P
Sunday, July 12, 2009
P
I know a lot of people who hate vegetables, much less parsley. Even if you are a fan of vegetables, you are probably going to leave these garnishes by the side of your plate by the end of a meal. It certainly adds to the flavor of a dish, but that doesn't mean everybody likes the taste of parsley in their mouths. I'm not sure when I became curious about parsley, but I have a feeling that it is because of how nobody at any restaurants that I've ever been to ever bothered to try parsley. My idea was that if something is on a plate, it can be eaten somehow if cooked properly, and they smell particularly fragrant. I tried one after my mother thought it to be OK, and then I got hooked to the taste of it. Every time somebody decides to leave a pile of parsley at the edge of his or her plate, I'd probably ask for it. I like the smell and the taste of it, and I remember going back to Taiwan last year and visiting some childhood friends in the farm, and they actually had pots of parsley right in the back of their house, which was pretty awesome. Anyway, I like parsley, though that is not to say that I want a whole dish of it. Yet, if you decide that you don't want to munch on those miniature version of trees, give them to me. Thank you.
I think in nature, it is difficult for me to wrap my head around the idea of not trusting anybody unless that person proves to be trustworthy. I know of people, or someone, who dislikes everybody until they prove that they are likable in one way or another. I suppose when it comes to assessing somebody, first impression for me is always a somewhat positive one. You'd want me to be your panel judge or your job interviewer, because I tend to possess a good impression of people until that person does something to make me think otherwise. I like people in general, or just meeting them and getting to know them. I find it extremely difficult to play the ball close to my chest and keep my guard up, because that is not who I am. Still, I must admit, maybe that has played against me on a couple of unfortunate occasions. At any rate, I still love the idea of meeting people and knowing how they are like, which is also the reason why I really want to travel around the world. In a country such as Singapore, though, knowing people just seems like an impossible task unless there is some kind of event that you are attending. Talking to strangers isn't something that seems to be a social norm here, though I am lucky to say that my current girlfriend is a result of such an unlikely interaction. Anyway, I like people in general until I find something that rubs me the wrong way, and I in turn place their names in the black book.
I don't consider myself to be a person that is big on nature. I mean, I hate the sight of deforestation, but at the same time you are not going to find me tumbling around in the woods and trying to survive on a dagger and a roll of tape. I am not the kind of person you'd find out in the woods, but I do love the plants that come along with the woods. Trees, particularly, are my favorite of all plants, simply because of their majesty and their elegance. Despite the fact that I spent the better part of my two years in the army trying to break down plants and getting through walls of them in the jungles, I still appreciate their presence and also realize how important they are to our very own survival. As a child, I was always jealous when my mother told me how my grandfather built the family a treehouse behind their house, and they'd all climb up into the treehouse to spend some afternoons there. I've always wanted a treehouse, but it's not like there are any trees in Singapore. It isn't legal to do such a thing I presume, which is why my childhood dream was pretty much dashed for the most part. Still, I love looking at trees, and the idea that everything started off with a tiny little seed. Trees are also a part of what I believe, comes after death. It isn't so much about life after death, but rather life in a different form. You decompose, you go back to the soil, and a tree picks it up and you live within a tree - I like that very much indeed.
A pun is defined as a joke exploiting the different meanings of a word or the fact that there are words or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings. I love wordplays, and there are many examples out there which I love dearly. However, since I am only allowed to mention things that start with P, I have elected "puns" to be the representative. Besides, the word "pun" is just too cute to ignore. It sounds like a food, like a bun, or a bunny or something like that. I remember the first time I heard the word, I didn't even believe that it is an actual word. I have been playing around with puns for a long time even before I learned of the existence of such a term. I am very bad at puns, and puns are very rarely the source of a good joke unless it is sexually suggestive somehow. In a time when everybody goes "that's what she said" in class, puns have become especially important, at least to me. I've always enjoyed the smarts behind puns, and how people have the ability to twist them. Puns are great, and I love them, and someone really should have a book on all the puns in the world.
That is my dog, although it isn't living with me. It is a complicated situation, but my love for dogs go beyond national borders. I love pets in general, and I have had many over the past couple of years. If I could, I'd probably buy iguanas and put them around the house, but that is against the law in Singapore, so too bad. Anyway, I have had hamsters, rabbits, and fishes as pets before, but dogs have been and probably will always be my favorite of all. Dogs are just adorable for the most part, even if some of them may not look that way. I've been having a growing affection for cats, but you cannot deny how cold they may seem at times. It is a one-way love relationship with a cat for the most part, either from you to the cat or vice versa. Dogs, on the other hand, their blind love for you infects you somehow, and I love to come home to a ball of fur wagging its tail for some reason, all happy to see me. The dog doesn't exactly seem very happy in that picture, but it really is pretty excited to head out of the front door at that point. I shall make it a point to have my own dog when I grow older, though my parents don't want to have one now. It's not because they don't like dogs - they love them to death. But the problem comes when they die, and my parents feel like they cannot deal with it. But, if you think about it, if they know that I am going to die someday, why did they decide to make me in the first place? I do wonder at times about that.
