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Tuesday, November 22, 2005

thanks[forthe]giving

both historically and culturally, it has been a tradition for certain days to be set aside for reflection on life's blessings and thanksgiving each calendar year. as an asian brought up in a the southeast-asian city of singapore, the US version (with roasted turkey) has been rather alien - inasmuch as the turkey is a foreign bird, as the harvest is a removed concept to us in a country with less than 10% of land-use designated for agrarian purposes.

reunion dinner (on the eve of chinese new year) is the closest i can think of, in terms of a celebration of familial ties and a grateful nod to the gods for provisions in a prosperous year. but. being the superstitious bunch we chinese frequently are, customs are traditionally carried out more as an act of setting-store for the next year, than really being thankful for the year that has passed. as a forward-looking measure, 2 mandarin oranges are offered to each elder to signify prosperity and luck. sleeping late on the eve of chinese new year is fuelled by the belief that the long waking hours will bring longevity to one's parents. the preparation of a fish for reunion dinner ensures (or hopes to, at least) surplus in the year to come.

to remind myself a bit on an appropriate level of thankfulness, i thought i'd list, in alphabetical order, the stuff which have made me happy this year.
from apartment therapy


armadillo, the cardboard chair i entered a competition with, which didn't win, but got sold.

the smell of freshly baked bread from bakeries i walk past.

cats and coffee, and the warmth they give me.

the wiener-dog (or daschund, for purists) that had stolen my heart for the past 15 years.

english breakfast tea.

fake accents to adopt for pranks, and for speaking to the angmohs so they'd understand. also, my family, whom i have learnt to accept, love and miss while i'm away.

god, and guardian angels who surprise me with parking spaces when everywhere seems to be full, and watch over me as i make my 40-minute drive to school.

for days with sore throats and hangovers, warm drinks of honey with lemon.

invisible cities by italo calvino.

though a reluctant muggle, j k rowling.

stories of ragnarok... myths to keep me wondering.

the blue-tongue lizard i almost had for a pet this year. i really liked you, y'know? and also, lucifer, my trusty ol' car. :)

memories of childhood.

the NIN concert - my first.

from my favourite indonesian restaurant in melbs, oxtail stew.

another of my favourite foods, prata! the best ever: cheese, egg plaster.

the quietness you experience during nights spent out in the aussie outback.

white, fluffy home-cooked rice.

sun, sea and sand. not to mention stars in the nightsky.

tapas that's yummy in my tummy.

having nice clean underwear to change into, after a nice long bath.

the voice inside my head.

world wide web for instant contact with family and friends when i'm away from singas.

excellent service from waitstaff - this, i find, i sometimes take for granted.

those yellow dandelion flowers that are pretty as flowers, and even prettier as dried-up seeds ready to be blown away!

z: symbology and iconography that have kept me hooked on dan brown novels at rather inopportune moments (prior to submissions, for instance).

Sunday, November 20, 2005

a first

since i got back, i've paid homage to wala's-upstairs but once. in fact, it was the first time i've been upstairs to hear eic. somehow the lure of the 'upstairs' has never exceeded that of having my feet planted on terra firma. drinking, chilling, and being able to hear what my friends are saying without absolutely having to place one of my ears at their mouths has great appeal. much greater than getting a feeling of imbalance after 3 hours under the speaker as my left ear drum is blasted to oblivion.

but. the indian guy says there will be a cellist performing with them this sunday night... aah. the dilemma.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

of concerts and unwanted applause

went for the tang quartet's quintet concert with my mom last night. i must say i have only recently started to appreciate chamber music a little more. perhaps it is because i can identify with a stringed instrument more readily these days.

i didn't think much of their interpretation of shostakovich (piano quintet in G minor, op.57), though schubert's string quintet (D.956) was lovely enough to have my eyes closed while listening. having an added cello instead of a second viola gave it a sonority that grounded the sound, and a certain warmth and charm, if i may add. maybe i am biased. the mellow sounds are so beautiful it can move me to tears (though somehow, this hardly occurs while i am practicing).

bitchy as usual, me and my mom speculated on the number of com'd tickets, seeing as how a good percentage of the audience had the audacity (or ignorance) to clap between movements. yes, i am atas when it comes to concert attendance. if one chooses to attend a concert, then it is only polite - as part of the audience, to do some research beforehand, when not to clap, for instance..

it occured to my mom that i have chosen to play the two instruments within a generic orchestra that requires the performer to be seated. if a concerto were to be written for the rest of the strings (violin, viola and double bass), winds (flute, clarinet, oboe, etc.) or brass (trumpet, bassoon, horn, tuba, etc), the performer is required to stand when playing. even percussionists need to be on their feet due to the nature of their instruments. only the pianist and cellist is permitted to rest on their bums when playing. lucky me, eh?

3 hours more til harry potter and the goblet of fire. dark times lie ahead, harry...

