• Ramblings

    The Southern Ridges

    Ever since The Southern Ridges were completed, I have always wanted to give this trail a try. I finally did it today.

    The Southern Ridges linked the hills of Mount Faber, Telok Blangah Hill and Kent Ridge Park together. It is a 9km of open spaces.

    I started the trail at the HortPark going through the Alexandra Arch. The bridge has a very unique look, like a leaf. I have seen it at night, and it is lighted beautifully with LEDs.

    I walked towards the Mount Faber direction, through the Forest Walk. I chose to walk on the Elevated Walkway, through the forest canopy. The forest was literally alive with the buzzing of the insects, and the various birds. The air was fresh, and it feels good to be away from the noise of the urban environment.

    It was also possible to view some of the southern coastlines, which were dotted with the oil refineries and gigantic tankers. To my surprise a family of monkeys were sitting on both sides of the trail at one point, and were not afraid of the people who walked past them. I even manage to get a few close up shots of them.

    The Forest Walk ends where the Hilltop Walk begins. I am quite surprised to find this quiet park tucked behind Depot Road. The Terrace Garden was amazing and offer stunning views.

    There were signs everywhere, with location maps at major junctions to ensure people were not get lost. At each major junction, there were gazebos for people to rest, public toilets and trails marked clearly. I am very pleased that my tax payer’s money has been put to good use here.

    I finally arrived at the Henderson Waves. Known for its unique shape, there are multiple “alcoves” like along the bridge, where people could sit down and admire the great views. There were families, people who were reading, and tourists, all having a wonderful time sitting and enjoying the views. It was quite wonderful, I must say.

    With the wind blowing from the southern coastline, and the cars below looking like toys, I could not silently marveled at the person who thought of actually linking all the hills together, with unique looking bridges.

    Then it was a walk in the Faber Trail, where it cuts through the peak of Mount Faber. It was crowded with tourists, and though it was well maintained and looks beautiful, it was just a bit too noisy to my likening. Then cutting through the Marang Trail, I found myself at the junction of Harbourfront Centre and Vivocity, back to civilisation.

    This is definitely a walk that I will be taking more often from now on. The calmness, the fresh air, walking through the lushness of the forest, is really a stress reliever from the busy work life!

    The rest of the pictures can be found here.

  • Ramblings

    Need You Now

    Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor
    Reachin’ for the phone ’cause I can’t fight it anymore
    And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
    For me it happens all the time

    It’s a quarter after one, I’m all alone and I need you now
    Said I wouldn’t call but I lost all control and I need you now
    And I don’t know how I can do without
    I just need you now

    Another shot of whiskey can’t stop looking at the door
    Wishing you’d come sweeping in the way you did before
    And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
    For me it happens all the time

    It’s a quarter after one, I’m a little drunk and I need you now
    Said I wouldn’t call but I lost all control and I need you now
    And I don’t know how I can do without
    I just need you now

    woah woaaah.

    Guess I’d rather hurt than feel nothin’ at all

    It’s a quarter after one I’m all alone and I need you now

    And I said I wouldn’t call but I’m a little drunk and I need you now

    And I don’t know how I can do without

    I just need you now

    I just need you now (wait)

    Ooo, baby, I need you now

    Lady Antebellum, Need You Now

  • Ramblings

    Walls

    For the longest of time, the walls stood firm. After years of carefully laying the bricks, the walls were solid, and to him, indestructible.

    There was no danger then when it happened. He had gone through it with others before, he was just providing a shoulder for others to cry on, a listening ear. He had gone through the same situation before, much worse actually, and he knew how it felt, how important it was to have someone there to provide a shoulder.

    Before long, a strange unfamiliar feeling overcame him. Was it … happiness.. that he was feeling? It was something that felt so ancient, that he was not even sure what it was. He ignored it then, partly because for the first time in years, he actually felt good, and partly because he was in denial.

    And one night, she said something that devastated him. He was puzzled and asked himself, why this feeling of hurt? Why this feeling of pain? He reached inside, and it finally dawned on him. Those walls that he had carefully built, were no longer there. She had demolished it without him even knowing it. His heart was lying there naked, and unprotected.

