journey to destination

road trips are meant to be taking your own sweet time, enjoying the journeys that bring you to the destinations

When I was little, I loved long distance travel in car, especially at night (because the weather was cooler and I loved gazing at the stary night sky). I would have this weird fantasy that we would never reach our destination and forever travelling in the car. I suppose I'm more of a pro-journey traveller. However when it comes to long distance flight, I'm definitely a pro-destinationer!

So which type of traveller are you?

man's best friend

Sheba the border collie

Ever since I was little, I had always wanted a dog. Well, in fact in my wildest fantasy I wanted to keep a tiger, a leopard, a monkey, a horse, and a puppy. In fact I did have them at one time, every night I would go to sleep surrounded by them and felt safe. Yeah, they were my pillows and bolster. I had assigned each of them an animal role. I guess that didn't really make me a nerd or freak, right? I mean isn't it absolutely normal for kids to have imaginative friends right? Whatever.

Anyway, I reckoned a dog would be most possible to happen. However, my mum never allowed us to keep any furry animals, because 4 out of 6 members in our family were asthmatic, regardless the fact that had never been the trigger for our attacks. It wasn't until high school has we really had a pup for a very brief period. It was an abandoned pup we found at hawker center that kept following us. We brought it home and by then we were too old and bold to ignore my mum's protest. It was a mixed breed of Rottweiler and it was absolutely adorable. I named it Coco. Only problem was the fleas. But we bought medicine and believed given some times, it would be cured. However, there was another bigger problem. No matter how happy Cocoa was playing with us during day time, at night, it would cry and whine all night. After a week or so, my gramma had enough of it and ordered us to send it back to where we found it. I didn't know why we hadn't insisted. It was sad and heart breaking to leave Coco behind and drove away. I couldn't look into her inquisitive eyes that seemed to ask: why? After that, I never had any other pet.

It's sad to admit to myself that till now, I still can't afford to have one yet. Let's see why. First I'm still living in rented place; second my parents are not really a dog lover so I don't think it's fair for me to get one and have them take care of it for me; third the dog would be awefully lonely and depressed to be left alone when everyone is gone for work most of the time...... These might sound like excuses but that's true. Having a dog isn't about having someone to wag it's tail when you are home from work, or something cuddly to hug when you are in the mood. A dog should be treated like a friend, a companion, for that's what they really are. Just like kids. Don't say things like a family isn't complete without kids; or having kids can strengthen and enhance the relationship of married couples; or that's an obligation to continue the family's bloodline; yadda yadda yadda..... The only reason one should have kid(s) is to give all the love and happiness to the life/lives you have brought to this world. Period.

So don't keep a dog, or any pet, until you are ready to love him/her in return.

i would walk five hundred miles (and five hundred more!)

top to bottom:

polished pebbles on the river bank at Franz Josef Glacier, South Island

green green grass in Taupo, North Island

autumn fallen leaves in Arrowtown, South Island

couldn't help falling in love

with every inch of land i'd set my feet on

and yes,

i would walk five hundred miles

and i would walk five hundred more

if that would bring me to the kiwiland again!

p.s. against mun onn's better advice, i still wore the canvas shoes instead, but lucky me it only got wet once throughout the trip when I brilliantly decided to stone-hop in a stream!

Luck

the lucky (twisted) bamboo

an auspicious Chinese New Year plant believed to have the ability to change one's rotten luck

I've been having rotten luck recently. My brother suggested I hit my head with one of these lucky bamboos.

yesterday once more

Today, while I browsed through my sis' photo folders in her pc, I stumbled upon some precious old pics of us and brought back memories of our childhood. Those were the days....

this was me at few-month-old

i couldn't stop laughing at this picture and the caption my sis put as file name 'my shy bro and pilot sis' (lol)

and the caption for this was 'unhappy baby trying to ruin m cake'i was the unhappy baby, even at that young age, I knew my sis was gonna be a bully

and my dad once owned a purple pants!!!!!!
(*won't you take me to, Funky Town? won't you take me to, Funky Town?*)

my brother nearly turned this family shot into a child pornography!

