Bleah...

Been reading and reading and reading... Ain't too sure if reading is one of the ways which I try to fill up the emptiness within me or what... But... reading sure makes me feel more anti-social. Hardly make plans for lunch or dinners these days unless it's pretty impromptu. I think I need something new, something more, something enriching... =/

Anyway, finished "The Glass Palace". It's a historically and culturally enriching book and very very detailed. I would say that Amitav Ghosh is a little too detailed for my liking but that doesn't make him any lesser of a good author. There are some parts I really liked and some parts which I found draggy...

Anyway, I've since moved on to my next book (since it's been a week since I blogged). Am reading Haruki Murakami's "Sputnik Sweetheart".

To be frank, I wasn't too impressed with the writing when I first started. But 3/4 of the way into the book, I got really impressed with the versatile styles of writing that Murakami has. Sumire's (the main female character) diary entry was really 'rich'...

"In the world we live in, what we know and what we don't know are like Siamese twins, inseparable, existing in a state of confusion.

Confusion, confusion.

Who can really distinguish between the sea and what's reflected in it? Or tell the difference between the falling rain and loneliness?

Without any fuss, then, I gave up worrying about the difference between knowing and not knowing. That became my point of departures. A terrible place to start, perhaps - but people need a makeshift springboard, right? All of which goes to explain how I started seeing dualisms such as theme and style, object and subject, cause and effect, the joints of my hands and the rest of me, not as black-and-white pairs, but as indistinguishable one from the other. Everything had spilled on the kitchen floor - the salt, pepper, flour, starch. All mixed into one fine blob."- Sumire

Another part of the novel that I liked - in the capacity of the main male character, K:

"She was far, far away. And most likely that was the future in a nutshell, Sumire growing ever more distant. It made me sad. I felt like I was some meaningless bug clinging for no special reason to a high stone wall on a windy night, with no plans, no beliefs." - K

Gonna finish this up real soon and alternate my next read with something light hearted? Trashy? - Like... 'FASHION BABYLON'... Hahaha.. thanks to Mark who bought it as one of the 3 for the price of 2 books at Borderrrrrrs.... lol... ________________________________________________________
P.S. Read this other part of the book during lunch, on my train ride... It's again part of Sumire's diary entry... I like...

"A question.

So what are people supposd to do if they want to avoid a collision (thud!) but still lie in the field, enjoying the clouds drifting by, listening to the grass grow - not thinking, in other words? Sounds hard? Not at all. Logically, it's easy. C'est simple. The answer is dreams. Dreaming on and on. Entering the world of dreams, and never coming out. Living in dreams for the rest of the time.

In dreams you don't need to make any distinctions between things. Not at all. Boundaries don't exist. So in dreams there are hardly ever collisions. Even if there are, they don't hurt. Reality is different. Reality bites.

Reality, reality." - Sumire ________________________________________________________

P.P.S. King & I was quite disappointing... Borne Ultimatum was good and Ratatouille was cute.. =)

Reclus-ing......

Got the picture from one of Mandy's photos from all her trips. This one came from her Europe Adventure from Pareeeeee... (Paris)...

Somehow the picture calls out to me. It kinda reminds me of how I've been feeling lately... heh....

I feel like a recluse!

Having said that, that's not to mean that I haven't been socialising or have been living like an island. I mean that somehow I'm more reflective lately and introspective. BUT I do think that I have a tendency to get that way when I immerse myself in books... (Not the trashy kind).

I have to admit that lately, there are moments when I feel that life's less meaningful. Sure seems like I lack passion in so many aspects of my life, for anything. Hits me right at home that the passion that fills one up, is usually the driving force behind many things... people, career, love and life...

Yet, when asked on how to get that passion back in me, I find it hard to provide an answer. Sigh... Is this one of the crisis in my life that many others often talk about? You know... quater-life crisis... mid-life crisis... Since when is life not a crisis??

Anyway, on a brighter note... a good friend of mine just got HITCHED (attached... not married...) and I'm terribly excited for her! =)

Thoughts...

This morning somehow turned out to be a rather thought provoking one. I supposed it started with my usual morning session of reading the book-of-the-day in my train-ride to work.

While "One for my baby" has proven to be a slow read, it's a rather enjoyable one. 1/3 way into the book and I find that Tony Parsons is pretty good with insights. His provision of them adds alot of weight and intimacy to his characters.


