Saturday, May 23, 2009
You Always Find Me
I'm sure that cinnamon smell still lingers in my breath as I exhale
Now I'll add Jeff Buckley and Rosie Thomas to this list, nibble at another crumbly cookie and wonder when I'll see you both again :)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Looking for More?
http://ko-j.blogspot.com for your daily dose of hot Koko ;)
http://jurongbird.blogspot.com for tales of Singapore..
Monday, May 12, 2008
To Austin, with Love
JP had his arm permanently out the window, enjoying the feel of the wind whistle through his hair and restlessly pull at his hand as it rushed past. He clicked some funny/embarrassing pics of me as I ate peaches. And then I returned the favour for him ;) It was rather silly. He kept clicking picture after picture because he wanted a special kind of effect, he wanted the background blurred and he wanted my eyes to look at him a particular way-- I was giggling by the end of it and he had to give up :)
On our way back to our car, we saw some other walls that other more experienced climbers were tackling. One of them is the Lovers' Cove or something. Apparently, it's quite a rage with local high school kids ;)
I cut my nails that night.
The lovely couple gave us another lovely night to remember. She kept worrying about how she would sneak in lil ol me into a club for grown-ups ;) I was repeated warned not to drink at all! The bad part of the evening was that Ronak and JP were having a blast all over downtown Austin, and I was being hit on by old men who wondered why I didn't want their phone number ;p
Twas fun to shop for friends back home. The girls only wore the t-shirt once, and then too only to please me I guess ;) I'm too polite to ask. But next time, they'll get silly old chocolates!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Sunrise, witnessed from the Skies!
Inky blackness of night and the only thing I see out of the window is a bright pinpoint of light at the helm of the plane’s wing and the flashing beacon of light overhead that outlines the plane’s silhouette momentarily. Above and below is the silence of the heavens, but the sight that caught my breath and almost moved me to tears with its beauty is the array of seven stars of the Great Bear, twinkling brightly right outside my window.
As I write this, the fingers of twilight are stealthily snatching the sky away from the night and the stars do not appear so bright anymore. The dark shadow of the wing is sharply etched against the lighter gray line of the horizon that is slowly widening to become a lighter, brighter sky. I am about to witness my first sunrise from the skies.
So what is a horizon against which the sun can rise, when one is suspended in nothingness over space?
It is an ever expanding, ever lengthening band of light that takes you further and further into its depth. The science of it is suddenly clear to me as I imagine our little plane stepping out of the shadows into a world of light. And as the gray sky above the plane’s wing gradually evolves into blue, my heart beats faster in anticipation of the lightest of all these shades of blue and a band of light which will soon stretch across this strange, endless horizon.
The ribbon of sunlight is at the edge of our horizon now, and the blanket of clouds beneath us can now show the spidery patterns and patches of sunlight that are filtering through…
The old lady to my right doesn’t want me to write anymore, or rather watch anymore. I haven’t let her sleep all night with my continual peeping at the sky outside. I beg her for five more minutes and witness the splendid ascent of the sun, long awaited but glorious as ever.
It’s morning. A morning like every other on planet Earth, yet so different for me in my airplane world.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The Shop of Wonders
A tiny shop around the corner from Starbucks
Had caught my eye
The big painted sign said “Sarge’s Army Surplus”
It was always closed when I passed by.
The scene in the window was tantalizing—
Tantalizingly in a disarray
Whenever I saw those heaps of uniforms
I couldn’t bring myself to look away
I never stood outside the window long enough
To get a decent look inside
There was always something else to be done
And the shop was always closed, besides.
Maybe one day I just got lucky
The shop was open when I walked by
I wouldn’t have noticed, but for the smell of leather
That wafted to my nose as I walked by…
The shop was open, yet empty
And I was excited, yet scared
It seemed like I’d stepped back in time
My jaw dropped open; I just stared.
A strange and shiny device on the shop’s counter
Made the time-machine feeling more surreal
I think it was a cash register
It was contraption with a handle on a wheel
And, arranged quite naturally around this quaint work
Was a battalion of bottles of the Shoe Polish cadre
Bottles and bottles in strategic formation
With shoebrushes and shiny wooden kits, to boot.
And to my left, in disrespectful piles
Were confederate uniforms
Right next to the lovely blazers
With badges and stripes sewed on…
I found my feet, and I took a step forward
To admire the leather belts further on
And when I saw big gleaming buckles with Texas motifs
I reached out to touch the cold metal, almost decided to buy one!
But the pricetags—ah! They had a different tale to tell
And I knew I’d have to be content with just the look and feel of everything
No wonder, then, that at a Shop of Wonders
No one stopped to buy anything!
Then a rack-full of hats proudly saluted me
Hats with different shapes and motifs
Round headed, hard-backed, soft felted hats
Buy one for the Sergeant, or to gift one to the Sheriff;
And stacked high against the back wall
Were rows of boots, standing to attention!
They stood in long, black, shiny lines
And shone in all their polished perfection!
Rows and rows of those shiny boots
Up on the racks and down by the floor
Boots of all sizes, boots in all shapes
Boots brand new and some that were aged..
Some that were rustic and some that were quaint
(Again, I looked at pricetags—
This time I felt quite faint!)
But I was afraid to really touch, lest some wondrous dream might break
So I just walked around with my hands in my pockets
and looked at them sandpaper and all of them dockets
Stopped by the grand mirror that stood by the hat-rack
Just inviting me to try on a Sailor's hat!
I obliged promptly, and put the hat on
I grinned at the mirror; my reflection grinned back
I think I did look fetching
And did a little curtsey to that!
Yes, the hat was lovely, but I put it away, and left
Maybe I’ll go back to the Shop of Wonders some day
The Sailor’s hat will be waiting, on the rack by the giant mirror…
Maybe I'll go back there and buy it, some day!