A Kinder Approach

Where did all the time go?

Here's a list of stuff I'm digging, four plus months into 2014. Am I slowly turning into a hippie or what??!!

1) Yoga! I've started going to the classes sponsored by my company again. Funny thing is, when I tried out the class a year and a half ago, I was so impatient to move from one pose to another, and I was bored out of my wits. Now, I enjoy the gentle stretches and the not-so-gentle poses that force just a little bit more out of me. I love the focus on the body itself - the core, the thigh muscles, the arms and shoulders. I love the little transformational changes I see - like being able to touch my toes in forward fold after a couple of weeks. And, truly a life lesson in itself, the ever constant, gentle reminders to always, always, breathe. Whatever you're feeling at the moment, it too will pass, just breathe through it. Pain is fleeting. Breathe through the pain, breathe when you think you can't hold that pose for any longer. You're stronger than you think.

I admit, I am horribly inflexible, and am constantly playing catch-up at both my paid and sponsored classes, but I actually look forward to them. The weeks when I have to miss classes(most likely due to work travels), I sorely miss it.

2) I made my own Epsom-salt scrub! Hardly a recipe - just 1 cup of epsom salts (read all about its goodness (with further links) here), 1/3 cup coconut oil, and a few drops of your favourite essential oil for fragrance - I used lemongrass for a fresh tropical feel. I use it after soap in the shower. I am trying my best to reduce the use of unnecessary chemicals in our lives, and this saves money as well (total cost - less than 10 bucks).

3) My music of the moment:-

i) Sam Behymer's performances in The Voice. I am obsessed with Sam's performance singing Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran (she's the taller girl in pink) - graceful, ethereal and just a little bit kooky. Ed Sheeran sang the original with heated passion, Sam does it here with a beautiful tenderness and soaring desperation. I really wish Adam Levine kept her on the show :( (She was eliminated in the next battle round).

ii) Josh Kaufman's cover of Stay With Me by Sam Smith. I usually despise over the top stage effects, but I thought the pouring and splashing raindrops here was just so beautiful. I loved the effect it had, coupled with Josh's intense, beautiful vocals - now, that's a moment.



I am slowly but surely adopting a kinder, more natural lifestyle - I've planted my own spinach, I've partially eliminated chemicals from my cleaning routines. I consciously seek local organic (fresh) ingredients when I shop for my cooking - easy to do in Klang Valley. I am also attempting to cook less with meat (more water is required for production of meat, and check out this link comparing the carbon footprint of foodstuffs), and I now eat more tofu, soy and mushrooms. 

Faves from the VMA's

Long radio silence, I know. I bumped into a friend who was in Miri and also moved to KL, and we agreed, there just isn't enough time. There's always someplace to go, some movie or live performance to catch, something on.

I recently managed to watch a repeat of the MTV VMA's. Award shows are kinda my guilty pleasure, along with reality cooking shows, chocolate, instant noodles...you get the rift. No nourishment and all guilty pleasure. I think enough has been said about Ms. Cyrus's twerking. Hey, she'll go down in showbusiness history. I always manage to see one or two performances that I can't forget in this type of show, and this year, my favourites are Macklemore's Same Love and Katy Perry's Roar, sung live under the Brooklyn Bridge.

I loved Katy's performance - man, it's not easy to dance, skip then sing your heart out onstage.

But there's another reason why this song resonated with me, at this point in time. These days, I admit, one of the main reasons I am so freakin' bogged down by work is because I just can't say no to whatever people choose to throw at me. Then there's the pockets of bullying. People who think they can get away with raised voices and by expressing outrage at the slightest issue. In the beginning I tried to be the better person, to stay calm at all times. There came a point when I felt like I was heading for a nervous breakdown - I honestly felt like I was losing control of myself. I realise now, sometimes you just gotta push back and NOT take it. Stand up for yourself, take charge.

I did, in pockets. This song, and Katy's boxing-champion performance, is going on my playlist and embedded in my brain. .

These lyrics, I could be singing them and they would all be true.

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath

Scared to rock the boat and make a mess

So I sat quietly, agreed politely

I guess that I forgot I had a choice

I let you push me past the breaking point

I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

You held me down, but I got up

Already brushing off the dust

You hear my voice, you hear that sound

Like thunder gonna shake the ground

You held me down, but I got up

Get ready cause I’ve had enough

I see it all, I see it now

And Macklemore and Mary Lambert - wow, what a beautiful anthem the fight for equality now has. Hip hop and homosexuality don't exactly mix - you got your man-man Jay-Z and (psycho) Kanye, violent good-for-nothing woman-beater Chris Brown, angsty Eminem and super-smooth Drake (who is looking super hot btw - howcome I never noticed before?).

