Because I'm soft like that :)

“I’m not the silly romantic you think. I don’t want the heavens or the shooting stars. I don’t want gemstones or gold. I have those things already. I want…a steady hand. A kind soul. I want to fall asleep, and wake, knowing my heart is safe. I want to love, and be loved.”

— Shana Abé

Lyrical sync

'In a world full of people
you can lose sight of it all
and the darkness inside you
can make you feel so small..' 

- True Colours

Sometimes, a song says it better than you ever could.

Of hugs and hellos :)

Leaving Sweden last month was one of the hardest things I've had to do this year. And at the time, this quote described things perfectly:

Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos.” - Snoopy

Returning to Singapore has meant I'm finally getting a much wanted quota of hellos. It's been a bit weird being back, a sort of uprooted and replanted feeling, displaced but comfortable but also restless, all at once. All this is very much part of the global nomadic life that I've signed up for, but it doesn't make the constant transition any easier to stomach. I miss people in different countries and across different time zones, and wish I could be in several different places all at once.

Seeing the peeps here after a year though, amidst smiles, hugs and laughter, have left me quietly grateful; for the amazing people I've come to know, and the timelessness of these friendships.

The comeback post

So after almost a year of inactivity in this [Space], I've decided to make an attempt at resurrection. The truth of the matter was, I moved continents, switched from working to studying for a while, and blogged about all of it somewhere else, but now I've moved back and switched back, so it feels all right to pick right up from where I left off. It also feels like a big part of me can be found entwined in the posts and random ramblings found here, which is why I feel it's too young a chapter to close just yet.

Between Singapore, Sweden and Sri Lanka in a year, a lot has happened, a lot has changed, a lot has been seen, learnt and done. I've met some wonderful people along the way who've made my extended family into a truly global one. I also think I've gone through a metamorphosis of sorts, but I think its still very much in progress.. for now.

Stay tuned for more.. ;)

Harold's Planet

My latest little satirical discovery :D

http://www.haroldsplanet.com/mainsite.htm

..where the heart is

It's been a week of rest, rejuvenation, solitude, madness, giggles and love.
 
And I've been too lazy to update this space, or do anything that involves venturing 5m away from my bed :p

Life's been slow and relatively uneventful, but those little moments in the day have etched memories and left their own imprints in time.

It's been nice just to sleep in, nap in the afternoons and not have to wake up to an alarm. To walk along the beach at night, listen to the surf crash in and relish the salty air and the sand between your toes. To go on long drives with an endless stretch of green lights ahead of you and the radio reading the tracks in your mind. To actually have the time to think and figure stuff out, explore your options and read about things you've put on hold forever.

To wake up to that heavenly cup of tea every morning and sip it in the sunshine.

Birthdays, epiphanies, koththu roti, kimbula bunis, seafood dinners, Burger's King and home made buns. Being greeted with hugs, sleepy smiles and maalu paan. The bus rides to shake the tremors off. Meeting old teachers with their blessings and the little nephew for the first time. The mini-road trip to Negombo, and the diversion to Moratuwa. Sitting with the cousin who has a huge crush on Justin Beiber and watching all of his videos while remembering what it was like to be 13 and madly in love with the Backstreet Boys. Swapping tracks with the quarter rockstar, catching up with the girlfriends and watching movies with the sibling. Laughing over coffee with the mother and getting philosophical under the stars with wine and the father.

Regardless of everything that's been going on lately, on the inside and out, being at home has quelled it :)

A history of the Beatles, told by their hair

Breathlessness

I bet her thoughts and feelings mirror mine right now..

A week of Saturday nights (part I)

Almost.. :D

A breezy, happy and lazy evening catching up by the water with Iris. Lemon tarts, exotic $3 salads, tea and coffee and that yummy cinnamon-y scone :D Dusk settled in slowly and the sky changed colour again, my favourite part of the day :) And then came the celebration of Baldy's 25th year of existence. The quirky cafe, wine, more wine, rum, vodka, sheesha, finger food, old and new faces and chatter of the crazy kind. The moment across the room, before it was all gone. Losing himself in a drunken stupor and being drawn on, propped on a chair and then being dragged home. Lying down on the comfy cushions at Nabin's with turkish coffee and football- the craziest bet won! And a free 4am cab ride home with a musical soul I'll never see again. One heck of a night to remember :D

A lazy morning with coffee in bed, and an even lazier Sunday lunch with Mr Google at Holland Village. We never run out of things to talk about! :D Cinnamon bun madness before I crashed into bed again, temporarily. A chilled out and happy Sunday night in with Benny and the exchange of tunes, stories and news, before heading out to Chijmes (pronounced Shymes :D) for the world cup final with the boys, and girl. A battle to get seats, a walk all over City Hall and we finally ended up at a dinner table with a screen that had limited volume control. Coronas, B52s and one of the most boring matches of the world cup, with all of us periodically falling asleep. The eventual Spanish victory and a trek to McDs while waiting for the trains to start, and crawling into bed at 6.30am. 

