One of those down in the dumps(ter) days :(
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Flurry of activity
It had been a fab weekend!
Thoroughly enjoyed myself at Womad on Sat even though sweat was pouring off me the whole time. The superb company I was with was an important ingredient of the great night out! Got to know a few new friends (fellow labmates of Kay), spoke to some French exchange students (Kay's labmates' labmates) and ran into so many people I haven't met for a while! Joy joy! :) Exchanged contacts and a few promises to keep in touch. Though a lot of times we probably know that's not very likely to happen. Still, it's nice to know we could catch up someday if we choose to. :D
Then of cos' the music was groovy and danceable (most of it, at least)! I've so gotta find out more about the ones that I liked. Dragged a few of my girlfriends to take a photo with one of the amazing bands after their performance. hee.
We headed off for supper when the DJ's spinning started to bore some of us... It's been a while since I've had supper (abandoned in a bid to make way for the 'healthy' lifestyle). We chit-chatted with surprising energy (it was probably 2plus in the morning) amidst mouthfuls of prata.
By the time I plonked myself on my comfy bed it must have been past 4am!
On Sunday, my sis and I had planned to put on our oven mittens and aprons (Ok, so we don't really have these but I fully intend to hunt down some pretty ones!) to bake. She was going to impart the secrets of her delicious chocolate-chip cookie recipe to me! :D We had so much fun baking together. The work was halved and everything else good doubled! Haha. Also tried our hand at some brownies but unfortunately these were not as successful as the cookies. A little too dry. I think the recipe my sis picked off the internet wasn't very good. But never mind, we intend to try again sometime.
Later in the evening I met up with an old friend from uni for a chat. Out of sheer sweetness (;p), I brought a few cookies for him but as he happily chomped them down with gasto, he commented they were a little bland. My sis and I, in trying to make them a little less of sinful, had used lesser butter and sugar than the recipe recommended.
A little twist of fate that evening saw me regain the friendship of an ex-good friend. (Some misunderstandings before caused us to stop contact.) So that was a nice closure to the weekend. (Although I didn't get much sleep cos' we were catching up over the phone.)
Right now there's an internal debate raging as to whether I should go to the gym or go home. Hmm... decisions, decisions... I think I've a slight idea which side's stronger... :p
Thoroughly enjoyed myself at Womad on Sat even though sweat was pouring off me the whole time. The superb company I was with was an important ingredient of the great night out! Got to know a few new friends (fellow labmates of Kay), spoke to some French exchange students (Kay's labmates' labmates) and ran into so many people I haven't met for a while! Joy joy! :) Exchanged contacts and a few promises to keep in touch. Though a lot of times we probably know that's not very likely to happen. Still, it's nice to know we could catch up someday if we choose to. :D
Then of cos' the music was groovy and danceable (most of it, at least)! I've so gotta find out more about the ones that I liked. Dragged a few of my girlfriends to take a photo with one of the amazing bands after their performance. hee.
We headed off for supper when the DJ's spinning started to bore some of us... It's been a while since I've had supper (abandoned in a bid to make way for the 'healthy' lifestyle). We chit-chatted with surprising energy (it was probably 2plus in the morning) amidst mouthfuls of prata.
By the time I plonked myself on my comfy bed it must have been past 4am!
On Sunday, my sis and I had planned to put on our oven mittens and aprons (Ok, so we don't really have these but I fully intend to hunt down some pretty ones!) to bake. She was going to impart the secrets of her delicious chocolate-chip cookie recipe to me! :D We had so much fun baking together. The work was halved and everything else good doubled! Haha. Also tried our hand at some brownies but unfortunately these were not as successful as the cookies. A little too dry. I think the recipe my sis picked off the internet wasn't very good. But never mind, we intend to try again sometime.
Later in the evening I met up with an old friend from uni for a chat. Out of sheer sweetness (;p), I brought a few cookies for him but as he happily chomped them down with gasto, he commented they were a little bland. My sis and I, in trying to make them a little less of sinful, had used lesser butter and sugar than the recipe recommended.
A little twist of fate that evening saw me regain the friendship of an ex-good friend. (Some misunderstandings before caused us to stop contact.) So that was a nice closure to the weekend. (Although I didn't get much sleep cos' we were catching up over the phone.)