Well now we got Macklemore. Hip-hop just got a whole lot cooler. Back to the song, I find the climax was Mary and Jennifer Hudson crooning "Not crying on Sundays...Love is Patient". According to Mary, it was referencing her feelings about being gay and a church-going Christian. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I don't believe in my heart that God created same-sex loving people to be hated and discriminated upon.

Get More: 2013 VMA, Artists.MTV, Music, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

 

Music of the moment

Songs that makes my heart sing, my mood light:-

Was it just me, or was that proposal at the end of How I Met Your Mother 7 just crazy awesome?

And that song, that song:-



This is not the official lyric video, but this composition is so sweet, I kinda like it better.

And this cover. Just trust me.



And Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam)'s Wind:-
 

Of folksy tunes and Tudor London

Another weekend, and more stuff I love:

1) Upbeat, folksy tunes with cornets, lots of guitar strumming, an accordian, replete with cheerful "hey" cries throughout the songs. I especially adore Little Talks by the Icelandic indie rock outfit Of Monsters and Men (somehow a lot of music I fancy seem to be coming from Iceland). Another song, Ho Hey, by the Lumineers, is really similar with its intermittent "Ho!", "Hey" throughout the song. Nice pick-me-ups they are, especially when one is trudging through excel spreadsheets.





2) Lately I have been looking forward to the end of the day - when I am done with work and housework and everything else. I am in my pyjamas under the covers, the airconditioning on, a drink (green tea or hot chocolate) by the bedside and a really really good read. Such bliss. Medieval fiction, which I happen to be really crazy about  (Pillars of the Earth, anyone?) I just finished C. J Sansom's Dark Fire and am now trying to pace myself reading Revelation. I read Dissolution some years back and I have to say, some parts of that story really gave me the chills. Sansom makes all the issues of medieval London under Henry VIII come to sordid life. It is the post-Dissolution era. King Henry VIII has severed England's ties with the Pope in the Vatican, and reformation is underway. Benedectine, Franciscan monks who have only known lives of prayer, charity and relative comfort in monasteries (thanks to alms from the devout), not are turned out into the streets helpless to fend for themselves. Orphans, the forsaken, the sick wandering the streets full of filth. Catholic papists and hardline reformers burning each other at stake, depending on the religious leanings king's spouse at that time (he had six after all) and everyone else caught in between. Sansom captures all of this in magnificient, sometimes painful to read, detail. Couple that with some truly intriguing (at times seriously disturbing) murder mysteries that left me guessing all the way, and the trechearous politics of Tudor London (Henry VIII, the Duke of York, and Thomas Cromwell all feature) - and oh, what a thrill these stories are to read.

American Idol

Gotta say it, this season's American Idol has to be one of the most entertaining so far. I must say that I kinda gave up on the show after Simon Cowell left, and the last two seasons were just so bleh. The contestants were boring, the judges' comments didn't make any sense and for the  life of me I can't see how that country guy last year, can't remember his name, Scottie something, won. So why bother this year? Until I started watching, and again, "keepin' it real", the talent this year is really varied and they're (almost) all good.

Although I do think this season is kinda overcompensating for the lacklusreness of the previous ones, what with the female contestants dressed up in super high heels and sometimes inappropriately sexy dresses (for teenagers), the over-accessorizing, the sexy background musicians playing saxophone and violin, the crazy background videos playing and even gospel singers and levitating stages. Too much. Which is why I hope Phillip Phillips wins this season, with his plaid shirts and all.

Anyway,  in honour of AI and all the hours all these years I have wasted watching this show, I have compiled what I think are the best moments on Idol.

1) Jason Castro singing Hallelujah. Goosebumps!! Pure vocals, with so much earnestness and restraint. Nothing big, nothing OTT. Best moment on Idol ever for me.



2) David Cook with his take on Mariah Carey's Always Be My Baby. I couldn't believe how he took such a feminine, Mariah song that I have loved since I heard it as a teenager, and made italy pop-rock and simply supercool.



