This chocolate and cheesecake muffin in its adorable patty pan really made my day, particularly as it'd just been microwaved so it was warm when it was handed to me !
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
lucky, i'm looking forward
Everyone should have a friend like C who enjoys baking and bringing food to you.
This chocolate and cheesecake muffin in its adorable patty pan really made my day, particularly as it'd just been microwaved so it was warm when it was handed to me !
This chocolate and cheesecake muffin in its adorable patty pan really made my day, particularly as it'd just been microwaved so it was warm when it was handed to me !
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
love, love, love 大家都需要
Wang Leehom's Open Fire Music Man II concert had its Melbourne stop last night. Anyone who knows me knows that Leehom is one of my absolute all-time favourite artists, and that without him I wouldn't be into Asian music at all. It's been a dream of mine for years to see him live, and it feels amazing to be able to finally check it off the list.
Attending was definitely the best decision I've made all year; Leehom was really super sweet the entire time and I had pretty fantastic seats (courtesy of getting tickets within the first three hours? Haha). I only partially regret not getting VIP seats, if only because of the extra close view and contact. Security kept having to grab people who tried to duck past the ropes to get into VIP when they all started crowding because Leehom was reaching out. My parents, though, would have refused to let me go anywhere for months afterwards if I had insisted on it though. The fanpacks that were on every seat were great though.
I've always been a sucker for ballads, especially ones in Chinese. I find that sad things are often some of the most beautiful to me. I've always had an affinity for anyone's ability to play instruments, too; perhaps because I struck out and knew I would never be anything of note at piano, despite my efforts. It was an incredible experience to be treated to Leehom playing the piano, violin, erhu and guitar all in one night. Despite how easy it is to jam to Leehom's upbeat songs, the best part was definitely the acapella. Although it was pre-filmed, it was still ridiculously cute and ridiculously good. I love seeing anyone of fame joke around and goof off a little. That Leehom did it with five or six other versions of himself was just a bonus.
The World Vision video was gorgeous and just went to show that my unfaltering love in Leehom isn't undeserved. He is such a genuinely good person, it hurts me. He kept reminding people in the VIP section not to push and to be careful, and when one girl apparently looked like she was about to get crushed, he pulled her onto the stage. He didn't even blink when she impulsively hugged him - he just hugged her back. He also hugged a baby and I think I was about a thousand times more jealous of that baby than the girl.
It was a really wonderful night and I cried when it was over. I still sob a little when I look at all my fancams. The concert was probably the highlight of my entire year, I really don't think there could be anything to top it for me.
Attending was definitely the best decision I've made all year; Leehom was really super sweet the entire time and I had pretty fantastic seats (courtesy of getting tickets within the first three hours? Haha). I only partially regret not getting VIP seats, if only because of the extra close view and contact. Security kept having to grab people who tried to duck past the ropes to get into VIP when they all started crowding because Leehom was reaching out. My parents, though, would have refused to let me go anywhere for months afterwards if I had insisted on it though. The fanpacks that were on every seat were great though.
I've always been a sucker for ballads, especially ones in Chinese. I find that sad things are often some of the most beautiful to me. I've always had an affinity for anyone's ability to play instruments, too; perhaps because I struck out and knew I would never be anything of note at piano, despite my efforts. It was an incredible experience to be treated to Leehom playing the piano, violin, erhu and guitar all in one night. Despite how easy it is to jam to Leehom's upbeat songs, the best part was definitely the acapella. Although it was pre-filmed, it was still ridiculously cute and ridiculously good. I love seeing anyone of fame joke around and goof off a little. That Leehom did it with five or six other versions of himself was just a bonus.
The World Vision video was gorgeous and just went to show that my unfaltering love in Leehom isn't undeserved. He is such a genuinely good person, it hurts me. He kept reminding people in the VIP section not to push and to be careful, and when one girl apparently looked like she was about to get crushed, he pulled her onto the stage. He didn't even blink when she impulsively hugged him - he just hugged her back. He also hugged a baby and I think I was about a thousand times more jealous of that baby than the girl.
It was a really wonderful night and I cried when it was over. I still sob a little when I look at all my fancams. The concert was probably the highlight of my entire year, I really don't think there could be anything to top it for me.
Saturday, 6 April 2013
说不出的爱; 我在你心中只是just a friend
I think the biggest thing that I took away from last week was the reminder that sometimes, the people around you are not the ones you chose, and thoughts of what does it mean to be a good friend? I've heard people say that you ought to love the ones that you're with, if you cannot be with the ones that you love. It's not always as easy as it seems.
