Thaipusam

I've never carried a Kavadi or Paal Kudam (Milk Pot) but have attended the festivities for the past 3 years. For those who are wondering what Thaipusam is, it's the festival where people poke themselves onto Kavadis or poke mini spears onto themselves in devotion to Lord Murugan.

For the first time this year, I am taking part tonight by carrying a Milk Pot, I dont know if I will have the energy to carry it from Little India to Clemenceau Avenue but I guess I will leave it in the hands of god.

I have been vegetarian for a week, and surprisingly I havent been missing Mr Chicken too much. Infact I was just telling my mom that I am planning to turn vegetarian completely some day.

At first, the temptation to eat meat is always there, especially when your friends decide to order out and stuff, but trust me, you should try it, atleast for the fun of it. You'd feel good by the end of the day.

The Changing Landscape

I once read,

There was once a tourist who boarded a cab and began slamming Singapore for all its negativity's, claiming Singapore was an extremely slow country. When he was about to alight at his destination, he was wowed by a building, hence asked the driver, "whats the name of this building?" and the driver said, "I dont know sir, it was not here in the morning."

I dont know if the story is supposed to be funny or something but what I do know is that the story is true to a certain extent when it comes to the speed at which things are built in this tiny red dot.

The other day when I met Jas who returned on holidays from Australia, I asked "have you seen any differences in Singapore?" and she said "no". I dropped the topic totally, what shocked me today was that, I who asked the question noticed so much of differences today.

About a year back, Esplanade was my hangout and City Hall was where I headed to almost every weekend, thanks to NS it's been centuries since I even walked around there. Today after watching "The Illusionist", I took a walk down from Esplanade to Clifford Pier before boarding onto a bus.

It was simply beautiful, from the chilling wind, to my careless stroll. There were so many things which I didn't know about, like Singapore's version of the London Eye being built, the new stadium at the waterfront with a floating platform and Clifford Pier being closed.

Suddenly Marina Bay is being promoted rampantly around City Hall too.

I dont know how to sum this post up, but all I can say is that, we should take photographs of the buildings today cause they just might not be there tomorrow.

Nithi Chettan

A cousin of mine who came to Singapore 5years ago, leaving his pregnant wife at home, an architect by trade, looking for a job away from India. Someone who crushed my stereotypes attached to Indian Indians, from his exceptional knowledge to his crisp queens English.

I must say that he was the one who actually showed me the meaning of perseverance, mailing his CV to easily a hundred firms in Singapore, I remember him buying stamps n envelopes in bulks every time he headed out with my dad as his handyman. The lad who rearranged my home in 5hrs while i was at school, leaving me wondering when I opened the door when i returned home in the afternoon.

It looked like he had failed as time passed without a reply from any companies, his wife gave birth in India while he was still jobless here, leaving him crying at the window (for not being there for her) upon knowing the news. Wiping his tears he headed down immediately to grab us some sweets to mark the happy occasion.

I guess he got the gold at the end of the rainbow when he finally got a job at the LTA here as an architect. His family came down briefly before his wife n kid headed to Dubai cause she got a job there as an architect.

5 years down, he has now let go the opportunity to study in one of the top architectural unis (MA) in germany and has accepted a job in dubai which triples his salary plus all the extra perks which comes with it.

He came over yesterday to bid his final goodbyes to my family before he heads off in a couple of days. Visibly it was a sad moment parting from us, as he gave me a hug and fell at my parents feet seeking their blessing.

The fact that he bought a house in Singapore and has gained a PR here tells me I will see him again someday, despite the little interaction of late, I must admit I will miss him.

Nithi Chettan
The person who showed me the long term perks of never ever giving up.

Mom it's raining here.

0359 in the morning.

Guarding acres of empty tar
and a few pieces of metal called jets,

all drenched on the outside,
seeking refuge from the blistering wind beneath a useless Goretex jacket,
shivering with nothing to turn to
but the dry long 4 which was worn beneath,

all i could do was pray for my shift to end earlier,
as every second just took longer to tick,

i yearned for a glass of warm tea.
but that yearning only ended with a pair of blocked nostrils in the morning.

