visions of clarity...do as infinity

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

村上春樹 / Murakami Haruki

Hello

Jiamin posted this beautiful story by Murakami Haruki / Haruki Murakami [depending on which side of the pond you're from] on her blog. ^_^

I love Murakami-san's writing.. It's simply beautiful! I wish I knew enough Japanese to read it in its original language, but being fully able to appreciate the complexity of a language's literature might take far longer to learn than what I currently have gone through. I mean, if you think about it.. I probably still can't fully appreciate a Chinese novel - rather sad.

Last night, I finished his "A Wild Sheep Chase" novel.=) It used to confuse me because his books tend to end with ambiguous endings but last night, I confirmed with myself that, sometimes, things don't need a clear ending to be beautiful. It's like a reflection of human existence isn't it? Where the ending of what you're working toward seems fuzzy and unclear because ... there never really is an end is there? Life just goes on as always, and whether or not you've been left in its tracks is something entirely up to you. Or maybe it isn't, and it could be a result of social dynamics as we've learnt in sociology.

Anyway, let me carry my ramblings somewhere else [like into my own internal conversation] and leave you with this beautiful story! ^_^

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

Haruki Murakami: On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning

One beautiful April morning, on a narrow side street in Tokyo's fashionable Harujuku neighborhood, I walked past the 100% perfect girl.

Tell you the truth, she's not that good-looking. She doesn't stand out in any way. Her clothes are nothing special. The back of her hair is still bent out of shape from sleep. She isn't young, either - must be near thirty, not even close to a "girl," properly speaking. But still, I know from fifty yards away: She's the 100% perfect girl for me. The moment I see her, there's a rumbling in my chest, and my mouth is as dry as a desert.

Maybe you have your own particular favorite type of girl - one with slim ankles, say, or big eyes, or graceful fingers, or you're drawn for no good reason to girls who take their time with every meal. I have my own preferences, of course. Sometimes in a restaurant I'll catch myself staring at the girl at the next table to mine because I like the shape of her nose.

But no one can insist that his 100% perfect girl correspond to some preconceived type. Much as I like noses, I can't recall the shape of hers - or even if she had one. All I can remember for sure is that she was no great beauty. It's weird.

"Yesterday on the street I passed the 100% girl," I tell someone.

"Yeah?" he says. "Good-looking?"

"Not really."

"Your favorite type, then?"

"I don't know. I can't seem to remember anything about her - the shape of her eyes or the size of her breasts."

"Strange."

"Yeah. Strange."

"So anyhow," he says, already bored, "what did you do? Talk to her? Follow her?"

"Nah. Just passed her on the street."

She's walking east to west, and I west to east. It's a really nice April morning.

Wish I could talk to her. Half an hour would be plenty: just ask her about herself, tell her about myself, and - what I'd really like to do - explain to her the complexities of fate that have led to our passing each other on a side street in Harajuku on a beautiful April morning in 1981. This was something sure to be crammed full of warm secrets, like an antique clock build when peace filled the world.

After talking, we'd have lunch somewhere, maybe see a Woody Allen movie, stop by a hotel bar for cocktails. With any kind of luck, we might end up in bed.

Potentiality knocks on the door of my heart.

Now the distance between us has narrowed to fifteen yards.

How can I approach her? What should I say?

"Good morning, miss. Do you think you could spare half an hour for a little conversation?"

Ridiculous. I'd sound like an insurance salesman.

"Pardon me, but would you happen to know if there is an all-night cleaners in the neighborhood?"

No, this is just as ridiculous. I'm not carrying any laundry, for one thing. Who's going to buy a line like that?

Maybe the simple truth would do. "Good morning. You are the 100% perfect girl for me."

No, she wouldn't believe it. Or even if she did, she might not want to talk to me. Sorry, she could say, I might be the 100% perfect girl for you, but you're not the 100% boy for me. It could happen. And if I found myself in that situation, I'd probably go to pieces. I'd never recover from the shock. I'm thirty-two, and that's what growing older is all about.

We pass in front of a flower shop. A small, warm air mass touches my skin. The asphalt is damp, and I catch the scent of roses. I can't bring myself to speak to her. She wears a white sweater, and in her right hand she holds a crisp white envelope lacking only a stamp. So: She's written somebody a letter, maybe spent the whole night writing, to judge from the sleepy look in her eyes. The envelope could contain every secret she's ever had.

I take a few more strides and turn: She's lost in the crowd.

Now, of course, I know exactly what I should have said to her. It would have been a long speech, though, far too long for me to have delivered it properly. The ideas I come up with are never very practical.

Oh, well. It would have started "Once upon a time" and ended "A sad story, don't you think?"

Once upon a time, there lived a boy and a girl. The boy was eighteen and the girl sixteen. He was not unusually handsome, and she was not especially beautiful. They were just an ordinary lonely boy and an ordinary lonely girl, like all the others. But they believed with their whole hearts that somewhere in the world there lived the 100% perfect boy and the 100% perfect girl for them. Yes, they believed in a miracle. And that miracle actually happened.