Neptina is an awesome girlfriend, and I'd feel incredibly guilty if I don't include her on this list. That is not to say that her inclusion is, in any way, out of guilt. It was difficult for me to include her, considering the fact that her name is Neptina instead of Peptina. Anyway, I'd much rather use some other word instead of "possession" to describe how she is to me. However, since we all have to play by the rules, I am merely abiding to it. Neptina is probably one of the most amazing things that has happened to me. A best friend and a girlfriend all rolled into one, Neptina is probably the best combination of everything awesome that you can think of. We started out as perfect strangers at a rock concert, striking up a conversation not really because we were genuinely interested in one another, but because we were driven to edge of our sanity by our boredom. From there, a friendship slowly bloomed into a relationship, the one that we have today. We haven't stopped talking since that fateful day, literally. Every single time that we converse, I feel a strange sense of invincibility, as if there isn't anything in the world that could penetrate me, for some reason. It is comforting to know that other than your family, there is another person out there whom you can love and be loved in radically different ways. This is a person who understands, who gets me, and one who never seizes to amaze me in so many ways. Possession is a rather crude word to describe her importance in my life, considering how it makes her seem almost like a commodity of sorts (do forgive me). I guess I just want to say that if I was given a different letter, I'd probably give my all to come up with a way to fit you into the list as well. If you gave me the letter Z, I'd probably include you by going "ZOMG, Neptina" or something. Try me, I'd be able to throw you into my list of favorites. Why? Because you are just that amazing to me.
Here is a confession that you will not hear anywhere else. I have a thing for memes, and I have no idea why. Not just any memes about what you are doing now, who was the last person you called, and what was the last food you ate. I love memes with a bit of creativity going for it, the kind that makes you think and derive at answers after some kind of careful thoughts. It is different from the conventional chain letters that threaten you with ten years of bad luck if you do not send it to ten other people on your contact list, or the kind that tells you that you will be kissed by the person that you love in the next twenty-four hours if you send it it X-number of people. I appreciate a cleverly thought out meme, but the problem is that they are very hard to come by most of the time. Thankfully, I have a girlfriend who is equally demanding when it comes to memes, and she has quite a few sources in her social circle to obtain clever memes such as this one that came into her attention. It's simple enough though, and this one basically involves you listing out ten of your most beloved whatever based on a letter than the person who tagged you dictates. On one hand, I get to brainstorm for ideas, and on the other I get another easy entry on my blog - two birds with one stone, why not?
Anyway, so I am going to start with my list here of everything that I love that starts with a P. It is going to be hard, because the only word I can come up with that starts with a P right now is "Parrot", for some reason. I'm not sure if I am going to give somebody else a letter and have that person continue on though. If you are interested, comment in the tagboard and I will assign you with a letter for your own list! I think it is fun, and somewhat thoughtful if you put your mind to it anyway. So, here goes nothing, and let's see where it all leads to by the end of this entry.
