a short season of learning journeys are back again. brief respites post-prelim blues.
organic, countryside philosophy given to 06S03 (Bollywood Veggies) ...alot more focus on grasslands, tastebuds and wild fingers this time. one class of food and we find a greater palate for knowledge. another class of herbs, a cup of nature and the palmprints of ivysingh to swap, zap and slap the office of state doctrines away.
red pods of banana flowers fall. collect pools of noon rain. sealed.
to o6 s03, s22 and s11...the As are near...u know what these words mean in light of the immense pressures ahead...hard work sucks...and one is tempted to feel quite pressing and 'impossible', many a time...keep steady padawans. you'' survive this journey. hang in there....there are hands waiting to catch , not maul you.
p/s: s22 X-Men and Contemporary Society. GP lesson as promised, as u wished for, next tues. put on your thinking caps and start naming as many characters as u can...who they are, what they stand for, what keeps them relevant and popular in an ever-rational society?
When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, I will recall the covenent I have made between me and you and all living things so that the waters shall never again become a flood...genesis 9: 14
on the morning of my departure, saw another rainbow extending over the roof of the church,directly outside the hotel window. there have been alot more along the way. 
in a single day, the grace of memory fills the little hours between...from a solo bike, to final evenings waiting for train by a wet station, the countless moments spent with you...your name becomes a smile, once more to bless and remember...and always...in gratitude...
uphill climb
my first snowman...cheerful, spiked, grinning, focused, intent, intense, still, silent. cynic. solitary. finding... found. free.
pat, as always, timed her painting to arrive from s'pore just when i was about to leave for home. it speaks alot to the closures i've been making. the reflections made. coming through a forest, darkening but surely, a darkness that is freeing. she knows where we've been. 
received this emblem of the good shepherd from calvin. a gift from the cathedral. jesus holding the lamb, framed by the vine and branches. the cross, a sacrifice. the lamb, each other, family, friends even our faith...to be blessed, held, cared for , then set free to give life to others. much like, teaching as a vocation. a meditation on john 15: 1-17. and john 10: 14-16. Word of God, with me since the beginning of life... Cross of Christ challenging and guiding us for a lifetime.
umbrella got shredded apart. i learnt to lean on my windbreaker instead. footsteps impeded by wind and rain. shoes and socks, wet. slept with winds hissing outside my window. raindrops pattering till dawn. next day, managed to meet up with writer boey kim cheng for coffee. his friends call him kim. i followed suit. shared about family, travel, life, teaching and poetry. his latest collection too and a collection of prose to be published in singapore soon. he remembered pjc. said he returned to singapore last dec. and was invited to share some of his works with other jcs here. pioneer left an impression which others did not: our students were somewhat more keen, engaging, appreciative and humble than the rest he said. i beamed with pride. we also managed to catch one of the most original movies i've watched this year...paris je'taime. 
a french-english montage of stories about people falling, journeying, making, rediscovering, tolerating, feasting, breaking, living, sensing love. in paris, city of lights, mythical city of that one lost elusive emotion we call love. this film took me beyond the realm of emotion. it taught and showed much. love beyond its cloying sweetness. love in all its groundedness. i remember the new scents emitted from those short confectionary of stories. some are multilingual yet every piece is woven by a common language we are all familiar with. my fav. piece involved a blind lad and his galfren. cut-throat narrative, a heartfelt poem in voice and visuals. there were others of equal worth and dignity - man and mamasan, papasan and his apparent lass, art and artist, young and old, adult and teenager, married and/or divorced, fidelity and promiscuity, parent and child, 
straight and /or gay, strangers and friends, muslim and non-believer (or so we thought), migrant and immigrant, mortal and immortal, a communal solitaire, near east and distant west, between life, beyond death...many big names and some directors contributed their creative thought to this quiet masterpiece: elijah wood, natalie portman, gerard depardieu, juliette binoche, the late oscar wilde (haha) and even wes craven (!). an ethereal voiceover song from faye wong's tian kong took my head off my neck! kim sniggered. i laughed my heart out and almost broke my seat for that one postmodern piece. so darn intelligent and yet so subtle on its intent. the entire ensemble was always celebratory and elegiac in form. a rare vintage of fluid thought, self contained visions and miniature portions of truth. i wished every take became a portrait or book i could take home or share in a literature classroom. i will watch it again. it has too much to teach. and many chapters to share. still, more doors to be opened. paris je'taime... > 12 characters. 12 lives. one common road. one film. 
