It's been a good week :) Lots of love, hugs and happiness, long walks and laughter. Inner peace, outer calm and the warm comfort of friends and family.
From up here the city lights burn, like a thousand miles of fire. Work avalanched due to last week's hiatus, but I enjoyed watching the sun set at my desk and night slowly envelope the city. It's a different world out there after sundown- darkness creeps in, headlights come on and the heat fades away. A couple of late nights and things got back to normal though. And the usual madness that makes our day ensued, with us venturing as far as a tour of Lavender, only to come back to Keypoint for subs. Crazyness.
And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives. Finally checked out Chillies with the old gang on Wednesday, and caught up over ribs, mushroom fajitas and that amazing jug of Jamaican something. So many shifts coming up, but it feels like we're in it together somehow, though we're all heading out in different directions. Dinner with the boys on Thursday, cereal prawns and butter squid that disappeared too quickly for the 4th one to taste much, the hilarious mango sago/almond paste tryout and the hidden bar with the Hoegaarden jugs (that were really buckets in disguise :D). Back to conversations over ginger tea at the good ol' prata shop on Friday, Pakistani cuisine on Saturday night, with that amazing buriyani rice and kebabs and half a chicken, and supposedly different but identical pizzas and sugarcane juice on Sunday, out of the rain. Good food and great company always makes for the best of nights :)
Make it through all the rest with, someone I'll always laugh with. Wandering about Siglap and East Coast with the girls on a sunny Saturday afternoon, complete with brunch and free flowing apple juice, and ice cream in the park with some crazy bikers and rollerbladers. And in a moment of insanity, all three of us clambered up the reef in skirts and sat by the sea in the afternoon heat. Got accosted by the Bare Your Sole group on the back, bared our soles and cracked up about the pedicures we should've got :D Drama and theatre after ages, with the fille who's got an exclamation in her name :) What would I do without you girls ♥
And there I go, turn that page. I caved in the end and wound up at Borders. It's amazing what that place does to me- I walk in, time slows down and I fill up with wonder and inspiration and joy, all at once :) I resisted and didn't buy anything, but contentedly book browsed and came across a couple of new interesting reads- Yann Martel has a new one out called Beatrice and Virgil, and Mark Haddon's is called 'A spot of bother'- worth checking out soon! And then I went to the library and found Catch-22 :D
He tells me about his night, and I count the colours in his eyes. It's so hard to find, but when you find it, love, the solid unwavering kind, can drive you crazy but still keep you sane, all at the same time. And in the space of 10 seconds, you go from being a composed rational being to a complete wreck, and back again.
There were choruses and sing-alongs, and that unspoken feeling of knowing that right now is all that matters. Two hours of stardom, and a drum lesson in between. The bean bag lie down, the 'uncontrolled' voice and the iPod turned karaoke mixer :D Sometimes it feels good to just let yourself go and jump around like craaazy :) A definite high on a purple Sunday afternoon, and the amazing chocolate milkshake hasn't changed one bit. Gonna miss that place..
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky. A Friday evening with fire twirlers clad in black, a Sunday evening in a park on fire. Hot stuff, in every sense of the word. I want to date a fire twirler now! It would've been nice if they had put a couple of floating candles in the river as well :D After umbrella manouevers, messing around in the dampness, the complete fails at graceful dips and dance moves and lots of attempted glamour shots with a tissue paper and the flash, we headed home, warm and happy, in spite of the rain.
Showing posts with label Reads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reads. Show all posts
Beyond this wonderland
March is drawing to a close, and so are a couple of chapters in this crazy rollercoaster ride I like to call my existence :) Speaking of rollercoasters..
Universal Studios is pretty darn cool :D I think they've done a really good job with the limited space they have, and there's more to come apparently! After the chaotic scuffle to wake up, get out of bed, get tickets and get there, we finally made it. One heck of an awesome day, in spite of being the girl in the middle and screaming myself hoarse.
Spent Earth Hour in the dark, with IT geeks talking about startups and iPhone apps and whatnot. I'm liking how every year turns out so different :) amberella chutney on bread, weird youtube vids, coffee, more coffee with kahlua, a documentary on dolphins and the launch of my career as a tattoo artist :D A different kind of Saturday night.
This is a belated mention, but we finally made it to Pulau Ubin last weekend. Happiness for 4 sunny hours on a bike, among forest trails, mangrove swamps and the mildly wild outdoors. A huge BBQ dinner followed, courtesy of my awesome landlord :D Ate too much, again. And topped up with Mexican food on Monday night, and that yummilicious Bakerzin sammich on Tuesday over lunch with Sid. I'm going to miss our ladies' lunch club~!
Domi left on Tuesday, chica left on Thursday and my somewhat longterm relationship with Pi ended during the week. About time! I loved it more towards the end though :) Happy stories from the kindred spirit and chica gave me goosebumps and a reason to smile, amidst all the madness.