1) Parsley
I know a lot of people who hate vegetables, much less parsley. Even if you are a fan of vegetables, you are probably going to leave these garnishes by the side of your plate by the end of a meal. It certainly adds to the flavor of a dish, but that doesn't mean everybody likes the taste of parsley in their mouths. I'm not sure when I became curious about parsley, but I have a feeling that it is because of how nobody at any restaurants that I've ever been to ever bothered to try parsley. My idea was that if something is on a plate, it can be eaten somehow if cooked properly, and they smell particularly fragrant. I tried one after my mother thought it to be OK, and then I got hooked to the taste of it. Every time somebody decides to leave a pile of parsley at the edge of his or her plate, I'd probably ask for it. I like the smell and the taste of it, and I remember going back to Taiwan last year and visiting some childhood friends in the farm, and they actually had pots of parsley right in the back of their house, which was pretty awesome. Anyway, I like parsley, though that is not to say that I want a whole dish of it. Yet, if you decide that you don't want to munch on those miniature version of trees, give them to me. Thank you. 2) People in general, unless proven to be assholes
I think in nature, it is difficult for me to wrap my head around the idea of not trusting anybody unless that person proves to be trustworthy. I know of people, or someone, who dislikes everybody until they prove that they are likable in one way or another. I suppose when it comes to assessing somebody, first impression for me is always a somewhat positive one. You'd want me to be your panel judge or your job interviewer, because I tend to possess a good impression of people until that person does something to make me think otherwise. I like people in general, or just meeting them and getting to know them. I find it extremely difficult to play the ball close to my chest and keep my guard up, because that is not who I am. Still, I must admit, maybe that has played against me on a couple of unfortunate occasions. At any rate, I still love the idea of meeting people and knowing how they are like, which is also the reason why I really want to travel around the world. In a country such as Singapore, though, knowing people just seems like an impossible task unless there is some kind of event that you are attending. Talking to strangers isn't something that seems to be a social norm here, though I am lucky to say that my current girlfriend is a result of such an unlikely interaction. Anyway, I like people in general until I find something that rubs me the wrong way, and I in turn place their names in the black book. 3) Philip Glass
The choice of putting Philip Glass in my list of favorite "P" things was not a difficult one. If you've ever had a chance to take a glimpse at the my iTunes' playlist, you'd notice how many times Philp Glass' name comes up on the top 25 most played tracks. His work in the score of The Hours still remains one of my favorite albums of all time, and probably my second favorite score ever, right behind Clint Mansell's The Fountain. At any rate, Philip Glass' work is what I look to when I need a certain jolt of inspiration, a certain mood that I need to set the tone I suppose. Philip Glass provides that kind of atmosphere, a brooding and progressive music that sends me into a continuum of sorts. His work on the piano is hypnotic, and it puts you into a sort of trance. One reason why I have such a great love for The Hours, the film, is the music and how it ties everything together in a linear story line. If there is one pianist that I'd like to be, it'd be like Philip Glass. I remember a conversation with a friend of mine, about his works and its influences. He isn't necessarily a big fan, but I suppose I somewhat understand. If Bachs' music is rocket science, Philip Glass' is probably somewhere between physics and chemistry somehow. It isn't complicated, but I suppose it is in the simplicity that I am the most passionate about. Philip Glass deserves a spot on this list, because he is just that awesome. 4) Precipitation of any form
I have a love affair with the rain, I swear. I'd probably have chosen to use the word "Rain", had my assigned letter been "R". Still, I have to play by the rules, and I am using the word "precipitation" in its stead. By precipitation, I do mean precipitation of any form. Whether or not it is the rain or the snow, I like them all. Though, a point to note, it has been quite a while since I have experienced snowfall, and I haven't actually experienced a hailstorm before. I am probably going to see a lot of snow in Buffalo when I get there, so much snow that I am probably going to want to take it off the list in due time. Before then, though, I shall continue to relish in the memory of throw snowballs at my father in Vancouver, and how my sister fell into a hole after the snow caved in. And as for rain, everybody knows my love for rain and the sound that it makes. Everything before the rain, during the rain, and after the rain, they are just some of the little things that I treasure dearly in life. Every time there is a hint of a rainstorm coming, I'd be perched at my window and then silently hoping that it'd pout for a week straight. It hasn't happened in a long time, and I doubt very much that it would anytime soon. For now, I do love the sound of the rain pounding against my window and when it falls on a tin roof. If you haven't experienced the latter, you have to give it a shot. It makes the whispers of a rain sound like the screaming of a monster. It's really great.
