Inspirational Friends

I thought I'd start my blog with an inspirational quote today, so I googled "quotes+inspiration" and there were pages of it. The sea of inspirational quotes seem to vast for me to explore, so I thought I'd use something closer to home.

Inspirational friends.

I am lucky to be surrounded by inspiring and talented friends from various walks of life. The educational system I've been through, unfortunately, have filtered me through to meeting largely people from certain educational and social backgrounds. I am aware that it is not a representative sample, but that makes me extra grateful of my circumstances, family and friends.

Life is unfair, and I have been on the greener side.

B for Bummed

Scarlett is having an open jam session tonight, and i'm so bummed that i can't be there. Kokopops is down with a bad bout of food poisoning, and can't tend for himself. =( I'd feel very bad if i leave him alone at home. BUMMED!!! The girls must be having a great time. Can't wait to see the pictures from the BYOB party, where everyone's dressed in something/ someone starting with the alphabet "B".

Well, B for Bummer.

We hate food poisoning.

So it looks like this will be a very slow weekend. Guess it was a good decision to bring the work laptop home so i can get some work done since we won't be leaving the house much. One more week on my current project. Not sure what is coming next, but not sure if i need to know right now either.

Koks and I are planning on a 2 month road trip next year, to travel overland from China to Austria and then maybe a month on the Greek islands. I'm really looking forward to the trip. Haven't gone on a real vacation this year, and I'm missing being out in the world and feeling alive.

Can feel my bi monthly existential crisis coming up... funny, it seems to come in the same cycles as my projects. Wonder if it's time to take a break, but not sure where to go or what to do!

GGGAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Courtesy and Gurkhas

This morning, in my usual morning hustle (today on wobbly heels), I was slightly startled by someone who appeared from behind the lift landing. He chirped "morning", while i scurried past while feebly attempting to put on a big smile on my face. Shortly after, i realized it was the regular worker who clears the trash in the public bins.

I am quite disturbed and ashamed that I didn't reciprocate to his morning greeting, because suspicion crept up faster than courtesy. Recalling the days in Europe, we'd greet everyone in the same building, be it on the stairs, at the lobby, at the bicycle stands, trash room, bus, bakery etc. People just don't do it here. I don't know if it's the lack of basic courtesy (like how the pregnant ladies and the old folks almost never get a seat in the bus), or that people are taught to be suspicious and wary above everything else.

I resolve to look out for him from now on, and give him a huge "morning" to brighten his day. Emptying trash all day can't be much fun.

Drove by a cop truck load of gurkhas today on my way to work. Yum. =)

Dawn and Dusk

My two favourite times in the day, are dawn and dusk.

Dawn is the period of time when the earth slowly awakens, colours start to reveal themselves in gradual intensity, blue sneaks into the skies, street lights turn themselves off, you start to catch whiffs of dew and the morning mist, people brush their teeth with their eyes closed.

Dawns are great for setting out on vacations, journeys, holidays and adventures.

Dusk, on the other hand, is when everyone starts to loosen up, people get off work, childen get off school, ties loosen, cars flow out of carparks, buses hiss at bus stations.

Dusk are great for evening walks with the dogs, for changing from shoes/ heels into flip flops, for people watching, for reflection.

Dawns remind me of road trips my family used to take when we were young. We'd get up at an ungodly hour of 5 (usually, my sisters and i would be so excited we wouldn't have slept a wink anyhow), get showered, dressed up, and we'd pack the car and leave by 6:30am. Weeeeeee!!!! Holidays! And you have the entire day/ vacation/ journey/ holiday/ adventure to look forward to.

Nowadays, dawn means "Darn it, gotta get up for work!" and the occassional "all right, let's really try to do this nature trek today....zzzzz...."

Dusk is always a time of reflection for me. Usually, the realization comes at around 5pm, after which thoughts of "what should i do after work today" run through my multi-tasking brain as my fingers continue their own tap dance on the keyboard. Tappity-tap. The decision to exercise after work is always a hard one, but usually a great one on hindsight. As i bade my goodbyes, and step out of the tinkling door (someone at some point thought it a great idea to hang a wind chime on the door), i reflect on what i had accomplished that day, if i could have done more, done less, if i have made good use of my time in the office. Walking through the throngs of people on the street, i ponder in my head if i should smile at strangers, not make effort, look friendly, or look grouchy. Some rush by me, some deep in conversations, most on the mobile phone.

"Jee, it's dinner time again", i feel like all this food i've been eating is only resting on my hips. Soon enough, the streetlights come on again, the sky is dark, buses continue to hiss at bus stations, you see tired expressionless faces in bus windows, colours start to withdraw into the darkness, ants crawl back into their mounds, tv screens flash in homes while chopsticks clack away and cutlery clink on crockery.

