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!

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!)

Late Night Marking

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

taking a breather, from the 19th storey.

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.

Weaving Through the Traffic

we had just attended our Commencement ceremony and were heading out for drinks and dessert after packing our robes, when we saw this man, with his amazing eco-friendly vehicle, zooming down the road.

-s

First Night in Osaka

a late evening, darkened streets, closing restaurants.

from our hostel (J-Hoppers Osaka) window, we watched the sushi restaurant where we had our dinner switch off its signboard and lights.

our first night in Osaka, and we have already met the friendliest sushi chef, who presented us a plate of torched salmon sushi with "service". "no pay money," he said. then he grinned to himself as he watched us enjoy our meal.

-s

Webster, located halfway between Houston & Galveston near the Texas Gulf Coast.

"This view is outside my kitchen window in Webster, Texas. I use my laptop on the table there and get to see all sort of wildlife. Birds include a redtale hawk, mockingbirds, cardinals, bluejays & others. Squirrels, cats and possums also pass by. One of these days I am going to get some yellow paint & put some sunflowers on my neighbor's shed."

(janette, whose window view i would LOVE to see, touch, smell and feel with my own eyes)