    He struggled to rebuild the walls, to try to protect his heart. And even before the cement dried, she came and demolished the walls again. This time she just smashed through as if the walls were made of air.

    He gave up. She was a demolisher of walls, his walls. There is no way that he can build walls to withstand her. She was just too devastating. He let her shoot a straight path to his heart. And awaits the results.

    The results were something that he had more or less expected, though he was hoping that for once, he might have a story that had a happy ending. Each indifference, each rejection without a second thought, each silence, he knew then that he had to accept the harsh reality.

    The first time in years that his heart feels something, was pain. The gut-wrenching feeling of having all his inner organs twisted and knotted, where death seems to be a much better option than this. Where the last thing he feels before he falls into sleep, and the first thing he feels when he wakes up, was pain. Pounding the treadmill, the pain was not from his lungs, or legs, but from his heart. Where the endorphins from the run, nor the wobbling feeling from bottles of alcohol, are enough to wipe out the pain she had inflicted on his heart.

    He mumbles feebly, “Ah, fuck it.“, though inside he knows that it the heart is too far vulnerable to follow those words. He only hope for mercy, for her to be as gentle as possible as she dismembers his heart.

    And when the heart finally recovers, if it was at all possible, he will build the walls again.

  • Ramblings

    What Else Are We Missing?

    The Washington Post conducted a social experiment in January 2007. They had the one of the world’s greatest musician playing one of the most intricate pieces every written on a 3.5 million violin at the DC Metro station for 45 minutes.

    Hardly anyone stopped to listen during those 45 minutes. In the end, Joshua Bell collected $32 when just a few days ago, people paid an average of $100 just to sit and listen to him play in a concert.

    It was a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. One conclusion from this experiment was quoted nicely :

    If we can’t take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that — then what else are we missing?

    The article won a Pulitzer Prize. The article, aptly named ‘Pearls Before Breakfast’, can be found here.

  • Ramblings

    Like A Moth To the Flame

    Like a moth to the flame.

    I crept closer.

    I knew I will be hurt. I knew the pain will be gut-wrenching, leaving a scar so deep that it might never heal. Yet I crept closer. I tried to put up some feeble attempt to defend myself by building walls, really thick walls. But they were tore down easily. Multiple attempts were made, but each time, the walls were destroyed like they were made of straws.

    I give up. I surrender. You can do anything you like to me. I am not going to resist.

    Like a moth to the flame.

    I crept closer.

    Just a small request when my wings touch the flame, please be gentle.

  • Health,  Ramblings

    Beach



    So my sis was right. While the beaches in Singapore are really hopeless, when say, compare to Australia, at least it provides a relaxing and soothing few hours.

    Took a few hours to lose myself in the beaches at Sentosa. Relaxing and soothing. Note to self : go back often.

  • Ramblings

    Saying It

    Life is short. It is always best to say what you really mean, say what you really feel. Or else it will be too late, and we will never get a chance to say it.

    Yet there are things that are best left unsaid. It is easier to live with the regret of leaving it unsaid, then live with the consequences of saying it.

    As long as I know how I feel, I shall keep the words within. The pain is mine alone to bear.

  • Ramblings

    Writing About It

    A lot has happened recently. It was a calm and peaceful pond, and now it has been flooded, turning the pond to a vast lake, with choppy and murky waters.

    I want to write about it, perhaps it might calm me down a little, and that a few years down the road, I can look back at this period. It always amused me when I read my older entries. But after thinking about how to put it down into words for the past few days, I gave up. I do not know where to start, neither do I know how to structure my thoughts and feelings properly. Therefore I decided to just put down whatever is in mind now in a list form. Anyone else reading this list will most probably has no clue to what I mean. But I do.

    • I am not worthy.
    • No such feeling for a long time. It saddens me this time.
    • The walls have to be brought down because the time will arrive soon.
    • To go, or to stay? Most probably it is a go, but first need to know destination.
    • Sadness, lots of it.
    • Life sucks.
    • Intend to do nothing, and it will go away. I am not worthy.
    • Time will heal the pain.
    • Fear of being alone. Greater fear of being rejected, being an outcast.
    • Why me?