The colourful variety of thoughts one can have

Some friends come and some friends go

Friends. 1 simple word with a bigger meaning than family. I am not saying that your friends are more important than your families. The reason why I said they’ve got a meaning because friends are your family too, but family members that you can choose to be with.

There are many different kinds of friends. There are the friends that you say hi-bye too, like acquaintances but more than that as you might have shared a story or 2 for a period of time. There are the friends who you can talk to about anything at any time of the day, and they are also the people who know your secrets. And sadly to say, there are the friends who go.

There are many reasons why friends leave you at any point of your life. They might have moved on to something better, something bigger, or just something else. But they might have left because of a simple misunderstanding, misunderstandings that were not caused by you but were fabricated by several people to break the friendship apart. And I can’t say that you left me, or that I left you, but that we both left each other. We were caught up in a sad misunderstanding that left us to not speak to each other at all. You might think what you have done was right, and I might have thought what I did was right too but that is something we would both never know and that we can only be friends again if we both let it slide.

And I have. To me, it’s an unfortunate incident in the past.

Just because we’re not friends anymore doesn’t mean that I no longer care for you. When I see you being all emotional and sad on any social platforms, I wish that I could just pick up my phone and ask you how are you. I want to know what has been going on in your life and I am afraid of doing so now. I don’t want to face a rejection from you because that means that our friendship has nothing left to salvage. I am just waiting for the day that you decided to pick up your phone  and leave me a message. 

I miss you when...

I miss you when I am walking alone, feeling my empty hands bumping against my hipbones because you aren’t here to hold it. I miss you when I am standing on the escalator alone because I miss turning to you and just embracing you within my arms, sneaking a peck or 2. I miss you when I am applying moisturizer on myself because I will always be there for you when you need me to.

I miss you when I don’t see the heart that comes with your name on my phone whenever I hold it up. I miss not hearing my phone ring as much because you aren’t there to give me a call or send me a message anymore. I miss you whenever I think of your dog, always remembering the times we spent together, walking him together, talking just about anything that comes to our mind.

I miss you whenever I hear a song that I feel like dancing to because you aren’t here to give me the look, the look that you give only to me when I am doing something weird but you love me even more because of these quirks. I miss you whenever I see a movie I am dying to watch and I know that you are too because you aren’t here to watch it with me.

I miss you whenever I am thinking of my future because I always see you in it, even when you aren’t here to plan it with me. I miss you whenever I see something I want to place in our future home because you aren’t here for me to get excited about it with. I miss you whenever I am at the supermarket, because you are always there with me to make it more enjoyable, making me look forward to the little trips we make together that seem so mundane.  

Is he the 1, or the 1st?

Your first is special, but the one even more

I know this person who is deep down in a bad relationship. When I say deep down in a bad relationship, I don’t mean being stuck in a shitty relationship that you are unable to get out of like Eggsy’s mother relationship, but rather a relationship that is unhealthy but isn’t necessarily as awful. People in the latter kind of relationship usually tend to love harder, causing them to fall deeper in love. It seems crazy that people can fall deeper in love in that kind of relationship but it is because it doesn’t seem so bad to you that you just ignore the tiny facts and become a little too optimistic about your relationship. 

There are many kinds of relationships. There is the usual kind of relationship, where 2 people fall in love, make it work, and live happily ever after like the fairy tales you would love to be in since you were a child. 

There is also the one that you know you 2 are perfect for each other. Like the first, you are the butter to his bread, the peanut butter to his jelly, the syrup to his pancakes. The sad reality of the relationship that is different is that you 2 are unable to make it work. Your feelings for each other is strong. You feel like you are able to join the North and South pole of the Earth if you 2 are were each ends separately but there is something that is keeping you 2 apart. This is the sad reality that you have to face and you know it. You are the Marissa Cooper to his Ryan Atwood. You are meant to be, but for some reasons, you just can’t. 

I am going to write about the one where one is falling so hard but the other doesn’t seem to care. You do notice his flaws but you simply choose to ignore it because you know that nobody’s perfect. You know that every other couple has got its problems so you think that its normal for you guys to argue.

Everyone has got different degree of acceptance and patience, some more than others. It starts being difficult when you are getting hurt at a constant rate, when you feel adrift from your partner, when you feel like you are no longer a priority. Relationships, unlike families, are parts of your life that you are able to choose. You are suppose to feel good when you are with your partner, not feeling like you are unwanted. 

This happened because you fell too hard in love. It is easier when you both love each other equally but that is sadly not the case for you. Sometimes, you feel that you are caring too much but he will surprise you with a sudden sweet gesture that gets your heart racing, erasing all his misdeeds from your mind. You start feeling the sweetness of your relationship again. This feeling might be absent from you for so long that you might actually feel butterflies in your stomach, even if you have been together for years. That makes you fall deeper in love. 

