Poetry Solace: Of insomnia

Over the next 3 entries of Poetry Solace, I will be sharing the works of Elizabeth Bishop.. Let's start with 'Insomnia'..

Insomnia
The moon in the bureau mirror
looks out a million miles
(and perhaps with pride, at herself,
but she never, never smiles)
far and away beyond sleep, or
perhaps she's a daytime sleeper.

By the Universe deserted,
she'd tell it to go to hell,
and she'd find a body of water,
or a mirror, on which to dwell.
So wrap up care in a cobweb
and drop it down the well

into that world inverted
where left is always right,
where the shadows are really the body,
where we stay awake all night,
where the heavens are shallow as the sea
is now deep, and you love me. 

Have a great weekend! Have fun but be safe!

Kaohsiung 2014: Pier-2 Art Center

Didn't have any fixed itinerary planned for the trip to Kaohsiung. I just list out some of places that I wanna go and just kinda go with the flow. Since I reached Kaohsiung around noon, I've decided to go 駁二碼頭. It is easy traveling around the city as there is a subway to get you to almost everywhere.

駁二碼頭 was interesting as the whole place was used to be a pier with lots of 'abandoned' warehouses. Many of them are housing indoor exhibitions that are ticketed, which I am not willing to pay. Why pay when there are free stuff outside? Plus the fact that those exhibitions didn't pique my interest. Maybe because I've been disappointed by many of the 'special' exhibitions held in the museums here.

There are some very nicely drawn murals, a couple of outdoor sculptures and a few interesting shops. One is selling all things paper, although very unique, didn't manage to make me wanna part with my money.. :P Maybe I wasn't in a mood to shop..

Anyway, here are some of the pictures I've taken of the place..

There are many of these 'workers' statues around the area, each pair being decorated in different themes/colors. Some are just plain 'Urgh' while some are quite tastefully done. Again, another example of 'beauty in the eye of the beholder' for appreciating arts.

The entire place is very pedestrian and bicycle friendly, with dedicated tracks for each. The place is very well-kept, clean and green.

Here are some beautifully painted murals.. The colors are vivid and bold.. and looked as if they were just painted recently..

ps: those are REAL people. 

Not a bad place to spend a leisure afternoon.. :)

something to ponder

My bachelor degree from NUS is BSc. (Computer Science and Information Systems), while my masters from Waseda is MSc. (CIO/Management Information Systems).

So if I remove the first words from both..
Computer Science and Information Systems
CIO/Management Information Systems

Then, if I remove words that are common in both..
Science and Information Systems
Management Information Systems

If the word 'and' is also removed..

Words that are left:
Science 
Management

Re-arrange both, and I'll get
Management Science which is what my PhD is all about... 

So was it long predicted the field I'll doing for my PhD in or is this just an example of patternicity? 
You be the judge. :) 

Sunday Serenade: best day of my life

Been busy this past week.. and gonna be so for the next few months.. Sunday is the time to slow things down a bit and catch a (short) breath before the week starts again.. So for today, I'm sharing a lively song by American Authors.. Like the title of the song and its catchy tune/lyrics.. Enjoy! :)

Best Day of My Life
I had a dream so big and loud
I jumped so high I touched the clouds
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh [x2]
I stretched my hands out to the sky
We danced with monsters through the night
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh [x2]

I'm never gonna look back
Woah, never gonna give it up
No, please don't wake me now

[chorus]
Oo-o-o-o-oo
This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
Oo-o-o-o-oo
This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
[end of chorus]

I howled at the moon with friends
And then the sun came crashing in
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh [x2]
But all the possibilities
No limits just epiphanies
Wo-o-o-o-o-oh [x2]

I'm never gonna look back
Woah, never gonna give it up
No, just don't wake me now

[chorus]

I hear it calling outside my window
I feel it in my soul (soul)
The stars were burning so bright
The sun was out 'til midnight
I say we lose control (control)

This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
Oo-o-o-o-o
This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife
This is gonna be, this is gonna be, this is gonna be
The best day of my life
Everything is looking up, everybody up now
This is gonna be the best day of my li-ife
My li-i-i-i-i-ife






Have a great week ahead! Be productive and stay healthy!

Kaohsiung 2014: Transport

This trip to Kaohsiung was my first solo trip around Taiwan. And rest assured, there will be more in the future. :)

There are many ways to get to Kaohsiung from Taipei and being one who has the time (not the money), I decided on rail, both Taiwan High Speed Rail (高鐵) and Taiwan Rail (台鐵). Although not as expensive as Japan's bullet train, a ticket to Kaohsiung with THSR is going to cost me more than NT$1,600 which I'm unwilling to pay. Luckily, as a student I am entitled to student priced tickets during specific hours. Thus after a 50% student discount, I paid NT$815.


As it was a work day, no worries about it being too crowded. The ticket queue was kinda long (more than 15 people in front of me) although it moved pretty fast. A middle-aged couple and their daughter sorta held up the queue as they do not speak Chinese and the ticket sellers aren't really fluent in Japanese. Another thing is that passengers are not allowed onto the platforms unless your train has arrived. Everyone had to wait around the entrance where seats are limited. I guess they don't expect people to be too early waiting to board the train.





We were only allowed onto the platform just 15 minutes before departure time. Cleaners were still cleaning and arranging some cabins. No problem locating my cabin and seats. :)

The seats are similar to those on airplanes, fairly comfortable and slightly retractable. No one was sitting beside me. I had all 3 seats to myself. But this being Taiwan, just like in Japan, people do not 'misbehave' or behave badly as in China, so no legs onto the seats nor sleeping across seats..






The trip was very smooth and on time. Only took slightly over 2 hours with several stops in between. There is also a food chart being pushed by a lady going around the cabins offering hot/cold drinks and some snacks, just like on Shinkansen.

All in all, it was an uneventful train ride. :)