Size Seven Shoes

Some letters are just blessed more than others. Take the letter L, for instance. It is richly endowed with a vocabulary of niceties that other alphabets cannot even dare to dream of: love, life, laughter, like, luck... probably even more that I don't recall. And why so, while other alphabets suffer the lack of noble or interesting words such that people are prone to forget them far too easily, as opposed to the lovely letter L? But then, you may argue that the letter L has shortcomings of its own. Lies. Lust. Litter. Lost. Yes yes, but which other alphabet can trump "L for love"? R for romance, perhaps. Or F for faithful. But that doesn't quite cut it, does it? What do think, then, about the bad press that F receives undeservedly? Fight. Fat. Fool. Frumpy. Frugal.  Don't you sometimes get the Feeling that Life is a Little unFair?   

  A wau - a Malaysian kite I've always wanted to fly one successfully. I don't think I ever have. I remember having to make one in primary school... a wau (which was supposed to look something like the one in the picture) and I used lidi and tracing paper and made colourful designs on it. It didn't fly properly. I remember seeing people's kites get stuck in trees and feeling sad on their behalf when I was a child. I wonder why the term "flying kites" ended up having such a negative connotation when kite flying is really a fascinating thing. Do people even fly kites nowadays?  Perhaps the reason I find it fascinating is because it's fluid.. it's dependent on the wind... and wind is something none of us can control. It's the intrigue of something that's beyond you, stretching far above what you can ever understand or imagine. That an unpredictable gust of wind can have the power to lift up your kite... and figuratively speaking, your d...

Hehe can I double post for W? After all it's a DOUBLE u, right? Okay, I'm considerably lame sometimes. Anyhow, I've been thinking about it lately, and I still believe I'd much rather be an author than a journalist (which is what I am currently). It's been one of my lifelong dreams to write and publish a book that gets sold in the bookstores around the city where I live so I can beam with joy every time I catch a glimpse of its title on the shelves of MPH or Borders or somewhere like that. But that day has yet to come. I have tried and tried to write the opening chapters for what I hoped would become a book but so far the efforts have not been anywhere near successful. *sniff* Recently, my Mum pointed out to me an article in The Star that said that the government is allocating a RM 2 million fund to help publish books. This is great because it's just what I need (now, to actually get round to writing that book hoho). I'm not sure if I'd actuall...

I feel rather sad because I have not been able to keep up faithfully with this A to Z Challenge lately. Things at work were especially busy over the past week or two, with me heading out for assignments almost every other day. I suppose this is nothing compared to the life of a reporter who works for a daily newspaper, but it's tiring enough for me. The assignments were interesting though, and I suppose it should be the subject of a blog post too, but I shall save that for another time. Plus, I kept forgetting to submit my tax assessment form, and it hung over my head like a small black cloud that grew thicker and darker by the day (okay, so I'm exaggerating a little, but tax claims are such a bother, aren't they?). AND to top things off, I had some other additional writing task to do, which was not so well received by the intended recipient. Sigh. I guess there's no pleasing anyone for as long as the writing is for someone else's sake and not your own. But ...

They're the ones who scolded you and gave you a caning when you misbehaved. The very same people who hugged you and told you could do it when you felt like you couldn't, the ones who cheered you from the stands when you emerged as champion in your favourite sport at a school competition. The dependable duo who magically seemed to always have cash to spare whenever you asked for some (though you later found out this wasn't quite true). And although they may the source of the most annoying yet useful reminders in your lifetime, they are also likely the two people who know you best. We can't choose our parents, but we can choose to love them - for who they are to us and for all they've done in making us who we are today. *Disclaimer:  I know that not everyone has loving, devoted parents, so I guess this post may not resonate with every single person who reads it. But I'm speaking optimistically here, because even though we can't choose the circumsta...

