The other day, a client described a fellow freelance writer and I as "passionate", which was a surprising term to hear since I generally don't possess a perky!energizer!bunny! demeanour that people typically identify with passion. Instead, this client had made observations about the little things we had said and done and gave us some encouragement. This incident has made me realise that practically all the clients and editors I've had to work with these past few months have been pretty … [Read more...]
Friday
British Council
March 19th, 2010
Today, I dropped by the British Council while showing a visiting friend the area near her hotel. She asked me, "How come you seem so familiar with the place? Have you taken courses here before?" And then I remembered that yes, I'd actually been sent for some English Proficiency course when I was 15. I'd been flunking my English compositions because the teachers said my fantasy-based romantic and/or horror-time travel storylines were clearly out of point. Before the course started, the good … [Read more...]
Saturday
Birthday wish
March 13th, 2010
There seems to be this idea that once a women hits 30, she starts caring less about what people think and will be be happier and have more self-confidence. I'm not sure if it's an age thing as opposed to merely just being a deliberate state of the mind. I've seen so many insecure ladies above 30 and I've seen so many self-assured ladies below 30 and the only factor that I see coming into play with regards to their confidence levels is how they responded when the crunch came. The ones who made … [Read more...]
Tuesday
Uncle Ubin
March 9th, 2010
Uncle Ubin loves his plants, he knows their healing powers well. People come to him for all kinds of cures - even cancer - and this is why he has a huge barrel where he collects all his raw materials of twigs and leaves for his next concoction. Uncle Ubin was also the first person to spot the Goddess of Mercy Stone while he was doing some stretching one morning facing the quarry. It hadn't been there before, but apparently, there was a storm and a tree fell altering the formation of the … [Read more...]
Sunday
Liquid doodles
March 7th, 2010
Liquid paper - Singapore's version of adolescent vandalism. While it has been ingrained in our youths that aerosol paint spray is Evil and only used by Really Bad People (or "Established Artists" who are commissioned by various ministries to draw culturally harmonious images on designated walls), white liquid paper, perhaps because of its more diminutive size and reversibility, has been the default marking of choice. And you can find these inkings everywhere - desks, bus stops, MRT seats, toilet … [Read more...]
Friday
Story trees
March 5th, 2010
I love being with trees that have character. It's hard to pinpoint "character", but I do know that trees with character make one feel slightly awed, and yet very safe with them. The large camphor trees at Sha Lo Won, apparently over a thousand years old, exude such vibes.There's a fascinating story about them too which goes something like this: When Hong Kong was under the occupation of the Japanese Army, due to a shortage of fuel, there was a great demand for wood. As a result, the Japanese … [Read more...]