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

2828

My good buddy celebrates his 28th birthday today. And it took me only until a while ago to notice something salient about his birthday this year. Being myself, of course I took to messaging him right away.

Me: It just struck me that u are celebrating ur 28th bday on the 28th! 2828 go! go! go! ;)

J: Right. Trust an arts student to come up with this! Haha. :)

Me: Of course. U can always count on me for these random stuff.

Unseen Moments #8: Look who's crossed my path

If I move as slowly as he does,

slowly but determinedly,

would I arrive at the destination too?

***

Could I cross like he does:

focus only on moving ahead,

nothing else matters:

not even when giants trample

around, when eyes have no mercy.

***

Come what may,

I will quietly inch forward,

slowly but progressively, for

one tiny advance is

one tiny distance shed.

***

My shield is also my burden,

like how his strength is also his weakness.

Do we live by such duality,

opposites that protect and destroy,

nurture and constrain,

give strength and subtract will.

***

Be that as it may,

we live by His rules,

cherish the here and now

with quiet fortitude and

undiminishing time,

traverse the path ahead of us,

till the end of our journey.

Unseen Moments #7: The Messengers

The silent Messengers:
Have they arrived or
have they lost their way
in the labyrinth of memories,
a dreamscape where
the present finds the past
weaving into the future?

Is our future built on dreams
built on the past while
the present awaits the messengers
and deciphers their delivery?

Even upon their arrival
would the elusive message
manifest itself or will you
have to search for its tender words?
Where is the beginning and
where's the end, or has this always
meant to be a never ending start?

Meanwhile we search for clues and
find comfort - or is it distress - in
signs we take to be out of the ordinary,
much as the gypsies gaze into
the sky and foretell untold stories.

Comfort in Food

Nothing quite improves your mood than a good hearty meal and time spent with your good friends. Amidst the gloom, there were still occasional pockets of happiness soaked variously in caffeine, syrup or peppered scrambled eggs.


Thanks to 1-0 who introduced this. Expresso and Ice-cream: heavenly mix.


Came with tea/coffee, no complaints on this. As Josh remarked, this is almost like ur Mac's Breakfast Meal. Slurp.


Pancakes with syrup and butter - Definitely a comfort food.

Good days, other days

'On good days, I laugh about the frivolity of it all. On weekend, i contemplate my place in the bigger picture of things. On other days,I play Angry Birds'.

I was much amused when I heard this from J. Truth be told, there are plenty of people of my age who question about their current situation, comtemplate about their life, sometimes slip into an existentialist limbo, and probably feel the need for solace and release. That's why people take vacations, go on sabbatical, take seemingly reckless or impulsive actions.

Like what Tam once told me, 'Don't worry. You are definitely NOT alone.'

That's kind of comforting, I have to say.

Better week please

I hope the positive vibes this morning will sustain throughout the week. Last week was indescribably bad, and I had spent a most unhappy
Birthday. Let this not be another terrible week please, even though i know I've to
get through many unsettled issues.

trudging

I didn't get my roti prata in the end. And I've been taking cabs to and from office, but I can't claim the fares. Wretched and depressed really describes my mood now.

This begs the question: At which point will one finally tip over and snap? I guess despite all the awfulness, I still possess that whatever minuscle capacity to keep going. Or perhaps the trudging survival is simply driven by a lack of options, and awareness of that lack of choice. I am yearning for a flicker of hope to burst into an engulfing flame. It wouldn't hurt if it burns a lot of other things along the way as well.

Time to retire to bed. And once again, I shall strive to have my roti prata tomorrow in a few hours.

craving for roti prata

It's 3.18am now. And Im thinking of roti prata breakfast. I must have it!

As a very oldie person, this is the sort of thing I would be reluctant to reflect as a FB status update. Here, it's just a personal rant, it won't pop up as an update in the lives of other friends and even more acquaintances. Wanting to eat roti prata is a very private affair after all, eh. ;)

reclaiming romance

"At a time when opportunism is everything, when hope seems lost, when everything boils down to a cynical business deal, we must find the courage to dream. To reclaim romance. The romance of believing in justice, in freedom, and in dignity. For everybody. We have to make common cause, and to do this we need to understand how this big old machine works - who it works for and who it works against. Who pays, who profits."

- 'How Deep Shall We Dig', Listening to Grasshopers: Field Notes on Democracy, Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things is a profoundly stirring novel. She writes with a piercing sharpness and a strong sense of conviction. Because of that book, I was in awe and deeply fond of her writing. That led me to buying her latest book which is a compilation of her non-fiction writing. In the case of this book, the essays reflect her unflinching social and political beliefs.

Multiply