自强不息

When I first started my working life, I felt like I could barely cope. I had the best mentor one could have - P, but I guess I was simply not good enough to catch on as fast as I had wished. I cannot deny that there were many points at which I almost gave up but somehow I did not.

I wrote phrases and stuck it around to keep me grounded.

One was from a calligraphy work found in the Chinese Library at Central Library where I always studied for my exams, It is the simple phrase of '自强不息' & '力争上游'.

There other one was to put things in perspective. It was a part of the poem 'Auguries of Inocence' by William Blake.

'To see the world in a grain of sand,
And heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour'

These days, as much I wish P is around when I run into a block, I now have to be independent and find the answers myself. And perhaps it is time to be a mentor to someone too.

This is a taste of life (이게 바로 '사는 맛' 이다!)

Huh Young Man - 허영만

Passed my TOPIK Beginners Test.
I barely did, but I did. That meant a whole lot to me. I received my certificate and I am really happy about it. But I have a long long way to go before I can fully understand this book that Neighbour gave me today.

It is about a famous illustrator - Huh Young Man (That's really his name! but he is young no more) and a group of friends who took a yacht and took trips to islands around South  Korea intermittently between June 2009 to May 2010. The book is peppered with his illustrations and pictures that makes me want to pull off something similar.

Such is the taste of life.
Who will have courage to taste of it?

(Thanks Neighbour!고마워~)

Solitary

It is good to be solitary, 

for solitude is difficult; 

that something is difficult 

must be a reason
the more for us to do it

- Rainer Maria Rilke

By Gao Xingjian

Autumns are made of these

Is there anything more beautiful?

His autumn's tale will be out soon.
Follow it from here

Keong Saik Twins

I had a beautiful morning with Xin today.

We had breakfast at The Plain after tennis.

I am amazed by my capacity to talk when I am with her,

she's a dear dear friend

(yes, you are!)

We explored Keong Saik Street and

found this pair of twins free drawing outside a craft school.

 I did not immediately notice

but the similarities were pretty strong.

I asked them if they were and they confirmed it to be so.

They spoke with amazing clarity for four year olds

and did really adorable things.

The Keong Saik Street Twins

Older Brother

Younger Brother

 I wanted to kidnap them home.

Especially the older one.
He was more serious about his art.

The younger one was more comic.

But both really stole my heart.

If only men kept their child-like heart through life...

The Plain

It's the great P&S company again this national holiday. 

We (or at least I) had a lovely time drinking nice hot tea & 

chilling at The Plain. 

Below picture credits to author of Sarah's Loft.

Nicely taken pictures & post from here.

We sat at the table nearest to you

S & myself had one of these each

It is a wonderful place - the company of friends.

At long last

Read more here

Burma's national heroine and Nobel Peace Prize laureate - Aung San Suu Kyi has finally been released from house arrest. Placed under house arrest since her landslide victory at the 1990 general elections which should have seen her assuming the role of Prime Minister, all attempts to have her released had been sadly futile.

At long last, she has been released. 

Is this a sign for change in Burma?

Lovely Andre & her love

Albert & Andre

A flight delay has never been more of a blessing than it has been last night. I managed to see Andre and Albert before they leave to start their lives together in another land.

Life is strange in the way where I had just found time to reconnect with this dear old friend after leaving Level 23 that we are to part again.

But she is leaving with someone to love and to hold, for better and for worse.

For that, I take heart & my deepest wishes follow them.

An Autumn's Tale (秋天的童话）

A dear friend introduced me to this little gem of a story.

Set in 1987, it's a classic -  true to form.

Leads - Cherie Chung and Chow Yun Fatt

Another friend is now in Korea documenting his autumn's tale. 

I have seen some preliminary pictures and 

I think it is going to be a good one.

I am patiently waiting for my autumn's tale to come.

I believe it will - someday.

Star

O how everything is far off

and long deceased.

I think now, that the star

whose beam reached me

has been dead for a thousand years.

- Rainer Maria Rilke 

(Diaries of a Young Poet)

Wanton

Minced meat, water chestnut and spring onions

Wanton skins plump and pregnant with (yummy) fillings

Lovely creases and folds of cooked wanton

'Wanton' anglicised from ‘雲吞’, a popular dish here. You can find similar versions in Malaysia and Hong Kong.

And personally, there is nothing better than tucking into a bowlful of home-made ones.