I was reading a book recently, and the author had taken a quote from Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard. It jumped out at me, and I thought about it for the rest of the night. Doing a quick search the next day on the internet revealed that Kierkegaard was a 19th century philosopher who was recognised as the first existentialist philospher. If anyone remembers, a couple of blogs back, I was telling all those who would listen that that word popped into my head one day. I swear I had never heard of Kierkegaard until a couple of days ago. Is there something unravelling in my universe that I need to know? Why do clues come in drib and drabs?
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard
Thursday, June 1, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
a new old discovery
So my mum’s in town. As usual, she’s taken us by a quiet storm… the calm before. Truth be told, as I get older, I feel the need to be near her again. As how I was when I was between the ages of six to ohh... thirteen? Then the teenage and early adult years were years of denial that I wasn’t anything like her. Ah… all lies, lies, lies!
But I digress.
As I was saying, it’s kind of fun having mum around, even though my beloved and I now spend half the time we would normally spend together. And that’s hard too, but I love them both, but in different ways (obviously!). What mum has (re)taught me is knitting! And now it’s addictive – perhaps it is the fact that once you learn the basic technique, you can basically see the fruition of your work unravel (ha! ha!) before you eyes. Yes, the times of instant gratification, but more importantly being able to touch a finished product with my own hands. Oh, I’m a long way from done, but as I see the ball of red slowly turning into a *reasonable* scarf-like thing, it’s amazing. And yeah… the addictive click-clacking of my 5mm needles.
Did I mention that I’ve had six unsuccessful attempts before finally settling into a fairly comfortable routine? This was mainly due to the fact that I started on a ridiculously funky, hairy wool learning how to 4K-4P (for those uninitiated non-knit-talkers, that’s 4 knit, 4 purl). I finally spat the dummy and started on plain chilli red wool, doing 4K-4P. Started off well enough, but then I thought I could watch telly and count at the same time (no, being an accountant does not help). And about ten rows into my beautiful knitting, I discovered a stitch quietly unraveling itself halfway down. I had missed a stitch!!! Imagine my horror, not to mention the wasted three hours of my life and I wasn’t even five inches through! So I did the only thing that had to be done, I unraveled the damn thing…for the fourth time. Desperate times called for desperate measures and I dumbed down my pattern, performing only the knitting stitches.
There is surely some moral to this story – JUST GIVE UP, I hear some say! But I refuse to, and perhaps it’s my stubbornness that makes me persevere – but most of all, I think it is the bonding that I felt I’ve lost during the last few years with my mum, and I’m discovering that through knitting again. For that, I am thankful. Who knew a pair of needles and two dollar wools was what was needed to do the trick? J
But I digress.
As I was saying, it’s kind of fun having mum around, even though my beloved and I now spend half the time we would normally spend together. And that’s hard too, but I love them both, but in different ways (obviously!). What mum has (re)taught me is knitting! And now it’s addictive – perhaps it is the fact that once you learn the basic technique, you can basically see the fruition of your work unravel (ha! ha!) before you eyes. Yes, the times of instant gratification, but more importantly being able to touch a finished product with my own hands. Oh, I’m a long way from done, but as I see the ball of red slowly turning into a *reasonable* scarf-like thing, it’s amazing. And yeah… the addictive click-clacking of my 5mm needles.
Did I mention that I’ve had six unsuccessful attempts before finally settling into a fairly comfortable routine? This was mainly due to the fact that I started on a ridiculously funky, hairy wool learning how to 4K-4P (for those uninitiated non-knit-talkers, that’s 4 knit, 4 purl). I finally spat the dummy and started on plain chilli red wool, doing 4K-4P. Started off well enough, but then I thought I could watch telly and count at the same time (no, being an accountant does not help). And about ten rows into my beautiful knitting, I discovered a stitch quietly unraveling itself halfway down. I had missed a stitch!!! Imagine my horror, not to mention the wasted three hours of my life and I wasn’t even five inches through! So I did the only thing that had to be done, I unraveled the damn thing…for the fourth time. Desperate times called for desperate measures and I dumbed down my pattern, performing only the knitting stitches.
There is surely some moral to this story – JUST GIVE UP, I hear some say! But I refuse to, and perhaps it’s my stubbornness that makes me persevere – but most of all, I think it is the bonding that I felt I’ve lost during the last few years with my mum, and I’m discovering that through knitting again. For that, I am thankful. Who knew a pair of needles and two dollar wools was what was needed to do the trick? J
Saturday, May 13, 2006
D r u n k I t
I recently turned another year older (bleah!), and my beloved took me to Mr. Mathis’ Taxi Dining Room for a sumptuous dinner to celebrate (yay!). Who said he didn’t have a romantic bone in his body (me!)? Okay, so I take it back, but it was always in jest. Anyway, it’s doesn’t bode well to indulge me too often. With my bovine nature, I tend to get excessive, obsessive and well… fat!