One day the two came upon each other on the corner of a street.

"This is amazing," he said. "I've been looking for you all my life. You may not believe this, but you're the 100% perfect girl for me."

"And you," she said to him, "are the 100% perfect boy for me, exactly as I'd pictured you in every detail. It's like a dream."

They sat on a park bench, held hands, and told each other their stories hour after hour. They were not lonely anymore. They had found and been found by their 100% perfect other. What a wonderful thing it is to find and be found by your 100% perfect other. It's a miracle, a cosmic miracle.

As they sat and talked, however, a tiny, tiny sliver of doubt took root in their hearts: Was it really all right for one's dreams to come true so easily?

And so, when there came a momentary lull in their conversation, the boy said to the girl, "Let's test ourselves - just once. If we really are each other's 100% perfect lovers, then sometime, somewhere, we will meet again without fail. And when that happens, and we know that we are the 100% perfect ones, we'll marry then and there. What do you think?"

"Yes," she said, "that is exactly what we should do."

And so they parted, she to the east, and he to the west.

The test they had agreed upon, however, was utterly unnecessary. They should never have undertaken it, because they really and truly were each other's 100% perfect lovers, and it was a miracle that they had ever met. But it was impossible for them to know this, young as they were. The cold, indifferent waves of fate proceeded to toss them unmercifully.

One winter, both the boy and the girl came down with the season's terrible influenza, and after drifting for weeks between life and death they lost all memory of their earlier years. When they awoke, their heads were as empty as the young D. H. Lawrence's piggy bank.

They were two bright, determined young people, however, and through their unremitting efforts they were able to acquire once again the knowledge and feeling that qualified them to return as full-fledged members of society. Heaven be praised, they became truly upstanding citizens who knew how to transfer from one subway line to another, who were fully capable of sending a special-delivery letter at the post office. Indeed, they even experienced love again, sometimes as much as 75% or even 85% love.

Time passed with shocking swiftness, and soon the boy was thirty-two, the girl thirty.

One beautiful April morning, in search of a cup of coffee to start the day, the boy was walking from west to east, while the girl, intending to send a special-delivery letter, was walking from east to west, but along the same narrow street in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. They passed each other in the very center of the street. The faintest gleam of their lost memories glimmered for the briefest moment in their hearts. Each felt a rumbling in their chest. And they knew:

She is the 100% perfect girl for me.

He is the 100% perfect boy for me.

But the glow of their memories was far too weak, and their thoughts no longer had the clarity of fouteen years earlier. Without a word, they passed each other, disappearing into the crowd. Forever.

A sad story, don't you think?

Yes, that's it, that is what I should have said to her.

Labels: Haruki Murakami, thoughts

Monday, July 30, 2007

Phuket

Hello! =D

We just returned from Phuket this morning [the plane arrived at almost 1am] and staggered home to bed. Tiger Airways is fine for one hour certainly, as long as I don't attempt to sleep or try to make myself comfortable because it won't work.-_-"

Anyway!

Phuket was GREAT. It's the monsoon season right now, so there's tons of rain and cloudy skies which makes for great photos when the rain stops and the sun starts to shine! We got a fair amount of sunshine and my avoid-the-sun plan was urm.. Not terribly successful.O__o Still, I loved the place we stayed at: Dusit Laguna which is part of the larger Laguna resort [it's made up of like, 5 hotels in one giant complex] where you get to enjoy the sea and the beach as well as a huge lagoon.^_^

Early in the morning, we had to get up to face this.. QUEUE at the Budget Terminal for the flight bound to Phuket via Tiger Airways. Luckily, more pleasant sights awaited us at our destination...

[clockwise from top left] The hotel lobby, a beautiful stone carving, a pretty lamp along one of the many walkways and our room! ^_^

The hotel itself is gorgeous. The Dusit chain of hotels is Thai-run so the whole place was in this beautiful Thai style, with all the trimmings like Thai fruit, food, decor, etc etc. The room was amazing and we had a great view of the Lagoon [it's actually cheaper to get a room with a lagoon view than the sea view but I think the lagoon view is much nicer.^_^] because each room has its own balcony thingie. The room is really spacious too and the bathroom is HUGE! It takes up about half the room. Haha.=D

The grounds of the hotel in all its sunny glory. The grounds are pretty big and the Dusit Laguna is already smallish in size when compared to the Sheraton just opposite. There's a massage area right next to the beach [and we definitely took advantage of that.xD] and tons of lounging chairs all over to let you soak in the rays, enjoy the breeze and generally relax. The landscaping of the place is gorgeous as well, with the gardeners making full use of the blooming tropical flowers to brighten up the place.

