Daily Prompt: Clean House

Daily Prompt post: Is there “junk” in your life? What kind? How do you get rid of it?

The junk in my life – I’d refer it to the people and the events that have brought me down. Many of them. And most of the time, I could barely muster up any courage to get rid of them in my life. To me, these junk can’t be discarded as easily as the trash we dump into the bins every day. People react and events change overtime – so you deal with each one of them differently.

To anyone else, it’s only right for them to stand up for themselves when they’re being put down. I feel that way too and my principles tell me the same thing, but my fear just gets me all the time. Since I was little kid, Mom said I was really timid and shy. I thought that’d be just a passing phase, but it stayed that way even when I grow up. I know I couldn’t well blame it on my genes and personality traits get nurtured overtime. But life isn’t a play – as much as I wish to throw into the script plenty of parts which I will get to respond the way that I have intended to. And you don’t expect things coming.

Alot of times, many people in my life have helped me to get rid of the “junk”. Whether they do it out of friendship, or either because they feel that they’re inclined to do so due to their values / principles, they allow me to believe that I could do this someday as well, to another person just like myself. I can’t recall a situation where I did stand up for anybody – anyone of my friends or any stranger(s). There hasn’t been many instances where I got to stand up for myself either. Offering words of advice and a considerable extent of help to another is doable, probably anyone and everyone can do that. But people who have been always brave enough to stand up for another person, for any reasons, truly deserve an extraordinary amount of admiration.

The events in my life ; like occasional conflicts I get into with my family members, friends and classmates, the pressure and stress from exams / tests… the bullying experiences I used to have in school, etc., time plays a big role in getting rid of them. The weight’s off my shoulders once these events pass. When you look back in time, they’re just bad memories. You learn from them and you hope that you’ll know what to do when you encounter them again. Also, they’re called “junk” for a reason because they’re not that significant to leave scarring memories in your life.

Daily Prompt: Ebb and Flow | Travel blog

Daily Prompt posts: Our blogs morph over time, as interests shift and life happens. Write a post for your blog — but three years in the future.

I would love to do a travel blog! Actually, getting to travel the world and to write about it would be in my wishlist for sure! But, it’d probably take sometime before I get to plan this whole traveling-around-the-world thing – likely not 3 years. In 3 years time, I’d be 22. Maybe I’ll be still in school, or either a fresh graduate looking for a job and saving up for this purpose.

Library quote.

I came across a quote by Cicero, a Roman Philosopher – which was re-quoted by Lisa See, the writer of Shanghai Girls, which I did a review on the novel one post ago. She tweeted it moments ago and I thought I’ll share it.

Photo courtesy of: Sodahead’s forum topic

Original tweet:-

On libraries, Cicero wrote, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” @ALALibrary

— Lisa See (@Lisa_See) September 23, 2013

The simplest words, no use of extraordinary vocabulary, or any hidden, sea-deep meanings behind that phrase. And truer words have never been spoken – it hints the perfect plan to pass time during the weekend!

Daily Prompt: Practice Makes Perfect? | Art!

Daily Prompt posts: Tell us about a talent you’d love to have… but don’t.

To have the hands of an Artist is something I’d love to have, but I don’t – far, far beyond what I could draw or paint.

To create Art mean alot of different things, like now – when I go back to the time when ‘Art’ is commonly referred to as a piece of drawing or painting when we were doing art in school.

Now, you could even study Art in college ; in terms of Literature, Philosophy, Music, Dance, etc., and then end up creating Art in one of those fields. The dictionary gives a vast variety of subtle and technical definitions for the word ‘Art’, but the talent I yearn to have is to be able to paint.

A descriptive recount of my late goldfish.

This Saturday’s morning – afternoon, I attempted to do some tidying up of my study desk area. Built up with layers of dust and junk laying all around the place. The worst part of cleaning up is getting the fallen-out hair, accumulated over the past one week or two, on the dustpan and then to the bin when it just all sticks onto the broom. But the thing is that problem is easily settled once you get a portable vacuum or a broom which will cost more for its quality.

