of memoirs and musings

So the application has been submitted and hopefully there will be good news for me in January. Should that come true, this time next year, I will be writing about autumn's end in London and that, will be truly magnificent. I'm running out of funding options but I do believe it is still possible. I am not ready to give up. Earlier in the year, I reckoned that 2006 would be a defining one but nothing really took off as depressive days alternate with delightful ones. However on this last day of October, it feels like an awakening to remember. There is a renewed sense of hope and purpose when truth finally reigns in one's heart and mind, and the body festers no more at inertia. To be at peace with oneself surpasses description.

Meanwhile, the rainy season has finally arrived. Plenty of evening walks before heaven-sent showers and windy spells to look forward to while I work hard to redeem myself this November. Bangkok in December beckons once that bound volume closes this chapter of my life... Aja! Aja!

I used to read the newspaper religiously every day after coming back from school. From the front page to the comics or sports sections and to the obituaries, I'd pour over each article or its title at the very least. I'd read and eat lunch while lying sprawled on my stomach on the carpet in the living room, much to Mama's chagrin. The day feels weird if I had not read the papers before I go to bed at night. While in university, my daily date with the dailies became weekly or fortnightly ones as Atah and Mama will pile up the week's worth of newspapers for me to read when I came back for the weekends. Nowadays, I read them online but the fascination with the news i.e. the state of the country, has blunted somewhat.

Maybe it's the increasingly dumb things that are constantly making the front pages or the depressing crime reports ever present, reading the news have ceased to be a joyful habit for me. The last time I bought a local newspaper on my own, I wanted to keel over by page five. I no longer wondered why our youth in general seem to love to describe themselves as jaded, disillusioned, or pessimistic. Perhaps it is because they read and watch the news daily.

Anyway, I digressed. This article made my day simply because it is heartening to know that there are people who get it and are courageous enough to stand up to the flak, however ridiculous it may get. There are still people who hope and do something about their hopes.

Bored stiff in the bus, a sudden SMS alert tone led to a flurry of text messages being exchanged:

Me: Ah Tan! Someone in the bus has the exact Kim Sam Soon SMS alert tone; the bee boo bee boo one!
Ah Tan: Haha... go see if he's cute or not. If it's a`he'.
Me: Aiyak... the whole bus has mostly uncles and ahpeks. Got lah one or two young men but err... no thanks. Potong stim aje nanti.
Ah Tan: Haha... Just check lah.
Me: Okie confirmed. It belongs to an uncle a few seats behind. Cheh...
Ah Tan: Wahhh, the uncle watches Kim Sam Soon!
Me: ...

Barely a week later, Ah Tan and Ah Chan returned from their Penang weekend trip with this for me, at the sight of which, I couldn't stop laughing...

A much anticipated reunion for Lish's bridal shower and celebrating ten years (and counting!) of friendship. From Petaling Jaya to Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Serdang to now, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Singapore... ours is an enduring bond forged from the good old days of Sixth Form in BBBS. When kindred spirits gather, there are always much laughter, good food and a whole dose of sampat-ness!


Invitation cards, party favours and wedding wrist corsages for everyone!


A weekend retreat at Villa Indah with six girls; one lovely bride-to-be. Olive green, champagne peach and white decor theme with lots of party favours. Scrumptious food with Chef Guon at helm: Vietnamese springroll lunch, afternoon tea in an arcade, French dinner at Bukit Tinggi, ultra adorable and yummy Cuppacakes mini cupcakes, sangria, port, chocolate fondue with a fruit tower and Mexican tortilla brunch.

DJ Natasha P.B. provided the music- lots of old skool stuff and romantic songs that got us reminiscing school and university life while looking through our photo albums. The super-sized pajama party lasted into the wee hours of the morning with a freezing night swim and pool race, soap-bubble blowing session, hilarious drawings about the life and love of Li Shyan, and of course, chi mui chit-chat and gossips. 'Twas a splendid walk down memory lane and a spirited toast to the future as we also celebrated each other's birthdays (Sept 7 - Nov 3)!

P/s: Nope, no male strippers involved as our bride-to-be sees men in various states of undress on a daily basis: she's a doctor, so tak heranlah! Hee...

I started keeping a blog after returning from an entire month of backpacking Europe in the summer of 2004. Facing a quarter-life-crisis, restless and lost, I took up the suggestion to blog from Adrian (who's been a mentor of sorts in more ways than he knows). All these stuff in my head, my heart, and through my eyes, they had to be deposited somewhere before they each fade from existence in Father Time's hands.