Finally, we lay in bed, looking at the ceiling and thinking aloud, "man, was that yet another day." While we entertain the random thoughts in our head, our bodies wind down. Just as we think we've got the answer to life, we no longer can fight the drug of sleep and .................

My two favourite times in the day, are dawn and dusk.

John Galliano and a Beautiful Weekend

Before his Paris A/W show, John Galliano gathered his team to remind them that it was 'a credit crunch, not a creative crunch'.

HURRAH! The economy crisis doesn't have to kill everything!

Not that you can feel much of a economic crisis in downtown Singapore. Malls are still full, popular restaurants still require advance reservations.

I just had a wonderful and gorgeous weekend. On top of it all, it cost me relatively little. Saturday started with a trip to the beach for some lying around, reading, suntanning, chatting and frisbee throwing (and catch attempting). By the time we were chased off by an impending storm, it was only 1 in the afternoon! How glorious! It felt like I had already accomplished more than a typical weekend, and i still had 1.5 days to go! A delectable lunch of nasi lemak (rice simmered in coconut milk, accompanied with a variety of side dishes) ensued, which resulted in us transforming from sunkissed humans to famished wolves. Kokopops and I then spent a leisurely afternoon watching "The Last Emperor" (how did it take me that long to finally watch this amazing film?) before grabbing QL for a japanese dinner and the 3D screening of Pixar's latest animation movie "Up".

OH MY GOODNESS, is there anything else that can be so moving, touching, adorable, sincere, imaginative and entertaining?

The digital film elicited "ooh"s and "aah"s and tears and eruptions of laughter, all in less than 2 hours. Great storyline, great characters, great animation! We also caught a teaser of "The Christmas Carol" which will come to all good cinemas near you in November. 3D is the way to go!

Sunday, also known as the best day for sleeping in, started with us sleeping in. =) A game of scrabble over breakfast (albeit at noon) is always a slow but sure way of starting the day on the good note. Today, unfortunately, I lost to Kokopops and Nawoo... but it's okay! In life, you get ups, and you get downs; and when you lose, you don't take your wins for granted! After lunch, I got my weekly weekend papers and indulged in a fashion magazine (i just end up kicking myself after for paying so much for pages of advertorial material...), popped in and out of the supermarket (and bumped into nylilbits and D!! what a lovely surprise!) and came home for an enriching afternoon of Coleman Hawkins, a freshly brewed pot of tea (in my fancy bodum teapot!) and FT Weekend. Made a simple dinner for us while we watching a rather crappy Bangkok Dangerous et voila!

Un fin de semana muy bueno!

Entonces, ahora, estoy bastante contenta y estoy lista para la semana que viene. No hay muchas actividades, espero que tengo tiempo para algunos ejercicios. Necesito hacer mi trabajo tambien, mi projecto esta terminado pronto!

Weekends deserve good weather!

TA DA!!! and the good news is that.... IT'S FRIDAY AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On one hand, i'm exhilarated that Friday is here and it's time for play and creativity. On the other hand, i'm thinking, wasn't it just the weekend? The weekend has passed with me accomplishing so little!!!

The weather has been acting funny all week. It poured last weekend, thus dampening any plans for the beach and outdoor activities. Then came the very scorching sunny and searing weekdays, and right now it's pouring again. It sure is keeping us on our toes with our weekend planning! Going to try to head to the beach again tomorrow, but crossing my fingers there!

Let's get going! Let's get creative!

Watching a live stand up comedy show tonight. I'm hoping it's going to be so funny i laugh till my sides split or till i gasp for air.

Linen Pants and Inertia

I usually start a blog entry without the title, as i never quite know what the entry will end up to be about. I kinda like it that way, the title ironically becomes the ending to my entry. The start is the finish is the start.

A few days ago, i made the serious mistake/ wise move to try on a pair of linen trousers i bought 6 years ago at H&M in France. Althought it's just H&M, it still cost an amount then. Good news is, it's still in pretty good shape. Bad news is, I'm the one who's not in good shape. I can now barely fit into those trousers, and that was rather flabbergasting. Yes, 6 years is alot of time to put on some weight and yes, i was 6 years younger then with a stronger metabolism and a more active lifestyle. 6 years or not, it's just appalling to have gotten this lazy with being active and putting effort into exercising and being fit and healthy.

It's just so easy to be lazy nowadays...

... but NO! We shall not be lazy!

So, tomorrow morning, we're going to try to play some beach frisbee to get the heart pumping, and the yoga should resume this week!

If the heart is willing, the body is willing!!!

