making space for spontaneity

a few years ago, i was a do-stuff junkie. my weekday nights were filled with arts openings and bars to check out, my weekends were occupied with classes and meals. it was great, hurtling through life, egged on too by friends who would look at me a little incredulously and say what a full life i was leading. but that pace of living begins to creep its way into everything that you say and do. it’s quite insidious and before you can catch yourself, you realise that life has acquired a certain speed and that even though what’s slated is supposedly fun, life has become a checklist to tick off.

as life took its own turns, i decided to stop and free up my time. leaving empty slots open for unknowns, for possibilities. and life has a funny way of collaborating. a friend who lives in the west and rarely see randomly asks to meet for lunch near me in the east; i read about an interesting event in the newspapers taking place just later that afternoon; i laze about at home and take a much needed nap despite my general inability to. and it reminds me of a phrase that i heard someone say before, but has really stuck with me: “we only know the things we already love, but have yet to know the things we don’t know we love yet. and how can we find out about them if we don’t give them an opportunity to show up?”

today was a reminder about the beauty of making space. i met with a friend, k (another one of the out-of-towners) for what was just meant to be tea at an old coffeeshop. as conversation meandered into the realm of favourite buildings and we were close by enough, i brought him to see what i was raving about. but along the way, we got sidetracked by my weakness for chinese dessert and landed up in another old eatery. the sky was threatening as we made our way to the said building, and as we reached it, the rain began to fall in sheets. with one small foldable umbrella between two full-sized people, we decided to wait it out, sitting and talking till the winds blew rain across our cheeks and we had to take cover. but lucky for me, the building’s atrium was so porous anyway that wherever we tried to duck, the winds found us. lucky because it’s beautiful to be reminded of nature and its power, because it feels alive to have the cold on your skin, rain in your hair, laughter in your cheeks.

a supposedly two hour tea morphed into a seven hour wander, and i think we were both the happier for it :}

upper peirce reservoir

i’ve a dear friend d, who’s like a male version of me. so when he tells me there’s somewhere special he loves, i listen.

upper peirce reservoir really is quite magical. the first thing that hits you when you get there is the silence. stillness is a prized commodity on this island of construction, traffic and people. so when we got out of the car, the first thing i did was stop in my tracks and close my eyes to just bask in the quiet.

everything seems to have slowed down in this corner of the island. the trees look ancient, and the walkway which is bordered on one side by lower peirce reservoir and on the other by the upper peirce reservoir is an oasis of calm. you could be anywhere at all here- no buildings to act as landmarks of location.

penang

penang, especially georgetown, is really quite something.

i’m not sure if my being singaporean adds to the charm, especially because there’s a lot here that is what i imagine singapore would have been like in the 60s. think old barber and hairdressing salons, areas dedicated to a particular type of craft, street markets, lots of roadside stalls with good food. add onto that beautiful old shophouses in a multitude of hues and ages– a photographer’s wet dream.

just remember though, singapore is a lot smaller than penang, so it would be helpful to hire a vehicle while you’re there!

check out:
to see
all the old guild associations around town and the beautiful old shophouses
jalan chowrasta- the market here is in full swing every morning

to eat
bon ton cafe, lorong stewart: amazing carrot cake
amelie’s cafe, lebuh armenian: cozy cafe, bread, drinks
gurney drive: most things hit the spot!
lebuh keng kwee: chendol and asam laksa. mmm.
winter warmers, gurney plaza: lavender milk tea
young heart restaurant, jln cantonment: healthy food, delicious dumplings and noodles