Versatile Blogger Award

Once again I have been most kindly awarded the Versatile Blogger Award by a very interesting individual, A Serene Scribe. I stumbled upon her blog with great timing – about 2 months ago when things were getting gloomy, I read this particular post - “My Year in a Cubicle” - it gave me such a good laugh I felt like things couldn’t be that bad! Dana has very interesting perspectives to share at her site, so please drop by!

Here’s what’s to be done if you’ve been nominated for the award -

• Thank the person who gave you this award. That’s common courtesy.
• Include a link to their blog. That’s also common courtesy — if you can figure out how to do it.
• Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.
• Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award — you might include a link to this site.
• Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

15 Blogs - (will be updated over the next 3 weeks)

This will prove a challenge to me – to be frank I’m pretty new blogging here, and I’ve listed some of my favourite active blogs in the previous two awards. So I decided to come up with as many as I can for now and update the list until I reach 15 over the next 3 weeks as I chance upon more to share!

1. Have Bag, Will Travel - this is one of my favourite blogs to read about travels – Andrew is all over the globe with shares wonderful pictures, travel experiences and interesting stories! There’s never a time to be bored when you’re at his blog!

2. Live simply, travel lightly, love passionately & don’t forget to breathe - Elena’s blog never fails to move me. She writes about life, travels, photography and even poems that I identify with so much I recall returning to the blog 3 times to read the same poem! To add, Elena has an interesting life from Russia to the States, and a beautiful reunion with her mother. A great read anytime – and the title of her blog says it all.

3. grandfathersky - I’ve recently been reading posts from grandfathersky and I realised how powerful his words can be as he expresses them in the form of poems. Thought-provoking and I wish I could write like that too.

4. European Scientist & Journalist - This blog isn’t in English but one might use online translation to help in reading it. It isn’t always accurate, but the author Mr Kotev writes about history, with real historical and journalistic information. Fascinating family history too, with great pictures, for those of us who like to look black & white photos of the past.

5. culturemorph - I might be a little biased here because I learnt that the author shares an interest in Russia as well. Nonetheless, I assure you this is worth a visit – you’ll get to see art through the eyes of a scientist! Check out the interesting photos there!

6. where’smyt-backandotherstories – A highly information and meaningful blog – Eva writes in dedication to her patients who have encountered Alzheimers’ and through her, I learnt so much more about the disease. Eva spreads the word to all who care, and on a lighter note, she shares beautiful pictures from her travels too!

7. Storyteller in the Digital Age - Amy writes about her inspirations derived from her visits to various places, of which, one about looking for the best scary setting got me imagining how and where I would’ve planned a horror story. Always an interesting read as you run along with the thought process of this storyteller!

8. Heart to Harp - She learns the harp at 52 and shares her journey with us. I find this inspirational – will I ever find my passion, and if I do, will I persevere as she had? I ponder. Check out the photos too, and I love these reflection-posts, they keep me thinking about life.

Note: I have to stop here for now – but I promise I’ll keep passing this to fulfill the requirements! Halfway there!

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Alright, so let’s go with the 7 random things – and I promise it’ll be different from the 10 Random Factoids!

1. I love Bernese mountain dogs – grand heroic beautiful animals.
2. My favourite colour is blue.
3. I feel a strange sense of melancholy when I look at historical photographs; sometimes they move me to tears and I feel as if I can identify with them.
4. I am intrigued by the concept of time and fate (partly triggered by a wonderful storyline I can never forget – “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder)
5. I can cook a decent range of Western & Asian cuisine.
6. I like winter.
7. I enjoy peaceful quiet nights.

Thanks again for the recent awards from some very wonderful bloggers, I am lucky to have connected with many of you and lets all keep writing/sharing!

Kreativ Blogger Award

I am grateful for the kind individuals who have been so kind as to nominate me for the awards over these 2 days. This time I’ll like to thank one of my favourite blog writers C.B.Wentworth, in fact she has  inspired me to keep up with writing! There’s always something fun happening on her site – stories, travels, art – do drop by!

Here are the rules:
1) Thank and link back to the awarding blog.
2) Answer the following 7 questions.
3) Provide 10 random factoids about yourself.
4) Pass it on to 7 deserving blogs.
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7 Questions
1. What’s your favorite song?
This is going to be difficult. While I wrote about a song recently, it isn’t really a favourite. I listen to a wide range of songs, so to list a few that I listen to almost every other day

“Separate Ways” by Journey
“Where Did Your Heart Go” by Wham
“I Need You To Fall” by Michael Bolton
“An Autumn Leaf” by Vitas
(quite a weird selection, I think…?)

2. What is your favorite dessert?
I’m so fickle I couldn’t decide. Bread Pudding maybe. Or Warm Chocolate Cake

3. What do you do when you’re upset?
I stare into the night sky, think, and write.

4. Which is your favorite pet?
Horses & dogs  mostly.

5. Which do you prefer? Black or White
Black.

6. What is your biggest fear?
Getting consumed by some strange sea-creature unknown to the world. Ok sounds silly but who knows what lives in the deep uncharted waters?

