consuming on my mind that I have to take a break now and then. I mean a real break: it may mean just putting aside the thesis for a few days and coming back to it again later.

The interesting thing about going through this exercise of doing up the thesis is that, I get to read up on information about the saints' lives, which are part of this project, that made me realise just how human and down-to-earth they really are! They also possess that incredible sense of awareness that they don't belong to themselves (or to the world, for that matter) but to the One who created them and sustained them in their lives.

For instance, reading this particular book on Teresa of Avila by Cathleen Medwick, I saw how this Spanish saint had to deal with the struggles of reforms and bitter in-fighting of her day and yet able to maintain such a mystical composure that would be responsible for her authoring such spiritual classics such as 'The Interior Castle' and 'The Life of St Teresa of Avila by Herself'. St Teresa has common sense (which, today, many seem to be lacking), humour and a penchant for everyday images which are shown in her writings, but above all, she is remarkable for her analytical abilities in probing the mystery of God's workings in the soul. One must not forget that St Teresa was the first woman saint in the Church who was proclaimed Doctor of the Church (by Pope Paul VI on September 27, 1970) among the three women Doctors that we have. The other two being St Catherine of Siena and St Therese of Lisieux.

So, the progress of the thesis continues and it still has some ways to go before I am done with it. Meanwhile, the summer break has been quiet enjoyable where I get to spent my time whatever way I see fit.

"Don't imagine that, if you had a great deal of time, you would spend more of it in prayer. Get rid of that idea; it is no hindrance to prayer to spend your time well." Teresa of Avila

The Days Continue...

Still stewing my ideas for the second chapter....

I haven't done anything yet to continue towards the next chapter for my thesis on spiritual direction. But be assured, I shall get there soon! :-)

Meanwhile, I have to bear with the changes to my room as I had to be reallocated to another. This one is slightly smaller but had a great window view onto the streets below and, best of all, the skies! My first encounter with the night skies through the window of a Convitto room at a late hour of the night is mentioned here.

I discovered an interesting web service on the Net that helps you create your own site in the form and flavour you want for free. It's over at Webon. Give it a shot to see what you can do up within a few minutes. I did not create a new site there as I already have 3 to manage. However, I was really, really tempted to do so and almost gave in. :-P

As the summer holidays carry on, the days continue to be longer and the afternoons are spent coping with the heat that makes the occasion drowsy and tiring. That's the price one pays for remaining in Rome....

The Magician in all of Us?...

It's Sunday and I finally managed to finish my Introduction and Chapter 1 of my thesis on spiritual direction!

So, for a little reward I shall allow this time to engage in some rollicking entertainment that shall put a big smile on your faces. Incidentally, this is also a special acknowledgement to all practising magicians out there (no, not the evil kinds in the black arts) who labour to give their audience a good time in sleigh of the hands and cunning trickery which fools the eye. In particular, here's to Alfie and his talents in this entertaining art which he sometimes uses to make the children laugh and wonder with awe...

So, take it away Pixar and Presto!

Saturday Workout

I got up at an unearthly hour of around 4.45 a.m. just so I could be ready and prepare for a jogging session with Fr Julian this morning which began at 5.30 a.m. It was my first real jogging session in many, many months.

We jogged from our place at via degli Ibernesi to the Circus Maximus and did two rounds along the Circus. It was already bright when we headed out into the streets with some cars and people passing by. It is interesting to note that within a short stone's throw from the Convitto, there are already several historical monuments and sights: Circus Maximus, where the chariot races of ancient Rome were once held (think Ben Hur!), closer to the Convitto is the Trajan's Market and between these two is the infamous Colosseum.

Jogging pass these places is like going through a time warp all at once which lasted about an hour to the Circus and back. A good way to get a Saturday's workout! ;-)

WYD08 Soon!

The grand Church event for the youths begins soon!

Considered the largest youth event in the world, the World Youth Day will be held in Sydney from Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 July 2008. Major events and highlights for the occasion are found here. Before the official opening day, there are already many events to help prepare the participants from all over the world to get in full swing for the event.

Several groups from Singapore have already headed down and well-known Catholic blogger from Singapore has a few words to say about the conditions there now. I am sure there will be more in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, I am still slogging away in the Convitto putting my thesis together and checking that I am making sense. It is slow process but I am learning things als I go along. I am getting my fair share of referenced material to read and digest in order to write and present something for the thesis. That's life now...

Of Pizzas and Sciopero...

I finished my first draft of the Introduction page of my thesis and had sent it to my moderator through the email for comments. While waiting, I am currently stewing ideas for the first chapter. I shall probably put something on paper the next day.

Meanwhile, the stay here at the Convitto has been quite interesting thus far and family-like atmosphere here made the entire experience of living with the religious setup such as this within the Dominican order very engaging and pleasant. Just the other evening, I followed a small group of us, consisting the sisters who manned the kitchen and three other priests (including Fr Julian), to a cosy little pizza restaurant just around the corner, within the vicinity of the Convitto for dinner. The Convitto's kitchen is closed on Sunday, hence our trip to that restaurant.

I had a fun time there finishing my Margherita (with sausage) pizza and cool beer along with the company at the table that had other types of pizzas. That's me on the far left, obscured and holding a glass of beer. Fr Carlos, the financial administrator, on my left is having a go at his pizza.The two sisters opposite me are the ones who help at the kitchen and stays in the Convitto also. After dinner, we went for some gelato and I had another theophanic experience with Italian ice-cream of melon, kiwi and strawberry flavour. I think coming to stay in this place isn't such a bad idea after all!... :-D

Today, while stewing my ideas for the chapters of my thesis, I did nothing else other than to stay in my room and around the Convitto. That's also because there was a major strike that was on. All the buses, trains and even their airline (Alitalia) were on sciopero, i.e. strike. The effects did not bother me because I did not have to travel anywhere. That's life here in Rome.