Right now there's an internal debate raging as to whether I should go to the gym or go home. Hmm... decisions, decisions... I think I've a slight idea which side's stronger... :p
Posted by :
Ping
Friday, August 25, 2006
Overdosing on vitamin C
because it feels like the damn flu bug is trying to knock down my immune system. It's probably been flying around the office for a while from the sick colleagues. My throat is starting to itch and I'm running a slight fever. sigh, this just had to happen to me on a Friday...
Hope it'll go away before Womad tomorrow. I so would not want to be standing in hot, sweaty billows of people when I'm not feeling my best.
I want sleep, and food!!!
And am supposed to be going to the gym today!! :( Don't think I can make it. Horrid, evil virus!!!
Had a team dinner last night, courtesy of the company. Guess how much the bill came up to??? Over a thousand!!!! For 10 people!!!!!!! Possibly the most expensive and least worth-it meal I've ever had. One of the senior scientists suggested the place. Indochine at Clarke Quay. Prices are exorbitant and the food was only so-so. I suppose it was so expensive cos' most of them had cocktails and some finger food before the main dinner. Then the boss ordered 2 bottles of red wine with the dinner.
Argh... my head's threatening to split as I try to sort my data and graphs. Would have to continue on Mon. Off home! Ciao!
Hope it'll go away before Womad tomorrow. I so would not want to be standing in hot, sweaty billows of people when I'm not feeling my best.
I want sleep, and food!!!
And am supposed to be going to the gym today!! :( Don't think I can make it. Horrid, evil virus!!!
Had a team dinner last night, courtesy of the company. Guess how much the bill came up to??? Over a thousand!!!! For 10 people!!!!!!! Possibly the most expensive and least worth-it meal I've ever had. One of the senior scientists suggested the place. Indochine at Clarke Quay. Prices are exorbitant and the food was only so-so. I suppose it was so expensive cos' most of them had cocktails and some finger food before the main dinner. Then the boss ordered 2 bottles of red wine with the dinner.
Argh... my head's threatening to split as I try to sort my data and graphs. Would have to continue on Mon. Off home! Ciao!
Posted by :
Ping
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Weirdly contented.
Do you ever have days where you simply feel at ease with life? Without any discernible, evident reasons?
I'm having one such day. :)
Sure, my 'I-want...' list is still quite long, but for now that doesn't matter. What makes it more strange is that I'm feeling blithe while hungry (Haven't had my lunch, been in the lab since 1030am, working almost non-stop. Ah, the story of my life...) and a little tired.
Actually woke up this morning wishing I didn't have to go to work. But when it was time to start my experiment, I started getting a little buzz. :) Tomorrow's the first day of actual dosing. I'm a little excited, and definitely nervous about the results I'd get. This feeling is the reason why I'm in this line of work. I'm crossing my fingers as hard as I can that the data will be significant. But I've been down this road before. Research is filled with disappointments. Sometimes experiments work, sometimes they don't, even if you've done everything properly. I've felt terribly disillusioned before. It helps to have an encouragingly supervisor/boss. My ex-supervisor was really good. He doesn't blame me when our experiments don't turn out as we had expected them to. We go back, look through everything to see if we could find out why and then we try again.
In this new job, I haven't done any proper studies so we shall see what my boss is like at the end of this one eh?
Signed up for a few personal training sessions yesterday. Argh, I don't want to remember how obnoxiously pricey they are. But well, I've not been pushed into it, it's not a rash decision, I've been thinking about it for some time. (I subscribe to the theory that if I think about something a lot, I probably really want it, then I'll do something about it.) Can't fathom why I'd pay so much to be tortured. Hope it's all worth it in the end.
Mmm... I want food... and more days like this...
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
- Snow Patrol, Chasing Cars
I'm having one such day. :)
Sure, my 'I-want...' list is still quite long, but for now that doesn't matter. What makes it more strange is that I'm feeling blithe while hungry (Haven't had my lunch, been in the lab since 1030am, working almost non-stop. Ah, the story of my life...) and a little tired.
Actually woke up this morning wishing I didn't have to go to work. But when it was time to start my experiment, I started getting a little buzz. :) Tomorrow's the first day of actual dosing. I'm a little excited, and definitely nervous about the results I'd get. This feeling is the reason why I'm in this line of work. I'm crossing my fingers as hard as I can that the data will be significant. But I've been down this road before. Research is filled with disappointments. Sometimes experiments work, sometimes they don't, even if you've done everything properly. I've felt terribly disillusioned before. It helps to have an encouragingly supervisor/boss. My ex-supervisor was really good. He doesn't blame me when our experiments don't turn out as we had expected them to. We go back, look through everything to see if we could find out why and then we try again.
