Can't Move On

Hello, I'm finally back! Just got back from Coldplay concert in Singapore in Saturday but I've been so tired and busy with piling work and this I just managed to blog tonight haha. Anyway the concert is seriously the best concert I've ever been to and I'm just so so happy that I have finally managed to catch them live. It's a dream come true for me, and another item off my bucket list!

Okay will be doing a separate post about this concert! 

Had a great time reuniting with some people that I haven't seen in a long time as well. Although it was only for one night. Thanks to everyone who took their time to meet up with me :D

Okay just a quick quick update. I can't seem to move on from the concert. It is so amazing!

Rush

Today was such a busy day with so many things to do. And I'm still not done yet! So here's just a quick post about the great music of March before I leave for Coldplay later :O It's happening!

Great Music of March:

- Alaska by Maggie Rogers

- Better by Maggie Rogers

- Nirvana by Ryder

- Don't You Forget by Cafune

- Like It's Over by Jai Wolf

- Drive by Jai Wolf ft Chain Gang of 1974

Song of the month: Alaska by Maggie Rogers and Nirvana by Ryder

Don't think there's any music I'm anticipating in this month hmm but I discovered these awesome music! All thanks to YouTube haha. Except for Jai Wolf. Maggie Rogers' video for Alaska was once again, inside my recommendation tab. I clicked on it and damn, it's such a nice and catchy song! She has a unique voice too. And after searching more about her, that's when I discovered Cafune too.

So both of them were inside a music mentoring programme with Pharrel Williams and I'm glad I discovered both of them. Cafune's song "Don't You Forget" is also a wonderful pop song with pretty meaningful lyrics, especially to everyone having some rough times! I am so excited for the two of them, they have a wonderful road ahead of them for sure. Looking forward to more of their music! :)

Discovered Ryder's song Nirvana from Sheepy again and damn it's such a nice song. It reminds me of a song I listened before way a long time ago... But I couldn't really point out to a particular song. And I feel that songs like this are hard to find these days. From the beats and the melody and chord progression. It's been on repeat for me since I discovered it. Looking forward to more of Ryder too.

Last but not least, I discovered Jai Wolf last year... Or in 2015 I think. It was through his song "Indian Summer". Well I'm kind of a bad fan, I didn't realise that he actually released an EP last year! I found his song similarly in my recommendation tab and I was like "wait did he release a new song?" and... Yeah. I love his new EP seriously. And I'm excited for his new album! He said it'll be a continuation from the EP so it's gonna be awesome weee. He's really a talented producer.

Alright that's all for now. I am anticipating some new music being released in April so yep! And more in the few coming months. I'll be leaving to Jakarta for Singapore soon for COLDPLAY! I am so so excited. My dream is coming true finally. Alright in the meantime, time to do more work :P

To My Girlfriend

 Disclaimer: I do not have a girlfriend.

I do have my camera which I always regard as my girlfriend hahaha. Anyway yesterday I sold away my DSLR. It's not sold yet as I'm still waiting for the price that the guy is offering me. I'm currently officially camera-less. Never thought this day would come but well here I am now! Wait actually I bought a new camera haha, that's why I sold my previous DSLR. Cause I don't need 2.

More about the new boyfriend soon.

Anyway it's been 5 years since I am using my Sony DSLT A57. It's a great camera for sure, and I really love it. Especially when paired with my 16-50mm F2.8 lens. I traveled to many places with her and we take so many great photos and make so many babies memories together. But nothing lasts forever and I know I have to bid farewell to her and so, yesterday was the day. I'm sad, cause I have so many emotional bonds with her but nevertheless, I think it's better for her to go too.

The reason for selling my DSLR away is really because I rarely shoot nowadays. I have a busy schedule and I only take my camera with me when I travel or when I go out of town. And that's pretty rare too. Like you know I only travel once a year so year heh. Instead of just keeping my camera inside my box and my cupboard, I think it's better to sell it to someone who might use it more than me.

Don't get me wrong, like I said in my previous post, I will never give up photography. It is something I really enjoy doing since probably 10 years or so (although I got my first camera only 7 years ago). And I have a new camera now. It's interchangeable lens camera, Sony too. It's smaller and more practical so I suppose it suits my current life and use more. One lens, one camera! Heh.

Okay anyway here's a special post dedicated to my girlfriend of 5 years!

I can still remember that I decided to get you from IT fair on September 2012. I can still remember that I got it with Vithya. I was researching online about the offers from Sony Booths and I wanted to get the A77 but it was rather too expensive for my budget. So I decided to get you and you're really something that exceeds my expectations. Was kinda thankful that I didn't get the A77 hah.

We went to so many places together. Bali, Thailand, Iceland, Australia, and our latest trip was Tibet. You have captured so many of the beautiful sights that I've seen  and immortalise them. All these experiences and moments that I can never retrieve back. So thank you for that!