Timechecks and Life Fulfilment

For me, birthdays and new years are always a time for reflection. The fact that they happen every year at a fixed time allows me to use these events as markings on my timeline, to check on what i have done in the past one year, how much more i have to achieve in the remaining time that I am alive. For the past 4 years, I have also met up with a few people on a periodic basis, to gather their thoughts about their lives, their passions, and they share with me their thoughts about my life, my passion and where that leads me.

To me, time is a perishable commodity. I have always been acutely aware that my life on earth and being me is limited, and that each moment I don't utilize or maximize, is one moment lost forever and without contribution to "my cause". With age, "my cause"changes. I have been lucky that these changes have been slight, and not drastic, which sometimes assure me that I'm doing what I like to do, and have no regrets. I know that with each day, I move away from where I started (the magical moment when the tadpole met the egg) and towards where it will all end (the moment of realization at the end of my last breath). I don't have enough time.

I don't believe in an afterlife. I am not sure why we're here, and what we are in the grand scheme of things; but i wonder, if the answer to that question is imperative to my existence and to how much I enjoy my life and be part of how others around me enjoy theirs. I, however, believe that life is fleeting, that it is but "a glimpse between two eternities". That i'm given this chance only once, as me, and i won't know if i've made the best use of my time because the gift of hindsight doesn't quite apply in this case.

As a result, I review my situation regularly, and the question is at the back of my head all the time - "Am i wasting my time? Am I doing the best that I can?". I'm not a particularly focused or disciplined person, but i think a world of myself. No, i don't think i'm super smart, ultra funny, crazy attractive; but I truly believe that I can achieve anything I want to and that the only thing that can stop me, is myself. I have been very blessed that whatever i've set out to do, i've almost always succeeded. I'm actually really unlucky in the things that i leave to fate and luck. I am convinced that I will never win the lottery (there goes the possibility of quick wealth), or look like Monica Belucci (oh my goodness, how can anyone look so gorgeous?).

So imagine my surprise and excitement when I won a drawing contest held by the local papers when I was 16. The theme was "what do you feel music is to you?". I drew a quaver encircling a 3D looking globe (i took much effort to draw the continents and islands etc) and wrote on the note "Music. The Common Language of the World." I won a bottle of Tommy Hilfiger perfume. That was my best shot at luck... EVER.

The luck i experienced in the remaining of my life, was more to do with the people I've met and the situations I have been in. I guess it's like how they say "knowing the right people, being the right place at the right time". Then again, "right" is subjective. Maybe i'm just easily satiable and easily content. I feel that everything that has happened to me thus far, has been amazing, insane, crazy and out of this world. Thus, I am thankful everyday that I do what I do, am where I am, have the family and friends that I have.

I'm not quite sure what I've done to deserve this life, but I know that it's been charming. Time is running out, and there is still so much to do, so much to see, so much love to give, so much love to receive!

Life in IKEA Catalogues

Life is perfect in IKEA Catalogues. People who live in these catalogues look like their lives don't circle around work, everyone loves everyone at home. There are colours, a space for everything, a bright window in every room, and different seasons so you could use the throws they seem to place everywhere.

Aside from the affordable and trendy pieces of furniture people buy from IKEA, people are also trying to buy into the "IKEA Life", hoping that their lives could be as pretty and neat and fine and dandy as the individual mock up rooms look from the outside. Just like how facebook appeals to the voyuer and exhibitionist in all of us, IKEA appeals to our secret idealist and dreamer.

So one may think, let's go to IKEA and get a piece of that lifestyle! But somehow, when you bring home that piece of IKEA furniture and place it in your environment, it doesn't look half as cool as it did in the showroom or in the catalogues.

Like that sofa you can convert into a bed so that your friends could stay over? What are you going to do with your current sofa that's still too good to be thrown away? What are the likelihood that friends will stay over?

Love that white victorian styled bathroom cupboard? How does that fit into your HDB bathroom where there's only space for you to shower and poo in the same 2 square metres?

But as long as we love to go to the movies, watch TV series, sleep and dream, we'll always love to buy into the IKEA ideal... that life could be beautiful, simple, fine and dandy; and that everything has a place in life (i.e. pencils into cute round holders attached to the wall, sheets that go into a secret compartment under the bed, belts and ties that fit nicely into a 4x4 cubic drawer).

So let's go to IKEA. At least we get some meatballs.

In-Between

I'm an in-between girl in an in-between world.

I don't do badly in life, but I don't excel particularly as well.

I don't belong where i was born, but neither do I belong where I live now.

I am somewhat asian, but not quite either.

I am not skinny, but I am not fat.

I exercise some, but am not very fit.

At times I'm highly motivated, at times I procrastinate (though i think i'm the former more often.)

And the list goes on.