Following the sun

Despite the reassurance from next week's weather forecast that there will be some sunshine on the way,

it's hard not to feel dampened by the fact that summer is pretty much on its way out. Sandals, shorts and skirts have long been packed away, and curtains are now drawn latest by 7.45pm. 

I once had a conversation with a dear friend who told me that she could not imagine living in a country without seasons. The changing seasons, for her, symbolised the natural changes that would take place in her life too. This was amusing to me, the girl who lived the first 20 years of her life knowing only the tropical climate, where natural changes come in the form of rain or sun. How can one resist a year-long summer, where the sun shines so often that your mood does not become dependent on the colour of the sky? 

But the more this conversation replayed itself, the more sense it made.

Autumn has always been a datum point for resolutions-- it signifies the fresh start after a long period of enjoyment and rest. Just as I am about to exhaust myself and give up a few months after that, the dark, bitter cold lit by blinking lights will remind me that christmas is near, and my heart will be warmed by the thoughts of cosy nights and the festive ambience that will cover the city. As soon as 21st December passes, I know that the winter is halfway through and the days will now get longer. Spring, with its temperamental transition between the cold and the warmth, and the sudden appearance of gaudy flowers and birds, refreshes the cold and tired soul and becomes a reminder that brighter days are  ahead. And summer..summer is when the spirit becomes so carefree that you have never felt so alive.

 Then I understood that every season brings with it a new environment, a new setting, new resolutions, new hopes and new goals to look forward to. It makes the passing year more bearable knowing that a fresh start is within reach after every couple of months, and that there will be four datum points in a year where life will flourish in all kinds of directions depending on where the season takes you. 

I have my dear friend to thank, for now I feel more at ease to welcome the upcoming autumn.

Summertime

When you have quite a number of free days in the week it's easy to get sucked in to a sluggish type of lifestyle. You sleep all day, vegetate in front of the TV and get depressed and bored after realising how your day was spent, and the cycle repeats day in-day out because your mind is just too sluggish to work properly. (un)luckily for me, the many days I spent without leaving the house during my resubmission made me realise how pathetic (and claustrophobic) life can get without fresh air or human contact. So I've been trying to keep myself occupied, doing at least one productive thing a day that would make me enjoy and appreciate my holidays more:

1. Meeting up and reconnecting with friends. 

Whether it's just a chat over coffee, dinner, or a full on day out in London, 

being in the company of friends is one of the most uplifting things to do in your day. There's nothing like catching up over lost time, reminiscing over the past or even just rambling about current worries, future ambitions, or the weather.

2. Simple me-times. 

It's not often that I get off work with the sun still shining, but when I do I make the most of it by heading straight to the beach for a stroll or even just to sit, people watch and enjoy the sunset with two scoops of rum and raisin ice cream until the sun goes down. 

3. Star-gazing at the beach.

We saw not one, but three shooting stars that night. 

4. An inspiring read: Nadia Comaneci's autobiography.

Easily one of the most inspiring books. It doesn't focus too much on Nadia's perfect ten gymnastics career, but rather the other side of things that not many knew: living under a harsh communist regime,

her experience of defecting to the United States (Nobody would ever guess that an Olympic medallist would be running in the snow, climbing over barbed wires and crossing Romanian-Hungary border fearing for her life that she would be shot by the secret police). Despite all her hardships,
Nadia never gave up.

5.My favourite quote from the book, out of many:

"Hard work will always get you somewhere.If you have a little talent and work very hard, then you have a shot at being a big winner. 

And if you have a lucky star in your hands,you may just accomplish your goals. 

Above all else, you have to be hungry to do something unbelievable."

6. Being inspired by other people's art.

I've been meaning to change the canvas painting I have hanging above my work space. 

Pinterest is amazing for all sorts of inspiration-- The pattern is something that I would probably try to recreate for my little canvas art.

7-8. An artsy day at London: A visit to Sou Foujimoto's Serpentine Pavilion.

Like most, if not all, Japanese works of art, it really is beautiful in a very simplistic way.