The work week's been hell-ish, but the late night conference calls with QJ in Beijing and Seh Kin in Kyoto made things bearable :) Thanks to Stef my love too, for cracking me up with those retarded online conversations :D What would I do without you guys :p The new office has an awesome view and spiffy red furniture- it also called for manual labour all of Friday and most of Thursday. I've never seen so many boxes in my life! Packing up on hands and knees with the radio on full volume was good fun and a welcome change- with a Turkish lunch in between :)
Friday night with Reverie, good friends and martinis. Sunday night with Opshop, long lost buddies and pizza. Awesome tunes, a chilled out location and amazing vocals.
Homemade goodness, family councils and a Swedish fika inbetween, complete with lingonberry cheesecake :D I felt so loved, stuffed and sleepy~!
The ebb and flow goes on, with the obstacles and undercurrents constantly changing. My lifelines- thank you for keeping me anchored and sticking with me :) The ones who are leaving- take me with you! I'm not sure I'll make it out alive otherwise :p
Universal Studios is pretty darn cool :D I think they've done a really good job with the limited space they have, and there's more to come apparently! After the chaotic scuffle to wake up, get out of bed, get tickets and get there, we finally made it. One heck of an awesome day, in spite of being the girl in the middle and screaming myself hoarse.
Spent Earth Hour in the dark, with IT geeks talking about startups and iPhone apps and whatnot. I'm liking how every year turns out so different :) amberella chutney on bread, weird youtube vids, coffee, more coffee with kahlua, a documentary on dolphins and the launch of my career as a tattoo artist :D A different kind of Saturday night.This is a belated mention, but we finally made it to Pulau Ubin last weekend. Happiness for 4 sunny hours on a bike, among forest trails, mangrove swamps and the mildly wild outdoors. A huge BBQ dinner followed, courtesy of my awesome landlord :D Ate too much, again. And topped up with Mexican food on Monday night, and that yummilicious Bakerzin sammich on Tuesday over lunch with Sid. I'm going to miss our ladies' lunch club~!
Domi left on Tuesday, chica left on Thursday and my somewhat longterm relationship with Pi ended during the week. About time! I loved it more towards the end though :) Happy stories from the kindred spirit and chica gave me goosebumps and a reason to smile, amidst all the madness.
The work week's been hell-ish, but the late night conference calls with QJ in Beijing and Seh Kin in Kyoto made things bearable :) Thanks to Stef my love too, for cracking me up with those retarded online conversations :D What would I do without you guys :p The new office has an awesome view and spiffy red furniture- it also called for manual labour all of Friday and most of Thursday. I've never seen so many boxes in my life! Packing up on hands and knees with the radio on full volume was good fun and a welcome change- with a Turkish lunch in between :)
Friday night with Reverie, good friends and martinis. Sunday night with Opshop, long lost buddies and pizza. Awesome tunes, a chilled out location and amazing vocals.
Homemade goodness, family councils and a Swedish fika inbetween, complete with lingonberry cheesecake :D I felt so loved, stuffed and sleepy~!
The ebb and flow goes on, with the obstacles and undercurrents constantly changing. My lifelines- thank you for keeping me anchored and sticking with me :) The ones who are leaving- take me with you! I'm not sure I'll make it out alive otherwise :p
The Bookworm/Movieclub post
This 'review' has been in the writing (?) for a while now, and never neared completion because I kept getting distracted. Usually by colourful/shiny objects. Haha. But I've finally got around to completing and updating it, so here goes:
Reads
The Five people you meet in heaven: Loved it- thanks Maz! It's on the BBC list of 100 books you must read before you die- so really, you must read :) It's not that long either. And not twisted, like the Alchemist, which gave me a headache now and then.
Extremely loud and incredibly close: This took serious effort to read. And I was confused 70% of the time. But it grows on you if you keep at it, and when you get past the blurry bits, its actually a good book. It has pictures too ;)
Let the right one in: Shamefully, I never finished this. Though I've vowed to go back to it one day. It's by a Swedish author so I had to try it, and well, QJ recommended it (and I'm never reading anything he recommends again :p) But it touches on some of the more touchy issues like child abuse and bullying and incest, etc. Throw in a vampire and some killing and there you have it. I think I might watch the movie before I finish the book :p
Monsoon rains and icicle drops: Just awesome. It's about an Australian woman who's literally travelled the world, and now lives in Sri Lanka, working in the tourism industry. It's an amazing account of the places she's been, the things she's done and seen, and the whole experience of picking yourself up when you hit rock bottom. I actually wrote to her to tell her how much I loved the book- and she wrote back! :D A story for another time though.
The curious incident of the dog in the night time: What I'm reading now. It's got me in stitches so far, and I'm loving the way its written (from a 15 year old autistic kid's point of view). This is on the BBC list too- and I can see why :)
Movies
G.I.Joe: Ridiculously bad. The plot was weird, the acting was horrendous, and it really was quite sucky. Channing Tatum, however, made up for all of it by just smiling... *melts*
The Proposal: Funny and entertaining. It's a classic chick flick though, but again, Ryan Reynolds is hot and Sandra Bullock is always funny. Loved it, probably because my hopeless romantic self loves the occasional good soppy movie.
