Excerpt 09 : The Art of Losing

Read the whole essay here. - by Ruth Ozeki in Shambala Sun Magazine : So what is the difference between losing and letting go? What makes losing feel like such a disaster? On an obvious level, it’s about control. When I let go, I’m in control; when I lose, I’m not. Letting go is a willful act; losing, a violation of my will. * I think there’s a powerful link between creativity and death....

Book : Random babbles on books

My brother bought me some books from his book voucher coupon. I listed 3, thinking he will choose one, but he bought all 3 of those books. We met after I finished work at KL Sentral and he showed me those freshly baked good stuffs in his bag. I read the first book right away on my way back home while he nodded off next to me. *should consider giving him extra duit raya* On the list was : The...

Excerpt 08 : Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Meaning and reality were not hidden somewhere behind things, they were in them, in all of them. * - and all were not worth a passing glance, everything lied, stank of lies; they were all illusions of sense, happiness and beauty. All were doomed to decay. The world tasted bitter. Life was pain. * Govinda knew that he would not become an ordinary Brahmin, a lazy superficial official, an...

Doodle : Game mode

* * I've been playing TripleTown on my iPhone for more than 2 years =.=' For all game developers out there, maybe you need to study TripleTown - because I've been spending a lot of time with their bears and building little towns and floating castles. I never liked other iPhone games in the market. And because I've been playing too much of that, I decided to replay all 3 Locoroco versions...

Doodle : Current favorite

* These two songs touched my heart deeply ❤ ...

Book : Relish by Lucy Knisley

I visited the new huge MPH at NU Central and found Relish by Lucy Knisley. I just need to have it. Two years ago, I posted about French Milk, a travelogue by Lucy on her visit to France and I also bought 60 pages of her e-travelogue to Tanzania last year - mostly about the place and food : * It's basically about food. The author/artist loves food and she shares her love in a beautiful...

Little Things 129 : Al-Muqtadiru

Things happening in Gaza, Typhoon Rammasun in Manila and now the latest news with MH17 being shot down in Ukraine. I am deeply depressed by the world, that I spent hours sweating and having panic attack when I should be off sleeping just because my mind can't seem to explain awful things that keep on happening. And I've been lead to this page : * Al-Muqtadiru According to Asmaul husna...

Doodle : Random conversation in the lift

* Nothing beats random awkward conversation in the lift  about guilty pleasure of smelling books. ...

Little Things 128 : Al-Mumit *updated*

Al-Mumit * According to The Sufi Book of Life by Neil Douglas-Klotz (page 166) : Transition. When you are guided to this pathway, take the opportunity to remember that all formed, embodied existence - thoughts, feelings, identities, and bodies - comes to an end, and open a door to another world.  In Sufi terms, the experiences we have of dying within everyday life are called fana,...

Book : Time Traveler's Wife

4 years since I first read Time Traveler's Wife. I remember lending my book to my friend and never got it back. I bought my second copy at one of the Big Bad Wolf's event and kept it for years, knowing one day I'll reread the book. Early this week, after finished reading my latest Murakami's compilation of short stories and vowed to slow down in my book-buying activity, I picked up the now yellowed...

Book : Siddartha

"When someone is seeking,” said Siddartha, “It happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You,...

Notebook : Moleskine 2

Summary : Type - 18 month Planners. Paper - Weekly page. Colour - Mine in Magenta. Size - A5, 13 x 21 cm. Useful for - Weekly organizer, thoughts, to-do list. Use it with - Artline or ballpen. Page - 18 months pages + back pocket + address book I like it for its - 18 months long, & the aesthetic value. * Details : I've been using it for more than a year, mine...

Notebook : Moleskine 1

Summary : Type - Set of 3 plain cahier journals. Paper - Squared/checked Colour - Kraft brown. Size - Pocket size. Useful for - Doodles, writings, short note-takings, questions and thoughts. Use it with - Artline pen. Price - Around RM10 for each little notebook. I like it for its - Paper quality, small-size. * * Details : I bought these little over-priced notebooks several times...

Little Thing 127 : Big

In explaining and reminding myself about why I should not be too overwhelmed by all the pain, torture and wars in this world : That’s all a shadow is—and though you might be prejudiced against the dark, you ought to remember that that’s where stars live, and the moon and raccoons and owls and fireflies and mushrooms and cats and enchantments and a rather lot of good, necessary things. Thieving,...