Wonderlust ♥

salt air and the rust on your door

the pieces of a puzzle fall in place softly and strangely 
like something you don't understand 
yet know more than anything 
like something you want to pick apart 
to satisfy a lingering curiosity 
but you revel so much in the novelty
you can feel it in your bones 
nothing is going to come from scrutiny
maybe some things are meant to remain unsolved mysteries
unstoppable 
immovable
unavoidable
and oh so whimsical

• got married
• moved into our new place
• got our own pets
• completed Pokemon Shield 
• worked on many pieces but completed none
• fluctuate in and out of cynicism 

I was running to escape a prison I built 
Found you enough for a second look
Thought I could heal
All while I was dreaming of anyone but you
You had dreams you never believed
I had dreams
they were too beautiful for you to see 
I kept them under lock and key
Together with the rest of me
You knelt
Stepped on many thorns
Should have made me happy
It made me mad
Drove me crazy
Hated the sound of your name on my lips
Never could see
I was a queen
I didn’t need a pawn
I wanted a king
We didn’t match
My patience grew thin 
I changed the lock 
Tossed the keys
And found the best thing to happen to me

Think about the place where you first met me ,
Ridin’ in a getaway car ,
There were sirens in the beat of your heart

So . Fire Emblem Three Houses . Or FETH .

had to lose my way
to know which road to take

I'm overdue with this one . when you see me on hiatus , half of the time it's writer's block to blame , the other half's all me . life has been going really awesome lately so i stopped to smell the flowers , slowed down to enjoy the small moments and strengthened my resolve to work harder at the things that are important to me . also , i'm here excitedly waiting for fire emblem to hit in July and praying for customization (although it doesn't seem promising) from the videos that are available , it looks like three houses is going to be freaking awesome .

sorry for the short post, blog again soon ♥

his hair , tinged with burgundy , made me reminisce my love for scene
he was all expressive eyebrows , i remember all too well
he was a lopsided smile , quirked at the edges
he was the second time i fell in love with a voice
and i fell
too hard
too fast
was too much to handle much too soon
he gave up
i held on
thinking
we were surely meant for something great
it was a resounding silence
i walked away
but i lingered
then i waited
i gave it all the time i could
before i gave my heart to someone new
and the reasons i loved him were nothing like the tales of old
nothing like how i imagined i could pen in the dead of the night
it was nothing flowery doused with glitter littered with ribbons
it was the tender moments
it was the moments we were grateful
it was the moments we wanted to do better
it was the moments
he chose me
when my words were daggers
thrown and meant to maim
it was in the moments
he chose us
when my words were poison
laced and meant to kill
and i thought
we will only keep getting better
if we never falter
and this safe place
is what it means to always have a place to call home

all i knew , this morning when i woke ,
is i know something now , know something now i didn't before  


over the course of last month , i was overwhelmed by the need to pen my thoughts more than once . hoping to sort out the mess , to focus . but every other time it feels like i'm grasping for words not within my reach , so they became drafts sitting in my blogspace .

sometimes i revisit an entry and draw strength or feelings from them , i love words and feel that it's important to write clearly and with feeling . it's the same reason why i love songs ; they represent the start and end of many chapters of sorts for me , and i can always revisit and recreate those chapters whenever i feel the need for nostalgia .

so i spent some time combing through my old entries (since 2013) ; in case you were wondering , this instance of combing means skimming through and occasionally really reading a particular entry .

looking back , I've never regretted blogging about feelings , placing photos , sharing about happy things and my hair journey . i'm sure it's a cue for me to keep it up . and when an old entry comes across as juvenile in terms of content , i can only cringe but be glad that i've grown up mentally and moved past any roadblocks .

it's time to close the old chapters and keep looking forward . all of us have to grow up at some point .

it's has been a tradition to share about overseas trips , so here's me talking about my Fukuoka trip just last month ! here is my travel companion and best buddy ~

the first day we embarked on our trip , we touched down at Hong Kong airport for a transit in the wee hours of the morning . it was our second time transiting at Hong Kong (i've never been to Hong Kong itself outside it's airport) .

we had an interesting time shopping about the airport and having breakfast there before flying off .

if you spent time reading the earlier commentary , we therefore didn't do much on day 1 in Japan cuz we reached in the afternoon , but we checked out the hakata lights and took some nice pictures :)

the second day had us checking out Dazaifu and eating Ichiran:



that's the super aesthetic starbucks and me yet discovering the gem that is iced chai tea latte . after many nice photos and wishes later , we went to tenjin for shopping and got our 1st loot of the trip ! pokemon , anime merchandise , gundams and what not .


as for our third day , we went to Marine World @ Uminonakamichi . unfortunately (or fortunately) , we were too fascinated by marine life that we missed the seaside park by its opening hours .

undeterred , we went to see the lights at Canal City and the pokemon centre after our marine escapade . yup , 2nd loot of the trip for us .
 thanks to my white puff for the stitch cable bite <3 br="">
Day 4: there was an AAA concert event just beside our hotel ! we went to check out the merch in the morning  before going to book our shuttle bus to the airport for the next day .

we went to the mall nearby to get starbucks and that was when this happened:
chai fabulous chai .

we had an udon spread for lunch before heading to the Fukuoka Castle and Fukuoka Tower after Fukuoka Castle:
after we finished Fukuoka Tower , we went back for an onsen experience at our hotel , which was awesomeee with stone hot coals , water , oh well you get the gist .

do consider going for the onsen if you are staying in Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk !

 Day 5 got us feeling sad about leaving our humble crib behind . this is the view from our hotel window:
we also woke up for the breakfast spread at the hotel for the very first time .

on the subject of hotcakes , these from 7-11 are pretty good:

day 6 sees us back in Singapore .

till next time !

Read this entry for a crash course on parking before you take your driving test at your own risk .

I have no license (so i'm hardly qualified) but writing helps me put things into perspective and so this happened .

in all seriousness, while i was trying to google for driving tips , i realized there were some questions i couldn't find the answer to (probably because i'm too bad at this) so this would help you if you were struggling like me .

background: manual car @ BBDC

here is the circuit map which is the starting point for the test .
in the event of an immediate failure in the circuit , the test ends at the circuit .

#1 Vertical Parking 

examples of vertical parking in the circuit would be lots 30, 31, 36, 35

to do for vertical parking: start the parking close to the white line, the closer , the better . just do not cross the white line . adjust the side mirrors straight down till you can see the end of the rear wheels . check blind spot before reversing and 2 to 3 times in between .

#2 Direction Change

examples for direction change in the circuit would be lots 9, 10, 11, 12, 23, 24, 25

the difference between direction change and vertical parking is that for direction change , you don't have to worry where to park close to . it is enclosed by 3 curbs at all sides .

to do for direction change: start by parking near the center (not too much to the left or right) . there is no need to adjust the side mirrors for direction change . check blind spot before reversing and 2 to 3 times in between .

#3 Parallel Parking

once you get the hang of it , it isn't that bad . hopefully this can help you in some way .

examples for parallel parking in the circuit would be lots 16 , 17, 18, 19

to do for parallel parking: start by parking near the curb (30-50 cm) . that's the length of a long ruler , so in reality it's really really near . adjust the side mirrors ,  check blind spot before reversing .

1. turn the steering wheel all the way to the left and reverse until you see the middle of the curb to your right from your right side mirror .
2. straighten your steering wheel and continue to reverse till you reach a white line . then , turn the steering wheel all the way right and reverse almost all the way in .
3. once your car is straight , straighten your steering wheel and continue to reverse a teeny little bit .

check the blind spots after steps 1 to 3 .

4. move forward about 60 cm, adjust the direction of your car if necessary . (meaning if your car is tilted to the right , turn the steering wheel left and move forward)
5. now that you have enough distance , it's time to reverse again . turn your steering wheel all the way left and reverse .
6. you can now adjust your side mirrors and move out by turning your steering wheel all the way to the right .

Other tips: in turning left , the lane to turn into would be the lane closest to you . in turning right , it would be the lane further from you if it is a 2 way lane   


--End of parking guide--

it has been about three months since i was here , and it feels like much longer . everything is peachy here (i hope it is for you too). it's really been a breeze , so much so that i don't have much to blog about . normally i write in this space when i feel like i have a lot on my mind or heart .  though i always figured i would come back to writing soon enough .

writing helps me with my mental state . sometimes i go through the motions without really feeling it and this helps tremendously .

till next time !

comforting weather with specks of rain drops dusting the windows
blankets of clouds on grey skies
with the faint sound of thunder rumbling in the distance

best feelings overflowing off the brink
when its picturesque and there's not a care in the world
it's something i could get used to

i miss the memories of you in the bad times , in the times i feel alone 
those times i'm hit with feelings , feelings that i never want to let go of  
i thought about it time and time again and found it to be
just an imagined perfection that never was and never will be
so i picked up a pen
and re-wrote my feelings for you on parchment paper

i always thought i would sink , so i never swam
i never went boatin', don't get how they are floatin'
and sometimes i get so scared of what i can't understand
but here i am ,
next to you ,
the sky is more blue

i love the cards that i've been dealt
do you feel the same as well

I've been blindsided by laziness once again . and ... missed out on 2 posts as a result .
sorry bout that . here's a run down as to what i've been up to:

October: eating . mostly spending money on food
November: travel and celebrations . korea and birthdays
December: relax and celebrations . stay-cation and birthdays

this is my backdated october post . did i mention i'm 100% serious about those captions ?

7 Oct: ps cafe
12 Oct: tomi sushi
14 Oct: Sushi Bar and montana brew and bar
 20 Oct: B cafe and the providore
 25th oct: craftsmen

as you should have figured by now , my food photos are shot in a bizarre manner and tend to feature incomplete / half eaten foods . so don't expect too much . drinks and desserts however , are a-ok .