District 9: Whoa. That was the one reaction I had to the movie. It was refreshing and novel, the filming, the storyline and the whole alien vs humans debate. Hats off to Peter Jackson. Again :)
The Ugly Truth: Not your ordinary romantic comedy. Gerard Butler was pretty cool I thought, and though it was a predictable ending, it was still an enjoyable movie. Men are strange creatures.
G-Force: Ok the only reason I watched this was because I was forced. It was cute, though that's about it :p
Surrogates: Bruce Willis has aged :p Though in a decent way. It's freaky to think of the world ever coming to that *shudder* Only in the movies I hope.
Inglorious Basterds: I can't believe I sat through a Quentin Tarantino movie and slept soundly after :p But admittedly, it was good. Brad Pitt is always nice to drool over, but the German villian was the best by far. I also liked the parallel story lines, though I kept forgetting where it left off :p
500 days of Summer: It really wasn't just another love story; it's more along the lines of Nick and Norah's infinite play list and Juno. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has come a long way since his days in Third Rock from the Sun :) And Summer is a girl, just in case that point was missed.
My sister's keeper: Ok going in I knew this would be really sad, and it was. I managed not to cry though :p But it was pretty good- Kate's acting was brilliant I thought. The one thing that really annoyed me was that they changed the ending from the book- and it was nowhere close or nearly as good. But between reading the book and watching the movie, I'd recommend the book. Picoult's style is captivating and just something else.
This is it: Absolutely and breathtakingly amazing. MJ, even at 51, had the stage presence, charisma and aura that made him the famously talented King of Pop. Watching it, I still couldn't believe he's gone: it was almost like being right there at his concert, singing along to the songs we grew up with and the dance moves we tried mastering.
Done! I should become a movie/book critic :D
Reads
The Five people you meet in heaven: Loved it- thanks Maz! It's on the BBC list of 100 books you must read before you die- so really, you must read :) It's not that long either. And not twisted, like the Alchemist, which gave me a headache now and then.
Extremely loud and incredibly close: This took serious effort to read. And I was confused 70% of the time. But it grows on you if you keep at it, and when you get past the blurry bits, its actually a good book. It has pictures too ;)
Let the right one in: Shamefully, I never finished this. Though I've vowed to go back to it one day. It's by a Swedish author so I had to try it, and well, QJ recommended it (and I'm never reading anything he recommends again :p) But it touches on some of the more touchy issues like child abuse and bullying and incest, etc. Throw in a vampire and some killing and there you have it. I think I might watch the movie before I finish the book :p
Monsoon rains and icicle drops: Just awesome. It's about an Australian woman who's literally travelled the world, and now lives in Sri Lanka, working in the tourism industry. It's an amazing account of the places she's been, the things she's done and seen, and the whole experience of picking yourself up when you hit rock bottom. I actually wrote to her to tell her how much I loved the book- and she wrote back! :D A story for another time though.
The curious incident of the dog in the night time: What I'm reading now. It's got me in stitches so far, and I'm loving the way its written (from a 15 year old autistic kid's point of view). This is on the BBC list too- and I can see why :)
Movies
G.I.Joe: Ridiculously bad. The plot was weird, the acting was horrendous, and it really was quite sucky. Channing Tatum, however, made up for all of it by just smiling... *melts*
The Proposal: Funny and entertaining. It's a classic chick flick though, but again, Ryan Reynolds is hot and Sandra Bullock is always funny. Loved it, probably because my hopeless romantic self loves the occasional good soppy movie.
District 9: Whoa. That was the one reaction I had to the movie. It was refreshing and novel, the filming, the storyline and the whole alien vs humans debate. Hats off to Peter Jackson. Again :)
The Ugly Truth: Not your ordinary romantic comedy. Gerard Butler was pretty cool I thought, and though it was a predictable ending, it was still an enjoyable movie. Men are strange creatures.
G-Force: Ok the only reason I watched this was because I was forced. It was cute, though that's about it :p
Surrogates: Bruce Willis has aged :p Though in a decent way. It's freaky to think of the world ever coming to that *shudder* Only in the movies I hope.
Inglorious Basterds: I can't believe I sat through a Quentin Tarantino movie and slept soundly after :p But admittedly, it was good. Brad Pitt is always nice to drool over, but the German villian was the best by far. I also liked the parallel story lines, though I kept forgetting where it left off :p
500 days of Summer: It really wasn't just another love story; it's more along the lines of Nick and Norah's infinite play list and Juno. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has come a long way since his days in Third Rock from the Sun :) And Summer is a girl, just in case that point was missed.
My sister's keeper: Ok going in I knew this would be really sad, and it was. I managed not to cry though :p But it was pretty good- Kate's acting was brilliant I thought. The one thing that really annoyed me was that they changed the ending from the book- and it was nowhere close or nearly as good. But between reading the book and watching the movie, I'd recommend the book. Picoult's style is captivating and just something else.
This is it: Absolutely and breathtakingly amazing. MJ, even at 51, had the stage presence, charisma and aura that made him the famously talented King of Pop. Watching it, I still couldn't believe he's gone: it was almost like being right there at his concert, singing along to the songs we grew up with and the dance moves we tried mastering.
