Ode to the Sea

Your blue waves welcome me,
that caress wet sands of white and gold
a touch of rain and seawater.
Grey clouds pass
your sea foams incessant
a slow march enveloping
the lover waiting in the rain.
Let the wind carry your voice
pass the coloured flags
over colored walls now white again
and whisper of the past.
your waves are now a roar
of voices distant and faint
and lonely as the moon.
yet the voices do not reach me
it comes only as a whisper, faint and dying
and the walls drift farther away;
and visions fade.
Please let them flow again,
those incessant foams: white against setting sun;
that I can rise again with each morning
always distant, but always there.

Copyright ©2016 Rizal Repin

Happy 2011 and Rabbit year

Happy new year, how has your new year been? It's already February and the next thing you know it will be December - damn it time flies.

For me so far the new year hasn't been too fantastic. Some Feng Sui guru also said that this year is worse for those born in year of the Rabbit - apparently rabbits and rabbits don't mix, we're gonna get a bad luck year overall. However there are rays of hope in the 2nd and 3rd quarter... sigh... woopiee... lets hope he's wrong.

Busted my back today - should have used the knees... now in pain and no amount of stretching seems to be working.

Here's how they made it...

Making Of The Chapel from Patryk Kizny on Vimeo.

The Chapel

TheChapel. A short film. (HDR timelapse) from Patryk Kizny on Vimeo.

Ramadan 2010

This year is passing by so quick, more than ever I feel like I'm a passenger on a speeding bus heading down a highway going who knows where. Why bus? Why passenger? All good metaphysical questions I don't quite have answers to.

Puasa is getting easier and easier as I get older - but this year like last year, there has been almost no eating out.

Went to pasar ramadan at Geylang some days back - note to self, don't try the usual briyani anymore, the satay burger is over rated and wierd to be honest, and it doesn't matter which stall you line up at for Vade they all taste the same.

Oh and goreng pisang is the best...

It's finally done...

... and now I can move on with my life. Yes after years of struggling with the choice and weighing pros and cons I have finally taken the plunge and bought an Apple. Here it is below, so from now on I can't say I should have bought the Apple... blah blah...

Sophie on Video!

This is a very shaky video taken from a blackberry bold. Testament to my great video recording skills (Not). Taken just a week ago from her usual play area at the Forum on Orchard Road. She loves jumping into the ball pit...

Lunch at Rendezvous Hotel

My parents had their first date at Rendezvous Hotel in Singapore. This time we returned on father's day, well actually the day before.

Back then it was a three story hotel next to the Cathay on Bras Basah road where they watched a movie. When they were here we revisited the hotel and the restaurant that was still there. The food wasn't bad a little bit localised compared to the old days my Dad thought. I forgot to take a picture of the frontage which was preserved well. The interiors were similar as well, while originally the restaurant was on the ground floor in the wing of the hotel that now houses the coffee shop. It has since been moved upstairs but looked like it retained a lot of the 60s charm: tiled floors and walls, stone tables and old rickety wooden chairs. They of course had to have the requisite collection of old photos but I couldn't find an old picture of the hotel in any one of them.

We finished off the food, took pictures and headed to the museum for more nostalgia. One thing that impressed me about the museum is the care and attention they gave to the Malay movie business in the 50s and 60s which really took off from the Jalan Ampas studios in Singapore. The exhibit paid homage to the good ole days of Malay cinema including a multi part documentary featuring interviews with the producers and performers of that age. Highly recommended for anyone who's into old movies and films.

The history museum was comprehensive, but too long, I'd say if you actually could experience every single one of the exhibit it will take an entire day. It's a very photogenic building lots of things to snap at - but the presentation of the exhibit was the winner here. Every visitor is given an electronic device which functions as a tour guide and story teller for the exhibits. It was cool and easy to use, just way long winded and just too many things to listen to. So if you're on a schedule there's no need to listen to ALL the exhibits - I guess they do it this way so that they will get return visitors - it's impossible to pay attention to everything.

Updates

Last night was bad - small fry woke up late night because we tried to give her medication for her fever. She didn't end up sleeping until about 1230am or 1am, I got fed up already by then and handed her over to her mom. Watching an hour of Teletubbies in the middle of the night is not my idea of fun.

Turns out I was too wound up to sleep and ended up continuing my Civilisation IV game until 330am before deciding that staying up all night and going to work was probably not the best thing to do.

For those geeks interested - I usually play Persian and I'm not that good. Last night I was at the receiving end of a 4 way gangbang compliments of the snake Russians who got me into war. Why I play Persian I don't know probably because of all this news about the Iranian elections.

Read Reza Aslan's book No God But God, they give a good account of how Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took power there in 1979 - through deception and outright lies. I'm not surprised the clerics are cheating to keep power - but this is what we really need, more political power in the hands of reformist and moderate muslims. You can't count 40 million votes in 12 hours it's just too obvious a cheat. Besides Ahmadinejad was also called out for cheating the first time he won - he's obviously the Supreme Leader's favourite.

European nations should take heed and understand that "secularism" is just another way of discriminating against other cultures. It is oppressive. On the other hand Muslims need to get out of the shadow of the Mullahs rule and the only way is to give reformist and moderate muslims a voice in the government.

Anyway, today my nose is bad, I feel the possible onset of a cold coming.

And now I'd like to draw your attention...

to my buddy Patrick's new blog. He's been trekking for more than a month across Thailand and Laos on a dirt bike and has been posting good pictures and news along the way. Damn wish I was there too... sounds like a good adventure.

Here's the link:

Patrick's Blog

It's also on my link list over on the side bar.

Yes I am a bit nuts...

What mental disorder do you have? Your Result: Manic Depressive   You have extreme cycles of highs and lows. Sometimes you feel like you don't know who you are. One week you could be very hyper and happy and the next week you are slow and depressed.
Paranoia
ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)
OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder)
What mental disorder do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Gong Xi Fa Chai

From all of us!