And the perk of doing this whole tidying-up thing is that you unknowingly uncover the almost-forgotten, like old photographs, video clips, letters, etc. – the way I call them “treasures”. Because when you’re doing spring cleaning or anything similar to that, most of the time you won’t expect to uncover things like these, but to get the whole area real spick-and-span.

More than what I should say.

Yesterday, I took leave from work to go out with Cass. We talked alot more than the previous time we met – I could open up to her more this time. I asked her about Social Science (or Social Work) – what she was studying in polytechnic and shared with her about my hopes of getting a degree in that particular field, including my doubts – because I have absolutely no prior experience or knowledge on social work.

I feel she’s one of the best people I could seek advice from so far whilst considering to study in that field. I think I understand why she study Social Work, out of the many others she was eligible for, because she often writes about helping people as one of the things she want to do in those letters. While I didn’t used to mention so much about helping people as she does.

Daily Prompt: Bookworm (and it ended up to be a review on the book!)

Daily Prompt post: Grab the nearest book. Open it and go to the tenth word. Do a Google Image Search of the word. Write about what the image brings to mind.

This is somehow relevant since recently, I’m immersed in a really good book, titled Shanghai Girls. I came across the book in the neighborhood library about 3 weeks ago. The words in the first few pages captivate me and they didn’t sound too complex, so I was lead on to read more about it, now I absolutely love the book! It’s one of those books that tell a story behind the glam-up and once-naive personae in the plot.

There has been many little excerpts printed on the first few pages of the book and I’ve decided to choose the tenth word in the Author’s Note.

Author’s Note

Shanghai Girls takes place between 1937 and 1957. Readers will find some of what today we would call politically incorrect terms, but they are accurate to the time. I have used the Wade – Giles system of transliteration for Chinese words – whether in Mandarin, Cantonese, or in the Sze Yap and Wu dialects – again in keeping with the Era.

Regarding the exchange rates: Silver dollars were used in Shanghai before November 1935; Chinese yuan were used after 1935. The two were roughly equivalent. I have chosen to stay with dollars and cents because some were still in circulation and they are a more familiar currency to Western readers. The copper – silver exchange rate ranged from 300 to 330 coppers for every silver dollar (or yuan).

Daily Prompt: Toy Story

Daily Prompt post: What was your favorite plaything as a child? Do you see any connection between your life now, and your favorite childhood toy?

Dolls – it must be a girl’s favorite among their other toys at some point of their childhood years! (do dolls contribute to the origin of maternity instincts in women?) Not just any type of dolls. Barbie dolls.

Mom used to spend a fortune on us when we were kids; buying a doll for each of us respectively and their accessories as well. I remember vividly that my doll was one with long, golden blonde hair and blue eyes – probably the most typical-looking Barbie ever. My sister got the second doll on her birthday when the doll was attached to her birthday cake. We kept them under the bed every time after we are finished with playing dress-up and coming up with scenarios where our dolls can mingle, which were sort of like tea-party gatherings.

Social Situations.

Is it absolutely alright not to speak at all in the presence of another?

When I don’t feel like it,

and I feel that every word spoken is depleting my energy & esteem.

 

I’d love to pull off a casual conversation with anyone without feeling obliged to,

and it’s never my intention to be come across as being impolite, cold and unfriendly.

I don’t mean I dislike talking to people,

In fact, at least I know having the least-awkward and meaningful conversations comfort me, alot.

 

When Marina said “fake it until it’s real“,

I bear that in mind, but that piece of advice doesn’t always work.

You see, people can see it through instantly if you’re not being yourself,

so I see the reason why – I choose not to speak more than I could.

The Circle

barrywax

He was the great hunter from the planet Earth,

He was tough for his life was rough even from birth.

His ship had crashed on this strange island years ago,

He wandered aimlessly from one side to another,  to and fro.

He lived off the land and was now getting on in age,

He then spotted a footprint in the sand and became outraged.

There was someone else on the island and eating his food supply,

But he needed companionship, someone to talk to eye to eye.

He followed the footprints over the rocks, the water and the sand,

He was so old now, he certainly could use a right hand man.

He tracked and tracked and then he realized with his brain,

The tracks were his own and now he was certifiably insane.

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