Done! I should become a movie/book critic :D
Namesake
During one of my long lapses in productivity today (I tend to have a lot of these somehow :p), I discovered something quite funny: A novel titled 'Amrita' was written back in 1994, by a Japanese author named Banana Yoshimoto... *chuckles*
Apparently she won a couple of awards for the book. I so need to find a copy!
This discovery came about because I was trying to explain to someone the uber cool meaning of my name, or at least Wiki's take on it: 'Amrita (अमृत) is a Sanskrit word that literally means "that which is immortal" '.
I always knew I was special.
Apparently she won a couple of awards for the book. I so need to find a copy!
This discovery came about because I was trying to explain to someone the uber cool meaning of my name, or at least Wiki's take on it: 'Amrita (अमृत) is a Sanskrit word that literally means "that which is immortal" '.
I always knew I was special.
Quarks: charm and strange
I know it's been a while. But for someone who writes for a living, I really can't be blamed for the occasional lapse in my blogging; writing is hard work, and heavily dependent on inspiration/creative impulses/boredom/lack of nothing better to do/a fulfilled sleep debt. Nevertheless, I cannot possibly disappoint my loyal reader (s) out there *dramatic sigh* so I have forced myself to pen my thoughts on this very late evening after a LONG day at work...
[Also, not to rub it in or anything *snigger* but I just polished off a Sri Lankan mango.. Oh man, heaven in a juicy, green skinned fruit! As you can see, I have already returned to my chirpy self]
I must share this line from the book I am currently reading: 'It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting...' -'The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. I quite agree with him. If not for our dreams and hopes and ambitions, life would be quite dull I think. Or it would be ok, but just going nowhere interesting. We'd just exist, rather than live.
I was also quite over the moon that I finally got my hands on A Thousand Splendid Suns and finished it the other day. Admittedly, Khaled Hosseini is a really good author. What makes the book even better though, is the realness of the story- it captures human emotion so well, and makes you feel how and what the characters feel. Between this read and The Kite Runner though, I still liked the latter more. But I strongly recommend A Thousand Splendid Suns to those of you who weren't too sure if it is a worthy read- it definitely is.
I haven't had the chance to write about My Sister's Keeper yet- so here's my take on it: If you're trying to decide between reading the book and watching the movie, my advice is to ignore the existence of the movie and buy the book instead. It's been a while since I've read something that had me this hooked, and I honestly can't remember the last book that made me cry. Reviews about this have been good and bad, and a lot of people were disappointed about how the story ended, but I think its subjective- you need to read it for yourself and decide. It's a beautiful and bittersweet story, and hats off to Picoult for doing such a good job.
Ok, onto less bookworm-ish issues: My long standing desire to lie on a beach and be happy was finally fulfilled last weekend- in Phuket :) I need to post another separate little entry about the trip itself, but it was a really awesome weekend getaway. I am such a beach girl at heart. And I love Thai food.
Speaking of food, our first ever string hopper lunch at work was a rockin' success! Complete with masi sambol and some chicken curry + dhal from the local prata uncle.. Much thanks to the sibling for lugging 250 stringhoppers all the way from home. And more thanks to mother dearest for being so great about feeding people :)
I've also been down with the flu for the last week. I suspect it was the infamous H1N1 (it is now cool to have had it, because everyone has- the need to feel included maybe?) which has almost become a trendy disease, but I am glad it's passed its worst. As far as my immune system's concerned anyway. Them poor little white cells..
And.. *drumroll...* I am now properly qualified in basic bhangra dancing. Don't even ask. It's a lot of fun and a pretty good workout though. And I never pass up a chance to laugh at myself. And valiantly fail at improving my graceful nature.
I will thus end for now on that merry note and go curl up with a book. And try and forget all the deadlines I need to meet yesterday. Laters folks!
ps. In case you were wondering about the coolly confusing title of the post, I just discovered today that 2 of the 6 kinds of quarks are called charm and strange. I shall keep this in mind as possible childrens' names in the future..
[Also, not to rub it in or anything *snigger* but I just polished off a Sri Lankan mango.. Oh man, heaven in a juicy, green skinned fruit! As you can see, I have already returned to my chirpy self]
I must share this line from the book I am currently reading: 'It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting...' -'The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. I quite agree with him. If not for our dreams and hopes and ambitions, life would be quite dull I think. Or it would be ok, but just going nowhere interesting. We'd just exist, rather than live.
I was also quite over the moon that I finally got my hands on A Thousand Splendid Suns and finished it the other day. Admittedly, Khaled Hosseini is a really good author. What makes the book even better though, is the realness of the story- it captures human emotion so well, and makes you feel how and what the characters feel. Between this read and The Kite Runner though, I still liked the latter more. But I strongly recommend A Thousand Splendid Suns to those of you who weren't too sure if it is a worthy read- it definitely is.
