December usually calls for a period of intense writing. This year, things seem to be a little different from the previous years.
No harm in breaking the usual protocols. Taiwan trip 2010 was awesome- three days in the mountains (and one freezing night w/o heating) led to two nights at Taipei's night markets and one nasty cold back to Singapore. The takeaways from the trip too were bountiful. Apart from the usual boxes of biscuits and snacks, there was time to sit down, relax over a cup of coffee, and meditate on a rock.
What really got in was the message of the pace of living. The tour guide had made it an elaborate point to try to make the entire tour as fuss-free and easy going as possible. And there we saw the calmer, more relaxing side of Taiwan we'll probably never see on a free and easy to Taipei. I remember there was this question : "We don't know what we're rushing for" raised on the last day. I had not paid much attention to the question then, but immediately after I touched down in Singapore 7 hours later, I guess I was caught in full blast of it.
First thing during touchdown must check email for updates, then must go on Facebook (its something like a 2nd nature for me) and see how Singapore has progressed while I was MIA. The next morning, start the day with arranging meet ups with various groups of friends to eat sun biscuits and celebrate Christmas. Leave the house shortly after to kick-start the first meeting, and come back only at 10pm at night.
December 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th. Unpacking only completed on the 27th, my jacket smelled like a sewer when I finally took it out.
Yet the meetings were fun, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
So no time to write. Well, its not as if writing was something I was made to do, but definitely there is still that little element of 'something's missing' when something that has been done for 10 years was discontinued. No short poems, no long-winded narratives, no emotional dairy posts or expository essays. These works, usually done in silence in the corner of my room, are now replaced by the funk of meeting new people, going to new places, doing interesting stuff, and experiencing Christmas as a community. Strictly speaking, nothing's really lost- even if I am seemingly rushing like what the tour guide has said. I guess what really makes a difference is that we're rushing for something meaningful to us and others, anxious for goodness, rather than simply rushing for the sake of rushing.
Beans.
Well then, what lies ahead is module biddings and the new year. I am still quite quacked by the prospect of 2011, but I guess extensive abrupt changes are exciting, sultry, and irresistible (no puns intended). Till then, have yourself a merry little Christmas, and do hang a shining star upon the highest bough yah?