Jane felt sad. Mary had her little lamb, and Little Miss Muffet had her tuffet, plus the company of a curious little spider. Even her annoying cousin, Jack Horner, had his stale Christmas pie to keep him amused, whilst her neighbour, whom she has only known all this while as Little Boy Blue, had his favourite horn with which he can blow funny tunes with to keep boredom at bay. He was playing a tune right then, and as she listened, it was making her even sadder. But she... she had nothing at all. Folding her arms to her chest, she sighed. She needed something to perk her up. Gazing around the tiny confines of her cottage, she felt the way everyone else had described: a very plain Jane indeed. It was not a nice feeling. After thinking for a moment, she decided to take a walk. So out her door and onto the pathway she went. Jane walked and walked and walked. The sun was shining brightly and she felt more and more tired as she went along. Suddenly, she heard a voice saying, ...

Note: I know there are many missing posts for quite a few alphabets (I-L), I promise I'll fill them in later. *   *   * It's a rainy Saturday morning here in Mutiara Damansara and I'm sitting here at McDonald's in The Curve with Deric. He's busy watching football highlights, while waiting for me to finish my Sausage McMuffin. But I can't sit here just doing nothing, so I'm typing out a brief blogpost in the meantime. It's so rare to have such cool weather here where we live, so times like these are really a treat. Unhurried time to spend with each other is also more rare nowadays. So I feel really happy just being here. I really love being at the mall at this hour, because the place just opened not long ago. The shops are slowly coming alive, but the crowds are not in yet so it's still fairly quiet. The public toilets are still clean too, a fact that's very much appreciated since most Malaysian public toilets are usually filthy and more o...

Intensity. Electricity. Snap, sizzle, zap. Over the wire I hear you. Talk. Gossip. Girls, too pretty too many too fiery. Disaster strikes, from the rooftops down to the paved sidewalks. They are watching, don't you see? I flee. I feel. Leave while you still can. Stand for something. When you try, you'll know finally what you're made of and if it's worth it. Forget it. But then again, don't. Can't you see? Nonsense. Nuisance. Prudence. Finales dramatically descending on the unsuspecting man. No way, woman. Dreams. In a bubble, as light as a feather. I float through the air while you stare unaware that there's a puzzle behind every piece. Pancakes, tossed up and flapping down into hungry mouths, so many to feed. What a treat. I see you me everybody I and ten cities.

Hello dear readers! :) I apologise for the lack of updates. It's not too late to catch up now, is it? Harder to keep up with the alphabets now as the days seem to go whizzing by, especially when there are other things happening at the same time :P Hear me out though, because although this post is up late, H is a special letter :) I don't know about you, but the more I think about it, the more I feel that there are so many important words that start with H. How about heart? That's a major part of who we are. Where our heart is, there lies our treasure. Hand is another one. A handshake is a crucial formal introduction that signals the beginning of meaningful relationships - be they business dealings or the tiny seeds of friendship sown after you've gotten yourself acquainted with someone who was previously a stranger. Handsome would be yet another example. Okay, I admit that it's a little more old fashioned compared to other equivalent terms used today, but ...

No no no... not that guy who plays for Manchester United (even though my father is a fan, I'm sorry to say I don't quite share the passion). What I had actually meant, my dear readers, is gigs as in live musical performances. Think concerts. Yes, you get the drift. I was just at one earlier tonight - it was the album launch for a local Malaysian band called Paperplane Pursuit and it was at the extremely loud Laundry Bar in a livelier part of town called Kota Damansara. Best part was I got a copy of the new CD free, just by being bold enough to go up on stage and to say into the microphone the name of the next guest band that was coming up. Goes to show, my lovelies, that courage pays. But believe me, I still am rather shy along the fringes of my character. I hesitate sometimes. Ah, but I ramble. That will be a story for another post... R perhaps? I still feel partially deaf, to be honest. Plus perhaps the jolt of adrenaline from all the noise and pumped up crowd earl...

