vignettes

2008-07-06T20:42:00.005+08:00

Sometime in May and June 2008, I took an elective in The Philippines.

Manila is a huge metropolis and shopper's haven, and crammed into that city are possibly 30 shopping malls selling everything you could imagine. Doing an elective there thus meant it was imperative that I explore the city and said attractions thoroughly, and I spent many an afternoon doing so. Occasionally, though, I came across shops that made me wonder what they could possibly be selling.

Other places were obvious enough about their wares, though less obvious about how to go about the purchase.

Besides shopping, our days were filled with lim jiu,

eating shiok food,

listening to good music, and limming more jiu.

TAGAYTAY AND PAGSANJAN

On our first weekend, we decided to explore these 2 towns. Tagaytay is a mountaintop town that offers nice cold weather and stunning views of the world's smallest volcano. Pagsanjan is well-known for its river canoe and waterfall ride. The thing about travelling on your own, however, is that you need to plan ahead and read the guidebooks carefully. It is certainly NOT advisable to wear your bikinis before you set out in anticipation of arriving in time for a nice cooling river ride in the afternoon and then realising only after you drop off that you have gotten the names of the towns mixed up.

Tagaytay

Pagsanjan

On our way back from Pagsanjan, we tried some buko (coconut) pie. It was really good, so we pooh-pooh-ed the guidebook's advice to 'share the pie with some friends, or make some friends to share it with' and promptly devoured an entire one ourselves. We then promptly spent the next day doing alot of poo-poo-ing.

more coming soon

requiem for a dream

2008-07-06T19:32:00.009+08:00

and so it was, 7 weeks in the land of the pinoys--land of good food,

great beaches,

and new friends.

Foreign

2006-10-31T01:01:00.000+08:00

They don't speak to me,
They keep to themselves.
This language of theirs,
It completely rings no bells.

Multitudinous hordes of them!
In their variegated variety,
All hues and colours and shapes and sizes,
That fulfill my friends' fantasies.

But to me they remain
Aloof and distant on their racks,
These shoes that dress those necklaces--
They all look the same! now can we please go back?

(to my friends who were with me: no, it wasn't that bad, heh, don't worry. still appreciate, very much, the effort to try to make me over. ;)

catch

2006-09-29T00:39:00.000+08:00

To catch water from a falling glass that has
tipped over the table top from a
careless little tug (one of many, it’s been edging) at the tablecloth
and watch as it somersaults in the air
giving up its contents in a hapless fashion

watching as the hand reaches to grab it
but it falls, it falls, it slips and it falls

and all that’s left is a wetness on the hand
(the drops clinging on but dripping still)
and the broken shards of glass

Don’t cry over spilt milk
much less water.

Wretched, Wretched

2006-01-14T23:38:00.000+08:00

Falling by the wayside
As the river runs dry.
That the bed
Stripped Naked and Bare
With its hidden devils of pollution
Is exposed for all to see.

but
May the waters flood once again
That life be breathed back into its banks
And when that be
May it not forget
The source of its spring.

Instant Gratification

2006-01-14T23:27:00.000+08:00

(in response to an impulse buy. and dedicated to jayne.)

the cacophony of colours
the psychedelic sounds
the mishmash of ordered chaos
the bombardment of the senses

the cup that runneth over
of wants and whims and fancies
that meanders through (brief) indecision
and passes the bridge of impulse

and like drinking an elixir of life
from this unending river
it quenches the thirst and yearning
fulfills the momentary urge

but the hunger remains unsatiated
gnawing and growing
eating away at the numbers
that struggle to stay on balance

i went shopping.

To Whom It May Concern

2005-11-29T01:55:00.000+08:00

of pianos and bumble bees
of poetry and hidden entries
of thinking much and yet doing little

how many breaths is one to take
to find one has a taste
for steaming chinese confectionery?

Lost

2005-08-13T16:39:00.000+08:00

No face that launched a thousand ships
Yet no reason to return ashore;
The paths had clearly diverged in two
And I took the one travelled before.
But yet I'm still lost for all my looking--
Is it truth or is it lore?

There's no map now of where I'm headed,
No compass give me direction;
And when I look to the stars and skies
The clouds obscure my vision.
So all that's left to carry me through
Is heart...

(...and a good proper dose of friendship)

left behind.

2005-07-17T01:51:00.000+08:00

a billion footsteps of progress,
a generation of newly rich;
multitudes of material fancy,
an insatiable appetite for change.
hordes of the youthful hungry,
with fire in their bellies;
crazed rush towards opportunities,
a single mindedness amidst it all

and
the lone flutist by the street
on a hot dusty busy weekday afternoon
left behind by the winds of time.

Sonnet I:Shall I compare thee?

2005-06-11T12:19:00.000+08:00

Shall I compare thee to a Singapore day?
Thou art far more fair and much much brighter.
But while scorch and burn Singapore's sun may,
Thy smile is gentle and thy tread lighter.
Sometime doth come sudden thunder and rain,
Pelting, hurting great drops unforgiving;
But never doth thee ever cause me pain
Rather the converse, always ears for the lending.

I don't profess to be any Shakespeare,
My poetry lives thus and not much farther.
But thy being's far too much to be writ here,
My humble pen cannot put to paper.
So long as Hemoglobin binds O2,
So long live our friendship, HbO2.

(inspiration from Shakespeare's Sonnet XVIII:

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines
And often is his gold complexion dimmed
And every fair from fair sometime declines
By charmed or nature's changing course untrimm'd

But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thow ow'st
Nor shall Death brag thou wanders't in his shade
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee)

My Love Affair

2005-05-28T00:28:00.000+08:00

I am drawn to the neon
Like a moth to the light
I am swallowed by the noises
Like the Titanic in the Atlantic
I am taken by the people
Of this land of 7 million.

