Yes! Here it is finally! A video of the five weeks I spent in India! I used iMovie to make it, and the experience was really painless and quick. I especially loved the customizable video transitions and the globe animation! Amazing stuff! Makes being a home-video editor so much more fun.

Video geek talk aside. My first trip to India was one that really opened my eyes and has left a profound impression on me. I was deeply humbled, amazed, annoyed, delighted, sadden, shocked and surprised during the journey. The poor, the rich, the food, the culture, and most of all, the experience of IST (Indian Stretchable Time). I think that punctuality is a true rarity in India. Hahhaha!

Towards the end of journey, I spent 10 days in Dharamsala, where I attended 3 days of Buddhist teachings by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Those few days in his presence reminded me of so many Life lessons that you were taught as a kid, but have since forgotten while growing up. Take for example… the importance of Forgiveness.

In the past few years, I realized that I spent a lot of time harboring grudges, or imagining the worst of people who have crossed my path. I now realize how silly it is to do that, when there is so much more freedom in forgiving someone, than with bearing a grudge against them. You spend all your energies filling your mind with angry, afflictive and terrible thoughts that you can’t find peace even when you sleep. So instead of getting angry and upset, isn’t it a lot more constructive to practice forgiveness instead?

Conversely, since coming back to Singapore, I continue to practice this renewed trust in forgiveness. It is not an easy task, and I’ve already been upset with a couple of people. The first person is a young girl whom I have great difficulty communicating with. I find her to be overly-demanding and unappreciative of my efforts and contributions. Still, I am still working on how to get around this, and I suppose that a simple chat should do the trick.

However, the second person whom upset me taught me that anger is really ‘all in your mind’. I spent so much time, thinking the worst of her, or conjuring show-downs in my mind… that I forgot all about forgiveness. Basically, I would get worked up at her, based on my imagination! How silly is that? True enough, reality was quite different when we met again. And I was thankful that I had my eyes and my heart open to see that she was not trying to upset me, but was actually going out of her way to help me. Aaahh… So… I must continue to practice patience and forgiveness. Practice, practice… practice…

酸 甜 苦 辣 has proved to be a recurring theme that has surfaced twice in a span of five days. First as a rite of passage at a Singaporean gate-crashing wedding ceremony. This crazy local/Chinese tradition typically involves the groom and his groomsmen to be put through a series of embarrassing and hilarious tests to prove their sincerity for the bride. (It’s also the only time where a bunch of sober men can get away with stripping, dancing, kissing and singing like madmen without offending their in-laws). So where does  酸 甜 苦 辣 fit into all these celebrations? Ahh… being Singaporean… we love our food. So where our usual gastronomical pleasure lies, we can also use our love of food to cause pain. Enter the deadly concoction of 酸 甜 苦 辣!

酸 | Vinegar

甜| Honey with sugar

苦| Uncooked bitter gourd

辣| Garlic chilli sauce with chilli padi

The madness of this concoction has a deeper meaning of course. It is meant to symbolize the taste of Life. Where there is sweetness (甜), there might be a bitter (苦) aftertaste. Likewise, what could begin as bitterness (甜), could end up in sweetness (甜). Where there is soured relationships (酸), let spicy (辣) excitement revive your soul.

Interestingly, the poignancy of  酸 甜 苦 辣 surfaced again when we organized a special hair-shaving night for one of the sweetest poi-bois in town – enter Recruit Clayton Chwee. The about-to-be enlisted young soul braved the Mad Barbers of Haji Lane, as we went wild shaving off his signature shoulder length hair. We honestly couldn’t help ourselves! But we just had to play with his hair! Check out some of the amazing looks that we created that night!

Our wicked ceremony was finally capped off with yet another round of 酸 甜 苦 辣.

酸| Lime Juice

甜| Ameretto

苦| Campari

辣| Tabasco Sauce

Long live 酸 甜 苦 辣 rituals! I’m pretty sure I’ll see it quite a few more times in this lifetime. I wonder if anyone has got really bizarre stories to share? Please feel free to comment! I’d love to hear them!

Hot off the press! Ok… right… maybe about a week or two late. Hehhehe Here are my videos from Bornfire 2009. Bornfire was a fire festival held at Dohby Ghaut Green for the last weekend in August. So first up is… G’s immaculate spin on the first night. I especially love the music in this one. Check out how the stalls work perfectly with the pace of the music. Sweetness! Gsus!