3) Adam Lambert had so many great moments on Idol. My favourites are his takes on U2 and Mary J. Blige's One, and Mad World. Exceeded expectations, and mind you, they were already high.





4) Adam's competitor, Kris Allen's rendition of Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone. So cool. It's not easy being on the same season as Adam Lambert. Kris really shone with this number. Didn't know he could, what with his serious lack of onscreen personality (I thought).



5) And finally, Jessica Sanchez with Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You. Man she blew that one out of the water. So unexpectedly good. Perfect execution. I usually despise AI contestants trying their best to just show off the power of their vocal chords,but she pulled this off magnificently. Respect. And yes, her performance in the Top Twelve (is it?) was the one that got me hooked on AI this year.

Atonement, Fall of Giants and other bits of the weekend

Lots of italics coming up, it's one of those posts.

~ Oh my, Atonement is positively gut-wrenching. My heart is broken, I tell you. And taken. By James McAvoy, who has swept me off my feet as "the young man who crossed the surrey in his best suit, swaggering with the promise of life" and lost it all - his bright bright future and his one true love at the throw of the dice, or rather the lying words of a naive young girl. Those electric blue eyes. That preppy short hair. The very upright-ness of Bobby Turner, his character - in his determination, as he wrote in his letter, to "live without shame", his lilting French, the way he walks with his back so straight, so upright. Swoon.


~ I seem to be drawing multiple parallelisms between the movie and Ken Follet's Fall of Giants, which I am currently chest-deep into. They make me reflect on the same things. How war changes everything. The fruitlessness of it all and the despairs - families and lovers torn apart, heartbreaking letters to and from the front lines, and of course, the terrible death of innocents. And the how their characters conduct themselves - on the surface, quintessentially British eloquence and conservatism, almost bordering on shyness. But you have to take a second look - into their (often blue and piercing) eyes, read into the bow of the head, the hand placed on another's. All contradictory to the searing passion behind closed doors (or in Atonement's case, it was cracked open). In my head, one of the book's protagonists (ahh a German, ironically) is Mr. McAvoy, tortured good looks and all.

~ Listening to Matchbox 20, especially this song on the iPhone. I think of my two brothers. Despite me being five and eight years older than them, we somehow have to come the same conclusions on a few very important things in life. For example, that Matchbox 20 is THE best band ever. That mankind has yet to produce a movie as awesome as The Lord of The Rings. All three of us have read the book, more than once. Oh, and the music. Sure, my brothers shake their heads at my fondness for haunting, wintry, almost new-ageish music with lyrics that don't make much sense (Cases in point: these numbers) and they're almost embarassed about my fondness for Taylor Swift. Dom's taste also runs questionable at times (erm, "Barbra Streisand" by DuckSauce, anyone?). But one day we just broke out Bright Lights together, trying our very best to twang the lines "Baby, Baby, Baby..........Maybe, maybe, maybe..." the way Rob Thomas does (and, I suspect, not being very successful) so you can understand why listening to this makes me all smiley inside.

~ My adorable tea sub that I ordered when in London. Works like a charm, looks like it belongs in a cartoon. Yesterday was a particularly stressful day at work. Couple that with the insomnia I had been experiencing the past two nights, and by yesterday evening my head felt like it was about to explode, among other symptoms. Before I went to bed I filled my submarine with green tea leaves (from Thailand) and brewed the tea using my new super cute glass. I breathed in the grassy scent and let the hot steam rise to my face. I took deep breaths. I sipped my brew, lightly sweetened with honey. I smiled at the sight of the fat yellow sub, and of course as the sight of my fat yellow (orange) cat bounding around the bed. And I really could feel myself feeling better.

I know, I seem to be living and dreaming anywhere else but here or in the moment. These are all I have now.

Bits of today

Besides breakfast, a few other things I enjoyed:-

Taylor Swift's wholly enthusiastic, super fun and totally awesome farmhouse ragamuffin-style tongue in cheek (in her own sweet style of course) Grammy performance. Also, a nod to REAL music this year I feel - wins by Adele for Record of the Year and Bon Iver (whose Holocene I was, and still am, enamoured with) for Best New Artist as opposed to Rihanna and Lady Gaga. Bravo. I did feel that Nicki Minaj's performance really spoilt this year's show. Crass, extremely disrespectful and just a very very transparent cry for attention. Shame on the producers for allowing this. I mean, I'm all for a little controversy and shock factors here and there and I seldom get offended by Hollywood's religious references but I was by this one, deeply offended. Had to say it.