For someone with terrible height phobia, I didn't even notice that I was climbing up this pavilion, stepping on see through constructive glass. I too busy being in awe of the pavilion. The only worry was for kids who found it the perfect jungle gym and started climbing onto higher bars that were not meant to be climbed on :P

9.Home-time.

I have been spending a lot of time deep cleaning the flat- something I do once a year when my housemate moves out. It took me 8 hours this time, to thoroughly clean every nook and cranny of the flat and to get rid of clutter. There's still a tiny bit left to be done, but my flat is 95% fresher, cleaner, and homier! Also made my first lasagne. It was more of Popeye's food with farm-fulls of spinach rather than mince because I still cannot be bothered to deal with raw, bloody things. Nevertheless it turned out pretty good! 

Cultural differences

Lunch break rambles with my English colleague:

"You know I think it's an Asian thing, but whenever a relative or somebody hasn't seen you in forever, the very first thing they say when they do is 'Oh hi! Wow you're fatter/thinner/bigger/smaller already!' And you'll be like, well hello to you too."

"See here that's what everybody thinks, but nobody dares to say!"

On the mend

Hello, hello.

This space has been regrettably abandoned yet again. 

Since my last post, my summer plans took a bit of an unexpected turn as I found myself spending three weeks back home some 7000 miles away, and another five locked in my current home in Brighton rushing to meet my resubmission deadline. 

Needless to say, today is the first day after a long time that I have completely to myself- no projects, worries or weekend work to think about. I should really have been out and about celebrating my freedom, but I think I made the right decision to have a pyjama day and sleep off my broken mental and physical state instead :)

With all but a month left to my summer holidays, 

there will be sadly some limitations to my original plans, especially travel wise. 

But I'm determined to make the most of it, and hopefully by tomorrow I will be rejuvenated enough to be out and about looking for new things to discover.

Right now, 

I'm happy just to have the simple pleasure of vegetating under my comfy duvet.

Summer hopes

 The sudden deaths of my dear friend's father and my college friend in the past month have been bitter reminders that we are not as invincible as we make ourselves to be. When life gets in the way, it is so easy to assume that the people you talk to everyday are still going to be there to talk to you tomorrow. 

This will not be a post about sadness and sorrows, but one that will remind me to live passionately. 

To date, I have more than three months of summer holidays ahead of me: Time that could easily be spent just brooding around aimlessly at home. But given the recent incidents and the likelihood that this may be my last summer in the UK, I am determined to make it fulfilling and memorable. 

In the previous summer(s) I carried out Project Happiness as a day to day reminder of the little things that can make a difference to my life. This summer I plan to do the same, but perhaps added with something new and/or productive that I've done for the day. The reason for this is that I tend to shy away and resist change, because I always associate it to something shocking and negative. Hence, I constantly find myself attached to mundane, safe and cyclical routines, which I do end up regretting afterwards. If I can do something different for a day, no matter how subtle from my usual routine, then collectively by the end of September I would achieve plenty of new things that I could tick off the bucket list!


So. Here goes:

I usually get tulips whenever I get flowers for the flat, but Sainsburys ran out of decent, lively-looking ones when I was there last. Opted for these gaudy roses instead, and today they are in full bloom and  my room smells divine. Fresh, happy looking flowers make such a difference in perking up a room.


Yesterday I did a thorough clearing of my wardrobe. It doesn't sound like much, but I've been putting this off for possibly a year now. I guess it was just easier for me to accept the pile of mismatched fabric on the closet floor than deal with an explosion of clothes all over my room.

I've made a discovery that I need to stop buying black clothes because I have an entire drawer full of it. I've also discovered that I actually do own a raincoat, after five years of going to battle with umbrellas that don't stand a chance against Brighton's atrocious winds. While sifting through more stuff, I found a few items that belonged to someone who was very dear to me. I had kept it there for three years in attempts to preserve whatever sentimental value that I could desperately hold on to. After moments of reminiscing I packed it away with the other unwanted clothes to give away, knowing that the particular chapter in my life has closed and I have since moved on just fine. Who knew, clearing out the closet could be so therapeutic after all. :)

I'm so happy that I can finally close my closet doors properly.