And so, once again, we find ourselves at the end of a year, an arbitrarily-defined boundary we have given to time. Well, perhaps not that arbitrary after all, since a year is based on the orbit of the earth, but it is nevertheless a boundary of little bearing when it comes to life. (By itself, without any events or milestones as to mark its passing, time is but a seamless continuum, is it not?) What we make of life has little to do with how much time we have, but rather, how we spend it. And this is my resolution for the year ahead - to live life well and not lose sight, to love with sincerity and never lose heart.
May your year ahead be with filled with love and faith as well. Happy New Year, my friends!
Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you enjoyed the day. I kinda like the weather - cold, crisp and clean. I can almost smell the mint sprigs in the air! I suppose this is the closest to winter tropical Singapore can get.
Pictures of our christmas dinner, as promised.
Main dish from chef of the day, the mister - yummy poached salmon, polenta and an aromatic walnut/raisin/celery/italian parsley salad.
My el-cheapo contribution - lychee jelly spiked with red wine and kaffir lime.
Oh my holy moo-moo, it's two days to Christmas! Where did the entire December go? They say time flies when you are having fun, which, unfortunately, hasn't been the case for me this time round. December has flown by, yes, but fun it was certainly not. Let's just say that I spent so much time being distracted by stress and random irritants/nasties, I lost my focus on being happy. I hope Christmas helps me fix this bug by reminding me of what's important to me - friends, family and life. Distractions - shoo! *flush them down the toilet bowl*
Meanwhile, dear mister has planned a yummy christmas dinner menu for us. And in addition to these, I spied, with my little eye, honey-baked ham resting seductively in the fridge! Yums. I, on the other hand, am really cheapskate this year, and will only be contributing a simple dessert of spiked lychee jelly. It's all I can manage with my super low energy level, but hey, at least I'm trying! As usual, we will post pictures, post-meal.
Just some handphone shots of some of the lovable cats in our neighbourhood. Strictly speaking, they are not our pets - the aunties in the neighbourhood feed them, we only offer some TLC. However, despite the little we have to offer, the darlings remain generous with their love. Meow! We love you, too!
This is Pok-Zui. I'm not sure who coined the term "Pok-Zui". I first heard it from my paternal grandma, who used the term to refer to sodas. This teochew/hokkien term can be loosely translated into "popping drink" - I suppose it does describe the effervescence of sodas pretty well. We named this cat Pok-Zui coz' his bright orange coat reminded us of F&N Orange Soda. In this picture, Pok-Zui puts forth his demand for a belly rub.
And this is Miss Grey, also named after the colour of her coat. A demure lady, Miss Grey is not nearly as big of a flirt as Pok-Zui is, but will gladly shower you with some feline love if you say "please".
I realise I haven't been blogging much. It's not that I have less time - I believe I was busier as a student, with the assignment deadlines and all. But working 9-5 has a certain anaesthetising effect on my mind, and my thoughts seem to be less coherent. You know how your speech slurs when you are drunk? Well, my thoughts are slurred now. My brain's not quite at rest, but if you ask me what's on my mind, I'm not too sure myself! It's an odd feeling of disembodiment, except that I'm separated from my brain, not my body.
*hic*
Have been struggling with extreme fatigue for the last fortnight. I think it's old age - I'm finding it tough adjusting to work hours after an entire year of nocturnal living. I'm a zombie in the morning, okay in the afternoon, and then around this time, 7pm to 10pm, I'm bright and alert - coz' this was the time-slot most of my lessons were scheduled! By 11pm though, I'm completely bushed, like the strain of keeping my eyes open in the morning has caught up with me. I'll have to give this old bag of bones some time to adjust.
Work wise, I'm still groping in the dark. Things are not all rosy for sure. But the difference is, I do want to give this a shot, and am not about to give up without a fight (figuratively, of course, I'm not about to stage any wars). And that's saying something, coz' as friends would know, I usually waste no time in ending what I perceive to be a pointless journey.
So, slowly does it. If I can't run, I'll walk. If I can't walk, I'll limp. Onwards!
