samsamsam

read a friend's post and came up with this
http://thezoomroom.blogspot.com/2008/10/rule-of-relativity.html

I realize that being different makes people happy. I am number 1 and you are not, I am thus better than you and am happy. I published a journal article and you did not, I am happy because I am different from you. I got a big car, which is different from your tiny one, hah! I am happy.
But as I look back (you got to be pretty old if you can say ‘remember the good old days?’), the happiest moments of my life were not when I was different but when I was same.
There’s a Singlish saying, ‘same same’, which basically means the two points raised earlier were identical or would lead to the same outcome. But my previous labmate Ed in Singapore added on to that, as soon as some one said ‘same same’, he would interject ‘but different different’. This meant that yes, it looks the same but the original motive or the journey to getting there is far from identical and the two cannot be thought of as being convergent.
When I was accepted as a friend and a colleague in the Flavilab in NUS, I was really happy. I was one of them, in the same fraternity, same same. Right now, I am lonely in this new lab: I work alone, eat lunch alone, troubleshoot problems alone, go home alone. Even though friends back in Singapore may envy my position now in this prestigious institute, and think that I am happy to be counted as an elite, its different different.
In my church (Singapore), being part of the cell group, and especially in the Sound ministry, I was part of the team, toiling late nights (and more often than not followed by early mornings), suppers, scoldings, meetings, trainings, and training others, the knowing that you have to work as a team to make the service a successful one really brings you down to earth and makes me strive together to make it happen, same same. I just visited 4 different churches every Sunday and in 3 of them, I gave my contacts and told them (these are pastors mind you), please connect me to an English speaking cell group or cell group leader as I want to be part of this congregation. Only one replied. They treat me differently. I want to same same with them, but they reply different different.
When there is no one else to go to, there is always God. The sad thing about me is when I am at my lowest, most depressed, most stressed state, God is the closest to me. Because my God’s name is Emmanuel, which means God with me. And even though I become different different, I know He is always same same.