field notes as may turns to june

to be uploaded June 2 Sunday 6pm SGT

~ 310524 0206 start ~

Been tough carving out time to write, let alone what about

Simon - I hear this..

Ashan - Maybe you should write about this

Maybe that’s the first line

Ashan - Nice you've already started writing it then

Messages exchanged a day and a half ago, rattle through my bones as trumpets blare out in Chocolat’s Like a Starberry.

It’s a quiet night as I look through my notebook, staring out towards the highway. Friends by Minimum Chips reminds me of an existence already seven weeks past. I think of the humongous zucchini that Caroline procured at a commune and gifted me. I wonder what recipes friend-made-at-Red-Triangle Cole cooked with it when I was clearing out 300 Young Street.

A bulk of my belongings have not arrived in Singapore yet. Latest I’ve heard is that its on the way in shipping container C (redacted) and that part of the journey includes pausing at HKG-Hong Kong on 28/05/2024 (estimated). My colleague Gabriel is going to be there this weekend – for leisure with his partner and also to check out the Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival. In the office today I played some my little airport upon hearing this. Gabriel checked ahead if vinyl was available, to no avail. I put the lyrics up, Erika sang along in Cantonese and Gabriel covered the screen to test her competence. I laugh-sang through my follow up queue of The Pancakes as Gabriel looked on with amusement (or maybe more perplexed).

Yin Lin is coming back soon, next week is shaping up to be an exciting one. Makan, hang out, catch up, dance house, watch a gig maybe, dinner with her folks, possibly mine. I’m a bit stressed about a work presentation and the impending mountain of entries to be dealt with. But I will manage. Today at work, they asked for our bios to update the team page. Krys asked me to crop away my friend’s hand if I want to use it as my headshot, to which I instinctively said “that’s my partner”. Krys chuckled when I showed her another photo of Yin Lin and I, the one of us posing in front of appropriately coloured chocolates in a konbini – probably one of my favourite photos of us. Later, on the rooftop, Vijay snapped a photo of Krys, Erika and I. It aptly reflected our resting demeanours – oddly combative with Vijay’s proclamation earlier that his phone camera obscures reality, only offering up a caricature. It was a Xiaomi if you were wondering.

I share a room with my brother and June brings renovation. Apparently earlier today, he grabbed a hammer with my Dad watching – chipping off a small portion of the bed frame as instructed by my parent’s finance + fengshui guy uncle Raymond. My Dad took a video, one that for a second focused on my brother before panning away to a blurry mess. He was embarrassed by this, sayang he said. I saw this as an appropriate release.

Swimming freestyle still dizzies me. I’ve always been adamant in changing my form / doing that stroke in the first place.

Jacking is difficult, I don’t really understand how to front jack in addition to other moves. Crossroads at full bpm is also tough. When I heel toe, I tend to displace. Don’t get me started on Chasing. When Keith busted out the Loose Legs last night, Wilson and I shook our head. At least I did.

Writing often feels deeply arbitrary. Lately it’s been a record of mostly work, plans, my sleep patterns, expenses. I wrote a poem everyday upon my return to Singapore. I’ll probably scan them and insert them below when I’ve got the time. This has been good, I’m glad I work from home tomorrow.

~ 310524 0318 end ~

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~ 020624 1446 start ~

May turned to June without much resistance, the main takeaway being Life’s Punchline. I have been washed over with this J-drama’s character writing and overall wholesome delivery. I’ve got four episodes left. Maybe I’ll binge the rest of it later tonight. I haven’t had time to scan my writing – my time spent instead catching the final game of the Western Conference finals (blowout), getting stressed over new lineup additions at Fuji Rock (help), watched more films for work (both really good), 6 episodes of Life’s Punchline (as earlier mentioned), white sesame seed shopping, window shopping glasses, finding more House, failing side jacks, playing with River, hanging with family, calling Yin Lin (right now actually). She shares a quote from Mark Pesce, which was shared from her professor Penny.

The body itself, with no language to share, bears its pains and joys in silence, so we create dance and poetry and sculpture as the tactile reflections of the sensations of the body, each a momentary spark crossing the gap between body, being and expression, a flickering light of connection between the self and the world beyond the skin.

We are now talking about qualia, dance, basketball, movements, associations, etc. I’ll leave this at that.

~ 020624 1532 start ~

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~ 020624 1636 start ~

It’s towards the end of our call that started 3ish hours ago and I’ve decided to attach the first poem I wrote upon returning to Singapore. It is accompanied with Yin Lin and I holding up peace signs, clearly not staged.

~ 020624 1653 end ~

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Rushing off, leaving my house playlist here for your perusal. Hopefully I’ll be writing again with more focused energy. I hope I will have this focused energy in office tomorrow morning.