Thursday, November 10, 2005

why does it always rain on me

even when the sun is shining
i can't avoid the lightning
travis - why does it always rain on me

not only did it rain on me both last night and this afternoon, i have been raining rivulets of perspiration on myself. hopefully that 1% of inspiration will come soon, so there will be some form of success.

i am being corny.

the heat is getting to me.
i am sticking to everything i touch or lean on.
and most uncomfortable of all, i am sticking to myself. ugh.

and i attributed what i [mis]heard the other day to the heat:
mom: do you read xiaxue?

me: (thinking she was talking about some new contrived snow-city themed park, and bursting at the seams after having overeaten during dinner) no...?

mom: she's getting a bit full of herself. criticising the handicapped toilets and all.

me: wha--??

apparently, that had nothing to do with heat distortion. aah. my tech-savvy mom. she amazes me yet again.

went to little india again today, and had naan with mutton curry at my favourite little place (i have no idea what it's called, though), and to my surprise, the guy at the stall remembered me! at the risk of sounding narcissistic, i must admit that it does wonders (especially to my self-esteem) to be remembered by people i don't expect to be remembered by.

there. i've said it.

and it has been a blessing so far that meet-ups with friends and time spent with my family have not been peppered with awkward silences. the catching up, the stories, the laughter have been more than i had hoped for all the while i was away. i'm feeling the love.

high on the happy vibe, i am.

(there used to be a song with the exact words: high on the happy vibe, right? about a decade ago. or is it the heat again?)

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

home is where the hea(r)t is

i am back!
from outer space!
i just flew in to find me here
with the sweat running down my face!

the humidity hit me (quite literally) like a wet blanket as i struggled - with 30kg of stuff and cello in hand, through the doors of the airport.

i love being back. it feels odd, almost like i never left. there's a shell of familiarity dressed up in a cloak of change.

i went to little india yesterday and for the first time, looked at it through the eyes of a faux-tourist. felt a bit odd. like meeting an old lover.

Friday, November 04, 2005

of oz food

y'know the aftertaste you get all over in your mouth when you say HAAA.... after eating particular types of foods? i've just consumed about half a dozen plump, juicy, creamy, sweet tassie oysters. with a few drops of lemon for each. am enjoying going HAAA and savouring that delightful aftertaste of fresh seafood on my tongue. i don't remember enjoying fresh oysters much in singapore, besides at buffets over at the mandarin hotel at orchard road. wonder why that is, though. i mean, being an island, you'd assume there's all sorts of seafood in abundance.

over in melbs, it's possible to wander into a fresh seafood store and purchase a dozen freshly shucked oysters (and get a free lemon or two!) and bring it to the nearest park (or bench, if i can't wait) to eat at leisure. the shopowners are friendly and i get a joke or odd mention about 'singapore girls'. maybe it's the angmohs who seem to enjoy raw oysters more than the asians.

vegetarian food is good over here, too. being the meatasaurus i [still] am, it was surprisingly easy to overcome the initial disdain for a veggie meal. but there it was! a highly nutricious pumpkin+rocket+whateverhaveyou pizza over at the organic cafe had me won over in an instant. having been brought up a finicky eater - with a penchant for macdonald's and other fast foods, i certainly felt a great deal healthier since that first organic-vegan meal. yes, yes... i have watched Supersize Me, and found myself somehow craving a maccas meal toward the end of the movie-experiment.

the small, independently-owned cafes here are most encouraging. i'll open an organic cafe yet when i return to singapore. perchance. someday. these alfesco cafes - quite a signature elsewhere of singapore (which is not much other than chains or cafe-franchises at present), serve the best coffees and desserts and focaccia sandwiches and gourmet pizzas. even in winter, there are heaters situated outdoors catering for the die-die-must-dine-outside angmoh customers.

i promise myself not to hanker for second-rate western food at the chain-cafes when i return. the only western food i'll permit myself is the weirdo ones served up by middle-aged chinese uncles at the hawker centres. 'cheap western food' is comfort food. other than that, it will be an incessant gorging of kopitiam and hawker centre fare. cheap, oily and sinful is the way to go.

sometimes i wonder about the manner in which asians tend to nibble on various foods and snacks all day long. the overtly health-conscious angmohs over here like to snack on fruit or cereal bars (high energy rabbit food! yucks!). true, there is a vicious cycle of cheaper, oilier, less healthy foods that are being sold to the less well-off, perpetuating generations of obese not-so-well-off citizens; while the more affluent watch their diet like hawks and supplement it with pills, vitamins and gym memberships. another vicious (bi)cycle there.

go HAAAA after eating chocolate and you get this soothing, rich, taste of luxury. but if you HAAA after consuming the fat, yellow prawn noodles, there's a taste of bad breath that leaves my tongue feeling rather furry. will avoid those fat yellow noodles when i return, and eat everything else. it's a strange feeling to have 2 homes, to have my heart split between 2 lands. it will be fascinating to see where this all leads in the future, though.