Ah! Sunflower
Ah! sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun,
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller’s journey is done;
Where the youth pined away with desire,
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves and aspire;
Where my sunflower wishes to go.
— William Blake
My father is currently in hospital. The office sent him some flowers with fruit. Sunflowers are so maddeningly cheerful. They are bright and yellow with a dark velvety middle. Obnoxious sun followers.
Filed under: Dealing, Experiences, Family | Leave a Comment
Tags: Poetry, William Blake
- All hotel rooms start looking the same at the 5th hotel mark.
- All cities look the same too. No matter whether it is Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.
- You get into easy conversations with taxi drivers. And learn more about them than the person next to you on a 12 hour flight.
- Meals become a memory. You eat only when you remember to.
- All metros and public transportation across the world look similar. You will never fumble while buying a metro card and you will feel a tiny bit condescending to the tourist who looks scared of the shiny ticket machines.
- You can complete airline check in processes in 10 minutes (at any given day, I kid you not)
- Google Maps is your friend. Your smartphone is your BFF.
- Travel will never be romanticized. To you, travel is a way of life. You will have zero expectations for making new friends on a flight, or falling in love with a hot Latino in Ibiza.
- You will know every detail of your data plan. And by every, every byte of data – you know what it’s costing you. And there will be the noob times when your phone bill (mostly from data) can rent you an apartment for a month.
- Every time you return home, you leave a small part of you behind. It can be a memory, a currency note, a laptop charger converter.
Filed under: Thinking, Travel | 1 Comment
Tags: Experiences, Travel, Work
I will admit I am very confused.
I heard two songs the past couple days. One of them was about sex. No surprise there. It was nasty, with terrible degrading lyrics, disrespectful to women. The video had topless women who Wikipedia claims are super models, lolling around (on a side note, I don’t understand why women, super model or otherwise agree to these things. They can’t be that cash starved, I get the pride of their own bodies, that sort of thing, but topless in a video for a horrible anti-women song. Really ladies.) The dude claimed he had something big enough to ‘tear your ass in two.’ Like I said, nasty.
The other song, was gentle and mournful. As I listened to it repeatedly, it settled into my soul. It was a loving tribute to Whitney Tribute and the video was understated and classy. The ending especially, the focus on the Billboard and then the whispered ‘thank you’ – it was just lovely.
Now, I am confused. How can one man, who sings the gut wrenching, musical and touching version of Waiting to Exhale also sing a jarring song like Blurred Lines? Oh Mr Robin Thicke, if only I could ask you this directly.
I heard Blurred Lines before I heard his version of Waiting to Exhale, therefore I guess the surprise (shock?) was greater. In the interest of full disclosure however, I am ashamed to admit I find Blurred Lines to be catchy. And I can boogie to it, but my brain melts when I start paying attention to the lyrics. Sigh.
I won’t link to Blurred Lines but here’s his version of Waiting to Exhale. Give this beautiful performance a chance.
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Tags: Music, Robin Thicke, Thinking
Last night in Tokyo (Boohoo) before we head back to Singapore.
My sister is currently hogging the bathroom (she wants to have a bubble bath before boarding her long 16 hour flight via Air China LOL) so I thought I’d do something and put up bad pictures taken with my phone of the stuff I bought today.
I bought these paper clips from Daiso. Aren’t they cute? I got to love Daiso, cute cheap things as nice presents!
What is a trip to Japan without some Hello Kitty? I am not a fan of pink but I think this would be a nice gift for a certain colleague.
Hello Kitty blotting paper! I don’t think blotting paper really works or is even utilitarian – a wet cloth does the same job. But I saw the packaging and was sucked in.
All my necklaces have broken so I bought these two chains with dagger like pendants. I was looking for a statement piece but those aren’t for me since I am of the belief jewelry should not feel like it’s being worn.
I had a similar silver bracelet which broke – I have no idea what’s with me and poor lasting jewelry. I like the twisty design – it looks intricate.
I fell in love the moment I saw these lions. I love lions – they are magnificent and regal.
So that’s it – we are back tomorrow and there are a lot of pictures from our wonderful family vacation and blog posts coming up!
Filed under: Shopping | Leave a Comment
Tags: Daiso, Forever 21, Haul, Shopping, Tokyo
Kyoto – July 18, 2013
We are on our way to Kyoto via the Shinkansen or the famed Bullet Train of Japan.
I am going to try something new and live blog the day as we go along.
We are currently hurtling along at 300 km/hr. The landscape constantly changes from city to country and back to city. The weather has changed too from grey clouds pregnant with rain to clear azure blue skies. We crossed Mt Fuji at the one hour mark from Tokyo – it was every bit as majestic as it is made out to be.
Next stop: Kyoto.
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Tags: Japan, Travel, Vacation
A day in Asakusa, Tokyo
We are currently in Tokyo and taking in the sights and sounds of this beautiful ancient city. Yesterday, we went to stopped in time Asakusa, a place with little hawker stores and much charm. We bought some fruit at this tiny fruit store, plums, the tiniest grapes bursting with flavor and some apples. What I really loved about Asakusa is you’re walking down a perfectly normal street, when boom town, you will suddenly come across the most gorgeous art on a stone wall. We also went to the Senso-ji temple which was a downer for me. You can see what fate has in store for you – so you shake this metallic container, a stick with a number falls out. You open a drawer with the number and pick a sheaf of paper that tells you your fortune. I tried this twice and both times, I got bad fortune. Sigh. Anyway, I love Tokyo.
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Tags: Experiences, Tokyo, Travel
Useless Sayings
There are so many emo sayings out there accompanied by an even more emo picture, usually of a playful puppy or a girl crying on the cliff of a bloody mountain I decided to come up with my own useless saying. The photo I chose is so apt since these are jellyfish in red flight – I took this picture at the SEA Aquarium.
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Tags: Photos
IAMI
I wrote this on February 7, 2007
I am the unshaken
the unmoved
Look at me
I am earthfirewindwater.
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Tags: Poetry
Poem
I wrote this on April 4, 2007
Quite above the mist,
We remain happy.
Awaken, awaken
The end will take its own time to arrive.
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Tags: Poetry
I swear, I am not being dramatic or trying to act cute. Due to forest clearing in Indonesia, all the smoke was blown towards Singapore. Long story short, the pollutants in the air crossed the hazardous mark, I was sick with shortness of breath and I dreamed of fresh oxygen. I was also frightened and worried for my parents, both of whom have heart conditions.
There’s nothing out there. Nothing in the mist.
What if you’re wrong?
Then I guess…the joke will be on me after all.
– The Mist
No, that isn’t a romantic dreamy picture of Singapore being gently enveloped by mist and clouds. It is the adverse effect of major dangerous air pollution – the kind that made me gasp for breath and my lungs scream. For fuck’s sake, please treat this planet with love, kindness and respect.
Filed under: Experiences, Singapore | Leave a Comment
Tags: Environment, Singapore
I write about stuff. Mostly feelings. 