Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Inconvenience Regretted

My parents sent this photo to me and my siblings and said, "Now that we are getting old, we know you three will be inconvenienced far more than we are comfortable. So, we thought this photo was so very apt."
Everytime I look at it, I cry a little. I am the middle child and I remember my father when he would carry all three of us (brother on shoulders, me and my sister in either hand) and my mother when she could dance for hours more gracefully and energetically than our entire class. I don't know what my sister's earliest memories of my parents are, and my brother sadly always saw them somewhat older and much tired. This photo is how I will remember my parents always. Having a ball, whatever their circumstances and always able to laugh and never EVER losing their sense of humour and dignity.

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Sunday, January 02, 2011

Famous Sights I Have Missed Seeing

I consider myself fairly well-travelled, yet I have missed out seeing the most iconic sights in some of the famous cities I have visited. As all of you, my adoring readers have been deprived of my ramblings and listings for ages, I present before you a list of the iconic sights of the cities I have visited. I keep telling myself thats my reason to return.
  1. Paris - Eiffel Tower. Yes. I have been to Paris 5 times, yet I have never been to see the Eiffel tower. I have passed it multiple number of times, but have never been on it. I have explored St. Germain, Les Marais and Montmartre village sufficiently to never get lost. I have seen the Pompidou centre, the Louvre, Musee Orsay, Love the Sainte Chapelle, have marched up and down the Champs-Élysées, etc. etc., yet I have never been up the Eiffel Tower.
  2. New York City - The Statue of Liberty. I have gone to New York every year for the last 7 years, and yet, have never seen the statue of liberty.
  3. Singapore - Bukit Timah Nature reserve. I have lost count of how many times I have been to Singapore, yet this the one place I have wanted to go since my first trip, yet have not managed to get there.
  4. San Francisco - Haight Ashbury, Castro Street. When I visited San francisco, these were the two places I realy, really wanted to go, yet somehow couldnt make the time.
  5. Boston - Museum of Fine Arts -I love Boston. I love the fact that one can actually walk around and have also seen a fair amount thanks to generous clients and friends. Yet, everytime I visit, I miss the MFA purely due to idiotic work schedules.
  6. Brussels - Palais de Justice - Not seen. Also, word of advice. The Mannekin Pis is SO NOT WORTH IT. It is fucking 6 inches tall. Complete disappointment.
  7. Berlin - Jewish Museum -I rank Berlin as one of the must-sees city in the world. I find it interesting and very different from other parts of Germany. Also, the Jewish Museum ranked way high on my list of things to see in Berlin, but never got around to it.
  8. Shanghai - Oriental Pearl TV Tower. I feel ashamed of admitting this, but I never got around to seeing this, because I was too busy stuffing my face with soup dumplings.
  9. Bangkok - Wat Arun - Again, I get so busy eating, going to galleries and shopping in Bangkok, I never move my ass to go see Wat arun.
  10. Chicago - Frank Lloyd Wright Home - I think I've been on every tall building in Chicago, again thanks to people I work for. Also, have eaten at the finest restaurants in the USA in Chicago and am yearning for more, yet, the Frank Lloyd Wright home was top of my list, but never gets done, again mostly because of the magnificient mile and stuffing my face.

This list could continue ad infinitum, but I need to sleep.

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