jaywalking

It seems a common trend for people to remember the past, romanticise it. Talk about how ‘college years are the best’ or ‘childhood is amazing’. I agree with them. Those times were amazing, but there’s something about viewing the past through the lense of nostalgia that makes it rose coloured. When I actually was in highschool, or college or whatever, I’m sure I wasn’t exactly feeling like things were rosy.

I began to fall into the trap of thinking that my time in uni was amazing because I’ll never be as creative or idealistic with energy as I was then. But then I realised that’s defeatist thinking. Has that much really changed between now and then? If anything, things should be better now because I have a fuller grasp on my abilities, ideas and opinions of the world. Art (and any hobby/passion) shouldn’t be a thing that dwindles with age, rather, it should flourish in parallel with your own walk through life.

Every single day has an opportunity to exercise my passions, even if it is just a 10 minute break, a sketch or a brief creative thought. It all comes down to the choice of the individual and how they want to view life. Is life trapped in memories of the past, or is it here, right now in the present?

This is the incredible view from my office. It’s amazing being able to see that everyday. When it rains, clouds blanket the view, you literally can’t see anything. At first I thought we were in a tropical cyclone or the world was ending.

It happens almost every day.

After work, I head down to the MRT station. Just beautiful. I really don’t miss CityRail. Sometimes I head to Harbourfront for dinner.

The MRT station connects to a new shopping centre underground. I walk through the shops to the ‘roof’ revealing a view of the harbour and Sentosa Island. Sometimes there are large cruise ships docked.

I really enjoy standing there looking into the horizon. It’s refreshing and I dare say others think so too.

After eating and doing whatever shopping I need to do I head home and am greeted by an immaculate living room. Ironically, so nice that it doesn’t actually look lived in - and that’s because it isn’t. In the 3 weeks I’ve been here I’ve never sat there. Neither has the lady I live with.

After settling in, changing and doing the usual things, sometimes I go to talk to the lady.

She’s in her 70s, possibly 80s and probably knows only 1 or 2 english words. She is the most unlikely person I would talk to and that makes it interesting.

We never talk in the living room. A lot of the time I find her sitting on a small stool in the kitchen in the dark. Small shards of light shine in through the window behind her. It might sound creepy, but it’s not - it’s peaceful. We sometimes talk over some fruit and a cup of water. My limited grasp of cantonese is enough to pull me through the conversation. Usually it’s basic chit chat, but there’s something incredibly genuine about it that I cherish a lot. The kitchen really does have a lot more character than the living room. Sometimes the warmest moments occur in the most basic of places.

Of course, through all the day to day living, I’ve managed to get out and do some touristy things. This is at Mt Faber. The arrows on the ground indicate the direction towards different places, like the south, Jakarta, Johor Bahru etc. It’s kinda cool and it puts into perspective where I am in relation to everything.

Haha I had to include this. Note the chilli sauce sachets on the right. Oh and the beverage is actually iced lemon tea, a standard offering at all fast food outlets, much like coke or sprite - I love it. I promise pics of Singaporean food eventually.

Till next time.

I got the window seat - Unfortunately it was on the wing, so epic, breathtaking photos of flying above the heavens weren’t possible.

My home for the first 5 days of my journey. Basic and clean.

I spent the majority of this time getting set up. Searching for apartments, figuring out how to get online for free, buying phone cards and finding my way around whilst absorbing the culture shock.

Apparently this building appeared ‘overnight’ and houses the tooth of the Buddha. I loved the lighting on the building, I only wish I had my tripod to get a better shot.

Finally after 5 days of exploring and getting lost in the maze of malls and food centres, I moved into my ‘permanent’ home here in Singapore. It was best described by the landlord as ’spartan’ - Awesome