"Listening to Sinatra makes me feel as though I am not the only person in the universe who ever woke up to find themselves in some place that they never imagined. Listening to Sinatra makes me feel that I am no so alone. Listening to Sinatra makes me feel more human..........
I need this music the way normal men need food and football. Sinatra seems to point a way forward, to encourage me to get on with my life. When Sinatra sings of love dissolving, there is always the consolation of love to come. Love is like a bus in these songs. There's always another one along in a minute." - Alfie Budd in "One for my baby".

In the story, Alfie lost his wife in a scuba diving freak accident. His dad left his mum for another woman who was young enough to be his daughter. It brings across the message that life's never predictable and there's only so much that can be pre-empted or anticipated.

Translating this thought to real life, looking at what's been coming up on the news everyday, I can't help but ask if there's a point for forward planning. To look beyond the now and look into the future. I can't help but wonder what will possible happen to me, to us, in this age of uncertainty and possibilities.

Korean hostages and terrorism situations, natural disasters like the Peru Earthquakes and heatwaves, accidents like the Malaysia bus high-way incident, outbreaks of diseases and viruses and even once too often news of scams in China of which has negative health implications (from cardboard buns to toxic toothpaste to toys with lead paint that may be harmful if ingested by kids accidentally - Am thinking that China might be persecuted with news of such one after another cuz of the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Also, the cardboard-buns scandal have supposedly been discovered to be a SCAM. But what if it's a governmental effort to SCAM the SCAM? Lol.. just a thought...)

But I supposed being the earth-rooted me, the question that's always in the back of my mind is the "WHAT IF?" It's always the contingency plan that matters... that makes a difference.

It also hit me this morning for some reason or other that it's not such a bad thing having kids. That is if your kids are born healthy and fine. Kids can actually be viewed as an investment. There are risks for sure... just like any other investment - you never know what kinda person your kid might turn out to be... But you are investing in them for a lifetime of companionship... It's a high chance for them to be around until the day that you die... if you go by the law of age...

Oh well... so much thoughts for a Friday morning... if only I can get back to bed on this drab, dreary, rainy morning... sigh...

Next in line...

Finished "Little Earthquakes" and another book that I shall not even bother naming... *still drowning in the disbelief that I actually picked up a book like that and read through a good 3/4 of it...* I would call it the 'ULTIMATE TRASH'...

"Little Earthquakes" was kinda fun cuz it gave an insight and a vicarious experience to what preggie ladies and new mums go through in the early stages of child-rearing... Women do not just grapple with adapting to their new lives as a new-born's mother, they have to manage their raging and imbalanced hormones after pregnancy, not to mention issues that their husbands might throw in their path and in their faces. It's kind scary to think about the 'what-ifs', 'hows', 'why-like-thats' and 'what-should-I-dos'... The uncertainties is just daunting to think of...

Anyway... moving on to the next book... Which wasn't exactly the next in line... just that I happened to be near a library, so I decided to get rid of the 'Ultimate Trash' as soon as I could... Too embarrassed to be seen with it for too long...

Well, picked up Tony Parsons' "One for my baby". Seems promising so far... Since Tony Parsons' not unheard of... Will update soon...

*Seems like I've been doing a good job of it lately... this updating my blog business... Lol... *

The cutest bundle of joy!!

After the clash I had with Alpha male on Wednesday, things took another turn downhill on Friday... If I had thought that Wednesday was bad, then Friday was terribly worse!

I just can't imagine working with him all the time... I think I'll just die. While I would happily admit to any mistakes that I might have made in the course of work, or I would even stand there to have his spittle all over my face, I hate it when I get 'wrongly' accused of doing something that I wasn't supposed to, OR of not doing something that I was supposed to. And that happened like throughout the entire day. Truth being told, not only did I feel demoralised, I felt slighted even for not given credit when it was due...

However, I felt a little better when I was given a pat on the back and the words "A job well-done!" by my female boss who was actually more of my direct boss. I really wish that I wouldn't need to interact with that Alpha male that much...

All that being said, my weekend wasn't a bad one once my duties were relieved on Saturday morning. The highlight was being entertained by the cutest little bundle of joy!!!!

Baby Damien & Me!

I only laugh and hardly cry!

