Buon Viaggio

Che weekend! Last Friday I organised a bbq party for my jc amici and a few close kakis and it was good to see everyone. Half of them are married with kids, including V the sabo king who used to be the biggest drunk/joker of us all. Now he has an eight month-old baby and another bun in the oven - that's catching up big time! Then on Sabato, SQ organised another lunch bbq for me at her new appartamento on Mt Faber, which is molto carino. I was sweating in my short catty dress and rushed to my spa mani/pedi appuntamento with F before we sank our teeth into sushi and sashimi at Sun/Moon. Br was back in town and we met him and Giovanni at the new Helipad bar which didn't impress us with their sucky drinks list and self-service policy. So L-C for such a posh place. We aint bringin' our own drinks to the top pad!

Feeling rejuvenated and inspired, we trot over to Velvet Underground and knocked back some apple shooters and the still grossly lethal Long Isle Tea. Soon, we were giggling and twirling on the dance floor, in between trips to the Ladies and trying to ignore the loug gags of some Chinese tourists puking in the next cubicle. Naturalmente I woke up on domenica with a mother of a hangover which some fried beehoon and hot tea could cure. After a haircut, mamma, me and sis cycled leisurely to the Loyang temple to pray for my safety. I had done 90% of the packing and now just have to tackle work before giovedi! Sono troppo eccitata - can't wait to spend this coming weekend a Roma!

The Art of Being Idle

I can't believe I'd be in Italia in 2 weeks! The study visa is being processed and the sponsored Emirates air ticket's confirmed (it's a 3am flight via Dubai but I can't complain). The emergency Asian foodstuffs (including 40 servings of miso soup, assorted curries and my fav instant porridge & mee) and necessary toiletries (concealer, lotion, tampons) are stored. I've brought out the brand new Luggage (my lucky charm) and ticked against a list of 'Things To Bring' to help stay focused and pack light. My mom and sis both commented that it's so small but travelling light is my guiding principle - trust me, you'd feel lighter too.

I love my luggage - it's sign that this trip will be different from my backpacking sojourns. It's also a sign of my faith because funnily I bought it before I won the scholarship because my mind's already set on it. My amica said that's The Secret. Bo. To me, that's the power of positive thinking which translated into realita'. Anyway I should be reading up my italian textbooks but I'm currently hooked on Tom Hodgkinson's 'How To Be Idle'. It made a lot of sense and I realised I've been subscribing to it most of my life. And I shall make it my motto for this trip - being idle will surely make me inspired and inspiring. As Mohandas K. Gandhi said,
“there is more to life than increasing its speed.' Namaste.

Words of Law

Now that the cats photo exhibition is finally over, I have more time for updating my blog (sorry, sorry). Funnily in a blink of an eye, it's over and we're already brainstorming for next year. It's both exciting and challenging as we have to top ourselves with every annual show. I'm quite proud of this project which started out as a New Year's resolution 2 years ago - now it seems to take off on its own! N and I secretly wish that in a few years' time, we can make this a travelling exhibition (since it's 'Cats Of The World' right? and of course the 1st stop is Italia!) and we can form different affiliations with overseas cat groups. How cool is that?!

I was reading my uni faculty alumni newsletter yesterday and the dean said something interesting about passion. Many would associate it as a 'hobby' or 'interest' these days but it is originally derived from the Latin word 'passus' which means 'suffering'. If you think of all the famous dead-or-alive passionate artists/writers/composers/actors/etc, most of them are so passionate about their craft that they are willing to suffer for it, sometimes paying with their sanity (and ear, in the instance of Van Gogh). Looking back, our parents and schools never really advocate passion, on the contrary it's always 'study well, get a good job and make money'. Bene, nothing wrong with that but it's probably not a fulfilling, unbalanced existence if life's just all about that.

Passions also apply to beliefs such as bringing your own shopping bag, recycling and reducing waste, giving up seats to the needy, etc. If I can 'suffer' by walking 10mins from point A to B, I'm happy to make that choice to cut down on carbon output. Poor and rich people can be passionate too - wealth is not a factor or by-product (although it is an advantage). In fact I think if you're passionate about something, success and happiness will eventually follow. What matters is how much time and effort you're willing to put in to pursue your passion, to see it to its fruitful end.

It's heartening to see more people making sacrifices to pursue their dreams - including many female clients who started businesses from scratch, volunteers of CWS who believe in their cause, and 2 friends who recently gave up a cushy job to start a film-making venture and another to get back into theatre. It's never too late. I'm glad at the forthcoming age of 33 (oh-my-god), I'm still rediscovering and affirming my passions in cats, photography, nature, food, writing, Italia and who-knows-what!

Imagine in 3 weeks, I'd be off to my Motherland for the 3 month scholarship - a reward for my 'suffering' during the last 2 years of Saturday morning classes (grazie, grazie)! With the exhibition out of the way, I'm toying with the idea of writing a book which is my other longstanding resolution. Allora vediamo... may the force be with me!