He is your first love. He was your first love, your first kiss, your first serious partner, your first bolster. You gave him everything because you had everything to give him. You gave him everything, wanting to let him know that he is special. He was even the one to take the one thing you only have one chance to give in your whole life. You don’t want to let go off things so easily because it is a waste and at the back of your head, you know that if you do find someone else, you wouldn’t be able to make him feel as special. You know that you will feel used, feeling cheap.

However, what you 2 are thinking are completely different things. You think that all the hardships were worth it and that maybe he does put you above all and that the other days were because he was busy. He is thinking that he got you back again. Sweet gestures are all it takes to win you back so he just needs to think of something that will give you chills down your spine to bring you back to him. He is allowed to disappoint you again because he knows that you will be back.

Even after being together for so long, you can’t see a future with him. You try to see him making breakfast for you in your home with him but when that is the only type of scenario you can think of. When either of you raise up a question about the future, there isn’t usually a definite outcome. The question can be raised, but the answer wouldn’t be provided. He isn’t able to provide you an answer to the question get a reroute to something else in the present because he can’t see a future with you either. 

Even when you are not thinking about the future, you get anxious even thinking about the present. You might be at different points of you lives now so there are a bucket full of differences in your lives. When your relationship is so vulnerable to the people outside, you need the comfort and reassurance of your partner. It is already difficult enough facing the world by yourself but also having to worry about your relationship is unhealthy. You might get worried about him having another girl that you feel insecure, leading to the constant accusation that you pour on him. 

Batman VS Superman. Who is the ultimate winner?

So the long battle, or rather, debate about Batman versus Superman still has got conflicts going on about it. Who would be the winner between the two world famous, manlier than life male superheroes? Their ability to protect the people of the earth is undoubtedly a major factor when it comes to deciding the outcome but there are many petty and yet outstanding factors that, let’s face it, would greatly affect our decision. So here is my opinion on who would win, Batman or Superman, with each of my factor. Please keep in mind that this is written only in reference to this particular movie.

1. Their ability to protect the general public.

Obviously, Superman would win this. No argument. I am not a Superman fan. I am not even a Batman fan which would make people like me the ideal ones to carry on this discussion. So why do I think that Superman would win? 

Firstly, Superman is neither a bird nor a plane but he flies. Flying, hands down, wins the Batmobile. I admit that the BaD-mobile is really a badass. It survives hits by pistols, machine guns and even runs smoothly after crashing into a concrete wall. It would be the best car but in terms of the speed that Superman can travel at while flying, Superman wins. 

Secondly, Superman has got superpowers. This gives him an unfair advantage over Batman. Batman generally needs to get around to fight off his enemies, once awhile with the help of his kickass gadgets, helping him attack and travel to places without requiring the use of his legs. Superman just needs to hover on the spot and shoot off his laser beams from his eyes. I don’t even think it has a limited range because come on, they are lasers. He has super strength that can interfere with the launch of a rocket easily but when Batman was helping the man be freed from the concrete column that was crushing his legs, he struggled terribly, asking around for help to free the man. I am pretty sure that if it was Superman, he would have lifted it, called for help to attend to the man and flew off to fight off the bad guy. But then again he was the one who was fighting the bad guy, at the same time being an accomplice in wrecking the building so.....

Superman wins this round.

2. Their ability to protect their people

So what do I mean by their people? I mean their families, their close ones. This is a particularly difficult subject to discuss upon because they have got different love ones. Superman has got his girlfriend and his mother to think about while Batman has got Alfred and his empire. Slightly different, and yet the same. Superman’s liabilities require more protection as they are, as you can see from the movie, women who require help in times of distress. Superman also required Batman’s help to save Martha while speeding off towards Lex. Not that it is their fault because if I was in one of their shoes, I would probably be wishing he could save me. For Batman's’, Alfred and his empire go along side by side. Without Alfred, Batman probably wouldn’t be able to build up his empire and without his empire, Alfred probably wouldn’t be save in their hidden man-cave. They are protected as Alfred is part of Batman so, not much saving needs to be done. Oh, other then the fact that one of his building collapsed. 

In this round, Batman wins.

3. Resources

I feel like there isn’t a need because one of them is a non-respected reporter for a newspaper firm while the other has an empire of his own. Which would you suppose would have access to funds, gadgets and information? Definitely the latter, Batman.

Batman wins again!

4. Their oh-so-damn gorgeous hair

Batman and Superman do have gorgeous hair, everyone has to admit it, but they are gorgeous is complete opposite ways. Superman’s hair looks like what he is, super. And what I mean is that his hair is SUPER neat, SUPER slick and SUPERly sprayed with hair spray. His hair barely gets messed up throughout the entire movie. Maybe you will like it if you are the kind who goes for nerdy yet trendy guys. As for Batman, his is a different kind of gorgeous.His hair gets messed up along the movie although half the time, you can’t see it behind his mask. But when his mask is removed, wow. He isn’t afraid to get it messed up, because admit it, the disheveled look on him is perfect. I personally, prefer that.