In this new job, I haven't done any proper studies so we shall see what my boss is like at the end of this one eh?
Signed up for a few personal training sessions yesterday. Argh, I don't want to remember how obnoxiously pricey they are. But well, I've not been pushed into it, it's not a rash decision, I've been thinking about it for some time. (I subscribe to the theory that if I think about something a lot, I probably really want it, then I'll do something about it.) Can't fathom why I'd pay so much to be tortured. Hope it's all worth it in the end.
Mmm... I want food... and more days like this...
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
- Snow Patrol, Chasing Cars
Posted by :
Ping
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Being a grown-up
is tough work. Many a time I wish I could just relapse into childishness. (And on a lot of those occasions I do.) But calling in sick due to the blues doesn't seem to be sufficiently justified for that.
Last weekend was rather more eventful than usual, but not necessarily better. I was invited to a rather exclusive (not every girl in the office was asked) dinner at Brewerkz. :D Admittedly it could just be because I could get a 15% discount there. ;p Anyway it was mainly a girls night out. (There were a couple of thorns amongst the roses; my boss and the husband of one of the girls were there too.) A drink at Indochine after concluded the evening. It was a relaxing time of good company and delicious food.
Saturday afternoon I met up with Zan and some of her JC friends for a while. We chit-chatted for a bit before separating to get to other appointments. It was good seeing her.
I made my way to Ed's (a colleague) place for his housewarming party. I wasn't really in the mood for being in a big crowd and thus had to drag my feet a little to it. His new place is very spacious and well-furnished. A condominium with 3 levels! Hanging out with a gorgeous little girl at the party made me feel slightly happier. She's so amazingly sweet and beautiful! Soft blond hair, bright blue eyes, snow-white skin. I really should put up pictures on this blog. I'll do it soon. (As soon as I get down to revamping this blog... which is something I need help with... And that means it'll take a while...) I wonder if it was that she could feel my sadness that day thus was especially nice to me. She gave me cuddly hugs while we sat on the couch and talked. (She's 4 so we talked about her family, school etc. :D) Then I read her a bedtime story before she slept.
That night though, I had one drink too much and too fast and soon found myself rushing to the washroom a few times. Fortunately a friend offered to pick me up and sent me home safely.
Sunday was then blissfully spent at home reading and sleeping whenever I want.
Okay, gotta go down to my animals...
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
- NIV, Proverbs 4:23
Last weekend was rather more eventful than usual, but not necessarily better. I was invited to a rather exclusive (not every girl in the office was asked) dinner at Brewerkz. :D Admittedly it could just be because I could get a 15% discount there. ;p Anyway it was mainly a girls night out. (There were a couple of thorns amongst the roses; my boss and the husband of one of the girls were there too.) A drink at Indochine after concluded the evening. It was a relaxing time of good company and delicious food.
Saturday afternoon I met up with Zan and some of her JC friends for a while. We chit-chatted for a bit before separating to get to other appointments. It was good seeing her.
I made my way to Ed's (a colleague) place for his housewarming party. I wasn't really in the mood for being in a big crowd and thus had to drag my feet a little to it. His new place is very spacious and well-furnished. A condominium with 3 levels! Hanging out with a gorgeous little girl at the party made me feel slightly happier. She's so amazingly sweet and beautiful! Soft blond hair, bright blue eyes, snow-white skin. I really should put up pictures on this blog. I'll do it soon. (As soon as I get down to revamping this blog... which is something I need help with... And that means it'll take a while...) I wonder if it was that she could feel my sadness that day thus was especially nice to me. She gave me cuddly hugs while we sat on the couch and talked. (She's 4 so we talked about her family, school etc. :D) Then I read her a bedtime story before she slept.
That night though, I had one drink too much and too fast and soon found myself rushing to the washroom a few times. Fortunately a friend offered to pick me up and sent me home safely.
Sunday was then blissfully spent at home reading and sleeping whenever I want.
Okay, gotta go down to my animals...
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
- NIV, Proverbs 4:23
Posted by :
Ping
Monday, August 21, 2006
At some point
Along the way, the nightingale has changed its tune, the wind reversed its direction.
Yet she stood in the exact same spot, as though frozen.
If she could have run away from it all, she would have.
