Lately, I find myself cruising at snail speed, on almost everything that I am doing, that I am planning to do. Perhaps August is the month that is at the tail end of a summer holiday, but not quite near to the year end events such as Christmas celebration. Or perhaps, I am feeling blah hit by cumulative blocks of things-not-moving. When things are not moving, there seems to be a lack of liveliness. Where there is a lack of liveliness, things do not seem to be as interesting. Hence, blah.
Lately, I am reading a book on how to appreciate novels. While the narration is lively, the topic is heavy, especially for those who are not trained in literature. But I want to finish reading the book. Because one day I may write a novel. And I feel that this book is talking to me, on what to look out for, and how to construct certain things. Things! What things? It is quite an ambition to cramp semesters worth of content into a book. And therefore, I am reading it slowly. At snail speed.
Lately, our Spanish teacher has moved onto another school, teaching younger children. We had a farewell dinner at Bussorah Street. It was my first time visiting that part of Singapore. At one end of the street is a majestic mosque. What a beautiful sight! I wonder if this mosque allows visitors to enter, like the churches. On top of my dinning table today are two Spanish exercise books that Cynthia and I have purchased. They are still good as new. Because they are new and untouched. I know we have to find a way to make some real progress in our Spanish study, lest we may lose our momentum. And I have been thinking lately. Perhaps all we need is to write some crazy Spanish, speak some crazy Spanish, make some mistakes, a lot of mistakes, and learn from them. It is hard to learn how to cycle if we are trying too hard not to fall, isn’t it?
Cycling in Singapore outside the designated areas is a crazy idea. I have friends who are passionate in cycling, who think that it is OK to cycle on the roads here. I too am passionate on cycling but I treasure my life. Rarely do I see cyclists here giving hand signals when changing lanes. Or turn on the lights – front and rear – in the evening. If the Singaporean drivers cannot even take care of the motorcyclists on the roads, what make anyone think that it is safe to cycle on the roads that are meant for automobiles? One evening, as I drove from my workplace to town, I saw a SUV blatantly went through a red light while the rest of the cars were waiting patiently for the green light. A few junctions later, I saw a cyclist going through a red light when the light changed from green to red. After making a turn, I saw a big truck crashed onto a yellow taxi. All within no more than 2 kilometers. Tell me, is it or is it not crazy to cycle in town?
Oh, one day, while I was driving, I saw a cyclist climbing the up slope of a slip road and that slip road would eventually lead to a highway. I think there is a fine line between bravery and insanity.
Lately, I have not had the opportunity to jam. And I miss my band. Commitment is often not something we could demand from others, or even ourselves. I get that. It is because grown-ups have different life priorities. Cynthia and I have been watching a Japanese anime series called “Nana”. Yes, we can relate to the challenge of regrouping, or the desperation of finding a drummer. I wish I could say in conviction that if Nana can do it, we too can do it! But I am not a teen no more.
While the band is put on hold (or on a very slow progress, like sub-zero), I still have the desire to do a demo recording on the songs I wrote over the years. I know in certainty that slowly, I will forget the songs bit by bit. I suspect that like many things in life, this would probably take lesser time than I have anticipated. So why not start now?
Lately, for some strange reasons, my life has turned geek. Gaming aside, I had this huge episode with my network storage device that I have promised a friend who has helped in our rescue mission to write an entry here in order to commemorate our victory against all odds (I will, buddy!). I have also bought a docking station that allows me to swap the hard disks with a push of a button, which I am still trying to get it to work the way I desire. And I have bought a multimedia card that turns my computer into a TV console, which I am still unable to record the HD content (I doubt that I could). And this evening, my friend has passed me this really funky, this expensively funky device that does more than merely a HDMI switch for trial, which I am digging deep into the features that suppose to enhance the picture quality while satisfying my explosive need of more and more HDMI inputs. At times I wonder, when I get to the age of my mother today, would I be staring at the pieces of technological devices and ponder: What the heck are these things for?!
Lately, I have started to think about how much money I would need to put aside for a comfortable retirement in Singapore. I think the calculation slows down to a snail speed when the figure reached six digits. Like before and the rest, that calculation has to be put on hold.
