and with this post..

...I end this blog.









..and start a new one here!

dilemma

"Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else.," saya Morrie Schwartz, as documented in the book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.

Sometimes you just can't have what lies at both ends. I've actually thought of or encountered quite a lot of instances of this dilemma, but wasn't able to write them down. One I have recently come accross though is about blogging -- you can't have a personal blog that allows your friends and family to get updated on what's going on in your life, and also write freely, just for the sake of writing, in the same blog. Or you can, if you like to live a life that's more complicated than usual.

under the table and dreaming

Those who are not familiar with the Dave Matthews Band and their song "Ants Marching" might not be familiar with the new title of this blog.

"...his concerns, he forgets them
and remembers being small,
playing under the table and dreaming."

Although I had an..unusual childhood, I can definitely remember times when I played under our old wooden dining table and dreamt. Looking back, I realize that it didn't really matter what I dreamt of. What mattered was that I was able to dream freely.

Had I known what terribly complicated things the world had in store for me back then, things that made you put away your dreams in a small corner of your life, I would have stayed under that table, even for just a little while longer.

The Sun and the Moon

wasted time.
i can not say that i was ready for this.
but when worlds collide,
and all that i have is all that i want
the words seem to flow
and the thoughts they keep running.
and all that i have is yours.
all that i am is yours.

painted skies.
i've seen so many that cannot compare
to your ocean eyes.
the pictures you took
that cover your room,
and it was just like the sun
but more like the moon --
a light that can reach it all.
so now i'm branded for taking the fall.

so when you say "forever?"
can't you see --
you've already captured me.

I've been meaning to blog about this song ever since the first time I heard it. Then this morning, I woke up in tears with this song playing in my head so clearly that I thought it was playing from the nearby computer. I took it as a sign.

And yes, The Sun and the Moon is so beautiful that if you allow yourself to experience it note by note, you could cry. But don't take my word for it. Just listen to the song here. (If you like it, buy the album!)

And no, it's not a..religious song, in that it does not make any direct religious references. But it is a love song, so therefore it can be read as a song of faith. It's art, so there are many ways of interpreting it. For me, it's a multi-sensory aesthetic experience, which is actually what the band's name (Mae) stands for.

on spiderman 3

The greatest battle cheese lies within.

A movie is good when it meets expectations. You want to get your money's worth when you pay to see a movie. When it's a horror film, you expect to get scared. When it's a romance or drama, you expect to be moved. When it's a comedy, you expect a lot of laughs. And when it's the third installment of an action-packed trilogy, you expect it to be just as great or even better than part one and two -- you expect it to end with a BANG.

You don't expect it to be cheesy as hell.

How did the trailers miss all the cheesyness? Or did they just leave those out on purpose? (Marketing can really be evil sometimes) The movie was so cheesy, it was depressing. I was rolling up my eyes so frequently I was afraid they'd roll out of their sockets! And those lines... what happened to their scriptwriter/line producer? Were they high when they were writing? I'd quote the lame cheesy lines here but I am really trying to forget that I ever heard them. And besides, I don't want to spoil the cheese for those who haven't seen the movie.

Seriously, if they were gonna make a movie for the kids, they should've at least given hints that it would be so. I mean, I can appreciate movies like The Incredibles and Shark Tale, but then I had expected them to more or less fall under that genre. With Spiderman 3, I was expecting depth, because of the apparent dark theme. I wasn't expecting cheese.

5 Things I Hate About Treadmills

1. It takes a while to get used to it. I've always had some vertigo after the first few times that I've been on it.
2. No cool breeze, unlike in real jogging/running. This makes for more sweat pouring down your face so you'd have to use the towel every once in a while, which could get you off-balance if you're not careful
3. You must obey the speed in the treadmill. If you want to slow down or speed up, you have to push a button, which could also get you off-balance.
4. There's a speed limit! One time I really felt like giving it my all and sprinting at the last minute, but when the meter reached 15 km/hr, it suddenly stopped!
5. Electric shock. Almost all the treadmills I've been on aren't grounded, which means as you run on the rubber belt, a static charge builds up on you and on the treadmill. This built up charge is released the moment you touch the treadmill, which can be quite painful and annoying.

songs to learn

I'm a guitarist, but I haven't been one lately. The last time I really put my guitar skills to use was three months ago when my aunt asked me to record my guitar renditions of Canon in D (Johann Pachelbel) and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Johann Sebastian Bach). And it was really hard for me then because my skills were really rusty.

So in an attempt to save and improve this talent, I am making a list of songs to learn/relearn. I have this list on my phone so I can easily access it. I'm posting it on a separate location since it's way too long for my blog.