I haven't had the chance to write about My Sister's Keeper yet- so here's my take on it: If you're trying to decide between reading the book and watching the movie, my advice is to ignore the existence of the movie and buy the book instead. It's been a while since I've read something that had me this hooked, and I honestly can't remember the last book that made me cry. Reviews about this have been good and bad, and a lot of people were disappointed about how the story ended, but I think its subjective- you need to read it for yourself and decide. It's a beautiful and bittersweet story, and hats off to Picoult for doing such a good job.
Ok, onto less bookworm-ish issues: My long standing desire to lie on a beach and be happy was finally fulfilled last weekend- in Phuket :) I need to post another separate little entry about the trip itself, but it was a really awesome weekend getaway. I am such a beach girl at heart. And I love Thai food.
Speaking of food, our first ever string hopper lunch at work was a rockin' success! Complete with masi sambol and some chicken curry + dhal from the local prata uncle.. Much thanks to the sibling for lugging 250 stringhoppers all the way from home. And more thanks to mother dearest for being so great about feeding people :)
I've also been down with the flu for the last week. I suspect it was the infamous H1N1 (it is now cool to have had it, because everyone has- the need to feel included maybe?) which has almost become a trendy disease, but I am glad it's passed its worst. As far as my immune system's concerned anyway. Them poor little white cells..
And.. *drumroll...* I am now properly qualified in basic bhangra dancing. Don't even ask. It's a lot of fun and a pretty good workout though. And I never pass up a chance to laugh at myself. And valiantly fail at improving my graceful nature.
I will thus end for now on that merry note and go curl up with a book. And try and forget all the deadlines I need to meet yesterday. Laters folks!
ps. In case you were wondering about the coolly confusing title of the post, I just discovered today that 2 of the 6 kinds of quarks are called charm and strange. I shall keep this in mind as possible childrens' names in the future..
The addiction-prone creature that I am..
Latest musical obsession: 'Bubbly'
Latest food fixation: Pistachios
Latest technological hang-up: Twitter
Latest literary interest: Jodi Picoult
Latest drink to be desired: Mudslide
1 oz vodka
1 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur
1 oz Bailey's Irish cream
1 oz cream
Latest object of photography: The new 'durian' look
Latest food fixation: Pistachios
Latest technological hang-up: Twitter
Latest literary interest: Jodi Picoult
Latest drink to be desired: Mudslide
1 oz vodka
1 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur
1 oz Bailey's Irish cream
1 oz cream
Latest object of photography: The new 'durian' look
The irony... of death
'The popularity of an individual in life often only manifests itself in death.'
I've been trying to finish Sons of Fortune by Jeffery Archer for a shamefully long time now, and yesterday on the bus I came across this line in the book.. So nicely said.
To play down the morbidity, the number of Facebook friends you have is only a rough guage of how liked/loved/hated/despicable/popular you are. If only we could see the number of people who'd turn up at our funerals, it would be a nice final visual to die with I guess, knowing that at least you mattered to those who turned up... Even if a grand total of only 8 people attend :p Though the numbers need to be adjusted too- depending on where you die, how many of your friends/family members have passed before you, how many people actually do hate you but came anyway to make sure you were really dead, etc..
I have no idea why I'm writing this on a Saturday morning :p And no, rest assured I'm not feeling suicidal/depressed/homicidal or anything, I just really liked that quote.. Back to the book then :)
I've been trying to finish Sons of Fortune by Jeffery Archer for a shamefully long time now, and yesterday on the bus I came across this line in the book.. So nicely said.
To play down the morbidity, the number of Facebook friends you have is only a rough guage of how liked/loved/hated/despicable/popular you are. If only we could see the number of people who'd turn up at our funerals, it would be a nice final visual to die with I guess, knowing that at least you mattered to those who turned up... Even if a grand total of only 8 people attend :p Though the numbers need to be adjusted too- depending on where you die, how many of your friends/family members have passed before you, how many people actually do hate you but came anyway to make sure you were really dead, etc..
I have no idea why I'm writing this on a Saturday morning :p And no, rest assured I'm not feeling suicidal/depressed/homicidal or anything, I just really liked that quote.. Back to the book then :)
It's been a while
But... I am attempting weak comeback anyhow. Instead of the usual excuses for my absence, I'm attributing this latest 'break' from blogging to a soul searching expedition I took (meaning I lay in bed most of the time and the distance from there to the computer seemed too far...) within the confinement of my sunny apartment at Holland village..
In reality, I've not been inspired enough to write (I think the job absorbs most my creative capacity for the day, leaving me drained of puns and sounding bored, to myself at least). But in the spirit of imminent countdowns and beginnings and general boughs of holly and festivity, I shall blog a bit before I head home for my much needed and much anticipated Christmas holiday, one week of which I plan to spend lying down on a beach somewhere...