See! ^_^ I love flowers. And I love taking photos of flowers.=D

The lagoon! =D As mentioned previously, Laguna Phuket is a huge complex of hotels so you can get between the hotels either by the free shuttle bus service [it's more like a huge tuk tuk, one of those local open-air truck like taxis] or by the free ferry service! It's GORGEOUS taking the ferry and looking at the gorgeous views of the lagoon and the sea.^_^

Like this! The sun is setting over the sea and I took this on our way to dinner.^_^

Apart from lounging around, eating and taking photos, you can also participate in their many water sport activities.^_^ We took advantage of the free kayak rentals and paddled around the lagoon [thank goodness I made my brother pair with me.=D If not, I would never have moved from the same spot. Ahaha] until the stupid jet-ski people [jetskis are outlawed in Thailand by the way] made it too dangerous to paddle around. We also tried out scuba-diving but it was too rainy to windsurf or do most other activities. If you go during the great weather season [also the peak season, November to May] though, you can go on kayaking expeditions, scuba diving trips, trips to the islands around Phuket, visit the rainforest and see their gibbon conservation project, etc etc. You could even just go to Patong like we did and check out JungCeylon, the newest and largest mall there.^_^

I've got TONS of photos of clouds and the sea. And the craggy hills around the beach. And I've got tons of photos of the beach...and the pool...and the other hotels... But I really love these pictures.^_^ And forgive me but they are quite repetitive and use copious amounts of macro. Haha.

Wee! I've been dying to take a shot like this for the longest time. Ahaha. =D Not original, and not exciting but I still think it's nice.

This picture was such a jinx! My dad and I had the worst pool game EVER after I took this.(T_T)

I've never seen such a nice seashell at the beach before.=) It's not only perfect with no chipping or holes, but it's got a really nice colour too.^_^

Every evening, we went to the beach side bar to take advantage of their 1 for 1 drinks.=D And thus, every evening, I came away with many many pictures of the sunset.

I love this image.=D I think the foreground is a little too dark though. *frowns*

=D

One thing I discovered while lounging in Phuket and reading, bossa nova makes a great companion to the gentle roar of the waves. Chill-out too! [I'm still kicking myself for not getting the Cafe del Mar CD from Jiamin and Simin.(T_T)] Also, I read 2 Haruki Murakami novels while I was there.=D Perfect reading I tell you. There's just... something about Murakami's writing that draws me in. It's quite inexplicable. And I realised that his books don't really have a plot per se but are more like.. a very long thought process.

I've definitely entered my Haruki Murakami phase [I've got book phases sometimes, reading as many books by the author that I can get my hands on]. What an expensive investment this will be.X__x

^_^ I've got food photos too but I'll be posting those on the food blog [Link: spoonerisms*inc] so check 'em out there.^_^

Phuket was a great holiday and I'd love to go back but for the moment, I'm happy to be back here.^_^ Plus, it's sunny! Yay!

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Heisei jyuushichinen shichigatsu nanoka alice nine.]
[mood : ^_^]
[food : --]

wendaye: I can't believe it. Daniel Henney can speak Japanese but not Korean? Isn't he like. Half korean or something?! -_______-"

Joyce: YES. Hanakimi is really nice to watch!!! xD xD xD Haha. Beams! And I only really want to watch Seducing Mr Perfect [it's a movie by the way, not a drama] because of *coughs* Daniel Henney's presence. Hahaha.=P

Labels: beach, books, food blog, Haruki Murakami, misc, photo journey, Phuket

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Too Many Updates

Hello

Technically, I'm cleaning my room now. But it's in a depressing state so... distractions are needed! And since I haven't updated in.. eons with anything proper/normal, I shall do a quick post and urm. Attempt to continue cleaning. Which is now working I might add. *coughs*

Shows I've been to recently:
- Jump
Martial art comedy from Korea. It was really funny and very well staged.=)
- Dim Sum Dollies: The History of Singapore
Singaporean humour with musical aspirations. Rather well staged and pretty funny. Against expectations, I rather enjoyed it.^_^ I think Hossan Leong is hilarious by the way.xD

TV:
- House Season 3
O hearts! xD I love House. Wee!

Books:
- Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami [or Murakami Haruki depending on which side of the pond you're from]
Great stuff.^_^ I think I'm liking his books more and more. He writes really well and manages to capture modern society within his novels extremely brilliantly.
- Manga!
I'm reading Vampire Knights which is great because all the guys are really goodlooking. The plot is looking interesting too and looks set to thicken as we discover more about the characters.
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles is heartbreaking as always and CLAMP can really make a fortune creating hot guys.xD xD xD

I'll be making food posts on spoonerisms*inc very soon.=)
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : mugen no hana alice nine.]
[mood : the weather is too hot]
[food : konnyaku! ALOE VERAAAA]

Jiamin: Urh. I thought it was relatively short already. Haha. And yay. Short post.

Labels: Dim Sum Dollies, food blog, Haruki Murakami, House TV, Jump, misc, Tsubasa, Vampire Knights

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