With her
myriad of colours and flurry of activity;
the clutter of her streets and the maze of her buildings.
This land of 8 dragons, long lost cousin of the ninth.*

Her people,
Plastic specs and streetfashion wear
Seemingly single-minded
From apparel to attitude.
But of unbroken spirit. And grit. And doggedness.

These uncertain times
Between Tung and Tsang
Ominous(?) clouds of change from the north...
What lies in store for the
Land of Mickey Mouse and sharks' fin?**
Will her past 150 years
be a reflection of the next?

*Writer's note: Apparently the reason Kowloon is called Kowloon is cos this emperor came to HK, saw 8 peaks, and decided they were 8 'dragons'. He then promptly named the place Kowloon (he being the 9th dragon). but here the ninth dragon refers to China.

**Sidenote: Disneyland WILL be serving sharks fin, despite protests from environmentalists. In this tussle between (archaic) custom and modern day environmental issues, I say Help save the millions of sharks that are killed each year! (though i must confess i have eaten sharks fin before. but i try to not do so any more.)

Hong Kong

2005-05-27T18:50:00.000+08:00

(rudimentary knowledge of cantonese is required)

Siwei, Shaan, Ruxin and I
Bound for Hong Kong from May 6 to 9.
Four bleary eyed faces catching the 6am flight
(Side warning to all: UA's space IS rather tight.)

Of canto we knew about as much as 你好,
多謝，mm該，and 便D好無?
So struggle we did, Lost In Translation
Thank goodness for our guides, Lik Man and Anson.

买东西，吃东西，we did aplenty,
From 女人街　to 罗湖 'twas a consumerism frenzy
The streets were overflowing, the buildings exploding
Such that even for dinner it took us an hour in the queuing.

It poured into a yellow storm warning on Monday
So we camped out as Espirit--could have stayed there til Tuesday
Then it came to an end, this short 4 day sojourn
And head back for Singapore they did--Siwei, Ruxin, Shaan and Her Bird.

Writer's Note:...
To RX, Shaan & Siwei: yo, had a great time on this trip, glad we did it! :) if u guys have photos pls share! I've posted some up, email me for the link. Shaan, hope your bird made it back safe and sound. ;)
To anyone else who might we reading this: This poem's rather short and I don't think it's very good but ah well, I wrote it for the fun of it I suppose and as a sort of keepsake for the trip. Anyways, hope at least it was vaguely entertaining. heh. ;)

Ub group photo

2005-04-17T12:39:00.000+08:00

Ub group photo
Originally uploaded by grrimhungry.

cycling trip to ubin, 16 Apr 2005.

The (True) Sunny Island In The Sun

2005-04-17T11:45:00.000+08:00

O little idyllic kampong cousin of Singapore.
To the urbanite it seems you resemble Malaysia more.
And what hidden secrets you have deep within your core--
Tales of hantu, halimau and villagers' lore.

So this intrepid seven set off on $6/hour bikes
Almost sniggering somewhat at boy scouts on their hikes.
But on uphill rides they were like snails going up a wall
And aiyah! cannot la, it's like engine kena stall.

However realise they did the difference of a dollar
Certainly stopped their glutes from aching more than an hour
And ironically, though they badly needed a shower
Singapore's April brings none, hence bacteria starts to flower.
(ie. they stink real bad)

Of course that was all part of being closer to nature,
Which they thus did their very best to nurture.
By feeding their 6-legged friends with population = China
Let's all now hope that none get hyperthermia.

But welcome relief arrives in timely fashion
In the form of chewy bar-, RITZ- and coconut-sharing session.
During which they were nearly accosted by Body Baring Bodybuilders
Whom (they postulated) communicate via wiggly Pec Majors

All-in-all, though it was a really fun day,
Spend in great company--$20 is a small price to pay
They left behind Egret, Monkey, Noisy Bird and Giant Spider,
But brought back memories to last... at least 5 years.

blogging

2005-03-03T02:04:00.000+08:00

oh such voyeuristic exhibitionist tendencies
escapism or reality entertainment?

clicking and reading and linking
the vagaries of lives oh-so-saturated
or empty?

in this day and age
(when not too long ago there was the telephone
and diaries were kept secret
and mail was not always postmarked www)

are we truly becoming globalised and interconnected?

to call upon a friend, we tag
to recount an incident, we announce
to seek solace, we bemoan

Yet
in reaching one, we reach all
transcending time and distance
in opening our books, we open our hearts
many heads usually think better than one
and in the mirrors, we see the reflections
that light the way ahead.

And Night Has Fallen

2005-03-03T02:01:00.000+08:00

With lofty aims and fearless heart;
Perhaps misplaced? naivete
I could come no closer than I'd hoped--
The means to a beginning

Yet courage so is not enough
Nor strength; for all may falter
When no sooner begun the ship set sail
Than the waters loom and lurk.
And when captain looks back at shore...
But land has gone.

And night has fallen.

At The Fun Fair

2005-03-03T01:46:00.000+08:00

Round and round the carousel
On pretty horses with silver bells
Chasing dreams of fairytale land
Elusive wisps of happy ends

Bumper cars are so much fun!
Bump my friends all one by one
Then I got bumped and it's such a jolt
But the rules state it has to halt

Next I go on the Ferris wheel
With cotton candy--just to chill
Way up there the view's quite a sight
And I can't see the end, try as I might

The House of Horrors -- doors yawning wide
There's no way out once I'm inside
Really it's just tricks of the mind
But I just want to stay behind

The rollercoaster's such a ride!
It brings me all the way up high--
And then I fell with such great speed
That nothing brought me back complete

The sun has set, the fair has closed
I try hard to remain composed
It seems though that I can't pay the cost
Of this love I found and then -- lost.