Its a bird

From Yahoo news (from Reuters): Link

LONDON (Reuters) - Kryptonite, which robbed Superman of his powers, is no longer the stuff of comic books and films.

A mineral found by geologists in Serbia shares virtually the same chemical composition as the fictional kryptonite from outer space, used by the superhero's nemesis Lex Luther to weaken him in the film "Superman Returns"...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
All we need now is this dude called Superman.

On the 300 words of reflections

It took me almost 3 months from conception of the idea to endless re-writings to actually posting it online today. Far from being anywhere near completion, I hope to re-visit this soon and see if there is anything I can do to sharpen it.

I will like to thank Jester for taking time out to proof-read and critique it for a couple of rounds and help me iron it out. Thanks alot, man. You deserve the cake and the right to eat it.

And as I read the three sets of a hundred words, the image of the MRT ride with the couple and the child drifted back to me again. After getting off the train, I immediately wrote down what I felt on the staircase steps at City Hall MRT station. It was lucky I was early for an appointment with my friends. I had time to write it all down.

I hope this piece will represent the complexities of life and all that is out there.

Reflections

100 words: She

She turned away from him and looked out the window. The MRT sped past the setting sun as she thought about her hope for living out a simple life. Yesterday’s quarrel wrecked everything.

“A $1,000 ring and fancy dinners!” she swung her arms wildly after throwing the crushed monthly statement into his empty face. “To think you saved on me so that you can spend on that whore!”

As ever, he remained silent.

Her son fondled a porcelain duck as she wondered about the next 7 months and life after that.

Feeling her tummy, she closed her eyes and sighed.




100 words: He

His hands went softly back into his pockets and he gazed at her profile against the glass panel’s reflection. He loves her and he is sure that nothing can make him abandon his feelings for this woman.

He fidgeted his toes in his new Ferragamo shoes and admitted he knows no better than to get into all this trouble. Fingering the store keys absent-mindedly, he listened to the muffled clinking and wondered what would have transpired if he had not close his bookstore a little later than his usual 9pm.

Mustering the courage he whispered, “Can I tell you something?”




100 words: The Boy

The boy guessed his father had, for once, overspent. Despite the on-going quarrels, his parents appeared their usual selves when they bent down to ask how his day went.

The weak sunlight refracted past his parents and triggered his thoughts about uncle Alexander’s orange top last weekend. He is sure if his mother was at home then, she would have said it was indecently tight and glittery for a man.

The train jerked with a sudden shudder and threw its passengers off balance.

Helplessly, he lost his hold on the porcelain piece and watch it shatter into a thousand pieces.

My window

I was just looking out of my window and saw part of a cloud forming the arched shape of the alphabet “C” and very soon after, a fluffy puff of white drifted under the said alphabet to form a pedestal for it to rest on.

Whenever people asked me what I was doing and I answered that I was looking out of my window, they would always asked me what is that I was looking for.

I love to look out of my window and I had deliberately placed my workstation flat against the wall so that I am perpetually connected to the outside world.

Casting my eyes far away, I find answers to my schoolwork, ideas on where to go or inspirations for my writing (if it is considered so). I can also reflect against the vast darkened skies as I sit down to think about what happened during the day. I locate myself outside my room, a singular star hovering high above everyone so that I can have my moments alone.

Sadly, I find my only refuge through the window, for the thick foliage of the trees do let its thoughts wander off and block me off, the occasional yellow bird do not flutter up to stop my thoughts and chirp incessantly and the beige buildings readily accept my excuses for all the wrongs I did.

As I ponder about all these, I looked up to see the clouds dispersed and the skies graying.

I instinctively reached for my box of tea bags and left the room.

Bookworm Club

Went down to the warehouse sale at Expo and got myself some dead tree trunks. People nowadays tend to call them books.

No Raymond Carver, John Collier, Ray Bradbury or Kazuo Ishiguro. Heck, there isn't even Tom Clancy. Still, there were some rare gems that got looked-over.

Thanks for the heads-up on this, Judy.

In the beginning

I love aquascaping.

Give this another month and let the plants fill up.

Free

I was packing up some boxes when I found my Visual Basic CD stacked underneath a pile of novellas and magazines. I had been freelancing on and off as a programmer since my Poly days though there hadn't been any decent clients in the last few years. I did get a couple of contracts from SME's and what they mainly wanted was small applications that serves to help generate reports and basically help with data management. The money wasn't good. I did program in C++ and Java to a certain extent but given the pro-Windows environment in Singapore, anything that runs is good enough so I stuck with VB for most of my tasks.

I had also freelanced as a web designer but this was even worse. The measly few "clients" I attracted were friends that needed a sprucing of their blogs or game sites where I got a simple dinner in return (a couple were at Mac's). I had one real client though. My final year lecturer back in Temasek Polytechnic was asking around for help on setting up a web site for an adminstrative project that he is undertaking and I got the deal simply because I was beside him when he mentioned it. He liked what I did and one thing led to another and I began designing my department's website which then started to spill over. In the end I had to help with the Business faculty's entire site and with so much on my hands I had to outsource (its a rising buzzword then) a site (or was it 2?) to him. Lucky he wasn't in my department, else I might lose my deal to him. His stuff simply kicks ass.

A friend had commented that its so characteristic of me, to dabble in freelancing not because I don't have the time, but because I don't want to be encumbered.

She's right.

I want to be free.

Up and down

A couple of us were fairly amused at today's headlines that stated our top students got whacked by foreign students in The Arena. Naturally all of us will think out loud, "Top? Its top in studies. The best in memorizing. The bionic-boy/girl in differentiating dy and dx. The superkid with the thick glasses and oversized bags."

And MOE will pull out all their statistics proving that our students scored the highest scores globally for maths and science while shuffling to the back our equally stupendous score of myopia in this garden city with all the greenery that is purportedly the best sooth-aid for eyes.

I am worried that in a couple of months over-zealous schools will start running for a core CCA in debating and push the kids to stay back everyday to memorize scripts and counterpoints.