So glad that October has come to an end – the 31 days sure past by pretty slowly. This time last year, the last quarter of the year was an almost “breaking down” period for me, with so many commitments to meet and people to juggle. So this year, I am determined to manage it well.
In October I watched my first rugby game at the Singapore Sevens at the Padang. Being a rugby noob, I learnt quickly the rules of the game and have managed a fine appreciation of it. That was also the month I watched YUNA in concert for the second time, which ended with my friends and I pulling an all-nighter along the Marina Bay boardwalk.
At work, I put together my first issue of ASIAN Geographic Magazine, interviewed two French photographers and attended the launch of Leica’s new camera in support of our photojournalist who is also one of their ambassadors. I came home with a beautiful overnighter bag, and that was a real bonus from the afternoon, besides the drinks and canapes!
In October, I had an enjoyable ramen challenge at Homes, got my act together and fixed my old laptop after two years of it sitting in my cupboard, discovered Purvis Street and the wonders of Hainanese food, had dinner at FIKA with a university mate, celebrated a birthday in a beautiful home in Holland Village and had a wonderful design-meeting-cum-housewarming at a home in Macpherson, coupled with a cheeseboard, coffee and crackers.
Last month I read three books – “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare, “Tortilla Flat” by John Steinbeck and “Strangers on a Train” by Patricia Highsmith. The first was pretty lousy considering I enjoyed the movie, which means I will not be continuing on with the series. The last was pretty good as a book, but the movie was so much better. This is a rare claim, but consider that Patricia Highsmith never writes happy endings.
In the writing world, I wrote a new flash fiction called “The Island is You”, and two poems “Caged Bird” and “Jerebu”, the last in conjunction with the annual haze. I attended the Writing the City workshop, where my short story “The Cashew Tree” was put forth for feedback and critique. It helped to boost my writing confidence as I have been stuck with 2-3 stories that refused to go anywhere.
Other good news include Ethos Book confirming their publication of the Singapore Writer’s Group’s anthology called “A Tale of Two Cities”. My short story “The Red Kemboja Tree” will be featured, and it is due for publication in January 2016. In Sydney, Contrappasso Magazine’s Issue 9: Long Distance was launched, featuring my poem “Why do you cross the border every morning?”.
November beckons with fear and trembling, as I look forward to NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month and start to draft my second novel. I will be watching Daniel Craig in Spectre and attending the Singapore Writer’s Festival – all that before December arrives and I’m due another holiday at home in Penang for Christmas.
Wan Phing Lim 