One of the ways that I first began writing more seriously was through poetry. It is to poetry that I return today, and I hope you my dear reader will enjoy it. But if for some reason you find it hard to understand, please feel free to ask for an explanation. I'm sure I speak for poets and artists everywhere, that we really do enjoy telling you the story behind our masterpieces. *   *   * Source:  http://www.uprisingarchive.org/Photos/Bora/RaisedFists.jpg        Fistfuls  Clenched and firm Hammering on tables Making demands, decisions Unconcerned of everything else but Reflections Of searing perfection What is and is not yours Profitability At the stakes of humanity The cigarette butts of poverty Polluting innocence Breeding insanity Stuck on the temporary fixes An addict to its adrenaline Of trophies and popularity With martyrs aplenty To cushion invisible consciences Taxes for gifts in apparent sincerity Un...

* Killing two birds with one stone, here we go ;) Dear Ellina, It has been some time since we last spoke. Although it's just a few weeks, it feels like it's been years and years. I'm not sure how we got here, but I'm sorry that we have. I remember times when things were simpler, happier. I hate to admit it, but I think we've been taking things for granted for way too long. I guess I'm trying to sound really intelligent and all that, but maybe what I'm saying is that I'm sorry. Sorry that I didn't stop you from leaving and sorry that now I feel like a complete idiot because I desperately need you here but was just too downright proud to admit it. I know I used to hate it when you'd ramble on and on about the things you had experienced in a day. I recall how I would cringe or recoil from you whenever you reached out to offer me a hug. I wish I could have you offer me those things now. When I finally go this time, I will go empty hand...

A much delayed post, but as they say, better late than never. In case you may not have known it, dear readers, I live in a country called Malaysia, which is located on the part of globe which is known as Southeast Asia. It is a fascinating place to live - what some like to fondly (or at times, perhaps not-so-fondly) refer to as a melting pot of culture, since we Malaysians are a diverse lot, consisting of a variety of races, religions and much more. But much has been happening in my country of late, and although it doesn't make as much worldwide ripples the way the tsunami disaster in Japan did or the revolution in Egypt did, it still matters and makes a difference in some way or another to us, and perhaps, by chance, to some other random stranger across the globe who is somehow affected by what happens in our nation due to his dependency on rambutan or durian or something. Such is the level of patriotism of my race (which by the way, is Chinese) that quite a number of us are...

It's... And that means that the A to Z Blogging Challenge is on! :) Whee! This is to help me keep track as I go along. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer. I might try resurrecting my old fictional, poetic ways. And please feel free to join this blogging pursuit. Commit your writing and blog name to the list here .    

It's B for brief this time, with a few extra Bs thrown in for good measure ;) I guess I'll just keep things BRIEF and say that there are BETTER things that are yet to come. Do BEAR with me while I BRAINSTORM on more interesting topics to BLABBER on about. Maybe I should be BRAVER and try blogging in a more creative way. But I'm just worried that I'll be a downright BORE. Then my readers will BLAME me for making them read nonsensical things. Well, I've got nothing much to BRAG about right now so I guess I should get going. I'll just say BYE for now then :) Alrighty, that's that and I'll see you back here for the next challenge day on Monday. I promise better quality posts by then. 

I was zooming down the ELITE highway, heading towards the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and trying my hardest to cut down a 47 minute journey into a 27 minute one. It was all my own fault, since my bf *had* told me to leave earlier but I had delayed it. As I went, I couldn't help but think, in the solitude of my car, about how crazy life is and how we never know where we'll end up in the future. Just last year, at this time, I was in Paihia, New Zealand, walking the 90 Mile Beach and sandboarding. I could not have imagined at that moment, what I'd be doing right now. That I'd be officially a journalist by profession, and that I'd have experienced as much in life as I already have. That I am all the more bolder, and even richer from the lessons learned and the wisdom gained. It's amazing where life takes you. Sometimes it's not all that extravagant, but even in the small things, it really is such a splendid adventure. :)