There are times when forced proximity can create impressions of emotional closeness. It's not always that way but sometimes it is true, because that's how we cope. When you can either play nice or be caught in perpetual awkwardness, the choice isn't one that's hard to make. Even within that, though, there will be people with whom you are closer to, who you would have chosen to love even if you were not forced to be around them.
I think that's why I say that you can make life-long friendships once you're in university. It provides such a vast sea of people from which you can pick and choose your friends, the people who you want to spend time with outside of classes. Of course, university is not the only place that you can make these kinds of friendships, but I feel like there is a smaller level of forced proximity than in places like work or high school, particularly if you were in a class like mine which never changed students. Once you commit past the superficial levels of similar interests and choose to connect with people on a personal level, the relationship tends to last longer.
That's why it doesn't matter that sometimes I am disappointed or resentful of my friends not living up to my (high, and often silent) expectations. It doesn't matter that sometimes I feel like I am no one's best friend, closest confidante, favourite. What does matter is that I do love the friends that I have and that I do want them in my life. What does matter is that not being someone's "best friend" doesn't mean that they don't want me in their lives.
Friendships change, fact of life, whether they be new ones or old ones. Every friendship is a little different, even if elements of similarity ring through them all because they're rooted in two separate people. There are some friendships where you must give the utmost care, if not always the consideration. Others pass quietly in the background to wither away, if you haven't figured out how and if you can give them what they require, while still others can re-emerge as strong as ever when you reach for them.
I'm not sure how to be able to tell which friendships fall into the kind where you talk frequently and share just about everything, and which are the ones where you talk infrequently, but always with depth and feeling. Always with feeling. Everything with feelings. Because that's how things work around here. You all know I have a whole bunch of feelings.
These few days away made me realise that there are more people than I would've originally thought who I'd count among my trustiest, truest friends. There are more people that I believed that I'd feel comfortable talking to about my fears and thoughts and insecurities; more people than I believed that I'd feel comfortable being stupid and silly around, teasing and touching and being ridiculous. There are so many people who I feel so grateful to know now, but most particularly those who I don't feel like I have to feel uncomfortable around. So, thank you for that, I guess. For being you. For letting me feel that I don't have to hide so much from you. I may or may not see you every day or talk to you the most often but I chose to love you, and I am thankful for you.
There are times when forced proximity can create impressions of emotional closeness. It's not always that way but sometimes it is true, because that's how we cope. When you can either play nice or be caught in perpetual awkwardness, the choice isn't one that's hard to make. Even within that, though, there will be people with whom you are closer to, who you would have chosen to love even if you were not forced to be around them.
I think that's why I say that you can make life-long friendships once you're in university. It provides such a vast sea of people from which you can pick and choose your friends, the people who you want to spend time with outside of classes. Of course, university is not the only place that you can make these kinds of friendships, but I feel like there is a smaller level of forced proximity than in places like work or high school, particularly if you were in a class like mine which never changed students. Once you commit past the superficial levels of similar interests and choose to connect with people on a personal level, the relationship tends to last longer.
That's why it doesn't matter that sometimes I am disappointed or resentful of my friends not living up to my (high, and often silent) expectations. It doesn't matter that sometimes I feel like I am no one's best friend, closest confidante, favourite. What does matter is that I do love the friends that I have and that I do want them in my life. What does matter is that not being someone's "best friend" doesn't mean that they don't want me in their lives.
Friendships change, fact of life, whether they be new ones or old ones. Every friendship is a little different, even if elements of similarity ring through them all because they're rooted in two separate people. There are some friendships where you must give the utmost care, if not always the consideration. Others pass quietly in the background to wither away, if you haven't figured out how and if you can give them what they require, while still others can re-emerge as strong as ever when you reach for them.
I'm not sure how to be able to tell which friendships fall into the kind where you talk frequently and share just about everything, and which are the ones where you talk infrequently, but always with depth and feeling. Always with feeling. Everything with feelings. Because that's how things work around here. You all know I have a whole bunch of feelings.
These few days away made me realise that there are more people than I would've originally thought who I'd count among my trustiest, truest friends. There are more people that I believed that I'd feel comfortable talking to about my fears and thoughts and insecurities; more people than I believed that I'd feel comfortable being stupid and silly around, teasing and touching and being ridiculous. There are so many people who I feel so grateful to know now, but most particularly those who I don't feel like I have to feel uncomfortable around. So, thank you for that, I guess. For being you. For letting me feel that I don't have to hide so much from you. I may or may not see you every day or talk to you the most often but I chose to love you, and I am thankful for you.
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