I have a love affair with the rain, I swear. I'd probably have chosen to use the word "Rain", had my assigned letter been "R". Still, I have to play by the rules, and I am using the word "precipitation" in its stead. By precipitation, I do mean precipitation of any form. Whether or not it is the rain or the snow, I like them all. Though, a point to note, it has been quite a while since I have experienced snowfall, and I haven't actually experienced a hailstorm before. I am probably going to see a lot of snow in Buffalo when I get there, so much snow that I am probably going to want to take it off the list in due time. Before then, though, I shall continue to relish in the memory of throw snowballs at my father in Vancouver, and how my sister fell into a hole after the snow caved in. And as for rain, everybody knows my love for rain and the sound that it makes. Everything before the rain, during the rain, and after the rain, they are just some of the little things that I treasure dearly in life. Every time there is a hint of a rainstorm coming, I'd be perched at my window and then silently hoping that it'd pout for a week straight. It hasn't happened in a long time, and I doubt very much that it would anytime soon. For now, I do love the sound of the rain pounding against my window and when it falls on a tin roof. If you haven't experienced the latter, you have to give it a shot. It makes the whispers of a rain sound like the screaming of a monster. It's really great. 5) Plants
I don't consider myself to be a person that is big on nature. I mean, I hate the sight of deforestation, but at the same time you are not going to find me tumbling around in the woods and trying to survive on a dagger and a roll of tape. I am not the kind of person you'd find out in the woods, but I do love the plants that come along with the woods. Trees, particularly, are my favorite of all plants, simply because of their majesty and their elegance. Despite the fact that I spent the better part of my two years in the army trying to break down plants and getting through walls of them in the jungles, I still appreciate their presence and also realize how important they are to our very own survival. As a child, I was always jealous when my mother told me how my grandfather built the family a treehouse behind their house, and they'd all climb up into the treehouse to spend some afternoons there. I've always wanted a treehouse, but it's not like there are any trees in Singapore. It isn't legal to do such a thing I presume, which is why my childhood dream was pretty much dashed for the most part. Still, I love looking at trees, and the idea that everything started off with a tiny little seed. Trees are also a part of what I believe, comes after death. It isn't so much about life after death, but rather life in a different form. You decompose, you go back to the soil, and a tree picks it up and you live within a tree - I like that very much indeed. 6) Puns
A pun is defined as a joke exploiting the different meanings of a word or the fact that there are words or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings. I love wordplays, and there are many examples out there which I love dearly. However, since I am only allowed to mention things that start with P, I have elected "puns" to be the representative. Besides, the word "pun" is just too cute to ignore. It sounds like a food, like a bun, or a bunny or something like that. I remember the first time I heard the word, I didn't even believe that it is an actual word. I have been playing around with puns for a long time even before I learned of the existence of such a term. I am very bad at puns, and puns are very rarely the source of a good joke unless it is sexually suggestive somehow. In a time when everybody goes "that's what she said" in class, puns have become especially important, at least to me. I've always enjoyed the smarts behind puns, and how people have the ability to twist them. Puns are great, and I love them, and someone really should have a book on all the puns in the world. 7) Pots of homemade food
First of all, I have no idea what is in the pot in this picture. Second of all, it isn't a picture of my mother's cooking, because I think she does a way more appetizing job than this. At any rate, my mother never started off as a great cook, and she really only started learning how to cook after my sister was born. My aunt has always been the better cook, and my mother owes much of her knowledge in the kitchen to her. My mother's dishes are what I'd call, my comfort food. Her dishes are what I hope to come home to whenever I have had a rough day out, and the case was especially so when I was still in the army, and the food from the cookhouse was unwanted even by the stray dogs that we fed them to. My mother cooks well, and many people have testified to that before. She still claims to be a mediocre cook, and that she doesn't really know much other than the basics. Yet, even when she is just dealing with the basics, she does such a wonderful job that I don't mind eating the same thing for days on end. She doesn't believe that I have the ability to do that of course, but who doesn't like to eat something that comforts more than just your stomach anyway. I find solace in her food, only because it marks the end of my day and I get to rest and feel satisfied. Most of all though, it is the sense of home that I find in each and every one of her dishes that I appreciate the most.
First of all, I have no idea what is in the pot in this picture. Second of all, it isn't a picture of my mother's cooking, because I think she does a way more appetizing job than this. At any rate, my mother never started off as a great cook, and she really only started learning how to cook after my sister was born. My aunt has always been the better cook, and my mother owes much of her knowledge in the kitchen to her. My mother's dishes are what I'd call, my comfort food. Her dishes are what I hope to come home to whenever I have had a rough day out, and the case was especially so when I was still in the army, and the food from the cookhouse was unwanted even by the stray dogs that we fed them to. My mother cooks well, and many people have testified to that before. She still claims to be a mediocre cook, and that she doesn't really know much other than the basics. Yet, even when she is just dealing with the basics, she does such a wonderful job that I don't mind eating the same thing for days on end. She doesn't believe that I have the ability to do that of course, but who doesn't like to eat something that comforts more than just your stomach anyway. I find solace in her food, only because it marks the end of my day and I get to rest and feel satisfied. Most of all though, it is the sense of home that I find in each and every one of her dishes that I appreciate the most. 8) Playing Josephine
As many of you may already know, guitar isn't exactly something that I intend to pursue a career with. Rather, it is a hobby of mine that I picked up a couple of years ago because my sister gave up on it. That is a picture of me bald, and that is also a picture of me playing my guitar (Josephine) almost five years ago. That picture was taken on my first book out from the army, and I look like some kind of Sudanese refugee for some reason. Anyway, I enjoy playing the guitar very much, though that is not to say that I intend to start a career with it. I don't think that I am good enough, and the songs that I have written on my guitar have mostly been unsatisfying on a personal level. It is a shame, I suppose, but it is still something that I am rather proud of, for the mere fact that I have come this far by studying everything on my own. I enjoy everything about guitars, from the shape of the instrument to the sound that it makes, from the songs that I can play with the guitar and the pain at the tips of my fingers after an hour-long jam on my own in the bedroom. I dream about being on stage at times, a silly fantasy that isn't very realistic if you ask me. I do not have the voice to match the guitar, but I try my best and I pretend to be singing to a big crowd in a small pub. At any rate, Josephine has always been there in these silly fantasies of mine, and never judgmental about the way that I cannot hit a pitch or carry a note.