7. What is your attitude, mostly?
I like to call it ‘constructive discontent’. Or ‘constructive melancholy’. It helps me to think, strive to improve, and write.
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10 Random Factoids
1. I cannot resist singing the lyrics of songs I know to myself on most occasions.
2. My favourite cartoon is Winnie-the-Pooh (of the good old days!)
3. I sleep crazily few hours each day, I think I might develop some serious health problems.
4. Reading history is like second-nature – It doesn’t take much “memorising” as the common belief goes.
5. I play the piano.
6. I love the storyline of a little-known tv programme, Dragon Flyz and I remember every character’s name & their distinct features.
7. I am addicted to gaining new knowledge in various fields of studies, I’m like an information junkie.
8. I’ve watched ‘The Song of Lunch’ over and over again, and I think it is an absolutely clever production – brilliant in fact!
9. I can’t seem to keep my desk clutter-free for more than two days.
10. Not a fan of beaches.

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Passing the award on to…
1. A French Frye in Paris - a very interesting writer who shares his experience of leaving his life for a new beginning in France. Light-hearted, with a good lot of photos and there’s so much to learn!
2. Go Hvar - wonderful pictures about life in Hvar, covering the glorious food and views! Don’t miss this, you’ll almost wish you were right there after reading it!
3. The Dorset Rambler – because he documents his trips in the most detailed and pleasant manner, I sometimes wish I could do a better job in writing my travels. PS. He takes pictures that are almost magical to me! Everything is so beautiful!!
4.  WD Fyfe - he never fails to offer an interesting perspective to life and recent happenings – a great observer and definitely a great writer too!
5. A Detailed House - if you’re looking for great ideas to remake your house, this is where you must visit. Great ideas to consider and I learnt too, that my dream-house can become a reality too!
6.  The Blissful Adventurer - Michael writes about eating, drinking and travelling (everything I like!) and his posts never fail to bring a smile.
7. Gray Poet - his poems moves mountains, his words always so powerful. Through a time of suffering, this isn’t the most appropriate thing I can do, but he is still a genius I wish to give due credit and respect to.
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Thanks for Writing award

Here’s a big thank you to Luciano Cavallaro, author of Eternal Atlantis for passing the award my way. I haven’t heard of this but it’s all good fun to share!
To spread the appreciation along, (bending the rules a little), I’ll like to nominate some wonderful people around here and just as the award says, thanks for writing!

C.B. Wentworth - one of the few blogs that you can keep going back to and you’ll find all kinds of meaningful things to read about!

Lolabees – someone I met through another blog’s comments and there I found lots of inspirational stuff on her blog

Waldotomosky - because he writes with a heart to let us learn more about the ‘forgotten’, to share knowledge and information about those we have oftentimes unwittingly neglected.

ladyfi - for the wonderful pictures and inspirational words. On top of the beautiful photos, I was enlightened by a recent post about rainbows and I trust you will to – do drop by when you can!

A few rules:

• Display the Award in your page
• Award them to your favorite commentators
• Ask them to forward it to their favorite commentators (please do pass it forward!)
• And don’t forget to link their page to their names

Russia V: Sergiyev Posad

After a lot of time spent in Moscow, it was almost imperative that I took a look at what was left of medieval Russia, a lot of which had been subdued by war and ideological differences. 70km North-East of Moscow and heading towards Yaroslavl, one would arrive at Sergiyev Posad, symbolised largely by the Trinity Lavra – one of Russia’s greatest monasteries established by St Sergius of Radonezh (also the Orthodox Church’s highly-venerated saints).

My memory fails me a little at this, but I could give a little story about St Sergius, originally baptised with the name Varfolomei. Varfolomei and his brother Stefan took off to lead an ascetic life after their parents’ death in the Makovets hills. He continued his stay in the forest as a hermit even after Stefan left for Moscow and eventually more monks came to settle around him to live by their own labour. After he had been ordained to priesthood, his disciples spread his teachings across Russia, resulting in many other establishments of monasteries. A settlement grew, resulting in what is known a Sergiyev Posad (a posad is a semi-urban settlement surrounded by moats and connects to a town or monastery). A self explanatory name, Sergiyev Posad grew in commemoration of St Serguius. St Sergius had little involvement in politics, but historians believed that his stance was a peaceful unity of Russian lands.

Today, the Trinity Lavra of St Sergius stands as a most important spiritual monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Trinity Cathedral with its golden globes shimmer in magnificence from afar and one might note that after the 1917 Russian Revolution, the lavra was closed and buildings were assigned to civic/government use or declared as museums, just as the Tsar Bell had been destroyed. The lavra was returned to the Orthodox Church for a brief period under Stalin in 1945. The interior of each monastery is grand and eye-opening, which you will have to see for yourselves as you visit due to strict no-photography rules. Due to the many pictures I wish to put here, I’ve inserted a gallery instead, enjoy!

