To fly a kite

In all my childhood, I've had only a few recollection of flying a kite. I've owned a really beautiful cotton kite, but never had a chance to fly it. I don't know where it is now.

My most vivid kite flying experience was with a 50 sen kite that I bought, made of plastic bag. Running the whole length of beach to set the kite on it's take-off only left me stuck half-body in the quicksand, and a missing sandal. Plus, the plastic tore off the kite. So there goes my kite flying experience.

This Chinese New Year, I noticed the kite man with his stall full of lovely kites. From eeny weeny ones to ginormous, 2-handed control kites. I already had a small kite from him. I decided I wanted a bigger one.

The smaller kite

The bigger kite

My sisters and I quickly set off to fly the 2 kites. It took a while, before the kite flew. Getting the kite off the ground was the tricky part, especially when the wind is minimal. Once it gets higher, it's a piss, I mean, a piece of cake.



Within minutes, both kites were high in the air. There's this beauty in flying a kite; the tension between the strings, the right amount of pull and release, the height the kite can achieve. It's all beautiful.

I learned that in order for the kite to achieve greater heights, it needs to resist the wind, tilt enough to get the leverage, and boost its way up. And the kite can only soar as high as the string allows it to.

Sometimes, we as humans, wish for freedom, like a flying kite. But rules and restrictions are in place, similar to the string attached to the kite. But without that string, the kite would probably get detached and blown away, and crash. It got me thinking that rules and restrictions in our lives are there to give us enough healthy tension for us to soar. Without it, we might lose ourselves, and crash. But if we know how to make full use of it, we are able to soar higher and higher.

Out of the philosophical mode, I lost the bigger kite that day:( The wind was too strong and it swept it away from our hands. I could only watch helplessly as the wind took the kite, together with the string out of my hands and over the sea. It was a heavy feeling of losing a beutiful kite. I was really sad. But that's life. We get something, we try our best to fly it, and sometimes, we lose it:(

Good news is, in life, sometimes we get second chances. I know the kite man will always be there with his stall full of colorful kites:) And for a small fee, I can purchase a small piece of happiness:)

2008 at a glance

2008 has been a go-do-it year, without much space to stop and think. But before the final hours of the year passed, I managed to scribble some stuff down, and in no particular order, these are some of the events that has transpired in the last 365 days.

SWITCHFOOT LIVE IN KUALA LUMPUR

The first song I heard from them was 'Dare You To Move', and I was an immediate fan. They were barely big back then, but deep down, I knew they would make it big someday. Never in my life did I expect this band to visit Malaysia. When I heard they'll be docking on our shores, I nearly ran naked round the town in euphoria. Ok, I was kidding with the naked part. They did an awesome show. This is on of my life dream coming to past.

UNDER HEADLIGHTS

Earlier in 2008, my previous band, Oneted, disbanded. 2 months after the 'breakup', Under Headlights was born. Joni is the missing link we needed all these while. We've recorded 2 singles so far. Stay tuned for more:) I'm excited each time I think of it, and it's another life dream waiting to happen.

MEAD JOHNSON

I switched jobs middle of the year from a small china man company to a multinational company. And I can see the vast difference. It was a major decision to change, but it was worth the shot. I was getting restless from the routing, and change was calling out. This is part of my crazy team, doing some 70's dance, together with my boss, and his boss. I find that there's some use for my singing and dancing talents here:p (I don't sing well, and can't dance for nuts)

STORY OF THE YEAR

This is another of my favorite band. They're fun to watch. If you want to see a power-packed, energetic and crazy show, it's gotta be them. And they came to Singapore. Close enough for me. I paid RM200 for a ticket, drove down 4 hours into Singapore in the middle of the night, sleeping in the car waiting for the hostel to open. All of that was worth every sen. I couldn't get a band picture of them, but at least I got a personal photo with their rocking guitarist, Ryan. They redefine a rock concert with their backflips, guitar flinging and throwing. Check them out.

KOTA KINABALU

One of my 2008 destination list was KK. I never had the chance to visit since I was in uni. But since I joined MJ, they organized a symposium in KK. Even though I didn't get to go around much, or climb Mount K, at least I got to stay in the 5-star Shangrila Hotel, you know what I'm saying? That's another destination ticked off in my 'places to visit' list:) I still hope to climb Mount K and laze at their lovely beaches.

ISLAND HOLIDAY (LANG TENGAH)

I've never had an island get-away, or snorkeling for that matter. So, in desperation for an escape from work life, a few of us made a get-away to Lang Tengah. We literally had the whole island to ourselves. It was lovely. I enjoyed every bit of it. The best part, this was right after my trip to KK. I took a flight back to KLIA from KK, and hopped into a cab to LCCT, and then off to the island. Talk about a jet-set life. I miss chilling on the beach, catching the night breeze, watching the stars fill the sky, and knowing who made them. It was awesome! I love snorkeling.

LANGKAWI

Langkawi is another of my island destinations. I've never in my 25 years of existence been to Langkawi. It's not a 'must go' place,but it would look good on my 'been there, done that' list. This trip was another of my company's get-away programs for the staff. Didn't get to walk the sky bridge, but I managed to see eagles, and lots of huge fish. Not forgetting duty-free alcohol, which rendered me disgusted with that substance.

VOTING (MARCH 8)

I'm now eligible to vote. I did my duty as a citizen. There's no such thing as clean politics, but whichever offers the lesser of 2 evils. I think this was the day that Malaysia really woke up. And I'm happy to a part of a historic moment. Funny thing, I always had this impression that voting was such a grand event. But honestly, it was such a quick process, that it was over before I could say 'superduperfrangelisticespialidocious'.

BEST OF 80'S CONCERT

A friend won some tickets to an 80's concert in the Arena of Stars. They brought in acts such as Johny Hates Jazz, Bananarama, Howard Jones, Paul Young,and Limahl. not really my cup of tea, but it was alright. It was a day where I experienced the songs of our fathers. And it was something crazy that I would never have done. Well, love (or what you think it is) makes you do crazy thing. Did I mention I had to drive down Gentings at 2am?

SINGAPORE

I love this city. It's what Malaysia could have been, in terms of infrastructure and development. Since Story of the Year was coming down to Singapore, I decided to drive down and visit around. Stayed in some backpackers place on the borders of Geylang. No hanky panky going on. It was cheap lodging. When in Singapore, always visit the music shops:)

KITE FLYING

I've never flown a kite before. I had a nice kite given to me when I was 8. It was a typical diamond shaped kite, made of cotton with a nice tail to it. Never used it, and I don't know where is it now. When I was 10, I tried to fly a kite, running down the beach front like a mad man, only to find myself submerged to my waist in quicksand, and loosing one slipper in the process. This time round, my kite took off within seconds of purchase. It must be the wind:)

ELECTRIC GUITAR (JULIET)

This is the first guitar I purchased with my own cash. It's a beauty to look at. Got some glitch with the frets, but based on reviews, people would actually pay that kinda money just to hang it as a display coz she's so pretty! It's a hollow body, Korean made Cort.

25
I turned 25. Quarter-life crisis.