Anyway, it was lovely, he had planned it all… this is my boy who never thinks too much about tomorrows – that by the way, is one of the things I love about him. Spontaneity, which I utterly lack. There only needs to be one in the relationship. I can’t imagine if we both were; we’d be constantly living life as if we had something stuck up our bum!
The biggest surprise of the day was when my beloved pulled out two bottles of 1999 Vintage Cristal from his car boot. He had asked me a year ago what I would like when I graduated from my CA, and I replied “Drink champagne, preferably Cristal!” (back to that bovine nature I mentioned).
Only one of the most beautifully balanced champagne in the world, every drop was elegant and stylish. Bollinger and Moet, eat your heart out! We paired it with only eating seafood all night. There were sushi, garfish, scallops, the works. Truly a night worth remembering! And it wasn’t just the food or the beautiful champagne; it was also about a kept promise.
I can’t wait to get stuck into the next bottle!
Anyway, it was lovely, he had planned it all… this is my boy who never thinks too much about tomorrows – that by the way, is one of the things I love about him. Spontaneity, which I utterly lack. There only needs to be one in the relationship. I can’t imagine if we both were; we’d be constantly living life as if we had something stuck up our bum!
The biggest surprise of the day was when my beloved pulled out two bottles of 1999 Vintage Cristal from his car boot. He had asked me a year ago what I would like when I graduated from my CA, and I replied “Drink champagne, preferably Cristal!” (back to that bovine nature I mentioned).
Only one of the most beautifully balanced champagne in the world, every drop was elegant and stylish. Bollinger and Moet, eat your heart out! We paired it with only eating seafood all night. There were sushi, garfish, scallops, the works. Truly a night worth remembering! And it wasn’t just the food or the beautiful champagne; it was also about a kept promise.
I can’t wait to get stuck into the next bottle!
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Autumn in Melbourne
Crispy air,
Wind caressing hair,
Singing birds,
The sound of shuffling feet amongst gold leaves,
What a glorious morning.
Wind caressing hair,
Singing birds,
The sound of shuffling feet amongst gold leaves,
What a glorious morning.
Friday, February 3, 2006
Movida
My beloved and I had one of the best meals in a long time last night. Our usual Thursday fare involves some beer drinking down at Transport after work. Then either of two things happen - we go home and eat leftovers, or we feel adventurous and decide to waste some money. Our favourite haunt is a tapas place called MoVida just off Flinders Lane.
I am just going to jump straight to the food because, afterall, it was the main star of the night.
1. Anchovies, topped with smoked tomato sorbet, served on a crouton with capers
2. Carpaccio of air-cured beef, with potato foam truffle and poached eggs
3. Zucchini flowers stuffed with French goats cheese and thyme, in a saffron batter, served with Tasmanian leatherwood honey drizzle
4. Oven roasted Portabello mushrooms finished with sherry vinegar
5. 'Cornetto' of chicken liver pater, sprinkled with toasted corn finished with reduced Pedro Ximénez sherry.
The beauty of each dish was that they had been well thought. For every saltiness, there was sweetness; every sharpness balanced by a subtle softness. On top of getting the flavours so right, the texture of each dish was also sublime - crunchy, chewy, smooth, melt-in-your-mouth kinda moments. Armed with my favourite eating buddy, it was one of the nicest meal I’ve had in a while and the best $75 bucks spent.
I am just going to jump straight to the food because, afterall, it was the main star of the night.
1. Anchovies, topped with smoked tomato sorbet, served on a crouton with capers
2. Carpaccio of air-cured beef, with potato foam truffle and poached eggs
3. Zucchini flowers stuffed with French goats cheese and thyme, in a saffron batter, served with Tasmanian leatherwood honey drizzle
4. Oven roasted Portabello mushrooms finished with sherry vinegar
5. 'Cornetto' of chicken liver pater, sprinkled with toasted corn finished with reduced Pedro Ximénez sherry.
The beauty of each dish was that they had been well thought. For every saltiness, there was sweetness; every sharpness balanced by a subtle softness. On top of getting the flavours so right, the texture of each dish was also sublime - crunchy, chewy, smooth, melt-in-your-mouth kinda moments. Armed with my favourite eating buddy, it was one of the nicest meal I’ve had in a while and the best $75 bucks spent.