After the obligatory greetings, she avoided him as much as she could.
Even though she was quite sure she missed him.
When he didn't notice, she sneaked covert glances at him.
He appeared thoroughly contented and chirpy though haggard with a faint beard and visible weight loss.
When they finally spoke a little, it was without the usual lightheartedness.
People who didn't know them better would have thought they were strangers.
She's starting to think visiting him is a bad idea.
Perhaps it was all in her mind.
Because she couldn't stand saying goodbye so many times.
Yet she stood in the exact same spot, as though frozen.
If she could have run away from it all, she would have.
After the obligatory greetings, she avoided him as much as she could.
Even though she was quite sure she missed him.
When he didn't notice, she sneaked covert glances at him.
He appeared thoroughly contented and chirpy though haggard with a faint beard and visible weight loss.
When they finally spoke a little, it was without the usual lightheartedness.
People who didn't know them better would have thought they were strangers.
She's starting to think visiting him is a bad idea.
Perhaps it was all in her mind.
Because she couldn't stand saying goodbye so many times.
Posted by :
Ping
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Nobody ever said life is fair or easy...
But factor in an arsehole, good-for-nothing scum that lives in the same flat as the rest of my beloved family, (That thing which my sister would reluctantly refer to as a brother. I cringe even thinking that we share genes! O_o) on top of the not-uncommon hiccups (miscommunication/misunderstandings, money issues) life throws my way and it becomes almost unbearable.
Sigh. And my rats are not helping either... I'm stressed when they panick during injection. And seeing that I have to inject them daily for at least 6 weeks from now, (I've already been performing injections on them for more than 9 days.) I can't help but dread the long experiment. Recently, they've been quite good and don't make much fuss so no harm is done to either party. (the rats and me) But today for some reason they weren't very happy about getting their injections.
Later, in the office, after I was done in the lab, I was speaking to a colleague and she asked me how my rats were, so I told her. She commented that she noticed the rats seem to be affected by our moods. Say if she was not in a good mood, the rats wouldn't behave very well (towards injections) that day. And if she was happy then the rats seem to be nicer. As incredible as it may sound, I think there's some truth in it. Because coincidentally I haven't been feeling exactly on top of the world today and possibly was harsher to them than usual. I'll try my best to be more cheerful tomorrow and maybe they'll be nice too.
I vented to my sis over the phone as I was working out my dosing-table in the office. I felt better after. What also helped was when she said she had baked some chocolate chip cookies for me that afternoon. :D Well, it wasn't specially for me, for her friends and professors too. For her profs because they wrote reference letters for her. By the way, she got a place in SEP and also her first choice of university for student exchange! (Loughborough University in Leicester, UK) Am excited and elated for her! :D Even though my pocket's preparing to weep... Gotta start saving! She's starting next semester. (so fast!) Although it's only for one semester, it's a hell lot of money! I'll try my darnest to visit her while she's there and go travelling together a bit. We had a lot of fun when she visited me in Paris last year.
I haven't had much time or energy to blog since my experiment commenced. Had wanted to mention something about last weekend. Very normal but peaceful one.
I had a killer session at the gym last Friday where the trainer amused himself by attempting to make my mousy biceps grow into rat-sized ones. I couldn't straighten my arms properly for a couple of days. (I'm still deciding if I should get sessions from him. That was a free trial session. The second one in fact. He's really good, but like I said before it's really expensive.)
Saturday evening I met a colleague, Lingling for a walk in MacRitchie reservoir before heading to Esplanade to watch the last fireworks. It was splendid!!! (By the French, no less.)
Caught 'De battre mon coeur s'arrete' ('The beat my heart skipped') on Sunday with a movie pal. It was a great show! Romain Duris was fantastic! I never thought he looks good. But as I watch more and more of the movies he stars in, I'm beginning to think he's a magnificient acteur. :) After the movie, we walked along from Orchard to Little India, chatting. He asked me loads of questions about Christianity. (He's Muslim and said that in his religious classes, they mentioned certain aspects of Christianity and he wanted to hear our side of the story.) In turn, I learnt about Islam too. I don't think I'll ever cease to be thankful that in Singapore, most of us have been brought up to appreciate the differences between different cultures and religions.
Okay then, till later, if I have anything more to add!
