Ich werde da sein, wenn du stirbst

In 1999 on a very unexciting long train ride from our school in East Sussex to London, a close boarding school mate and I made a pact to start a pub in England should we both be single and miserable later on in our years. This mate however, met the love of her life while she was studying politics in Vienna, it was then that I very happily said goodbye to our pub pact. Unfortunately life had other plans, because just as soon as she had found the love of her life, she lost him to cancer a few years later. Marie-Sophie mourned and grieved through writing, reliving the entire experience and walking their journey a thousand times over in her mind. I cannot imagine anything more painful and beautiful both at the same time, almost cinematic, the parallel of a grief stricken Christian writing 'The Moulin Rouge' in his dusty attic. Marie-Sophie's writing has now materialized in the form of "Ich werde da sein, wenn du stirbst", "I will be there when you die", and all I can say is, "Isi, Herzlichen Glückwunsch!" and have it translated into english woman!

Wishing and Wondering

1. I saw a young lady carry a Anya Hindmarch 'I am not a plastic bag' grocery tote in the supermarket near my home today. I was excited and happy to see an environmentally conscious Singaporean amisdt the flurry of plastic bagging that is a constant sight at the end of almost every checkout line in our local supermarkets. But then! She took her wallet out of her 'I am not a plastic bag' tote and I saw that in actual fact, whe was paying for her stuff which was contained in 5 plastic bags, double bagged no less, and it seems, the tote was just something trendy for her to carry her personal effects in. I'm sorry, but that just goes against everything the tote stands for does it not? This is just as bad as someone flashing their headlights and honking their horn impatiently while displaying a 'I'm a Christian! Are you?' bumper sticker.

2. The Oxford Bodleain library is now open to public. OMFG.

My brother has secured himself a place in a US universty to gain an American perspective in International Relations, through their Masters Programme. He is so deliriously happy, furnishing us with statistics from 2006, where 900 applicants fought for 90 places in the programme.

Congratulations dear boy!
You've done it again.

Courage

You had to courage to do what deep down I have been wanting to do for a long time.
I looked at you, liberated, and the voice that reminded me of that desire resonated even louder in the hollowness of my being.

May you fly and achieve everything you've ever dreamed of, one day, I'll find the courage too, one day before I loose who I am, who I could be.

Things are just not how they seem anymore.