So, would you marry me?

So, would you marry me?


picture from www.inmagine.com

According to folk traditions, women get the chance once every four years to propose to the man. This doesn't warrant a blog entry really, but it's only once in every years that I get to have an entry dated 29 February... I may be in India but I'm too much of a kiasu Singaporean to pass up on such a chance.

Since we're on the topic of dates, the 27th two days back marked our second month in India. Time hasn't exactly flown by, but the French students would be leaving in less than a month. I'm not sure how drastically different MICA life would be without them and their constant spew of French at the table (and where we retaliate by spouting random Cantonese phrases, or entertain ourselves by straining to recognize the French swear words we're now so proficient at), but they'll be missed for sure.

I still don't know for sure when we'll be leaving MICA or India, but Ceci and I semi-confirmed our Bali travel plans last night, and browsed a couple of resort websites. Hopefully this time I'll get to eat at Kudeta, which Kenrick and I missed the last time. Bali, Bali... Goa's importance has officially been tossed to the very back of my mind.

-cat stretch-

Happy Leap Year 2008.

"No medicine cures what happiness cannot."

"No medicine cures what happiness cannot."

When we were first deciding on the list of modules we were to take, I was adamant that I was not going to take any CCC classes. I didn't think of advertising as my cup of tea, and my plans to go to Goa preceded everything else.

By some strange twist of fate three weeks ago, I found myself in the Transcreativity workshop. In the midst of "channelizing" all the creativity; Goa travel plans and our ideas for the "leave MICA early" revolution faded away.

It could be the unstructured lessons, and how learning theories are embedded in activities like flying paper aeroplanes and playing Pepsi-Cola-1-2-3.

It could be the exercises and assignments that I actually enjoy doing and slogging over. It wasn't until I looked at my watch earlier that I realized I'd spent almost six hours in the CCC lab using Photoshop and working on the script for my ad for tomorrow's presentation. Working on ads doesn't give me the adrenaline rush working on a piece of writing does, but the creative exercises we've been doing in class come pretty close.

But most of all, it could be the CCC students. Perhaps I haven't known them long enough to be an accurate judge of their characters, but in the weeks I've spent in their company, I am constantly amazed by their unpretentiousness and what I like to believe is intrinsic goodness.

For the first time since my first week in India, I feel genuine contentment and exuberance, and so much happiness bubbling over. I am a ray of sunshine again.

Meanwhile, here are the snaps Himanshu, Rishit and I took for our assignment - to take photos representing certain key words - yesterday.


Hierarchy.


Khallas, which means ultimate in Hindi.


Solitude. That's Himanshu, haha.


Contrast.


Masti, which means fun.


This was also a shot for masti, but we had to make an ad and this was what I came up with. Not fantastic, but I'm still learning. :)

A chilly spring morning in the Old City.

A chilly spring morning in the Old City.

Overdue shots of the Heritage Walk we went on a couple of weeks ago.










This is our guide - quite a handsome chap no?


Goats grazing in the middle of traffic are a common occurrence.




Girl in the window.






Copped this off Erwin's blog. Just in case you can't see the captions he added, Nuria's says "La Constrained Smile", mine says "xoxo Gossip Girl", and Kash's says "Woof!" for the overfriendly dog trying to hump her.


This reminds me of the shot of the two umbrellas in the last scene of Turn Left Turn Right.






Prayer.

There, all done. Now to bed with my throbbing tonsils, in preparation for a week of creative classes. I'm kinda looking forward to it, for the lecturer's mild and really quite kind.

Sleep is what I need this Sunday.

Sleep is what I need this Sunday.
feeling: sick



Here in MICA where weekends are inconsequential, I say Thank God it's Sunday, and that I have no classes to attend. I'll wake when my body decides to, and spend the afternoon on my makeshift couch to catch up on my assignments.

I'm feeling a little too awake now though it's 2 a.m., possibly because I took an hour's nap in the evening before heading out for kebabs with the gang. Still, I'll head to bed once I'm done here, and I am really quite glad I don't have to set the alarm for 9 a.m. tomorrow. I feel like crap and sleep seems like my only sanctuary.