I think its a tad bit too early to start reflecting on the year that's passed and its ups and downs and in betweens, so I'll leave that for another post.. What I do want to say though, is that the saying 'What goes around, comes around..' seems to have been realized quite a bit over the last couple of months, in good ways and not so good ways.. I guess karma has a funny way of sneaking up on people ;)
Onto other matters of great importance, I've resumed a temporarily ignored past-time: swimming :) No real way to describe how great it feels, but I plan to stick with this, for so many reasons... maybe running was never really my thing :p
People have been bugging me a lot lately about my 'future' and career goals.. I'm started to get a bit irritated, but they do have a point: I should see myself somewhere doing something worthwhile for the next couple of years I guess.. But its so hard trying to figure out what and when and how *sigh* And I don't really see the need to rush this decision.. I'm quite happy where I am now :)
Happenings worth mentioning: I am shopping for Secret Santa! It's been so much fun already, and there's still 2 weeks left :D The Christmas tree went up at work, and now is blinking away and distracting me further from the work I should be doing :p Scrumptious Christmas party/dinner coming up too... And I was privy to the ceremony of drinking Absinthe a week ago ;) Pretty cool I'd say, the process anyway, though the guy drinking it didn't look so cool after it went down... It involved a conical flask, a smaller wine glass with some sugary liquid, which was ignited and poured over the conical flask so the entire thing was on fire, and then the guy drank a shot glass of absinthe through a straw from the bottom of this whole set up... My research on this since then yielded these facts (my research was a bit hampered here and there by other distractions, but Wikipedia seems to have got it right)
And onto the subject of books: I finally finished The Kite Runner :D It was an awesome read, totally captivating and such a stark picture of reality and life, put in the perspective of someone with a weighted conscience... I'm proud of myself for not getting emotional till the last page :D I think I was sadder that the tale ended more than anything else though :) But its a prize of a book, and I strongly recommend it for some deep seated reflection..
Anyways dear reader(s), the rest of my Saturday beckons me, as well as the other half of To Kill a Mockingbird, which has been neglected over the last few days, and a couple of must-see movies... I shall be back soon, I promise ;)
In reality, I've not been inspired enough to write (I think the job absorbs most my creative capacity for the day, leaving me drained of puns and sounding bored, to myself at least). But in the spirit of imminent countdowns and beginnings and general boughs of holly and festivity, I shall blog a bit before I head home for my much needed and much anticipated Christmas holiday, one week of which I plan to spend lying down on a beach somewhere...
I think its a tad bit too early to start reflecting on the year that's passed and its ups and downs and in betweens, so I'll leave that for another post.. What I do want to say though, is that the saying 'What goes around, comes around..' seems to have been realized quite a bit over the last couple of months, in good ways and not so good ways.. I guess karma has a funny way of sneaking up on people ;)
Onto other matters of great importance, I've resumed a temporarily ignored past-time: swimming :) No real way to describe how great it feels, but I plan to stick with this, for so many reasons... maybe running was never really my thing :p
People have been bugging me a lot lately about my 'future' and career goals.. I'm started to get a bit irritated, but they do have a point: I should see myself somewhere doing something worthwhile for the next couple of years I guess.. But its so hard trying to figure out what and when and how *sigh* And I don't really see the need to rush this decision.. I'm quite happy where I am now :)
Happenings worth mentioning: I am shopping for Secret Santa! It's been so much fun already, and there's still 2 weeks left :D The Christmas tree went up at work, and now is blinking away and distracting me further from the work I should be doing :p Scrumptious Christmas party/dinner coming up too... And I was privy to the ceremony of drinking Absinthe a week ago ;) Pretty cool I'd say, the process anyway, though the guy drinking it didn't look so cool after it went down... It involved a conical flask, a smaller wine glass with some sugary liquid, which was ignited and poured over the conical flask so the entire thing was on fire, and then the guy drank a shot glass of absinthe through a straw from the bottom of this whole set up... My research on this since then yielded these facts (my research was a bit hampered here and there by other distractions, but Wikipedia seems to have got it right)
And onto the subject of books: I finally finished The Kite Runner :D It was an awesome read, totally captivating and such a stark picture of reality and life, put in the perspective of someone with a weighted conscience... I'm proud of myself for not getting emotional till the last page :D I think I was sadder that the tale ended more than anything else though :) But its a prize of a book, and I strongly recommend it for some deep seated reflection..
Anyways dear reader(s), the rest of my Saturday beckons me, as well as the other half of To Kill a Mockingbird, which has been neglected over the last few days, and a couple of must-see movies... I shall be back soon, I promise ;)
Memories, sentiment and the like..
A lot of people think they're overrated. 'So things happened, so what? Remember the good times, but don't hold on to them forever, because life passes you by in the meantime...' I have to disagree, and there's plenty of evidence in my room and in me- pictures of friends and family, birthday cards and gifts collected over the years, little momentos from the years gone by.
I was reminded of what we take for granted when I came across this a couple of days back... It really touched me and the doubts of the last few days took a backseat for a change.
Memories also got the better of me this weekend. I watched a Walk to Remember, and that soundtrack still gives me goosebumps... it was one of my favourite movies from back in the day, and it still is. Snippets of Baz Lurhmann's hit kept replaying in my head, and a cute stranger made me laugh and feel like a teenager again. Rain, an online conversation, and the goo goo dolls kept me up much later than normal.
