that purple scent

It's funny how things happen when you least expect it.

When you push forward, they go running away from you. Then you start wondering what went wrong. Even start blaming yourself.

When you pull back, they come running to you. So much so you wondered what you did to make that happen. Even if it was nothing.

Sometimes a steaming pot of lavender tea helps. Take a deep breath and let the minty aroma of the flower soothe away your worries.

And you realise, life's complicated as it is; having less expectations and looking forward to simple joys could be the answer.

man with eye patch

When life was simpler and brand names didn't have to be too fancy...

... you would have a medicated tea where the hat-wearing man with an eye patch formed the brand name...

...or the phrase "mother and child" ended up as the brand of this cough syrup because it probably denoted the warmth you would get from consuming it.

I'm glad they didn't revamp the image and branding of these trusted brands because then, they would lose their character and the amusement we get from studying the pictures and their related names.

of butterflies and paper cut-outs

The past few weeks have been nothing short of hectic, and with little respite in the near future, I was glad for any form of distraction that could help in de-stressing.

This morning's game of badminton followed by scrumptious banana leaf lunch and a relaxing facial session were very much welcomed. Not to mention I finally got a package from Japan which was a belated Christmas gift.

It came stuffed with newspapers - so now I get to keep abreast of the entertainment scene in Nippon.

Inside the box was a pink cooler bag with an embroidered butterfly on the cover. Yuri thought it would be a good idea in case I wanted to bring food around in our hot and humid weather. For me, I thought this would be cute as a camera bag instead >.<

I didn't know you can find so many butterfly-themed products in Japan! I'm hard-pressed to locate a fraction of these pwetty stuff here.

There was also this book which teaches you to do paper cut-outs of various patterns and shapes, think it came in the right time for CNY! Maybe a new hobby could help in taking my mind off certain things...

Just when you thought they'd run out of flavours to incorporate into their KitKat, the Japanese have come up with a special Niigata edition pear-flavoured confectionary. Guess the cooler bag came in handy, else I'd have a couple of melted chocolate biscuits in the parcel.

When Yuri asked me what I wanted  for Christmas, I told her not to bother with anything because all I wanted was a scheduler. Even if she had sent me only this, I would have gladly TT-ed the $ over! When you have something as pwetty as this, you wouldn't wanna go back to normal organisers or even the digital kinds anymore.

louis armstrong

I'm born in the wrong era >.< For as long as I remember, I've always loved listening to oldies!



Today's post pays tribute to one of the greatest African-American musician & artist of our times, Louis Armstrong. Coming from a troubled and deprived childhood such as his, he didn't let the past determine his future. Instead, whatever little opportunities life threw at him, led to a positive change that made him the world-famous trumpet player and entertainer.



My personal favourite is this simple yet beautiful reminder about how wonderful the world can be if we'll only stop to smell the roses and remember what's important in life.

崇められ

「やめよ。
私こそ神であることを知れ。
私は国々の間で崇められ、
地の上で崇められる。」

詩篇　４６：１０

slytherin

The year has started a bit rough for Butterfly. The first week at work was filled with meetings and discussions, each with a to-do list from the client. This is on top of the list from last week, which would have been her annual ritual getaway. If only Butterfly could get a couple of uninterrupted hours to herself, she was pretty sure she'd get more things done.

The last working day of the year was not about wrapping up and being relieved that Butterfly have tied up loose ends so that she could spend the New Year's weekend on a high note. Instead, one of the clients did an underhanded trick which translated to a threat. Indeed, he was not known as the Snake for nothing.

Since everyone else was on holidays, Butterfly had to suck it in and act as if nothing happened. As she recalled that one-to-one meeting with Snake, Butterfly wished she had handled it differently, or said something better.

Knowing how defensive Snake could be, and remembering her Supervisor's advice to keep quiet, Butterfly tried to nod it away, hoping he would stop at that. But instead, it seemed to make Snake all the more gloated, thinking he could get away with it.

The only way was to minimise interaction with Snake. Butterfly had a prior appointment with the Despatch and her phone had been ringing even during the unscheduled meeting. Excusing herself while having the courtesy to ask if Snake had anything else to add, Butterfly left the room trying to digest what had just happened.

Surely, this sort of incident should not go unreported, even though Snake was from the client side, and had insider knowledge that allowed him to manipulate to his advantage.

Still reeling from last week, Butterfly had hoped the new year would bring about a fresh start. Instead, she had to face Snake everyday, so many more times than any other week of last year, that it was all she could do to keep fluttering and busying herself with what was more important.

Butterfly hopes that this would not be an indicator of how the rest of the year would be. The gentle and delicate Butterfly tries to keep a cherry but cautious front, all the while aware of the lurking Snake from below.



*Any resemblance to real-life characters is purely coincidental. Excerpts from this story may be reproduced by acknowledging the writer.

that anyone

Just as I was trying to scan for familiar faces and a place to sit, Ps R came in not long after and stood next to me. He asked if I had just arrived. I gave him a smile while anticipating more questions. He asked me why I was late. The countdown service had started few hours before, and there I was 1 hour before countdown. I told him I was having dinner. He asked if I had dinner with someone. I replied, I had dinner at home.

That must've sounded queer to him, and probably to anyone else who'd ask me the same question. Cannot be, your mum is at church*, and so is your dad, argued Ps R who didn't believe I had dinner at home. Not wanting to argue nor defend, I just looked ahead at where the performers were.

He started to form his own conclusions. What happened to someone, he asked.

Since he was so keen in getting some answers, I decided to word play with him. Well, I had lunch with someone. Oh, why didn't someone come to church with you, he asked further. Sometimes with people who are so persistent, any answer would suit them, as long as you said something, just so they'd stop asking. I said, well, that someone had something to do.

But just to be sure he didn't get any funny ideas, I added, someone could be anyone! That seemed to have satisfied his curiosity, because he said it would be his pleasure to meet that someone some day. To which I answered, it would be my pressure just so that you can have that pleasure of meeting that someone!


* My parents attend the Chinese church which is at another building also in PJ.