..my battle stance..

things did not start off right with Seoul. insadong did not impress me much. neither was I in love when I visited myeongdong for the first time. but i slowly develop a genuine love for this city. well.. I like it enough to make me feel like going back there as soon as spring. or maybe I just can't believe that I did not get to see Park Shin Hye :D thanks to rimbun and bombie who got us through with their survival korean language skill. as well as the sim card with unlimited data. plus GOOGLE MAP. the trinity that ensure that we will never be lost. so here are the things about Seoul that left memorable impression: 1) stairs: #@$@#%%^@ seriously.. my eternal enemy. they are everywhere. most subway stations are on B3 or even B4. and you either take stairs or the rarely seen lifts. no escalator. but seeing how only the elderly take lifts, pride took over and I took stairs. 2) cafe just like the stairs.. they are everywhere! love the fact that instead of ...

A blog being what it is.. a log. Let's do a 2015 log. Started off with an Europe trip, and wrapped it up with a trip to Seoul. not bad indeed.. 2015. above many things, I love and come alive breathing in different kind of air under different part of this vast sky. the scent.. they are different whether you are in Singapore, Jakarta, Oslo, Zurich, Prague or Seoul. All my life I have been asking myself if I can handle winter. with allergy that I had ever since I was a little boy, I was never good with cold weather. This year, I got the answer. Thank you Jesus :) turn out.. I survive it. and I love it. the refreshing air of near zero degree winter. and love the fact that I would not have guessed that I would go to those places two months before the trip. again.. I thank God for all these surprises. there were six of us that went to Seoul. that was a surprise team formation too. well.. 2015 is quite an irony tho. this year is rewarding and challenging in equal measure...

On my way back from Seoul, I decided to watch Bridge of Spies. I seldom sacrifice my sleep for anything other than Arsenal games. but it was worth it. the movie is, simply put, a masterpiece. The Russian spy, Rudolf Abel, was truly a memorable character. The first part of the movie tells the story of the court proceeding in the US against him. It was a staged court whereby the judge, the jury, and basically all the Americans want him dead. Except James Donovan (Tom Hanks), who was being asked to be his defendant lawyer. The second part of the movie was about the negotiation for prisoners exchange. Towards the end, Donovan realised that the Russians didn't really care about Abel's life. They only wanted him back to make sure their spy didn't spill any bean. And upon receiving him back, they might actually kill him if they had reason to suspect that he was no longer 'their man'. It felt like yet another calamity at the other side of the bridge. There m...

it feels awkward to read our own old post. like this one . yeah that was the first audrey that i knew. she was from Ursula, a famous all girl school in Jakarta. the year was 1999. Hand phones were not that smart yet. and it's freaking expensive to call someone from your hand phone.  so i would go to wartel (public phone er.. warong?) to call her. that was my first uni day crush. and then i came across audrey hepburn at NUS. she was unforgettable in My Fair Lady. a classic movie which I think every human being should watch at least once. so 'audrey' has been my favorite name for a while. but recently i find that hillary is very wonderful name too. no I have no friend with that name. i had a prospect property buyer with that name though. and coincidentally, she is quite sweet. but engaged. i guess we can and will change. the person and name which means nothing a year ago could mean something now. or the other way around. it's remarkable the differ...