I caught up with an old friend, was shouldered by a new one, and remembered the little book of autographs that I collected at the end of school, 5 years ago. Flipped through a couple of pages, and was in tears a few minutes later. Four particular entries made me smile, and I'm glad those people are still in my life. Everything was so different back then, so simple, so unrestricted. So young.
I went back to the basics, took a step back, and reflected. Went for a drama performance at NUS, and loved the subtle hints and humour. Experienced a rush similar to one I had a couple of years ago. I'd forgotten how good the feeling of butterflies in your stomach and weak knees can be. The recklessness of tempting fate can be irresistable.
James Patterson surprised me with an unusually twisted read... As usual, I got caught up with the characters in the book, stepped into their lives, and felt shell shocked at the end of it. If you're looking for a slightly different crime/mystery novel, try 1st to Die.
A long chat with bro and the fondness of family made me feel loved and really lucky. That, and a best friend who knows me better than I know myself. Things look good at the job front and Halloween's got us all excited.
Lots to look forward to, and less to look back upon with regret. October's been good to me, and other than the indecisiveness of the rain and the departure of a couple of people, there's nothing much to complain about :)
I was reminded of what we take for granted when I came across this a couple of days back... It really touched me and the doubts of the last few days took a backseat for a change.
Memories also got the better of me this weekend. I watched a Walk to Remember, and that soundtrack still gives me goosebumps... it was one of my favourite movies from back in the day, and it still is. Snippets of Baz Lurhmann's hit kept replaying in my head, and a cute stranger made me laugh and feel like a teenager again. Rain, an online conversation, and the goo goo dolls kept me up much later than normal.
I caught up with an old friend, was shouldered by a new one, and remembered the little book of autographs that I collected at the end of school, 5 years ago. Flipped through a couple of pages, and was in tears a few minutes later. Four particular entries made me smile, and I'm glad those people are still in my life. Everything was so different back then, so simple, so unrestricted. So young.
I went back to the basics, took a step back, and reflected. Went for a drama performance at NUS, and loved the subtle hints and humour. Experienced a rush similar to one I had a couple of years ago. I'd forgotten how good the feeling of butterflies in your stomach and weak knees can be. The recklessness of tempting fate can be irresistable.
James Patterson surprised me with an unusually twisted read... As usual, I got caught up with the characters in the book, stepped into their lives, and felt shell shocked at the end of it. If you're looking for a slightly different crime/mystery novel, try 1st to Die.
A long chat with bro and the fondness of family made me feel loved and really lucky. That, and a best friend who knows me better than I know myself. Things look good at the job front and Halloween's got us all excited.
Lots to look forward to, and less to look back upon with regret. October's been good to me, and other than the indecisiveness of the rain and the departure of a couple of people, there's nothing much to complain about :)
The fine line between fact and fiction
I think re-immersing myself into the world of fiction has left me with lofty aspirations and optimism about life, and I find that I have to keep reminding myself of the stark difference that reality offers. Not that there's anything wrong with reality (well ok, there are a few things here and there :p), but just that life in a storybook borders on perfect and ideal; there's the ideal marriage, the perfect guy, the best job, the fancy house and car, and the adorable kids (i'm skipping the brutal murders and serial killers :p). I'm at the last couple of chapters of the Prodigal Daughter, and its had the same effect on me that Kane and Abel had: I've gotten attached to the characters and entered their realm of life.
I think its sort of an escape, into the life of someone else that you would like to experience for a while before you get back to your seemingly mundane one. Suspense/thrillers, mysteries, crime fiction and classics have the same effect- books like Along came a Spider, A time to kill, Post Mortem, The second time around, etc. had me rooted to the spot, wondering what I would've done if it was me in the book, and guessing wildly how the story would end.
There's just something about books that movies just don't quite match up to. I think the reading experience as a whole has something to do with it.
If only life were a little closer to that in the storybooks... *sigh* I'm pretty sure we'd still find something to complain about though ;)
I think its sort of an escape, into the life of someone else that you would like to experience for a while before you get back to your seemingly mundane one. Suspense/thrillers, mysteries, crime fiction and classics have the same effect- books like Along came a Spider, A time to kill, Post Mortem, The second time around, etc. had me rooted to the spot, wondering what I would've done if it was me in the book, and guessing wildly how the story would end.
There's just something about books that movies just don't quite match up to. I think the reading experience as a whole has something to do with it.
If only life were a little closer to that in the storybooks... *sigh* I'm pretty sure we'd still find something to complain about though ;)
My new found freedom... or lack of it before?
Updates from the world of Amri...
After fighting my way through writers' block, I decided to post a couple of updates, just to remind myself that I have a blog and to keep it from dying completely...
Ever since graduating and starting a job, I've been tailed by insurance schemes, credit card companies and financial planning offers (to my amusement and slight annoyance)... Just this week I met up with a friend who's now a financial consultant and was telling me about the concepts of wealth management and accumulation... Which is what cracks me up :p The main component, the 'wealth', hasn't really started accumulating to be managed in the first place, and second, just b'cos I've started earning doesn't mean I want to immediately get a life insurance cover and start a financial plan for me to save till I'm 60... Fair enough, we've just started earning and therefore are 'prime' candidates for a long term relationship with the company, but a little more breathing space and some time to enjoy the little 'wealth' we have would be nice, and a little less pressure and drama about what would happen to us if we weren't insured and we had an accident and were left disabled :p Anyways people need to do their jobs and I guess this is part of their job....
