tate modern to see the street art exhibition gelato place in south ken which even gordon ramsay recommends jamie oliver’s fifteen since i can’t afford gordon ramsay karaoke at 113 htb big summer sunday! window-shopping at carnaby street spitalfields and a snapshot of east london
606 club for the tribute to tom jobim night! a stroll around little venice in maida vale watch the sound of music and agatha christie’s mousetrap sip good coffee at ray’s jazz at foyles, with a good book in hand southbank
will be striking things off the list as i complete them!
so this is it. the culmination of all our fears, expectations, hopes, frustrations. 17 years of academia and look what we’ve become today – experts at the art of examinations, cynical that this has been anything else but that. least of all the pure, untainted pursuit of knowledge and learning. perhaps. or i could be alone in my cynicism.
that being said, it is not at all an unemotional end. there’s infinitely more to it than simply not having to study for exams any longer. for so long one has been protected from it all by the belief that all you gotta do is work toward that one thing. so what do you do when you’ve done what you gotta do? who knows what’s out there in this big bad world. at that one last peal of the bells, it’s run and you’re on your own.
days go by with no empty feelings
and i walk, i walk, i walk.. i forget
til i go home
and touch my hair
and feel my skin
and i remember
that you’re gone
I’m going to put this video here although I know no one else will listen to it. Just because it saves me the trouble of going to Youtube to play it over and over again.
Incidentally, this song by Antonio Carlos “Tom” Jobim (the pianist in the video) and Vinicius de Moraes is considered to be the first bossa nova recording ever made. Tom Jobim, together with João Gilberto (the guitarist and vocalist in the video), was one of the creators of the bossa nova style, a style evolved from samba and whose name means “new trend”. Jobim, Gilberto, Gilberto’s then wife Astrud Gilberto and jazz saxophonist Stan Getz then went on to record the veryveryvery awesome Getz/Gilberto, which has since come to be regarded as the definitive bossa nova album of all time. The title of this song directly translates to “enough homesickness” or “enough longing”. There’s a literal translation of the lyrics into English on the web somewhere and it sounds a bit corny – “Cause there are fewer fish swimming in the sea Than the little kissesI shall give her on her mouth” … er? But I’m sure in the original Portuguese meaning it is really poetic and beautiful, haha.
Give it a listen, you will like it! I could be biased but I fail to see how anyone could not like music as accessible and pleasant to the ears as bossa nova!!
On another note- I will stop posting video after video and start writing properly again after my exams, hopefully!
Perhaps the one thing I will miss most when I leave this place (besides the people) is summer. Don’t tell me it’s sunny and hot all year round in Malaysia – there is simply no comparison to be made, and as much as I love Malaysia, the tropical climate does nothing for me. Summer here is when people are friendlier, children livelier and everyone’s just generally more good-looking and well.. happy. Which makes me happy too.
I’ve been sitting here at my desk for far too long. Believe me, time CRAWLS when you’re indoors and you can hear children’s laughter, chatter and reggae music blaring from cars with their tops down. I am longing to feel the burning sensation of the sun’s rays on my nape again. It’s time for my exams to stop distracting me from enjoying this gorgeous weather! Think I shall go down the road to Pret and get me an early dinner. Laters. (=
Here’s a beautiful worship song by Indonesian band GMB, hope it blesses you.
saat kudatang
kuhampiri singgahsanaMu
kuhanya mampu
tersungkur di bawah kakiMu
dan Kau naungi hidupku
dengan kekudusanMu
Kau buka jalan
melalui tabir diriMu
dengan darahMu
kumasuki tahta kudusMu
dan Kau curahkan semua isi hatiMu
kepadaKu
ku mengangkat hatiku
kumenyembahMu Yesus
pujian hormat, pengagungan bagiMu
jadikan aku saksi
penebusan darahMu
ini hidupku
hanyalah untukMu
s’lamanya
and my incompetent translation:
when i come
near to Your throne
i can only
fall at Your feet
and you protect my life
with Your holiness
You opened the way
through the veil
by Your blood
i approach Your holy throne
and You pour out Your heart
to me
i lift up my heart
i worship You Jesus
praise and majesty
to You
make me a witness
of Your redeeming blood
this is my life
only for You
always
N/B= Does anyone else think the lead singer kinda resembles Patrick Leong?
I was going to delete my earlier post titled “mea culpa” because it has occurred to me that it could have invited misinterpretations on many levels. But of course, people who’ve read it have read it and removing it would not change a thing. So I just wanted to clarify that the thing I regretted was simply my inability to keep a tighter reign on my emotions which resulted in an outburst, and nothing more than that. I feel strongly the need to point this out because of the implications of misinterpreting it as something more profound.
There comes a time when we have to choose who or what will control us. Will it be God, our own limited personality, or another imperfect substitute?
- excerpt from footnotes from The Life Application Study Bible
It struck me today that a big part of life really is about the continuous process of making choices. From the smallest to the largest. And in every choice if I could perceive how His will comes into play, then on paper the decision ought to be clear-cut enough. In which case it would then boil down to a question of conscious obedience, as well as faith to let go and let God.
there aren’t very many things i’ve done which i’ve instantly regretted. most of the time because i put a lot of thought – too much thought in fact – into something before i decide to do it. but as always there are exceptions. perhaps i read too much into your apparent nonchalance, and before i knew it this ugly automatic defense mechanism had set in. do you not know the feeling of wanting to lay claim to the very things which you yourself gave up the rights to? it’s crazy and it’s unreasonable and it’s wrong, but it’s true.
this one’s for you. because i thought it would fit in perfectly with that ‘collection’ you perhaps rather more thoughtlessly than i’d have liked to think, put together for me. if you still remember. (=
Watching this video moved me almost to tears and I’ll burst if I don’t share it with someone.. The emotion is just so raw and the improvisation wild and bold, but not without structure. The more airy, atmospheric bits are excellent as well in a very understated kind of way. Many label this as a marriage between classical and jazz – think along the lines of Chopin/Debussy/Satie meets Bill Evans/Keith Jarrett sort of thing. Enjoy the video, the interview at the end is also very worth watching. There are 7 parts to this documentary which you can find on Youtube.
I can be very involved in it, and also one part of my brain can be thinking about some really banal stupid shit, like I have to go the bathroom… or you know, did I leave my wallet in the hotel..
- Brad Mehldau, on what happens in him when he plays
but have you ever wondered why? apparently the reason behind it is that when you hug someone, your arms cross to form an ‘x’ shape on their back. and when you kiss, you pout and your mouth forms an ‘o’. cool, right?
the sun has melted every last drop of ice that fell to the pavement.
three-and-a-half years ago i stopped living vicariously through characters in stories and poems and movies. it was as much my dream as it is any starry-eyed child’s dream. and now, it is an apt closure.
because after all this time, this is the one quintessential thing that tells me i have made it here – that i really am here at last. here in this country where snow falls.
Recent Comments