I have not been here much lately because I was dealing with disbelief and a broken heart.
How does one recover from a shattered dream? These days, I am amazed at my own ability to mask the inner turmoil and go on with life. I am amazed at the inner strength that pushed me to make a decision to leave.
But I know that one day, I will look upon this episode and smile because it was the right thing to do.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Three lines
They sit in quiet companionship,
each lost in their chosen book.
Yet their hearts beat as one.
each lost in their chosen book.
Yet their hearts beat as one.
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Dim sum and a piece of sad news
As I was drafting another entry about my weekend in Hong Kong, I received a piece of sad news that a friend and her husband passed away in the recent Hong Kong Ferry accident.
I knew Mani from my exchange days in the University of Leeds. She was on exchange at Leeds Metropolitan University and we got to know each other from the pub opposite the university. Leeds is a university town so the more famous pubs and clubs (with the cheapest booze) were a common place for legions of students from different schools to gather.
I met up with the bunch from Leeds when I was in Hong Kong but Mani was not there because she was busy with her wedding preparations. During lunch, we pulled out our phones and checked her FaceBook page to look for her wedding pictures and chatted fondly of our time in Leeds.
Shortly after returning to Singapore, the girls told me about her demise. I am still in shock and my heart goes out to her family and friends. Rest in peace my dear Mani, you will always be in our hearts and minds.
You know how some people have their favourite places in the world, other than the place they call home? Well (quite obviously), Hong Kong is one of mine. The food is good, shopping is cheaper than back in Singapore, the shops open till late, and some of my friends are there.
Before my trip, I made plans to meet up with the girls from Leeds for dim sum at Tsim Sha Tsui (for the uninitiated, dim sum originated from the Cantonese and refers to Chinese food served in bite-sized portions). I was pleasantly surprised to see Dima there as well and learned that he just started working in Hong Kong and will be there for the next four years. Hong Kong seems to be the meeting place for my group from Leeds.
On the topic of dim sum, I can never find a good place for that in Singapore that is comparable to any restaurant in Hong Kong! The prawns used are always large, bursty and fresh. So my travel companion and I had another round of dim sum at the Michelin star restaurant, Tim Ho Wan, just before boarding the Airport Express for our flight home. The cha siew bao (barbeque pork bun) was the best dish in my opinion, and this is saying a great deal because 1. I do not like pork and 2. I never eat cha siew baos back home. I was really glad that Tim Ho Wan opened at the Airport Express station! Two years ago, when I was in Hong Kong, the restaurant had only one outlet in Mong Kok and the queue was insane!
I knew Mani from my exchange days in the University of Leeds. She was on exchange at Leeds Metropolitan University and we got to know each other from the pub opposite the university. Leeds is a university town so the more famous pubs and clubs (with the cheapest booze) were a common place for legions of students from different schools to gather.
I met up with the bunch from Leeds when I was in Hong Kong but Mani was not there because she was busy with her wedding preparations. During lunch, we pulled out our phones and checked her FaceBook page to look for her wedding pictures and chatted fondly of our time in Leeds.
Shortly after returning to Singapore, the girls told me about her demise. I am still in shock and my heart goes out to her family and friends. Rest in peace my dear Mani, you will always be in our hearts and minds.
You know how some people have their favourite places in the world, other than the place they call home? Well (quite obviously), Hong Kong is one of mine. The food is good, shopping is cheaper than back in Singapore, the shops open till late, and some of my friends are there.
Before my trip, I made plans to meet up with the girls from Leeds for dim sum at Tsim Sha Tsui (for the uninitiated, dim sum originated from the Cantonese and refers to Chinese food served in bite-sized portions). I was pleasantly surprised to see Dima there as well and learned that he just started working in Hong Kong and will be there for the next four years. Hong Kong seems to be the meeting place for my group from Leeds.
 |
| With the bunch from Leeds |
On the topic of dim sum, I can never find a good place for that in Singapore that is comparable to any restaurant in Hong Kong! The prawns used are always large, bursty and fresh. So my travel companion and I had another round of dim sum at the Michelin star restaurant, Tim Ho Wan, just before boarding the Airport Express for our flight home. The cha siew bao (barbeque pork bun) was the best dish in my opinion, and this is saying a great deal because 1. I do not like pork and 2. I never eat cha siew baos back home. I was really glad that Tim Ho Wan opened at the Airport Express station! Two years ago, when I was in Hong Kong, the restaurant had only one outlet in Mong Kok and the queue was insane!
 |
| My travel companion and I at Tim Ho Wan |
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Oodles of noodles
My friend and I were whisked off to Hong Kong last weekend for four days of food and shopping. I love holidays with the girlfriends!
Of course, my first meal was wanton mee (prawn dumpling noodles) from Chee Kei. I love that shop! The noodles are chewy and (as the italians say) al dente, and the dumplings are bursting with the freshest prawns. Mmm just thinking about it makes me salivate!
Hong Kong will always have a special place in my heart as it is where my godmother and good friends from my exchange days stay.
