the great rock.

There was once a rock. It was a great rock, whose immortality was bestowed by postcards and magazine articles. Tens of millions of people travelled leagues of ocean to see it; Many went the extra mile to get a fumble; Fewer even scaled massive heights, just so they could be with it. You see, this was no ordinary rock. It was famous.

to you.

Thinking of you makes me queasy inside, because you are thoroughly annoying, yet, not because of malign intent, but of good-willed stupidity.

Thinking of you makes me queasy inside, because even through the iffier moments, I still remember many, many, many crazy, but happy times.

Thinking of you makes me queasy inside, because I think of the sadness you bear on behalf of others, so that they can feel better.

Thinking of you makes me queasy inside, because you suddenly left.

Thinking of you makes me queasy inside, because you are now so far away; I miss you.

formalities.

We often take for granted the meanings of words that we tend to overuse, such as our formulated greetings and responses. Because we are obliged to uphold certain decorum, we often say our P's and Q's even if we sometimes don't mean them at all. Eventually, the essence of the orginal word or phrase becomes fade.

Take the cookie-cutter response to politely reject an offer, "No, thanks/ thank you". In the original phrase, "no" and "thank you" would exist as seperate entities - "no" indicating one's decline, "thank you", showing one's gratefulness for being offered at all. However, instead of saying it as "No, thank you", the line has somewhat morphed, where "thank you" runs on after "no", forming the fused "No thank you". Though the original intentions of the phrase are somewhat retained, the blatant meaning of the new line is subverted.

How about bidding "good" byes? We tend to take "Good-bye" and "Bye" as equals. However, this then implies that the "good" in "Good-bye" becomes redundant. Do we then still intend it to be "good"? (Though in the original phrase, "bye" doesn't actually mean anything on its own.) The same applies for the other greetings like "Good day", "Good morning", "Good night", and so on. Similarly (I might be wrong on this though), we use the Chinese farewell statement, zai jian, quite interchangeably with "Good bye", when the direct translation of the phrase is actually "See you again".


Still, I suppose this, arguably, may not actually be such a problem, or any problem at all. People generally understand and use these greetings and responses in like manner, however much different their meanings are from the prototypes. Life still goes on; it doesn't really change anything, anyway...

But I reckon it's still such a great pity to see Language being watered down ever so mindlessly. I feel the least we can do is make an effort to actually mean what we say. But I guess we don't have all that time to appreciate all this, huh? Well, then, good-bye.

just words.

He was an incredible journalist.

Does this make him a good or a bad journalist?

blow by, blow by.

Hush-a-wind bye, blow by
Oh, Hush-a-wind blow by me.
Blow, Hush-a-wind, 'way blow!
Bye, Blow by, oh, Hush-a-wind
Blow me away.

woo woo.

Everything, a woo woo.

i had nothing to do.

It's amazing how a student's life seems to come to a complete halt the moment it's drawn away from the regime of school. Each time we enter the end-term holidays, especially the ridiculously long ones, our life seems drained of purpose. I remember the minute I finished my last exam paper for the promotionals last year, I immediately felt so lost because my sole aim for that year had come to a close.

The part which irks me more is my dependence on school for any form of a life at at all. School is like the embodiment of uniformity, conformity and uncreativity (at least for most of Singapore), and to think that it is, and has always beeen for most of my life, indispensable? It brings forth a certain irony of how you need partake of conformity in order to be the otherwise.

Life and it's contradictions.

?

Anger. His heart was raw anger.

Overwhelmed, he burst forth, and   bit   her on the shoulder blade.

daddy loves his son.

"Tush, tush, it's okay
He needs his space
So give him way;
Hey, he's still young
Let him have fun!"
Yeah - boy! does Daddy
Love his son.

clearing out

Sorting through the dusty papers, rusty staples,
I look at each piece, making sure I don't want them
anymore. I need to make sure I can refuse them all
safely, hide away the everyday shame and glory
that nobody really noticed anyway.

over.

Suddenly, it was going to be Friday tomorrow.

mental drain.

That captures it all; there's nothing more to say.

let go,

I stood in the middle of the road for a few moments to watch the clouds. I marveled at how they all seemed to be running away in perfect unison. Then I wondered if there was anything in this physical world at all that I could trust not to do likewise. And the clouds kept drifting all the same.

laughing girl.

     Woosh, woosh... Woosh, woosh...

The ridiculously large head was swaying rhythmically, left to right, left again, uninhibited by any inertia. Her hair, her long, unkempt, candy-floss hair, bounced airily off her ears in sync with her steady motion.

    Woosh, woosh... Woosh, woosh...

Her eyes were staring into the vast abyss where she stood, unblinking. Empty.

     Woosh, woosh... Woosh, woosh...

She swayed to and fro laughing maniacally, her face cracked into a wide grin. The ends of her smile seemed to stretch far farther than her lips would allow. Her laughter never ceasing one moment, never stopping to even catch a breath. Her muse, as invisible as the space she looked deep into.

     Woosh, woosh... Woosh, woosh...

