Solitary Lunch

Today, my eyes are tired.

Lunch today, myself, a steaming, basil-laden bowl of pho
and The Diving Bell & The Butterfly.

Later I sat under the trees, just finished, contemplating the book
If anything, the sheer feat of producing this book makes
one review their own life, are they appreciating it enough
doing enough, living enough

And while I sat, three men sat down next to me
They asked me whether I work in the building
showed interest in the book, asked me about it

And for a split second, I was about to write them off
leave, go about with my own business
when I remembered how Mr PP and I we're having
a discussion about being so quick to write people off
and how I had resolved that I would now give people
a chance.

So I sat and summarised the book, how incredible
and thought provoking it is

As I shared the story, they shared with me other such stories
they told me of their work
then did a sales demo that astounded me
because I cannot speak to strangers like that,
let alone sell.

They asked me about me,
said there was boredom and sadness in my eyes
my background, my work, my daily life

And in the end, of course, asked to exchange numbers.

A card yes, numbers no. Email me.

In the end, it turned out to be enlightening,
to make such a connection however slight.

:)

High Enough From All The Waiting

Lalalalalalala such a nice day in the valley.

I was up high in the building, doing a quasi photoshoot when I peeked out
of the window,
the sky was clear, and you could see the mountains
surrounding us at the edges of the city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and I received a sweet gift today :)

I'm not an unhappy person, I realised as I was bopping down the
street home listening to Frou Frou. I caught myself dancing at the
traffic lights and had to stop for fear of being labeled freak.

Really, the slightest things make me happy.

But then the opposite works too.
Like I feel horrid when I decline to take a flyer
handed out by a person slicked in perspiration from standing in
the noon scorch.

I also have this inherent inability to sit still and watch life pass
me by, thus I try and embrace every second
that's why I don't get the people who just sit and wait
wait wait wait wait for what?
Life to pass you by?
You know some people are stuck, you know they have no choice?
You do.
Scared.

There's so much to take in, so much to be grateful for and gracious about,

even a connection is hard to make these days
but I guess there are some things that even the best of us
must let pass us by.

Trust me to come back from Ho Chi Minh City and crave
Vietnamese food everyday.
Yesterday for lunch, then dinner.

And today maybe dinner :)

I should stop sweating.

I should reply to that sms. 4 days late!

And oh yes, I've decide to give people more of a chance.
Because of karma and all you know, and because
I want to be a nice person (not that I am'nt already)

Exhausted!

It is one thirty in the morning in Saigon and dew has begun to settle
I am on the back of a motorbike barrelling down the tree-lined avenue
towards Ben Thanh Market

Save for my driver, I am alone in the wee hours of the morning
and I feel safe, like Copenhagen felt.

We stop at the market, my driver procures a bag of thumbnail sized longans
and hands them to me, we can barely communicate

He takes me around, to sights he thinks might interest me
He patiently takes photo after photo as I starfish :)

Later, wending our way down a street he says
"Madam, I very like you."

I say thank you.

He asks for my number.

I ask to go home.

And that's how my last night in Saigon ended.

Photos on FB and http://picasaweb.google.com/aja.belle/Saigon#.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am so grateful for the friends that I am blessed with :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Its uncanny, whenever they sense that you no longer think of them,
they always pop up.

But there is no goal to work to
Neither is there...I don't know I don't even know what it was
There's nothing for me to work with or
towards there
There was no communication and everything was
just at surface level
And more passive-ness than passion.

It's like taking up with a brick
when all around you...uh...flowers
are beckoning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I said but two days ago
"I'm leaving in three months."
He said "We'll talk about it when we get home."

Lol.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waking Up With The Birds

Waking up with the birds....
Just really makes you want to shoot them though doesn't it?

_________

These days, I ponder the fate of relationships in the big smoke.
The survival rate is so low because people are always on the look out for something
better, afraid of being hurt, unwilling to commit, willingly throwing themselves
into the face of temptation, forgetting that it is human nature to err.

There is such a lack of respect in relationships that its scary really,
thus, one's first instinct when things get slightly out of hand, is to run.

I'll admit I am guilty of that myself.

So we leave fate to take the burden, and I wonder, how right is that,
really, isn't it just cowardice on our parts?
Wasn't love about taking risks, chances?
Should we not be grabbing the bull by its horns, going after what we want?

Nay.

We say, if its meant to be, its meant to be. Well, it may never be then.

As society gets more liberal, it also gets more restrictive.
Proper communication is so lacking that people don't stand a chance anymore.
Everyone has their facade, barricades up.

So much so that we can't seem to get out of our own way when it
comes to making things happen for us.