I've been battling the pain and the cough for a week, and I'm starting to run low on optimism. My tonsils have taken on a life of their own, and the cough's an itch that wouldn't cease in my lungs. I've almost exhausted my supply of sore throat tablets from my family doctor back home, and still those darn tonsils twitch. I feel heaty, and sleepy, and I've woken up with red-tinged puffy eyes the past few mornings.

I'd see a doctor, but his next visit on campus isn't till Monday afternoon, so it's me against the virus for another two days.

Sumanyu has given me antibiotics from his dad who's a doctor, and against all good logic, I've taken them. And just earlier, I dropped by the pharmacy in the city and got myself some sore throat pills and cough syrup. And at Marine's suggestion, I've applied Tiger Balm on my throat, and am sucking on Strepsils.

I have just taken self-medication to a whole new level, and I thank my lucky stars I am alive. Now maybe just a bit more luck to ease the throbbing pain and wheezing cough?

Hedwig would flip.

Hedwig would flip.

From a fashion article in Femina magazine (the Indian equivalent of Singapore's Her World) - What to learn from Bollywood:

"Always wear your sari below the navel and your blouse above your ribs. That's how you get to be the sexy-but-virtuous cow."

ROFL.

Sleepiness is the only constant.

Sleepiness is the only constant.



It's a rare night that we're in our rooms by 1 a.m. and not talking the night away over chai at MiCafe or laughing over another session of pictionpornary in the pantry. We have an assignment for our Copywriting class tomorrow, and we just had one of the most awkward dinners with a couple of guests earlier. Awkward socializing saps me of all energy, and I should really snuggle up in bed if I intend on getting about an hour more than the usual 5.5 hours of sleep.

Before I do, I was doing a bit of blog surfing earlier and reading Jane's led to some odd body-mind disengagement where I was physically still here in Ahmedabad but mentally at Vivocity catching a Friday chick flick. At that moment, I wonder just what gave me the courage to give up those comfortable routines for six months here in India. It's been almost two months, and I am scarily enjoying it.

Sure, we may get all cynical and sarcastic about the lack of activity here on campus each time the Singapore-France alliance gathers for chai, but these lazy drawn out days where nothing but chai and talking matters are starting to grow on me.

Pancake brunches at Cedele with Ceci. Late-night movies at Vivocity. Driving around for supper with Ken and CH. Margaritas at Cafe Iguana with my alcoholic buddy. Food, drinks and long chats with Fagan and Marc.

Thinking of these activities from what now feels like a previous life makes me sigh wistfully sometimes, but I do know that when I am back in Singapore, I'd too sigh wistfully while thinking of the sun-dappled seats at MiCafe and the starlit nights we spent sitting and talking on the parapet.

Island daydreams.

Island daydreams.
feeling: nasal

It's just past noon India time and I'd ideally still be in bed if I didn't have to be here in copywriting class. One too many nights of pictionpornary (check out Erwin's blog for my masterpiece) and tarot readings have once again led to me operating on 5.5 hours of sleep per night, and coupled with the cold/cough that wouldn't go away, my body's officially screwed.

Nothing at all related to writing's been covered thus far, and I've been idly surfing resort websites.


http://www.zamas.com

Daydreams are made of these. Get me on the next flight to Mexico, dear imagination.

Candy hearts may feed the ego, and still you feed my soul.

Candy hearts may feed the ego, and still you feed my soul.


picture from inmagine.com

There was barely any anticipation in the air. In a place like MICA where time loses all meaning, Valentine's Day was almost just another day. That was until we decided to crash the CCC class our newfound friends were in, and were asked to partake in the assignment to write a Valentine's Day message. Here's what I came up with, though I must confess that a good part of it was already written some time ago. What I essentially did was a bit of tweaking and deleting.

Growing Old

Your rock-hard abs will soften
As you develop a beer belly
The pounds will start piling
And my thighs will turn all wobbly

Hair will lose its lustre
And fade from black to grey
Visions and memories will start to blur
And joints will start to ache

Our teeth will start to weaken
Our jaws will start to slack
We'll have to use our dentures
To eat our favourite snack

Even if you look a wrinkled prune
My love for you won't waver
For people say that love is blind
And beauty is in the eyes of the beholder

And by looking into your crinkly eyes
I know I'll see the innermost
The years will start to fade away
To reveal the soul I love

So this is a poem to preserve our love
For when our memories get lost to time
This is a poem for you my love
My dearest valentine.