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
‘existentialism’
The word 'existentialism' popped into my head suddenly on Sunday morning, whilst I was enjoying a sumptuous yum cha with my family to celebrate the first day of Chinese New Year. I've seen and heard of it many times, but I don't know the meaning of it, and I had no idea why it came into my head the way it did. A quick search on Wikipedia revealed the following -
"a philosophical movement that views human existence as having a set of underlying themes and characteristics, such as anxiety, dread, freedom, awareness of death, and consciousness of existing, that are primary. That is, they cannot be reduced to or be explained by a natural-scientific approach or any approach that attempts to detach itself from or rise above these themes."
If there was any evidence that time flies as we get older, get a load of this - a particular friend of mine is born early in January, and therefore he is technically born in the year of Horse (Jan 1979). On the Chinese calender, we are always one year older than our English counterpart, but in his case, he is two years older! It was when he somewhat muttered with some resignation that he was 27 on the English calender, but 29 on Chinese calendar that I took a double take. Now, I never think about reaching the 3- mark, but his remark sorta sent me on a tailspin. Not that I worry about getting old... no, no..... uhmm, not me.
Anyways, enough of my obsession about things I can neither change nor control. Someday, I'm going to learn how to pick my fights properly. My beloved and I went to the White Stripes concert on Saturday (CNY Eve) with some friends. Yes, yes, not the most clever of dates to pick to go to a concert. Unfortunately, the fact that over 1 billion of the population in the world is Chinese don't make that day out of bounds to concerts and other events that coordinators may wish to hold. Festival Hall is still the old, junk of a place that's been hanging around 20 years too long. As my bro-in-law fervently exclaims, the place should have been bulldozed about 20 years ago. My beloved fondly remembers seeing The Cramps in concert. Oooh, now we are revealing age here. Moving on....
... The White Stripes were awesome, a band made up of one husband and his ex-wife (or one wife and her ex-husband, depending how feminist inclined you are), trashing at guitars and a basic drum set. Along with instruments such as the zylophone, triangles, pianos and organs, it was a feast on the musical senses - that is if you like rock & roll, plus alot of head trashing, whiny & at times wailing vocals.
We headed back into the city around midnight to catch the dragon dance at the Russell street carpark, and to watch the mayor of Melbourne light up the firecrackers. It was quite a bizarre night, being in the mix of two cultures. I sometimes catch myself being very thankful for our exposure to multiculturalism. I would like to think that as a result, we are more tolerant of others needs and differences. Unfortunately, we somehow always end up getting completely the opposite kind of people running countries. Another thing I can neither change nor control, but I suppose if we start at the bottom, we'll work our way up eventually.
As everyone inevitably does, we ended the night tucked in a bar on Liverpool St called Double Happiness (very apt for the occasion) and gas-bagged till the wee hours in the morning (at least it was to my 26-year-old body) drinking Coopers Ale long necks. Just the perfect ending to a perfectly fine new year.
~
Bragging rights corner
A client of my firm just got nominated for an Oscar for his short animated film, The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello. For all you film buffs out there who might be interested (if chance permits).
http://www.jaspermorello.com/gazette/
http://www.melbournepubs.com/v/876/
http://www.theage.com.au/news/gig-previews--reviews/white-stripes/2006/01/29/1138469601764.html
"a philosophical movement that views human existence as having a set of underlying themes and characteristics, such as anxiety, dread, freedom, awareness of death, and consciousness of existing, that are primary. That is, they cannot be reduced to or be explained by a natural-scientific approach or any approach that attempts to detach itself from or rise above these themes."
If there was any evidence that time flies as we get older, get a load of this - a particular friend of mine is born early in January, and therefore he is technically born in the year of Horse (Jan 1979). On the Chinese calender, we are always one year older than our English counterpart, but in his case, he is two years older! It was when he somewhat muttered with some resignation that he was 27 on the English calender, but 29 on Chinese calendar that I took a double take. Now, I never think about reaching the 3- mark, but his remark sorta sent me on a tailspin. Not that I worry about getting old... no, no..... uhmm, not me.
Anyways, enough of my obsession about things I can neither change nor control. Someday, I'm going to learn how to pick my fights properly. My beloved and I went to the White Stripes concert on Saturday (CNY Eve) with some friends. Yes, yes, not the most clever of dates to pick to go to a concert. Unfortunately, the fact that over 1 billion of the population in the world is Chinese don't make that day out of bounds to concerts and other events that coordinators may wish to hold. Festival Hall is still the old, junk of a place that's been hanging around 20 years too long. As my bro-in-law fervently exclaims, the place should have been bulldozed about 20 years ago. My beloved fondly remembers seeing The Cramps in concert. Oooh, now we are revealing age here. Moving on....
