I swear the weather makes a whole lot of difference. I am not one who would sit down in the park in Singapore. But there I was today, sitting in the middle of a small park beside a little neighbourhood church. The sun was up but the weather was well cooling. I would have went there with a book if not for the fact that I needed to do some readings.
On this note, I have also found a new liking towards old books. It all started with me buying a copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover that was published in 1949. I got it from a second hand book store in Bruges and it only cost 2.50 euros. I guess it thus marks the beginning of my regular visits to second hand book shops. At this junction, I should tell you that there is a big 2nd hand bookshop in Paris in place de St Michel is pretty lousy and ex in my opinion. It is too commercialised and messy.
However, I must admit that amazon.com provides a selection of very cheap 2nd hand books. I came across a few that cost less that the shipment cost of 2.99 euros. Yet, it just doesn't feel as good as purchasing a book from a bookstore I think.
The Origin. 2/26/2009 04:28:00 am
This being said, of course it is not always important to be able to know so much about another person. However, if you should get to know somebody special, would it be better to know him/her sooner or later? (let's imagine of course that you have a choice in this) Getting to know later may mean that you do not know much about his/her past. Then again, it is only the "now" that matters and not the past. On the other hand, getting to know sooner may also mean that change will happen and the change might bring the two of you further apart rather than together. I guess then the only thing one can wish for here is to meet at the right time and hope for the best.
The Origin. 2/20/2009 05:41:00 am
In any case, in a way, the suppression is working in its own ways. Some things that I thought were lost, had found their way back. In a way, I welcome them because with their return, it can only mean that I have moved on. On the other hand, I dislike the cycle that I was in before and do not wish for them to return.
The Origin. 2/20/2009 03:30:00 am
On a similar note, a friend said some nice things about me. Well.. It is always nice to be complimented but somehow these don't mean a thing anymore. It is probably the aftermath of everything. As you grow older, you tend to lose faith along the way. Faith in so many things like good vs evil, love, religion and purpose of life in general. With this loss, there is also a sense of confidence growing. confidence which feed on the loss i would say. I mean having lost so much, it is only right to be confident of what is left. Back to the compliment, everything was right, the person, the words, the issues but it just misses the mark. There ain't any point in all these anymore. Having lost faith, what is left is but an inch, fortified with confidence of the very inch that has been left alive.
The Origin. 2/14/2009 04:59:00 pm
I have been to 2 cemeteries in France recently. Well.. considering I got here only slightly more than 'recently' I think that is a few cemeteries too many. The first cemetery is The Monumental Cimetiere in Rouen (photo above) and the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise of Paris (photos below). My thoughts and experiences about my visits to the two cemeteries were vastly different. It probably had to do with the weather (It was raining in Rouen but sunny in Paris when I visited those places), my state of mind then and lastly the popularity of the cemetery. There was an air of gloom in the Monumental Cemetery and accompanying it, is a comforting tranquility, oddly. Standing on a much higher ground than the general town-scape, I would say that there view there is the best that one can get in the region. When I say much higher, I mean at least a 40 deg climb for 15 mins. It was there that I discovered that vast difference between walking along the aisle and walking among the graves, reading the stones. Walking among the graves bring about sadness for the people who died and at the same time, the people who lost and lived on.On the other hand, Cimetière du Père-Lachaise had a touristy feel due to its popularity. It was probably because I did not desire solitude as much as I did when I visited Rouen's Monumental Cemetery, but I did not feel there sense of tranquility or even gloom when I visited the cemetery in Paris. Yet, the sadness portrayed in the cemetery was more of an art. Like the wife or daughter missing the father (2nd and 3rd photo below). I confess that I did not really walk amongst the grave as I was looking for certain graves of popular people, which I think is a wrong way if you want to "experience" a cemetery. Maybe I will visit again when my mindset is more correct.
Oh the last photo has two Chinese graves in the cemetery of Paris. Talk about globalization.
The Origin. 2/01/2009 10:01:00 pm