Difficult to speak for everyone but, I agree with Batman.

There are more reasons that I can think of but you get my drift. My bias is leaning towards Batman (Probably because he does have a disadvantage, or the fact that my boyfriend prefers Batman) but my eyes were open to both when I was factoring in everything.

Passport Pages - ‘The places you travel to do not determine who you are but rather the reason for doing so.’

Unexpected pleasantries from a country that you never thought

Da Nang, Vietnam, is a city where the surburban life meets the city life, kind of like the story of The City Mouse and the Country Mouse. To say the least I was surprised by the quick transition of my senses as I was travelling to the accommodation from the airport. The sounds were different, the sights were different and the feeling was different. From Da Nang International Airport, it was a quiet road apart from the occasional vehicles around, suddenly changing to the quick, city lifestyle of the central city, followed by the once again quick transition to our suburban apartment. 

I was there for 4 nights and 3 days, not giving me ample time to fully explore the third largest city of Vietnam. What I can honestly say for myself is that I got enlighten after the trip. I am not talking about the kind of enlightenment you read about in books, about how you have found another god or a purpose of life, such as how Liz Gilbert did in Eat, Pray, Love. The sort of enlightenment I am talking about is the one you can gain easily if everyone would travel to a country that is of a lower class than them, move their eyes away from their screens and experience life through their eyes and not through the lens of someone else’s camera. I guess that there is a reason why not every spot of the world has got free WiFi for everyone? You pay to travel to see things through your eyes, to experience it first-hand, so put down your phone and take in the breathtaking life you are experiencing that you are just realising.

I will not tell you what I think of Vietnam but I will just show you what it is like. I do not have many photographs to prove it but really, it is beautiful.

Just look at the gorgeous view that show so much. The natural rocks are there, maintained to look so scenic and picturesque that even a picture taken from a mobile phone could make it look so nice although the phone did not do much justice. This is what I mean by how everyone should just put their phones down and take in what is right in front of them. The low-rise buildings dividing the sea and the Marble Mountain shows that the world can move on and meet the people’s demands and yet find ways to not ruin what mother nature has to offer. This is something that I am impressed with this area in particular. From the mountains to the sea, the buildings are built to go along with the flow of the direction, not being too tall and blocking the mountains and sea from each other but with a comfortable height that enables you to enjoy everything, moving your eyes along the different levels that you can play with.

Just look at how different Da Nang looks in the day and in the night, the difference being only the lights. Compared to Singapore, this is what you might consider just a decorative element because being in Singapore, the only important lights you need in the night are the street lamps but in Vietnam, even the trees are decorated with lights, lighting up the streets in a much more magical way, something that you will only see in Orchard Road during festive seasons such as Christmas. Having a bridge far from high-rise buildings gives the bridge a chance to bestowed awe to those who see it, being able to take in the scenic view, away from distractions.

Before visiting Da Nang, I assumed that it is just a place that globalisation hasn’t fully reached, so imagine my surprise when we chanced upon restaurants offering Japanese, Western or even Indian cuisines. Although these sound like food you can get anywhere, I was not disappointed as I was reading the menu. They served more than what was shown upfront as the menu was half filled with their local Vietnamese cuisine. If you do chance upon such restaurants even out of Vietnam, I do recommend that you spend a meal there. If you are from a globalised country, you will feel very comfortable in a place like this, you get the best of both worlds of your comfort food and yet being able to enjoy their delectable local cuisine. 

Like every country, there are always 2 sides to it. For example, on the first day, we had dinner at a seafood restaurant/market and everything was so premature. The way they presented their food, the seating and even the vibe you get there. On the second day, we had lunch at the said Japanese cum Vietnamese cuisine restaurants and compared to the seafood restaurant, you would think that you were either in different countries or even different timezones. Hey, imagination takes you a long way right? When I was enjoying my Japanese meal, I pretended that I was on a different trip the night before, pretending that I had dinner at a fishing village and now, having a meal in Japan.

Can I say that globalisation has reached Da Nang a long time ago? They even have the squiggly straws and I admit that I had more time playing with the different ways they can bend compared to the regular straight straws that we have here in Singapore. 

And they have their own version of Starbucks. I did see 1 Starbucks outlet in Ho Chin Min but Highlands Coffee has got to be the famous coffee franchise here. I am not saying that this is the fake version of Starbucks but this is their brand of Starbucks. Even the way they inform you your order is ready is not something you see in Singapore’s Starbucks.