I would like one guacomole burger, no bacon, a side order of tsukemono and pommes frittes, and a pint of mango lassi.

By taking food into the body, we take in the world.

- Bakhtin (1984:281)

(Pic courtesy of Carl's Jr. In my opinion and the general population's, The Best burger joint in Singapore.)

This poem should be "printed as cards to hang up in offices and bedrooms; illuminated text-wise and anthologised to weariness"

IF you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,'

Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

- Rudyard Kipling, If

(Courtesy of Something Of Myself)

Unconquered

This got me thru the final of university. All my favorite quotes are getting me through the rest of life.

Girl, finish your milk and cookies!

"Sadly, the cult of diet and exercise is the closest thing our secular society offers women in terms of a coherent philosophy of the self."

- Joan Jacobs Brumberg, Fasting Girls

(Pic courtesy of Moleskinerie)

Woman is the center around which circles and from which comes the giving of life, and life itself. This is how you should look upon this old mother of yours, and what should guide you in brining up your daughters.

- Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Earth of Mankind

(Pic courtesy of Cheryl Hoffman)

Campus Pocket Notebook Series :: Soul Food Journal

Our civilization is still in a middle stage, no longer wholly guided by instinct, not yet wholly guided by reason.

- Theodore Dreiser

psychotic behavior

Sometimes it's challenging to live with difficult people. It bugs me when i give a courteous greeting that is not reciprocated. It irks me when I'm told to turn the power off when i forget a minuscule fraction of the time. It angers me when effort to be nice is ignored and unappreciated.

But 10 minutes away from you, sweetheart, makes it worth the s***.


(Postcard courtesy of www.someecards.com. Check it out.)

Campus Pocket Notebook Series :: Soul Food Journal

"The little French lamps on the table reveal luscious cakes waiting for the knife...the infantile fatality of the gorgeous concoctions, all cream and gurgle and clog, life-threatening and shaming."

~ Elizabeth Hardwick, New York City: Crash Course

The pulsating rhythm of India's heartbeat grows louder in my ears.

"The islands are the trailing threads of India's fabric, the ragged fringe of her sari, the achol that follows her, half-wetted by the sea."

- Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide

Campus Pocket Notebook Series :: Soul Food Journal

"There's not some other world out there where everything's gonna be ok. There's just this one, just this rock."

~ 1st Sgt Edward Welsh "The Thin Red Line"

My favourite things

When the dog bites,
When the bee stings,
When I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel, so

bad.

self-affirmation

Because it's been a few hard days, I'm turning back to this piece of art by Baz Luhrmann. The narration is crystal clear and the words, incredibly soothing. It's my favourite power-to-me song.



Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh nevermind,
you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself
and recall in a way you can’t grasp now, how much possibility lay before you
and how fabulous you really looked,
you are not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts,
don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy, sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind,
the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults,
if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life,
the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22
what they wanted to do with their lives,
some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t,
Maybe you’ll divorce at 40,
Maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary
What ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either
Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can, don’t be afraid of it,
or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings, they are the best link to your past
and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get,
the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard,
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander,
you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young
prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
Maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.

Advice is a form of nostalgia,
dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off,
painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

Ode to Friendship

Today was the first day back at work after 6 days of sick leave. I feel recharged and reborn after a traumatic yet fulfilling (i love juxtapositions) vacation from work.

Traumatic because I endured oral surgery on Thursday, followed by teeth extraction on Saturday, rounding off the full treatment by getting hot pink braces fitted to my lower set of teeth on Tuesday.

Fulfilling because I maximized the free time to blog, shop and catch up with friends. You know the feeling of being on a roll....it was such a great adrenaline rush, one activity after the next.

As a result, I've not been able to sleep for the past two nights. My mind is brimming with thoughts to post...trouble is, I've been flat out, staying out late the past three days, leaving me with no time, NO TIME!

But back to the part of feeling fulfilled, i must proclaim that beside the many things at the top of my list, Friendship stands tall, wearing a crown and sash. I've been feeling incredibly, incredibly thankful for having developed/strengthened relationships with many people in recent weeks and months. But in the past 6 days, I've made special connections with at least 10 different people, both close and new to me. I am honored by your presence, I welcome you into my heart. And so, I leave you with this great quote by the character Carol from the movie, "As Good As It Gets",

"Come on in, and try not to ruin everything by being you." :-)

Love and peath out.

xoxoxo
Larie

(Photo on loan from still-life photographer Duncan)

Before sunrise, I read for comfort...

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said.

- adapted from A.A Milne, Winnie the Pooh.

***********************************************************

The abstract philosophy of Taoism inspires me very much. And all the more when creators of cartoons and children's story books cleverly weave their magic web with wisdom. Children receive this teachings, nurture them in the earth of their hearts and when they grow up, the roots of these stories belong to mighty trees remaining in their souls forever.

Fashion Photography

Click here

Before I turn in...

...I'll leave you with something from Julie Burchill:

"Over the actual map of every great city", said David's friend Matt as they cruised down Baker Street with the top down, the pound up and Sade shimmering on the car radio somewhere in the late eighties, "we can impose a map of the places in the city where we have fucked, chucked and fallen in love."

Location: Georgetown, Penang. Dec 2007.