Twenty Ten: Last Light

I saw the last light of 2010 this evening. After a rainy afternoon, the glorious sun was finally out and making its final twenty-ten descent. As the train glides steadily towards its final destination (even though it would soon be starting a new journey again), I found myself chasing after the setting sun. Like a demure lady making a bashful exit, it would hide behind buildings at one moment, then re-emerging briefly at the next only to be lost behind something again. I was the impatient and hapless pursuer, eager to catch a longer glimpse of it, yet could do nothing to hasten this.

The Kampung Way

Having not cycled across the causeway for quite some time, last Sunday's ride to Tanjung Piai was some sort of a comeback ride for me. The route was scenic, and we were blessed with good christmas weather. I was also fortunate to be riding with a friendly bunch of folks who cycled at a tolerable pace and made frequent stops to wait for the slower riders.

Being the youngest in the group, I was frequently referred to as 'the young man'. Yet the truth is most of them put me to shame easily as they were on mountain bikes and riding as fast as the roadies, including me the young man. It reminded me of the days when I, too, was using a mountain bike. I certainly still miss my old bike.

I was fully prepared to cycle in inclement weather for this trip. Not only did I bring a poncho, but I carried my windbreaker with me. After all, I have never enjoyed a dry overnight Malaysian ride. This being the north-east monsoon season, I was even dead certain that we have to brace ourselves for torrential rain.

It therefore came as a pleasant relief that I did not find myself rain-soaked in this trip. The sky on the second morning and the route we took were so lovely that I found myself frequently reaching for my camera. In the end, I was glad that I made the last minute decision to join this ride and spent a getaway Christmas.


Fishermen Turf


I have an endless fascination with overhead cables. I think they add so much character and rustic feel to the landscape. There's something very languorously charming about seeing these cables in a village or town.


How people travel in kampungs and villages


Kampung houses dotting the sides of the road.


Lalang Land: My all-time favourite

Christmasy

25.12.10, Christmas - Mail received away from home


26.12.10, Boxing Day - Waking up to the tranquil sea


27.12.10, Post-Boxing Day - Enjoying brunch with Yvon and Dan


Likes ;)

Space & Solitude #3: Hopeful

Symphony

The little things in life that make you smile. And they don't cost a cent.

Sunday 29 Nov: Time Out

45 minutes for a cappuccino, to catch some breath, before heading back to the deep abyss.

Let the week pass soon, send me into a deep slumber. That's all I crave - for now, at least.

dreamers

"They say I am of fancies woven and dream too many dreams,
The world prefers the doers, or so often it seems.
For doers make the world go round and that of course is true,
But oh for songs and fantasies the world needs dreamers too!”

- Leah’s Song

Space & Solitude #2: Under the canopy

Yearning

So when does one draw the line between a sense of deprivation and a sense of yearning? Or is it deprivation that drives the yearning for something that quite possibly eludes your grasp? When I allow myself to slip into the 'think about the good times' mode, I don't feel so much of an emptiness as a strong yearning for what I miss so dearly: pounding miles of granite road and sweating a good sweat and feeding on an overdose of endorphins much later; walking and exploring places on weekends aimlessly; devouring a good novel and becoming intoxicated with words; gliding through water laps after laps under the flood of sunshine; dumbing your brains watching TV (an unproductive but wholly satisfying activity); and perhaps a lot, a lot more. Most importantly, it's the sense of peace and equanimity that is so important in life that is proving harder to maintain as one gets older and burdened with more responsibilities.

Sweet Treats

One of the lovelier things on Sunday


And I simply adore this notice

Black Knight

This looks good - for photo-taking only


Lemony


The Chinese title is a lot sexier and cool

雨中的卡布其诺

The middle-aged Caucasian couple at the table beside me are engaging in a conversation. They could be speaking Italian or Spanish, I'm not too sure. But they are speaking fast and non-stop.

In front of me are three single tables, occupied by a man each. They all have their laptops with them and are, unsurprisingly, looking intently at their laptop screen. One of them has a MacBook Pro; the other two have less exciting laptop brands, and one of them is probably working, for his is a Dell laptop which has those white stickers on the exterior that indicates a serial number. I can't see what the other guy is doing as he's seated furthest away. But he's been around the longest and is completely absorbed in whatever he's working on.

Across at the other table, a family spanning three generations, pram in tow, just settled not long ago as I was beginning to type this. They probably just had lunch somewhere or came after Sunday service.

Unconsciously, more than an hour has passed since I sauntered into one of my favorite cafes in town. The sky was fast darkening then, and it wasn't long before the mighty raindrops fell. With a cuppacino and the Chinese GQ magazine (from the cafe) on the table, I was experiencing a moment that I think of often enough: chilling at a cafe, raindrops falling outside the window, coffee and magazine at hand, and soft pleasing music playing in the background.