And over here we have Dai Zaobab performing staffs and buggeng. This guy is singularly the most entertaining performer I’ve ever met. He’s funny, he’s crazy, he has the audience eating out of his palm and shouting ‘FIRE’ on command. Check out the amazing Buugeng in motion. Beautiful stuff. Please visit www.zaobab.com.

And here is Sean and Prisna, makers of Flowtoys doing fire wands, poi, staff and more. I love how this brilliant couple perform on stage, the music and the chemistry is pure bliss. Please checkout the beauty of Flowtoys at www.flowtoys.com.

Last but not least, here’s Starlight Alchemy performing on the first night of Bornfire 2009. 27th Nov, Dohby Ghaut Green – Singapore. Again, this is a non fire set, but watch for all the pretty spinning lights. Whheee… I especially love the music and group choreography here. Please visit www.starlightalchemy.com

The only thing to do on a Thursday night is to run wild with fire loving friends. Starlight Alchemy has been hosting G, who’s here in Singapore for Bornfire 2009. Between rehearsals and costume making, we stumble upon a mind boggling pair of Big Poi! Next thing you know, we’ve got G going wild on the Big Poi, burning up chest hair and all. Ahh… The wonder of Thursday nights…

Am incredibly proud of one of best friends, Perry Ho. His latest work… Like Fins For Feet is a wonderful illustrated book that he worked on for a long time… quietly together with Kristal Melson.

“One day, you awake to find a Blue Whale in your room. It is no different from the wind blowing across your path a moth or a paper bag. Once you get over the Whaleness of the moment, your day goes on, like it did yesterday, and most likely, like it will tomorrow. Today however…”

Look for the book in all good book stores, and if you find a whale bookmark within it’s pages, you’d be happy to know that Perry personally placed it there just for you. For more information about the book, please visit the official website for Like Fins for Feet.

18th August 2009 -  The Straits Times (by Sujin Thomas)

Jailed for living in an illegal tent

HOMELESS and unemployed, Noor Mohammad Yassin Ismail pitched a canvas tent at East Coast Park in May, 2007, and lived there for almost a month – without a lease or licence to do so.

He was discovered on June 26 of that year, after he was apprehended by park rangers.

In court on Tuesday, Noor was asked to produce his Identity Card or passport but he said that he had lost both items.

It prompted District Judge Mr Shaiffudin Saruwan to retort in jest: ‘I suggest you use a bicycle chain to tie yourself to a tree or you may lose yourself as well.’

Pleading for leniency, Noor, who is tanned and skinny, said that he seldom ate, only doing so if friends gave him food.

He added that his mother is paralysed and looked after by a younger sibling, while an elder sister does not care about him.

He was fined $800 but could not afford to pay the fine so he was jailed four days instead. He could have been fined up to $2,000.

I am utterly disgusted by District Judge Mr Shaiffudin Saruwan careless remark: ‘I suggest you use a bicycle chain to tie yourself to a tree or you may lose yourself as well.’

I mean… here is a homeless guy, who can’t even afford his meals, so how can you expect him to have the money to renew his Identity Card or Passport. Where is your compassion as a judge? Where is the compassion you have a human being? To find out more… check out the on-going debate at The Online Citizen – Where’s the compassion in our “Fine City”?

I have been watching this video over and over again, and it just gets better every time. Thank you Nevisoul (Thomas), may your passion for poi never fade. I hope to see you on the playa and I also hope that you’ll come for Bornfire in Singapore later this year! To find out more about Nevisoul, feel free to check out the blog.

I was kindly invited by the organizers of BLACKOUT to document this amazing event and here’s what I’ve created. What is Blackout? Answer: Watch the video.

My favorite exhibit was definitely Effervescene by Chng Nai Wee. The field of lights were just so mesmerizing that I couldn’t help but gawk at it the first time I saw it. Yes… blinky lights. I’m attracted to that kinda thing, and so were my fellow spinners from Starlight Alliance who are also featured in the video.

Organizer: Salon Projects Director & Editor: Karen Ng aka iamspidermonkey Camera Assistants: Edmond Ng | Eunice Woo Photographers: Eunice Lim | Jason Cho | Noel Yeo

Unfortunately… I chose McDonalds today! I just inhaled half a Double Filet O’ Fish burger with wasabi fries for lunch. And now… I’m feeling kinda slow and greasy all over… yuck… Brrr… should have listened to my inner voice and stuck to the healthy eating. Doh! Meanwhile… checkout Mrawz – I’m kinda likin’ it.

Here’s the latest video I’ve done for SEIKO. Kudos to all those who shared their SEIKO stories! And for the rest of you out there who want to win a spiffy new watch… find out more about the SEIKO contest!