Boneless tongue can lie
And taste, too. Leading the mood
To where you have been.
I miss Ubud…. Spending time alone or with some friends in a place where mind can freely digest what’s been hoarded through daily interactions at times bringing negativity and pessimism against life, is one of life’s great blessings.
Missing a place and can’t visit it? Cook the specialty!
Missing someone and can’t even contact him? Me? Hmm…. Just whisper his name….! 🥰
sate lilit ayam, urap kacang + sambel matahguess what – ground spices and herbs for the chickenall are finely sliced for sambel matahminced chicken + grated coconut + ground spices and herbs skewered around lemongrass
Foraging culture
Taking from nature for free.
She should gratify.
When biking, I see many kinds of flowers at the side of the roads and most of them just dry and fall off. Falling in love with them, I stopped and plucked some. Did I regret….? A bit of regret, yes but then I whispered to the reservoirs that I thank them for all the freshness and beauty they lend me every time I pass by…..
Showers of colours
Splash cheery hello to time.
I wish you warm heart.
Colours can bring certain vibes to a home. And so different colours of flowers create different atmosphere. Although not taking all for granted, I mostly check the meaning of flowers and wish that the supportive qualities symbolised by the flowers will be the energy filling the air.
Breakfast is ready:
One recipe, two kitchens;
One smile, one grimace—
If we start with wrong breakfast, we’ll treat the whole day wrongly? Luckily I’m not a breakfast person. But when my lunch goes wrong, the next half day will be a disaster! 😛
Gear change in the rain
Between slippery road and
Raincoat left behind—
With years of biking experience I’m supposed to have no problem speeding with bike in Singapore, that’s what my siblings think. But that’s totally misleading. I feel high alert when biking in the rain here. In slope pavement or road I will constantly put hands quite pressure on both brakes, put the easiest gear combination making me look like a beginner biker — slow, doubtful, awkward. While in home country I would go to alternative routes which are many to get to the destination with the same speed enough to bulldoze a wall.
In the rain with blurred goggles because of water and wet body because of no raincoat, it makes it even more awkward coz this mind is swinging between “wanna be careful and go slow” and “race to get home quickly”. What’s more, the big vehicles in the road would either splash water with no mercy when traffic is good or floor the gas pedal not to rev but to let the steam off from the driver’s head in heavy traffic.
Yet there is always good side: I can sing as loudly as I want or curse the drivers with no mercy too ‘coz no one will hear me….
Eh? Human beings are confusing – wanna go safely but taking high risks, wanna curse at people but don’t wanna get heard, wanna be dry but forget raincoat at home…. 🤪
Life is such a paradox, like biking in a heavy rain with no rain coat.
Raining cats and dogs
Leaves laundry damped and undone
But plants glorious.
When a mountain of clothes after two weeks of undone laundry is waiting to iron and the cleaning lady isn’t available to help this weekend, it feels like…. 🤮
Better playing with some of the happy plants in between the work, moving them to a place where they can enjoy the sun while they can
Shower room windows give them chance to sunbathe after days of rain in another corner.
She sings a love song
With Wind through the door whistling
Melodiously....
Eight of ten days in January are rainy. Two days only are with sun shines warmly greeting the window.
On those eight days there has been wind pushing cold air and at times water into the living room or kitchen through the windows opening ajar. While it is cooling, it though wets the floor and curtain. While it is a bit scary at night, it though turns to whistles adding sound effect to the radio that’s on 24 hours this weekend.
Hope the water won’t be too much as I heard there has been flood in some places because of heavy rain. Hope everything will be fine for all creatures in this rainy season: all animals and homeless get sufficient food and shelter everyday.
Four-letter word, Love.
I takelove to dealwith you.
Withfullrisk I know.
God talks about love. Religion talks about love. Many people refer to divinity and humanity.
Rumi talked about love. Ibn Arabi talked about love. People interpret their topic of love in wide spectrum: lustily physical, romantic, humanity, divinity — from the simple to the absurd. And it is always beautiful whatever the perspective is, as long as love becomes the foundation.
You can approach love from your own experience, the message is simply between Lover and Beloved. People may judge your message of love, but you are the truest judge to yourself….
From a seed of awe
Grew secret admiration.
Joy in painful hide
Summed up by a flash farewell—
I love you from where I am.
Love is actually personal experience that internally grows or flickers out based on the quality and responses. I find in my experience loving someone for many years without him knowing it until we took a farewell—he might only know he is special to me and not more; love grows but wisely stops expecting anything. Why expecting if you don’t even get the expected responses from the person and there is no entrance to learn more about the one that you love? Poor me? No, I’m lucky that love has tested me and I pass.
Yes, the most important thing is to test love, how true it is. What if your love isn’t intense anymore? How if the one you love doesn’t love you? How if you find your love evolves? All those rubbish absolutely happen. 😂
It is always good to talk about love. Love deserves a talk, in either low or high pitch, anger or soberness, silence or crowd, far or near, laze or excitement….
A bunch of roses
Present flowers, leaves, stems, thorns—
Where is the root, Love?
It’s left in the heart, where growth
Is truer and forever.
Yet for those who never contemplate or who don’t care, love is difficult to embrace and feel. The vibe can be so fake or vague without physical presence. They need definition of love, which can only degrade the quality of it. Just do….
What have I ranted about?
Too much for the last day of new year’s holiday but too good to be unsaid to start very good years ahead!
I send my best regards to you across the ocean. Happy and Healthy New Year! I love you from where I am.
May all beings be happy.