And of course not forgetting those days in Singapore where we would just go on dates to random places. Waiting for the sun to set, capturing sunsets and sunrises. I'll never forget those days. This is actually where the concept of "girlfriend" comes along. Because people usually bring their loved ones out for dates but... I bring my camera haha. So yeah, thank you for being such a wonderful girlfriend all these 5 years! I will never forget all these memories we had together.

See I told you I have an emotional bond with my camera. I'm not kidding haha. 

Alright. I will talk to you more about the new camera. Just to let you know it's a Sony A6000! 

That's all for now. Be right back crying thinking of all the great memories that I shared with my girlfriend.

Losing Everything

Isn't it quite funny how we are taught to work hard and chase the things that we want, reach for our dreams, be the person we wish to become and so on. But no one really taught us what to do or what to prepare when we lose everything. We're not really equipped with the knowledge that prepare us for this.

Are you ready to lose everything?

We see a lot of inspiring articles and videos about chasing our dreams. To work hard to become great and successful. We feel so driven about doing it when we read/watch them. Sometimes even, too driven that life becomes a beautiful painting inside our mind. And it never leaves us.

But what if one day everything changed? What if one day our life doesn't become the painting we imagined it to be. Our dreams changed, falling back into an empty canvas because of some unforeseen circumstances. Do you have a plan B? Are we ready and willing to lose them to start anew?

Like the saying goes: life isn't measured by our successes but by the times we rise everytime we fall.

Sometimes we become so fixated in the idea of becoming a "somebody" that when things don't go our way, we become confused and things turn chaotic. So yeah, how much can we let go?

I do feel that there are three kinds of people in this world. There are people who live where failure isn't an option. People who live a life where they believe that they cannot fail. And people with different plans who can accept the outcome they receive, and make changes.

Of course, I'm not saying that we should all love failures and that we should be "okay" if we're not focused on reaching our goals and not reach them. I just feel that we should embrace failures because like the Chinese saying goes, they are the mothers of success. What I'm referring in this post is when things change unexpectedly due to unforeseen circumstances that we cannot avoid.

I feel that we often forget that we live in an impermanent world. Where things are in constant change and nothing stays the same. Sometimes for the better and sometimes, for the worst. Sometimes we become the person we want to be and sometimes we don't. We become someone else.

The problem is we crave for permanence in this impermanent world.

Working hard to reach our dreams and goals, and to become someone we wish to be is no easy task either. But it is something that everyone does. When it comes to becoming someone we don't plan to become, I think it's a whole new different story. Losing everything we thought we would own, and then making a new move forward after that. How well can you execute this art form?

So I'd like to ask you three questions:

1. Are you ready to lose everything?

2. To lose your dreams and the person you wish to become?

3. And ultimately, are you ready to leave this place when your time's up?

Stormy Seas

You've learned how to brave the stormy seas.

Here I am still struggling to tread in still water.

Overwhelming

It feels quite overwhelming sometimes, 

how you are constantly bombarded 

with so many thoughts 

and voices in your mind. 

Like a hailstorm that fall

over metal roofing panels. 

They make so much noise 

that your inner voices, 

and everything else 

cannot be heard at all. 

Your hopes, solutions, 

concerns and worries 

are all diminished.

Inside the noise 

that constantly fill

the inside of your mind.

Chant

Today is the first of the three auspicious dates for Avalokitesvara AKA Guan Yin but I couldn't go for the prayers as I was having some guest over. Oh well no worries! I suppose it's a good day to talk about something about Buddhism - my daily chanting practice! Yup this March marks the 2nd year that I've been chanting every day. I really enjoy doing this, it's kind of like a supplement to my meditation.

I used to chant first and then go straight to meditation. Now depending on the time, I still do this. But these days I like to split it into two. Cause it's kind of better this way, I can focus while doing both. Not sure why but I always feel rushed when I do both of them consecutively.

I really enjoy chanting because it feels like a mini mediation to me. Although like I once blogged about how every Buddhist practice is a form of meditation. Chanting helps me focus a lot, and I still practice Vajrayana meditation in which I chant mantras while meditating. Chanting sutras are longer and this they help to make me focus longer too. Although there are still times where my mind drifts away.

And chanting Sutras is like a daily reminder for me about the Buddha's teachings. Especially Prajnaparamita! Obviously I'm not some enlightened being hah. But it's good to always tell yourself about emptiness. How it doesn't have a form, how there's no death and attainment in it. Chim I know.

What I love about chanting is that you can do it everywhere. Sometimes when I'm not doing anything I would just chant silently in my seat. Or mouth the words over. Sometimes it's difficult to meditate while you're being somewhere else (and not doing proper meditation) but chanting helps you a lot. In the bus, in the car (when you're not driving obviously) and so on. It helps to gather your mind and thoughts.

Perhaps it is really through that there are spiritual benefits from chanting. Perhaps there are some "magic" to it. But even if there isn't, chanting helps me a lot in my daily life. Just like meditation, I'm looking forward to doing this habit of mine daily. This year will mark my 3rd year of daily meditation too! Time flies really. But well, meditation helps me a lot. And I think you should give it a try too.

Alright that's all from me today. Hope you had a great week, Friday's here!