As many of you may already know, guitar isn't exactly something that I intend to pursue a career with. Rather, it is a hobby of mine that I picked up a couple of years ago because my sister gave up on it. That is a picture of me bald, and that is also a picture of me playing my guitar (Josephine) almost five years ago. That picture was taken on my first book out from the army, and I look like some kind of Sudanese refugee for some reason. Anyway, I enjoy playing the guitar very much, though that is not to say that I intend to start a career with it. I don't think that I am good enough, and the songs that I have written on my guitar have mostly been unsatisfying on a personal level. It is a shame, I suppose, but it is still something that I am rather proud of, for the mere fact that I have come this far by studying everything on my own. I enjoy everything about guitars, from the shape of the instrument to the sound that it makes, from the songs that I can play with the guitar and the pain at the tips of my fingers after an hour-long jam on my own in the bedroom. I dream about being on stage at times, a silly fantasy that isn't very realistic if you ask me. I do not have the voice to match the guitar, but I try my best and I pretend to be singing to a big crowd in a small pub. At any rate, Josephine has always been there in these silly fantasies of mine, and never judgmental about the way that I cannot hit a pitch or carry a note. 9) Pets that go woof-woof
That is my dog, although it isn't living with me. It is a complicated situation, but my love for dogs go beyond national borders. I love pets in general, and I have had many over the past couple of years. If I could, I'd probably buy iguanas and put them around the house, but that is against the law in Singapore, so too bad. Anyway, I have had hamsters, rabbits, and fishes as pets before, but dogs have been and probably will always be my favorite of all. Dogs are just adorable for the most part, even if some of them may not look that way. I've been having a growing affection for cats, but you cannot deny how cold they may seem at times. It is a one-way love relationship with a cat for the most part, either from you to the cat or vice versa. Dogs, on the other hand, their blind love for you infects you somehow, and I love to come home to a ball of fur wagging its tail for some reason, all happy to see me. The dog doesn't exactly seem very happy in that picture, but it really is pretty excited to head out of the front door at that point. I shall make it a point to have my own dog when I grow older, though my parents don't want to have one now. It's not because they don't like dogs - they love them to death. But the problem comes when they die, and my parents feel like they cannot deal with it. But, if you think about it, if they know that I am going to die someday, why did they decide to make me in the first place? I do wonder at times about that. 10) Possession of Neptina
Neptina is an awesome girlfriend, and I'd feel incredibly guilty if I don't include her on this list. That is not to say that her inclusion is, in any way, out of guilt. It was difficult for me to include her, considering the fact that her name is Neptina instead of Peptina. Anyway, I'd much rather use some other word instead of "possession" to describe how she is to me. However, since we all have to play by the rules, I am merely abiding to it. Neptina is probably one of the most amazing things that has happened to me. A best friend and a girlfriend all rolled into one, Neptina is probably the best combination of everything awesome that you can think of. We started out as perfect strangers at a rock concert, striking up a conversation not really because we were genuinely interested in one another, but because we were driven to edge of our sanity by our boredom. From there, a friendship slowly bloomed into a relationship, the one that we have today. We haven't stopped talking since that fateful day, literally. Every single time that we converse, I feel a strange sense of invincibility, as if there isn't anything in the world that could penetrate me, for some reason. It is comforting to know that other than your family, there is another person out there whom you can love and be loved in radically different ways. This is a person who understands, who gets me, and one who never seizes to amaze me in so many ways. Possession is a rather crude word to describe her importance in my life, considering how it makes her seem almost like a commodity of sorts (do forgive me). I guess I just want to say that if I was given a different letter, I'd probably give my all to come up with a way to fit you into the list as well. If you gave me the letter Z, I'd probably include you by going "ZOMG, Neptina" or something. Try me, I'd be able to throw you into my list of favorites. Why? Because you are just that amazing to me.
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on Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 12:55 AM.
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7:30 AM
I hope your studies continue as you want them to! I'm interested if you'll send a letter~