The last five hours of my Valentine's Day here in India was spent whacking shuttlecocks around in the badminton courts. Unromantic, but one heck of a workout. And because of that, I am now walking around like a limping duck.

Happy belated Valentine's Day everybody. :)

Creative soul-searching.

Creative soul-searching.


taken from stumbleupon

In times of retrospect as such, I feel almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount of experiences I have had during the lull in blogging.

I know I have had nothing but cynicism and pessimism for the modules I take here at MICA, but the Transcreativity workshop we attended really blew me away.

The workshop was a potpourri of segments designed to make us step out of our comfort zones. I don't know about the others, but it was one hell of a liberating experience for me. I:

• watched and learnt the basic footwork for a traditional Indian dance
• watched a magic show and got some insider tricks
• had a session of karate in the sun and broke a brick tile (an awesomely empowering act I never thought I'd do)
• had a whale of a time acting and unleashing the drama-mama in me
• listened to the significance of dreams (not quite convinced but interesting nonetheless)
• had a spot-on palm reading session
• watched a puppet show and broke into an impromptu dance with the young puppeteer and my workshop mates
• did coloring with color pencils (very primary schoolish but very therapeutic, even for a non-artist like myself)
  
• attempted being hypnotized
• tried my hand at pottery
• was serenaded to in front of the class, as part of one of the guy's assignments
• hugged and branded everybody with colored-powder-palms
• spent the best six days of my life in MICA in the company of the nicest people I've met here so far

I'm humbled.

Winter's last spurt before the spring.

Winter's last spurt before the spring.



My fingers are shaking so much that it ain't easy hitting the right keys. It feels like it's -15 degrees right now, but I'm exaggerating of course. Maybe zero...

Happy lunar new year to all who tagged, and everybody else.

Mister Beasley.

Mister Beasley.



It's been a long while, that I know, but what with waking up at 6 a.m. for a heritage walk in the old city and going to bed at 8 a.m. after a campus party, sunset frisbee and night badminton sessions, blogging has stopped being a priority.

I'll work the best of my recollection skills, and document the happening happenings here in India.

The heritage walk we (four Singaporeans and two French) went for on Saturday morning was awesome for I saw a part of the city which I actually liked, and the lunch we had at Schocolatery after was Eden here in Ahmedabad hell.

That very night was the MICA Alumni meet, where the MICA alumni return for food and dancing. The dance party was held at Chhota, this little outdoor tea stall on campus, but laser lights and pounding music made it seem less like the rundown tea stall it was and more like a mini-Zoukout minus the sand and bikinis.

There was no alcohol, but we all had our mini pre-party in Bertie's room before hitting the dance floor. I'm no dancer, yet despite that and the lack of good music, I had a really good (but exhausting time) shaking it on the dance floor. Could have been the rum, or maybe it's my body's natural reaction to Bhangra music... hahaha!

Yesterday was MICA's 17th birthday, and we were treated to a getai-ish performance put up by mostly MICA faculty, as well as a couple of the MICA students. Come evening, the French-Singapore alliance started a game of ultimate frisbee on the football field, and my heart had one heck of a good workout from both the running as well as the constant mini-heart attacks each time Roxy the campus dog came bounding and leaping after us. Frisbee seems to turn the lazy dog on.

When darkness fell, we moved it to the courts for over two hours of badminton. That essentially was a session where French expletives were at an all-time high, and I had a whale of a time watching Bertie and Erwin do gymnastics on the slippery court floors while diving after the shuttlecock, as well as Romain's absurd sense of humor.

And today's Chinese New Year eve. It doesn't feel like it here in India (naturally), but receiving HM's package of Chinese New Year goodies made me grin. We're headed out to the city for a kebab reunion dinner with our international family, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the badminton tournaments aren't tonight. Flopping around with a belly full of kebabs does not equal a graceful defeat. Did I mention that my partner and I have yet to play together? Haha.

Gong xi fa cai everybody. :)