... The White Stripes were awesome, a band made up of one husband and his ex-wife (or one wife and her ex-husband, depending how feminist inclined you are), trashing at guitars and a basic drum set. Along with instruments such as the zylophone, triangles, pianos and organs, it was a feast on the musical senses - that is if you like rock & roll, plus alot of head trashing, whiny & at times wailing vocals.
We headed back into the city around midnight to catch the dragon dance at the Russell street carpark, and to watch the mayor of Melbourne light up the firecrackers. It was quite a bizarre night, being in the mix of two cultures. I sometimes catch myself being very thankful for our exposure to multiculturalism. I would like to think that as a result, we are more tolerant of others needs and differences. Unfortunately, we somehow always end up getting completely the opposite kind of people running countries. Another thing I can neither change nor control, but I suppose if we start at the bottom, we'll work our way up eventually.
As everyone inevitably does, we ended the night tucked in a bar on Liverpool St called Double Happiness (very apt for the occasion) and gas-bagged till the wee hours in the morning (at least it was to my 26-year-old body) drinking Coopers Ale long necks. Just the perfect ending to a perfectly fine new year.
~
Bragging rights corner
A client of my firm just got nominated for an Oscar for his short animated film, The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello. For all you film buffs out there who might be interested (if chance permits).
http://www.jaspermorello.com/gazette/
http://www.melbournepubs.com/v/876/
http://www.theage.com.au/news/gig-previews--reviews/white-stripes/2006/01/29/1138469601764.html
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Observations, the little things…
I had a thought the other day. If everyone in the world was a musician, there would be no time for making war. Sure, OD-rates and depression might rise, but hey, overall, the death rate must surely be less.
I watched the movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on Friday night. It was hilarious, I love movies that are sarcastic, and not just for the hell of it, but downright clever and makes me think “Doh! Why didn’t I think of that?” (sorry, such a Homer moment). I also love the irony that a cartoon has named a fat lard of a father and husband after a legendary Greek poet. WoNders will never cease…
Spent the weekend just bumming around the house, with all the blinds down because of this ridiculous heat (I am already expressing regret as I write, because when winter comes, I will come to miss these days when I walk around with singlet & shorts). I feel like a trapped mouse, with no inkling of time and what is going around me, although the Australian Tennis Open is just 1 km from my house and I watch it on telly constantly, half paying attention.
Have also started to practice my German (ich, liebe….) – it’s a mouthful, but I do think I will succeed in this. One day I’ll have to tell my French episode attempt. Meanwhile, my beloved is trying to master “I want beer and pizza” in German. Nice!!
Other than that, I bought a new toy over the week, it’s an IPod shuffle! Yes, am totally wanker-personified at the moment, with it hanging around my neck. But it’s made walking to work in the morning so much less boring and tedious. At least I have Ben Lee telling me that “All straight things must bend”. Now that’s my kind of meditation - something that just confuses the fuck out of me.
p/s: quick shout out to Wikipedia, the new definition to meanings.
I watched the movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on Friday night. It was hilarious, I love movies that are sarcastic, and not just for the hell of it, but downright clever and makes me think “Doh! Why didn’t I think of that?” (sorry, such a Homer moment). I also love the irony that a cartoon has named a fat lard of a father and husband after a legendary Greek poet. WoNders will never cease…
Spent the weekend just bumming around the house, with all the blinds down because of this ridiculous heat (I am already expressing regret as I write, because when winter comes, I will come to miss these days when I walk around with singlet & shorts). I feel like a trapped mouse, with no inkling of time and what is going around me, although the Australian Tennis Open is just 1 km from my house and I watch it on telly constantly, half paying attention.
Have also started to practice my German (ich, liebe….) – it’s a mouthful, but I do think I will succeed in this. One day I’ll have to tell my French episode attempt. Meanwhile, my beloved is trying to master “I want beer and pizza” in German. Nice!!
Other than that, I bought a new toy over the week, it’s an IPod shuffle! Yes, am totally wanker-personified at the moment, with it hanging around my neck. But it’s made walking to work in the morning so much less boring and tedious. At least I have Ben Lee telling me that “All straight things must bend”. Now that’s my kind of meditation - something that just confuses the fuck out of me.
p/s: quick shout out to Wikipedia, the new definition to meanings.
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