Sigh. And my rats are not helping either... I'm stressed when they panick during injection. And seeing that I have to inject them daily for at least 6 weeks from now, (I've already been performing injections on them for more than 9 days.) I can't help but dread the long experiment. Recently, they've been quite good and don't make much fuss so no harm is done to either party. (the rats and me) But today for some reason they weren't very happy about getting their injections.
Later, in the office, after I was done in the lab, I was speaking to a colleague and she asked me how my rats were, so I told her. She commented that she noticed the rats seem to be affected by our moods. Say if she was not in a good mood, the rats wouldn't behave very well (towards injections) that day. And if she was happy then the rats seem to be nicer. As incredible as it may sound, I think there's some truth in it. Because coincidentally I haven't been feeling exactly on top of the world today and possibly was harsher to them than usual. I'll try my best to be more cheerful tomorrow and maybe they'll be nice too.
I vented to my sis over the phone as I was working out my dosing-table in the office. I felt better after. What also helped was when she said she had baked some chocolate chip cookies for me that afternoon. :D Well, it wasn't specially for me, for her friends and professors too. For her profs because they wrote reference letters for her. By the way, she got a place in SEP and also her first choice of university for student exchange! (Loughborough University in Leicester, UK) Am excited and elated for her! :D Even though my pocket's preparing to weep... Gotta start saving! She's starting next semester. (so fast!) Although it's only for one semester, it's a hell lot of money! I'll try my darnest to visit her while she's there and go travelling together a bit. We had a lot of fun when she visited me in Paris last year.
I haven't had much time or energy to blog since my experiment commenced. Had wanted to mention something about last weekend. Very normal but peaceful one.
I had a killer session at the gym last Friday where the trainer amused himself by attempting to make my mousy biceps grow into rat-sized ones. I couldn't straighten my arms properly for a couple of days. (I'm still deciding if I should get sessions from him. That was a free trial session. The second one in fact. He's really good, but like I said before it's really expensive.)
Saturday evening I met a colleague, Lingling for a walk in MacRitchie reservoir before heading to Esplanade to watch the last fireworks. It was splendid!!! (By the French, no less.)
Caught 'De battre mon coeur s'arrete' ('The beat my heart skipped') on Sunday with a movie pal. It was a great show! Romain Duris was fantastic! I never thought he looks good. But as I watch more and more of the movies he stars in, I'm beginning to think he's a magnificient acteur. :) After the movie, we walked along from Orchard to Little India, chatting. He asked me loads of questions about Christianity. (He's Muslim and said that in his religious classes, they mentioned certain aspects of Christianity and he wanted to hear our side of the story.) In turn, I learnt about Islam too. I don't think I'll ever cease to be thankful that in Singapore, most of us have been brought up to appreciate the differences between different cultures and religions.
Okay then, till later, if I have anything more to add!
Posted by :
Ping
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Real life's no fun at all...
Back to the grown-up world of working, earning my keep... Can't really complain though, cos' Bali was a marvellous break.
I dreaded coming back to work. Merely the thought of injecting my screaming rats makes my head throb.
I tried delaying going into the lab today as much as I could. Then when I was there and got started, it didn't seem that bad. :) My rats were not screaming as much today, neither were they biting me. They've probably gotten used to it and decided to stop fighting me as much as before. Phew... I still suffered some scratches, but that's nothing. I didn't train them today, only dosed. Will resume my 6-hour training in the labs tomorrow.
All these a prelude to a tedious month-long study starting sometime next week. Hope that'll go well. Meantime, I'll get by and dream of my next holiday...
I dreaded coming back to work. Merely the thought of injecting my screaming rats makes my head throb.
I tried delaying going into the lab today as much as I could. Then when I was there and got started, it didn't seem that bad. :) My rats were not screaming as much today, neither were they biting me. They've probably gotten used to it and decided to stop fighting me as much as before. Phew... I still suffered some scratches, but that's nothing. I didn't train them today, only dosed. Will resume my 6-hour training in the labs tomorrow.
All these a prelude to a tedious month-long study starting sometime next week. Hope that'll go well. Meantime, I'll get by and dream of my next holiday...