The hollow head kept swinging. Her hollow head kept swinging. It swung as if it had been swaying for an eternity, and an eternity to come. Emptiness was the key to its easy, flowing movement.

     Woosh, woosh... Woosh, woosh... Woosh, woosh...


And the ponies. There were crazy pink ponies, galloping drunkenly around the magical cornucopia of laughter. As she laughed, the mad animals scatteredly circled her, laughing along.

     Woosh, woosh... Woosh, woosh...

The pink ponies followed the beat of the laughing head, such that their cotton, white manes and tails bounced along in tempo. They even had the same horsey grin.

     Woosh, woosh... Woosh, woosh...



Amidst all the action, however, beneath the wooshes and bouncing hair and laughing sounds, was another steady beat. It was a soft - almost unnoticeable - beat of a ticking metronome.

     Bmm, bmm... Bmm, bmm... Bmm, bmm...

Upon harder concentration, one would realize that it came from a little heart that sat under the swollen head. Just a little red heart, slightly blocked from sight by the the swaying head, and periodically, a rushing pink pony. This was the center of all movement, the prevailing timing of the orchestra, the source of every energy to the void behind the face.

     Bmm, bmm... Bmm, bmm... Bmm, bmm...

It was love. It was love in her heart for crazy pink ponies, and other happy little things.

It was just love.

i'm staying in.

The rain; It screams at me. I hear their murderous wails trailing down from high above: They do not want me out. They beat against the windows, like poison-darts, at my face: They do not want me out. Each droplet is scratching against the floor, eager to engulf me, drown me, now that they've rejoined a greater body in the wells: They do not want me out. They do not want me out...

hide & seek

This game can never tire me, this endless hide & seek. 'Cause I know of every hiding place - through every hollow and creek. I could shroud myself in darkness and silence, or distract you, with illusion and dream. And whenever you ever are close to finding, I hear you, sweet giggles, deep breathes. Then before you know it, before your catch of the day, you suddenly realize you're wrong - I have shifted through shadow and ambiguity to someplace else; I'm gone.

But that, we know, is not the point of the game, but to eventually, reunite.

So I'm still here, secretly, waiting for you, in the quiet of the night.


(When you find me, it'll be my turn to chase - and one, two, three, four, five, six... ten - I'll find you, find you again.)

bad weather

It's raining. Dang it, it's been raining. All soppy day. And it's almost like the sky's been trying  to wash away Yesterday, but just like a bad stain, it wouldn't go away.

that empty feeling.

I'm not sure whether I ought to be feeling very happy or otherwise. My emotions are always in a jumble, my thoughts in a mess. Worst of all, is that I can't keep my mind off it.

I don't know what else to say...

hello reader,

Okay, sometimes I sound like a love-sick fool or some "emo" wuss cat in my posts; Agreed. But I've made this space into a place where I can be honest with what I feel, a ventground where I can voice feelings and thoughts too dangerous to think aloud (in person, at least), lest I violate the natural social order of our generally apathetic generation - so I hope you can at least appreciate that.

*reminder:

In future, please remember to clear your pee-pot before coming at all. As you can see, this lack of initiative has caused much delay in the running of today's program. I hope by now all of you can understand how your lack of action can affect the running of any three hour or longer major event, really, and that the simple effort of clearing yourself beforehand can help greatly; It only takes a mere touch of the naval button and you'll be all empty, ready to go.

more than i could ask for

It's amazing how the answers to my doubts forgotten are all suddenly spinning my way at once.

I'm just so happy to be where I am now.

keeps me ticking

There is so much to say from a heart that loves, that cares and worries, but sometimes, only so little is said.

If only I could bring myself to tell you guys how much you really mean to me.

last chance

To the man whose heart was much larger than himself:

Thank you for showing great pride in heart and song, on behalf of us all, to our country.

Above that, you have always upheld the good virtue of statutes of our institution, with a spirit never bounded by carnality.

You have taught us how to look beyond a person's surface whenever we do not see eye to eye; You have taught us the value of growing up.

Once again, thank you.



You will always be missed. Anyways.

insecurity.

It is comfort far beyond words to know, that you were not only more than just a passing shadow, but sometimes, even that glimmer of sunshine.

uniform

Them old maidens
With so heavy washes
Can afford th'luxury
Of seperation:
"Dark" from "Coloured"
"Coloured" from "Whites"
Whatever fancies so
Colours don't run.
But me,
Oh, I have no such time!
Nor need anyway,
For my every load
Is of uncharming blue-
Every, single, damned wash.

the best medicine ever

I laugh. I always laugh - so hard. I laugh at my wild and crazy ideas, because nobody sees 'em above my head. I laugh at my own imagination, because there, it laughs back at me. I laugh at myself doing the silliest things, because the thought of looking stupid frightens me. I even laugh at my lousy puns, then at myself for laughing at them, because I am, actually, that stupid.

Best of all, I laugh at you, because you, too, frequently falter, yet never heard laughing.

crummy

Sit me by the fire, and tell me, "It's alright."