So much have transpired as the years flew. I fell in and out of love. I made new friends and rediscovered old ones. I still have not found my calling but I know for sure what I love to do, what is important in my life and most of all, what is worth fighting for. Inspirations and epiphanies came from numerous people and places, sometimes those least expected. Milan Kundera inspired me to look for the accidental beauty in life. Ah Tan taught me the contentment that comes with jian dan de xing fu (simple happiness) and the courage to pursue love. Tommy Oshima showed me the power of preserving a moment and let it echo for eternity. Strangers wrote in to tell me how certain photographs of mine or my pieces of writings touched their lives.

Looking through the archives, I find myself relieving a myriad of moments. Some made me cringe, some made me cry all over again, some made me ponder even more but mostly, they made me smile, grin or guffaw in laughter. For the almost 250-odd posts, there are possibly a thousand more not put in writing. Thus, for all these and for more that is to come, I am brimming over with gratitude. Tomorrow as I blow out the candles to my twenty-seventh year, I only have one wish.

To be useful.

Awesome surprise dinner of pizza, rojak, popiah, chocolate cake, lychee martini ice-cream, honey lemon juice, port and red wine with some of the most wonderful people on this part of the planet: Chammika, Dandan, Hema, Meng Teck, Mingshi, Ryan, Siew Leong and Yvonne. Birthdays are always extra fun when celebrated together in the company of great friends. Thanks y'all! *sniff*


Top left image courtesy of Siew Leong:
Meng Teck (Sept 26), Chammika (Oct 13), and yours truly (Oct 12).

It's 3.30 a.m. and the coffee table in the hall is covered with wrist corsages made of blushing roses, ivy leaves and satin ribbons, chinese take-out boxes filled with goodies, half-eaten mooncakes and presents both wrapped and opened. Ah Tan's fallen asleep on the sofa after our mini cocktail session gone bizarre: whisky on the rocks and dry gin with lemon and soursop juice plus nata de coco bits. Looking out of the windows, you'd be mistaken we were on Fraser's Hill, except that it's not cold nor misty and the air smells faintly of smoke. Cloaked by the haze, the moon reminds me of the dry orange egg yolk left behind after the rest of the mooncake got devoured. I think it's time to put my superpower to use later today... let's see, what kind of songs for monsoon rain again? Oh yeah. Yup. Oasis.

Saint Nicholas sure came early this year! Ah Tan gave me a brown tweed newsboy cap for my birthday present and a dried maple leaf from NYC while I bought myself a cotton bomber jacket. Sugeo gave me a FIFA World Cup '06 Deutschland scarf, a book of selected poems by Pablo Neruda and Xavier Naidoo's latest album, Telegramm für X! On top of that, Supra and him also got me Alaa Al Aswany's The Yacoubian Building! Speaking of books, David Sedaris' Naked and three new Haruki Murakami books join the reading queue back home. Yup, Mr. Spin-Spin is back despite the brain carousel we had from digesting Kafka on the Shore.

Sugeo's on the plane back to Aalen now, along with Parka the polar bear... all fattened up for winter. Can't wait till we meet again next June in Baden-Württemberg, Lijiang or Roma (Round Two-Gelato-Ding!) , Sugeo! Whichever destination Atah and Mama choose, I think our dear Ms. Sood-Doo will be the happiest! In the meantime, I'll work hard on my bowling pinfall score and that submission deadline...

The peony flower or 牡丹花 mu dan hua, is a traditional Chinese symbol of love, feminine beauty, happiness, prosperity and affection. In full bloom with its vibrant colours, the beautiful fragrant flower is regarded as an omen of good fortune.

Girl meets boy. Boy moves into apartment block where girl lives. Boy borrows girl's washing machine to do laundry. Girl helps boy to dry his clothes. Boy asks girl out to dinner. Girl is busy. Boy has lots of laundry. Boy buys girl lunch *ding!*. Girl and boy have more dinners together. *triple dings!*

Washing machine is happy.
Girl's best friend is delighted silly.

It is believed that placing a painting of the Chinese peony in one's marriage sector will ensure good Feng Shui in finding a faithful and loving partner. In lieu of the peony painting, one can also place a washing machine.

I love beautiful beginnings... *grin*