Posted by :
Ping
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Brave New World
I'm writing this (the old fashioned way - pen & paper) on the amazing beach, after a gourmet buffet breakfast of muesli, fruits, omelette, cheeses, pastries, fromage blanc and so much more that even I couldn't fit into my expandable stomach but I'm gonna try them tomorrow. :)
Blue, hardly-a-cloud skies, crystal clear waters, soft, sink-your-feet-in sand, wonderful breeze, then of cos' there's the sun, bright for a tan but not scorching... It almost seems too good to be true. Oh and did I mention the 5-star hotel Christian had booked us into? ;p Pure, unadulterated luxury! We arrived last night without any major hitches, though I did experience the bumpiest landing as we touched down at the Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar, Bali. And before that my rush from the office to Changi airport.
I had so much work to do I almost didn't make it out of the lab in time.
It's really fantastic to leave everything to the back of my mind now. At least for the few days to come, I shall endeavour to abandon reality. Not that it's a difficult task. On this beautiful island. :D
Reading Brave New World on this holiday paradise seems a bit of a paradox or maybe it's more of a parallel. I don't know. But in any case it makes for a good read.
'Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle against temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.'
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Now and then I put down my book and people-watch. Hunks and babes playing volleyball, gorgeous (not all of them) topless (gasp! My eyes just about managed to stay in their sockets!) and throng-clad (they might as well not have worn anything) women, beer bellies porting men, Chinese covered up like it's winter (yes, long-sleeved jackets. I didn't see wrongly.) taking pictures on the volleyball pitch, posing like they're playing, (geehz, who are they kidding?) locals in similar conical-shaped hats, long-sleeved sky-blue tops, black track pants, dark sunglasses, walked around or merely stood, paddling their wares.
I got up from my comfortable reclining beach chair to put on some chapstick and as it glided onto my slightly sunburned, dehydrated lips, I was hit by a strong craving. For a kiss. A spine-tingling one. Like one would yearn for rich, sinful, dark chocolate.
Ahem... I sat back down and stared out at the sea. Interesting-looking fishing boats, (with a long parallel plank on each side of the boat which reminded me of a pond skater poised on the surface of the water. It must keep the boats stable on such windy seas.) locals standing waist-deep in the sea, fishing, hazy visions of mountains in the horizons. What is it about great big, towering, crashing, frothy waves that are strangely therapeutic? The deep, rumbling sound? The strong waves here break faraway in the distance. Really weird. I've never seen anything quite like it before. My mind emptied for a moment. I turned my attention back to the book.
Blue, hardly-a-cloud skies, crystal clear waters, soft, sink-your-feet-in sand, wonderful breeze, then of cos' there's the sun, bright for a tan but not scorching... It almost seems too good to be true. Oh and did I mention the 5-star hotel Christian had booked us into? ;p Pure, unadulterated luxury! We arrived last night without any major hitches, though I did experience the bumpiest landing as we touched down at the Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar, Bali. And before that my rush from the office to Changi airport.
I had so much work to do I almost didn't make it out of the lab in time.
It's really fantastic to leave everything to the back of my mind now. At least for the few days to come, I shall endeavour to abandon reality. Not that it's a difficult task. On this beautiful island. :D
Reading Brave New World on this holiday paradise seems a bit of a paradox or maybe it's more of a parallel. I don't know. But in any case it makes for a good read.
'Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle against temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.'
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Now and then I put down my book and people-watch. Hunks and babes playing volleyball, gorgeous (not all of them) topless (gasp! My eyes just about managed to stay in their sockets!) and throng-clad (they might as well not have worn anything) women, beer bellies porting men, Chinese covered up like it's winter (yes, long-sleeved jackets. I didn't see wrongly.) taking pictures on the volleyball pitch, posing like they're playing, (geehz, who are they kidding?) locals in similar conical-shaped hats, long-sleeved sky-blue tops, black track pants, dark sunglasses, walked around or merely stood, paddling their wares.
I got up from my comfortable reclining beach chair to put on some chapstick and as it glided onto my slightly sunburned, dehydrated lips, I was hit by a strong craving. For a kiss. A spine-tingling one. Like one would yearn for rich, sinful, dark chocolate.
Ahem... I sat back down and stared out at the sea. Interesting-looking fishing boats, (with a long parallel plank on each side of the boat which reminded me of a pond skater poised on the surface of the water. It must keep the boats stable on such windy seas.) locals standing waist-deep in the sea, fishing, hazy visions of mountains in the horizons. What is it about great big, towering, crashing, frothy waves that are strangely therapeutic? The deep, rumbling sound? The strong waves here break faraway in the distance. Really weird. I've never seen anything quite like it before. My mind emptied for a moment. I turned my attention back to the book.
Posted by :
Ping
