Farewell...

New YEAR, new blog, new start.

You can now direct yourselves to ? for more cussings and musings...but you gotta email me first, oh silent readers.

Good riddance 2008, hello 2009.

This day in history...

The enigmatic Marlene Dietrich would be 106 years of age this year. One of cinema's most unforgettable leading ladies, she exemplifies the art of elegant smoking...

To see more vintage beauties, visit Mdolla.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light

From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
gather near to us once more.

Through the years we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now..

(Sandra's blog inspires me to visit Sweden for Xmas one day..)

Spot on!

What would Singaporeans say to dispel stereotypes about this country?

In my mind, I hear the farangs say, "Oh Singaporeans! They're sooo friendly!"

"Singaporeans? They invented courtesy!"

R.I.G.H.TYO

Sometimes you feel euphoric. Everything is sublime and has an aura, and suddenly you are intensely nauseated and then you are gone...Everything seems simple until you think about it. Why is love intensified by absence?

I am like a caterpillar in a cocoon of paper; all around me are sketches of sculptures, small drawings that seem like moths fluttering against the windows, beating their wings to escape from this tiny space.

I hate to be where she is not, when she is not. And yet, I am always going, and she cannot follow...
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This really special novel has been burrowed in my heart's chamber for 4 years, and each time I pick it up, the prose moves me...Clare and Henry have grown up with me, or rather the other way round... in my reality of everyday arguments and laughter, you sorta feel like living in their shoes just for one chapter...

Their romance is symbolic of all great romances that you and I have experienced. Sadly (or maybe not), some affairs are passionate and brief whilst others are long-lasting but passionless. I turn to the dog-eared, age-stained pages of my copy - truly one of the few of my life's possessions - at times when I need to remember...

Chocolate chip factory girl

Just one of my many therapeutic activities

Hello to the end of December

His death made him a hero and his name was on the front page of all the papers for several days. The same multitude that had gathered to see him off the day he flew away in his bird paraded past his coffin. The entire family wept as befit the occasion, except for Clara, who continue to watch the sky with the patience of an astronomer.

One week after he had been buried, Uncle Marcos, a bright smile playing behind his pirate's mustache, appeared in person in the doorway of Nivea and Severo del Valle's house.


Since Nov 22nd, my nose has been close to the grind, thigh-high in work.

I've since recuperated from the hectic life of a non-profit humanitarian worker; binging on prata and tea at 10pm, going for long walks and sleeping for 8,9 hours on end.

Reading has been on the back burner for a long time, until I discovered House of Spirits by Isabelle Allende last weekend. A very good read if you're like me, head in the clouds half the time.