Sui Generis

It's been such a busy month. It feels as though it's comparable to final year during undergrad, but I can't really remember how it all felt now. It seemed like a lifetime ago when I submitted that blasted dissertation. LOL Had my final Japanese exam (writing and listening) right after Easter holidays (didn't even realise it was that soon omg /panic) but I think I nailed it. As a result of desperately prepping myself in a span of a week, I started a Japanese blog on Ameba/Ameblo. It's such a strange and interesting place. I mean, it's almost like Friendster and Myspace all over again (minus the super bling-ed profile pages)! I still can't read 90% of the stuff over there but at least there's the 10%, right? I did pray for tangible improvement, and I guess that prayer is answered? Three weeks ago, I wouldn't have been able to construct sentences, let alone write (super short) paragraphs. And now I have a blog. Let's hope it doesn't turn into ...

Imagine yourself at a library. You’re walking past the many shelves of books and come to the section of your favourite genre. Your eyes scan the many titles of a various thickness and size, written by thousands of authors. Your index finger brush against the spines of books that sit neatly arranged in rows for its next reader to take home. You pick the first book out —intrigued by its title— open its cover, flip a few pages, and return it to its place. It wasn't a book you wanted to invest your time in. You move on to the next one that catches your fancy. This one has pages slightly weathered, its cover dented in a couple of pages and some stains that could possibly be coffee. Or brown paint. The bright colour of the cover had taken your attention. You do the same: take it off the shelf, give it a quick glance over, then shaking your head you put it back. This continues on for the next several books. After what seems like a long time, you’re worn out, feeling hopeless that yo...

In the light of Valentines day, ipsomniac  and I had a discussion about biblical views on relationships and marriage (also because he was curious as to what he missed out on during discussion in small groups), which led to an incredible revelation (for us, anyway). 1 You know how we're all taught and lectured and reminded that we should not be unequally yoked in marriage? 2 First of all, let's look at 2 Corinthians 6:14-15: "[14]Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship have light with darkness? [15] What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?" Now, the first part of verse 14 is often quoted when speaking about/to a couple, where one partner is a believer while the other isn't. However, we have discovered that (or rather, tried to understand the context of which Paul is saying this in) 'unequally yoked' does not only necessarily mean marriage. It can  also mean...

It's vulgar, it's violent, it's crudely hilarious. Doesn't contain much of a solid, super complex back story that makes you catch the feels, and the villain is basically a British dude with a hot bod, with unknown reasons for his actions. Basically, if you're NOT into: excessive swearing, uncensored gore, torture, sex on a screen, boobs, butt, dirty jokes, violent slapstick humour and a mortally weak story plot with random extras chucked into it for fun, then, do yourselves a favour and just read about it on wiki instead. Also, see how many cameos and references and you can spot in the film. Plus, breaking the fourth-wall while addressing Hollywood's film making system, rocks; which is basically this film in a nutshell, including all the listed above. 10/10 for effort. Expectations not included. P.s: don't ruin it for others. And for goodness' sake, why the heck is it rated 15 in the UK?! It's a bloody 18+++ movie! On that note, parents, do...

I do suppose it's that time of the year again, where reflection is, I would say, the most adequate to do. 2015 has been a blessed year. When I mean blessed, I mean for myself. I've been given crazy opportunities to travel; far more than I can ever dream. It may have given me a brand new perspective in life -- a new mind, perhaps. At least that's what I hope I've acquired after all that. Thinking back on the year, I do suppose I've achieved a lot. I graduated with a second-upper; made my family, friends, and myself proud. I traveled parts of Europe; an experience I never imagined myself doing. I spent ten beautiful days in Japan; a dream I had convinced myself wasn't going to happen, but it did. I was accepted for that Masters degree; an opportunity I've never considered taking, but did. Wonderful relationships were made, celebrated and mourned over; a truly humbling experience. The world is also not without it's fair share of increasingly frequent...

Don't let a person with a cold heart fool you. They were once warm too Till the coldness of fear came and  held it firmly in its steely claws. Or perhaps, They heard stories Of how cruel the world is And shut themselves in. Slowly they begin to change First their thoughts Then their actions And their words When there is nothing left They wished they were warm Again. But it was far too late, For they felt nothing. All there was,  Was ice And the long chill settles after a blizzard.

‘Mama, my feet are cold.’ ‘Come warm your little toes by the fire, darling.’ I’ve always had cold feet. Colder than anyone else’s. Though not corpse-cold, but enough to have to keep wearing thrice the layers of socks as  anyone else during winter, and occasionally during the warmer months. When I became a teenager, my cold feet syndrome  kept me from joining the others in the pool, fearing I would catch a case of frostbite. Or rather, just about anything that required removing my shoes, basically. ‘Why are her toes purple?’ ‘They look like they’re about to fall off.’ ‘Maybe she’s a zombie.’ Or rather, I was just afraid. Of everyone else. It wasn’t as though I had no friends. I made plenty. There was a girl, Marie. She was just as different as I was. She had cold hands, like dead fish. And another, whose name was Lydia, had a complexion so pale, she could’ve very well been a vampire. Together, we set our own rules and ab...