He has the cutest and most adorable face... chubby cheeks and all... Also, he was a bundle of all laughter and giggles!! CUTE!!!! =)

I could smother him in kisses all day long!! xxx...

Wham! Bang! Clash!

Lol... the title of this post sums up my day at work which ended with my very first clash with the renown Alpha male in the office...

Seriously, I think the world would be a more beautiful place to live in if we could all read each other's minds, especially those of our BOSSES.

Sometimes I can't help but feel that bosses are such busy creatures that they segment their minds many sections such that, they themselves get lost trying to track which part of their minds they used to talk to you re any subject / topic / issue.

It's unbelieveable how information that was reiterated again and again to them, seem like a brand new piece of information. Not only that, they sometimes change their minds so abruptly and expect us to be able to read it without any form of communication from them to us. Amazing isn't it?

In my future job interviews, I shall emphasize on the fact that WHILE I lack the ability to, I shall constantly try to develop telepathic frequencies with those around and above me.

Now, for a challenge...

The Myers-Briggs Personality Test......

Was having lunch the other day when I chanced upon a book fair...

Was browsing around when I spotted this book "The Pathfinder - How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success". When I turned the book around, I saw that it was going for like only $12 and so I decided to buy it cuz I do remember reading book reviews of this book.

With my whole slew of books waiting for me to read, I couldn't bring myself to start on this book yet. However, I saw that they have a slimmed down version of the Myers-Briggs personality test and decided to have a go at it.

I turned out to be a ISFJ... (Introvert, Sensors, Feeling, Judging)

And what this means is the following:

"Warm, conscientious, loyal, considerate, helpful, calm, quiet, devoted, gentle, open, nurturing, practical, patient, responsible, dependable, very observant, sensitive, holistic, inclusive, spontaneous, pragmatic, tactile, respectful, noncompetitive, sympathetic, painstaking and thorough, efficient, traditional.

The most service-oriented of all types. Very much in touch with their inner processes as well as the world around them. Seek harmony for themselves and all others. Serene, appreciative, in tune. Do not impose themselves or their opinions on others. Do no need to control. Find their own creative way to get the job done. Learn by doing. Uninterested in abstractions and theories. Use standard operating procedures only when they are best method for reaching the goals. Often creative and highly skilled, but so adverse to imposing that they are easily overlooked and their contributions go unnoticed."

You know what? Some of these thoughts occurred to me more than once even before I did this test. But it's just another test... At the end of the day, what really happens is what I make out of it and carry out any form of action.

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On another separate note, I finished reading "Memories of my Melancholy Whores" and how should I put it...

It was beautiful yet warped. I thought that it's kinda like a piece of art in Gabriel García Márquez's time. It reminds me of movies like "Quills" - Featuring Geoffrey Rush playing as 'Marquis de Sade'.

Actually borrowed another book from the Library by Gabriel to have a more complete picture of his art...

Moving on to my next book... "Little Earthquakes" - Am actually a little embarassed to be carrying this book around cuz it depicts this baby pinkish, teddy bearish book cover... but hey! A lady deserves to read a trashy novel for light entertainment once in a while, don't you think?

Anyway, 1/3 into the book and don't think it's trashy. Just never judge a book by its cover... =P

Never Let Me Go...

Finished the book that Gracie lent me... It was... fascinating... and real... and sad at the same time... It questions morality that deals with everything human...

Kazuo Ishiguro's weaving of the story with words and descriptions was done so intricately... Without spelling out to readers in their face what was actually happening, he managed to craft the story in such a manner that there was no other way you could interprete the story. Yet, there's a great deal to think about when the final page has been read.

Just a little spoiler on the book:
"This kind of insight into our real lives makes "Never Let Me Go" powerful to read despite its simple plot. Kathy and her friends suffer the sort of conflicts that could happen to any of us, but knowing that they are doomed to an early death heightens the impact of their troubles. But on further reflection, we realize that our lot is not so very different from theirs, even if it may take eighty years to play out instead of thirty."

Anyhow... moving on to my next book... Yup, I'm back to my erratic phase when I'll jump and bury myself in books just one after another. Borrowed 4 books from the library yest!! Heee... *Hippeeeee!*

On another note... I'll hate it when they remove the Orchard library end of this year... Guess Bishan's gonna be one... =/