and how my sis always commented that i looked like a monkey with little hair

and how our height used to be in accordance to our age

this family portrait tells so much about us: mum's a secret fetish over afro, and dad's retro (well back than i'm sure it was the latest fashion) floral shirt, granny's still-relatively-smooth skin, yc's ghost-sighting expression, my relatively normal baby look, and my, that's before yd even exist!!!

and daddy's good old Mazda!!! this car had been with us for over 2 decades!! that's mum posed and dressed like a school girl and yc dressed like an eggplant..i realised there's someone in the car and i assumed that's dad, then who took this picture?!

i'm going to new zealand!

It's like a dream comes true, nz has always been on my must-go list.

After I've made this big change, i.e. to quit my job, pack my luggage, and drag along my brother, this is finally happening.

Here i come, kiwiland!

surreality

rootless lifeforms

Who would not, finding way, break loose from hell, . . . . And boldly venture to whatever place Farthest from pain? --Paradise Lost

If the origin of the pain is unidentified, how would you know which direction leads to the Farthest place?

If life is but a dream, would you rather wake up sooner, later, or never?

survival

are there actually natural born survivors?

or the instinct simply will kick in under extreme environment?

either way,

i'll survive

(i hope)

silver lining

every cloud has a silver lining,

right?

i certainly do hope so

new year resolution

1. Help yd get motivated again

2. Quit current job and do something more interesting for living

3. Farm stay and back packing in NZ for a month

4. Materialise the 'family business' plan

5. Practice yoga regularly - but first, get that damn mat!

6. Get a Nikon D80 and keep blogging

7. Be more positive - stop getting upset and depressed easily

8. Pick up Japanese again

what i need

a little more passion

a little more sunshine

post note: after i posted this entry, it kept raining on me, well, on the entire Singapore and Malaysia in fact, and flooded many places...oops..

lesson learned: i'm jinxed, i shldn't simply wish for anything :(

blk 181

blk 181

where i'm staying now

quench that thirst

my practical creativity work:

a balinese-wood-sculpture-turned-jewelry-stand

(no I didn't carve it!)

my mind's made up
gonna quench the thirst for freedom!

imagination

Imaginative Manhattan City Skyline

from my bedroom window

--my latest daily dose of fantasy

I am imaginative. Heck, sometimes I even hallucinate.

I like to escape into my own make-believe fantasyville, where life and people were more interesting, eventful; where I can ride on the emotional roller coasters, again and again, before I have to come back down to the piece of land called earth.

And I'll still be the same self-controlled me when I'm back.

Down to earth.

the spirit is in the air

I feel it in my fingers

I feel it in my toes

Christmas is all around me

And so the feeling grows

--Billy Mack, Christmas is All Around (Love Actually Soundtrack)

hang loose

Been a little too uptight recently.

I need to unwind and loosen up myself, to chill and to take it easy...

I know I do.

And I wish I know how.

p.s. Gosh, I'm such a whiner!

lost count

How many days have passed by,
insignificant and meaningless
How many dreams were put off
by those invisible obstacles
How many plans were postponed,
time and time again
How many friends have lost contact
and drifted apart
How many feelings were burried deep down,
untold
Just how much more time can I afford
to waste at nothingness

Not a Saint

I aint no Saint!

so please don't try my patience

for it has a limit and it's coming close to it

replacement

an identical replacement for my stolen heels

I lost a pair of heels some time ago. Later, I bought another new, identical pair to replace the lost/stolen pair. If only it's that easy to replace anything we lost....

Well, on second thought, maybe not, otherwise we would have taken everything for granted and do not know how to appreciate what we have/had. What makes something so special and important to us is knowing that something can never be replaced...

fragile

Please handle me with care when I'm fragile
Do not apply pressure 'cos that might crack me up
Give me some time, and I promise I'll be tough again