In between right now. Done with classes, but waiting for Odyssey rehearsal to start. Got some other work obligations done, now twiddling my thumbs and writing again.

Amazing how much chaos can come out of introducing an unusual event into a closed, organized system. Guest speaker for today was Amb. M. Hong, who had stuff to say about "Globalization and its impact on SEA youth." Apart from the sudden change in guest speakers (it was supposed to be Mr "pany," remember?) it was a surprise to discover the venue we planned the event in was actually being used for something else at the same time. A quick shuffle later and things got sorted out though arrangements were not exactly ideal. Bigger venue used for smaller audience, but floor seating only making writing inconvenient. Smaller venue used for bigger audience, proper writing space available but no writing needed to be carried out. How adaptable a species we are.

Talk was informative, very densely packed for an hour's duration. Intesting observation: during the Q&A, some controvertial questions were raised about how much we support American foreign policy and whether local youth function under intrinsic or extrinsic motivations; however, the questions were raised by our foreign students, leaving our locals with the more mundane concerns. I guess that answers the second question quite effectively, doesn't it? >Sigh<

I was just going to say life is too safe here to have many other meaningful concerns than ourselves and our entertainment but I just got the news from June by SMS as follows:

1 dead, 15 injured in Ayer Rajah building cave-in

A basement cave-in at a construction site in Ayer Rajah has left one person dead and five others missing. Fifteen casualties have reportedly been sent to the National University Hospital.

The collapse happened just before 2pm at the worksite of the Fusionpolis building and the MRT station at One-North. Engineers on the site say this - at 30m - is the deepest construction site in Singapore and that six or seven people may be trapped at the bottom.

This cave-in comes a week after a portion of the Nicoll Highway collapsed, leaving four people dead. But this is an industrial accident that is not related to last week's cave-in at the underground site of the MRT Circle Line.

The Fusionpolis complex, which will house info-communications and media firms when completed in 2005, forms part of the Jurong Town Corporation's One-North development in Buona Vista.

OK, June only SMS'ed me the news, I got this off the STI website.

2 major collapses in the last week causing loss of life and infrastructure damage. We're not used to this sort of thing happening to us, and I wonder if we can cope emotionally even if our 'systems' are in place to deal with the physical disaster.

Regardless, my chaos of this morning is nothing like what is happening out there right now. How could I possibly say my day was crap? Actually, I never did, did I?

Say a prayer for the injured and the trapped, ok? Hope we get them out in time.