Like I said - it's a crazy city!

Stewed Dish

Day 3 in the Convitto...

Today, I managed to do up the page structure for my thesis and started putting in the headings. That was it. Beyond that, I couldn't go on anymore because I couldn't find the right and proper starting words and statement that can begin the process of writing. Yes, I had read some references/books on the subject but nothing is 'clicking' just yet. So, I thought I'd let my mind stew over all the ideas, references, points and experiences (thus far), like a cooking pot on a slow boil, and wait for something that will pop up later on.

Meanwhile, I have also been getting a lot of ideas spinning off from an unexpected medium that was more an entertaining time passing but gave a lot of food for thought. That medium was the film/tv shows that I managed to view online (free) that reverberated with my inner senses which spoke to my heart.

One was New Amsterdam, a cancelled tv series in the States that tells the bizzare story of a New York homicide detective who is cursed with immortality. Apparently, he was a Dutch soldier in the year 1642 when he stepped in front of a sword to save the life of a Native American girl during a massacre of her tribe. The girl in turn rescued him by weaving an ancient spell that conferred immortality upon him. It was also prophesied that he would not age until he finds his one true love, and only then will he become whole and ready for mortality.

The idea of searching and capturing that 'true love' is also a theme that is very close to the life of a Christian for we all know that the one and only true love, if we allow ourselves to be utterly taken by the Truth, is none other than the One that represents all that is - God. However, human perception of true love interestingly reveals a lot of variety of what this can be or mean. Unfortunately because our desires are also mixed up or misunderstood, this 'true love' never lasts. The question then arises about finding that love: how do we know? Well, New Amsterdam offers a way out, albeit a human notion of it. But the series was abruptly cancelled and so I never got to see how they could develop this idea further. It would be interesting to see how the writers could offer an answer to this...

Then we have The Forbidden Kingdom. An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself traveling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

The best part of this movies is that we have both kung fu greats, Jackie Chan and Jet Li acting side-by-side showing off their martial art skills in the midst of all the other CGI effects which were just nice without being overwhelming.I gather from this story that it is about doing the right thing and finding that courage to go against the odds that always want to hinder your quest. That's our own struggle in life as a Christian isn't it? It is always better to look the other way, to take the easy way out, rather than stand and make it count for one's own faith. A Robert Frost 'Two Roads' poem comes to mind about making that difficult choice:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Lastly, we have August Rush. A movie that is described as magical and full of heart, it tells of a child music prodigy who was searching for his parents who had given him away at birth. It is a heartwarming tale that offers music as the soul of a person that can transcends time and space to bring about wonderful things, as long as you don't give up on it. As a Christian, we know our souls belong to God and He constantly sings to us to lead us to that wonderful place where we will find our position in the symphony of eternal life.

One of the comments about the movie went like this: "... if you are looking for a movie that will sing to your soul (and show you some beautiful eye candy as a bonus), look no farther... A trio of beautiful performances form the heart of this film, although the secondary characters are also crisply compelling. A day after seeing it, I find that specific shots of their faces still glow in mind like pieces of a mosaic. And the music is a genuine addition, as it should be in a film of this kind. I was genuinely moved." Yup, so was I.

So, the ideas are still being stewed and a good stewed dish of any kind means that I shouldn't rush things but enjoy its momentum, for something fascinating will eventually turn out...

(of those mentioned above, august rush wins hands down for being most moving! you may view these items here)

Convitto

This is the second day at the Convitto.

I arrived here yesterday morning and slowly unpacked the necessary stuff in the room as I began to make myself a little comfortable here. After all, I shall be a semi-resident here for the coming three months.

My room faces away from the sunlight most of the time, which is a good thing, so the place here isn't that hot. I hvae brought a table fan along, so that helps a lot to further take the heat away, especially during the hottest part of the day in the afternoon. All in all, it is a blessing that I managed to acquire this temporary accomodation after a short time of searching. I know of others who do not want to go to a parish having a hard time getting an affordable place to stay during the summer.

I should be starting on my thesis soon but the slow and comfortable (read - lazy) pacing of the holidays can always lure my senses and will away from any writing and paperwork to something less strenuous. :-D So, it is really a struggle to get myself to start working!

The residents here are mainly priests who are studying in Rome, but they seem little more friendlier and open to others around them than most I know in the Collegio. Perhaps it is the lifestyle here under the Dominicans who run this place. Over breakfast, there was an intensive discussion over what is happening to Europe, especially in Italy, and how it is losing its soul to the god of money and privileges. Much of what were brought out already made me realized why I have never sat down well with what's been going on with the lifestyle and experiences I encountered the past year in Rome. I have said before that as a visitor or tourist, Rome can be a great place to visit, but to stay on here and get involved in the pace and style of living can be a quite a challenge.

Meanwhile, a friend from Singapore smsed and reported that the funeral Mass of the late Archbishop Gregory Yong had an overwhelming crowd of people and with the SJI bagpipes playing, to send the body off after the Mass at the Cathedral was over. The late Archbishop certainly was well-loved and a simple man. He had his faults, but his cheery disposition always helped smooth things over and he got along well generally with many of his flock who was under his care then. The 'people's archbishop' (as he was affectionately known) will be missed.