I re-watched this three times though. To all the so-called critics who say that Taylor can't sing, OUCH! Love love love.

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My new foldable Joseph Joseph chopping board. No more spilling of diced onions when transferring from board to pan.

Re-reading of one of my favourite books of all time. Anyone who has even the most fleeting desire for volunteerism or the slightest interest in world issues should read this.

The sight of this baby of mine enjoying home after a few nights of boarding at the vet's. Curves are beautiful!

Halocene & Hoppipola

I watched We Bought A Zoo because I thought it boasted a splendid cast - Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Elle Fanning.

I spent a good few minutes crying occasionally throughout the movie, but the most beautiful thing about this movie was the magnificent music.

Especially this number by Bon Iver, an Indie musician that I have never heard of before. So haunting and poetic.

And this one, I have NO IDEA what he is singing (OK just Googled it, there is nothing wrong with my hearing - apparently it's part Icelandic, peppered with some "nonsensical phrases, a "language" the band calls Vonlenska or "Hopelandic" - how very Lord of the Rings). Something about this number uplifts my very heart. No wonder it was used in the video below, which begs viewing especially at minute 1:22 - the penguins march and 3:45 the emergence of the polar bear. Please watch this.

Everyday Essentials and More

Just some stuff I use every day:

1) Aquamoist whitening cream. I'm a huge believer in NOT spending an arm and a leg on beauty products, and am not the kind of girl that fusses about with creams and masks and such. I do the basic essentials - cleanse (Cetaphil), moisturise, protect (see below). No toner, no masks, no serums. This cool hyarulonic acid-based gel fits nicely into this routine. I really love this product to bits - goes on like a dream, locks in the moisture, and the price - what's not to like? I've become really kiasu with this - since I have yet to find it in Miri, I lugged back three jars of this back from KL last month. And since it's considerably cheaper, I sometimes use it on my arms, elbows, legs - whenever I feel a bit dry. I have, much to the delight of my wallet and my skin, given up on my Origins night cream (messed up my skin, I ended up using it as a body cream - the day one is fine though) and L'occitane shea butter. Nothing wrong with the L'occitane product really - it was a lifesaver during those European vacations and really is so good for travel - i.e. dry cabin air, hotel airconditioning). But since I cut back on the travel, it was getting too rich for normal everyday use in this tropical clime.

2) Lancome mascara - my cousin gifted me a tube for Christmas in 2008, and I've been buying my own ever since. I use it to darken my brows as well since I can't master the art of using an eyebrow pencil - this just thickens and darkens my brows. Along with foundation from The Body Shop and a super eyeliner from Estee Lauder that my parents gifted me for Christmas (yes my family is obviously trying to hint at something), it has become a part of my daily routine.

3) SunPlay SPF47 "Powdery White" sunblock. I'm a total Japanese cosmetic convert. They are cheaper and suit me much better than the Origins and Neutrogenas. Case in point - Sunplay sunblock which have accompanied me from my offshore days (SPF 130 - beat that!) and all my travels. For the face, this slim tube goes on like a dream and mattifies my skin in one go - all for less than 50 bucks a pop.

4) Assortment of earrings from my travels that I love and try to wear as often as I can - silver "feather" ones from Bali, black drop earrings enamelled in green and gold.

5) Gifted Estee Lauder eyeliner - from my parents, to encourage me to wear more face gunk. I put this one on days when I have had a real good night's rest (cos that means I won't be rubbing my eyes much, or when I feel like

6) Compact powder from the Body Shop.

7) One of the prettiest things I own and actually use - gold lace-like headband from Diva Australia.

Reading:

1) The Success Principles by Jack Canfield, author . My daily bedtime read since this weekend past. Call me guillibe, but Mr. Canfield's simple words have already helped a little in lifting me out of the funk I felt I was in. I now feel more in charge of my own fate, more positive mentally, after just a couple hours' worth of reading

2) EndGame - The End of the Debt Supercycle and How It Changes Everything by John Mauldin. Am currently on a diet of books on economics and finance – for one, because I feel like I missed this element of investing in the last 2-3 years, of having a macro view on things, our world is so interconnected, bla bla bla. The other reason is, well, I kind love the subject. I’ve already finished How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes by the Schiff brothers (a nice, cutely illustrated introduction to the subject - they managed to mix in some pretty nice jabs at Ben Bernanke and the US administration too), The Ultimate Money Guide for Bubbles, Busts, Recession and Depression by Martin D. Weiss (on hyper-inflation, the inefficiencies of the current government in tackling them and best of all, how to safeguard oneself) and Game Over - How You Can Prosper in A Shattered Economy by Stephen Leeb. So far I like Leeb's book the best - it was published well over two years ago in 2009 and his prediction, on gold especially, has been spot on. Wish I had read it earlier.