How great is it to meet up with friends whom you have not met in years and still have that same sense of familiarity!
We also took time to head to Macau for a day trip and stumbled onto more great food. Unfortunately we decided to try our hands at the gambling table and lost! It was an eye opener though.
More about Hong Kong in another post as another busy weekend awaits me.
The Fantasy and Science Fiction course that I am taking on Coursera is coming to an end. I am going to miss it. On a happier note, I did really well for the essay that I wrote on Ray Bradbury and received great comments asking me to keep writing. It is great being good at what you enjoy!
Of course, my first meal was wanton mee (prawn dumpling noodles) from Chee Kei. I love that shop! The noodles are chewy and (as the italians say) al dente, and the dumplings are bursting with the freshest prawns. Mmm just thinking about it makes me salivate!
Hong Kong will always have a special place in my heart as it is where my godmother and good friends from my exchange days stay.
How great is it to meet up with friends whom you have not met in years and still have that same sense of familiarity!
We also took time to head to Macau for a day trip and stumbled onto more great food. Unfortunately we decided to try our hands at the gambling table and lost! It was an eye opener though.
More about Hong Kong in another post as another busy weekend awaits me.
The Fantasy and Science Fiction course that I am taking on Coursera is coming to an end. I am going to miss it. On a happier note, I did really well for the essay that I wrote on Ray Bradbury and received great comments asking me to keep writing. It is great being good at what you enjoy!
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Weekends should be this simple
I love quiet, restful weekends with a good read, some company and great food.
After sleeping most of Saturday away, we decided to make the most of Sunday - the last sacred day before the work week starts, again.
We walked off our hearty brunch through the atmospheric Tiong Bahru estate, trying to find a place to read, and settled in the aptly named 'The Reading Room' for some caffeine and reading time.
An halfway though 'The Martian Chronicles' and am eager to read more of Bradbury.
After sleeping most of Saturday away, we decided to make the most of Sunday - the last sacred day before the work week starts, again.
We walked off our hearty brunch through the atmospheric Tiong Bahru estate, trying to find a place to read, and settled in the aptly named 'The Reading Room' for some caffeine and reading time.
An halfway though 'The Martian Chronicles' and am eager to read more of Bradbury.
Sunday, 9 September 2012
A quiet Sunday morning
Today, I'm enjoying a quiet Sunday morning to myself. It is really a rare moment because I'm usually sleeping till my stomach wakes me up for lunch.
I am now headed to the supermarket to get some things for a picnic in the late afternoon with my best friends.
Just finished "Herland", by the same writer of one of my favourite short stories "The Yellow Wallpaper", for my Coursera course. It is difficult to find time to read, think and write for the courses in between work but I'm enjoying the balance. I miss school. I miss Literature!
Anyway, "Herland" is great. The utopia that the female characters achieve is without the elements that I hate in the real world - war, destruction and the whole notion of the afterlife.
I am now headed to the supermarket to get some things for a picnic in the late afternoon with my best friends.
Just finished "Herland", by the same writer of one of my favourite short stories "The Yellow Wallpaper", for my Coursera course. It is difficult to find time to read, think and write for the courses in between work but I'm enjoying the balance. I miss school. I miss Literature!
Anyway, "Herland" is great. The utopia that the female characters achieve is without the elements that I hate in the real world - war, destruction and the whole notion of the afterlife.
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Oh the places I'll go!
I've reached the end of documenting two weeks of my life in Myanmar and thought I should write about this blog's raison d'etre.
The travel bug hit me hard while I was on a semester exchange programme at the University of Leeds in the UK, 3 years ago.
My part time work at a bar prior to the exchange experience helped pay for my crazy travels around Europe. I took a bus out every weekend to a different UK town and spent the Easter holidays in the main continent.
Guiltily, I spent more time seeing the world than attending classes and reading my texts! (But then again, that is what the exchange is for).
Travelling opened my eyes to a world away from the sometimes protective confines of an Asian society. It fed my soul and expanded my mind. And so, here I stand, still touched by that magical experience, still looking for places to go and mountains to climb.
"Shakespeare is the happy hunting ground of all minds that have lost their balance."
- Ulysses, James Joyce
Holy shit, the quote explains so much! (A joke, dear readers)
The travel bug hit me hard while I was on a semester exchange programme at the University of Leeds in the UK, 3 years ago.
My part time work at a bar prior to the exchange experience helped pay for my crazy travels around Europe. I took a bus out every weekend to a different UK town and spent the Easter holidays in the main continent.
Guiltily, I spent more time seeing the world than attending classes and reading my texts! (But then again, that is what the exchange is for).
Travelling opened my eyes to a world away from the sometimes protective confines of an Asian society. It fed my soul and expanded my mind. And so, here I stand, still touched by that magical experience, still looking for places to go and mountains to climb.
"Shakespeare is the happy hunting ground of all minds that have lost their balance."
- Ulysses, James Joyce
Holy shit, the quote explains so much! (A joke, dear readers)
 |
| Part of the cubicle |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)