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Translation: Life is always full of changes. When facing losses, we accept it patiently. Temporary loss may turn out to be a gain.
The past few weeks have been pretty dismal. I’ve been really sick, really bored, and really sad. My heart has been trampled by a careless soul, my travel plans suddenly changed, and my hard-earned money ill-spent. But now… I take comfort. In the bigger scheme of things, this loss is nothing compared to what we’ve gone through as a family. Mum and Kelvin stand by me. As do my friends, with their sensible words, listening ears and opened arms. Here are my Life’s cheerleaders. Thank you so much. I am deeply grateful. Especially to Mum, who gave me the Chinese idiom “塞翁失马, 焉知非福”. Her wise words are already coming true. Move on and do not look back! 
My colleague, Gerry, gave me a surprise present earlier this week. He knew that I loved cycling and that I’ve been touched by the Cancer community, so it was most appropriate that his gift was a book written by Lance Armstrong, ‘It’s Not About The Bike, My Journey Back to Life’.
This afternoon’s nap brought papa back into my dreams. I don’t usually dream of him, so it was a surprise. Papa appeared smiling and wordlessly happy. His cheeks pink with life. I greet him like a long lost friend in the hallway. I ask him why he’s been away for so long. Cut to: He’s driving us around in the car. I’m in the backseat trying on new seat covers and complaining that they are too warm and fluffy. He just smiles happily and drives on.
The last time that I dreamt of Papa was back in August. He appeared to me across the table. Again smiling with pink cheeks. He holds a porcelain pot filled with some sort of liquid. Brilliant gold light begins to emit from the porcelain pot. He begins to swirl the pot in one hand. A whirlpool of golden waves dance across the room. He throws his head back and laughs heartily.
The past month has been a whirl of activity! Of so many paths crossed, new places discovered and new lessons learnt. The biggest highlight was of course my dearest cousin’s Jean & Gabriel wedding – 080808. We flew up to LA for the festivities and there, in a dusty workshop, I was reminded of my love for Creating instead of Consuming objects. With my bare hands, I built a thing, called a manifold to circulate air for inflatable bubbles. The final product was a cool little backdrop for where the wedding ceremony took place. Very proud of myself here.
The making of the Manifold…
The Manifold… packed and ready to go!
The Manifold… in action! In the background… perfectly connected to the cloud stage…
Apart from the Manifold… there were… EARHORNS that Gabriel painstakingly made from scratch. The end product is a work of beauty and it makes for such a beautiful door gift for all of their guests.
And then… there was THE PARTY. Where we all took turns going wild on the JeanGenie 360degree swing! The crazy bicycles, the deadly cucumber martinis, the fire eater, the mobile boat, the golden sphere of a wedding cake and so much more! Aahhh! Can’t put it into words. It was an event that you just had to be there to fully enjoy and breathe in all the love the good energy. Whhheee! Congratulations Jean & Gabriel! I wish you eternal bliss!
Click here for more photos.
Angeline is off to Belgium to sit for an entrance exam to the very prestigious Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts. I wish her all the very best! Good luck babe! The school will see that you have an undying passion for fashion design, and they will fall in love with your ultra-non-pretentious fashionista style!
Here’s a piece that Angeline made for me a month ago… I love it to bits!
Checkout her other works here –> Angeline’s Website.
This is an exciting week! I’ve just returned from a holiday in Thailand and straight into the launch of our company’s latest offering… *drumroll*… Introducing muveeReveal!
It’s bigger and better than before! We’ve worked like hell to make video editing as painless as possible, so please check out our FREE download here. Meanwhile… checkout how muvee Reveal has turned my random holiday photos+videos into a cool little video production! Sure beats boring slideshows huh? 
Anyway… Thailand was all that I hoped it to be. The land of smiles, sunshine, good food and brilliant Thai massages. We hung out with Dad’s best friend – Uncle SongChai and his family, who were the best guides ever. They helped us to bargain down prices at every market, brought us to local joints to enjoy authentic Thai cuisine, and brought us to the beautiful seaside town of Hua Hin (2hrs south of Bangkok), where we seriously indulged in the lap of luxury at Dusit Thani resort. Brilliant! Loved every minute of it… didn’t want it to end. Hahha!
- 清明时节雨纷纷
- qīng míng shí jié yǔ fēn fēn
- 路上行人欲断魂
- lù shàng xíng rén yù duàn hún
- 借问酒家何处有
- jiè wèn jiǔ jiā hé chù yǒu
- 牧童遥指杏花村
- mù tóng yáo zhǐ xìng huā cūn
- Heading to the beach later to pay my respects to Papa. Its Qing Ming Jie today.
yogamum is also going through the waiting game of watching her father being consumed by Cancer. I know exactly how that felt, and I know how heart-breaking it can be. Please pop by her site, and feel free to leave her some words of encouragement.
Here is one of my favorite photos of Papa. I’ve got it set as my desktop wallpaper right now. I miss him so much and so dearly. I think I’ve got his smile.
oh yes. today. i finally. finally. finally made it to mysore in the morning. rolled outta bed by 5.30am, and made it to the shala by 7am. whoolooloo! the resolution finally takes off! Truth is… I was awaken by a buzzing mosquito who left angry red bites on my face at 3am, and I just couldn’t fall asleep again.
morning mysore isso different from evening classes. wow. the whole vibe is really different, and I have to say… I really dig it. Though, I still fell flat on my arse in Bhujapidasana. No worries… practice. practice. practice. My teachers Anna and Stanley were pleasantly surprised when i entered the shala – they know what a sleepyhead i am… always coming to the shala half asleep on the weekends.
Mom and Grand Aunt are away in Malaysia for a week. I texted her yesterday and told her how much I miss her. The house is just so quiet and lonely without people milling around, watching TV, playing soduku, chasing cats, having dinner, chatting. First time I’ve felt really lost and alone at home since Papa’s passing, I guess I’m still grieving. 
Meanwhile… I sigh at the sight of Anthony Poon’s work every time I go to the gym at Bugis Junction Tower. It’s at the main lobby of the office block, and people just walk past it without ever stopping to breathe it in. It’s absolutely beautiful. One day, when I get a better photo of it, I will post it up.
Chinese New Year should really qualify as an extreme sport. I mean we Chinese honestly take it to the extremes when it comes to festivities. There’s way too much food, too many family members, too much gambling, too much swearing, too much house visiting and too many people wearing bright red clothes. Hahha! Well… in all honesty, I really enjoyed the past five days , although I did lose my temper when I found a bunch of my younger cousins tormenting my cats, Mr. Brown and Eva Luna when they visited my house.
Took loads of photos of my dearest family members, you can view the complete album here.
Meanwhile, here are a couple of my favorites:
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