Onto other happenings, I watched the NUS symphony orchestra last week and will be going for a performance by a drama group at Esplanade tomorrow and a concert by the Piano Ensemble next week :) I love going for these things... I blame it on the 2 years of EMCC that made me an avid arts follower... :p Now that I actually have the time, its pretty amazing how much goes on in Singapore that you don't know about ;) Oooooh and i watched Wall-e! :D He is so adorable :) And Eve kicks ass ;) Its a pretty good movie for one without much dialogue.... I'd recommend you go check it out :)
Next up is Mamma Mia, though I'm not sure I'm gonna watch it at the cinema, its more a Friday night stay in and laze around kinda movie... New seasons of the TV shows are starting/ have started this month too... So I am in a happy place :D Though I really think they should've stopped with Season 2 of Prison Break :p But at least Michael and Linc aren't dead yet so they're nice to look at... ;) I can't wait for House and Heroes to start too...
And I have been shopping! Got myself a couple of goodies, decorated my room (= visited Ikea), Body shopped and window shopped some more till my feet started cramping in protest :p But it was gooood.... I wish I could just buy over Forever 21 and have all those clothes... Same goes for the shoes at Charles and Keith.. *sigh* The best part about having a jeans and t-shirt job is that it doesn't cost much to dress up for work... :) But that also gives me less excuses to invest in all those shoes...
My temporarily forgotten but now-revived loves, books and reading, has been keeping me up at night... I just finished a suspense/thriller called First Lady, which was boring at the beginning but picked up later and made a real nice read... I've just started on the Prodigal Daughter now, which I finally managed to get my hands on.. And Nat has a copy of Kite Runner so I won't have to buy it :) I've been avoiding Borders these past few weeks because the temptation's too great, but I see myself winding up there pretty soon...
The world of Amri doesn't sound too dull huh ;) More updates in a couple of days peeps.. Till then stay happy and go watch Wall-e if you haven't already :)
After fighting my way through writers' block, I decided to post a couple of updates, just to remind myself that I have a blog and to keep it from dying completely...
Ever since graduating and starting a job, I've been tailed by insurance schemes, credit card companies and financial planning offers (to my amusement and slight annoyance)... Just this week I met up with a friend who's now a financial consultant and was telling me about the concepts of wealth management and accumulation... Which is what cracks me up :p The main component, the 'wealth', hasn't really started accumulating to be managed in the first place, and second, just b'cos I've started earning doesn't mean I want to immediately get a life insurance cover and start a financial plan for me to save till I'm 60... Fair enough, we've just started earning and therefore are 'prime' candidates for a long term relationship with the company, but a little more breathing space and some time to enjoy the little 'wealth' we have would be nice, and a little less pressure and drama about what would happen to us if we weren't insured and we had an accident and were left disabled :p Anyways people need to do their jobs and I guess this is part of their job....
Onto other happenings, I watched the NUS symphony orchestra last week and will be going for a performance by a drama group at Esplanade tomorrow and a concert by the Piano Ensemble next week :) I love going for these things... I blame it on the 2 years of EMCC that made me an avid arts follower... :p Now that I actually have the time, its pretty amazing how much goes on in Singapore that you don't know about ;) Oooooh and i watched Wall-e! :D He is so adorable :) And Eve kicks ass ;) Its a pretty good movie for one without much dialogue.... I'd recommend you go check it out :)
Next up is Mamma Mia, though I'm not sure I'm gonna watch it at the cinema, its more a Friday night stay in and laze around kinda movie... New seasons of the TV shows are starting/ have started this month too... So I am in a happy place :D Though I really think they should've stopped with Season 2 of Prison Break :p But at least Michael and Linc aren't dead yet so they're nice to look at... ;) I can't wait for House and Heroes to start too...And I have been shopping! Got myself a couple of goodies, decorated my room (= visited Ikea), Body shopped and window shopped some more till my feet started cramping in protest :p But it was gooood.... I wish I could just buy over Forever 21 and have all those clothes... Same goes for the shoes at Charles and Keith.. *sigh* The best part about having a jeans and t-shirt job is that it doesn't cost much to dress up for work... :) But that also gives me less excuses to invest in all those shoes...
My temporarily forgotten but now-revived loves, books and reading, has been keeping me up at night... I just finished a suspense/thriller called First Lady, which was boring at the beginning but picked up later and made a real nice read... I've just started on the Prodigal Daughter now, which I finally managed to get my hands on.. And Nat has a copy of Kite Runner so I won't have to buy it :) I've been avoiding Borders these past few weeks because the temptation's too great, but I see myself winding up there pretty soon...
The world of Amri doesn't sound too dull huh ;) More updates in a couple of days peeps.. Till then stay happy and go watch Wall-e if you haven't already :)
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