Religious beliefs aside, a visit to Russia should never neglect the numerous monasteries that hold so much history we’ve never heard of. Another interesting monastery is the Danilov Monastery sitting on the right bank of the Moskva River in Moscow and its bells were saved from melting through the purchase of an American industrialist. Many other interesting stories surround the religious buildings of Russia – if politics, religion and history does not interest you, maybe the architecture will. There’s always something to look out for in this wonderful country.

some day out of the blue

Ever had this one song that you listen to, over and over again, because every word in the lyrics seem to speak your mind?

This brilliantly-composed song touches the heart at every stage of life – people change, desires evolve, yet every word resonates with my feelings. A little melancholic but also hinting a slight tinge of hope. As the title says it all – “Some Day Out of the Blue”.

Again, without connections to the El Dorado storyline or animation (which I had enjoyed tremendously), technical discussion of music (again, which I regrettably failed to keep up with after attaining my music degree) or fan-fare for any individual, I look at this wonderful song as a layman. Due respect, I believe, should be given to a song that tells a great story.

So little is known, yet so much can be expected from the uncertainties of life. It really doesn’t matter when, where or how – there’s always someone we think of, someone we connect with miraculously, someone we care dearly for. And “someday out of the blue, in a crowded street or a deserted square, I’ll turn and I’ll see you”.

Sometimes people come and go. Sometimes, only memories stay. Mid-nights are always entitled to endless recollections of the past as I allow the past to re-visit as night falls.  “Here comes the night, here come the memories”.
I think of the people: How did I connect with this very person that I should never have known if not for a strange twist of fate? When was it that we last met and how have things changed in life? It all happened, “Not so long ago, seems like eternity”.
I think of the choices: What might have influenced me to make the choices that made me who I am today? Would it have been different? Hypothetical permutations of life don’t work well with me, given the millions of alternatives one could imagine on hindsight, and I do not purport that life will be better if I had not made the choices I have. But this doesn’t stop me thinking about my preferences and decisions. “We had it all, and watched it slip away. Where are we now? Not where we want to be”.
And since the past is set in stone, what more can we do?
I think of the future: What is lost might not be lost forever. I believe in the transience of life; people and opportunities come and go, sometimes, they come back. What is meant to be, will be. And just maybe, “Some day out of the blue, maybe years from now or tomorrow night, I’ll turn and I’ll see you, As if we always knew, Some day we would live again, some day soon”.

Some day, somewhere, somehow – something will change for the better – maybe in the future, maybe as you take your next step out of the door. As I think about the next steps in life, I guess this is what I have to share – Believe, and make the dream a reality.

What might your song be?

type, backspace, type, backspace – classic case of over-thinking

Have you had those days when you typed paragraphs, only to unmercifully hit the backspace?

I’m going through this right now. And this post is born as a result of my restless fingers failing to practise restraint. A strong urge to write, craft and send an email that is probably better off left in the trash bin.

This isn’t so much about writing the right things, even less about inspiration. Leaning on the verge of negative consequentialism, this is about “doing what will bring about the least negative results”. This is also about over-thinking – quoting a pin I saw on Pinterest, this is what “Ruins the situation, twists things around, makes you worry and just makes everything worse than it actually is”.

In all rationality, I doubt anyone has time to think in strange complexities just to complicate matters. I have also been trying to figure out how to stop “over-thinking” about the “negative outcome” that might occur from a practically non-consequential action. Yet no amount of reassurance can convince that things won’t be as bad as I imagine. Is this the classic case of pessimism? Or again, edging the thin line of cynicism?

For now, I’ll feel safer if I bind my fingers and refrain from typing what resides deep in the mind.

Scenario: An acquaintance randomly sends to you a compilation of information related to something that you had only mentioned once in a conversation dating back to aeons ago – would you be perturbed by the sudden note, suspicious of motives, grateful for the information, etc? I know reactions vary by individuals, circumstances, culture etc, but please tell me how you might feel about this?

 

Story: Around the Corner – sub-episode

He looked out of the bay window at the strange city that had engulfed him. One too many glasses of wine, he thought, as he recalled her sleek beautiful fingers tapping to the tune of Careless Whisper.

She jumped out of bed, flustered as she looked at the clock. She sped to the washroom and emerged in a chestnut brown dress, turning in a delightful half-circle as she inspected her appearance before the full-length mirror. Her eyes sparkled in satisfaction and she smiled – a rare smile.

He nodded in silent approval and with considerations of compatibility, slipped on a dark brown suit. He took another sip of the coffee that had now turned cold and adjusted his tie. Checking his suitcase for the necessary contents and picking up the traditional umbrella in view of the foreboding dark skies, he turned to look at her once more. All ready to start off the week on this chilly Monday morning, she stepped out of the house.

He stood still by his window, gazing at her now-empty bedroom opposite his, right across the street, a convenient spot where he had been watching her for the past week. Every meeting had been a set-up, and this start of the week would be the end of her existence. Previous trials had honed his skills of gauging time and distance, and it all boiled down to the execution. He spotted her exiting the lobby of her apartment and with sharp precision and a keen eye for detail, he walked out of his room just minutes after she left hers.

Destination: the corner.