On a Friday morning not too long ago, I felt like I died and went to heaven. This particular heaven was Far East Flora’s refrigerated warehouse in Thompson Road. Fresh flowers of all types, colours and beauty filled the rooms, rows and rows of them… After an initial brainfreeze (hey, we were in a fridge!), we collected ourselves and the shopping begun! Irene was right, all a guy ever had to do to melt a girl’s heart is to bring her here and tell her to choose flowers to her heart’s desire. Forget the expensive bouquets with fancy wrappings, long-stemmed roses in plain plastic or brown corrugated cardboard are simple heart-stealers! Plus, they’re really cheap too! Later in the afternoon, production of the wedding favours went full swing - Huiling, Irene and I made 150 carrot (cup)cakes with Tiffany blue cream cheese icing! With red sugar hearts and flowers to fit Wendy’s wedding colour scheme, the yummy little beauties were almost too adorable to eat!
Wendy and William’s ROM was a riot of fun!
The next morning, as with all wonderful weddings, drama was aplenty. First, an early McDonald’s breakfast was woefully skipped as we were late! Okie, that’s beside the point, heh… then, with only one hour of setup time, it was a mad rush to decorate the place and pack the cupcakes into the mini white take-out boxes, complete with the Thank You sticker notes. The lush surroundings of Halia inspired the at home with junk and the precious decor which included Jo’s birdcages (complete with rust, bird shit and feathers), a sprouting little yam and mud-encrusted boots from Irene’s dad! The wooden deck floor was strewn with rose petals while jars of flowers and wedding favours lined the long dining tables. Huiling saved the day with her Tiffany ballpoint pen and the funny Justice of Peace made everyone laugh and the cupcake tower wobble with his wedding solemnization speech. The wedding setup was a hit with delighted guests and the constant stream of Botanical Garden visitors stopping by to snap photos or capture the wedding on their video cameras. Most importantly, the couple loved it! Wooo… I guess our motley crew of wedding decorators did good! Oh, did I say how much fun it all was? Hee…
When you are doing something you love, purpose and opportunities reveals itself. You find things without seeking and there is always this magical childlike wonder with each serendipitous discovery that keeps you from getting jaded.
The past one year felt like a crazy blessing and growing-up of sorts. At times, it felt like a circus act of fire-eating while crossing a tight rope on a unicycle. Most times, it was some act of bending space and time to emerge at your destination without ageing and with your sense of humour intact. A web of moments and events growing with significance as the world shrinks and your Facebook bunch of friends and acquaintances expands.
I think my heart has finally found synergy with my mind. There’s a quiet kind of happiness along with a renewed capacity to love and to give… but most of all, an amazing new calmness of being as I move forth at my own pace and on my own terms.
Once upon a time, I got really pissed with Mr Engelbert Humperdinck. No, not the geriatric singer and it was in actual fact, today. I was appalled by his actions concerning a mutual friend and I didn’t hold back at giving him a piece of my mind. It turned out that everything was just a misunderstanding and I could have been so much kinder. I would really like to say that he deserved it anyway for annoying me for the past few weeks but I can’t. For all the attitude that he had been giving, I had still accused him of something he was innocent of. Now I have to, however reluctantly, swallow my pride and figure out the best way to apologize. Sigh.
I recounted the entire disaster to Wendy Barney and she laughed so hard, I could imagine a call-out squirming itself out of my mobile phone with these two words: Idiot. You.
Philip asked if I’ve thought about working with the regional team.
2009 in Hong Kong does sound very attractive, especially with my favourite gang in the office considering greener pastures and best friends scattered across the globe.
Walking on wheels
Arm on a lap of courage
Lost in a universe not quite your own
The door beeps and bodies stream in
You turn, you smile
Some don’t smile back
Some move away
Awkwardness
Round and round
What do you see?
Invisible pearls rolling across the cabin floor
Her brows are knitted
Head against the pole
Forty winks catches her
Your sanctuary
A sudden jolt opens her eyes
She searches for you in a dazed moment
Drink up, hurry my good boy
Hold your bottle right
Look at your wet t-shirt
People turn
To the sound of your fingers drumming
Hand thumping
Head bobbing
What music plays in your mind?
People stare
At a teenage boy
Walking on wheels
Arm on a lap of courage
At invisible pearls on the cabin floor
Trails of a weeping heart
Secret heart
What are you made of
What are you so afraid of
Could it be
Three simple words
Or the fear of being overheard
What’s wrong
Let her in on your secret, heart
Secret Heart
Why so mysterious
Why so sacred
Why so serious
Maybe you’re
Just acting tough
Maybe you’re just not man enough
What’s wrong
Let her in on your secret, heart
This very secret
That you’re trying to conceal
Is the very same one
That you’re dying to reveal
Go tell her how you feel
Secret heart come out and share it
This loneliness, few can bear it
Could it have something to do with
Admitting that you just can’t go through it alone
Let her in on your secret, heart
This very secret
That you’re trying to conceal
Is the very same one
That you’re dying to reveal
Go tell her how you feel
This very secret heart
Go out and share it
This very secret heart
My postcards from Seoul are on their way after all!! All thanks to the kind and talented Joon who helped to post them after they were saved from an almost accidental disposal as garbage! Kamsahamnida, Joon! See you in Seoul again, sometime!
My first quarter of the year has quite literally, flown by, with 21,058 miles clocked in the air… in a big piece of metal hurtling through the skies, paying homage to the Four Asian Tigers, as friends had amusingly pointed out! I’ve outgrown the novelty of the window seat by the wings and am now an appreciative fan of the middle aisle seat, rondelé garlic and herbs cheese spread and air stewardesses with sincere smiles and not little gloomy clouds over their heads due to tight panties beneath their batik kebayas.
Things that do not last
have indescribable beauty
After a stretch of operating on crazy schedules, ungodly hours, surreal deadlines and a luggage bag that never really got unpacked, three days of traipsing around Seoul with Huiling afforded a much needed break. Despite the temperamental weather, we had halcyon days of exploring cobblestone streets lined with weeping willows and wafting with freshly brewed coffee, stuffing oneself silly with kimchi and dolsot bibimbap, eating hot pancakes in the freezing wind, squealing a muffled arrghhhh each time we exited the underground and bidding good night to delightfully gross sea creatures…
The spring date with Seoul was a collective mesh of moments that reminded me of Anne Bogart’s advice about the magical creative place or position of not knowing what to make of something or being unsure, the power in challenging certainty with uncertainty and that annoying but most wonderful moment of thoughts falling into place just as one is almost falling asleep. I’ve found cherry blossoms, circled the trees, stood blinking in the cold rain and at long last, understood their strange zen-like appeal… they made me strangely happy.
My first weekend of the second quarter was spent eating, sleeping, watching Astro, and just lepak-ing with Supra, Atah and Mama. Before the madness picks up again in June, I’m reclaiming my lazy weekends with kindred spirits, family and dedidated days of solitude… with my feet back on familiar grounds and perhaps a pedicure or two! Aja!