刚看完了今晚的 "小娘惹"。真是的，情节那么凄凉，让本来就有点感冒的我，成了名副其实的“一把鼻涕，一把泪”！很喜欢菊香和的洋介的爱情故事，很纯，很真挚。欧萱和戴阳天的情侣搭配也让人眼前一亮，是个意外的惊喜。有注意到剧中，洋介为家人而摄的全家福吗？真的很有味道。我也要一张那样的全家福！！！
主题曲更不用说了，相信“如燕”这首歌已经红透半边天了。歌词很有画面，婉约中流露出浓浓的古典美。虽然知道词曲都出自陈佳明，还是不禁想起方文山。
《如燕》
愿意合上眼才能美梦无边
别让悔熏乌了从前
也许碎片才能让回忆展颜
何妨瓷花拼凑明天
谁带我寻获幸福的模
却自己谜中困锁
谁为我留下缱绻的天涯
信物是抹晚霞
思念如燕它飞舞舌尖
若是真爱配尝几分苦甜
意念婆娑时间里推磨
追随到何处才结果
燕如针线在青空缝编
几幅女红将以泪缀点
誓言斑驳
情雾只是经过
风雨中且让我
盈步婀娜
Picked up this book from the library. It's a book full of detailed illustrations - not in pictures, but in artfully crafted prose that coaxes not just the scene but also the ambience from the mind's eye. There is no unravelling plot - everything is stated upfront right at the beginning - the protagonist, freshly divorced, returns to his parents' Calcutta home, with his son. Nothing else really happens, yet there are new discoveries to be made with every turn of the page. It's like life, really. For most of us, nothing major really happens in our lives (and thank goodness for that mundane stability), yet there are, unmistakably, life experiences in the everyday. The ability to depict this: I think this is the strength of Chaudhuri's writing.
I can't decide which is my favourite part of the book. Some random sections that I enjoyed:
From p19:
"The boy knitted his eyebrows, turned his mouth, and sniffed, as if he could smell something. There was probably nothing more peaceful for him than these moments of subconscious awareness, suspended in his father's arms, between two places of rest. Jayojit laid him on the bed. It was a two-bedroom flat, and theirs was the smaller room, but it had an air-conditioner in it: a luxury.
Ever since evening, the sound of television music and the voices of television characters had begun to come from the other flats, like a form of public dreaming. But when Jayojit turned on the air-conditioner, nothing could be heard but its hum."
From p36:
"The watchman was still looking at the two; not meaning to be rude; indeed, his face was like a door that was open, friendly, unguarded. On closer observation, it was evident that he was staring at them without seeing them. It was as if he - a young man of about twenty-one - were asleep with his eyes open; at least until he stirred a little.
...
The watchman was looking at the wayJayojit was standing and talking to his son. A servant passed by and then a car hesitated by the gate; the watchman got up, distracted, like a traveller in a departure lounge who realizes, after an unspecified interval, that his name's being announced."
I had grand plans for the short time-out from school/work.
- Wanted to visit Kusu Island. Poor ol' me - in all my 32 years of life, I have yet to step foot on that island!
- Fancied a late-night walkaround in the Pasir Panjang area.
- Hoped to swing by Marina Barrage, just to see what the fuss is about
Such exciting, glorious outdoor excursions! Well, the excursions never happened. A major bout of fever, flu and cough kept me at home, or at least indoors, away from sun and wind exposure. Murphy's Law, once again! But I'm thankful that the flu bug hit after my exams, not right smack in the middle of the papers. Gotta be grateful to the flu bug for showing mercy, yeah?
And so, I slacked the entire time-out away, holed up indoors, mostly. Watched an entire TVB series on Youku, and read Amit Chaudhuri's "A New World". Also managed to meet up with two friends, though I suspect that other than catching up, they quite possibly also caught my flu bug...
Till the next time-out. Better luck next time!
Late post. The clan celebrated Zachary's birthday on Monday, with a yummilicious chocolate cake lovingly chosen for him by his big bro Brandon. Brandon was clearly very excited about Zachary's birthday. His mum recounted how kancheong (anxious) he was about picking up the cake before somebody else "takes it away". And according to our trusty family news source Grandpa's Daily, the boy told everyone in his playschool that it was his little bro's birthday that day!
Zach, on the other hand, didn't really demonstrate an understanding of what a "birthday" is about. He's only two, after all. But he certainly enjoyed being the star of the day - amazing how little kids can sense that the spotlight's on them, isn't it? I liked his expression during the phototaking. Some coyness there, from all the attention. There's also the fixation/fascination with the cake and candles. I think most of us have a childhood photo like that, yeah? Pretty classic.
Happy Birthday, Zachary!
