the motorcycle diaries

chim + shup + fuzz + jo | the softballer, tennis player, councillor and judoka | (wannabe) girl jocks | 03a15 hwachonggg | arty farty humanz | travel HK | cycle pasir ris | dinner anywhere | what we have in common - our restlessness, our impassioned spirits, and a love for the open road

Thursday, September 28, 2006

solitude of self

On women's rights:

"The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities for higher education, for the full development of her faculties, her forces of minda nd body; for giving her the most enlarged freedom of thought and action; a complete emancipation from all forms of bondage, of custom, dependence, superstition; from all the crippling influences of fear - is the solitude and personal responsibility of her own individual life."

And from the closing of the article:

"Whatever may be said of man's protecting power in ordinary conditions, amid all the terrible disasters by land and sea, in the supreme moments of danger, alone woman must ever meet the horrors of the situation. The Angel of Death even makes no royal pathway for her. Man's love and sympathy enter only into the sunshine of our lives. In that solemn solitude of self, that links us with the immeasurable and the eternal, each soul lives alone forever. A recent writer says: 'I remember once, in crossing the Atlantic, to have gone upon the deck of the ship at midnight, when a dense black cloud enveloped the sky, and the great deep was roaring madly under the lashes of demoniac winds. My feeling was not of danger or fear (which is a base surrender of the immortal soul) but of utter desolation and loneliness; a little speck of life shut in by a tremendous darkness...'
And yet, there is a solitude which each and every one of us has always carried with him, more inaccessible than the ice-cold mountains, more profound than the midnight sea; the solitude of self. Our inner being which we call ourself, no eye nor touch of man or angel has ever pierced...
Such is individual life. Who, I ask you, can take, dare take on himself the rights, the duties, the responsibilities of another human soul?"

what do you think of this my cheekygirls? inspiring or frightening?
i wish i could surrender to someone or something who'll take on my burden of life, but i cannot find self-dignity down that path, and so.. you guys will hear me whine the rest of my life =)

disastrous day today reaffirmed decision to drop a class and take a breather from empty hectivity.
but i still crave steely discipline.. and toned abs hehe but neither'll be coming anytime. no more last-minuteness though! no more falling from fatigue while crossing the street. and especially no more unpleasantness or crying when things get just a bit too rough. wow i can't stand how pathetic i sound.
SHUT ME UP
chim will have energy to play with you when you come, shup.
ok this has to be the sign of madness

Saturday, September 23, 2006

where i am




so i'm in the land of cheese, chocolate and watches. a couple of days ago i took a train to a wine town and went exploring with a friend. the kids there study in a chateau! i suppose they make full use of their historical sites...
i'm liking it here, settling into a routine of sorts. the scenery is enough to make me happy. i love my wide open spaces!
hope all of you are well.
chim: too much hectivity is not good if quality is compromised, i think
shups: who's the wicked witch??
jo: where are you??

much love! xx

ps 15 minutes to open a bank account here! hooray for swiss efficiency

Thursday, September 21, 2006

fuzzy are you in switzerland??

jo are you in london??

shu ping have you booked your flight for nov 9?? i want to settle our accomodation for lake tahoe if you're confirmed.

does anyone listen to my plaintive cries for some good old loving from my cheekygirls?

my camera's still out of operation, no photos for now

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

half dome hike

photos of our 12 hour hike up and down the half dome.


intimidating last part of the hike. the line on the rock face is a line of people climbing up hanging on to two parallel cables. very tiring on the arms, especially with people in front stopping too often, but extremely fun! i couldn't imagine myself on that rock face when i saw it at its foot, but once it started, wheeeee. strong blowing winds and pain and a terrifying view down.


view from the top. gorgeous gorgeous valley. and the satisfaction of hiking for more than 5 hours upupup..

up beyond two waterfalls..

cutting across a massive valley..

the climb down uncovered a freshwater spring in a river to another waterfall where we splashed around and washed the grime of hiking away then sunned our toes in the setting sun =)

my attic room is a comfy nest, the days are full and rushing by, my heart is drenched in wine. i need hecticness to distract me, but too often quality's compromised. how?

Autumn Day

Lord: it is time. The summer was immense.
Lay your shadow on the sundials
and let loose the wind in the fields.

Bid the last fruits to be full;
give them another two more southerly days,
press them to ripeness, and chase
the last sweetness into the heavy wine.

Whoever has no house now will not build one
anymore.
Whoever is alone now will remain so for a long
time,
will stay up, read, write long letters,
and wander the avenues, up and down,
restlessly, while the leaves are blowing.


Translated by Galway Kinnell and Hannah Liebmann,
"The Essential Rilke" (Ecco)

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Nepal Parting Shots

hehe. more shots. couldn't resist putting up my boy! ale! to avoid accusations of favoritism, here're shots of all 3 of us!



ok now to move on to another life. but Nepal was damned good while it lasted, despite all the shit we saw.

have fun in switzerland fuzzy! consider africa next yr!

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Nepal Third Leg

my favorites! slugs and mommyslug chim. fuzzy your boy's the best at posing for shots though.. my slug looks pained in my pictures with him





Nepal Second Leg





Friday, September 01, 2006

Nepal First Leg

Not the best quality photos from our film cameras, but here goes:





 
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