Captured

Authenticity

"Most people are really doing the best they can. And that's just reality. You have to give other people the credit for their humanity."

Grey Area

And you know what, I think it's right that Tony is out because you should not define people by their maddest edges. And what Tony is, is that he is a semi-psychopath. He's a grey area. And the world doesn't like grey areas.

But the grey areas are where you find the complexity, where you find the humanity-- it's where you find the truth.

And Tony said to me,"Jon, can I buy you a drink in a bar? I just want to thank you for everything you have done for me."

And I didn't go. What would you have done?

- Jon Ronson

Brilliant

I am really grateful that my cousin came for my graduation. She is, other than my own mother, the one person who has pushed me, inspired me and believed in me to be the person that I am today.

Knowing her has opened a lot of doors for me: from teaching me that the tiny rolls that she lits up every now and then are called 'ciggies' and not 'smoke' (my English was adorably bad), to putting up with my ranting on my new-found, non-air-conditioned existence when I first came to Singapore, to furiously correcting my grammar, to training me into being able to spar in harmless, venomous banters a.k.a every dining experience I had with her (the gorging on the food is always as important as the verbal mortal combat), to giving me a place to stay in when I had no place to go and was too young to sign my own contracts, to introducing me to 'character building', to treating me like a grown-up when I couldn't still distinguish my knee from my elbow, to saving my life once when I mindlessly jumped into the adult pool even though I didn't know how to swim (I was six or seven at the time), to taking me to Disneyland for the first time, and to believing that I could be anything and everything that I set my mind to-- and actually meaning it. 

I do believe that once in a while, very rarely, we do meet people by whom we feel helplessly inspired. In her case, her extrovertedness always finds its way to make me come out of my shell a bit more-- actually, a lot more. Without saying a word she can make me speak up a lot more, make me articulate myself better and be mindful about what I think and say. Pacing her in a conversation is always a work-out; one after which I find myself mentally spent but a lesson I wouldn't trade for the world. 

However, this breed of people do not come in abundance. They never do. They come in only for a snippet portion of our lives, and once they have done what the divine has set them out to do, they move on-- perhaps to share their gift with some other people some place else. 

She is going back to Holland next month (after living here for over a decade), and perhaps we may only see each other once in a blue moon thereafter. Nonetheless, I am grateful that she has been a great influence on me growing up, and it felt amazing that she could be there to see me graduating from law school. She herself is a lawyer, and finally, she joked, we are in the same club. It feels really good that I can make her proud. 

Mantra

If the divine, cocked-eyed genius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed for just one moment through your efforts, then Olè! 

But if not, do your dance anyhow. And Olè! to you nonetheless for just having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up. 

- E Gilbert 

Price Tag

But writing well isn’t merely a utilitarian skill. It is about developing a rational grace and energy in your conversation with the world around you.

No one has found a way to put a dollar sign on this kind of literacy, and I doubt anyone ever will. But everyone who possesses it — no matter how or when it was acquired — knows that it is a rare and precious inheritance.

- Verlyn Klinkenborg

Wash

Sometimes we know our worries don't matter because these guys are singing somewhere in the world, and making it a better place for us to live in.