Blood

Please donate some of urs today.
The folks in there need em cause the donations are running low.

I went down today with a secondary school bud, was great meeting him after 5 years.

I miss that Something Xtra.

There are days when i just sit back and think about days i enjoyed in NP. The dark room, the movie viewing gallery @ the library, the atrium, the CTV room. Days which i really miss and wish i could relive. I thought hard about the album i listened to for the longest back then and downloaded it today. I enjoyed every song, remembering my long 61 bus rides and 196 bus rides back from Bedok. It's nice when you finally learn to remember the good stuff in life and move on.



It's funny how i started to smile to myself as i listened to the songs, remembering them, though i listened to them just about a year ago. I enjoyed my day off today. I don't know if this post makes sense but I'm happy, isn't that what matters most afterall?

I want.



I carry a crappy crazily scratched phone thanks to the army. It's condition is so aweful that at times I feel grossed out just looking at it. At first I thought i'd just wait for the iphone and buy it post NS.

But well then again, i dont think i can stand my current phone till then, so after doing the crazy loads of research i love doing, ive settled for this chick (minus the "beng" looking dragon design), should be grabbing it next month.

I last time i felt this way, was when i waited for my next pay just to get the ipod. Being the apple addict that i am, i think i may still get the iphone post NS.

Hee.

Love n Like?

Sometimes i wonder.
I thought I knew.
The difference between Love n Like.

But then again I finally concluded,
Trying to spot the difference is like,
knowing the difference between a moth n butterfly.

Some claim they know it while they are actually wrong.
Some don't know the difference and just cant be bothered.
Some do.

I know i don't.
I wanna know the difference,
but havent had time to sit down n read up on it.

Enjoy the Silence.

As I stand 50m outside my base.
the sun sets, shinning a nice bright harmless orange light on me.
It's about 7 in the evening and the prayers can be heard from the nearby mosque.

A soothing voice reciting in a language I am not familiar with.
Yet, it sounded extremely beautiful and appropriate for the scenery I was enjoying.

The all noisey road was silent for once.
Birds chirping in the background in hundreds.
The sun leaving silently behind the beautiful clouds.

For a second, it felt like I was watching a shot from "Le Grand Voyage".

Simply beautiful.
For a moment, I forgot the weight I was carrying, and why I was there.
The feeling is unexplainable.
Yet a feeling which I believe I will never sense again in this lifetime.

I pray.
That I get one second chance for that feeling to return.
Am I asking for too much?

RP
Say hello to the new door bitch!

Captain Marvel.

The Safari Man.

Someone always dressed in a safari, glued to that favourite bench of his.
The man I always held a grudge against, for he refused to keep an eye on my bicycle while I ran home to take a leak as a kid.

The man I always avoided when heading home for that error of his. The man who always wore a smile as he watched every move around my block, either smoking or playing with some toddler living in 103.

The man I reluctantly bought christmas party tickets from as a kid. The man who spoke to every member of the Chandran family but me.

The man whom my friends and I had countless jokes against.

A few days ago, my brother noticed the fact that I never spoke to this man, and questioned me about it. With guilt I told him of my childish excuse for ignoring him for 15years. He laughed it off and told me to start talking to the man. I thought about it on my way to camp, but just didn't know how to start talking to someone after ignoring him daily all these years. Yet, something in me said that I should give it a go.

Uncle Jacob.
The Security Guard.

He passed away on the eve of the new year. The reason doesn't matter, as it's just an excuse for god to delete him from this planet. We'll miss that familiar figure at that trademark bench of his.

Atleast I know I will.
Im sorry.

A Game of UNO.

She just knew the right moment to play the WILD card.

And play it she did, when you least expected it.

I know the lesson has been learnt, yet it itches most when you were so close to victory.