Beijing in December (3)

Towards the Hutong

where heart and home is

the lone peddler cycles

Beijing in December (2)

Two men on a bridge

unspoken words hang

in the crisp cold winter air

Beijing in December (1)

Bands of steel criss cross

cold against the glass

The crowd is gone, smog descends

The irrepressible Harry

Little Harry of Lucieville, W.A. He charmed my socks off :)

(Photo taken on 4 August 2015 using Sony RX100M2)

Friday afternoon and the rain outside

The smell of fried chicken jolted her
it is almost past lunch time
outside the window, droplets of rain
start to fall from the sky
and a low rumble in the distance
can be heard
as has often been so for most afternoons.

She looks out the window
the stray dogs were nowhere to be seen (of course!)
and one floor above
the sound of a drill
vibrates downwards into her room
and an invisible hand resumes hammering
THUMP THUMP THUMP

She wonders whether the new tenant will ever be satisfied
with the renovation works
which has been going on for
more than 3 months now
(for goodness sake!)
... sigh ...
she shifts her eyes away from her laptop.

The rain falls steadily
droplets pattering on the signage outside
as she, thinking nothing in particular now, her gaze
turns back to the chicken drumstick next to her keyboard
it is almost 3 in the afternoon
and she stands up to make herself
a cup of coffee.

Going West

It is less than 48 hours before I fly off to US/Canada and I'm still coughing away.

The annoying part of this residual symptom from my recent bout of chest & throat infection is that cold air (such as that from air-conditioning) and spicy food will trigger an uncontrollable coughing fit. And the ringing in my ears just got worse, higher pitch and louder, and yes, contributing to my restless nights.

I wish I'm in more cheerful mood but truth is, this infection has sapped me of much enthusiasm and energy for the upcoming weeks on the social circuit. The only thing I really look forward to is the opportunity to put my Sony RX100M2 to the test, with the limited skills I have operating it on manual mode. But I intend to experiment and get out of my auto comfort zone this time around.

I will be writing and posting some photographs about the trip here as and when I can get wifi connection while on the road.

Interestingly, I have only met half of the people in this group of 12 who are travelling together. And since they are acquaintances and business associates, I am keeping an open mind and hopefully, I will find time to explore some sights on my own and at my slow pace.

A nesting friend

I love waking up to birds chirping outside my window each morning, especially the distinct melodious warbling from my favourite oriental magpie robins.

A myriad of birds feature regularly in my garden and I make great effort to ensure their visits are most welcomed with a well placed bird-bath filled with clean water twice a day. Some of the birds I could identify are the glossy starlings, bulbul, bright yellow Orioles, the sunbird which I once mistaken as the hummingbird, and bee-eaters. I hope to build a suitable feeding station next, one which will also provide some shelter during rainy days.

So it was with a pleasant surprise I woke up this morning to find a feathered friend has built a little nest on the upper tier of my bougainvillea tree, complete with three little eggs.

I could not resist taking a quick snapshot of this unexpected treasure while at the same time hoping fervently that mommy bird will not notice her hideout has been discovered. I definitely do not want her disturbed until the eggs are hatched and the baby birds have taken flight on their own.

I can't tell what kind of bird it is from the eggs but I am guessing it might be a rock pigeon because these birds regularly nests on nooks and crannies under the roof and between the ledges. This is the first time I discovered a nest so low. I wonder if the bird was attracted to and reassured by the dummy nest I hung up on one of the bougainvillea branches.

For whatever reason, I hope I have not frightened it off by my discovery and I do hope they will make more parts of my garden their preferred nesting place.

It's a beautiful Wednesday indeed, despite the very hot and humid weather we have been getting the past couple of weeks.

Update @ 6:45pm: I just got home from work and from a distance, I can see mommy bird sitting atop her eggs in the nest. Yayyyyy!! *happeeeeee*

As May marches on

“The friend is the person whom one is in need of, and by whom one is needed. Life is a sweeter, stronger, fuller, more gracious thing for the friend’s existence, whether he be near or far: if the friend is close at hand, that is best; but if he is far away, he is still there, to think of, to wonder about, to hear from, to write to, to share life and experience with, to serve, to honor, to admire, to love.” – Arthur Christopher Benson, “Friendship,” 1908

The day she set it down

April washed away

remnants of good and ill will

a new leaf springs forth

Echoes

It is not your fault

nor mine

we were broken way before

the silence set in

haunted and mocked

by echoes from the past

long lost voices we thought we buried deep

with the memories of old crushes, 

lovers and heroes we looked up to

and unavoidably

each and everyone hurt us

let us down

with their human failings.

It is not your fault

nor mine

we were searching all this time

for redemption

of our own ugly imperfections

our rage, our insecurities

yes, we recognise all that 

reflected like a mirror 

in the fractured image before us

and the whispers grew louder

like a mockingbird

deceiving us

this too shall pass

shall pass

No, it is not your fault

nor mine

we were broken long before

that fateful midnight monologue

turned our shame

into wordless regrets

of what ifs, should haves

and the sorry that was not uttered

like a badly scripted Shakespearean play

is not your fault

nor mine

(26/4/2015)