Saturday, May 30, 2009

missing japan.

colorful japanese trinkets on sale
asakusa, tokyo
december'08

yesterday i watched a youtube interview of jason mraz. he (and toca) was asked of all the cities and countries that he has visited, which one was his favorite? (p.s. toca's favorite was sydney, australia which i think is a boring response. heh. but i still like toca)

my immediate response was japan, though a tiny part of me hoped he'd say singapore (but that's quite impossible). and after some thinking, he said JAPAN! :) :) it's amazing how japan captivates. caucasians and asians alike. not china, not korea, not taiwan, not hongkong.

i am looking forward to going back to japan and exploring hokkaido, nagoya and the small towns. maybe i'll drag a friend-fluent-in-japanese and backpack all over. i don't care if it's expensive. :)

today i went into tampines 1 for the 1st time (yes i know i'm falling behind on trends), and went into uniqlo! it's quite big but not much variety. don't really like the layout. messy. but the quality of clothes still typical japanese. love the carpeted changing rooms and the take-off-your-footwear in the changing rooms concept. very very japanese. service staff sorely lacking in japanese hospitality though. i still love the uniqlos in tokyo. :)

i miss japan now. gotta go look at my japan pictures.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

london's-a-calling.

the coast of eastern UK, dotted with sheep
somewhere between london and edinburgh
may 2008

i'm counting down to the day i leave for london. 14 days. after much research and many changes, finally decided on a side trip to lake district, which apparently has been called england's answer to the swiss alps.

it seems so long ago that i was on my grad trip around western europe. a trip that i've learnt so much and saw so much. i want to do trips like that every year. :)

today i played the guitar again, after many years of not touching it. and my wrist and fingers hurt. heh. :) but good to play and sing to songs.

tomorrow i'm going to attempt to bake successfully the new york cheesecake, after my first attempt of lemon cheesecake.

days like these just don't come anymore.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

summer is here. :)

before tp started; horsing around with photobooth

after tp, life's been good. we keep saying it's our last chance ever to relax, chill out and have fun before we are released to schools to bear to brunt of working life and horrible students.

summer is here early and it's hotter than ever. coupled with fieldtrips to sungei buloh wetland reserve, labrador park rocky shore and macritchie nature reserve, makes for plenty of heat rashes, mozzie bites, sticky skin, cold drinks, air-con blasting.

time has been mostly spent with my crazy nie friends. my other friends are all working in the day. so gatherings, dinners, lunches, movies, east coast park, badminton, weddings (indian temple, catholic church, zoo reception) etc. have been spent with them.

we have eaten everywhere in singapore. we have travelled everywhere in singapore. east, west, north west, northeast, south, central. from city center, traffic jams to the most ulu parts of singapore.

i'm reminded that love is all around. :)

i have started baking again. :) to which i'm very happy about.

i have learnt a lot about plants, sea creatures, animals and birds.

i'm falling in love with my new DSLR and lens. awesome photos.

i love the american idol finale. i love both kris allen and adam lambert. i love the 10,000 performances for the finale show. i love that some kind souls on the internet have made the m*p3s of the performances and studio versions of the songs available. :) and i like the music education i get from american idol.

i realized that kris allen's cover of bob dylan's to make you feel my love, makes me cry.

i have learnt that hope in God's promises is what drives me day to day. and i have to be conscious of His promises so i do not lose sight of what is important in life. that i don't drift from event to event, job to job, day by day. and to see His creations so diverse, creative and lovely, however small and insignificant they may be.

sea anemones
inter-tidal zone of labrador park rocky shores


Sunday, May 10, 2009

a parisian dream.

pont des arts
paris, france
june 2008

i'm pining for paris. again.

the slow strains of a lone accordion.
the melancholy sounds of a violin.
the artwork on the walls of the train station.
the stories of the french revolution, wars, tour de france, napoleon.
the french's obsession with 'genderizing' every inanimate object.
the girl in black, knee-high boots and black eyeliner.
cracking the caramelised top of my crème brûlée.
sipping a glass of red wine with some marvelous duck confit and onion soup.
donning my beret, in an effort to be french-chic. :)
the massive hallways of the louvre.
the looming grandeur of the eiffel tower by day, the sparkling diamonds by night.

one more month to britain/france'09. :)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

thrash it out.

i like it when issues come into my head. from lively lunch conversations to blog posts to facebook notes to twitter 140-character muses to long op-ed pieces online to song lyrics.

i like that there's diversity in opinions. i like it when i'm challenged to review my own mind, my own stand, my own opinion of these issues. from the aware saga, to global warming, to the H1N1 pandemic, to the civil service and what it means to be a public servant, to my own knowledge of God's word and how to apply His word correctly and appropriately to our lives here on our temporary home, a tent if you like (1 Cor).

when i read/hear contrasting views, i remind myself that pluralism and diversity in our world is good. it forces us to re-examine our own set of beliefs and values. not only that, it also forces me to admit my own sinful nature (which i thoroughly despise myself for) and judgmental ways, and reminds me along the way that i'm in no business to criticize others and be self-righteous. that God has given each human being his/her own free will. and how we exercise that right to choose will ultimately determine our own fate and affect our walk with God.

just some thoughts i don't want to forget before going to bed.

***

adam lambert is awesome! and though i was a fan of danny gokey, he has become so cocky and over-confident. and he totally screwed the last note of 'dream on'. i think kris should go into top 3. but danny fans will be voting in full force. oh well.

***

i'm getting chills from the most unlikely songs.
  • chris martin on the piano singing 'have yourself a merry little christmas' (yes i listen to christmas songs all year round).
  • jason mraz on the guitar, plucking etta james cover, 'at last' in the beginning of 'sleep all day'.
  • stars, the haunting song 'barricade'.
  • rachael yamagata and the harmonies on 'duet'.
  • mairi campbell & dave francis's version of 'auld lang syne', on OST of sex and the city movie.
  • jack johnson, sings english and spanish on 'belle'.
  • death cab for cutie, 'transatlanticism'.
  • jewel and sarah mclaughlin, beautiful melodies on 'song for a winter's night'.
  • jason mraz and piano, unplugged 'mr. curiosity' as heard at singapore concert 2009
did i ever mention how much i love music and how i can't live without it? :)

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

overheard from house.

house: "trans-tracheal aspiration."
foreman: "that's practically waterboarding!"
wilson: "that's pretty radical."
hallucination-amber: "that's a great idea."
house, ignores amber: "is it regular radical, me radical or me-out-of-my-mind radical?"
wilson: "somewhere between regular and you."
house: "so what's the problem?"

haha i love such dialogue in House. hugh laurie is really a genius at playing House, and wilson (robert sean leonard). my guy from dead poet's society. love them both.

anyways it's a sneaky way to get waterboarding into the dialogue. especially now condi rice is under fire for the bush's administration actions and policies. and i'm getting lots of such storylines. grey's this week featured an anti-deforestation activist who was flung off the tree she was staying in when they cut down that tree.

and i applaud the writers of House for not blowing the whole amber-in-house's-head hallucination out of proportion, like what grey's anatomy did with denny and izzie. i never appreciated the whole making-love-to-a-hallucinated-person, even when battlestar galactica did it. but the sci-fi nature of BSG and the subsequent ending kind of accounts for that possibility.

but grey's was just stuck in a rut. i'm glad it's getting better now. :)

but Lost ranks at the top with House now. it better not kill of daniel faraday for good. i know with time travel, everything is possible now. faraday's my favorite character from the huge ensemble cast.