Go Boxer engine, go!

Yay for Subaru! Winner of the International Engine of the Year 2008 award! Hahaha.. Here's the link.. http://www.oneshift.com/news/news.php?view=1&newsid=1312&pageid=1 Go Boxer engine, go! Somehow, I take certain pride that Subaru wins stuff.. Like in the WRC, international awards and all that things.. I feel good as well when there are good reviews about Subaru cars.. Although I am only driving their baseline model, I still feel a certain attachment to them. Want them to do well.. Perhaps next time my car resale value also higher.. Hahaha.. There is something to be said about brand loyalty.. Just like your first crush, your first love, your first kiss.. You have a certain attachment to your first car.. :P I do think Subaru is indeed moving out of their 'boy racer' image and into something more sophisticated. Kudos though to Subaru Singapore for daring to make fun of themselves in their radio adverts.. The main protagonist, Arrowana Turbo Lim Ah Seng, the king of Ah Bengs is super funny and a poke at their 'boy racer' (aka Ah Beng) stereotype.

The good old days

I just realised that quiet, neighbourhood-y places never fail to instill in me a sense of melancholy. Perhaps it reminds me of my childhood at my grandmother's old house at Kallang. It was a quiet neighbour but not without its charms. I can remember most vividly the stores upon stores that was just across the road. I was fascinated by the coconut grinder.. :) But old, rundown places hold their charm for me. I just get this feeling, of a strange sense of longing, a nostalgia.. It is familiar and yet foreign; close to the heart yet seemingly so far away.. Certain songs do that too.. But I get that feeling the strongest when I go to older neighbourhoods where it is quieter. Ahhh.. How I long for the good old days..

Good for nothing

So, when you have to stare at yourself and be brutally honest with yourself, without all the pretense, without all the buffer and walls and excuses that you give to make yourself feel better; when you admit that every mistake, past, present and future is your own fault. That you have to stand by every decision you make and made, good or bad; that even choosing not to choose is a choice. That where you are at right now is the consequence of what you did or did not do. When you suddenly realise that you have nothing that sets you apart. When you realise that what you thought makes you special make roughly 1 million other people special. When you realise that you are like a court jester who has lost his ability to make the king laugh, like a lion with his teeth pulled, like a fish without his fins, like a eagle without his wings, you are good for nothing. And when you realise that you are good for nothing, there is Someone who will think that finally, you are good for something.

2nd wash for Eternal 811

Well, just sent my stinky jeans (Eternal 811) for its second wash yesterday. Now it's all stiff and crinkly and better smelling.. Relatively speaking.. Hahaha.. :) Well, ain't too much fading and all that going on.. :( oh well, slow and steady wins the race.. Hahaha..

For whom the bell tolls

John Donne Meditation 17 Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee..."
So this is food for thought. A famous quote, 'Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.' It talks about how we are all connected with each other, man or woman, boy or girl, young or old.. One view on it is that every time one person dies, a little bit of us dies inside as well. Imagine, we carry the deaths of millions upon millions of people who have died through the ages.. A humbling thought. And yet every day, we are adding to the burden more and more. The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Death, Disease, Famine and War. Are they not creations of our own hands? Well, the way I see it, we can all do our part. Treat the people around you better, make their lives better in even the smallest ways.
'Ask not for whom the angels cheer for, they cheer for thee.'

Emotional

Taking a break from my boring work. Can't seem to find the motivation to get things going. Been feeling slightly emotional these past few days. A slight tinge of depression.. Could it be that life has just been too busy with all the exams and projects? Lack of exercise leading to shortage of endorphins in my bloodstream? So much fatty deposits that my eyes tear everytime I pass a mirror?
Speaking of fatty deposits, it's a quarter into the new year and I realised that my goal of losing xx kg of weight does not seem to be working out.. In fact, it seems to be working out in reverse!!! Hahaha.. Have to get back to running and working out..
Random switches of topics means that emotional time is back! :P So, have you ever wondered how your life would be like if you had an OST a.k.a. Offical Sound Track? In the memorable moments, a song would play in the background that best represents the mood at that time. What would your OST be like? Poppy, with loads of cheer and upbeat tempos? Angsty, with loads of yell-yer-lungs-out rock songs? Dark and darker with power ballads everywhere you go? Or do you live in a fantasy world with Mika songs as your OST?
I have to go about a mission to compile my life's official soundtrack after the exams. As in any OST, I must set limits to the songs that I can include. So let's say around 18 songs? :) Here the songs that I have right now. In no particular order
1. Invisible Man by 98 degrees. I know I know. Boy band right? But this is their breakout single and it's quite poignant you know.
2. Superman (It's not easy) by Five for Fighting. Another song that evokes emotions within me.
3. Drops of Jupiter by Train.
4. Santa Monica by Savage Garden.
5. Here without you by 3 Doors Down.
6. If I could be like that by 3 Doors Down.
7. Better Man by Robbie Williams.
8. Almost here by Brian MacFadden and Delta Goodrem.
9. Kiss from a rose by Seal.
10. Walk On By by Seal.
I reckon that this is it so far. All quite emotional songs. Hahaha. Half way there. Hahaha.

Coincidences

Do you believe that coincidences are planned by God? Do you believe in destiny? Do you believe that whatever is yours will be yours sooner or later? Do you believe that magic happens when you need it the most? Do you believe in love at first sight? Do you believe that there is a hand that fits yours perfectly? Do you believe that there is someone out there who is thinking fondly about you, as you about him/her? Do you believe in second, third and fourth chances? Do you believe that distance does not matter, neither does time and space? Do you believe that opportunity knocks not only once but keeps knocking until you seize it? Do you believe that our paths are set, but are subject to change depending on what choices we make? Do you believe that chances happen not by chance but by predestination? What do you believe?