where the world is perfect but i am not

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Stomp the Yard!

With reference to the subject above, I would like to recommend anyone of you who is reading this to go watch it if you haven’t. Because this is not a movie review page, I will not write you a synopsis of the movie. But I can tell you that it is another movie which you will want to watch. I have never watched such a motivating film for a very long time. I would say it is better than Step up, though they are both quite different in terms of dance genre. Am lousy at descriptive writing, hence cannot really describe to you the impact the movie left upon me.

It is amazing how some movies can leave such powerful impact on us, isn’t it. Sometimes I feel deep sense of greatness, sometimes it just lightens me up. Whatever it is, I guess I will never stop watching films anyway. It just connects so much with my life. Particularly when I see myself on screen, it is like a character I know so much of yet feel so far detached from.

Sigh…this is just what a good movie can do to me. Does it do the same things to you?

If it doesn’t, well, life’s unfair.

Monday, March 19, 2007

What's with birthdays now?

Today I went to the nearby store to get a birthday card. I know it is not usual to be getting a birthday card at this information age, and supposedly sending an e-card would be so much less tedious, let’s just assume that I always go the extra mile to do something nice. Nicer.

When I first arrived, I wasn’t sure what I was looking for in the birthday card, though I did know that I would have preferred something humorously written; or written humorously. Anything you like.

After an hour of rummaging through the rack and of brutal venturesome (I think I read all the birthday cards available), I took a step back, lowered my head and gritted. I found nothing. There was nothing appealing on the ten feet rack! Who would have thought that looking for a birthday card would mean this much of hard work?

Happy Birthday, hope your birthday was filled with many pleasant surprise.

Happy Birthday, wishing you lots of surprises. Only the good ones!

Happy Belated Birthday, since I am late might as well just be early the next time. Happy Valentines. Merry Christmas. Happy Easter. Happy New Year.

Can’t wait to tell you, that I’m sorry I’m late. Happy Birthday.

The cliché wishes went on and on until I totally lost the meaning of birthdays. It is just unscrupulous; can’t they create something more than that? I mean at least create one which says, “I know you don’t care but I’m getting you this anyway. Happy Birthday. The bill is attached at the back of this card.” I would have bought it, you know. They could have earned some money ~

Because I was tired and wanted to leave the place as soon as possible, I quickly chose one card and fled. At one moment I thought of purchasing the “I’m sorry” card and add on to say I couldn’t find a decent birthday card. Then changed my mind considering how mature the idea was. One might not be able to take that kind of joke. So much for having to make a decision, I made mine and felt jaded about it. Sometimes there are just not many considerable options for us to choose. In this case, there were many but none worthy of. Either I chose this for that, or that for this, it won’t matter much.

Guess in the end, it is the thought that counts. Whoever said that must have experienced the same thing I did today.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

The repeat

I never get tired of wielding a pen, though i do not dwell in writing about tragic heroic fictions. The other night, i read in a book, "Write; writing may give your heart relieve." I started scribbling away before i knew what i was about.

I am a person who believes in certain values in life, such as compassion, dignity, love, discipline, commitment and so on. The pitfalls of existence will highlight that these values are the basic which holds up life's true aspect. Sometimes, pitfalls are cruel, but without cruelty you cannot see yourself in the mirror.

When one losses something, it will seem appropriate to regain what is lost, not in a repaired way but restored entirely. This has been a great source of frustration to me and the reason why i have been attracted to religion. However, i do not find myself satisfied because i have been expecting a miracle. My expectations do not drive me crazy, as i am rational and it is precisely the rational expectations that will end in disappoinment. Who knows? There are no miracles in this world.

Nowadays the further i go from the crowd, the better i feel. I begin to appreciate the blessings of retreat. Distance is such a privilege, why do people fear solitude? In solitude the heart is at peace. Of course, my condition is very fragile and vulnerable. On this stage of life, anything is bound to change and any change can be alarming. But i have no urge to pour out my problems, only hoping to forget them quickly and return restored.

With this distance, will i be more clearly sighted or will i loose my ground? I do not know.This is the first time i'm writing without a public in mind. I am not obliged to write something to please the readers here.

Perhaps there are people out there indulgent enough to be reading what i have been scribbling?

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

What women want

If you choke while reading what I am going to write about, you have totally overrated/underrated me.

All this while, I have been watching the reality show What Women Want hosted by the sexy Hannah T (Hold that choke, please). Because last week was the crucial finale, I couldn’t help myself from hiding the remote control so everybody can watch 8tv and 8tv alone.

For any of you out there who might have been abroad this time, say New Zealand maybe, you have totally missed seeing one of the best finales a reality show can offer. And I am saying this because I know you didn’t watch any part of it. Nevertheless, I am glad to announce to you that the winner was the one and only Hafiz and not Frenchie. It was boringly obvious that Hafiz was going to win. No offence Frenchie, but all you wanted to impress was the mystery girl you couldn’t have and you had failed miserably in the last task.

The smile Hafiz had was authentically warm during the final task. Somehow throughout the whole show, I felt Frenchie must have derived a certain security from thinking that Hafiz wasn’t going to win. Mind you, I nearly gave myself away laughing out loud when Hafiz won in spite of all the judgments made upon him; until the irony of the situation finally hit me.

There Frenchie was, thinking he had won yet again, and that Hafiz had lost, when in fact, Hafiz always had control over the task that was given to him. Apart from having to lose at speed and craft, Hafiz could have ruined his opponent’s soccer career at any stage, simply by scoring a crucial goal, for instance, in a vital match like this.

Retracing back my alma mater days, I was equally a fool in competitions. But at least I found out something about myself; I learnt that my greatest fear was not about losing the battle. In fact, the thing I was frighten of most was letting down the warrior in me.

There is a straight line between them right?

I understand at this point, that I had to begin working WITH the fear, not against it, as most people do with theirs. Unfortunately I will only let you know how, when I find out myself.

Or have you?

Many people told me I had to be optimistic, be it before or after the battle. But optimism is only a kind of self consolation. If one is unable to protect oneself against the world, the only way out is rejection. Emotional state and mood, I believe, must always adjust to the outside world. You may have to pay a devastating price in the bargain of losing someone you love and lost, or love but never had; nonetheless in the end, what is more important, is to not let your despair in human relationships take away the magic of your soul.

In future, before you start thinking about winning, you ought to know how much you are willing to lose. Making sacrifices and forgo your next best option, is the first step to take when you decide to win a battle.

Maybe the only step, I don’t know.

I just feel that when god meets you with challenges and obstacles, so many that sometimes you feel life is not worth living and you want to give up, he has something great in stored for you after that.

After you are wounded with castigation, marred with brutal exorcism, scarred with a tiger’s claw and may have to use a bedpan maybe…but nevertheless, there will always be something great waiting for you at the other end of the road.

After all, what’s a warrior without scars?