Singapore – January 4, 2021 – last day of holiday / 14:10
Language is alive
Even in silence. I guess
It’s ears who discount.
I don’t escape, Beloved.
Just my confidence collapsed....
Space is not distance,
It’s a knot between two hearts.
Imagine two words
Without space: cramped and crowded.
Just never disconnect, Love.
Year end is ready
To summarise lessons learnt
To hand happiness
Over to new one. Welcome,
Self, to realm of connection....
Lines, curves and dots drawn
Convey meanings and stories.
Quaintly logical—
I thought learning Kanji would be a mission impossible, it turned out to be a fun game. Thanks to my good teacher who has always encouraged me to practice, practice, practice. ありがとう ございます、先生。Also thanks to the supplementary books I found in Kino today!
According to the book Kanji is ideographic, not phonetic, which means that each character represents a concept or an idea rather than a sound.
There is a group of Kanji called Joyo Kanji (Kanji for daily use) that are normally learnt by Japanese during their 9 years of compulsory education. It means I’m in that teenage stage of learning and so need fun way of learning to keep motivated in a consistent concentration span.
And don’t be afraid to make mistakes! —- Ok, just don’t repeat too many ‘coz repeated mistakes are equal to planned crimes 😁
page one of Kanji book drilled by Sensei Hannynew lethal weapons!
Who sends secret signs?
Without envelope or stamp
Universe plays game.
Finding flowers at a balcony of the 15th floor has become a small miracle for me. It’s sometimes windy when it rains but I never found anything before but water at the balcony after rain. Yet it’s been twice that I received something special after the rain just recently: one piece of flowers.
They might have been flown by the strong wind to this floor, from the other two floors above or somewhere not known where.
The first was a piece of Asoka flower last week and today was a piece of Bougainvillea.
The Universe knows I love flowers so they are sent to me and I believe it’s with messages. Thank you! Hope I read it right.
Looking forward to your next readable signs, Beloved.
Crowding sunflowers
Teach how followers reflect
Leadership success.
Sunflower is sunflower as long as it follows the sun. Thousands of sunflowers have shown me how a good leader can move one’s followers to the desired directions gracefully without violence, cruelty, humility, and intimidation — either overt or covert ones. All is with just warm ray….
Wanna twist logic?
Learn foreign languages or
Backpack with no cash.
While the Arabic won’t twist my logic so much, the Japanese is a bit of a challenge ‘coz it is a brand new thing. Arabic has been a background play since I was young although I am only good at reading and writing. In fact, Japanese is totally a logic twist and takes some resource commitment if I want to achieve my target: intermediate level in all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking).
As electronic learning sources are not suitable for my eyes, I decided to boost my effort through traditional way: all paper-based. Books, cue cards, dictionary, etc…
Among all those tools, there is one that I am most impressed of: the karuta card. Not the uniqueness of the cards itself as cue cards are used in all language classes but more about the age of its existence that amazes me. It is a deck of playing cards aged back to 16th century, brought by the Portuguese sailors to Japan. Since then it has been a tool for fun game, fun learning and even competitive game.
Go search “karuta” that means card in Portuguese (in Bahasa Indonesia it is kartu), and you’ll find various webs explaining about karuta from its history up to how to play it.
Found two decks in Kinokuniya bookstore today together with dictionaries that will be a company for all children books in the reading list. Fun study yay!
You’re in the dark. Who?
What? Matter? Not! It’s still you.
Just some shade and light.
I’m never perfect, will never be as long as I live with and in this matter. There won’t be any absence of uncertainty. There is always a gap to bridge, a space in between, an emptiness after fulfilment…. Always between 0 and 1 – a binary system of wholeness I call it. Swinging like a pendulum from one point to another up to one extreme point before at the end of momentum thrown back to the next direction…..
Why would you stay in the day for 24 hours if you can stay cool in the dark for 12 hours after a long working day? Or the other way around with some reason?
Why would you mind missing someone for at least an hour a day if it can make this life more vibrant? Just don’t hate….
Why would you regret your broken heart as long as you don’t hurt anyone’s pride? Just don’t forget to love yourself….
No matter what and who you are some time of and in your life, you’re still you. Be you! Be more whole you every time…. A true you
Good Swisss fondue is
Not about cheese, bread or wine.
It’s all chat and friends.
I missed one of my friends, Mrs Fondue whose face suddenly “flew around” for the past 2 months. Her number wasn’t active anymore. Called Mrs Fondue because she was the one introducing me to cheese fondue. Trying to contact people who worked around her with no result, I finally planned making cheese fondue and praying for her good.
Fondue was well served, not with the expected consistency but the taste is almost the same with my very first fondue in Cafe du Soleil.
Yet I could not enjoy this second fondue, even with air conditioner set to low temperature to bring autumn to this small living room. Still failed…. There was melancholic ambience striking me suddenly. No goosebump though 😁
The first fondue tasted greater than this. Maybe because I enjoyed it with Mrs Fondue who invited me to that “traditional” fondue cafe whose air was filled with warm laughter and greetings to the visitors.
This Mrs Fondue was an amazing yet unpopular lady, had done so much to help refugees from dangerous situation. We were amazed with what she and team did. Such a brave lady yet motherly and sweet she was!
She was a wise yet fun lady. She’s probably 15 years older than me but we could still chat like we were of the same age. Lucky to have met people like her in my life!
I’m praying for you, Mrs Fondue and family. If you are still here, I hope we still can see each other again. But if you’ve crossed the bridge, hope you’re smiling receiving my beautiful messages. Enjoy your fondue!
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