Initially wanted to try for the Golden Point Awards this year, but oh well, maybe next time.
"Shed not for me your bitter tears
Nor give thy soul to vain regret
'Tis but a casket lying here,
The gem that fled it glitters yet."
That was the inscription on a tombstone in the book I just read, Rush Home Road. At this point in the book, an old lady, Addy, has returned to her hometown, Rusholme (clever name huh. Rush Home.) for the first time after running away as a teenager, and realises that the man she loved, and thought was dead at 17, actually lived to a ripe old age, and she could have met him had she mustered the courage to return home earlier.
I made it sound like a soppy story, but really, it isn't. I don't read soppy stuff.
It's almost as if the inscription on the tombstone was meant for her. Sweet.
Ajit couldn't make it to the beach, so 6 of us cousins woke up at 5am and walked to the beach. We passed by (ironically) the Tamil movie actor Ajit's house on the way!
The waves were terrific, we took turns standing with our backs to the sea to see who could remain standing after a wave hit us. I don't think any of us could.
(this gets sentimental from here)
But the waves couldn't separate a row of cousins holding hands, laughing as the spray hit their faces. The waves couldn't separate a circle of siblings bound by more than their hands. When we returned home, it took ages for all of us to finish bathing, and to clear up all the sand on the floor and in our hair and everywhere. We didnt do too good a job I guess, our clothes were still full of sand and I had to keep pulling out grains of sand from my hair the next day. Yesterday, back in Singapore, I happened to wear the same pant at home. I was sitting on the bed, and when I got up, the bed was covered with sand that survived one hand wash and one machine wash. I collected it and put it away for safekeeping. Things that last must be treasured.
I think I'm finally done with the major part of work. So now it's gonna be violin-go to school help out with cricket and ICS-violin-meet people you haven't met for a while-violin-get back to writing poetry-violin-write letters and make cards-violin. Sounds fun =]
I bought The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks recently, with a 20% discount I had at Borders. Badly wanted to get some poetry but I didn't have enough money and the voucher was about to expire. It's a lovely story.
"And I learned what is obvious to a child. That life is simply a collection of little lives, each lived one day at a time. That each day should be spent finding beauty in flowers and poetry and talking to animals. That a day spent with dreaming and sunsets and refreshing breezes cannot be bettered. But most of all, I learned that life is about sitting on benches next to ancient creeks with my hand on her knee and sometimes, on good days, for falling in love."
Am also in the midst of reading Raymond Carver's short stories, on Mr Teo's recommendation. He once told us that Raymond is THE best short-story writer ever.
Interview with NTU on Thursday was quite alright. The test before that was great because I could write about the much-adored book The Great Gatsby. The prof interviewing me, Walter, was great to talk to. We talked about The Great Gatsby and The Lord of the Rings and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Raymond Carver and lots of other things in between. And I made a new friend, Annabella =]
Back to violin now. Anyone wants to go to the beach next week? Send me an sms if you do =]
