Thursday, December 16, 2010

The Space Between

on the car, to a farm

Adelaide absolutely surprised me, in a good way. nothing excites me more than the buzz and energy of bustling cities and the fact that Adelaide was everything but overruled my preconceived notions about the city. Adelaide has space. beautiful, serene, wondrous space which allowed me to release the breath i never realised that i had been holding ever since, well, i don't quite know...

(just a disclaimer, i was as relaxed as a teacher leading students overseas could be.)

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Marking the View

the sacred weekend wasn't so sacred after all.

at a quiet cafe in town, with research papers and reflective journals for company.

thanks for the memories, 4b1!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Deceptive Appearances

from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on a cloudy day, Tokyo looks almost drab and lifeless.

but Tokyo is anything but.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Wingtip

"Follow your instincts, fly off into the horizon. Chase the sun like you would your aspirations; a wondrous future lies ahead"

(inspirational words from hongwei, who was on his way to Genting)

Sunday, September 12, 2010

A Glimpse of the Fireworks

the fireworks from Universal Studios, as glimpsed from our hotel's balcony through further windows.

after all the antics, chatting, junk food and monopoly deal, the four of us, from our blue-pinafore days, went into a satisfying 9-hour slumber.

Monday, September 6, 2010

An Artificial World

i have never been a fan of artificial worlds - never quite saw the appeal of the Disneylands. suffice to say, i wasn't quite entertained by our little red dot's newest tourist attraction, Universal Studios.

a picture taken from the window of one of the many shops within.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Wanderlust

admittedly, our trip to Japan in June was to attend a wedding, but we also made our way down to Kobe, from Osaka, to meet up with a university friend. the last time we visited Japan, he introduced us to a trendy, hole-in-the wall izakaya in Shibuya, Tokyo. this time, he zipped us around Kobe in his awesome Japanese sports car. this was taken during dinner at another izakaya in Kobe.

the trouble with browsing travel albums, however, is that wanderlust hits like a fist to the face.

(and i'm sorry for our reflections in the window)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

London


of London, sent in by the one who calls the world his home.

we met when i was on exchange in Newcastle in 2007, he was a friend of a friend. a couple of months later, we ran into each other unexpectedly at London's Leicester Square (the coincidence!). a facebook message arrived two/three years down the road - he was preparing to pack his bags for Singapore (with side visits to Southeast Asia and the frequent trips back to Hong Kong). after a short stint in Singapore, he decided to return to wet and gray London, but apparently he can't get enough of the sun on our island...and he's travelling halfway across the world once more.

hello again, looking forward to catching up, steven!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

The Sky


"The merciless winds of change; overshadowed by the drone of construction and the lights of the enveloping skyline, the unforgiving barriers of buildings that mar our view of the angry sky."

(gui an, a first submission from a student of mine. brilliant!)

Monday, August 16, 2010

Late Night Marking


the slashing of the mighty red pen, accompanied by the occasional droning car engines.

taking a breather, from the 19th storey.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

a window of his own

i'm cheating here, technically this isn't a window, but the yakitori chef works his magic behind this glass partition.

i stopped updating this blog two years ago, after our commencement from the university, after our graduation trip to Japan. i was exhilarated then, having completed my thesis, thrown my mortar board into the air the way they do in the films (and then scrambling to retrieve it,
unlike the films) and was getting all ready to be a Grown Up.

it has been two years. we revisited Tokyo, after attending a wedding in Osaka (oh, how grown up). we're now engaged, Working Adults...but we are all, in a way, still looking for our own window, to work our own magic in this world.