3) My Father's Daughter , Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook debut – well technically I haven’t started on this yet. The truth is, I want to hate her – she’s everything I want to be and does everything I want to do – except the actress part, although who hasn’t dreamt of singing at the Grammy’s eh? – according to her supercool blog This is GOOP (love the title), she cooks with her kids, she bakes pizza in her own wood-fired oven, explores hidden nooks and crannies in familiar and new cities, AND damnit, I really do love her personal style. Yes, when I grow up I want to be Gwyneth Paltrow.

Note: Yes it's confirmed - I do love it! Love the rustic but elegant table settings. the photos of her and her parents, her and her kids, the clothes she has on, the wonderful looking produce. And the fact that breakfast is a whole chapter!

Blogs I am currently frequenting:

1) littlepaperplanes, a travel+lifestyle+personal blog. Oh to throw such extravagant parties! The fantastical table settings! The house that looks like a page off Vogue Home or Elle Decoration! The garden surrounded by the house(and no I did not get the order wrong)! Maldives, Goa, Napa, New York via The Escapist! I live vicariously through this one. Oh, and I think I'm slowly heading towards being a pack rat too, albeit one with less expensive taste.

2) Cupcakes and Cashmere – love the way Emily mixes and match Zara with higher-end stuff, re-styles vintage/flea market furnishings - especially love how she spray-painted her flea-market find candlesticks black here (so chic), and all that cooking!

Listening to:
1) The Band Perry's If I Die Young, over and over again. The lyrics are happy and haunting at the same time
2) The Cary Brothers' Belong. Gray's Anatomy has the BEST music, and what often happens is I find myself scrambling for a pen and my little notebook to copy down the lyrics of the mysterious songs and Googling the song later. So many of great finds – the Avett Brothers, the Carey Brothers, I have GA to thank for that
3) Mumford and Sons – love their folksy music. The Cave, especially performed live at tge Grammys, absolutely rocks.

Grammy Gold

So cool, this performance by Mumford & Sons, the Avett Brothers and Bob Dylan.



Just plain ol' music at its heady, euphoric best, devoid of the OTT stage effects and hype so commonplace in performances nowadays, from Lady Gaga's arrival in an egg-capsule-incubator, to Justin Bieber and Usher's acrobatic-ninja backup dancers, although I have to admit, the two guys put up a pretty cool dance show.

But it is, at the end of the day, the music that gets most of us. Other than that performance, John Mayer, Keith Urban and Norah Jones' rendition of Dolly Parton's Jolene, was just too short! The guitar melodies were just too cool for anything, and nothing short of beautiful.

We Are All Innocent

One day
You'll have to let it go,
Oh One day You'll stand up on your own, you'll stand up on your own
Yeah
Remember losing hope,
Remember feeling low,
Remember all the feelings and the day they stopped
We are, We are all innocent, we are all innocent
We are, we are, we are,
We are all innocent, we are all innocent
We are, we are

Thanks to David Cook.



You ever heard songs that just capture you...sweep you off your feet, when even when your eyes are about to close, when you bow your head in listlessness, when you daydream yourself into oblivion, when life just bogs you down, and you wish you could pick up, leave everything behind and just attempt, again, to live a life of meaning.

These days, I wonder, and wonder again, what kind of life most of us lead. A life of meaning. What does that mean?

Will anyone mourn my passing? I remember Stephen Covey's message, one which I read while slumming it in KL, living on my meagre salary in KL. My uncle had given me the book, which I read befoer bedtime.

Begin with the end in mind. Visualize your funeral, and the people there - your family, colleagues, friend, strangers...? What would they say about you? What do you want them to say?

Somehow, along the road, I feel that I lost touch with the end. Tommorrow, next week, is another day, another chance.

I don't have anything to offer, but thoughts and dreams, and the wish to get out of here.

Enough is enough, isn't it?