Beyond Travelling

A short escape that was, we drove up to Penang with the kids as Patrick needed to attend the recent Malaysian Film Festival 2007 (he was one of the judges for one of the categories). We had a room at the Penang Hotel Equatorial. Going to Penang each time made me realized how fast this island changes. I almost find it hard to catch up with her developments - the latest additions of mega malls which include Queensbay Mall, coastline highway which bypasses the old tight lanes of Jelutong Road which I once used to travel on my old Yamaha (and later Honda Cup C70) motorbikes whenever me and my roommate Kim wanted to go down Georgetown, the one University that I attended which had some sort of face lifts now (Where had the tennis courts relocated to? Those familiar courts which I used to train in under the scorching heat of the afternoon sun day in and day out are no longer at the same spot...). I missed those days in uni, days of the wild and the carefree, the best time to get to know yourself a little better, the person you were and the person you aspire to become one day, you were full of hopes and dreams. You felt as though the world is yours to conquer eventually. Each corner of the campus brings a different sets of lost memories - the delicious food of the REDHOUSE, the vast green football field and race track, the hill slope where my old friend and I lied on, gazing at the starry night sky, the grand piano at DewanA up the hill, a sanctuary of mine whenever I feel like playing my heart out in the middle of the nights/days, the swimming pool where I could check out the cutest guys in campus, gosh, so much more. Do we miss the things in our life or do we miss the feelings that these places bring with it, with the friends and company we had then? I believe, places become distinct and vivid characters and the people associated with these places brought life and formed meaning for you, meanings that you could only recapture in the book of life I called love and gratitude. Why do I feel like the wind of change has blown my old memories away and turn them into dust, suddenly? Now I have become the silhouette to my own shadow, standing here, haunting myself - a familiar stranger.

A Love Affair With Jay Chou's SECRET

SECRET, 2007

Directed by Jay Chou, starring Lun-Mei Kwai, Jay Chou and Anthony Wong

In a distant memory, separated by space and time, lies beneath the music of nature, a budding love blooms after a morning rain and a bicycle ride. Love comes so naturally for the two main characters, they seem to just "fall" in love, so seamlessly. The subtlety approach to young love and the chemistry between the two are some of the elements that make the film work. You tend to fore go the believability of the other driving factors to the story - space and time. Of course, the most captivating part for me would be the music. It reminds me a lot about the feelings it evoke whenever I watch those Japanese films. Some of my favourite moments in the film would be to see Jay Chou plays the piano. How I wish I could play as well as him. Anthony's acting skills sharpen as he ages, pretty good as the father but his character falls short towards the end, it did not seem to have a closure for him. Most definitely, Lun-Mei stole the whole show as this innocent, vulnerable yet refreshing girl who can't help but to fall in love with the illusion of a missing love, thrown into the deepest end of the universe, only to be united in two separate worlds of spirit and mind. Beautiful landscapes, layered over great cinematography and music, weaved together this tragic love story of what love could have been when all of us were once that young and naive towards the notion of love. Love it for what it is, no more, no less.

The Possibilities Of Imagination

Aidan and Ryan has been busy toying with their drawing skills. I could see their creative juice is gradually flowing in them. Here are some of the sketches they have come up with on the PC. The imaginative mind of a child is amazingly powerful and expressive. It speaks softly to you, yet it spells a great degree of sensibility. Their innocent perspectives towards everyday things around them, at times, intrigue and remind us that we used to have this same quality in us. But then, it was such a long time ago, as if we have left it all locked up in a treasure closet, awaiting to be released any moment. They draw without reservations, without any caution, without prejudice and judgement. Ryan has his own version of batman, while Aidan sees a waiter serving a customer, and another man sitting down drinking his coffee. What do you see in these drawings?

A Surprise From Netherlands

To be reunited with a friend of more than 30 years is something for we have not seen each other for almost 15 years, since we graduated from high school. My friend, June and her small family came all the way from Netherlands. It was her trip back home. We were fortunate enough to meet up this time around. This is also the first time I was introduced to her son, Jian Carlo. He was fast asleep in the hotel room when I arrived, but I also had a chance to meet Peter, her husband. The coming week was a lovely one, especially for Ryan and Aidan for they found a new friend to splash water with in the pool. We also met up that weekend at Penang (It was a co-incident that we were heading up north during that time). What for, one might think? FOOD, of course! We had a great time and I hope that my friend enjoyed our company as much as we have enjoyed having them around! Hope we meet again the next time you come home to Malaysia - June, Peter and Jian Carlo!