I took out my iPhone and updated my status thus: 下雨了。星期天下的雨感觉更加的凉爽，愉快。

Time to trudge back to office.

Return of Joy

As a sign of how awful times have been, I clicked my 'Photo 2010' folder in my hard disk only to realise that there is a discontinuity in my sub-folder series: there were no September and October folders. The reason? Why, of course it's because I haven't been taking any photos in the past two months! Sacrilegious, I know.

Sadly, photographs have been such a sparse output of my life in twenty-ten. And to think pictures and images are the sort of things that give joy and inspiration. So there you have it, I've been living an insipid and uninspired life for the past few months.

A little joy and inspiration did find its way back and shake off some of my sustained misery over the last weekend though. I find it incredible that I met JW for lunch on Friday, dinner with SP at Holland V the same day, drinks with Adr & Shyuan after that, and a happy trip to Kel's new abode late at night. None of these meetings were planned before that day; they were all spontaneous. The first two happened because the Missus were unavailable, so how nice it was that my buddies thought of me. I know, we all have our places in life, and mine isn't exactly at the top. :)

Drinks with Adr happened because I wanted to get wasted, though this simple goal requires not just willingness but also good timing. I had only a pint of kilkenny, which was not quite sufficient to drift me into wastedness.

The night ended with an impromptu visit to Kelvin, who just got his apartment and moved in one month ago. With just a month shy of his big day, we ended up looking at his wedding shots and talking about what Adr and I would NOT do to help him win his bride. You know, things like eating weird stuff, dancing silly dances and other ridiculous things that are a ploy by the fairer sex to rob us males of our dignity. At twenty-something years old, our dignity is more fragile and too valuable to be trodden on (we aren't the ones getting a wife!) So we told Kel pointedly that his blood brother Kenneth could take all this.

The good stuff continued into Saturday, though I was increasingly aware and unsettled by the work that I've put aside. When I went to meet up with another group of friends, I facebooked all the way from home to our meeting place. Instead of emailing or sms-ing, we now reply to FB messages on Facebook mobile. My life seems a lot better if i consider how SX worked till 5am on the first day of her new work. But considering that I earn a fraction of what she does, that's no comfort at all. The limelight was on J, who had a whirlwind tour to Hotel Singapore before flying back to her adopted home for the past few years, only to leave it permanently in the next few days to settle in glitzy Shanghai. Meanwhile, I can only be a spectator of the glitz.

Friends and photographs aside, I emptied my wallet and bought three new books and a magazine, which helped to raise the happiness index a few notches higher. Here's to more awesome weekends ahead.


I just love this. Order HERE!


A lamp shines on glorious children's books


Automatic Bookmaker


Oozes chic and elegance


New Property awaits a fresh wrap


Lusciousness redefined


I love the off-colours and the colour similarities


Words to shoot by at a cafe on a lazy Sunday afternoon

The timeless Village

Even as time slips away and the cosmetic changes have been more than passing, this village has held its own and stood unwaveringly as a little gem. I find it reassuring just recalling its name - the only constant, perhaps, that has withstood the ravages of time. There was once when this cloistered urban village was where we retreat to after school, our white and green sharing the presence with another white and blue. Years later, slightly older and a little wiser hopefully, we were still visitors to the village, but liquors and spirits had replaced coke and tea as we hung out at places unsuitable for the uniformed folks.

I can't say I've developed any special affinity to this place. But somehow, my heart softens when I recall this place or step into it. Something about it gives it an unassuming charm. For one thing, it has remained nestled in a residential district which sites both humble public housing and private residences. Though many shops have come and gone, it has a surprisingly unchanging quality to it: the winding road cutting through the restaurants on both sides; the progression of eateries to cafes to bars and pubs from one end to the other; the shopping mall opposite crystal jade; the newspaper stands that display a magnificent array of international magazines and papers - all this and so much more have inevitably weaved themselves into the earnest fabric of this place called Holland Village.


I love these signboards. They are what make a street fun and pretty.


Colours galore for this marketing gimmick


Oh, what's a cosmopolitan village without the international bucks with stars


Gone is the King of burgers, in comes the unroyal Wendy's


Barrier to the heart of the village


Shophouses, signboards and al fresco rock


More than a pillar of strength, it's a monument of timelessness

Adoring

My Sunday evening filled with gorgeous pictures and far more interesting words than I deal with everyday. More of such times, please.

The weekend sky looks something like this

Sunday, 10.10.10