Four hours of sleep and the visa finally arrived! I guess there's no turning back now :) The kindred spirit finally made it after a week of postponements and we caught up over Thai food and that sinful avocado milkshake, before hitting our usual grassy spot. I'm gonna miss him, specially because we're heading off in our own directions with a whole new chapter ahead.

Amidst job fair wisecracks, Candy was finally off with a suitcase bigger than her. Gonna miss her! Temporary peace with the carrot gone and the Maliban consumption in check. Picking on the shutterbug in the queue at Aston's, a dinner with the six of us and TCC for coffee (shots!) with the seven of us. And I finally met the rockstar's adopted brother :D And a food hunt at Outram led to a watered down glimpse of the KTV bars there- made for an interesting walk ;)

The sumptuous chicken and 'shroom sammich with the new Marang road dweller. And then we had to call a taxi while waiting in line at the taxi stand because none of them would stop! An unexpected dinner treat with the Bot, who'd overstocked on chicken pies, apple strudel and danish :D And a cricket club dinner-to-be with the ladies turned sleep-in till Mabuk my love arrived at midnight :) Red wine and the happy exchange of stories and laughs and fishboy crackers- the MTM KL peeps, I love you guys and my back-to-school gift! :D

Saturday passed in a happy whizz of a nice long chat with the love over coffee on the balcony, an extended Moroccan lunch, a not-so-secret visit to the office with the funny bathroom blackout episode, designer ice cream, a taxi ride to the east to go west, camwhoring at Haw Par Villa, chilling out by the river with drinks at OverEasy, the arrival of the hindu French vegetarian, the surprise fireworks, a trek to the  Esplanade, the makan sutra place, back to the Fullerton and onto Lau Pa Sat for beer and dim sum, another cab ride to Knight and Day, messing around in the painted corridor, walking up Mt Sophia to Timbre Old School, more drunken camwhoring and a sleepy Foo, and the VIP entrance into Butter Factory in slippers and shorts! Techno and tequila shots and the scribes gone wild, with the owner of the club patting the side of my face in the end :D

To be continued.. :)

Esprit de corps

Sometimes, I wish I could pack my buddies in a suitcase and take them everywhere with me. The fellowship of travelling friends!

Ace has his own EP out! How cool is that :D And I didn't even know one was in the making... Awesome stuff dude- lovin' the tracks so far. I'm so proud of you. The quarter rockstar lives on~!

The bestie celebrated her second anniversary with eyeballs! :D Haha and they're still as crazy as ever.

Baldy turned 25, and that brings our quirky friendship to a grand total of 10 years. Some things never change, and I'm glad they don't :) 

The kindred spirit is seeing his dream through, in spite of a heap of odds stacked against him. And he's doing it with such grace, I'm honoured just to be his friend.

QJ, my conscience over the phone. A skype chat turned reprimand turned laughing fit, the way only we can :)

The shutterbug is braving it on a budget, for the next couple of months. What he's doing takes guts, and I'm in awe and admiration.

Iris has designs all over the world :D Things are finally looking up for her, and settling down in a good way :)

The rockstar is rocking the socks outta China! Land of the pandas, make way for greatness. The chaos will dissipate, just hang in there a little longer and keep the faith m'dear :)

Chuahbacca and Fonco, and a weekend we will remember :D

The mad cow-boy finally has a well-deserved break from the chaos, and is touring the streets of Beijing as we speak.

My fashionista in KL and the notification madness which caused an epileptic fit :D

Jo da man has a new job he likes; Prem's smiling about the job he doesn't like.

Karish is still Karish, the girl with the wisecracks, the drinking buddy, the airport buddy, the book buddy, the close friend. 

Mr Google is on a journey of musical discovery :D The evidence of which is rattling my bathroom walls.

And friends from all over are graduating! :D Darn proud of them, for surviving to tell the tale of the NUS experience. Brings back fond memories of the moment of self-glory, exactly two years ago from Sunday.

They've all made me so happy and put a grin on my face :D One of my natural highs, in the needle and haystack life :)