Christmas Weekend

I've not been blogging for for a while and a lot of things have happened. Christmas in particular.

I spent my Christmas in Melaka, the beautiful, historical, colonial, natural, provincial Melaka. I stayed over an officemate-friend's house and went around wherever they take me (coz I'm kaladkarin as always). I enjoyed their company a lot especially the kids, my friend's nephew's and nieces. They would crowd around me trying to compete for my attention. These kids are fun to be with always... They make a lot more sense (crazy sense) than adult does sometimes.

On the 24th, we went to the Portuguese Settlement in the heart of the city to take a peek at how they celebrate Christmas. There was a competition in the neighborhood for the most beautiful Christmas decoration. Indians, Malay and Chinese alike also went to the area to celebrate Christmas. People sprayed each other with snow-producing aerosol-like canisters while greeting each other merry Christmas... It was fun! WE were a little late for the festival but we still got to see the beautifully-decorated houses. It felt like home, almost.

I also had a chance to experience a traditional Indian meal on the 25th of December (Christmas Day). So it was really Christmas lunch for me. We ate using our hands and used banana leaves for plates. The meal was sumptuous comprised mainly of curry and sambal and tose and vade and other local food. It's always fun eating especially with good-natured and welcoming people such as them...

Last was a visit to the Melaka World Heritage City. The place is truly a melting pot of cultures. It has been colonized by the Asians (Chinese and Japanese) and Europeans (Dutch, British, Portuguese, French) and it has embraced the colonial culture and made it its own while still preserving it's very unique culture. The houses and mosques or masjid in Melaka has a very distinct look from the rest of Malaysia.

So such was my different way of celebrating Christmas. A little cultural and a little unusual from the way I celebrate it back home but that's the point. Do as what the locals do it and you'll surely have fun, and I did.

Looking forward to the New Year's celeb!!!

"subcollective unconscious"

This is the poem from where the blog's name was lifted. I've unconsciously/subconsciously thought about it and was reminded that it was a poem. Apparently, my girlfriend presented it as one of her favorites written by a local writer in one of her English subjects and our classmates teased her about it repeatedly reads rain which rhymes with my name....

Disquisition
by Karen Pioquinto

we have all trundled down
glabrous
        slopes
        of futility:

where giants woods

(from which
             d
             a
             n
             g
             l
             e
twines of thought one swings from
serially, mischievously, Tarzan-like)

give way to
endless
miles
of desiccation.

where now,
never-known and never-reached,
desolate
ideas brown themselves ugly,
dead
clumps of soil
the rain forgot.

believe me.
we have all felt parched.
we have all lifted callused hands
up to the sky,
chanting self-consciously:

rain me thoughts,
rain me words,
rain me a river of reason.

from: http://www.sushidog.com/bpss/poems/pioquinto2.htm

©2003 by Karen Pioquinto

Artsy and not so artsy stuff I haven't done in a long while

It came to my realization lately that I haven't been doing the things I used to do before. Especially the artsy stuff. The thing I consider really valuable to my learning, the continuous process of it. So I'm listing them here and setting them as targets (sort of goals) for me to do for the next months that I'm here in a different place. Staying in another country for a year is a real routine-breaker. It disrupts the little life cycle I've developed for years and I must start anew.

1. Reading good books

Don't get me wrong, I've been reading books. But the reason I put this on the list is because I haven't been reading at the same pace I once did before. The last book I read/is still reading is the "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. Krista and I bought that book back in the International Book Fair in SMX Convention Center. Now, I've only gotten halfway. I usually read it whenever I'm free and being free means either waiting on the plane to arrive or doing nothing in office. I've recently bought an English-Malay dictionary in a bookstore and i found many good English books stacked there. It's good to know that Malaysia has them. I'll be back on track as soon as I settled fully.

2. Watch art films

I've just seen "The Adventures of Tin-Tin" (and I was alone in the theatre that time) and I liked it. But nothing beats watching films on your laptop alone with the earphones stuck on your ears and your eyes glued on the screen looking both at the subtitles (coz most of them are foreign) and the countless images that transports and eats you up to its world. It's amazing. It's surreal and sublime at the same time. Art films have a way of making you cry over funny things and enjoy the goriness of it all. It's sanity within the insane world we live in. I really miss that. Good thing I've recently updated my list of art films to watch. And pretty soon, I'll be blogging reviews about them. 

3. Watch a play

Now this has been a while. The last time I did was back in August or July. The play was about Cory as it is aptly titled "Cory The Musical." I love how Isay Alvarez portrayed it. There were even times that she looked just like her and it's a little creepy. Anyway, the point is I miss the magic that theatre brings. The catharsis specially. The feeling of being hollow after one scene struck you and it just leaves you breathless, fully absorbed like a sponge until you finally breath again and breath differently. With a certain depth unlike before. That's the exact description and no one escapes it. I've experienced doing backstage work and I've also acted once. Both of them are truly rewarding. The pains of it makes you love it all the more. Some sadomasochistic love of sort. Good thing I heard there's going to be "Alladin The Musical" here in KL at Sunway Lagoon running from November to January 2. I don't want to miss it.

4. Visit an art gallery or a museum

Now this one has also been a while. Before I left for Thailand Krista and I visited Intramuros and Rizal Museum so I guess it counts but the point is it's a thing one must do regularly. LB was a haven for this. At least once in 3 months there's an art exhibit and the works are really good. I miss the whole setup of a gallery. White walls, mini spotlights, shiny floor tiles, fancy guestbook. It's a temple of minimalism contrasted to the splash of colors (or the lack of them) emanating from the artworks. It makes you focus your attention to the artwork and for a few blinks absorb the meaning it's communicating to you on an individual level. No two people will get the same meaning unless it's blatantly told. But one way or another, the art speaks a language uniquely to a person. That's what I love about it. Fancy or gore. Abstract or modern. The art speaks to your soul directly and you can't simply shut the line down. It's a trance and you just got to dance. 

5. Karaoke

Now this is total fun. I sued to do this a lot specially with friends. perfect bonding experience over a bottle of beer and sizzling sisig. In between songs are stories and laughter at how high-pitched or how sintunado one sings. It's a relaxing thing. Music has a way to heal the soul of emotional maladies. It touches the heart in a way no other medium does. Even if it is sung in the worst way possible. Singing words are not like reading them. It takes extreme emotions to sing and I prefer extreme happiness.

6. Watch TV series

It's really similar to watching art films only this takes most of people's time. Eats up time especially if the series is really interesting and you can't even get up to pee. Now this too is a form of solitary entertainment as most other forms have become. The difference though is that series have a sense of continuation and disruptions that people look forward to. The loops of the threads make it exciting. I enjoyed Games of Thrones a lot. it's really fun to watch. Now I'm looking forward to watching Downton Abbey and The Hour. Two period series that have been receiving great public reception and reviews. I'll surely blog about them when I get to watch already.

So these things are just some of the things I wish spending my time on weekends. Another one is traveling which I'm definitely gonna be doing. I;m here to explore as much as to work. The next 10 months would be filled with both professional and personal growth. I'm particularly interested in exploring the art scene in Malaysia, both the known and the local ones. Art reflects culture a lot so I'm guessing Malaysia has a lot of art forms given its unique diversity. Maybe I haven't been fully acclimatized to the culture that's why things got disrupted. But as soon as I'm on track, the wheels will just keep on turning to my soul's content.