Let's get a little bit crazy

There are just some days where you just want to take a break from the daily grind and just mull over why you do what you do. I find answers when I watch movies, open a random chapter from my favorite book, "The Pilgrimage" by Paulo Coelho, or just talk to a friend who knows me best. Sometimes, I even read my notes or writings from one of my little notebooks. The answers all come to me when I do any one of these things, and I always feel strengthened again.

Some people say they do what they do because they have to survive. Survival for me does not equate to merely existing and going through the motions. I want to "survive" as a human being, with a soul that has a purpose. When you feel that you are here for something more, and it's your duty to discover that, days and nights are not easy =)

And so, it's one of those days again for me. I was lucky enough to catch the last 15 minutes of Ratatouille last night on the disney channel, and it's so true that when you sincerely seek answers -- you get them. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie.

Django: [showing the exterminator shop to Remy with the dead rats in the window] The world we live in belongs to the enemy, we must live carefully. We look out for our own kind, Remy. When all is said and done, we're all we've got.
[Django starts to walk away]
Remy: [defiantly] No. Dad, I don't believe it. You're telling me that the future is - can only be - more of this?
Django: This is the way things are; you can't change nature.
Remy: Change is nature, Dad. The part that we can influence. And it starts when we decide.
Django: [Remy turns to leave] Where are you going?
Remy: With luck, forward.

Remy: I just lost my family - all my friends - probably forever.
Gusteau: How do you know?
Remy: Well, I - I... You are an illustration; why am I talking to you?
Gusteau: Oh, you just lost your family - all your friends - you are lonely.
Remy: Yeah, well, you're dead!
Gusteau: Ahh, but that is no match for wishful thinking! If you're focused on what you've left behind, you will not be able to see what lies ahed. Now go up and look around!

Gusteau: [Remy is locked in a cage] So, we have given up.
Remy: Why do you say that?
Gusteau: We are in a cage inside the car trunk awaiting a future in frozen food products.
Remy: No, I'm the one in a cage. I've given up. You are Free.
Gusteau: I am only as free as you imagine me to be. As you are.
Remy: Oh, please. I'm sick of pretending. I pretend to be a rat for my father. I pretend to be a human through Linguini. I pretend you exist so I have someone to talk to! You only tell me stuff I already know! I know who I am! Why do I need you to tell me? Why do I need to pretend?
Gusteau: But you don't Remy. You never did

Anton Ego: In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.

Gusteau: You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul. What i say is true - anyone can cook...but only the fearless can be great.

Olympic Fevah

I've been wanting to see the 4 X 100 men's relay on youtube and finally I had time to do it.Man!! That was awesome, absolutely amazing! I was really rooting for the American team because, I felt like they were the team with more heart. That last stretch at the finish line was truly classic, the heart and the will to win made all the difference I think.

If you haven't seen it, watch the video below

When I grow up

I have been "bingeing" on warrior/epic movies for the past two weeks and I love it. The only thing I have to see again is "The Last of the Mohicans" which in my book is the first real action/warrior movie. Just the opening scene alone gives me goosebumps. I've always been a sucker for these sort of movies. Blame it on my dad whow would make us watch army soaps like "Nam tour of duty" when we were but children. But why do I still like it as an adult? It's a combination of many things 1.) Hot alpha male hero 2.) fantasmic fighting skills 3.) cheesy dialogue which I can relate to 4.) strong heroine who would fight side by side with her man.

My favorite heroine would be the Queen of Sparta in 300. She's fierce! Second would be Madeleine Stowe in The Last of the Mohicans. Ah..I'll never forget that exhange between her and DDL.."What are you looking at Sir?" "I'm looking at you miss." Confidence will never be out of style, and a man should have that in ample quantity.

Aside from the obvious, I think I have been watching these movies because they speak to me on a different level about how one should look at life. What does it mean to grow old til you're 80 when you have not truly lived? or have remained nameless to the world? In one scene a boy says to Achilles.."The Thessalonian you're fighting, he is the biggest man I've ever seen, I wouldnt want to fight him." and Achilles answers "That's why no one will remember your name." In Gladiator, Maximus shouts out before battle "What we do in life, echoes into eternity." Even listening to PCD's song "When I grow up" there's a line that says "So go ahead and say what you wanna say, You know what it's like to be nameless, Want them to know what your name is."

Can anything be more scary than being nameless and forgotten? of not having done something for the world? I think not. Do it. Whatever it is. Regret is a bitch.

You know how the question, "what do you really want?" always manages to stump anyone? Not me. Not now. There is something that I really, really want right now and I am putting all my energy and thoughts into making it happen. I totally believe that if your whole being is focused on that one thing that you want, the universe will conspire to give it to you. Just ask Oprah. hehe.

I've been thinking back and there have been many times in my life when, if I really needed or wanted something, I usually got it. The sequence of events always go my way. It wasn't always easy, but if my heart was in it, the results were always positive. There were times when I thought I worked to get something and absolutely wanted it, but clarity comes and I realize that it was neither meant for me nor what I really wanted to begin with. The world works in strange ways.

Bottom line, there is something I want so much that it's as if I already have it. It's that real to me. I can taste it, feel it, and see it. I want it. I want it. It's mine.

Who knew?

All along I thought the end of the world would come in the manner of every other apocalypse type movie to ever come out. First there was Armageddon, then in the aftermath of the Anthrax scare, there was 28 Days (then 28 days later). We all knew it would be big, scary, and very cinematic. But it was all too simple. Oil! It's just oil! Just read the news. People all over the world are freaking out and taking to the streets to protest this huge problem on energy. If we all don't shape up and learn to deal with this problem by going back to basics, I'm pretty sure we are all doomed. I better learn to ride a bicycle then.

Faith

I watched the first 20 mins of "The Secret" on youtube and I've decided to give it a shot. I know that there is nothing that a person cannot achieve if he really sets his mind to it. But what about getting something tangible, produced only by thoughts and feelings? Can we really attract, like a magnet, our deepest desires? whatever that may be? I have faith that this is so. During these uncertain, and chaotic times, we have to believe this more than ever.

Singapore Fashion

On any trip I go to, I am always on the look out for local style. This trip was no exception. So how do Singaporean women fare in the fashion scale? Not bad. I like it actually. The trend I have seen with Oriental women is that they are very feminine, have a penchant for heels, and wear dresses as much as we wear jeans. Of course I was never the girly girl type but I do see the pleasure in wearing easy dresses, whatever style you are into. I really wanted to stop some of the girls in the street to take their pictures but the pain I felt from my feet kind of distracted me. Anyway, not anyone can look hot in a dress, which is why 99.5% of the women I saw were reed thin. It was inspiring, and frustrating at the same time. Honestly, I felt a wee bit fat.

Of course, for Singaporean women, shopping is both a sport and an art. It's Sale season right now, and let me tell you, whatever time of the day, there were women in the stores. Maybe if my feet weren't so sore, I would have been more motivated to look around, but surprisingly, the urge just wasn't there. As always, new people and surroundings inspire me and influence me in some way. I try to pick up something, from wherever it is I go to. More dresses for me in the future!