Colour pink for guys

“Change it,” my roommate told me, “ It looks gay on you”

I gawked at him incredulously.

“But Aik Wee wears pink too and he looks fine in it!” I protested.

“He’s different. Not all guys have the same ‘effect’ wearing pink. Certain people could look gay, and you’re one obvious example. Trust me. Especially with that shade of pink.”

I decided to take a look at the mirror to see what he’s really talking about. He was true. While the pink in Aik Wee’s T-shirt was of this shade:

mine looked like this:

which was much more feminine in comparison. His reasoning sounded logical enough to me that, in complete obedience to his words, I decided to change my newly-bought SG$5.00 pink T-shirt for a white one. In the end, I sent that pink T-shirt back to my Aunt in Indonesia (who is of the same size as me).

Light pink doesn’t usually draw spectators when worn by guys, but darker pink does. And now that I thought about it, this dear roommate of mine had just saved me from the embarrassment of my life.

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Is it bad for a writer to be moody?

Normally I would have written this topic on my other, more personal blog, but today I want to get as many feedbacks as possible, hence my writing here.

I know that in order to become a professional writer, I must split the line between my personal world and my occupational one. However, that line could sometimes become quite thin for writers (especially those of fictional/inspirational ones), since the piece of writing he/she produces requires a certain amount of creativity. And whenever a storm hails down, that creativity tap could get turned off and the writer oneself becomes unproductive.

Without creativity, most of one’s writing would seem quite lifeless, or soulless as I choose to say it, because as we may know, that piece reflects the mood of the writer oneself.

In regards to myself, a couple of downpours I’ve been having over the last couple of weeks in my backyard haven’t been completely cleaned up for now (please mind the metaphor), and it has led me to ponder over the fact if I was really born to be a writer after all. Especially with this heavy blizzard I had yesterday that totally shut my creativity tap off.

As a note, the only type of literature I could produce during blizzards is (sad) poetry. And I don’t really enjoy writing sad poems, despite the fact that they help me to express my emotions in an implicit way.

Geez.

I love writing because I know I do love it, but I always feel immensely guilty whenever my creativity tap is blocked by such hindrances. For any writers out there who have their own ways of isolating such emotional fluctuations as not to let them affect their work, I would greatly appreciate if you would share them here.

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The amount of alms donated for the 2004 tsunami

Two years ago, I had this discussion with a friend who was interested in embracing Catholicism.

Talking about Catholic rites and other heaps of stuff led us to the part about donating alms. In Catholicism, nobody else is supposed to know how much alms have you donated every Sunday Mass, in order to receive grace from God only.

It was unfortunate that he trapped me into this segment of conversation below.

S: By the way, is it OK for us to give a donation as small as (SG) 25 cents?

Me: Yep. God’s perfectly fine with that, as long as you’re giving it willingly. It’s much better to donate 25 cents willingly than $100 unwillingly, because God knows our true intent in giving the money.

S: So… How much was the largest amount of alms you have donated?

Me: $10

S: Whoa.. That’s a pretty large amount! When was it?

Me: During the last tsunami period. You know, the Singapore parishes were appealing to us church goers back then to donate more than we usually did. And I was quite touched indeed that I decided to donate $10 instead of the usual coins I donate.

(Note: the largest nominal of Singapore coin is $1)

S: But Toshi.. You’re not supposed to tell me the amount of alms you donate, right? You’ve lost your grace from God, then!

S: (evil grin)

Me: (surprised, realises what he has just done)

Me: Shit! You trapped me into telling!

S: So that $10 you’ve donated was for nothing!

S: (laughs)

Me: (laughs too)

Me: But S, I don’t care that much about that grace from God, honestly.

S: (looks confused)

S: But why?

Me: Well you see, when I donated that $10, the only thought on my mind was to help the suffering people in Aceh and Phuket and Sri Lanka, nothing else. I don’t really care about how much graces I receive from God by donating that. The most important thing in donating religious alms is to help people, you know. Don’t focus too much on graces from God, otherwise your mind would get clouded of the real purpose of donating

S: Whoa.. That’s quite….. um….

T: What?

S: Benevolent of you!

T: *grins* Haha, of course!

On that week of Tsunami aftermaths, the Singapore diocese was able to gather millions of Singapore dollars to donate to the tsunami-stricken areas of Aceh, Phuket, and Sri Lanka. Singaporeans were the most generous when it came to donating stuff, and that’s what we as other Asians should salute of them.

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Indo-lyric: Permintaan Hati (Letto)

English translation:

Heart Request

I am lulled, fallen into
the beauty in waiting
this hesitation inside has bespoken
one hindered by certainty of love

I am lost
I am lost

The night fog appeared with hopes refracted
the one kept has a million masters
this hesitation inside has bespoken
one dashed by certainty of love

Reff:

Please listen to this heart request tormented in stillness
and give a meaning to my life
the one dashed and taken away
from your hug... and your accompanying me... and without you, I am always lost

I am lost
I am lost

The night fog appeared with hopes refracted
the one kept has a million masters
this hesitation inside has bespoken
one dashed by certainty of love

Reff twice


Original lyric in Indonesian:

Terbuai aku hilang terjatuh aku dalam
Keindahan penantian
Terucap keraguan hati yang bimbang
Yang terhalang kepastian cinta

Aku hilang
Aku hilang

Tersabut kabut malam terbiasnya harapan
Yang tersimpan sejuta bertuan
Terasa kerinduan hati yang bimbang
Yang terhempas kepastian cinta

Reff:

Dengarkanlah permintaan hati yang teraniaya sunyi
Dan berikanlah arti pada hidupku
Yang terhempas yang terlepas
Pelukanmu bersamamu dan tanpamu aku hilang selalu

Aku hilang
Aku hilang

Tersabut kabut malam terbiasnya harapan
Yang tersimpan sejuta bertuan
Terasa kerinduan hati yang bimbang
Yang terhempas kepastian cinta

Reff 2x

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When you’re in the middle of nowhere in the ocean and no help is around…

Do not take off your clothes!

Seriously, if you think that your clothes pull your body down as a weight, think again.

You may not be able to swim, but at least those clothes could help keeping your body warm for a certain time.

And do you know that, statistically speaking, the chances of a non-swimmer to drown (in case of a ship accident) are much less than the chances of a swimmer?

It is logical enough, considering that non-swimmers are more likely to take the lifebuoy than swimmers.

Most swimmers think that being able to swim fast in the Olympic pool is everything, hence their snobbish attitude in refusing the lifebuoys. But they surely don’t know that, in the middle of the ocean, it could be at least 100 kilometres away from the nearest land. And no man could ever swim such a distance!

Yes, not even those English Channel crossers. If you think that they swam the English Channel nonstop, then read their articles again. They had several breaks, and along the way they were accompanied by lifeguards.

So… in case you happen to be in a nautical accident, just remember my two tips above, keep your clothes on and hang on to the lifebuoys!

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